Life Is A Gift

Bob Fisher, President of Belmont University and his wife, Judy, wrote a book entitled, Life Is a Gift.  They interviewed 104 terminal patients in hospice care and discovered one thread in all of the patients they interviewed. “The overwhelming message from the people interviewed was a message of gratitude for life and for the time given.  We didn’t encounter a lot of self-pity and asking God why,  Instead we found people wanting to grasp the remainder of the gift given them and a desire to make the very most of it.”

When consulting with organizations we come across all types of leaders. Some are swimming upstream in a changing culture and are full of self-pity. Others hope a capital campaign will revitalize their plateaued organization but are not confident about the future. But often we get to partner with leaders who understand what the Fishers discovered. Life is a gift. They know the resources they have are a gift. They know the people they lead are a gift. They lead expecting something great to happen.

These leaders are bold. Adventurous. Uninhibited and unrestricted. They lead from a position of power. Not worldly power, but eternal power. They lead out of gratitude and leave a lasting legacy. 

Leaders should “make the very most” of life. Do we grasp what God is doing in our midst? Are we grateful for those we serve? Do we courageously lead our churches or non-profits into unchartered territory or do we meagerly slug along the journey?

When consulting with faith-based organizations, we do our very best to empower churches and non-profits to lead from a platform of gratitude. Our campaigns are not contrived. We may have developed successful systems, but we start each campaign with this eternal value discovered by the Fishers. Life is a gift.