September 4, 2008

Full Circle

In early 2006, I said goodbye to Lifetime Guarantee Ministries after six years of managing their web site, lifetime.org. In those years, while attending seminary and studying subjects like Greek, systematic theology, and hermeneutics (aka preaching), I found myself instead devouring every article I could find on designing and coding great web sites.

Finding my Calling

I was hooked, and the light bulb came on. This, I believed, was my calling: using this new media of the internet to share the old, old story of how Jesus Christ lived, died, resurrected, and whose Spirit is still alive and well in the hearts of Believers. His Spirit inside us has remarkable power to change our attitudes, our relationships, and ultimately our destiny. Yes, it’s that important! I knew for a long time that I wanted to be a part of communicating that message somehow, but until my days at Lifetime Guarantee, I didn’t understand what part I was going to play. I’ve written about that before.

The Gillhams

But while working at Lifetime Guarantee, the most important and life-changing things I learned were not the technical skills, but getting to know the Gillhams (Bill, Anabel, and their son Pres) who founded Lifetime Guarantee and learning from their simple yet profound teaching. They clearly communicated—and still do through their books, CDs and web site—the basic essentials of Christianity unlike any teacher or preacher I’ve heard before…and believe me, I’ve heard a lot.

They are non-denominational. They don’t touch the controversial issues of the faith. Their teachings don’t cover politics or current events. No, they stick to the fundamentals. They discuss God’s grace and hope more than anything else. They model and tell stories about a kind of relationship with God that’s so real. And they tell them in such an approachable, easy-to-understand, Okie style.

It challenged my thinking. It changed me. It really did.

What Goes Around Comes Around

It wasn’t easy leaving Lifetime Guarantee, but I knew it was time. After that, I had a short stint on the web team at Fellowship Church where I learned so much in a short period. But we wanted to live closer to family, so we left Texas in late 2006 and landed in Georgia. I work for a great organization called Right From The Heart.

Back in July, during a visit to TX, I spent some time with Pres Gillham, the President and Chairman of the Board at Lifetime Guarantee. He confided in me that he was making plans to retire from his 30 years of leading Lifetime Guarantee. He then shocked me by asking me if I’d consider succeeding him.

After some thought, I said no.

Well…Pres is a persuasive guy, and after more prayer, I’ve decided to accept his proposal, and as of this week, I’m honored to take the position of Executive Director of Lifetime Guarantee.

Over the past few years, Lifetime Guarantee has focused its resources and has become primarily a web-based organization. Almost all the ministry now takes place online. That definitely fits my calling. So my position will be to manage that web presence. The site’s code is maintained and updated by an outside agency, and I have no plans to stop delegating that.

My position is part time. We’ll continue to live in Georgia, and I’ll keep my position at Right From The Heart (with scaled back hours). I’ll continue to work with some of my freelance clients, but will be very picky about taking on new projects. I’ll fly to Fort Worth periodically to give hugs to the wonderful staff (Bill, Anabel, Caryn, and Mel) … and eat good Mexican food :)

I’m excited about this opportunity and pray that Lifetime Guarantee will continue to be a great resource for helping people see themselves as God sees them and live as He intended. If you haven’t been there before, I encourage you to visit the Lifetime Guarantee Ministries web site. There is almost 30 years worth of good content there.