I have a good friend who is a very accomplished CEO. He became the head of a company with less than $100 million in revenue; he took it public and grew it to nearly $300 million, and then sold it and remained as CEO and subsequently grew it to over a billion dollars in revenue with a hefty profit.
His specialty is operations and I’m convinced that he can take most any existing company with a good product and in short order have it running smoothly, efficiently, and profitably with the greatest of ease.
He’s not however an entrepreneur, and does not describe himself as a visionary. We worked together on a project for a few years and it was a great combination. I’d come up with the ideas and he’d implement them and we prospered greatly.
He came to Honey Lake right after I’d bought it and I drove my old pickup truck up to the top of a red clay hill dodging pines trees and stumps as we drove through the woods. Finally I stopped and we got out and I told him that a grandiose Gathering Hall would sit right where we were standing and then I pointed down below and started describing how Honey Lake Resort and Spa would take shape and eventually look.
My buddy returned a couple of years later and our magnificent Gathering Hall was indeed sitting atop that hill where we’d had our conversation. Down below stood the various buildings gleaming white in the sun, and as we stood gazing at the beauty of it all, as luck would have it a bald eagle come soaring right over our heads and headed towards the blue ponds connected by a little river down below.
My friend looked at me and said, “Bob I have to admit when you drove me out here before, all I saw was red mud and pine trees. I had no idea what you were talking about”. He shook his head and said that I always could “see around the corner” and then he mentioned that he wished he had that gift.
I had a similar experience with some employees who came to work on the plantation right after I bought it. They would see me drive my truck up on that hill most every day and there I would sit for an hour staring down below. One of them told me recently that now he knew what I was looking at while I was sitting up there.
The dictionary defines a visionary as: “a person with original ideas about what the future will or could be like”. I suppose I fit that definition; I certainly love to dream and dream big. I believe that God desires that of me. Unlike so many of my friends I’m never intimidated by the scope or magnitude of a project either. That is because of my tremendous faith in God. We serve a mighty God! There are no limits when God is involved and at this point in my life He must be involved in whatever I’m doing, or I won’t be involved; so who am I to question whether or not I’m capable of carrying out His orders. I know He will bless the work done in his name.
Recently a very brilliant person joined our Worldwide Ministry team. He was a top executive and managing partner in one of the world’s largest consulting firms for many years, and now he’s using his wealth of expertise and experience to take my initial vision for the ministry of using real people who faced real problems and found real solutions in Jesus Christ in order to provide hope to those who have none, (or are wavering), all over the world.
This man is designing an interactive forum and website for the ministry that is at a level that is amazing and mind boggling. I met with him and his wife, who is helping with the project, and I was astounded at the progress that he’d made. I was even more thrilled at the intricate design of the system.
My visionary gift enables me to look past the present, and far beyond the many obstacles that we will face in getting it up and running. Yes I’m looking into the future where our site is fully implemented and folks all over the world are accessing it and finding the answers they need in their own language. I see them making their decisions to follow Christ. And I see the system automatically linking them to disciples who will guide them into a solid relationship with Jesus Christ that will equip them for life.
Shazam!
I sent the initial design and the pro forma, (costs), of developing the system to a buddy of mine and he saw how much it would cost to develop such a system.
I believe his response went something like this:
Gulp!
LOL – Yes it will be expensive. It is a big idea and an expensive one, but we serve a mighty God and a rich God! Do you doubt that God could fund a project? This is a project that will provide hope to the children that He loved so much that He sent His own Son to die a horrible death on a cross in order that we might be saved?
Of course you don’t.
Billions of folks around the world need to hear His message of hope and His Bible predicts that the end will not come until every last one of them has done so. Yes there will be problems that have to be solved, but we’ll solve them; even those BIG problems. My friend’s initial design is the first step in making the dream come true.
Nothing is too difficult for God. We should all keep that at the top of our minds.
I hope you will climb aboard our “train” and/or at least pray for us as we tackle this tremendous project. Either way as sure as that orange ball called the sun comes up in the morning you’ll see our Worldwide Ministry reaching people around the world for Christ.
Our project might be “red mud and pine trees” now, but hold onto your seats because God’s train is getting ready to roar though Honey Lake and take us all on a fun ride that will go all over the world!
Ephesians 1:19
And so (that you can know and understand) what is the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His power in and for us who believe, as demonstrated in the working of His mighty strength
September 11, 2013 – Click here to listen