So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31
This is post #15 in a series of posts in a book I read on my Philippines trip and en route home. It contains leadership insights from the most victorious team in sports history (winning percentage = 86% as of the writing of the book): The All Blacks, The New Zealand National Rugby Union Team.
‘There’s a big saying in the team,’ Graham Henry says. “You don’t own the jersey, you’re just the body in the jersey at the time.” It’s your job to continue the legacy and add to it when you get your opportunity. The current All Blacks team is playing for the guys that have played in the jersey before. That’s hugely important to the current guys.’ They also play for All Blacks yet to be born. Fatherhood is an important theme within the All Blacks; this handing down of knowledge across the generations, this stewardship of the future… ‘What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.’
Graham Henry as quoted by James Kerr in Legacy: What the All Blacks Can Teach Us About The Business of Life (London: Constable, 2013) 171.
What legacy will you leave behind? The idea of stewardship of the future links precisely to what we do for the brief moments we wear the proverbial All Blacks jersey.
I’m excited to start a legacy today. It’s 1 July 2019, and the first day of the first full fiscal year for Global Trust Partners. As President/CEO, I begin with a focus on the future. As the saying goes, “we are planting acorns today for the oak trees of tomorrow.”
I say this because the people who started ECFA 40 years ago likely never dreamed how hard it would be at the outset. Getting the right people together. Drafting the standards. Accrediting ministries to verify compliance. It’s hard work to enhance trust. The work looked glamorous, but it was really grueling.
And then I am sure they never could have imagined the impact that ECFA would have in a generation. What started with a handful of ministries is now more than 2,400 accredited members through which about $27 billion flowed last year. Wouldn’t it be great to see that participation in every nation? That’s the hope that drives me.
Since I don’t own this jersey but I am in it on opening day for GTP, here’s the legacy for which I am willing to give my life for God’s glory. It’s the purpose of GTP: GTP multiplies disciples of faithful administration and mobilizes peer accountability groups to increase gospel participation in every nation.
All that officially starts right here, right now. Here’s are the four GTP paid team members with their jerseys: Gary Hoag, President/CEO (Denver); Ereny Monir, VP of Training & Empowerment (Alexandria, Egypt); Ruthie Cristobal, VP of Partnership & Communications (Manila, Philippines); and, Shawn Manley (Seattle). Pray for each of us to wear our jerseys in a manner that glorifies God.
Sometimes the travel can be tough. For example, today Ereny and I fly all day (hence the airport header photo) to Quito, Ecuador, via Houston and Panama City. We will network and speak at the Wycliffe Global Alliance Generosity Consultation held at the Seminario Ministerial Sudamericano in Pichincha, Ecuador, from 2-5 July 2019. This event welcomes 55 registrants from 23 countries and is hosted by Nydia Garcia Schmidt, who serves as Director of the Americas for Wycliffe Global Alliance and volunteers as GTP Regional Facilitator for Latin America. Pray for safe travel and for fruitful networking and teaching that produces much fruit both now and into the future for God’s glory. Also pray for our presence to build up Nydia for regional service to Latin America.
And, rather than make this post just about GTP, think about your own legacy. Ask yourself these questions: What will kind of person will you be in your jersey? What legacy will you leave in the lives of others?
To tip the cards of my own gameplay, my focus in year one will be to rally the GTP team, the board, and the regional facilitators to become people of prayer, fasting, and confession, because the challenges before us are spiritual and can only be solved by God who is with us.