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700 Club

Prayer is the Backbone of Great Leadership

A LEADERSHIP SECRET

In Lead with Prayer, Ryan and co-authors Peter Greer, President, and CEO of HOPE International, and Cameron Doolittle, Executive Director of Practicing the Way, take a closer look at prayer in the life of Christian leaders. Together they spent three years (over 100 hours across six continents) investigating the habits of global entrepreneurs and business executives of Fortune 500 companies, as well as some of the most influential pastors and ministry leaders in the world. “As we started interviewing the diverse leaders behind movements, the number one principle, practice, and emphasis driving radical transformation is extraordinary prayer.  

DAILY HABITS OF LEADERS

Ryan provides the following tools to equip you in your journey to become a praying leader and build a thriving culture of prayer where you lead:

1.  Learn to Waste Time with God – prayer should be a priority. It is foundational for leadership. Time spent with God is never wasted. 
2.  Practice the Presence of God – abiding with Jesus. Ryan takes the time to pray for those around him whether it is his Uber driver or a stranger in a crowd. Or, he may just listen to what the Holy Spirit may share with him to pray. By doing so, he feels more connected to Jesus.  
3.  Kneel Before the Lord – this was one of the prayer practices Ryan adopted first thing in the morning. One day, he noticed his six-year-old son followed his example. Ryan now kneels to pray every morning and evening as part of his prayer life.
4.  Pray Through Tough Times – In 2020, the early months of COVID, Ryan’s businesses were hit hard. Within months, his family lost their entire life’s savings. He had to lay people off and his daughter started having nightmares. They were graphic visions of evil spirits coming to her saying they were going to torture young girls in Nepal which is a place they had been praying for. His daughter was so traumatized by the nightmares she would wake up and run to the bathroom to vomit. As things continued to get worse Ryan still prayed. He saw a picture of Jesus and he was crying. Jesus reminded Ryan that he has never cried alone. His love engulfed Ryan. The next day his wife prayed with their daughter, and they took communion. That night she did not have any nightmares. They began to take communion every night. A few days later his company secured financing to carry them through the lockdowns of COVID. Ryan says, “The closeness of Jesus is worth the painful season if we immerse ourselves in Jesus in those perilous moments.”
5.  Learn to Listen – While living in Sweden, Ryan felt compelled to pray one night for opportunities to share his faith. He felt the Lord say, “If you want to share your faith, get-up-and-go outside your door right now.” He did and was hit in the head with a snowball by some Swedish children playing in the snow. They came inside later for some hot chocolate. One of the boys saw Ryan’s guitar and asked if he would teach him how to play. Over the next few weeks, Ryan gave the boy guitar lessons and he eventually gave his heart to Jesus. Later in life, Ryan had a similar get-up-and-go voice of God experience. He was in his office when he felt he was to get up and go to a local food packing ministry and ask them for food to send to war refugees in Myanmar. He obeyed what God told him to do. When he got to the food packing ministry, he found out that they had been praying two years for someone to help them get food to the war refugees. This year they celebrated their 65 millionth meal sent to war refugees.
6.  Create a Culture of Prayer – “Scripture is filled with examples of leaders inviting others to pray not only for them but with them to engage in a culture of prayer,” says Ryan. This form of prayer changes the attitude and tone of an organization, church, and the community.

LEADERS WHO PRAY

“Experienced leaders will tell you that you can’t lead on your own. The pressure, the impossible decisions, the high risks, the temptations, the people, the overwhelming schedule—it’s too much. Some leaders seek outside help. They pray,” reveals Ryan. Some of those leaders who have learned to rely on prayer are listed below:

•   Francis Chan – Former mega church pastor, Francis chose to walk away from his ministry and intentionally spend more time in his friendship with God. Prayer is the center of Francis’s life and leadership. He likes to go for a walk and spend time thanking God and worshipping Him. He would often say to his staff, “Please tell me if you’re not spending an hour with the Lord every day so I can fire you and hire someone who will.”
•   Mark Batterson – Founder and lead pastor of National Community Church in the US capital, Mark wanted to be a person of prayer and create a culture of prayer in his community, but the fast paced environment of D.C. was working against him. So, he thought of some creative ways to put into action Chronicles 7:14.  He called his team and congregation to pray at 7:14 a.m. and 7:14 p.m. everyday. Mark also created a prayer room where his staff could intercede together three times per week. These initiatives helped to change the culture of his church and community. 
•   David Green – CEO and founder of Hobby Lobby, strives to stay in God’s presence each day and stay in constant communication with Him. One of the most significant achievements in David’s prayer life was when he flew home from a convention where several missionaries needed biblical literature. God prompted him to give $30,000 for the missionaries needs, but David didn’t have the money. In faith, he mailed four checks, each postdated over a four-month period. When the money was received by the church staff on the other end, they confirmed that just that day four African missionaries had a special meeting for literature funds. His gift was an answer to their prayer.
•   Joni Eareckson Tada – founder of Joni and Friends, an outreach to thousands of families affected by disability around the world, was left a quadriplegia after a diving accident at the age of 17. She found the gift of God’s presence in her suffering. After three years of struggling with depression and suicidal thoughts she prayed: “God, if I can’t die, show me how to live, please!” God taught Joni how to live mindful of her need for Him. 
•   Rosebell (video available) – VENTURE, Ryan’s nonprofit has helped women like Rosebell. She has served victims of genocide for forty years in a war zone with landmines. When she was young, she had no money to tithe so she gave what she had to God, her time. She says, “I committed to tithe my time and pray and read Scripture and worship for two to two and half hours every day and I’ve done that for the last forty years.” Today she oversees the care of 5,000 children and over 300 widows. Many of them have lost family due to the civil war. She walks through mine-infested jungles to reach refugee camps but is confident God is with her.
•   Hannah (video available) – VENTURE has helped Hannah, the first person in the Badi tribe, to graduate from college. She wants to become Prime Minister one day to advocate for her tribe. Because of Hannah’s prayers and leadership within her tribe, 180 members of her family are now Christians. 

RYAN’S INFO.

Ryan is the founder and president of VENTURE, a nonprofit that works in the toughest places of the world serving war refugees, trafficked people, oppressed children, and unreached people groups. VENTURE has planted thousands of churches worldwide, transforming local communities, and creating generational change. Ryan also co-founded several travel technology companies, including Faith Ventures and Yonder Travel Insurance.

To learn more about Ryan Skoog's nonprofit, VENTURE, please visit: www/Venture.org, and to purchase your copy of Lead with Prayer, please click the link: Lead with Prayer or visit the website: LeadwithPrayer.com.

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700 Club

Legendary College Hoops Coach Shares Unique Philosophy

Tennessee Volunteers head coach, Rick Barnes, is a finalist for the NCAA basketball Hall of Fame. In his nearly 50 years as a coach, Barnes has led his teams to eight Sweet Sixteens, three Elite Eights, a Final Four, and in 2019 was named national coach of the year. His love for the game began in the small town of Hickory, North Carolina.

“I remember walking in the Kenworth Elementary School gym one day,” said Barnes, “and all I had on was a pair of cut off shorts, I was barefooted, didn't have a shirt on, and the superintendent, he tossed a ball and said, ‘Shoot it.’ And I know that's the first time I ever shot a basketball. But as I really got to the 8th grade is when I just forgot about all the other sports and started concentrating on basketball.”

Will Dawson: "What made you want to get into coaching?"

Rick Barnes: "It started with those teachers in the 8th grade because they were all coaches. And I knew at that point in time I wanted to do what they did. I wanted to be able to impact young people. But those are the real reasons I think that God led me into coaching."

God was important to Barnes. As a teenager, he made a profession of faith. “Ninth, tenth grade, I listened to a Billy Graham crusade. And I remember vividly getting on my knees in front of the TV and asking Jesus to truly become a part of my life,” recalled Barnes.

Barnes coached at George Mason, Providence, and Clemson. Then in 1998 he became the head coach of the Texas Longhorns. In 2003, he led the team to their first Final Four in nearly 60 years. Professionally he was on top. Personally, his relationships had become strained. “Pride, jealousy, coveting, you name it. I wasn't the husband I should be. I wasn't the father I should be, the coach I should be, because I started making it about me.”

In 2006, his teenage daughter and son gave him some tough love. “She said, 'If you die today, you would go to hell.' And I got upset and left and got in my car, drove up to the top of the hill, pulled over to the side of the road and start crying. When I looked at my daughter and the way she said it to me in a really loving way, she just said, ‘We want you to spend eternity with us. And today you wouldn't.’ And she was right.”

“I look back on it now, knowing that even during those times that maybe when things were going well in life, in terms of maybe winning basketball games, or success, or making money or whatever it may be, even at the low times when I knew deep down inside there was something empty that I was missing. And what made me chase the wrong things, I can't tell you other than the fact that it was selfish, all self-induced. I know that God had me. That’s what I had gotten away from. I had lost my personal daily personal relationship with Him. But when He has been at the center of my life, that's when I've been my most happiest. That's when I know that I'm most secure. That's when I know that that He has never left me.”

Texas experienced unprecedented success in seventeen seasons under coach Barnes. However, in 2015 he was fired after failing to reach the second round of the NCAA tournament. Turns out it was a blessing in disguise because that same year, he became the head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers.

“I wanted them to say there's something different about coach. I wanted them to say that not that he's gotten softer as a coach, but you know, what is it that's different? I wanted them to ask me that question. I want it to be the fact that Jesus Christ is the center of my life. And so I wanted our program to be a model program in terms of truly not making the mistakes that I had made in previous jobs. I want it to be a place where it was truly like a family.”

As the NCAA tournament tips off this week, coach Barnes has a top-ranked Tennessee program with dreams of winning it all. However, he’s coaching knowing that whatever happens, God is still in control.

Will Dawson: "You've had some good teams over the years and at Tennessee just haven't been able to get to the Final Four. This year, it seems like maybe you're built that way. You've got a defensive mentality and you've got a scorer like Dalton Knecht. What would it mean for you to get this program to the Final Four?"

Rick Barnes: "This is a special place. It really is. But the fact is, being able to be the last team standing would be a...just a...I guess you could say a dream come true or be a culmination of a lot of hard work. But that's what we're chasing like every team in the country. And if it's God's will, hopefully, I mean, I would love to see it happen."


 

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700 Club

First-Time Mother Is Desperate for Answers

Mrs. Yang could hardly wait to give birth to her first child, Ke.  She planned to throw a traditional Chinese blessing banquet for him when he turned a month old.  But it never happened because Ke was born with a cleft lip and palate.

She explains, “I knew if people saw him, they wouldn’t bless him.  They’d laugh and say he was a monster.”

Mrs. Yang had to take care of Ke herself because her husband works out of town. To protect Ke, she kept him home a lot and covered him when they went out. Still, someone managed to see him.

She asked me, ‘Did you eat rabbit when you were pregnant.  And now your baby is cursed by a rabbit?’” Mrs. Yang recounts.  “After that, the whole village knew about Ke’s cleft lip.”

It was hard for him to eat, and at six months, he was small, malnourished, and always sick.

“I hardly ever saw him smile,” his mother recollects.  “The doctor said maybe it was because of the gap in his lip that his respiratory tract was so susceptible to infection.”

A fortune teller said the reason Ke had problems was because he was haunted by dead people.  The man suggested building a small bridge and having the first person to cross it give Ke a nickname.

“I took the advice,” Mrs. Yang shares.  “And a man gave Ke the nickname ‘Strong Tiger.’  All I had to do was call him that, and he'd be healthy.”

Instead, Ke landed in the hospital with pneumonia.  After this, the Yangs diligently tried to borrow money for cleft lip surgery, but it cost too much.  So, Mrs. Yang searched online for help and found Operation Blessing.  We helped to make Ke’s surgery possible.

Mrs. Yang exclaims, “When I told my husband the good news on the phone, he was so excited that he cried.  Now my son looks good.  His life is full of sunshine, and I don't have to hide him anymore.”

Ke recently turned one.  And Mrs. Yang was finally able to throw him a party.

“Some people hardly recognized him and they apologized for the things they said.  They gave him a lot of blessings,” Mrs. Yang says.  She concludes, “But I know God’s are all that matter because Operation Blessing volunteers told me God always loved my baby.  So, I’m grateful to Him. And I thank the Operation Blessing donors for giving Ke a bright future.”

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700 Club

The Gift of a Kidney from an Unlikely Donor

Chazley Williams always had the dream of walking across the stage in her cap and gown, her Master of Education degree in hand. “One of my motivations is helping others reach their goals,” said Chazley. “That position for me, as well as wanting to get my master's and pursuing that, and helping others, was also that motivation.”

In Summer of 2019, Chazley, a newlywed, was well on her way to earning her master’s from Regent University, when she suddenly became ill. “I started experiencing issues with my urine,” she explained. “Also, my feet and ankles starting to swell really bad to the point where it was hard to even put on shoes.”

Chazley was diagnosed with stage four kidney disease. She desperately needed a kidney transplant but the wait could take as long as three to six years to find a match. In the meantime, she’d need eight hours of dialysis every day to stay alive. She turned to God for answers. “I honestly don’t think it really sunk in until I remember I was on my way somewhere and I couldn’t get shoes on my feet. I just remember sitting there crying. My feet were swollen to the point where it hurt to touch the ground,” recalled Chazley.

After seven months of enduring daily treatments, juggling studies, home life, and a full-time job, Chazley made the hard decision to take a leave of absence from school. “I have been through so much as a whole in life that I don’t want to go through something else,” she explained. “I was fighting through having to deal with this situation. I didn’t want to have to be tied down to dialysis. I’m not going to have to deal with this because I don’t have the capacity to deal with this.” Eventually, she gave it all to God, and prayed that she would soon find a match for a kidney transplant. “I was like, okay, like you know, God’s going to heal me. I’m going to heal through this,” she exclaimed. 

A year later, she made the decision to return to school to help give some normalcy to her life. “If I go back to school, that would put me back on my regular schedule so I don't have to think about everything else going on,” said Chazley. Two weeks into the semester, Chazley received an email from one of her online professors, Dr. Ryan Murnane, asking if he could call her. She assumed it was class related. “As soon as he called me,” she said, “he asked if I still needed a kidney donor and I told him yes!”

Chazley had relayed the information during her course work to Dr. Murnane. He didn’t think twice about offering her one of his kidneys. He expressed, “If somebody in my family needed something that I couldn't give, I would want somebody to step up if I was not willing to give. I figured, this is an opportunity to help somebody.”

Chazley recounted the conversation between her and Dr. Murane. “During that time, I’m listening but at the same time I was like, 'is this even possible to even happen?' I remember I was getting his information to pass onto my transplant coordinator, and at that time, I think when I got off the phone it was one of those moments where you’re thinking, is this real?  You know, can this actually happen?”

As it happened, Dr. Murnane had already been registered and tested as a kidney donor to help a young boy just months earlier. While it didn’t work out, he was still willing to make the sacrifice for someone else. “It was about following the journey, not necessarily understanding the destination,” Dr. Murnane said. “Because I felt called to donate to the kid, but it didn't happen. But it was because getting prepared to donate to the kid was just part of the journey.” 

Within a week, Chazley had been tested and had the results - they were a match! In November 2020, Chazley and Ryan went in for transplant surgery. It was a success, and within 48 hours of the procedure, Chazley went home with a new kidney. “I don't think, until after I actually came out the hospital that I was, I really had that knowledge of, okay, like this is like my life has changed in some capacity. My professor just saved my life,” she exclaimed.

In December 2023, three years after the transplant, Chazley fulfilled her dream as she graduated with a Master’s in Education. Dr. Murnane hooded Chazley in a private ceremony. “That opportunity is, kind of a reflection of the Regent culture,” Dr. Murnane explained. “If you work hard, we want to celebrate with you and be able to give you an experience, even if there are restrictions or accommodations that are needed.”

Chazley expressed her surprise to the private hooding ceremony. “That was a complete, complete surprise. It was tears and everything for me. I was more shocked than anything and so when I'm shocked and surprised I immediately cry. I never intended this to even happen.” 

Today, Chazley is working full time for a university doing what she loves, counseling and helping others in their career journey. Dr. Murnane is still at Regent as Assistant Vice President for Academic Policy and Compliance. Chazley is grateful for how God used Regent to answer her prayers for healing and fulfilling her dreams. “There is a God out there that continues to shine light on us to be able to help us,” she said. “He continued to change my mindset and change me, while also changing others. Continue to pray and thank God for what you do have and have hope that things will change.”


 

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