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- Apr 25, 2006
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Using your gift for the right purposes
'YOU ARE A CHOSEN PEOPLE...TO TELL...THE WONDERFUL ACTS OF GOD.' 1 PETER 2:9
Raised in a family full of arguments and money problems, Richy Stearns decided that education was his ticket out. Scholarships and hard work got him into a top University, then earned him a Masters Degree in business.
Rich took to the corporate world like a duck to water and he eventually became the CEO (top dog) for Parker Brothers and Lenox China. He had it all: big house, nice family and secure job. So why did he still feel unfulfilled?
He knew what his skill was: management. He knew where to use it: big organisations. But why? He considered becoming a missionary but didn't see how God could use someone whose strengths were budgets and flow charts. In 1998 when global relief charity World Vision invited him to be their CEO, he declined. It would be career suicide to take a 75% pay cut and move his family across the country! But World Vision persisted.
When board member Bill Hybels told Rich, 'This is a chance to marry your gifts with God's call...to enter the zone in which you were made to live,' Rich prayed, weighed his options, and accepted. Looking back Rich Stearns says, 'This is the fulfilment of who I was created to be...I've found my stride...I wonder why I waited 23 years.' And World Vision has no regrets either.
During his first six years their annual budget doubled, making it the largest relief organisation in the world. It's amazing what happens when you use your gifts 'to tell...the wonderful acts of God.' So, what are you doing with your gifts?
written by Bob Gass
'YOU ARE A CHOSEN PEOPLE...TO TELL...THE WONDERFUL ACTS OF GOD.' 1 PETER 2:9
Raised in a family full of arguments and money problems, Richy Stearns decided that education was his ticket out. Scholarships and hard work got him into a top University, then earned him a Masters Degree in business.
Rich took to the corporate world like a duck to water and he eventually became the CEO (top dog) for Parker Brothers and Lenox China. He had it all: big house, nice family and secure job. So why did he still feel unfulfilled?
He knew what his skill was: management. He knew where to use it: big organisations. But why? He considered becoming a missionary but didn't see how God could use someone whose strengths were budgets and flow charts. In 1998 when global relief charity World Vision invited him to be their CEO, he declined. It would be career suicide to take a 75% pay cut and move his family across the country! But World Vision persisted.
When board member Bill Hybels told Rich, 'This is a chance to marry your gifts with God's call...to enter the zone in which you were made to live,' Rich prayed, weighed his options, and accepted. Looking back Rich Stearns says, 'This is the fulfilment of who I was created to be...I've found my stride...I wonder why I waited 23 years.' And World Vision has no regrets either.
During his first six years their annual budget doubled, making it the largest relief organisation in the world. It's amazing what happens when you use your gifts 'to tell...the wonderful acts of God.' So, what are you doing with your gifts?
written by Bob Gass
