“And Mary said, ‘My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.’” —Luke 1:46-50 (ESV)
When used as a verb, the word “surrender” means to submit to a figure of authority. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10 ESV) For the believer, this is the essence of surrender – to give ourselves wholly and fully to the will of our Father.
In the Christmas story, Mary displays a heart of surrender. She was but a teenage girl, engaged to someone who was in many ways still a stranger, and she was told she would give birth to the Savior of the world. Would her fiancé, family, and community understand? Would she be able to protect and provide for her son? What would become of them? There was no way for Mary to know for sure, but it didn’t seem to matter. “My soul magnifies the Lord,” she said, “and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.” (Luke 1:46-48a ESV)
Mary committed herself joyfully to the mission. Likewise, when we fully and wholly submit ourselves to the Lord as believers, we are challenged to take our focus off what many would argue are the most important things in life and refocus ourselves on the only thing that is – the will of God. Our lives, then, become so much more than going through the motions of what is easy, comfortable, and tangible. We lose interest in maintaining the approval of others, gaining material possessions, or chasing worldly desires. Instead, we become equipped to achieve what is difficult, rewardingly uncomfortable, and intangible.
How submitted to the Father are you? How willing are you to live like Mary? Scripture doesn’t promise us that the Christian journey will be without challenges or hardships, but Scripture does promise us the Lord will never leave us nor forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5) May we all surrender to His plan and His will, so we may also say, “For he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.” (Luke 1:49 ESV)
“How submitted to the Father are you? How willing are you to live like Mary?”
“Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.” —Matthew 1:18–25 (ESV)
Obedience is hard. The very nature of compliance causes one to have to listen and humbly respond to the leadership and direction of another. As humans, we tend to want to solve our problems on our own, often without admitting that we need help or guidance. Yet, God calls us, as believers, to follow his plan for our lives.
In the passage above, Joseph found himself in a unique situation. Like many of us, he initially tried to discern the right response to the news that his fiancé conceived a child that was not his own. His decision to grant Mary a quiet divorce that would shield her from public judgement displayed a tremendous amount of grace and compassion. In many ways, it seems his choice was the right one for both of them. But then, something miraculous happened. Through a messenger, God showed Joseph the bigger picture of how He was at work. The long-awaited Messiah was about to step into our world and change it for all eternity.
Imagine the magnitude of being told your wife was carrying the Son of God. In an instant, Joseph’s life was steered in a new direction, and the path ahead of him was filled with uncertainty. Inside that uncertainty, there probably existed a good deal of fear and anxiety. But the angel of the Lord told Joseph to trust in Him. That’s the thing about obedience – it isn’t always asked of us when things are easy. The Lord often asks for our obedience in times of ambiguity or difficulty. We have to trust that the Lord will equip us, empower us, and encourage us in the same way He did Joseph when he made the decision to follow the Lord’s calling on his life.
May we be like Joseph when unexpected situations arise in our lives. For when we humbly obey the Father, He can do incredible things in and through us.
“That’s the thing about obedience — it isn’t always asked of us when things are easy.”
As a child, Casey Diaz was introduced to a world of violence and gang activity. He continued to spiral downhill as an adult, and discovered himself alone in a jail cell with a Testament given to him by a chaplain. What happened next can only be contributed to the grace of God and the power of His Gospel.
Romans 10:17 (ESV) states, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” Bonnie Barnett walked through the church doors every Sunday, sat next to her father, listened to the sermon, and walked out unchanged. “I walked out unchanged because the Bible was never presented, and the Gospel was never proclaimed,” recalls Bonnie. However, God used His Word to radically move her from darkness to light in a way she never expected.
The cry of the heart
Bonnie grew up in a wonderful home in upstate New York. She was born into a typical American family. They loved each other, worked hard, and went to church every Sunday. But something was missing—the Word of God. As Isaiah 53:6a (ESV) teaches, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way…” Bonnie was no different. As a young girl, she became heavily involved in the occult. Ironically, it was during this time she realized the reality of the powers of darkness. Tarot cards and séances drove her to desperately seek God’s protection, but she didn’t know how to find Him. Thankfully, God heard the silent cry of her heart.
“I walked out unchanged because the Bible was never presented, and the Gospel was never proclaimed.”
On the outside, Bonnie was a star student, athlete, and leader; but inside, her heart held stubbornness, fear, and pride. When she was 16, she was awarded a scholarship to spend a year in Denmark. As she boarded the airplane in New York, another girl her same age was boarding an airplane in Delaware. Linda had earned the same opportunity Bonnie had and, by God’s great mercy, they were assigned roommates. The first day Bonnie met Linda, she told Bonnie, “You must be born again.” Bonnie watched Linda read her Bible every day and heard her pray and sing songs of praise to her Savior. Linda radiated peace and joy—something Bonnie had never felt.
a life broken
For another five years, Bonnie struggled with understanding the true meaning of life. She looked for that elusive joy and peace anywhere she could. Relationships, substances, and various faiths and beliefs all left her feeling as broken and empty as she had always been. All the while, Linda’s words echoed within her: Jesus is the Son of God, and you must be born again.
Disillusioned by her fruitless searching, she dropped out of college and moved back home. Not long after, she had a terrible fight with her father that led her to leave and try living on her own. She packed all of her belongings into her 1969 Dodge Dart and drove away.
At 21 years old, Bonnie was hopeless and homeless. Eventually, she managed to collect a few small jobs and afford an even smaller room for rent. She started drinking heavily and steadily allowed her life to continue its decline. However, God had not forgotten Bonnie.
Even as she made a mess of her life, God sent others like Linda as messengers of truth. One by one, they watered the seed God had planted in my heart at age 16. On a cold January night in 1978, a blizzard raged, and she hit rock bottom. Utterly rejected and deserted by everyone she had ever loved, she didn’t want to continue living. After all, she tried everything life could offer and was miserably unsatisfied. “That night, I finally cried out to God and begged him for the truth. If Jesus Christ was really the only way to God, He had to show me,” said Bonnie.
A LIFE transformed
When Bonnie drove away from her father’s house in that Dodge Dart, she packed everything she owned—including a small, green Testament. Six years earlier, a faithful Gideon stood on the campus of Binghamton University in New York and handed her older brother that Testament. God used the Gideon to place His Word into her home, then into the trunk of her car, then into her hands on a cold January night.
Alone in that blizzard, Bonnie opened the Testament to the book of Matthew. “For the first time in my life, I understood what I read,” Bonnie remembers. After finishing the Gospel of Matthew, she read through the Gospels of Mark, Luke, and John. The winter storm blew outside her window all night long, but her heart was at peace. She read that God loved her even while she was a sinner. She read that Jesus had paid the price for her sins and offered her forgiveness and eternal life in Him. As tears streamed down her face, she fell to her knees and accepted Jesus as her personal Lord and Savior. Her chains fell off, and she was set free from darkness. The burden she had carried for years disappeared. She had a new life—a life of grace that was greater than all her sin.
Every Christ follower is called to regularly share their faith—few actually do. According to Barna Research, among practicing Christians, more than half (56%) report having two or fewer conversations about faith with a non-Christian during the past year. How can this be?
The reason more than half of Christians do not regularly share their faith varies. Some people fear being asked questions about their faith they may not be able to answer, while others struggle to articulate their own faith journey or fear being rejected.
No matter the reasons, God has called all believers to proclaim the Good News. Yet often, in the busyness of life, many Christians tend to focus on accomplishing a to-do list instead of living life on mission for Christ. Consider the following story of Tim:
The alarm sounds at 5:30 a.m. to wake Tim. He sips his morning coffee and silently prays for his wife and children before leaving for work. Tim is the senior vice president at a local bank, whose customers have grown to love his infectious personality. He answers emails, returns calls, and works with customers on the best solutions to their financial needs—a routine that has been a part of Tim’s life for the past decade. He leaves work a little early to prepare for his son’s little league baseball practice—trading in his suit and tie for his athletic shorts and coach’s notepad. Before you know it, Saturday is here, and it’s another early morning wake-up call as he heads to his Gideon prayer meeting, then once again joins his son’s team for their afternoon game. The Sunday morning rain creates a damp ride to church with his family where he serves on the finance committee and as a deacon. Phone calls, emails, practices, meetings, and church—all these things shape Tim’s routine.
A question rings in his mind as loud as a local train coming through town: What drives me to do the things I do?
After asking himself the question, Tim is quickly reminded of a more strategic approach to his daily life. At Tim’s core, he is on a mission to fulfill a calling to win people to Jesus Christ. A calling that has been on his life since accepting Jesus Christ as His personal Lord and Savior as a young boy.
Moving from Checklist to calling
The activities of life can quickly become viewed as a checklist. A checklist mindset, even if unintentional, is driven by the phrase “I have to do these things.” It is easy to slip into this frame of mind to fulfill the ever-growing roles one has in life. Moving from a checklist mindset to a calling mindset involves processing why you do the things you do.
When your burden to reach the lost deepens, your passion for reaching the lost will become greater.
Tim loves his family and joyfully provides for them. He coaches his son’s team not only to create lasting memories but also because Tim sees it as a mission field. He is a Gideon because he knows God has called him to this Association—to strive side by side with other Christian business and professional men for the faith of the Gospel.
When Tim lives out his calling to its full potential, something beautiful starts to happen. The way he sees people changes. He has a deep appreciation for the words found in Matthew 9:36 (ESV), “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” Tim has a passion for the people God has strategically placed in his life. This drives Tim to have conversations—not just ordinary conversations, but Gospel conversations.
As a Gideon committed to the spiritual discipline of being a man who witnesses, Tim makes it a priority to witness. He observes the people he knows well and the seemingly random people who come across his path. Why? Because he cares enough about the people God has placed in his life to talk about what eternity looks like for them. Eternity is forever, and at the end of the day, the only thing that really matters is a person’s relationship with God.
are you tim?
Does Tim’s story resonate with you? Sure, the particulars may be different, but the core is the same. People like Tim have huge hearts, but easily slip into a checklist mentality as the busyness of life captures their attention. In this mentality, calling is often lost. Moving from a checklist mindset to a calling mindset leads us to have compassion for people. Compassion for people then drives us to have conversations about eternity. Do you care enough about the people God has placed in your life to discuss their eternity? What really matters the most?
This is what sharing your faith is all about—strategically engaging in Gospel conversations with people God has placed in your life. Rather than a task to complete, personal witnessing is a calling and purpose to fulfill. When your burden to reach the lost deepens, your passion for reaching the lost will become greater.
Do you care enough about the people God has placed in your life to discuss their eternity?
How do you prepare to share your faith? It starts by evaluating what drives you to do the things you do, then reprioritizing your life to accomplish what matters the most. Pray for a burden to see the lost come to Christ, especially in your sphere of influence. A strategy driven by a passion for living out the Great Commission will result in seeing more opportunities to introduce people to Jesus Christ.
One of the most significant mission fields in the life of students is their school campus. Students will spend approximately 180 days and 1,000 hours a year in school. They develop close friendships and experience rapid intellectual, emotional, and social growth. They establish an identity primarily influenced by the world around them at school.
For this very reason, students are uniquely positioned to become a strategic force in this unreached mission field by giving the gift of the Gospel to their classmates and peers.
Closed Doors
Over the last few decades, doors to hand out the Gospel in public schools have closed at an alarming rate. School security measures, actions from anti-religious organizations, issues raised by non-Christian parents, and other factors have increasingly limited accessibility on campus and even in areas surrounding the campus. Local churches and ministries have worked hard to influence students’ lives with the Gospel and give them the needed resources and tools to share their faith with their friends. Likewise, The Gideons International continues to seek innovative ways to get the precious gift of the Gospel into the hands and hearts of today’s youth.
God’s Open Door
In 2007, the Association began to seek God for potential solutions. What if there was a ministry serving side by side with local churches to mobilize their students to reach their peers with the gift of the Gospel?
By the fall of 2009, The Life Book was born—a unique strategy to help churches mobilize their students as missionaries. During the first test run in late 2009, students gave out 20,000 Life Books to their classmates. Lessons were learned, systems were streamlined, and by early 2010, thelifebook.com website was open for churches across the country to request Life Books.
With every Life Book that hits the hands of a student, God’s promise in Isaiah 55:11 holds true. Student missionaries get to see the power of God at work as He uses His Word to accomplish His purpose.
“We are excited to engage our students in evangelism through these Life Books. I was informed our county does not allow Gideons into our schools, and I felt inclined to mobilize our students for Christ!”
—Melissa H., Volunteer Youth Leader, Alabama
God’s Hand at work
During the first year after launching, word quickly spread. God was moving powerfully in the hearts of more pastors and youth leaders who wanted their students to be involved in this simple approach to sharing their faith. Serving churches was at the heart of The Life Book strategy. Rather than asking churches to join our mission, the focus was on helping churches accomplish their mission by using The Life Book. The results were extraordinary as God created a national movement with yearly distribution numbers quickly reaching into the millions.
Since the mission began, more than 3 million student missionaries have been involved in distributing over 41 million Life Books. Never before in the history of the United States has there been a more expansive movement among students to give the gift of the Gospel to their peers.
According to pastors and youth leaders, the impact on the students giving the Gospel has been transformative. Because students are simply asked to “give the gift of the Gospel,” even the shyest students have the opportunity to dip their toes in the waters of witnessing. For many students over the last decade, handing out The Life Book has been their first experience in sharing the Gospel.
“It was exciting to see our young people come back the next week and want more Life Books to hand out.”
—Rev. Ron Carter, Pastor, Nevada
Praying for Transformation
By God’s grace, approximately 5 million Life Books are distributed through churches and their students every year. One of the most impactful events for The Life Book is See You at the Pole. Held annually in September, churches request over 2 million Life Books every year for their students to hand out around the event.
In 2017, a new Life Book was developed using the Gospel of Mark. When a limited run of 1 million copies was offered to churches in January of 2018, all 1 million were requested within a week. God continues to be at work, compelling churches and youth leaders to mobilize their students.
“The book saved me at the hardest time in my life. I was failing and skipping school, drinking, and doing drugs. I had almost died and a friend of mine gave me the book, and it changed my life.”
–Jennifer D., Student, New York
As God’s Word moves from one student to another, we’re praying for revival and awakening in this generation. May God work powerfully through His Word, just as He promised. As God raises up student missionaries with the courage to give the gift of the Gospel, we’re praying that He will empower and anoint them to lead a new generation of God-glorifying, Christ-honoring, Spirit-led saints.
Please join us in prayer as the battle rages for the souls of future generations.
David Doiel was raised in a non-Christian family with conflicting belief systems. His father was an atheist, and his mother was a Buddhist. His parents met and married in Vietnam, and the family moved to the United States in 1975 when David was about four years old. His father taught him that when you die, you become food for worms and nothing more. Meanwhile, once a year, his mother would offer incense and bowls of fruit to her ancestors.
In the midst of this upbringing, his great aunt took him to her Christian church each Sunday. “During those Sundays, I remember learning about the love of God and seeing the loving actions displayed by the members of that church,” recalls David. However, he also remembers praying for God to help his parents stop fighting over money and his father’s drinking. When the fighting didn’t stop, he was convinced that God couldn’t answer his prayers. David stopped believing in God and stopped going to church. By the time he reached his teenage years, he identified as an atheist with no regard for God or anything spiritual.
Seeking Answers
When David graduated from high school, he decided he would study business and go after what made sense—money. After one semester, though, he realized the emptiness of that pursuit. The dollar was not the answer. After all, he had heard of countless rock stars who committed suicide, despite “having it all.”
David started to wonder who, if anyone, had the right answers in his life. Desperate for truth, he started studying religion, psychology, philosophy, and world history. “I wanted to learn anything I could that would help me find the true meaning of life,” says David. Through his studies, he finally determined there had to be something more out there. Living in the Midwest, he was surrounded by the beauty of nature, and seeing the night sky over the Great Lakes helped affirm his conclusion that there had to be a prime mover, or first cause, for this world. Therefore, he began identifying as an agnostic. He believed a creator-god existed, but we could never know or understand him. As he continued his education, he tried to fill the emptiness he felt in his life with anything he could, including sports, money, and relationships. Nothing worked—these things were not the answer.
“I wanted to learn anything I could that would help me find the true meaning of life.”
Being a Good Person
Eventually, David sensed a strong desire to help those who were hurting, so he began studying social work. In his studies, he saw the ugly reality of child abuse and personal brokenness. Further, he was surrounded by news footage and charity campaigns that fought to bring awareness to world hunger and the countless children who were going without food. How could a God that was supposed to be “good” let innocent children die of starvation or face abuse? If He was all-powerful and loving, why didn’t He provide for them? “In my mind, the only answer was that God wasn’t powerful or loving,” says David.
Christian ministries would often come to Northern Illinois University to provide literature and help answer questions. They provided explanations about the role of man’s freewill and the consequences of sin and a fallen world. While these answers satisfied David on an intellectual level, he couldn’t overcome his anger toward a God who didn’t stop the evils of this world. Besides, he was convinced that he could live a good life without God. He could get a career in social work and counseling and fix the things God allowed to be broken.
David paid his own way through school, made good grades, and had compassion for people. “In my own eyes, I was a good person and did not need God,” says David. His self-sufficient life apart from God began to grow tiresome and fruitless. No matter how hard he tried to be a “good” person, he still made bad choices and fell short of doing things the right way. All of his striving could never satisfy the ever-present ache within his soul.
Finding Rest
His searching had proved hopeless. Then, during David’s senior year, someone gave him a Testament from The Gideons International. Still desperate for answers, he kept the Scripture next to his bed and continually read the pages of his new gift. On January 3, 1993, he read the words of Matthew 11:28 (ESV), “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” These words changed his life forever. “I decided to leave behind my old way of thinking, and I repented of my past sins. I surrendered my life to the Lord Jesus Christ,” David joyfully remembers.
After that night, he began praying for three things he felt would help him walk faithfully in his newly-changed life. He prayed for a job opportunity after graduation, new Christian friends, and help finding a good local church. Within the first week of graduation, God blessed him with a job as a psychiatric technician. In God’s providence, the first co-worker he met was a believer. His friendship with his new co-worker eventually led to his baptism and church membership at Bethel Baptist Church in Schaumburg, Illinois. God had proved His faithfulness.
“I decided to leave behind my old way of thinking, and I repented of my past sins. I surrendered my life to the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Pastor David Doiel
Soon after, David began pursuing a graduate degree to become a marriage and family therapist. What he was learning in his classes, though, didn’t match up with what he was learning in the Bible. Alcoholics can walk the path to sobriety through behavior modification, and couples can work toward marriage restoration by improving communication. However, those answers will never ultimately suffice. Without Christ, any worldly cure would be no more helpful than putting a bandage over cancer. It may temporarily cover the illness, but it will never heal the heart of the problem. The cure to the human condition of sin and emptiness can only be found through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Therefore, when he felt the Lord call him into full-time ministry, he gladly surrendered. David became a pastor in 1999 and has since been blessed to impact many lives with the same Gospel that changed his life.
Building Better Leaders is a three-part series of articles from Dr. Andrew Johnston, in which he shares strategic principles of effective leadership based on Biblical principles. In this second article, Dr. Johnston describes the importance of calling people to greater commitment.
I was recently flipping channels and marveling at the barrage of infomercials on late-night television. I learned about stain removal, slicing things, and the wonders of nonstick cooking. I also learned that the men and women pitching these products are amazingly persuasive. I found myself thinking, “You know, he’s right… I probably do need a special gizmo to pull weeds the correct way,” and, “She’s got a point… I would be a lot happier if my kitchen knives could saw a brick in half.” The items they were selling were intriguing, but it was not the actual products that drew me in, it was the deal. The prospect of getting an exceptional, life-changing gizmo at such a low, low price. (In fact, if I acted quickly, they told I could get a second set of the steak knives for free!)
In my experience, many leaders think of themselves as pitchmen or pitchwomen. Like salespeople, they describe exciting future states in ways that inspire action, and their vocabulary is filled with sales jargon. They sell people on their vision. They cultivate buy-in from stakeholders. They talk about ROI (returns on investment) in their development plans and performance reviews. But leaders are not merely pitchmen and pitchwomen in at least one crucial respect: They are not simply wooing their people toward a new idea or opportunity; they are trying to create genuine commitment over time, and that takes more than the prospect of a great deal. It takes a compelling purpose.
When you want to call people to greater commitment, don’t tell them why it won’t cost too much—tell them why it’s worth everything they’ve got.
Think of the difference this way—the late-night hucksters I was watching cared more about my compliance than my commitment. Compliance is about getting the right action and moving people’s hands and feet, but commitment is about getting the right convictions and moving people’s hearts. The product-pitchers were looking for action. They wanted me to grab my credit card and “call now” because quantities were limited, and operators were ready to take my call. By contrast, leaders who are looking for real engagement need to care more about commitment than compliance. They want to motivate a change in people’s underlying values and need to be wary of being satisfied with behavior when what they really want is buy-in. This means they need to be more concerned about the amount of worth than the amount of work and have the courage to tell the potentially unappealing truth about what serving worthy goals will cost.
Jesus models this tactic each time he refuses to sugar-coat the true cost of following Him. He never cuts a deal or tries to woo followers with a “bargain.” He tells the rich young ruler it will cost him everything and warns another would-be disciple that he cannot afford the time to bury his mother and father (Mark 10:21, Luke 9:59-60). Jesus is looking for real commitment, so He does not water-down the hard work of taking up their cross, denying themselves, and losing their lives (Mark 8:34-35). He elevates the worth of what they will gain by it instead—they will save their lives, be blessed, experience eternal life, enjoy God’s peace, and be worthy of Christ Himself (Matthew 10:39, Matthew 19:29, John 14:27, Matthew 10:38). He tells them the kingdom of Heaven is like a fine pearl, expensive but worth every penny because he knows that commitment is not fostered by lowering the cost as much as by elevating the value (Matthew 13:34-46).
Leaders who are looking for real engagement need to care more about commitment than compliance.
Many leaders miss this reality. Like infomercial spokespeople, they try to enlist others in their endeavors by pitching the best “deals” they can describe. They think people will move in new directions or accept new ideas best if the cost appears inconsequential. So, they try to make changes and investments sound as minimal or as manageable as possible. “There won’t be too many extra hours required.” “The project won’t last all that long.” “There will be new synergies and shortcuts that offset any increased demands.” “The change is not that big, and the transition won’t take that long.”
There is just enough truth in this to convince you it is the secret to motivating behavior and leading change. Unfortunately, if you try it, you will discover that this technique is only about behavior and that dialing down the investment can drain the buy-in of your people even as it temporarily elevates their activity.
Here’s why: It isn’t crazy to think that people might respond to a good deal, but this technique focuses on the wrong side of the equation. It tries to sweeten the deal by making the investment seem less consequential instead of by making the return seem more worthy. It entices people to do what you’ve asked, but without increasing their commitment to the purposes behind it. If they act, it is not because they’ve genuinely bought in; it is because what you’ve asked is not troubling enough to resist. The unfortunate truth is that commitment never exists without action, but action frequently exists without commitment. Sweetening the deal like this might get things moving, but it also makes the “deal” fragile and prone to failure as soon as things get uncomfortable or demanding. And, let’s face it, every important or meaningful endeavor eventually gets uncomfortable and demanding. Jesus models the way and prepares the disciples to stay the course by warning them starkly in John 16:33 (ESV), “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
Dial up the worth more than you dial down the work. Instead of lightening their load, give your people a better reason to carry the load.
Buyers’ remorse may be a small concern for the infomercial pitchman, but it is a big one for you as a leader because you are looking for more than a one-time response from your people. You cannot afford for them to burn out and leave, or worse, burn out and stay. Therefore, you need to create the kind of engagement that enables them to persist and regularly reinvest. You need them to believe in what they are doing enough to want to give generously of their time and talent. That means you probably need to be more preacher than pitchman and dial up the worth more than you dial down the work. Instead of lightening their load, give your people a better reason to carry the load.
Dr. Andrew Johnston makes a life out of helping leaders and teams discover their potential and inhabit it fully. He is a sought-after consultant, professor, and coach, and the former Director of Learning & Development for The Gideons International. Learn more at:DrAndrewJohnston.comor check out his latest book:Fired Up: Kindling & Keeping the Spark in Creative Teams
“The Word first came into my life when I was a little boy in the Republic of Cuba,” says Elio Mario Fernandez. “In a dream, God told me He was going to bring me to a nation where there was plenty of food.” As a boy, Elio remembers having to tend to his father’s peanut crop, which the Cuban government allowed him to grow inside the sugar fields. “It was a tough job for a boy my age,” he recalls.
There was no spiritual significance attached to Elio’s dream, because he had no knowledge of Jesus Christ. In fact, there were very few known Christians in Cuba at the time. Elio remembers one man specifically, who read the Book, obeyed the Book, and lived a life that was right according to the Book. Beyond this faint memory, his childhood was not centered around Christian values, much less a daily adherence to the Word of God.
Finding his place
It wasn’t until February 1956 that Elio moved to the United States. “I was about 23 years old,” he says. “On the flight to America, I looked down from the plane window and saw the very land God had shown me in a dream as a child.” The plane landed in Miami, Florida, where he immediately began working at a hotel on Miami Beach.
Sometime later, Elio decided to travel back to Cuba to visit his sick mother. When he arrived back home, the revolution led by Fidel Castro was in full force. It did not take long for his name to be discovered by security and Elio was quickly pulled aside by guards. Upon further investigation, Elio’s name was found on a list right next to his second cousin, who happened to be the ex-president of Cuba. Elio was immediately flagged as a threat to the revolution and accused of working for the Central Intelligence Agency in America. At that time in Cuba, there was only one penalty for being an international spy – death by firing squad. He was taken to the Cabana Prison in Havana to await his fate.
“When they arrested me, they paraded me by all the cells before locking me in a room all by myself. It was the room where the clothing of people who had been executed was tossed,” Elio says. “There was a small Bible there as well, and so I took some thread from one of the articles of clothing in the room and placed it as a marker inside that Bible.”
The Lord visited Elio in a dream and told him if he would read that Scripture every day, by the time he reached the page with the thread again, he would be released. For 24 days, Elio did just that while awaiting his turn for the firing squad. On the twenty-fourth day, he turned to the page where he had first placed the strands of thread.
Elio praised God and exclaimed, “Thank you Jesus, I’m getting out of here tonight!” The other prisoners thought he had finally gone crazy, since it was well known anyone who was called out of the cell block would be the victim of a gunshot heard ten minutes later.
When Elio heard his name called by a guard, he was not afraid. He was escorted through an iron gate to the prison office where many had spent their final moments before heading to execution. Instead, a soldier handed over his clothing and sent him to the exit with the understanding his release was only temporary.
For Elio to walk toward his freedom, he had to pass Fidel Castro’s infamous el paredón, which is Spanish for “the wall.” Like many prisoners before him, it was a wall meant for Elio’s execution by firing squad. Instead, Elio walked past el paredón alive, clinging to God’s promise.
Returning with a message
Nevertheless, Elio’s heart was anxious when thinking back to what the soldier had promised – only a temporary release from prison. For 50 cents, he rented a hotel for the night in Old Havana. Still overwhelmed with anxiety about his situation, Elio complained to the Lord, “Lord, you told me I was going to be free, but I live in Miami. I don’t live here, and this is only a temporary release. How am I going to get out of here? Please, tell me.”
The answer he received was simple, yet inconceivable. “God told me to return to the prison I had just been released from,” says Elio. It seemed God was leading him backwards, to the very death sentence from which he had just been delivered.
The following morning, Elio took a bus back to the prison. At the gate, two military men asked what he wanted. When Elio asked to talk to the boss, the men hit him in his chest with a rifle, “No man gets inside this place, and no man gets out of this place.”
Elio Fernandez on his porch in Sylvester, Georgia
Elio persisted. “The Lord put words into my mouth,” he says, “I can only explain that moment as Him speaking for me.” Elio pointed to the soldier and said, “Listen, the instructions that you received are only for ordinary citizens. But, my name is Elio Mario Fernandez.” He had no idea what that meant, but God had a plan. Elio was shocked to hear the soldiers quickly apologize and allow him to enter.
Elio approached the main building, where the boss was, and found it was also surrounded by soldiers. One of the men recognized Elio as the prisoner who had been released. He questioned Elio as to why he had returned, “How can you dare to speak to the boss? Even soldiers don’t dare to ask favors of that man.”
Moments later, Elio was standing in front of the man in charge of the compound. “I remember feeling sorry for him,” says Elio, “because I saw him through the eyes of the Lord, and I knew he would do anything I told him to do by the name of Jesus Christ.”
The Lord took hold of their conversation. Elio doesn’t remember much of what happened until he heard the boss direct another soldier, “Take this man to court right now and tell the judge I said to drop all the charges against this man, and let him go back to America where he lives.”
Full Circle, More Than 20 Years Later
The following day, Elio walked through the international airport in Miami, Florida, recounting the most miraculous experience of his entire life. He knew God had redeemed his life for a purpose.
Reading the Word of God back in Havana was the beginning of a new life for Elio. It transformed his life to such a level he often wakes in the middle of the night to meditate on Scripture. “The joy that comes to my life because of Scripture is so fantastic, I have to get up no matter the time of day or night and praise the living God.”
“The joy that comes to my life because of Scripture is so fantastic, I have to get up no matter the time of day or night and praise the living God.”
Pastor Steven Dresen with wife Heather and four children
Steven Dresen was not the probable candidate to be voted most likely to succeed in pastoral ministry. However, on the night of his high school graduation rehearsal, a New Testament from The Gideons found its way into his hands. What would unfold next in Steven’s life is a testimony of God’s grace and provision.
No Christian Influence
Steven was raised in Russell County, Alabama. His homelife was not one that encouraged a knowledge of God, and Steven doesn’t remember attending church as a child. As a high school student, the temptations of drugs and alcohol absorbed his young life.
As Steven prepared for graduation, he felt a pull to enlist in the Navy. Steven received a New Testament from a Gideon on the night of graduation rehearsal—he didn’t desire the gift but accepted it anyway, having no idea the impact it would make in his life down the road.
A Sinner in Need of a Savior
Steven got off drugs, packed his bags, and headed off to boot camp at the Naval Station Great Lakes in Illinois. While adjusting to his new life, Steven decided to read the New Testament given to him. He came across Psalm 32:1 (ESV), “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.” The words of Scripture penetrated Steven’s heart—he was a sinner in desperate need of a Savior. There in the late night of boot camp, Steven accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior.
“Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.”—Psalm 32:1 (ESV)
Steven left the Navy after receiving an honorable discharge for medical reasons. The Lord led Steven to Oswichee Baptist Church in Fort Mitchell, Alabama, where he publicly professed his faith in Christ through baptism. Denny Helton, the pastor, became like a spiritual father to Steven and took the time to invest in and mentor him over the years.
All In
Through this discipleship relationship, Steven felt a call to serve in pastoral ministry. He knew he needed to be prepared to live out this calling, so he left for Mount Vernon, Georgia, to attend Brewton-Parker College as a Christian Studies major. It was there Steven became active in the Baptist Collegiate Ministries and experienced valuable growth opportunities by serving on mission trips.
After graduating from college, Steven felt God’s call to continue formal training and completed a Master’s degree. While in seminary, Steven met Heather, whom he married in April 2011. Soon after, Steven sensed the Lord opening a door for him to begin serving full-time in ministry. A year later, he became an associate pastor and then went through the ordination process in 2013.
Hearts and Lives Still Changed
On the heels of seven years of pastoral ministry, Steven sees the biggest challenge in ministry today as general apathy to spiritual realities both inside and outside the church. “Many profess faith in Christ and church membership when there is no real sign of pursuing Christ—some haven’t darkened the doors of a church in years,” says Steven.
Steven stays encouraged by seeing the Spirit of God move in the hearts and lives of people God has placed in his congregation. One instance he remembers vividly:
Last year, the husband of a church member who didn’t know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior had been experiencing several health problems. He began the year being diagnosed with congestive heart failure. Months later, he fell and broke his femur. All this time, I had been making every effort to share the Gospel with him, but he was disinterested. Soon after, the man fought a severe infection and nearly died. After he was taken off sedation and ventilation, praise the Lord, I was able to share the Gospel again. As a result, he received Jesus Christ in the intensive care unit. Recently, he passed away. To God be the glory, I was able to provide comfort to the family by pointing to the dramatic transformation God worked in the man’s life between his salvation and death.
“Many profess faith in Christ and church membership when there is no real sign of pursuing Christ—some haven’t darkened the doors of a church in years.”
To Win others to the Lord Jesus Christ
Driven by a love for the Word of God, Steven and his wife Heather continue in their passion for reaching people for Christ. Steven holds a special place in his heart for partnering with The Gideons International to best love his community as Christ taught.
Since the night he opened a copy of God’s Word given by The Gideons, Steven has dedicated his life to sharing the Gospel with others. A once unlikely candidate for pastoral ministry, he can now easily relate to the passion of Gideons—to win others to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Pastor David Doiel
Elio Fernandez on his porch in Sylvester, Georgia
Pastor Steven Dresen with wife Heather and four children