Just wanted to share a story I shared this weekend. It’s actually one of the stories I tell in In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day.
I have a friend, Lee McFarland, who pastors one of the fastest growing churches in America–Radiant Church in Surprise, AZ. In fact, we were both speaking at the same conference this past week in San Diego. I love the story behind the story!
Lee was working for Microsoft a decade ago making six-digits. He also had 16,000 stock options valued at several million dollars. In financial terms, he had it made. And then he started to sense that God was calling him to plant a church.
To make a long story short, my friend gave up his six-digit salary and 16,000 stock options to plant the church he now pastors. His starting salary was $26,000. And I love the prayer he prayed when he quit Microsoft. He asked God to give him one soul for every share of stock he gave up! God is well on his way to answering that prayer!
A few months ago, I watched one of their baptism videos and it was incredible. I watched hundreds of people getting baptized at a water park the church rented. As I watched those people getting baptized, I couldn’t help but think about the immeasurable value of a single soul. Certainly a single soul is worth more than 16,000 stock options in Microsoft. In fact, Jesus said a single soul is worth more than the cumulative wealth of the entire world. Then I started thinking about their relational networks. I started thinking about the generational impact their spiritual transformation will have. And here’s the thing: all of that impact traces back to one risk. One risk had a domino effect that isn’t just changing history. It’s changing eternity!
We need a paradigm shift. I think we need to see ourselves as shareholders in the Kingdom of God. And we need to realize that every investment we make earns shares that earn eternal dividends.
I’ve always been intrigued by Philippians 4:17. Paul is thanking the Philippians for their investment in his ministry. He says, “Not that I desire your gifts; what I desire is that more be credited to your account.”
Evidently, when we invest in the Kingdom, there is a wire transfer to an offshore bank account–way offshore! We have a heavenly account that gets credited any time we do anything for God.
So Lee may have given up 16,000 stock options in Microsoft, but he has some serious stock options in the Kingdom of Heaven. Not a bad trade!
