I love engaging audiences of men, especially those who’ve intentionally taken time away to evaluate their life purpose. Something powerful happens when men meet together to engage, interact and pray about their future.

Purposeful living is something I’ve studied, labored to put into practice, and spoken on for nearly a decade. The older I get, the more aware I become of the precious gift of time we have to live fully to the potential God created in us. And I want to do everything I can to help others unleash their potential. So, I’ve developed a number of the workshops and weekend retreat programs on that topic. I’ll be delivering one of them, Live on Purpose, to the men of Zimmerman Evangelical Free Church at their men’s retreat on March 18-20 at the Timber Bay Retreat Center in Onamia, MN.

If you could use a break from the routine and would like to get away, the guys from Zimmerman would welcome you to join them and me. The cost for the weekend is $100. You can download a flyer and register online by clicking here. Space is limited, so be sure to register right away.

It would be fun to see you there.

Boldly forward,

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That was my dilemma when I reevaluated my personal mission statement last year. I knew something needed to change because my prior mission statement failed to adequately capture both my professional and ministry interests. So I decided to subject myself to a month of harmonic scrutiny. The idea is simple and based on a few principles:

• We are uniquely crafted by God, each of us manifesting something of Himself as we set about to do what we were created to do (Eph 2:10).
• We will be held accountable for the gifts that have been entrusted to us. That’s stewardship and was the point of Jesus’ parable of the talents (Matt 25:14-30). Part of that stewardship is taking inventory of our design.
• We learn something about the way we’re made from our response to our environment. Musical instruments are crafted to capitalize on acoustic resonance—the innate natural frequencies which require little energy to produce. Likewise, we respond to the things that we do from day to day with more or less energy depending on our design. Focusing on the things that amplify our design resonance in part of discovering our perfect pitch.

So here’s what I did. Daily, I recorded the activities and interactions that either energized or depleted me. I didn’t bother recording events, activities and interactions to which I was neutral. After a month (it could be shorter or longer for you), I reviewed the results and looked for consistent themes. When I looked at my list, a clear pattern emerged. I liked interactions and activities that provoked change and stoked creative development, particularly entrepreneurial endeavors. As I looked over my list, I had another startling discovery. My interests weren’t as divergent as I had first thought. In fact, I equally enjoy applying change and breakthrough work to both personal and corporate development. As a result, my four word mission to ignite change & inspire breakthroughs was born and, with it, a clearer sense of my purpose.

If you’ve been struggling with crafting your personal mission statement, this exercise might be helpful. Give it a try and let me know how it works for you.

What are some other exercises you’ve found helpful to discover your wiring?

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Recently, my friend, T.J. Addington, has written a helpful book to stir your inquisitive spirit. Live Like You Mean It (NavPress, 2010) offers, as the subtitle suggests, the “ten crucial questions that will help you clarify your purpose, live intentionally and make the most of the rest of your life.” As a personal development resource, it is concise and easy to read; absent of the literary dross that’s often found in other similar works. Live Like You Mean It offers just enough context to zero your focus on the critical questions, then gets out of the way so you can do your thinking. As the book suggests, questions of purpose and gifting are often best explored in community, and each chapter concludes with helpful questions that are well suited for group discussion.

T.J. Addington is the executive leader of international missions for the Evangelical Free Church of America. He is one of the most personally inspiring and intentional men that I know. In fact, I interviewed him about intentional living for a BoldMan Chronicles article nearly six years ago (read that interview). His inspiration to write Live Like You Mean It followed a traumatic 42-day hospital stay where 32 of them were in the intensive care unit in a coma and on a ventilator from complications related to a highly resistant strain of pneumonia. In the wake of that crisis, his passion for making the most of every opportunity intensified, girded by the renewed truth that every day is a gift of grace from God. Live Like You Mean It is the byproduct of a lifetime of “staying with the questions” which will help you do the same and make every day count.

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I remember long ago riding my bike as a young teen to a local strip mall to hang out with a friend. Back then there were no rules about not riding on the mall sidewalks so my friend and I were making sport, racing around shoppers. Eager to check my lead, I looked back at my friend when suddenly—PANG—I was lying on the ground with a bruised knee and a nice “sidewalk rash.” I had careened right into a trash can. Embarrassed by the scene I had made, I hobbled up, righted the trash can and disappeared around the nearest corner.

While I haven’t hit a trash can since, there have been plenty of times I’ve made a similar mess by taking my eye off what I was called to do. Usually it happens for the same reason as it did in my youth; I’m getting my value from the things behind me instead of being drawn unrelentingly by the prize in front of me. Jesus had a similar reminder for those who would pursue life’s greatest prize: “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62)

Your thoughts? Are there some things (e.g. regrets, bitterness, nostalgia, envy) that are taking your eye off the prize?

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Following that retreat, I received the following email from one of the participants:

Leary,

Excellent and profitable time for all, and an understatement for me. It’s like being lost in the woods and someone gives me a compass.

I dreamt last night that I was laying on a table and this voice said, “Gentlemen, we can rebuild him.” That’s all I remember from 6 Million Dollar Man…

Thanks again Leary.

Gary

Well, I won’t promise you either a compass or 6 million dollar dreams, but I can tell you that something powerful happens when you go away with the Lord to think and pray purposefully about your future.

If you could use a break from the routine, I invite you to take part in the next Live on Purpose retreat hosted at Covenant Pines Camp in McGregor, Minnesota on November 20-22. It’s your chance to get away, get recharged and reclaim the purpose for your life.

Invite a friend or invite your whole church community of men. The Live on Purpose retreat is open to all adult men. For more information, download the retreat flyer or visit the Covenant Pines website.

I hope to see you there.

Boldly forward,

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But you can change all that. Join me and other men across Minnesota, September 18-20, on spiritual adventure that may change your life. The Live on Purpose men’s retreat at Camp Lebanon in Upsala, Minnesota, is your chance to get away, get recharged and reclaim the purpose for your life.

Invite a friend or invite your whole church community of men. The Live on Purpose retreat is open to all adult men. For more information, visit the Camp Lebanon website.

Let the adventure begin!

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