Author: Rick Post

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Ukraine

Yan’s Dream

This is Yan.  He is a pastor in Ukraine.  Yan was in our first mentoring group we started in March of 2018.  Yan was a new pastor with a dream to reach the people of his community and specially to reach those who struggled with homelessness, addictions and mental health issues.  When we first visited his church, it was a small building that they were renting, and he shared with us his dream to purchase the building and to purchase the buildings on either side so that he could offer transitional housing for homeless people.  Yan and his wife Luida shared after our first meeting with us that they never took time to dream together and we provided that time for them.  When we visited him on this trip, he showed us how his dream was becoming a reality.  He has partnered with another church to open a food pantry and clothing shop to provide food and clothing to those who need it. 

The current building is full on Sunday’s and they have raised the funds to purchase the building and land next door so that he can expand his church.  He is renting the space on the other side and offering it as transitional housing.  His church is growing, and they are reaching people for Jesus.  When I asked him how we work helped him, he shared that we provided a way to challenge his thinking and unlock his potential.  We provided training and coaching.  We were an encouragement to him to find through the challenges and difficulties.

This is an example of what our ministry work is doing.  It is hard to quantify our impact because it is often in very intangible ways, but we are seeing change.  We are seeing churches reaching people for Jesus!  We are seeing leaders making an impact and we have had a small part in helping them have the courage to make changes and push against the status quo.

We have been home for two weeks since our trip to Ukraine.  I have been finding it hard to capture how to describe this trip.  The two words that best described how I am feeling is IMPACT and OVERWHELMING.  Those are big extremes but let me try to explain.

First, IMPACT!  God is shifting our focus from individual pastors to the leaders of those pastors. This trip we had the opportunity to lead a training session with 13 of the Senior Pastors from Regions across Ukraine.  These are the leaders of their churches from each region.  In addition, we had the opportunity to speak at two churches, one seminary and travel to visit 5 regions where we met personally with the senior pastor and their wife.  These meetings were opportunities to learn about their family, their challenges, and their dreams for the future.

As we reflected on these meetings, we realized what an amazing opportunity we have to help the current and future leaders of the church to learn to think differently.  When we concluded our meetings, what was shared was how much they needed what we shared.  What they shared in private was how hard it is to make changes.  These leaders are in a difficult place.  They know that they need to do different things to reach people, but they often get stuck and don’t know where to start or how to change without being criticized. It is often easier to just keep doing what they have been doing than to try and change.

We talked about the importance of having a common vision and the need to work together to ensure that young leaders are being developed with that common vision.  Change starts with knowing where you want to go and then developing plans to get there.  When we return in March, we will be meeting with these senior pastors again and talking about how to create goals, action plans and manage their time most effectively.  They know that we are going to come back and ask them about the progress they are making.  Each region is to be starting a mentoring group of 20 young leaders.  We provided financial resources to help them pull these groups together.  In March we hope to hear about these groups and get out a meet some of them.  We are creating content that the senior pastors can use as they train these young leaders and work with existing pastors within their regions.

This leads to the second word – OVERWHELMING!  This opportunity that God has presented to us seems so big and impossible to accomplish.  I often wonder why God has selected us to be part of this!  When I think about the task of impacting 13 regions and their leaders, I struggle to see how to accomplish this.  How to connect with this many people and be part of developing them and holding them accountable to progress.  The resource needs seem so big for us to find as a small non-profit.  I struggle with figuring out how to tell the story of our ministry.  I struggle as a fund raiser and asking people to become partners with us in this ministry.  It seems so big and so impossible to change, but I know that this is where God has us!  I know that my job is to follow God’s direction and lead where the doors open up, and these are the doors that God is opening.  I know that God has all the resources, I just have to find a way to connect our work with those who God is preparing to partner with us.  I have to overcome my fears and hesitations in asking people to join our mission of developing leaders who will lead their churches to reach people for Jesus!

When I think about what we are doing, the verse that comes to mind is Romans 12:2 – Do not copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.  Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

For me, changing the way I think starts with getting all the obstacles out of my mind.  Its about continuing to trust God for the impossible.  To ask God to lead us to people we need to talk to.  To trust that God will provide the resources that are needed!  To not let my doubts and fears get in the way of saying YES to what God has given us the opportunity to be part of.

 In closing, let me finish with this.  First, thank you to those who have been faithfully supporting us with your prayers and financial gifts.  We could not do what we are doing without your support.  Second, if you would like to learn more about how to partner with us, I would love to sit down and have a conversation with you.  I’ll even buy you a coffee.  And lastly, if you have sensed that God is leading you to do something, take a step of faith and trust Him. 

Categories
Ukraine

Pay It Forward

When you look back at your life, have there been people in your life who have impacted you and made a difference in who you have become?  Have you ever wondered how could I do that in someone else’s life?  We have an opportunity for you!  This fall we are partnering with leaders in Ukraine to begin a Leadership Mentoring Group for 320 young leaders in 16 regions of Ukraine.  These groups will meet 4 times a year for 3 years.  Two times will be in large group gatherings and two times in smaller gatherings.  The high-level overview:

Year 1 – Developing the heart and understanding the leader’s strengths, personality, and dreams.
Year 2 – Developing their vision, mission, and strategies of leadership.
Year 3 – Skill to implement their vision. 

We are working with the leaders of each region to provide training and materials to help them lead these groups.

We are looking for individuals or churches who would like to sponsor each region.  The investment is $1200 per year or $100 per month for three years.  This investment will cover 50% of the costs and will help provide materials, lodging and meals for the gatherings.  There are 24 regions in Ukraine and 16 of them have agreed to begin these meetings this fall.  We will be traveling to Ukraine this fall to work with these regional leaders and help prepare them for these gatherings.

Here is a little of the history of this program.  Four years ago, we visited Ukraine to see where God was leading us, as we began Potential Endeavors.  We thought that we would work with one church in one community, but God had different plans for us.  We met with the Vasily Furta, who was the Regional Leader of the Cherkasy Region, and he had a dream.  He wanted to start a leadership mentoring group for young leaders to help them develop and was praying for someone to help him.  We agreed to partner with him, and we started this group in the spring of 2018.  We met with this group six times over two years and we taught three basic things:

How to dream God-sized dreams
How to develop and multiply leaders
How to help their churches to become place where people can “Come and See” who Jesus is.

At the end of the second year, Vasily Furta, was elected as a Vice President of the Baptist Union.  As he started his new role, he had a dream to start groups like what we did in Cherkasy Region across all of Ukraine.  In March of 2020 we started our second group in Kyiv Region and then covid hit.  During the time when we could not travel, Vasily worked with Regional Leaders across Ukraine to share with them the results of these groups and encouraged them to think about starting such group themselves.  When we returned to Ukraine in May of 2021 we met with people from our groups and listened to their stories.  God had been working over these past three years and making big impacts.  We also traveled to 3 regions and met with their leaders and shared this vision.

Now we need your help!  Would you be willing to consider sponsoring one or more regions to begin these gatherings? 

Let me tell you two stories of impact of two pastors that we have worked with.

First is Yan.  Yan is the pastor of a church in Korsun, Ukraine.  He was part of our first group in Cherkasy Region.  Yan has a dream of reaching people in his city, especially those who are struggling with addictions, homelessness, and abuse.  His church has been growing and making an impact.  The city has seen the impact and provide a list of all the people it was aware of that needed help and the church reached out to each person and helped.  Their church has outgrown their building and they are hoping to buy that building and expand it to make more room.

Our second story is of Sasha.  Sasha attended our second group in Kiev Region last March.  When we were doing our meetings, I shared with the group the reason why people don’t invite to church.  He was challenged by what I shared but wanted to see if it was true, so he surveyed his church, and they came back with the same reason.  It motivated him to begin to make changes at his church and because of that they are seeing many new people coming to their church.  Just last week that set up a pool in the front of the church and they saw many people being baptized.

Getting back to our dream, we have learned our dreams for Potential Endeavors were too small.  They were what we thought we could accomplish on our own.  God wants us to have bold, God-sized dreams.  Now we are dreaming about how we can impact leaders across Ukraine to reach people for Jesus.  We have a dream of seeing over 110,000 people finding Jesus and many new churches being started.  We believe that these leadership mentoring groups will be the start of developing new leaders for existing churches and to start new churches.  This fall we hope to begin to impact 320 leaders – 20 from each of the 16 regions.  If they can each develop 5 leaders that will be 1600 leaders and if those leaders will develop 5 leaders, we will multiply to 8000 leaders reaching people for Jesus and if each leader can help their church reach 10 people for Jesus, that would be 80,000 people. 

We also need partners in one another way.  We need people who will come along side of us and support the work we are doing with leaders and churches in Ukraine and in the upper Midwest.  Maybe you would be willing to help provide support to assist with our travel costs and the costs of the events we lead.  In October we will be bringing together these 16 Regional Leaders and their spouses for a two-day training.  We cover all costs of lodging and meals plus gift packages that include notebooks, pens, and candy.  Plus, we will be traveling to many regions, and we will need to cover our transportation and lodging costs as we meet with regional leaders and their teams.

We can’t do this on our own!  This will only be accomplished with the help of others and God doing the impossible.  If you would like to discuss more, we would be happy to meet with you.  You can reach us at Rick.Post@potentialendeavors.com or Info@potentialendeavors.com

You can give directly with a credit card at  Donate – Potential Endeavors or send a check to the address listed on the donate page.   If it is for the leadership mentoring group, just note it in the comments section.

  

Categories
Journey

Never Stop Dreaming

It has been four years since we formed our non-profit, Potential Endeavors.  During these years it has been a time of listening and watching for God’s direction.  We have often thought we knew where we were going only to see God close one door and open another one.  During these four years our vision to help people find their full potential has not changed, but the way that we accomplish that vision has.  We are doing things now that we could never have dreamed of doing when we started in 2017.  In our fund raising, God has always given us what we need to cover our expenses, but never more than the minimum.  It is a constant reminder that God is in control, and we are not!

As we begin our fifth year of ministry, God has been clarifying our focus and how we go about helping people reach their God-given potential.  We have begun to weave this focus into all or work and allow it to form the foundation of our ministry.

Our first area of focus is to DREAM.  We have found that it is hard to reach the potential that God has given you if you do not take the time to dream what is possible.  That might be in the impact your church could have in its community or a passion to reach new people for Jesus.  Our potential is limited when we do not have dreams for ourselves and for the ministry or work that we do.  In addition, these dreams need to be God-sized.  Not something that you could do on your own, but only through the help of God, so that He gets all the glory. 

Let me share how this has applied to our ministry.  When we started Potential Endeavors, we dreamed of making an impact in one church and one city in Ukraine.  God closed that door and told us to dream bigger.  We thought we could impact 20-25 pastors and churches in one region of Ukraine.  But God told us our dreams were not big enough, so we started dreaming about how we could impact all 24 regions of Ukraine and the entire country.  Now that is a God-sized dream that is far greater than our skills and abilities could do.  This year we will begin working towards this dream.  This will only happen through God’s power so that He will get all the glory. 

Our second area of focus is MENTORING.  Part of finding your God-given potential is through multiplying your impact by investing and developing others.  We have tried to model this in our ministry by intentionally developing leaders and helping them to grow and develop leaders themselves.  This idea of multiplication comes from Jesus’ teaching.  In the parable of the three servants in Matthew 25, the master gives each servant differing bags of silver, one 5 bags, one 2 bags and one 1 bag.  When the master returned, he asked each servant to account for what they did with their silver.  The one given 5 grew it into 10 bags, the one given 2 bags grew it into 4 bags and the one given 1 returned just the one bag.  Read how the man who gave the silver responded to the one given 5 bags:

“The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’” Matthew 25:21 NLT

Here is the response to the one given 2 bags:

“The master said, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’” Matthew 25:23 NLT

Here is the response to the one given 1 bag:

“But the master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! If you knew I harvested crops I didn’t plant and gathered crops I didn’t cultivate, why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’”
Matthew 25:26-27 NLT

I believe that these bags of silver represent the God given potential that each of us have been given.  I believe that how we use this potential through our gifts and leadership will be assessed by God one day.  One of the areas that we can use our potential is by mentoring others and helping them to achieve their potential.

Our third area of focus is COME AND SEE.  We are using a theme from The Chosen to help leaders and churches ask some question:

  • Is your ministry a “Come and See” place? 
  • Can people “Come and See” Jesus in your life, church, ministry? 
  • Is what you are doing representing who Jesus is so that others want to “Come and See” more?

We are not trying to teach people to do it in any specific way, but rather to always ask the question; Is what we are doing “Come and See” worthy?  This may look different with each person, church, or ministry, but this is what we exist for.  If people cannot see Jesus’ teaching and life represented in what you do, why would they want to come and experience it?  In John 4, the woman at the well has a transformed life that makes people want to “Come and See”, and ultimately that is what our potential is for – to transform lives with Jesus.

As we continue to follow God’s plans for our potential, we are working with leaders in Ukraine to bring this message to all the regions.  This fall we will be doing a training with the Regional Pastors; these are the leaders for the churches in each region and working to start mentoring groups in at least 10 regions.  We will be traveling to several regions and meeting with these leaders and these mentoring groups and training them how to replicate this vision across their region.  These mentoring groups are to grow future pastors and church leaders to help their churches and ministries to multiply both in the number of new churches and in the people existing churches are reaching.

These are God-sized dreams.  We cannot accomplish this without God opening doors and changing hearts.  This expansion of our ministry will require more resources and we are praying that people will step forward and be willing to help by sponsoring a region to do these mentoring meetings.  We are looking for $1000 per year for three years for each mentoring group.  This provides half of the costs for gathering the group, food, housing, and training materials.  We hope that each group will consist of 15-20 young leaders that we can work with to help them recognize and grow their potential.

If this is something you or your church would be interested in doing, please let me know.  I would be happy to talk more with you about this, or you can give directly to our ministry by clicking here.

https://www.potentialendeavors.com/donation/donate/
Categories
Ukraine

Overcoming Fear

When I first heard that we were going to visit the war zone in Ukraine, my first reaction was one of fear and uncertainty.  Is it safe?  How will Americans be viewed in this territory?  Weren’t there other regions we could visit?  One thing I have learned during our ministry work with Potential Endeavors is that we often do not understand why we are doing something, but we must trust God because he often has a plan for us that we cannot see and often understand.

So as we do in Ukraine, we responded with ok, let’s do it.  Saying yes does not instantly remove the fear, but it does remove the control that I often like to have.

On Friday morning we headed off on our journey.  Our first stop was in the border city of Kharkiv.  We stayed in the home of the Regional Pastor of the Kharkiv region.  We were close to the border of Russia, but this was not the occupied territory, so we felt safe.  As we went to bed that night, we heard what sounded like gunfire off in the distance.  Not sure if that was what we heard, but it certainly did not do much to calm my nerves as we prepared to head into the Luhansk and Donetsk regions.

Saturday morning we got up early to drive to Serviadonesk.  It is the second largest city in the Luhansk region and has become the government center since Russia has occupied the largest city of Luhansk.  As we drove, we came to a military checkpoint.  Ukrainian army personnel stopped all vehicles.  We had to show our passports and explain our purpose in entering the region.  I rolled down my window and showed the soldier my passport.  When he saw it was an American passport, he got a big smile and said thank you to us.  It was a small gesture, but it helped to put my mind at ease and let me know that things were going to be ok on this trip.  As we drove, we saw military vehicles – tanks, personnel carriers and trucks which once again reminded me we were close to dangerous places, but I felt safe.

We arrived at the church where we were holding the meeting.  This was a gathering of the Regional Pastor, his wife and 15 pastors and church leaders with their spouses.  We had a time of sharing with each other and hearing about their ministry work.  We heard about the challenging times since the war begin 7 years ago.  We heard about the people who have left the region, joblessness, and the level of depression in the area.  But we also heard how thankful they were for our visit.  We were the first Americans that they had seen since the war began.  It gave them hope that maybe others would begin to return and help them as they do ministry.

Those fears that I had felt when I first heard about going to this region were gone.  I now saw why God had us make this trip!  As we had two checkpoints on our exit, the fear was gone.  This experience taught me a few things:

First, my fears can often keep me from doing the things that God wants me to do.  I would not have chosen to go to this territory on my own, but I believe this was where God wanted us to be on this trip.

Second my fears are usually based around wanting to be in control.  I was not in control of this trip, I just had to go where God sent us.

Third, my fears are based on what I think could happen rather than trusting that God will protect me and take care of me.

We are so thankful that we were able to make this visit.  We met some great people and in a small way we were able to encourage the pastors and church leaders to look at their ministry and ask themselves if they should do things differently to reach their communities with the hope of Jesus Christ.

Categories
Ukraine

Come and See

We are Going Back!

After 15 months of dealing with the Covid restrictions, we are finally returning to Ukraine!  We are so excited to return to continue our work and to see the many friends we have been missing.  While we have been able to see pictures and talk on social media, there is still nothing like face to face interactions.

While we have been to Ukraine many times, after this pandemic it feels like we are starting new again.  Much has changed in the world since we were in Ukraine last.  Travel requires masks, Covid tests, vaccinations and possibly quarantines.  Gatherings have been limited.  People are encouraged to stay six feet apart.  Transportation has changed as have services provided by hotels, like meals.  People’s lives have changed due to sickness and deaths.  And in Ukraine, worry over Russian threats has increased.

Yet, with all these changes, we are excited to return to Ukraine.  We still know that even though conditions have changed, the Good News of Jesus is still the same.  We know that now is the time for churches to think differently about how they connect with people.  We know that people have moved to more on-line experiences and the importance of a church’s online presence has never been more important.  The world has forever changed, so churches cannot go back to trying to be as they were before covid hit.

As we return this week, our theme for the trip is “Come and See”.  We took this from The Chosen, which is such a great telling of the story of Jesus.  As people met Jesus, they would tell others to “Come and See” what an amazing person Jesus was.  Nathanial and the woman at the well, used these words as they shared with their friends, family, and neighbors about their interaction with Jesus.  Throughout the gospels, Jesus healed the sick, provided for the needs of the hungry, challenged the teaching of the religious leaders, spent time with the outcasts from society so that He could share the Good News of Living Water, Truth and Life.

Our prayer is that as we share with pastors and church leaders, we can accomplish three things: 

  • Encourage them as they have been leading through a challenging season.
  • Challenge them to ask the question “Is our church and place where people can “Come and See” Jesus.
  • Provide them tools to help them make the changes that they need to make them relevant to this changed world.

Be praying for us as we travel.  Pray that we have negative covid tests and can manage 20 hours of wearing a mask.  Pray for our meetings and time with pastors and leaders that we can encourage and support them in their ministry.

Categories
Journey

Hope

It is early March, and I am sitting on my deck enjoying this unusually warm and sunny weather.  Warm weather after a long winter always brings a sense of optimism and hope for what is coming.  The snow is mostly gone, and the birds are singing all around me.

More than ever, this spring is needed!  It was one year ago that we were in Ukraine.  It was our last trip.  We were both sick with what now seems like Covid symptoms, but we did not know what we were sick with.  We were in a country with friends we love, but far away from our home and family.  The borders were beginning to be closed and we had to make last minute plans to get home before the flights were cancelled and the borders were closed.

The past year has been quite a year!  We have seen an international shut down due to Covid.  We have seen violent protests, normal lives changed, and the loss of connection with friends.  People have moved to work from home, schools have been on-line and having dinner with friends has been non-existent.  We have been unable to return to Ukraine and our ministry work has had to be done in different ways.  I have experienced the death of my sister from Covid and my brother-in-law due to an heart attack.  I have had friends get sick with Covid and just recently, I have tested positive for it as well.  Lives have forever been changed!

But…. spring brings us new hope!  After a year of this pandemic, it is time to return to some sense of normal!  Vaccines are being given and cases of Covid are going down.  Restaurants are open and people are beginning to gather together again.  There are signs of a return to some sense of community again!  Just as the warm weather and sunshine bring promise that winter is over and green grass and flowers are soon to return, there is promise that we will soon be able to return to some sense of normal again!

God did not create us to be alone.  He did not design us to wear masks and to hide our smiles and faces from those around us.  He designed us for touch and community.  I love these verses from the Bible that offer hope:

“For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland. The wild animals in the fields will thank me, the jackals and owls, too, for giving them water in the desert. Yes, I will make rivers in the dry wasteland so my chosen people can be refreshed.”
Isaiah 43:19-20 NLT

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”
Jeremiah 29:11 NLT

“For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!”
2 Corinthians 4:17 NLT

As you read this blog, my hope and prayer for you is that you will see the hope of the future!  This season we have gone through is coming to an end and there are exciting times coming!  With God in your life, there is hope for today and hope for tomorrow because God is ultimately in control.

Categories
Journey

Tribute to my Sister Jan!

Today my sister left this earth to go to heaven to be with her Savior Jesus Christ and to be re-united with her husband, infant daughter and parents who had died before her.  Though her death was not a surprise, as she has dealt with health problems her whole life, the way she died was heart-breaking.  Due to Covid, she was all alone as the ventilator was removed and she breathed her last breath.  Her son had been able to visit for a brief time, but not allowed to be by her side.  We were not able to be there to say goodbye as she breathed her last breath.

But this document is not to dwell on the sadness of her death but to celebrate the greatness of her life.  Jan was one of the most joy-filled Godly women that I have ever met.  Despite her many physical difficulties and challenges she faced, she never complained and always had a smile on her face.  Though she lived most of her life on disability and never had an abundance of money, she was always willing to give anything she had to help someone else. 

Jan was my older sister by 10 years, and I was always her little brother.  That meant when I was young, I was her little doll to dress up and take care of.  When I was in college, she would offer me a place to stay When I was an adult, she was always looking out for me and making sure I was ok.  Even in the last few months together, when we would be together, she would ask me, “Do you need any money?  Are you doing ok?  Even though she had little herself.

Jan was a talented entertainer.  She was a ventriloquist and storyteller and could entertain the children with her stories.  Her puppet was George, and he was the most popular member of the family.  Jan was a nurse and always was a caregiver to others that she interacted with.

Jan had a life filled with medical difficulties, even though you would never hear her complain or let them slow her down.  She came down with Diabetes Type 1 as a 13-year-old, but she never let her dependence on insulin get in her way.  She worked at camps, graduated from nursing school, and met her husband Marv.  They got pregnant but lost their baby girl at birth.  They adopted their son Josh after that.  Jan’s health was impacted by her diabetes and she had many health-related problems over the years.  She lost most of her sight, dealt with cancer and heart issues.  But nothing would hold her back.

Jan was a servant at heart.  She loved Jesus and let her life show His love through her.  She was always involved at church and would help wherever she was needed.  Because of her skills at teaching, she would always be involved in working with kids.  No matter who you were, she could always make you feel like you were the most important person in the world to her.  She could make you laugh but could also cry with you if you needed that.

Jan’s husband, Marv, died suddenly six months ago of a heart attack.  Over the past six months I have had more time to talk with her and this time has been such a blessing.  In her marriage she had to deal with some hard things and her living conditions were far from ideal, but she never complained.  She was thankful for the care and support she received.  It was special to be able to see her have fun shopping and eating at her favorite restaurants and even being able to treat her little brother to a meal.

Her life was cut short due to Covid, but she made the most of the time she had.  She was a blessing to many, and an inspiration to others.  Though she is gone now, she will always be my “Big Sister”!  Miss you already!

Categories
Journey

Impact

Today is a day of reflection.  A time to give thanks for the many blessings and people that have impacted our lives.  As I get older, I think about the people in my life who have had a significant impact in my life over the years.  This year I chose to reflect on some of those people.  There are many others I could think of, but these individuals came to my mind as I was writing this.

The first is the biggest impact on my life and that is my wife Beth.  Beth has been my cheerleader, supporter, and greatest champion in my life.  She has given me hope when I have been down, encouragement when I needed a champion, forgiveness when I have screwed up and unconditional love each day!  She is the reason behind every success I have achieved throughout my life!

The next person who came to mind was my father-in-law John Sahlin.  John modeled for me what it means to be a sacrificial father and husband.  He models the life of a servant and I learned that the role of a father and husband is to provide and serve.

Next is Greg Duppler.  Greg was one of my first bosses at Target.  He gave me my first career opportunity and made a huge impact as I developed in my career at Target.  He gave me exposure to senior management and allowed me the freedom to explore new ideas.  He promoted me and laid the foundation for my financial success over the years.

The second leader from Target that had a big influence on me was Fred Argir.  Fred brought out the leadership and vision in me.  He was a big thinker, and we spent a lot of time dreaming about what was possible and how we could work together to accomplish it.  He believed in me and was instrumental in my career move into Information Technology and team leadership.

Next was Scott Anderson from Eagle Brook Church.  Scott was my boss for 4 ½ years.  He helped me to move from corporate leadership to ministry.  He was always honest and direct and gave me the hard feedback when I needed it, but never lost his trust in my ability to learn and grow.  He modeled servant leadership and taught me how to learn how to impact others in a positive way.

Also from my time at Eagle Brook Church is Byron Emmert.  Byron was a peer at Eagle Brook Church for 4+ years.  Byron is such an awesome coach and inspirational leader.   He was always there when I needed someone to encourage me.  He knew how to listen and provide the right words of wisdom you needed when you are down.

Last on the List is Kiril Abazher.  Kiril is a friend from Ukraine.  We met 5+ years ago at a meeting at church when he was visiting with a group of leaders from New Life Church in Ukraine.  We made an instant connection and have been friends since.  Kiril was a key impact in my life when I was going through a job transition.  He believed in me and pointed me towards the future potential I had.  Kiril is one of those people who never allows “No, or you can’t” get in his way.  His friendship and support have been so important to me and what we are doing today with Potential Endeavors.

These individuals are just some of the people who have impacted me over the years.  As I think of them, I wonder if I have ever thanked them for the impact they made on my life.  Sharing this document is one way of acknowledging them, but I should also send a note to thank them personally.

Who are the people that have made an impact on your life?  Have you told them how you feel about them?  Do not wait! You never know what the future holds!

Categories
Journey

Ministry Update

Covid-19 has had an impact on all of us!  It has changed the way we interact, work, socialize and travel.  As I am writing this, my state (Minnesota) is moving towards another shutdown.  Restaurants, bars, fitness centers are closed to visitors.  We are being told to not gather for Thanksgiving with anyone who does not live with us.  We are seeing an increase in fear all around us.  This virus is getting close to our family as well.   My in-laws and my sister and her family have all been diagnosed with the virus.  Fortunately, it has been mild cases and no deaths close to me, but I know many families have lost loved ones due to this virus.

In our ministry work, we work with churches and pastors.  This virus has hit them hard.  Pastors have had to deal with difficult decisions at their church.  Things like opening or closing their in-person services; requiring masks or making them optional; budgetary challenges due to lost revenue.  They also face a new reality of less people attending church services in person and how to engage with their attenders and reach new ones in this new world we live in.  We have not been able to travel to Ukraine to do our conferences and training, so we have had to find new ways to provide resources and material to help the churches there as well.

With pastors struggling with burnout, fatigue, church conflict, staffing issues and purpose, the demand and need for our ministry has never been higher.  We are working with more pastors and churches than ever before.  Our ministry of providing encouragement, support and coaching is needed like never before, but we cannot do this without ministry partners.  We provide our resources at no cost to the churches and pastors who receive it.  This is intentional as many are small churches with limited resources to begin with.  Your support allows us to travel, as possible, and meet over video calls to listen to the needs of the pastor and provide help and encouragement.

We would love it if you would be willing to be a ministry partner with us.  We need your prayers and your gifts to do what we do.  Your financial contributions provide the dollars we need to travel and provide resources to train pastors from Ukraine to the upper Midwest.  While things are shut down now, we expect that with a vaccine, travel will be resuming in 2021 and we will return to Ukraine to work with leaders on how to learn from 2020 and make the change needed to reach the next person for Jesus.

We have created a fundraiser on Facebook for Giving Tuesday, which is December 1st.  We are hoping to raise $20,000 for ministry expenses to wrap up 2020 and start for 2021.  Donations are accepted on Facebook on the Potential Endeavors page, or on our website at https://potentialendeavors.com/donate.   Will you pray about how God would like to use you to support our ministry?

If you would like to receive our newsletter, send us a message at rick.post@potentialendeavors.com and you can follow us on Facebook or Instagram.  Our Instagram ID is @potential_endeavors.

Categories
Book

Love Has a Name

My friend, Pastor Adam Weber from Embrace Church, just published this new book called “Love Has a Name” which is about loving your neighbor.  I had the privilege of getting to read an early version of this book and was so excited for it to be released.

This book helps you look at the way you see people.  The book highlights people in Adam’s life.  I love how Adam uses a name for each person in the book.  When you know a person’s name, the walls and barriers towards that person come down.  When you know someone’s name, it means you taken the time to listen and learn about their story.  When you learn someone’s name, you have stepped out of your comfort zone and put yourself in their space. 

Like story of the Good Samaritan in Bible, it forces me to ask the question of whether I am like the religious person who walks past the injured person and avoids messy or difficult people or am I like the good Samaritan who stops and helps the person?  It makes me ask if I see people as Jesus sees them or through my own judgmental eyes?

This book left me asking the following questions:

  • Who are the messy people in my life that I try to avoid?
  • Who has shown me love when I was needing to be loved?
  • How do I learn to see all people through the eyes of Jesus, who demonstrated His love for all by dying for us?

I encourage you to purchase a copy of this book.  It is available at Amazon or other book retailers like Target.

Categories
Journey

Words

WORDS

It has been a long time since I wrote a blog.  With all that has happened in the world I did not feel that one more opinion needed to be added.  But I feel that something inside me needs to be said.  My last post back in January talked about the 10 words that had shaped my past decade.  As I think about the past six months, there are six words that have reshaped our world – Covid-19, Injustice, Radicalism, Fear, Intolerance, and Distancing.

COVID-19

When we left for Ukraine the beginning of March, we knew that the coronavirus was impacting China and had started to spread to Italy, but we never expected that the world would begin to shut-down in  the middle of our trip and that we would have to find last minute travel arrangements to get home.  Having traveled through the airports in Kiev, Amsterdam and New York (JFK), we isolated ourselves for 17 days to be safe.  We never expected that the virus would change the world the way it has. 

INJUSTICE

During the time of lockdown, things still happen, and we experienced a world incensed due to racial injustice brought on by the tragic death of George Floyd.  We watched as the world forgot about the virus and took to the street to protest and in some cases rioting and looting to express their pent-up emotions.  While some good has come from dialog around racial injustice and the need to help those impacted, there has also been increased violence and polarization.

RADICALISM

We seem to have lost the center for our views and dialog.  Our politics seem to have been driven by the fringes of the right or left and we can no longer find common ground to work together.  We hear extreme views and failure to agree with them makes you an outcast.  To get what people want, they have taken over the rule of law and used violence to make their point.

FEAR

We are living in a state of fear.  Fear of getting COVID-19, fear of spreading the virus to others, fear of catching the virus from virtually anything.  Fear of economic collapse.  Fear of having to teach your kids at home with distance learning.  Fear of attending any gathering.  The fear is damaging the mental health of so many.  Depression, suicide, mental illness, drug and alcohol abuse seem to be growing under the surface.

INTOLERANCE

Our world has moved into a place of political correctness.  There are a set of beliefs that you have to agree with or you are labeled as intolerant.  You can’t disagree or debate these views without being labeled as a racist, bigot, hater or just wrong.  Whatever happened to the world where we cared more about the person than about the cause?  Today it seems like the cause is all that matters and we don’t care about showing love or respect to people who think, look or act differently than us.

DISTANCING

Social distancing has become the new norm.  Wearing face masks, staying 6 feet apart, no hugging, hand shakes or touch.  But is this how we were designed?  I believe we were created for touch.  To be close to each other and to use healthy touch to show love, care and acceptance.

But are these the words I want to have shape my world?  Not really.  Where is truth in all this?  I have found that Covid-19 has impacted me as well.  I do not know what the future of our ministry is.  Will we be able to travel and do conferences as we have in the past?  Will we be able to raise support in this time of financial uncertainty?  I have found that even my voice has been silent during this past season.  I have not written posts or updated our web pages or social media accounts.  I have struggled to know what to say without just adding to the noise.

Recently I finished reading Bob Goff’s latest book “Dream Big”.  It reminded me of the importance of dreaming and not allowing distractions to keep you from going after your ambitions.  I had to ask myself – is Potential Endeavors still my dream?  Am I still passionate about helping people reach their full potential?  Am I still passionate about helping pastors and churches to manage through these challenging times and not lose focus to reach the next person for Jesus?  Am I still excited to work with leaders in Ukraine to help them and their churches? 

As I thought through these questions, the answer came back yes!  I still am!  I just need to knock down the obstacles and self-imposed limitations and get after it again.  Travel may still be an issue, but we can communicate with video.  I can still encourage, support and help pastors and leaders in Ukraine as well as across Minnesota and the Dakotas.  Just like so many churches are having to do in the face of Covid-19, I am going to need to pivot.  I’m going to make the changes I need to make and I am going to knock down the walls that have been put up to stop us.

As I go forward, I want my focus to be on three words:  TRUTH, HOPE, ENCOURAGE

TRUTH

There is only one truth, and that is in Jesus.  As Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one can come to the Father except through me.”  The world is full of noise.  It is hard to know what is true and what is false news.  But I know this one thing – in the end it all comes down to Jesus.  We can’t control the news or the virus or the impact that it has, but we can decide where we find our truth and our plans for the future, and I chose to make that Jesus and his gift of salvation.

HOPE

Our world is filled with so much anxiety, uncertainty and for some hopelessness.  We are seeing soaring levels of depression, addiction and suicide.  I want to be a person who helps bring HOPE to the HOPELESS.  I love what Romans 5:5 says “And this hope will not lead to disappointment.  For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.”  Where is your hope today?  Is it in the government?  Is it in pharmaceutical companies striving to create a vaccine?  Is it in yourself?  My hope comes from my relationship with Jesus Christ.  He promises to be with us and guide us if we let Him.  God is in control!  I don’t need to let the noise of the world take away my hope for the future.

ENCOURAGE

In this time on craziness, my focus in to be an encouragement to others.  I want to be there to listen, support and help people process through these uncertain times.  I have seen that this time has been especially hard on pastors.  There is so much division within the church that they have to deal with.  Do we meet in person?  Do we wear masks?  Do we offer kids programming?  Everyone seems to have an opinion, yet the pastors have to make difficult decisions and no matter what they do, someone will not approve.  I love the words from Hebrews 10:25, “And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of His return is drawing near.”  I am not making a political statement about whether churches should be open or not, but I am using this as a reminder for myself that I need to meet with others to encourage them.  It may be in person or over video calls, but people need encouragement and that is what I want to do.

So how about you?  What are the words or themes that you are going to focus on?  What are your dreams or ambitions that you have put on hold and need to get a restart on?  Are you living in a state of fear or hopelessness and need to get yourself back refocused?  If you are, find someone to talk to.  If you need to talk, send me an email at Rick.Post@potentialendeavors.com.  I would be happy to talk and be an encouragement.  If you are feeling like you are in a good place, then see who you could be an encouragement to today.  Send your pastor a note thanking them for their leadership, commitment and willingness to lead through challenging times!