Catalyst Track: Trade Up // Day Three

This track comes from Dean Niewolny’s new book, Trade Up.

In Ephesians 2:10, Paul says, “We are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Remember that verse. In it, Paul (writing from a prison, by the way) says we are born to be part of something big. But what? And how can we know?

One starting place to know is the Gospels. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John tell what moved Jesus: his “giants,” you might say, of sickness, poverty, injustice, lack of mercy, hunger and thirst, imprisonment, alienation, suffering. The Gospels also reveal that Jesus identifies personally with sufferers: “Inasmuch as you do it to the least of these—my brothers and sisters,” he said, “you do it to me” (Matt. 25:40, paraphrase). As we attach ourselves to Jesus Christ, our hearts increasingly hurt with him.

What does it take to feel good—and do good—in work? It's not more money. Money falls short, says Dean Niewolny, whose head-turning career, houses, boat, plane, and paycheck still left him restless.

So what is it?

In this 3-day track, Dean provides leaders the opportunity to evaluate how kingdom purpose is being lived out in their lives and take the next steps to make those goals a reality!

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Day 3 – Journey

 

Your final life purpose emerges not in a day or in an assessment. Or in a heartfelt prayer—or even two. The life meaning you rightly look for is unlikely to arrive, boom, by epiphany.

And that’s the good news. It’s in the journey, your journey, that good things happen. In the steps to know and learn, in the day by day, you are shaped, pruned, taught, revealed to yourself, and both softened and given wisdom. The journey prepares you for your arrival.

Just as important, it is impossible alone. From twenty years of helping men and women find their callings, I know for certain that on your own you grow tired, give up, or drift away. You fall to distractions that begin with “just this once.” You overlook insights and feedback. You miss the people and relationships that make you grow.

Without your peers—the men and women who share your vision and values and challenges—you enter the valley of “surely life is more than this” but never scale the mountain that leads to perspective and change.

 

CHALLENGE:

Who in your life do you talk to about your kingdom desires and missional goals? If you don’t already have someone, pick someone this week! If you do, set up a time to meet with them this week to talk about how you can keep moving forward.