Q. What is this
ACT X
Conference all about ?
This conference is all about a promise that Jesus gave us -
that we could "get a life" if we followed Him and
His teachings. This conference is about following His teachings,
so we can get a more abundant life - not the "name it and
claim it" life you sometimes hear about on TV, but the
kind of life that God promises throughout the pages of Scripture
if we will learn His decrees, follow His commands, and put Him
first in our lives. The Biblical principles that you will learn
at the ACT X
conference "work" and they will help you get ahead
on the job, because when we "work" from a Christ -
centered perspective, Christ promises us that as His followers
that we will have "an abundant life". It's about learning
to be successful - God's way.
Q. What does this promise
have to do with "work"?
The whole idea of "work" is that it is a gift from
God, because our work is a form of worship to our Creator. God
doesn't want worship to be dead, lifeless and dull - He wants
us to be joyful in worship. But for most of us, we don't exactly
consider our work lives to be "joyful" rather, we
find work to be boring, dull and irrelevant and we only do it
because we need to work to "pay the bills".
This isn't the life Jesus wants for us. If we can learn to
be joyful at work, then we can learn to "abide"
in Jesus, and not just during our church worship services, or
during our devotions or during Bible study and fellowship times,
but instead, we can learn how to abide in Christ "at
all times". Jesus taught us about this in
John 15. He said that if we "remain in Him"
(at all times) that He would remain in us, and that this is
how we would "bear much fruit" for His
Kingdom. So really, this conference is about learning how Christ's
teachings can be applied to our work lives so
that our work is not boring, dull or irrelevant to our Christian
lives, instead, our work lives become more fulfilling and rewarding
as we learn how to apply our Christian faith to the hours we
spend at work.
Q. Why would I want to spend
3 days at this ACT X
Conference?
Because life is too long (not life is too short - life is too
long... too long for work to be a dead-end chore)
Let's do the math...
For most of us, our "work lives" could be calculated
as 40 hours a week, 50 weeks a year, until you're 65...
Sure, you might get a few more weeks for holidays after
you've
been at the same place for a number of years, but let's just
go with the following formula, for argument's sake :
40 hours a week X 50 weeks a year X how ever many years until
you retire. That's 2,000 hours a year, times how ever many years
until you reach 65
40,000 hours if you're in your mid 40's
60,000 hours if you're in your mid 30's
and if you're in your mid 20's, it's 80,000 hours
That's what we mean when we say "life is too long"...
because 80,000 hours is too long to be doing something that
you find dull, boring or irrelevant
But that's what our "work life" looks like - somewhere
around 40,000 to 80,000 hours, depending on how old you are.
So what kind of "life" do you want to have?
Jesus said "I have come that you might have life,
and have it abundantly" (John 10:10)
But was He also talking about our "work life"???
Yes.
Absolutely.
But we haven't answered the last question, which was "why"
would you want to spend 3 days at this conference?
Once again, it's a math question, so let's "do the math"
Would You Invest a Minute
Per Week to Ensure Your Work Week Was More Successful and More
Enjoyable?
Yes.
Absolutely.
At least, that's what several hundred business
managers said to an executive training organization in a survey
they filled out during that organization's training seminar
- - - but then, when these same business gurus and management
executives were asked later in the seminar to map out the specific
details of what they typically "planned" to do on
Monday mornings, at the beginning of each of their work
weeks, almost all of them reported that they didn't
spend any time whatsoever planning for how to be successful
that week. The Bible talks about planning a lot - in fact, it
says without a plan (or vision) that we perish, which is a way
of describing what (for most of us) our work lives look like
- dull, boring and irrelevant - to the point that most of us
are "perishing" at work for 40 hours a week, just
waiting for the weekend.
Doesn't sound like much of a life, does it?
It's not the life Jesus wants for us.
Back to planning...
The Harvard School of Business reports that
those who plan - - - succeed. The Bible says that we are to
make our plans, and then to commit them to the Lord, and He
will make our plans succeed (Proverbs 16:3). Sounds like planning
is a pretty good idea, doesn't it? But many people make
the excuse that "all that planning" is a headache
and takes "too much time". But does it?
Let's do the math.
If you work 40 hours a week, then you work for
2,400 minutes a week. If you only took one measly minute on Monday
morning to map out your strategy for being more successful in
the next week's work, then you would already be more "wise"
than the vast majority of these business managers. One minute
out of 2,400 is 0.04% of your work week. That would be 0.04%
of your time being invested to make sure that the other 99.96%
of the work week goes smoother and more successfully.
This conference is 3 days long, 8 hours a day.
It's 24 hours to learn how to be more successful, God's
Way, whatever your job may be, because whether you work the
drive-through window, drive a forklift, work in retail or work
in the service industry, God's Word has incredible wisdom to
share with you - if you are willing to invest 24 hours to "plan
your work, and then work your plan" towards having
a successful work life.
Let's do the math again.. slightly differently
If you are 25 now and you work fulltime until retirement, then
you will put in approximately 80,000 hours of your life at work
if you work to age 65 ...
More than you will sleep.
More than you will play.
More than you will spend time with your spouse or children.
The fact is, you will work more hours than anything else you
do, and even if you take time off work to raise a family or
even if you retire early - you are going to spend a great deal
of your life "at work" and so "work" will
become a major part of your life.
This conference is 24 hours that you will invest to learn things
you've never been taught. That's 24 hours out of the 80,000
you will work on the job. 24 hours out of 80,000 hours is only
0.03 %
Investing 24 hours now, for better success throughout you career,
is investing 0.03%. of your time to ensure that the other 99.97%
goes smoother. In the business world this is called a "good
return on investment".
God Wants to Bless Your Work
Life - - - If You Will Honor Him in Making Your Work = Your
Worship
Does work = worship mean that we are to be singing,
playing guitar and raising our hands while we are at work? No,
that's a different meaning for the word "worship"
Let's look at the word "work" from God's perspective.
Did you know that in the Hebrew language, when you read in places
where God describes work, the Hebrew word for "work"
is the same word for "worship" ?
Which means that in the Lord's eyes, we have the opportunity
to "worship" God while we are at work, because God
sees our life at work as being a form of worship to Him. So
by doing work "God's Way" during the hours you are
"at work" you are actually worshipping Him, because
in God's eyes, work and worship are the same. And when
we do work "God's Way" then He is pleased because
we are being faithful, and He promises to reward those who are
faithful to Him.
If you want to get "ahead" in your work life, then
you'll want to do work the way God intended -
God's way.
God told us this in Colossians 3:23 "Whatever
you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord,
not for men."
Let's play question/answer. You ask the questions, and we answer
them.
Question...
OK. So tell me, how do you "get ahead"
in today's rat race we call the corporate world?
Another Question...
How do you "get ahead" in the rat race, but not compromise
your Christian faith in the process?
Oh Yeah, and One More Question...
If the Bible is suppose to have all the answers, how does it
answer the previous 2 questions?
Answer...
You can get "ahead"
You don't have to compromise your Christian faith in the process.
In fact, it is by living your Christian faith
and not compromising that you will
"get ahead"
Question...
How ???
Answer...
Follow the Bible's life principles for the workplace
Question...
Hmmmm.... so you're saying that I can get "ahead"
because I am a Christian?
Answer...
Noooo... there are lots of Christians who don't know what the
Bible teaches about what it means to "work" according
to God's principles, so just "being a Christian" doesn't
exactly cut it. What we said is that you can get "ahead"
if you follow the Bible's life principles for
working, where the manner in which you choose to do your work
can be a conscious decision on your part to do your work "unto
the Lord" because when you choose to work that
way, your work becomes an act of worship. And in many
places throughout the Bible, God shows us His Way of how to
conduct ourselves in a manner that's pleasing to Him during
the hours we are in the workplace. God provided these Biblical
principles for success in our work lives so that we could have
a full and abundant life. That's part of what Jesus promises
us in John 10:10
Question...
How do I find these "Biblical Secrets to Success"
in God's Word?
Answer...
1) Read through the links in this website - then (2)
ponder and (3) pray
2) Ponder - ask yourself if what's being taught in the
conference "makes sense" to you (important)
3) Pray - ask God Him if He wants you to attend ACT X to learn
these things (more important than #2)
Solution...
If your head (your voice) says its a good idea, and your heart
(God's voice) says its a good idea... then it's probably a good
idea. THOUGHT: Jesus didn't have any ideas of His own - He only
did what the Father told Him to do. He knew what the Father
wanted Him to do, because He was always in prayer with the Father.
We believe it is more important for you to pray
about attending the ACT X conference, then it is for you to ponder
about attending. Why? Because God won't lead you astray - Jeremiah
29:11,12 promises that He has plans for you - plans to prosper
you - to give you hope and a future... if you are following
what His instructions are. This conference is about teaching
what God's instructions are, and showing you where these instructions
are found throughout the Bible, and about how to be successful
in your work life by working hard (and faithfully) because your
work is an extension of how you feel about serving God - it's
an act of worship. Nothing is more important than serving
God. So while you are at work, then nothing is more important
than being a faithful worker because God says that one of the
ways we worship Him is by being a "good and faithful"
worker. If you have to go to work anyway, then it makes sense
that we should work "God's Way" because we serve a
living God. Not only does it make sense from a worship
standpoint, but God also promises to bless us - to help us "get
ahead" if we do things His Way.
Problem...
What if I can't get time off work to attend this conference?
Solution...
Show your boss this website. Have your boss surf the links.
Your boss wants you to be a good employee, which you may already
be, but this conference will teach you how to be a better
employee. Every boss wants that, in fact, every boss is looking
for the type of employee who is willing and prepared to be the
"good and faithful servant" that is described in Matthew
25. If you show your boss that you are willing to take a training
program that will help you become that "good and faithful
employee" then your boss will probably let you go, if for
no other reason than your boss has never heard of a conference
that teaches how to be a better employee, by having a better
work ethic. Trust us on this - your boss will be stoked to give
you the time off so you can learn how to be more beneficial
to the company you work for.
Question...
What's next?
Answer...
Surf the links, read, ponder, and pray. And
if your heart and mind are on the same page, then sign up.