For the past two decades, the principles of individual purpose have been central to my studies, teachings, and training. The training venue has been a seminar called Strategic Life Alignment (SLA). The foundation of this teaching is the premise that the God of the Bible, as revealed through Jesus Christ, creates each person with intent and purpose. It is therefore the responsibility of each person to seek to discover God's purpose for his or her life.

People who have attended the SLA Seminars have generally responded very positively. Many have sought to apply the principles to discover their life purpose but the vast majority struggle to press through the obstacles of the discovery process. There are, however, a few people who do press through. One such person contacted me recently to share how SLA had helped him move forward in his discovery process.¹ This particular person (Ron) recalled how the teaching had moved him during the seminar. Deep in his heart, he knew that God had called him to write. Here is what he communicated to me:

Part of what you taught [in the SLA seminar] resonated with me regarding writing and I [knew that I] had a work that I needed to finish.²

In pursuing his calling, Ron experienced resistance common to anyone seeking to find and fulfill his or her life purpose. To move forward, Ron had to persevere. When he began to write, he recalled a quote by John Madden who said:

I'm the luckiest guy in the world. I never really had a job. I was a football player, then a football coach, then a football broadcaster. It's been my life. Pro football has been my life since 1967. I've enjoyed every part of it. Never once did it ever feel like work.³

Indeed, when one finds God's purpose for one’s life, notwithstanding the resistance, the yoke is easy and the burden is light. There is always challenge with any work assignment. One must persevere and, in the end, the work will be enjoyable. As with becoming a football champion, writing a book requires long hours of hard work. In football, the challenge is training camp and the weekly grind of a long season. In writing a book, the challenge is hours of writing, editing, and rewriting. But through it all, the joy of doing what God created Ron to do kept him on course.

Generally, book writers don’t get paid to write, they get paid when people buy their books. But there is no guarantee that anyone will buy their books. Before modern modes of entertainment such as TV and the Internet, books were valued for leisure time activity. With the availability of modern entertainment, research has discovered that nearly 25 percent of the adult population of the USA did not read even one book in 2012.⁴ Furthermore, over the twenty-year period from 1992 to 2012, the percentage of the adult population who read a book for pleasure during a year declined from 61 percent to 55 percent.⁵

For writers of books who wish to monetize their labor, this trend is troubling. While writing his first book, Ron experienced fear of lack of provision. He said:

I had to get over the fear of lack of money or provision. I distinctly remember you [Gerald] mentioning this to the class. So I asked God to shift me away from consulting as the priority endeavor and into writing as a calling endeavor. It wasn't as if I had a stack of dough that went with that prayer; I simply felt that I needed to launch out into the journey.⁶  

Ron pressed in to the Lord in faith. He prayed correctly for alignment with God's call on his life, trusting in God's promise that if he sought alignment with God's will and executed according to God’s ways, there would be provision. Indeed, this is the promise Jesus gave in texts such as Matthew 6:33:

But seek first the kingdom of God [the will of God] and his righteousness [the ways of God], and all these things [the basic needs of life] will be added to you. (ESV)

The Lord did not fail; Ron had provision to write and publish his first book. It is available now. The title is The Flight Leader.

Ron provided the following insight into his motive for writing the book:

It is written especially for those who do not yet know the Lord, that we would more deeply consider our need for God. The book is Holocaust-themed, and I am looking to create a greater, and needed, awareness of this dark blot on our human history, and to convey our Lord's reconciliation message. 

But it is also, and perhaps in some cases more so, late-war/post-war Germany-themed, a story that has not been conveyed nearly enough, of the suffering of these people.⁷ 

He also provided the following synopsis of the book:

In late 1943, Germany was losing the war, the Wehrmacht was readying secret weapons, plans were being hatched to overthrow Hitler, and disturbing rumors grew about Nazi atrocities against prisoners and civilians. Luftwaffe Corporal Erich Neuenhoff is suddenly thrust into this world. How would a common soldier react upon learning of the Holocaust?

It is a compelling story of the dangerous and untried Messerschmitt ME-163 rocket fighter, interspersed with intrigue, espionage, hopes of love, and incomprehensible rumors.   

And it is a work of fiction. However, the aircraft, weaponry, and combat accounts are true, based on individual narratives and official records. Many of the combatants are real and noted by their actual names.

Of the fictional characters, their encounters were undoubtedly experienced by countless men and women . . . who are real.⁸

In addition to being excited when anyone presses in to the call of God on their life, I am also an avid reader of World War II history and greatly look forward to reading Ron’s book.

Ron gave me the following prayer request:

. . . pray that [in] this effort to fulfill God's intended purpose that I get congruent with him as I go. Like you said in the SLA seminar, finding and fulfilling your purpose is a marathon. I need to be in shape for it. I know that he is positioning me a bit out into the world [a little to the left of folks being saved], toward those who would consider their need for God. It is for these primarily that the book is intended, and for those of us who would see it as a tool for [guerilla] evangelism.⁹

Ron remains humble in his labor, recognizing that he needs others to help him find and fulfill his purpose. He also graciously thanked me and my SLA associates who labor to share the message of individual life purpose.

He concluded his communication with the following:

I thought that you would be pleased to know of a piece of fruit that hangs from a tree whose planting you had something to do with. I thought that you would want to know about this, as part of an outcome of your ministry.¹⁰

Indeed, I am blessed to know something of the fruit that God is producing through the SLA training, and I am delighted to know that this first book is part of a planned trilogy (the second book comes out in November).

Thank you, Ron, for sharing your journey. May you stay on course and run your race well to the very end. Your story certainly blessed me and I pray that it will inspire many.

______________________________  
1. Private communication.
2. Ibid.
3. http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/j/johnmadden597301.html.
4. http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/01/the-decline-of-the-american-book-lover/283222/.
5. Ibid.
6. Private communication.
7. Ibid.
8. Ibid.
9. Ibid.
10. Ibid.

Biblical Economics

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