subscribe to this Newsletter Disagreement Day Our Releasing Kings feedback page (You Wrote Back) reads like we filter all the negative feed back out. Really we don't. We just get a ton of positive feed back. So much so that I mentioned it to my friend, Jim Bryson, and he graciously mailed back an area of imbalance. Sooo...we're hosting disagreement day in this newsletter. One of the best ways to depth sound your convictions is to contrast them with the opposite position. Jim Bryson is a good friend and I benefit from his comments. He helped edit Releasing Kings. He's particularly helpful because he naturally gravitates to opinions different than my own... He comes complete with a different personality, different gifts, different tastes, and different motivations. Our conversations are always interesting before we figure out the middle ground. I used to think of that as compromising - the process of diluting truth until stubborn people get on the same side - my side. Now I've adopted a more Jewish approach. Understanding truth is connecting the opposing tensions that hold it in balance. This could be a series so I'm inviting you to email me your area of disagreement. If you do, we'll convert this into disagreement month and really learn something. The only prerequisite is that you have to actually read Releasing Kings first. Meet Jim - Yeah, you know...there is this stupid optimism on the part of Christians who are unencumbered by the thought process.  Our emphasis on faith and positive confession causes us to buy into anything as if our belief alone can turn a pig into a purse.  No such thing, though.  I believe failure is a taskmaster, if only we accept the lesson, get up, and move on.  Note the operative phrase here:  GET UP.  The hardest thing to do after a fall: get back up. I stress, too, the need to emphasize in your writing the average, hardworking Joe who saves a bit out of every pay check and at the end of his/her working life, has a few bucks in the bank with which to retire, maybe buy a boat (or bike, or <God forbid> a horse) and have some fun. The saver is every bit a King.  Lack of entrepreneurial endeavors does not disqualify a person.  In fact, WE NEED THEM.  They balance out the more adventurous among us, those that would (and do) bet the farm on a whim and a prayer.  Again: do not neglect the conservative saver, investor, thinker.  So much of this so far seems to favor the risk taker.  And it seems to glorify the risk taker.  If you want to highlight risk taking entrepreneurs, then write about their failures as much as you write about their successes.  I'm guessing that you'll find a ratio of 5 to 1.  5 failures (at least) for every 1 success.  I'm also guessing that for many - but not all - the success outweighs the failure. You could do an entire newsletter on failure.  It'll be good for 'em. Scare 'em a little bit. Scare 'em - OK, you asked for it. Business - 90% of all business starts fail in the first year. Investing - Venture capitalists invest in 10 things and expect half to fail, 3 or 4 to be mediocre, and 1 or 2 to be good. Network marketing - a friend who's career is in network marketing told me the most popular company, who's name I won't mention, had to have 13,000 people in their down line before they made an engineers salary... made me want to keep working! In the end all Christians die no matter what their occupation. Solomon summed it up best in the following verse. Vanity is used 33 times in the book of Ecclesiastes alone - makes an interesting study. Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity Eccl 1:2  He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity. Eccl 5:10 KJV Why Try? - Why take a risk and become entrepreneurial? God is simply tugging on the hearts of Kings. Regardless of personality, many in this hour are being drawn to their dream. They simply can no longer grind out their entire lives working on someone else's dream in exchange for an hourly wage and then retire for golf. Their hearts won't allow them to. Every Christian has some corner of his spiritual walk where there is a dream. Our real message is that it's important to pursue that dream in your heart's desire... not recklessly or irresponsibly. We come alive when we start to pursue the unique dream that God has in our hearts. We die a little bit when we give up on it. Note to Joe - We don't intend to depreciate hard-working "Joes" that work for a salary and retire on a pension to enjoy life. We just say there may be something more exciting that resides in their heart. Similarly, we know God can and does heal disease, but we don't "blame" people that die of cancer. We know that healing is real; so we contend for it in every way possible. We know that a lifestyle directed toward expanding the Kingdom is possible and so we're contending for that too, in every way possible.... OK Jim, I think I may have just depreciated them again (sorry). Are Christians Gullible? - There is some level of risk in every step of faith. However, there is a tendency in Christians to get a green light from the Holy Spirit and then proceed to commit fiscal suicide. Why? Many believe that once we have the direction of God He will then sovereignly protect us from failure... He doesn't. This is a doctrinal issue. God really does allow us to "make" decisions and reap the consequences. He doesn't spell out every detail and relay it to us via the Holy Spirit. Servants wish He would... friends know He doesn't. Maturity is walking with God, not behind Him. Real life is more practical than we realize. When the Holy Spirit prompts us to move toward a dream, we often skip the counsel of those with more experience. Also, that fatherly counsel in practical areas is often scarce. We haven't valued the wisdom of businessmen in spiritual circles. Due diligence, business plans, and exit strategies should be the "spiritual" disciplines for Kings moving into a new area. Jim's got a good point on this one. If anyone has a purse made out of a pig, please gift wrap it and send it to him with a thank you note. Is it OK to Have Fun? - Absolutely. I have 9 horses (see www.garfieldranch.com). Here's what I've found. Fun for a servant is getting away from it all. Friends and Kings that are connected to their heart's desires really enjoy what they do and are energized by it. They will usually do more than one thing for fun, but the need to escape the boredom of their daily routine isn't there. They love what they do. What will Heaven be like - I once heard a sermon about the 4 and 20 elders bowing before the throne for all eternity. The suggestion was that that's what we would do. It scared me. I love God, but I'm not drawn to clouds, harps, streets of gold, or mansions. We don't really know much about the detail of what Heaven will be like... we're not even sure where it will be (might be on earth at least for one millennium). Here's why I think it's important to pursue your heart's desire. Our relationship with God will extend right into eternity. We'll walk with the Father then, just like we can now. I think we'll still have opportunities for responsibility, creativity, and making decisions. In the bigger scheme of things, eternity starts now. Don't wait for the next life to enjoy this one. Relationally, heaven will be a continuation of the walk with God we have right now. Be Kingly - take the initiative to make a difference... be creative, innovative, adventurous, entrepreneurial, responsible and generous. Be like Jesus. "'Well done, my good servant!' his master replied. 'Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities .' Luke 19:17    Life is an adventure. People are a blessing. God is amazing. We're winning.   Love, John & Harold     (are dancing - Join us) New Book - Our goal in Releasing Kings was to articulate a theological basis for Marketplace ministry such that people naturally mature toward being more entrepreneurial and more generous. Harold has continued that theme in a new book that I really enjoyed. This book is a brief explanation of Resurrection-based Christianity entitled Jesus Came Out of the Tomb, So Can You. It also appears on our Recommendations Page. There are four other books that tie closely to the chapters in Part 2 of Releasing Kings that are all worth while. 4 No longer will they call you Deserted, or name your land Desolate. But you will be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for the LORD will take delight in you, and your land will be married. 5 As a young man marries a maiden, so will your sons marry you; as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you.  Isa 62:4-5 www.releasing-kings.com Conferences - The Last trip to the Netherlands was a real eye-opener! I greatly underestimated the value of our book, the impact of the message on individual lives, and the value of live conferences. I witnessed the power of God being unleashed in the hearts of men and women by simply explaining the theology and experience behind releasing their heart's desire to expand the Kingdom. Seeing the lights come up in the hearts of God's people feels like sponsoring a jailbreak. One of my goals is to equip others to help us share the message in conference formats before we get overwhelmed with the momentum of what God is about to do. If your church or organization is ready, we can help you start a fire... a big one! Send us your feedback! johnsue@clearwire.com We get blessed by your emails at "You Wrote Back"  Past newsletters are now Indexed to Chapters in Releasing Kings! Newsletters associated with chapter 12 relate to this week's theme    _____________________________________________________________________ Interested in your own WEB? We've posted information on the software we use to create this web site. If you survive the learning curve without losing your sanctification (mine is barely intact), it really is easy to use and the cost is $299 a year - much less expensive than hiring someone. The primary benefit is the ease of making your own changes. Additional info is at: http://www.releasing-kings.com/releasing-websites.html     Progress - Kingly Bio's are Up We've completed the first round of interviews with Kings.  These are real people that have been blessed by God in the Market Place and have hearts for ministry.  Check it out at http://www.releasing-kings.com/Interviewing-Kings.html.  If you have a success story, we'd like to post it by giving you a web page on our site.     Progress - A Teacher's Guide We've completed the first version of a study guide that targets those teaching the material in Releasing Kings.  It includes a page of notes on each chapter, all the graphics suitable to make overheads, and a PDF file of the book with the key points highlighted that includes marginal notes, comments, and questions.  This material is available for purchase on the teacher's guide page of the web. johnsue@clearwire.com 509-308-6873     Friends Tell Friends God has given us a great tool to communicate a message that sets people free in an amazing, contagious, life-changing way.  If you haven't read it - get it.  If you have read it - give it.  http://www.releasing-kings.com/Ordernow.html   We've gotten a ton of positive feedback on the newsletter too... get it, give it.  Reloading Seniors was powerful.  Pass the link on. http://www.releasing-kings.com/Newsletter.html   PS: don't forget to look at the free reports - show your pastor the article on marketplace ministry from the pastor's perspective.  You can simply email him this link or print a copy to give him. http://releasing-kings.com/pastors-perspective.html     ____________________________________________________________________ You can get your copy of Releasing Kings for Ministry in the Marketplace at 1-800-308-5837 (or) http://www.releasing-kings.com/Ordernow.html