We received a lot of neat responses from the Burning Your Boats newsletter that we sent out last week. If you missed it, you can check it out here: https://markcahill.org/burn-your-boats/.
One aspect of burning your boats that didn’t occur to me was how someone else might burn them for you! Dean wrote in saying that’s exactly what happened to him:
Your timing is strange, as yesterday when you sent it, my ships got burned for me—potentially because I wasn’t going to do it myself. Two and a half years ago, I structured a business with the focus of supporting our national defense while honoring God in the workplace and using its profits to fund kingdom ministry. I presented to the current leadership that my desire (which they knew about when they hired me two years ago) had only grown stronger. a self-described “emotional” and “personal” decision, they rejected my desire to smoothly transition so that I could avoid the gap of not providing for my family. They instead decided that I needed to be gone in two weeks.
I landed from DCA to HSV, turned my phone off airplane mode (glad movies didn’t work, because I did a lot of writing and spent some amazing time in prayer), and right up front was their TERMINATION email. Wow. I’ve never been fired in my life. The email rattled off accusations (I won’t be specific, but most of my customers have shrugged it off already).
I’m the sole source of income for my family, and though I’ve done some things to get ready, I’m not ready! I was literally speechless. I was scared to death for my family. My wife is amazing. She picked me up and said, “Dean, God has got this. He has called you to this work.”
I have a strong network of believers (including my dad, whom you’ve met and encouraged numerous times) that were praying, and within 2-3 hours, in the hallway of a restricted government facility, I had an unbelieving and hard-hearted friend say, “You want 100 percent coverage? I’ll make one phone call, and it’s done.” I said, “Of course!” This kind of thing has been happening a lot lately. It’s inexplicable!
Today I got started at 4:30 a.m. and have discussed double-digit business opportunities, even while my former employers (lost, need Jesus) are going ahead of me spreading animosity. I love those guys and am praying for them.
Mark, you are the most focused soul-winner I’ve ever known. I travel more than ever in my life, and many times that person on the plane becomes someone I bring to the foot of the cross or encourage to be bold in the faith, thanks to the stories you’ve shared in your books. My wife is incredibly talented, but she stays at home, teaching and mentoring our children to be flaming arrows taken out of our quiver and shot from our homeschool into the battle one day. Your books and speaking have changed my life and also the lives of the precious next-generation soldiers of the cross. I led “One Thing You Can’t Do in Heaven” small group studies in my apartment at Mississippi State 20 years ago! I work in a pretty focused field of the DoD, and within that field, I’m regularly told by Christians and the lost that they’ve never met someone with such boldness who doesn’t make them feel alienated (a new Navy Seal friend said that just a few weeks ago) and who lovingly shares the faith with them.
THANK YOU for being used by the Holy Spirit. Thank you for typing these messages. Your timing was perfect. PERFECT! When I didn’t have the boldness to burn my own ships and start a different kind of business, God used my unbelieving leadership to do it for me. God then used unbelieving coworkers to show me how He can use a “Cyrus” or a “Nebuchadnezzar.” If He be for me, who can be against me? Whom shall I fear?
Dean
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What if God, in His kindness and mercifulness, just went ahead and burned some of those boats for us?! I was angling the newsletter toward burning down our own boats, but sometimes God goes ahead and does it for us, so we really have no place to retreat to. Once Dean mentioned this situation, I looked back at my own life and saw some of those instances as well. And it was nothing but the goodness of God through all of it.
Romans 8:28
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
As you can see, Dean has been a faithful soldier of the Lord for many years now. He will be the same in his new business endeavor. Pray for him. Pray for his business. Pray that he will be bold in witnessing to the new hires and customers as well. Pray he keeps moving forwardboldly, since God has given him no place to retreat to. It’s a great place to be when you realize that God is your only place of rest.
Until the nets are full,
P.S. The books are making their way onto college campuses. Don knows that these campuses are great places to witness and get into conversations. He also knows that many in the academic environment are searching. I remind people they are only searching for one thing: truth. Keep giving them truth while we still have time. You can check out the great work Don is doing through At the Well Ministries by visiting his website and subscribing to his newsletter here: https://www.atthewellministries.org/
P.P.S. Witnessing to the lost is one of the most exhilarating things we can do for the Lord. But many of us need to be shown how to do it. When you hear how others witness as they give you the tools to be effective, it’s a perfect combination, as Lisa discovered when she read One Heartbeat Away:
One Heartbeat Away is still on sale with single books discounted by 30% and bundles by 10% off the regularly suggested donation amount. That makes it only $7.50 per book when you get a bundle. Burn the boats that are keeping you from witnessing and help people get into the lifeboat of Christ so they can be safe for all of eternity!
