Growth Catalyst, Leadership Development and Team Builder
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What happens when you do what you love and not what you are made to do?
It’s a simple but life directing question. When you don’t know what you are made to do – your deepest talent, your unique source of power and purpose, then you run free and unfocused being drawn to the many things that have potential, have promise and fuel your passions.
Sounds good right? While this approach looks exciting and makes for great conversation about what you love to do, what excites you and what gets you fired up, you’re not on track to your greatest possible place – the place you were made to reach – not yet at least.
Is this all fairy dust and wishful thinking – perhaps it’s some new age mysticism? No not at all. It’s just that no one talks about what is behind the passion.
Why?
Well, If you are capable of many things, which I suspect you are, and you have several talents and passions, which I suspect you do, then you are at risk. A very big risk of filling your life with passions that don’t stick during tough times, activities that are so exciting today but quickly turn into work when you get more and more of it, and opportunities that turn into obligations with people looking at you saying “I thought this is what you loved to do”?
And this is the passion trap. Getting more and more of what you “love” and in turn feeling more and more stressed or overwhelmed. You may even be making money, spending lots of time, even enjoying the moments being had.
But at some point, you need to grow up (in a good way) and realize that passion is a young man’s game and a young woman’s play thing and it’s a distraction from your greatest work.
The truth is, the talent and passion and the confluence of all that you are capable of can be united and directed like a laser beam. It’s just up to you to see how it’s tied together. Passion, skills, and talents are all the wonderful side dishes to the biggest feast of your life – but it’s not the primary ingredient, it’s not the prized main course. Purpose is.
I can assure you, all those exciting things, all your skills and talents can be multiplied and amplified once you know your purpose – the thing you were built to do. Not just your passion where you source energy, but your purpose where you source fortitude and endurance of action in good and bad times alike.
Once you know what you are made to do, you can infuse all your passions and talents into that purpose. The result is a powerful place of comfort and peace. This means you know why you are doing what excites you – not because the things by themselves are so exciting, but because the purpose being served is so dang important.
Do you know what’s so important, what’s actually driving your passion? Or are you so consumed by your passion that it easily burns out and you lie in wait for the next exciting thing to come along?
A string of scriptures or a revelation from God or a rhema word may be all it takes to spark a pastors message for an entire sermon. What happens when you are sparked with an anointed message?
A fellow disciple said God put on his heart a call to author a book that answers a few simple but important questions, one of which is “why did Jesus have to die?” This lead to a discussion about the laws of the Old Testament and how Jesus separated us from the law and forgave our sins.
Neither one of us are pastors of a church, but for certain we are disciples of Christ. He said he looked in Hebrews 7 and received this:
– To become the new high priest (same responsibility but from new tribe, new rules)
– No longer has to offer daily sacrifice, offered once and for all
– No longer need multiple priests, He lives forever
Surprisingly, or rather unsurprisingly when you know how God works, only moments before I got this message I had been listening to televangelist who said these two scriptures:
1 Corinthians 15:56
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
Romans 6:14
For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.
Wow, doesn’t that sound like an important reason for Jesus to die for us, to be set apart from “the law”? As I thought about this and what to respond with, the following scriptures seem to fill in more pieces of that message.
Romans 8:2
because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.
Romans 7:4
So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God
Romans 6:18
You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
Galatians 6:2
Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:45
So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit.
Perhaps this string of scriptures doesn’t need a sermon to understand and receive it’s message. Isn’t it nice to know that Jesus died to separate us from sin?
Max Lucado puts this in perspective in his book When God Whispers Your Name when he writes:
“Sacrilege is to feel guilt for sins forgiven”
“Draw Closer to Change”, the pastor said.
“In Genesis, we learn right away that God says we have to get closer to something if we want it to change.”
Last night, A pastor from Church on the Rock in Beaumont Texas shared this message with us. He quoted Genesis ch1:1-3 as our first teaching on drawing close in order to create change.
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
He said this message of “Closer to Change” was revealed to him during his call to lead a mission overseas. He said that we can not expect change in our lives or the world around us if we are not willing to draw closer to it. This includes our relationships, marriages, children and coworkers. “Time away” is not the answer. Up close and personal is the answer.
Just like Jesus, along side his disciples, close to them daily with intention.
What can you draw closer too?
(Image from this article featured artist Berndnaut Smilde
On March 17th, 2012 I saw an image of this book, just an ordinary journal, being filled with messages of faith and love by dozens if not hundreds of people I did not know. After prayer I knew whom to give it to and on March 19th I handed it over to Lauren with blessings and intention.
The first link of the chain complete and now moving on the create more chains, more connections, and more blessings.
This is a Bold Purpose book.
Lets watch were this goes for Christ!
The following is a transcription of the first messages written in the book that explain it’s purpose and origin.
What to do!
Receive
Write and share your word
Pass it on
(Final Destination Message on Back Cover).
Hello Friend, I have good news for you! God loves you and has blessed you. He has a plan for you and it is truly awesome. The fact that you have this book now is not an accident or coincidence but intentional and I thank you now for receiving it. Within these pages is a word you need to hear, one that was divinely planned for you to receive.
Our life and walk with God has purpose and meaning and He abides in us as we abide in Him and it is through His presence in our life that we truly live and glorify and exalt Him and share His good news with others.
Friend, I encourage you to read what is here within these pages and let yourself be moved by the Holy Spirit. Connect with God and share your own words. Perhaps you’ll share your testimony or speak a blessing into a future reader or perhaps share a word of wisdom or encouragement or maybe a prophetic word or prayer or scripture that you have clarity on. Whatever it is, be intentional and with purpose and give a gift that only you can give and share this book with someone else so they too can receive and give a blessing.
I declare this book is set on a divine path and will encourage and strengthen its readers. I declare this book will bless many, create change in a person’s marriage and in someone’s ministry, and it will shine brightly with hope and love for a person in the midst of a storm of struggle and confusion. I declare this book will speak truth and love in someone’s life as they are in a time of doubt and fear. I declare this book will spread joy and peace and will comfort many while drawing people closer to God. I declare you too will transfer anointed power to these pages and into the lives of its readers and you too are blessed. Here in these pages we will see our faith united and cross territorial lines all for the glory of God and to reveal His presence and love.
I declare you are blessed and God has a special plan for you. Receive this as confirmation of His presence in your life.
This book is on a journey and I thank you for caring for it and for sharing a special message of God’s presence in your life.
Please allow your heart to be led on your message and on who you give this book to next. It is the next person, the person you give this too whom you are intentionally blessing and placing trust in and it is they whom will continue the legacy of this book until it reaches its final destination.
Right now, I thank you for your blessing and gifts to me and the other care takers of this book and for the living message developing on each new page and new encounter. I declare peace in your life, in your heart, and in your mind. I declare restoration and renewal in your life. I declare God’s love in and through you.
Reflect on the contents of this book and speak what’s on your heart. Be brief or expansive, be in keeping with other messages or reveal a new word all together, just be intentional and purposeful with your message and seek to glorify God and have His presence in your message knowing it is a blessing to others. You need not worry about how you express yourself or be anyone other than who you already are in Christ. Your message matters and serves as a blessing, no matter how or in what way it is recorded here.
Think of this book as a sort of chain letter. You too are like me, once handed over to the next caretaker I will complete my chain link and a new one will begin in them. I will no longer know the next caretaker of the book thereafter, but will forever be linked to its destiny, future readers and the blessings to be given along the way.
I believe each hand that touches this book is by divine appointment and you are anointed and blessed and truly in God’s favor and your specific message matters. He loves you and this is both a gift to receive and to give.
You, friend, are a treasure and there is no mistake, no matter who you are, where you are, and what you are – you were meant to be here now in God’s presence amongst friends and brothers in Christ. Joy and peace to you as you advance the Kingdom and glorify God in all that you do.
Be blessed. Be bold. Be on purpose for Christ.
How this book came to be.
My Neighbor Bill has recently lost Milly, his wife of nearly 50 years. Today, Saturday March 17th as I mowed his yard, I could not stop thinking about them and their blessing on my family. Milly was strong in her faith and relationship with God. Her memorial services illustrated the wonderful life of a person living in Christ, covered in grace that was intentional and overflowing with God’s love. Bill told me that Milly had a goal in her final days to save one more soul for Christ before she parted and joined our Heavenly Father. In fact, Bill said, she brought four people to Christ in her final days. Even in the end she was looking to help others and to glorify God.
Today, as I watch Bill as his thinner more weary looking self, I can only think of the life he has lived in the last 75 or more years and the blessings of a long marriage and intimate relationship with God. As he is preparing to move 100 miles away to stay with family, I feel blessed to have him as a neighbor.
While mowing Bill’s yard, I felt God speaking to me, comforting me, and telling me that we will all go through seasons and He is always with us in the good times and bad times and that He never takes from us, only blesses us. Each of our lives have purpose and meaning and Bill’s life does too and although he is in a new season, he still has blessings coming his way and more in store even if he doesn’t see it right now. God loves him.
As these things were tumbling in my head, while pushing the lawn mower, I realized that Bill and many others have a story, a legacy, in them – one touched by God. I too have one. We all have a unique and personal understanding of Christ and His presence.
As I continued to mow I had an image of this very book filled with inspiring stories, testimonies, words of encouragement and love with blessings and messages written about God’s presence by dozens if not hundreds of people I have never met. I saw notes sticking out of it and signs of being well worn by a journey that was wide and far. I saw this book providing a legacy of God’s presence amongst those He loves, folks like me and you and Bill and Milly.
At that moment, God’s love and presence was on me and I understood that He wants to bless us and provide for us in all ways without limits. He loves us and will provide according to His riches, not ours and this book was a gift to be given and received by many and He wants us to have one voice shared among many for one purpose.
I received this book three weeks ago while speaking at a conference called Blissdom in Nashville Tennessee. At this conference, I spoke about a corner stone message of my transformation – purpose – and how a life driven by passion without purpose sets us apart from our intended path – our greatest good. We should not be purposeless in our actions and we need to return to purpose in our life and business.
For me, this conference presentation was orchestrated by God’s hand and He provided the platform, message and strength for me to share His word boldly in the marketplace in order to strengthen and encourage others. Along the way, I was blessed with divine encounters, fellowship and prophetic words over my life and my family – all in the marketplace by Christians, regular people like you and me. This book is clearly a continuation of that divine plan.
At this conference I shared my revelation that it is not what we are capable of, but what we are called too. We must become on purpose in our efforts and when we do, we can align our skills and talents and passions and be an unstoppable force that attracts people and changes the marketplace.
At the time, I did not know the significance of this little book. I received it as a gift from the conference organizers – probably one of many. To most, this is just another nice journal, but God has another plan to change this from ordinary to extraordinary so you too can receive it as a living and growing gift of love.
Friend, we must move from purpose-less to purpose-full lives working in harmony with our walk with Jesus Christ and we do this by being receptive to His presence and plan for our life. This is a part of my walk with God and I hope you’ll share in it too.
In His Service,
Justin
This concludes the introduction. The final destination message is on the back cover. From here on, please share your message and pass the book on to another person. If you want to talk about this or what’s going on in your life or share your support of this book, please go to www.hero-within.com
Final Destination.
As this book is received by the last pair of hands, you’ll know you are the final custodian by either no more pages to write in or by not being certain of whom to give this too next. In either case, please send back to Justin McCullough. If you are not financially able to do so, please call for arrangements or bring to your local church and they will help this book complete its journey. Whatever the case may be, please see that this book returns so it can honor the words and lives of the many that had it before you.
Community Church
3400 MLK Drive
Orange, TX 77632
I declare abundance and prosperity in your life and family and want to thank you for completing the final chain of this book. Where ever you are, right now, may God bless you and lift you up. You, friend, are loved.
To my wife, Renae, I love you dearly and always. To my son Mason and Miles, you both are a treasure and a joy and I am so very proud of you.
The lines of leadership and management often blur in smaller organizations.
This blurring of the line, however can come at a price to employee retention, training and quality especially when you have micro-managers on staff.
The leader and manager are very different and the micro-manager is even further separated in their impact on the organization and the people within it. Before we get to micro-managers, though, let’s cover the basics of a leader and a manager just to get you jump started on the right track.
Quoting from, “Learning to Lead: A Workbook on Becoming a Leader”, pg. 9. Perseus Books / Addison Wesley, 1997):
As you can see, the leader and the manager have different approaches to the business at hand and both impact the organization in different ways. However, the micro-manager is almost always the most harmful.
The micro-manager has taken his management role to extreme limits and has put his iron fist around the way the organization moves, grows (or more likely doesn’t grow) and operates on a daily basis. This micro-manager is so committed to one way, one process, one method, one output, one way of thinking that they are no longer able to see change, maintain relevance, encourage leadership, identify opportunities or truly see weaknesses.
The micro-manager develops a narrow view of the world and begins to squeeze out talent, passion, and the desire to excel forcing people to meet a prescription of success instead of a measure of success.
The truth is that a micro-manager no longer encourages people to know “why” to do things, only “how” to do things. The micro-manager often wants obedience more than achievement and blind acceptance of regulations and protocol. Seldom does the micro-manager help an organization since these people tend to keep their team stressed over minutia and mindless adoption rather than exploring options and fostering problem solving and high-levels of ownership in the work. The micro-manager often breeds people who complain and create excuses often repeating back the policy, guideline, or protocol saying “they did it exactly as they were told too”.
If you are in an organization were the end results are criticized because of how you got there, not the actual results, or if your daily actions are so measured it has become more important to measure than to do the actual work, or if you fear leading in your workplace because you aren’t following protocol at the detriment to the company then you may very-well be trapped under the influence of a micro-manager.
If your organization has established processes and seasoned employees (not all newbies) then you don’t need a micro-manager. What you need is a balance between empowered leadership and concerned management. You need just enough slack in your line to do the work as you wish, but no so much the work falls apart. Good leadership will give you more to work on and good management will give you more slack.
Good companies will train up leaders over managers. Great companies will put micro-managers at lower levels to police critical elements without letting them rise to the top where they can choke out their staff and company by limiting all growth and potential in the people and processes.
Avoid the death of a thousand cuts by limiting the reach of the micro-manager, your bottom line will thank you for it.
Organizations I've Helped:
