| January 18, 2008 |
Vol 9, Issue 2 |
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 Get Ready to Lead!
"It's simple. We're just changing the world."
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Three days to a whole new level of leadership
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Greetings!... 
I'm excited to let you know that Passing the Baton International has arranged to host a Wisdom Trek course at Sandy Cove Conference Center, a beautiful, relaxing conference site located on the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. The dates are April 9-11, 2008.
We've had requests to come to that area of the country for a long time, and I'm happy to report that our arrangement with Sandy Cove is making that possible.
We've frozen the tuition charge at last year's rate and arranged reasonably priced rooms and meals. Click on the link to your right to find out more about all of this.
Wisdom Trek is our most personal event; enrollment is around 50 people. Throughout the three days you'll have lots of learning time, lots of relaxation time, and lots of time to personally interact with me and with Passing the Baton's life coaches.
I would love for you to come! Click here for more info.
We have received well over 300 glowing testimonials in the four years we've been doing Wisdom Trek, but I thought the best way to show you how exciting this leader development program can be is through two success stories. I hope you enjoy them. | |
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| Wisdom Trek Story #1: We're in a Whole New Place! |
 Kent and Michelle Susud were just plain worn out. On the surface, everything was fine--sometimes even thrilling. Kent and Michelle had come out of the business world to develop a sports component for a camping ministry. After several years the director of that ministry agreed to spin off their work into a brand new sports mission.
SportQuest, the name of the new ministry, operated Christian sports camps in some of the most spiritually dark places in the world. God gave the ministry favor and success in countries where even internationally-known ministries had failed.
Shortly after being given the reins, Kent and Michelle felt led to move the ministry headquarters to a metropolitan location. Everything was new and the future seemed exciting.
Beneath the surface though, tension was rising. "The ministry was going great and exciting things were happening, but we struggled with understanding exactly why we existed--what to say 'yes' to and what to say 'no' to," says Kent.
As the opportunities for SportQuest increased, the lack of an overall vision only increased the wear and tear on Kent and Michelle and their team.
"We were desperately in need of focus," says Kent. "We had survived by the sheer grace of God. In my quiet times I had sensed that God was moving us from from a season of grace to a season of power--He intended to do great things through us. But how would we get started?"
With the encouragement of a SportQuest board member, Kent and Michelle brought several key team members to Wisdom Trek for three days of visioneering, leader development, strategic planning and coaching.
The SportQuest team listened to lectures on refining a vision, operating out of their God-given design and identifying and preparing leaders. During the leisurely rest times, they met around the bonfire and lingered over the delicious meals to reconnect spiritually and renew their vision.
"So many good things happened at Wisdom Trek that it has changed the nature of our ministry," Kent says. "Personally, I have been able to work with a whole new level of discipline since that time."
Says Michelle, "I feel it was extremely beneficial to our team. Not only did we bond as a team and deepen relationships, but we clarified our mission and now have a specific plan of action for the future."
As part of Wisdom Trek, Kent and Michelle worked with a life coach. It was a whole new experience, and a little uncomfortable at first. "When we first met, Sean just listened and asked questions. I thought 'Why doesn't he just TELL us what to do? I need specific advice!'
Soon, however, Kent and Michelle realized that Sean was asking deep questions to encourage them to listen to God and understand the relationship between God's purposes and their God-given designs. This compelled them to think through their mission in a whole new way, and to arrive at solutions that were consistent with their calling and their God-given design.
"Wisdom Trek was last October," Kent said, "but Sean is still following up with us and each meeting has gotten better and better."
One of Kent's most important takeaways from Wisdom Trek was also one of the most humbling: "I feel like I got permission to not know everything. I had always felt guilty when I didn't know what to do. Don't good leaders know everything? At Wisdom Trek I discovered how to seek wise counsel, and this has given me the freedom to learn and grow as a leader."
"We're in a whole new place after Wisdom Trek," says Kent. "It's still hard, and progress seems slow sometimes. But we aren't wasting a minute, and God is moving!"
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| Wisdom Trek Story #2: My Job Now Fits My Gifts! |
 Sometimes Garland Vance gets to drive the "Cow Van." If you live near a Chick-fil-A restaurant, you've probably seen it: a white van decorated with big black spots and sporting the Chick-fil-A logo. It's a clever marketing tool based on the wildly popular "Eat mor chikin" billboard campaign.
Garland gets to drive the van, and eat at Chick-fil-A as much as he wants, because he is the director of the WinShape College Program, a Chick-fil-A sponsored scholarship program that gives Chick-fil-A employees a chance to go to Berry College and live in a special residence hall where they receive leadership training and discipleship.
Garland attended Wisdom Trek two years ago, in October 2005. "Two and a half years later I continually return to the insights that I gained through our time together," he says.
Garland and his wife Dorothy wear many hats: dorm parents, counselors, teachers, friends. For the last two years their team has been working on a complete restructuring of their training and development to equip students to be successful Christians in a postmodern world.
"Wisdom Trek has played a key role in helping us to develop our five-year strategic plans," says Garland. "So often as Christians we think that we should simply pray and hope that God opens doors for us. Instead, we have learned to pray and trust God to guide us in the strategic planning."
Garland says that Wisdom Trek also led to another life change because he learned how to get the wise counsel he needs to succeed as a leader. "Since 2005 I have utilized this technique to have several mentors who have coached me in marriage and family, communication, sharing a vision, and ministering to college students," he says.
Perhaps the most memorable thing that Garland picked up at Wisdom Trek was a statement made by the speaker, Jeff Myers: "You will always influence people best when you're operating in your gifts." Garland says, "I have worked for the last two and a half years to shape my job to be in line with my gifts and to enable my co-workers to shape their jobs according to their gifts."
One of Garland's gifts is teaching. As a result of the intentional emphasis on living his gifts, Garland has been able to move from teaching one time a month to three or four times, and next year plans teaching sessions eight times a month.
Says Garland, "Thank you again for Wisdom Trek. It has proven to be indispensable in my growth as a leader and as a servant of Jesus Christ."
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You should attend Wisdom Trek if:
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...You need a catalyst...
Maybe you're ready to go to the next level of influence and compensation. What strategic investments will you make to reach your goals? Do what you've always done and you'll just get what you've always gotten; a catalytic event at this point in life might be just what you need.
...You're under the gun...
Perhaps you've been thrust into a leadership position and are drowning in difficulty. It would be enormously helpful to receive teaching and coaching on developing a vision, communicating that vision, and identifying those who can help you carry it out.
...You're ready to pass the baton...
Or maybe you're a leader who has noticed that no one else is really prepared to succeed you. You know some people who have potential, but you're looking for an event that will help you call them out and prepare a track for them to run on.
Click here for more information.
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 From Jeff Myers: Make it a Great Week!
As you can tell from these stories, Wisdom Trek is all about leader development. We're in the midst of a leadership succession crisis in business, government, education and the church.
Maybe you're being thrust into a position of leadership. Or maybe you're getting ready to pass the baton and need a good training tool to help prepare the person who will take your place.
Either way, you'll find all of the details about Wisdom Trek--pricing, schedule and logistics at our website here. I'll be at Wisdom Trek to teach leader development principles that have led to breakthroughs from hundreds of Wisdom Trek attendees.
Wisdom Trek room blocks always sell out so I encourage you to act soon. We have 30 rooms available for the April 9-11 event at Sandy Cove. If you have any questions not answered by the website please call Wolfgang Seibler at 423-570-1000 ext. 4.
Make it a great week,
--Jeff
Jeff Myers, Ph.D., President
Passing the Baton International, Inc.
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