The Monday Memo from John Stanko

The Monday Memo 277

It's Christmas Eve 2006.  Where did this year go?  As I get older, it seems that the days just fly by, which is why I am determined to enjoy every one of them.  I don't know how many I have left.

This week I have been meditating on two things.  One is the story of the magi, which I wrote about in last week's Memo.  This week I want to write about the other theme, which will cause us to focus on the famous Christmas carol, Hark the Herald Angels Sing!

All credit for Hark the Herald Angels Sing is usually attributed to Charles Wesley, the brother of Methodism's founder, John Wesley.  Charles was a prolific song writer, with almost 9,000 hymns to his credit.  Charles only approved of sombre, slow and solemn music for any of his lyrics, however, so this particular carol was sung to a different tune for 100 years after it was first written in 1739. 

Then in 1840, a man named Felix Mendelssohn wrote a commemorative cantata to honor Johann Gutenberg's invention of the printing press.  What does that have to do with this carol?  It would have nothing except that a man named William Cummings heard the cantata and felt that one of the melodies could better serve the magnificent lyrics that Wesley had penned for his carol.  Cummings adapted Mendelssohn's melody to Wesley's lyrics and the result was the version of Hark the Herald Angels Sing! that we know and sing today.

What does this have to do with anything, you may ask?  It strikes me as a classic example of the simplicity and interconnection of the creative process.  Not all creativity has to involve something original.  Cummings took two existing things--Mendelssohn's music and Wesley's words--to create something totally new.  He improved something that already existed and took something that could be put to better use to create something fresh and new that has impacted the world for more than a century.

As we end 2006, I want to begin a new discussion of the creative process to encourage you to take your own creativity more seriously in 2007.  You are a creative person!  What you see and the ideas you have can change the world, if you will stop discounting them as meaningless or insignificant.  You don't have to invent something totally new to qualify as creative; you just have to act on your ideas and release them to the world.  The world, with God as your agent, can then act to endorse the very creativity that you dismiss or take for granted.

Do you have any good ideas, even if they are only to improve something that already exists?  If you do, take heart and remember Wesley, Mendelssohn, and Cummings.  Those three men who never met collaborated to create something memorable.  There is no reason why you can't do the same.

From my house to yours, we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a creative New Year!   

Feel free to post your comment to this Memo on the site where it is located. You can also go to the same site to read the other Monday Memos from 2006. And don't forget my personal PurposeQuest website, which has loads of material that will help you find your purpose and be productive.  Furthermore, you can sign up for my weekly Bible studies where we will begin 2007 with a study of Mark's gospel. Finally, please remember PurposeQuest and the Stankos in your year-end giving.

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The Monday Memo 276

As you read this, I will be on my way home from Zimbabwe through Amsterdam.  These last three weeks have been among the best since I started PurposeQuest six years ago.  I felt more focused, effective and productive than at any other time.  I am ready to go home, however, and I am looking forward to a Christmas break with family.

Yesterday I spoke at Celebration Church for the second time this trip.  On both occasions, I chose a portion of the Christmas story as my theme.  Two weeks ago, my title was "Have a Mary Christmas."  Yesterday my title was "Suddenly:  The Sights and Sounds of Breakthrough."  Since breakthrough was the theme for the church in 2006, I thought it would be good to wrap up the year by giving some of my limited insights on the subject.  The PowerPoint slides from both messages can be found on my blog.

I almost spoke about the Magi last Sunday, but I thought I would save those thoughts for this Monday Memo.

WHO WERE THOSE MEN?

Who were those wise men or Magi who came from the east to visit Jesus and bring him gifts?  (You may want to renew your familiarity with this brief story by reading Matthew 2:1-12.) We aren't really sure. Nor do we know what they were looking for as they studied the heavens and what kind of star they saw that caused them to follow it hundreds of miles to find an infant king. We know it wasn't a comet, for the star stopped right over the place where Jesus was.

There were probably more than three men who came to see Jesus, but we have numbered them as three since they brought three gifts of myrrh, incense and gold.  They rode on camels for days, weeks even, not sure of what they would find when they arrived.

When they did arrive, they checked in with King Herod, convinced that he would know where the infant royalty was.  It is interesting that the wise men knew more of what was going on spiritually in Herod's kingdom than Herod did. 

By the time the Magi arrived, Joseph, Mary and Jesus were living in a house, not in a stable, so they came some time after the night the shepherds went to see Jesus in the manger.  Since Herod carefully ascertained when the star had first appeared and then had all the male babies two years of age and under killed in Bethlehem, the Magi could have arrived as much as two years after Jesus birth.  That's a long time to watch and follow a star.

FOLLOW YOUR OWN STAR

When praying for someone yesterday morning, I spoke this prayer:  "May the star of Jesus appear in your life and lead and guide you to where He wants you to be!"  After I said that, I couldn't stop thinking about that phrase.  And the more I thought about it, the more I knew that was my prayer for you as well.

You will need God's help if you are to find and fulfill your purpose.  That's not a problem, however, for God is in the business of helping people like you clarify purpose.  When Jesus was born, His star appeared and led those who were interested directly to his home.  The same thing can happen today for you. God can lead and guide you right where you need to be, when you need to be there.  Oftentimes when you can't see your purpose, you aren't quite ready to find it.  Yet if you keep searching just like the Magi kept searching the heavens, your star will appear and suddenly it will all make sense. 

As we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus, I urge you to follow in the footsteps of the Magi.  Wise men and women still seek Jesus and, as they do, they find purpose.  I pray that 2007 will be a year of purpose and productivity the likes of which you have never seen, imagined or enjoyed.  I also pray that when you find the star and follow it, you will end up as the Magi did--worshiping the King and giving Him gifts.  There is no greater gift than devoting and dedicating the fulfillment of your purpose to Christ and His kingdom.

From all the Stanko household, we wish you a very Merry Christmas as you follow your star into the purpose of God! 

Feel free to post your comment to this Memo on the site where it is located. You can also go to the same site to read the other Monday Memos from 2006. And don't forget my personal PurposeQuest website, which has loads of material that will help you find your purpose and be productive.  Finally, please remember PurposeQuest and the Stankos in your year-end giving.

The Monday Memo 275

I am off today for Zambia, but not before having had a great time here in Johannesburg.  Last night I spoke at Hatfield Christian Church North.  Of course, I took the opportunity to talk about purpose and, judging by the response after the service, I think it went very well.  Last Saturday I did a seminar for Glen McQuirk, author of the popular Map 4 Life, and some of his Purpose Club members. That also went well.  I am amazed that I have made my purpose presentation on more than 1,000 occasions in 25 countries and it's still as relevant and fresh as when I first began in 1991.

Why?  I think because God is a God of purpose.  He wants you to know His will for you cannot be accountable to do something of which you aren't aware.  What's more, God wants you to fulfill your purpose more than you do--that's why you're still here.  I have the privilege talking about something that is close to God's heart and important to God's people.  That combination has made the last 15 years of purpose work most enjoyable.

I was reminded last night as I spoke that most people don't know their purpose for two reasons.  First, they have not asked and kept on asking.  Second, they don't recognize it even when it's right in front of them.  It's not that they lack intelligence; it's just that they have been conditioned to think a certain way and that thinking often works against knowing purpose.  Let's look at the second reason for a moment.

I have found that most people are looking for something that is complex and deep.  Most purpose statements aren't like that at all.  On Saturday, we took time in the seminar to look at one woman's purpose.  She didn't see how she could find one purpose statement from the many activities that she enjoyed.  I put all the activities on the board and then she made a simple statement that held the key to why she did everything on that board--she cared deeply to see people "get better." 

I don't know if that is her exact purpose statement, for I never assign or define purpose for anyone.  That is between them and God.  I strongly urged her, however, to pray about that simple statement--"I help people get better."  That's simple but profound.

Then I met with a man yesterday at lunch who told me he didn't know his purpose.  He went on to tell me that he knew about what he was passionate: "I like to bring people to Jesus."  I listened and then said, "I think your purpose is to bring people to Jesus."  He was surprised.  We went on to talk about how he does that in many ways, and I left him with something to think about.  It was something he already knew, however, but he just couldn't see it for what it is.

The same may be true for you.  Your purpose may be right there and you're walking all around it, trying to give it a name other than what it is.  If so, don't make it complicated.  Walk in the light that you have today and go with it.  If you love, then love is your purpose.  If you pray, then consider prayer.  If you love to laugh, then why not adopt joy as your purpose? 

I feel like I am entering a new phase of purpose teaching.  My most recent seminars and one-on-one sessions have been unusually clear and helpful.  If you, your family or your organization would benefit from such clarity, then write me and let's schedule some time together in the coming year. You've read and listened to the purpose message.  Why not let 2007 be the year of purpose for you and yours as you work not necessarily to find your purpose, but to renew your way of thinking so you can recognize the purpose that is probably already there.  If I can help you with that glorious and important quest, please let me know. In the meantime, have a great week!

The Monday Memo 274

I am off to Bulawayo (Zimbabwe's second largest city) tomorrow after a busy but successful week of work here in Harare.  From there I go to Johannesburg where I will speak at Celebration Church in the morning and Hatfield North in Pretoria in the evening next Sunday.  If you're in the area, I hope you can come out.

Last week, I wrote about the need to find out where you are supposed to do what you were created to do.  That doesn't mean you have to venture very far away from home to find it, but it may.  In this context, I was thinking of William Carey, a man who is called the father of modern missions.  William Carey first found out where he was to be and from there found out what he was supposed to do.  Let's look at his story.

OFF TO INDIA

William Carey was a shoemaker in England when he sensed God wanted him to go to India to preach the gospel.  That doesn't sound so unusual today, but in the eighteenth century it was radical and unheard of.  Carey persevered, however, and went to Serampore, India.  The rest, as they say, is history.

When Carey got to India and saw the conditions there, this simple shoemaker came to life.  He saw what needed to be done and he set about doing it.  If you think all Carey did was preach while he was in India, you are wrong. Consider these roles that Carey played once he got to where he was supposed to be (I took these from the book The Legacy of William Carey:  A Model for the Transformation of a Culture by Vishal and Ruth Mangalwadi):   

1.  Botanist.  Carey often lectured on science.  He brought flowers to India like the English daisy and introduced systems of gardening.  He taught the Indians about nature, that insects weren't souls in bondage as they had been led to believe, but rather living organisms worthy of study and appreciation.

2.  Industrialist.  Carey introduced the steam engine to India.

3.   Economist.  He introduced the savings bank and worked to combat the evil of usury, charging high interest rates on loans.

4.  Medical Humanitarian.  Leprosy was common in India and Carey taught the people how to care for and not reject their lepers.

5.  Media Pioneer.  Carey built what was the largest printing press in India.  His English-speaking journal, Friend of India, was the force that gave birth to the social reform movement in India.

6.  Agriculturist.  Appalled that so much land was unused while people starved, Carey founded India's Agri-Horticultural Society in 1820.

7.  Astronomer.  Knowing that the heavenly bodies weren't deities, he taught the Indians the scientific approach to the study of God's creation.

8.  Translator and Educator.  As would be expected, Carey translated the Bible into Bengali, Sanskrit and numerous other dialects.  What may surprise you is that he translated Indian works into English for the world to enjoy.

9.  Library Pioneer.  Carey started the first lending libraries in India.

The list continues with Carey's roles as forest conservationist, crusader for women's rights, public servant, moral reformer and cultural transformer.  Carey didn't do too badly for a shoemaker!

GO WHERE YOU WILL BLOSSOM

Would William Carey have blossomed into the leader and pioneer that he was if he had stayed in England?  Probably not.  He allowed God to transplant him to India and there he blossomed into a magnificent man of purpose. 

There is nothing wrong with making shoes, but Carey would have lived far beneath his potential if he hadn't stepped out of his comfort zone.  The same is true for you.  You won't know what you are capable of, with God's help, until you try or until you must.  Thinking about your purpose won't do it, and putting it off won't get you where you need to be. 

I recommend that you consider this week what you do when you are most effective.  It may be with children, in prison work, with the mentally challenged or in the ministry.  You may now know what you can do, however, but you may sense you know where it is that you will grow and blossom. It may be across the street from where you live now or 5,000 miles away.  God determines the ground; you just have to allow Him to plant you so you can put down roots. 

You may also want to spend some time this week reading or thinking about William Carey.  You have the same potential he had, but only if you find your niche, your place, your ground.  You aren't alone in this search for God is with you.  Don't fret, but don't delay any longer.  The world is waiting to see what you have, what you can do in the power of God and your purpose.  Have a great week!

If you have anything of interest to add about William Carey, or to comment on this Memo, please feel free to write them on the site where this entry is posted. 

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1.  Here is my schedule for the rest of the year.  Write me if you would like to schedule a one-on-one purpose session in one of these cities. I will also be speaking at both morning services (8 am and 10:30 am) at Celebration Church (formerly Hear the Word) on Sunday, December 17.

• December 7-10 -- Johannesburg, South Africa
• December 11-14 -- Lusaka, Zambia
• December 15-18 -- Harare,  Zimbabwe
• December 19-23 -- Pittsburgh, PA USA

What's more, on Saturday, December 9 I am going to be with Glen McQuirk, author of the Map 4 Life purpose diary, and his purpose club in Pretoria.  Please write for more information if you would like to attend that session. 

2.  Please remember PurposeQuest International in your year-end giving.  If you are looking for good soil in which to sow your seed, I can think of none better than the purpose work I am doing in Africa and all over the world.  You can give directly through my website or send a check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 91099, Pittsburgh, PA  15221.  Gifts totaling $10,000 by year's end will enable me to publish my next book and revamp my website, which will in turn touch thousands of lives every day. Thank you for considering my request.

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