Personal Life Mandate (developed by Michel J. Willard & Greg Bourgond

LIFE PURPOSE

My vision is to work with people and churches that have been wrecked by the world to help them see how God has been present with them even in the midst of their tragedies and He is inviting them to turn these tragedies into spiritual laboratories where God can hone and shape them into the men, women and churches He has designed them to be and connecting them with stronger Christians and churches that can support them along this journey.

COMMITTED PASSION

My committed passion is to help facilitate a journey to wholeness for people buffeted by the difficulties of life, people who have suffered debilitation, people who have been scarred by their experience, people who have experienced devastating loss, people who have been marginalized or disenfranchised, and people, by their own action, who have become addicted in one way or another seeking to cope with the struggles in their lives.

ROLE CHARACTERISTICS

The characteristics of a role that will support my life purpose and committed passion include the following:

• Opportunities to nurture and develop deep and meaningful relationships.
• Flexibility to take the time to invest in those meaningful relationships.
• Ability to share my relationship with God in Christ as the source of all real meaning in my relationships.
• Ability to network resources to finance those I'm working with who need it and know how to use it well.
• Ability to network struggling people with more developed ones who can help them grow.
• Ability to network struggling churches with stronger ones in mutually beneficial relationships.
• Availability of training in personality, strength and skill compatibility.

UNIQUE METHODOLOGIES

I intend to act faithfully through a commitment to acting in accordance with my ministry principles and core values, by leveraging my natural strengths, by finding appropriate expression for my personality temperament, by exercising my leadership style in appropriate and life-giving ways, and by applying my innate abilities and acquired skills.

My unique methodologies find their roots in essentially five major ministry insights that have thematically repeated themselves over time in my ministry experience.

• Living a Holy Spirit empowered life in dependence upon God in the model of His Son Jesus Christ is the only way to truly live life to it’s fullness. (Rom 5:1, Rom 5:5, Rom 6:4-11, 1Cor 12:3, Gal 2:20, Gal 5:5)
• God loves every person on this earth and desires him/her to be in intimate relationship with Him. (Jn. 3:16, 1Pet 3:9)
• We were not meant to live this life on our own, but in community with God and His people. (Ecl. 4:9-12, Matt. 18:15-17, Jn. 15, 1Jn 1:5-7)
• No one is perfect, but Jesus Christ. (2Cor 5:21, Heb 4:15)
• Prayer is foundational to everything else. (Phil 4:6-7)
• Honesty is always the best policy. (Prov 14:5, Lk 8:15, Eph 4:25, Col 3:9)
• Trust is earned, not given. (Ps 25:2, Ps 111:7, Ps 115:9, Ps 118: 8-9)
• Trust precedes intimacy. (Jn 15:4)
• Love is the most powerful force in the universe. (1Cor 13)
• Relationships are where real life happens. (1Jn 3:10-12)
• Good relationships take time to develop and require two-way effort. (Jn 15:4, Jesus relationship w/ Peter)
• Humility and integrity are the keys to true authenticity. (Rom 5:3-5, 2Cor 4:7-9)
• Humility and character come through suffering. (Rom 5: 3-5, 2Cor 4:7-9)
• Compassion and trust are the keys to a good relationship. (Jn 21:15-19)
• Community is built through loyal friendship. (Ecl 4:9-12, Matt 18:15-17, Jn 6:66-68)

Core Values:

• Authenticity: To let the light of my true identity in Christ in show through with every person I interact with in all situations I find myself in. (Prov. 11:3, Eph 2:10, Tit. 2:6-8).
• Compassion: To see and care for others in a Christ-like manner. (Isaiah 54:7-8, Matt. 9:36, Matt. 25:31-46, Lk. 15:11-31, 1Pet 3:9).
• Growth: I am not the same person I was yesterday and am daily being formed into Christ’s likeness by the power of His Holy Spirit at work in my heart. (Rom 5:1-5, 2Cor 4:7-9, 16-18).
• Faithfulness: To stay true to my friends and my convictions. (Josh. 24:14, Matt 5:33-37, Eph. 4:1-16, 2Pet 1:5-9).
• Community: To live in true fellowship with my fellow Christians and non-Christians by caring for them as Christ does and receiving their care as a manifestation of God’s love to me. (Ecc 4:9-12, Matt 18:15-17, John 13:34-35, John 17:20-26).

Spiritual Gifts:

I intend to use my spiritual gifts to further God’s redemptive purposes in alignment with His leading in my life. These gifts will be cultivated and matured as I exercise them faithfully through service opportunities provided by Him. These gifts include Mercy, Shepherd, Knowledge, Teaching, and Exhortation.

Natural Strengths:

• Empathy – I sense the feelings of others by imagining myself in their lives or other situations.
• Connectedness – I have faith in the links between all things; there are few coincidences and almost every event has a reason.
• Individualization – I am intrigued with the unique qualities of each person. I have a gift for figuring out how people who are different can work together productively.
• Developer – I recognize and seek to develop the potential in others. I can spot the signs of each small improvement and derive satisfaction from these improvements.
• Belief – I have certain core values that are unchanging. Out of these values emerges a defined purpose for my life.

Personality Temperament: INFP - introversion (I), intuitive (N), feeling (F), perceiving (P)

I am idealistic, loyal to my values and to people who are important to me. I want an external life that is congruent with my values. I am curious, quick to see possibilities, and I can be a catalyst for implementing ideas. I seek to understand people and to help them fulfill their potential. I am adaptable, flexible, and accepting unless a value is threatened.

Leadership Style: primary - partner; secondary – coach; I work best coming alongside others and working together to reach goals and objectives. I also enjoy coaching others so that they realize they can do more than they think.

Aptitudes: I possess the innate abilities of listening, observation, analysis, and creativity.

Acquired Skills: I have acquired competency in counseling, writing, singing, and story telling.

ULTIMATE CONTRIBUTION

I realize that I am still growing and being developed as a man of God, so my vision of what God is calling me to accomplish is still very much in process. As I look towards the future and reflect about what I feel God desires me to do with my life, I see people working together in mutually beneficial partnerships, helping each other to growing Christ. This was made possible through people seeing how I partnered with others in their spiritual development and feeling led to do likewise. In a similar way, I envision churches partnering with each other to help each other grow into the churches God designed them to be. I see people encouraging each other to focus on and grow in their strengths, while also watching out for when their weakness become their downfall. As a platform for all of this, I see a foundation called Lazarus Developments that works to partner with individuals and churches to empower them financially, spiritually and any other way they feel led to in order to help their partners grow in Christ. Resources are not just given away, they are given to promote the development of God’s kingdom here on earth.