When Paraclete CEO, Don Parrott, told us that he had decided to leave Paraclete to concentrate full-time on Finishers, we were not surprised. We had sensed Don's heart for the ministry of Finishers. What did surprises us was his request that we allow him to submit my name to the Paraclete board as a candidate for his job! That began a process of almost two months of prayer, seeking the Lord's face, consulting with advisers and interacting with the Paraclete board. It all came to a conclusion on October 28th when we accepted an offer from the board to take the job.
Don's visit and his request came at the end of my sabbatical, and specifically near the end of the "Listening Phase" of the sabbatical. I had been spending long periods of time in silence with the Lord praying Samuel's prayer, "Speak, Lord, your servant is listening." (For some journal entries from that period see Glen's Sabbatical Journal.) Timing is just one example of how we see God's hand leading us to this new responsibility.
It will be a change from what I had anticipated when we joined Paraclete. I envisioned a ministry of working with mission agencies and Christian organizations in strategic planning, board governance, personnel and member care. The subject matter won't change much, but the target will. My job as CEO of Paraclete will be that of chief servant, building a setting that will help other Paraclete associates be effective in their ministries around the world. I'll still be involved in international ministry personally. The Paraclete board would like to see me giving 20-25% of my time to partners outside of Paraclete.
Paraclete is a small organization. I joked with the board that they should really call the position they offered me OEO, for "Only Executive Officer!" But it is a small organization with a lot of leverage to impact the kingdom around the world, and a huge potential for growth.
We will not need to move to Phoenix, where Paraclete has an office...at least not for the moment. We agreed to re-evaluate how "remote control" is working in 2010. Actually the majority of Paraclete staff are not in Phoenix, but living all over and travelling even wider.
We still need partners to stand with us financially to make this ministry possible. As CEO, we will still have to raise support! That's missionary life for you! Find out more about Paraclete here. Become a financial partner here. Read the board's announcement to Paraclete associates about Glen's appointment here.
With all the social networking options we have these days blogging seems old-school. We keep it up for those who are interested in our ministry. Sign up for our e-letter, and we'll let you know when we update the site.
No comments:
Post a Comment