Thursday, January 24, 2013

The Spirit Savvy Network ... a vision

by Dale Shumaker
The Spirit Savvy Network
www.spiritsavvy.net
4spirit@gmail.com

So what is a Spirit Savvy Network? Email or call me and I will be glad to explain it in detail. 417-224-3517.  Although below I share a few insights.

In short, an incredible, without explanation, a tremendous move of God's Spirit is coming. We want to see it advance and enlarge and with support to see it is maintained. Many moves come and fade. We exist to create a stable system that it does not fade, but grow. That is what a Spirit Savvy Network is about. 

I shared my vision with someone over coffee. Then a few days later someone else suggested I share it on my Facebook page. So I did. This is the flow of thought that came out to explain it.


We have what we call church today. I have had a vision of what this should be for over 20 years now. So I began, began, began again, quietly, and somewhat unnoticed building an infrastructure for this new "organism" of Spirit, not so much organizational. A True Spiritual move is coming from God's Spirit. I am building an infrastructure for it, so it will be mobilized and fluid. The biggest difference is it will not be brick and mortar, visibly, or organizationally based. But Highly Relationship based(capital letters intended here). I was encouraged by some solid Spiritual leaders of the Church to create it. These past Saints of God have died now. But the vision remains ever so strong in me. When the Spirit of a Sovereign nature hits, a system in Spirit will be in place, people will have access to Spiritual growth systems without prejudice, i.e., it will center around the very person of Jesus Christ with less interest in a "denominational” type-cast of who you are in Spirit...baptist, pentecostal, evangelical, mainline, spiritual, etc., on and on." These names will disappear. It will be back to blocking and tackling(as Vince Lombardi said).

So then the purpose for the Spirit Savvy Network is to facilitate a Spiritual growth system and create an infrastructure for the Principles of Spirit to flourish in life and the marketplace. I saw a huge need here. Over 200 million people in the US alone are not part of the current church system. I am not against church, but it is a man-made system today. It needs to be rejuvenated of which I feel is a noble cause. Those in the system I thought would be the first to say..., “yeah, how can we refine this to the origins of power and dynamic community it was meant to be.”  To my surprise, those in the established church system seemed lesser receptive to the idea than those outside the system.

I shy away from groups, organizations, ideas that people follow. I simply follow the person I have come to enjoy personally, and finding others who share in that. When people ask, "what church do you go to?" I am perplexed. I don't think that way. I am connected to a Person... not a group. And I connect to those who connect to that Person as well. It's all person to person to person and personal. As Oswald Chambers said I also share, “The Apostle Paul was devoted to a Person, not to a cause. He was absolutely Jesus Christ’s."

The best way I saw was to create a new structural dynamic so it could be vibrant within its own characteristics... in other words self-perpetuating, not organizationally driven.   I have been looking as well for those who would help me to make something better. I have to be honest to my convictions, from the Spirit. I may have to continue pressing on alone in this, but I got to do what I see as the right thing, the best for the creation of God He put on earth.

Well, this has been over a twenty year experience of trying my best to convince others. I am at the place in life I must take what I have been commissioned to do and get it going. Hope to find a few out there to help.
It's a group thing. Many in cooperation are needed.



How will this play out?
Christ in Spirit is not limited. Those in relationship will experience His Presence and His companionship in a walking-the-streets way. Every day activities will have His Presence within it. Compassion and unselfish interests will be prominent. Kindness to others will flourish, and Love will have a natural foothold on everyone's life. Once I was not hooked into an established fellowship. During this time, feeling somewhat disconnected, I learned a big lesson... the blocking and tackling of Spirit... the Bible talks, Prayer works, Friends in Spirit empower, honesty in life prevails. It's simple, but dynamic when practiced daily. Life joys are simple. Stress is not necessary. We all can do it... rich, poor, smart, slow... we all can do it.

So the Spirit Savvy Network is being created as a platform for those 200 million who really in their hearts seek God and want to find Him. The Spirit Savvy Network is much like open source technologies available that all can use. It simply trains people in the process used within the Acts of the Apostles , what Paul taught in His letters, what Jesus defined in principle is our lifestyle identity.

The main ingredients are
prayer...
tapping into Spiritually fed lifestyle;
our mission
which is God's gifts in us used to empower community which also produces commerce as a byproduct;
a training system
for the individual (the New Breed Mission-ary Entrepreneur);
and develop those to disciple and assist others
(the Entrepreneur Mission-ary Accelerator). 

These components create the Spiritual apparatus for a "Re-freshed, God-freshed" Spiritual Community with Jesus Christ Himself, In Spirit Among Us, to guide the whole thing.


And just to let you know, the characteristics of Ephesians 4 for guiding people are there...
the biz leader who trains and disciples others is like a pastor,
the entrepreneur is naturally prophetically gifted.
Those with sales skills are natural evangelists,
and managers are natural teachers.
It's all there, all that we call church today in function can be reproduced in the marketplace and day to day activities.

It is developed with Spirit as the core emphasis, and then these other skills in lifestyle, business, community management, work. You see Spirit drives, mobilizes and empowers everything. So Spirit as the core creates a new dynamic that makes everything else work at a Super-Higher level, with greater depth and stamina.  


We seem to have limited the function to one structure, which has shortcomings. Although for a new vibrancy it needs to be intertwined with our existing lifestyles.

But if enhanced with the Spirit we will see the Gifts of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12) played out as a part of our lifestyles too. A Super-natural quality will manifest itself within and through it. Gifts of Spirit will be part of every person’s weaponry for the day.

It just needs to be put in stride with the natural flow of things as we have seen in the Old Testament societies, and now, today, enhanced by the very Spirit of Jesus one with US... aka, Jesus/Spirit now embedded in a person among people connected in community, vibrant in Spirit, Love, Joy and productively living with Gifts of God.

That's what I am seeing so far. Although, it requires the connecting, collaborating insights and efforts of others to become complete. It's a mass effort, orchestrated by Spirit. The group, or rather a connected body, a network, connected in Spirit, as each works cooperatively together
Like the saying "all for one, one for all."


Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Three Feet from Gold ... finding your true value

by Dale Shumaker
Spirit Savvy Network
www.spiritsavvy.net

Three Feet from Gold by Sharon Lechter and Greg Reid brings us an update of Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich Classic and how it still is having a revolutionary impact on business success today. The authors interviewed the highly successful of today as Napoleon Hill did in the early 1900's. They found most attributed their success to being students of Napoleon Hill's works.

To establish the theme for the book, Three Feet from Gold, they told the story of how a speculator went looking for gold. He made a discovery, invested in more excavating equipment, but then ran out of finding enough gold to pay back his investment. He gave up and sold his land to a junkman. The junkman hired a mining engineer to help evaluate their mining and he directed the junkman to go perpendicular from the direction the original mines were going.

It turned out they were only three feet from a major gold fault line. The previous miners were digging the wrong direction. The point is don't quit and get expert advice when you run into a snag.

The rest of Three Feet from Gold is a review of Greg's journey to write the book and his encounter with other great successful people, many from the Napoleon Hill Foundation. Here's a run through of his notes and insights this produced. You will see a review of Napoleon Hill's principles throughout.

Some quick quips:
"The most common cause of failure is quitting."
"Before success comes, you will surely meet with temporary failure."
"To succeed you must have stickability."

He cautions us... do not make major decisions in a valley. Write down your dreams, review and revise constantly and keep pursuing new avenues from your failures and setbacks. The direction we choose every day is up to us.

The success formula is
(P + T) x A x A = success.
P... what's your Passion.
T... then add your Talent.
A... multiply this by your Associations.
A... then multiply all this by Action.
Later on they added faith to the formula as the book was nearing being a published reality.

One unique point is the problem of overplanning. Most overplan they say, and it is important to keep taking action as you know what to do next. Learn from each step and from that determine your next best action step. Each experience trains you and leads you to another. Keep climbing safe. Focus on people more than profits.

More of Greg's discovery nuggets from his interviews.

Be Goal Driven. Set high standards.

Use master mind groups. Use intelligence and accomplished experience from others who know something about what you are attempting to do.

When you are right, stick with it... and keep reminding yourself that success is the reward for setbacks. Most people give up too soon.

Do common things in a common way to get uncommon results. If you know you are right, keep doing what you're doing until it works.

Every wealth creator is crystal clear about two things... a vision and a mission.

You need two kinds of courage... First the courage to start, and then the courage to never quit. Replace your wishbone with backbone.

Believe in yourself. Find others who believe in you... even if only one person. Run from people with negative attitudes.

Opportunities surround you. Be a job-maker, not a job-taker. Make your own opportunities.

Adjust your attitude. If you want something to change then change the way you look at it.

Build energy, idea stimulating associations. Most important... find good ones that harmonize with you and that inspire you. Never let people stand in your way.

Turn adversity into advantages. Turn your doubts and doubting people into a catalyst to persevere. Be willing to change. A dream is a reality waiting for you to get there. Don't quit. (Keep saying this. We need to hear it a lot.) Never let mistakes define who you are. Make diversity and defeat motivators. Every adversity carries a seed of a greater benefit. It's the way of thinking of the achievers, accomplishers of visions and dreams.

It's always a new beginning... sometimes the worst situations turn out to be the best opportunities.

Act as if your dream is already happening, and never believe in never. Don't quit five minutes before your miracle. You're three feet from gold.

Add Faith to your success equation.
Passion plus talent times associations times action... adding faith...
equals success.

This inspired me to do my own talent evaluation and calculate my net worth.
In the 70's I completed two advanced degrees in educational communications and educational administration.
In the 80's, went to biz boot camp... built a media/video production business.
In the 90's, I was exposed to thousands of hours of personal skill development audio/video courses published by the best achievement coaches in the country.
In the 2000's completed and published summaries of over 100 best selling biz books.
Add to this wisdom (that's knowledge simmered by experience) and a special Spiritual practicum of life.
And considering the contribution I have made in my life time to hundreds of people from individuals, entrepreneurs, Fortune 500 companies, professionals...
I figured my intellectual, experience, Spiritual intelligence assets to be worth over $1,000,000 in accomplished value.

Add yours up... you'll be amazed. Now, pass it on as I do through the Spirit Savvy Business blog. And the Spirit Savvy Network. We can change the world.

At the end of Three Feet From Gold, there is an outline for creating your own personal success equation.
http://www.threefeetaway.com/

Intercessory prayer is prayer on behalf of others. This idea that we can affect people's lives other than our own is an awesome idea. Many have a specific gifting in interceding in prayer for others, to pray for others and see a positive change in the life and circumstances in the person.

In Intercession: the Throne Ministry by T. Austin-Sparks, he outlines the characteristics of the intercessor.

The Intercessor....
1. must know the Word of God.
2. be in His Spirit.
3. identifies himself with the Body of Christ.
4. is concerned about the Full Purpose of the Body of Christ.
5. will birth and bring Christ forth in fullness in other believers by the Holy Spirit.
6. will have discernment on how and what to pray.
7. will yield to the Holy Spirit for God's thoughts.
8. is not an escapist from trials of his own, so he will understand the trials of others.
9. stands against wickedness in heavenly places.
10. is an enemy of God's enemies.
11. is known in hell.
12. is a fighter who comes into active Spiritual warfare.
13. knows the authority of Christ and his position in Christ.
14. pours out his complaints before God and not men.
15. goes to his closet and becomes one with Christ.
16. knows much is required of his role.
17. is meek and lowly.
18. is a bondservant to the Holy Spirit.
19. is a person who is entrusted in the care of the Body of Christ.
20. will let Christ and the Holy Spirit pray through him.
21. is a Spiritual father to others.
22. involves one's whole life.
23. recognizes spiritual conflict in the heavens.
24. prays and intercedes in the night hours.

In If You Will Ask by Oswald Chambers, he advises us that the one we are praying for knows nothing about it. But after passing time, the life of the one prayed for shows signs of unrest and disquiet. But after praying for a while, they will begin to soften and desire to know something.

The battle is in prayer. We pray not because we are helpless, but prayer is where the power is. It is God the All Mighty one at work. All power is given through Jesus who defeated all the elements of earth. We share in this.

Also remember delays in prayer may not have anything to do with God not answering prayer, but God wanting to come closer to us. This is what He is doing in delays in answer to prayer. So delays increase our intimacy with Him and Knowing Him. We are all called to pray and prayer is where we win battles.

Learn the art of prayer and be diligent in prayer and you will change the world and bring the Glory of Christ to earth.