Jerry Twombly - Funding Your God Given Vision Through Relational Development

Sustainable Ministry

I met Victor Titarchuk in Dallas in 2004.  He was a participant in a seminar I was teaching and sensed immediately that this was a guy God was really going to use.  His passion for Christ was contagious, his entrepreneurial spirit was alive and well, and his commitment to be the best he could be was reflected in the urgent pursuit he gave to getting the best education possible to prepare himself for the work to which he had been called.

Victor graduated from Criswell Bible College, Dallas Theological Seminary, and got his PhD from the University of North Texas.   All during this time he worked hard, was raising his young family, and laser focused on returning to his Ukraine homeland to serve God.  

Victor is gifted; he has a strong theological foundation, got a graduate degree in educational administration, and honed his natural technological skills by helping and assisting others.  Including me!   In 2009 he left his comfortable lifestyle in Dallas to return to Kiev, the city where he was born and raised,

It was wonderful to spend an entire day with Victor.  He gave us an incredible tour of the city, sharing it's long history and the times of turmoil it has experienced over centuries.   We walked through parks, toured a monastary, saw historic sites, and wandered through this most beautiful city.   I got an update on Servant Tek, the work Victor began in Kiev.   This business was birthed to assist Christian ministries throughout eastern Europe and around the world to leverage technology for maximum kingdom impact.  Today there are eight full-time employees and Servant Tec is providing meaningful services on four continents.   Better yet it sustains itself financially and gives back to support ministries.

One of the key factors that will define philanthropy in the 21st century is the ability of organizations to sustain themselves.   This is a ministry that has been an example to thousands.   Here's a team of committed and gifted workers using their skills to help others, offering value, generating product, providing invaluable services, and . . . making money so they can give even more in their pursuit to serve others.  Pretty good, don't you think?   You can learn more about Servant Tek by checking their website: servantek.net.

This evening we enjoyed dinner in the apartment of Victor, Alla, and their three wonderful children.  Really outstanding people making a big difference back home in Kiev.

The European Leadership Forum

Over a decade ago I was introduced to Dr. Greg Pritchard.   Greg was in the midst of career transition. He was instrumental in establishing an organization called The Communications Institute.  We were introduced through a mutual friend and that has resulted in a very treasured friendship.

Greg was instrumental in creating an alliance with L'Abri Christian Fellowship, the European Association of Evangelicals, and the United Kingdom campus ministry UCCF.  The purpose was to create an apologetics institute wherein Christian leaders throughout the world could come for fellowship, learning, and the tools they would need to represent Christ in their world.   The inaugural "forum" occurred in Sopron, Hungary in 2001.

I have had the joy of serving each year since as an instructor in this program.   The contacts I have made there have resulted in opportunities to minister in countries throughout Europe including Ireland, the Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the Ukraine.   It's also been my joy to participate in the growth of the forum as it expands now to other locations throughout Europe and eventually, I'm sure, the world.

I'm on my way this morning to the Ukraine for the launch of the Eastern European Leadership Forum this week and in January will be a part of the first faculty to speak at the Czech Leadership Forum.   What an incredible joy to be able to minister to some of Europe's most significant Christian leaders, individuals who have sacrificed more than we can imagine to share the redemptive message of Jesus to their worlds. 

Living in a World of Change

Change is exasperating.   It disrupts routines, puts in question the legitimacy of long held beliefs that just might have been wrong, and forces me to think when I might prefer coasting rather than living out on the edge. 

I love my routines.   I enjoy getting up early in the morning.   I actually find it relaxing to run a few miles before breakfast.   I am deeply satisfied to sit down with a steaming cup of coffee in the quietness of my home before anyone else is up.   For over 40 years I have shared a common message and have traveled the world sharing my underlying belief that what we do in life is more fulfilling, satisfying, and productive when we do it in relationship with others.

Given all of that, I’m finding myself at a time in my life when I might be cruising, in the midst of one of the most disruptive times in history.   It seems everything is up for grabs, that the things we have always done are being looked at differently.  Part of me finds that threatening and another part of me welcomes the challenge.

My friend Dallas Willard wrote one of the most provocative books I have ever read. And despite the fact that it has been around for years, I continue to re-read The Divine Conspiracy because it challenges me to want more of God in my life and work.

Read this . . .

“Suppose our failures occur, not in spite of what we are doing, but precisely because of it.

Suppose, to illustrate, that the educators who guide our school systems seriously considered the possibility that the low attainments of American school children are not in spite of what is done with them in school, but largely because of what they are taught and how they are taught. Or suppose that our national legislature began to think that our failure to come to grips with the national debt or violence in the streets is not in spite of what the legislature does, but because of it.”

He goes on to say  . . .

“It may be hard to take such a suggestion seriously, but do so might well provide a basis for genuine solutions to problems that now seem unsolvable.”

The  “new economy” accompanied by generational transition has created a disruptive atmosphere.  Add to that tax reform, inflation, unemployment, unmanageable national debt, and increased competition for the charitable dollar.   It sometimes seems overwhelming.

But maybe, just maybe, this is an hour to examine more thoroughly those paradigms that once served us well that may not be working any more.   Maybe God is tired of us looking to politicians for the answers to our national dilemma and is inviting us to look to Him .   Maybe problems have been placed on the front door of The Church and this is our hour.   Maybe we need to stop long enough to ask if what we are doing now is what we should be doing.

I’m grateful that there are many things that never change.   God is the same, His mercy and grace are still abundant, His power in beyond comprehension, He has spoken, and may just want to speak to us now.   Are we listening?

To Russia with Love

When I was in the third grade it was somewhat common to have air raid drills in elementary school.   A buzzer would go off and we were immediately to dive under our desks to protect us from a mock nuclear explosion.  It all seems a bit amusing now.   My guess is that our meager desks would have been somewhat inadequate in dealing with the fallout of an atomic bomb! 

This morning as I prayed at the beginning of my class in Moscow, that memory raced through my mind.  Here I was praying for my brothers and sisters in Russia, dear ones with whom I had opportunity to pour a part of my life into this week, and I could have hardly imagined nearly 60 years earlier I feared them as enemies.  Later in the day we prayed for our respective countries.   And perhaps somewhat like Nehemiah of old, we prayed that God would forgive our countries for those things we have done and bring revival to us.   It was a most solemn and blessed moment.

My day is about to end but the lovely memories of dear friends will long linger in my heart.   Here is a picture of the class of Christian leaders to whom I ministered.

 

 

How Philanthropy Will Change

Changes are already occurring in the giving patterns of donors.   I predict these changes will continue and that more money will be raised in the next twenty years than ever before in history.

For the last 100 years philanthropy has been driven by the 80/20 rule.   This rule is based on a principle observed by the Italian economist, Vilfredo Pareto in 1906.   Pareto discovered that 80% of the land in Italy was owned by 20% of the population and later observed that 20% of the pea pods in his garden produced 80% of his harvest.  Pareto's theorem later became a "rule of thumb" in business (80% of sales come from 20% of clients) and in philanthropy where it was "discovered"  that 80% of  annual income comes from 20% of those who donate. 

But I predict that things will change in the 21st century.  And while it won't be a total reversal, more and more money is going to come from the 80% than ever before in history.    Larger donors will still be important to our ongoing developmental health but a clear shift will occur as more and more new donors will take part in supporting a broader range of organizations making a difference by making smaller gifts more often.

People now operate without checkbooks and carry little cash with them.  Text giving is going to increase dramatically in the years to come.  More movements like the one I am championing right now to engage 10 million people in America who are willing to declare that they are "for life" to become a part of a new movement who will be willing to give $5/week to support the building of an infrastructure to build a culture for life in America.   Think about it.   10 million giving $5/week for 52 weeks would generate $2.6 billion. 

Imagine what we could do if we could mobilize the masses, each making a text contribution that could be conveniently added to their phone bill.   $2.6 billion being poured into supporting life, building clinics and providing support and help in hundreds of ways.  Perhaps we could eliminate abortion in America, the scourge that has claimed over 52 million lives since Roe vs. Wade.  

This is only the beginning.   My new book, The Power of the Masses, will demonstrate how we can assert ourselves in changing the face of a country in political gridlock.   We can make a difference.  In fact, we will make a difference and the Kingdom of God will be richer for it. 

And by the way, if you want to be one of 10 million who will make a difference in building this culture of life in America, simply text IFL to 32020.

 

 

Two More Giants

In 1963 I was a 19 year old freshman at Miami Bible College.   Down the road from the college was New Testament Baptist Church, a mega church at the time pastored by a young pastor named Al Janney.

Al Janney essentially set the standard for Christian education in Florida.  The school associated with his growing congregation was one of the largest and most prestigious in the state.  As a result of what God was doing there, other schools were birthed and the Florida Association of Christian Schools (FACS) was established.

I had the joy of speaking at theie annual school convention this week in Orlando, FL.   In addition to Dr. Janney, on the right, and Dr. Jerry Williamson (another long-time friend and a leader in the early years of FACS and its current acting president), nearly 1,500 gathered to plan, prepare, and learn. Here's an association with a vision to set a new standard for value-based Christian education in Florida.  It's good to see that Caleb's still search for hills to conquer!

All Rise!

When Edgar and Gladys Guitz walk into a room, I stand up.

This special couple means the world to me.   They are missionaries in Guatemala in the dump.  Yes, you read it correctly.  Their ministry for over 20 years has been working with those who live in the dump of one of their nation's largest cities.  There "residents" of the dump scavenge for value in order to eek out a living. 

But just above the squalor and smells of decaying garbage you'll find The Potter's House.  There you'll find Edgar and Gladys providing a wide range of resources from food and educational opportunity to church services, Bible studies, and health care.   They have harvested "diamonds" out of dump and have cultivated hope among the hopeless.   They are my heros.  The best of the best, from my standpoint, who teach me by their lives love, sacrifice, commitment, and faithfulness what it means to walk with God.   I am humbled to know them.

And like most dynamic leaders, they have a vision.   To bring their treasures to a point of independence, to go to other dumps and repeat the process.  Over and over again!

There are some people I truly feel unworthy to walk beside to say nothing to sit down in their presence.  Won't you all rise with me and salute some of the giants of the faith!

The Crisis in Parochial Education

In a disturbing editorial in the Los Angeles Times, former LA mayor Richard Riordan shares details of the crisis existing among Catholic parochial schools in America.  He writes:

"Catholic education in the United States is in dire straits.  A report from Loyola Marymount University in June found that Catholic schools continue to close even though they graduate 98% of their high school students and send almost all of them onto college. In the early 1960's, the United States had over 13,000 Catholic schools with 5.5 million students. today there are 6,900 schools with two million students. In the Los Angeles area, enrollment has fallen by 20% over the past 10 years, to 80,000 students from 100,000.  This trend is due not to lack of demand, but to the inability of parents to pay tuition."

The article is reflective of what is also happening among independent Christian schools throughout the U.S.  The existing private educational operational paradigm has been unable to adapt to the nuances of the "new economy" and will claim still more institutions.  Radical change will be required if Christian school education is going to remain viable in the 21st century.