The Goal of My Life (22 page)

I’ve known Paul for twenty-seven years. We met at church just after my wife and I had married and when Paul had just got back from Birmingham
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My wife, Cathie, and Eleanor and Paul and I developed a strong friendship over the next few years. When our son was born, Paul was one of the first to celebrate with us and hold Jordan in his arms. He has continued to be a mentor to Jordan throughout his journey over the last twenty-five years
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Whether it was sharing a meal, a game of squash, or serious conversations about our faith, Paul modelled extraordinary commitment to his faith, his values, his marriage and family, and our friendship. He was competing for a higher goal than the Goal of the Century, which gave him fame and glory. He was and is to this day a true mentor
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He encouraged me to get involved with one of his first discipleship groups in downtown Toronto twenty-seven years ago. Paul would pick me up to drive downtown and he would always check in with me in the car, asking if I had my memory work and my homework done! (He has mellowed since.) Many of the memory verses I learned in that time I still hold close to my heart and recite often in
challenging times. Paul taught me about conversational prayer and daily quiet times, which I have continued to have every morning
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Paul’s influence has challenged me to be the husband, father, employer, and friend that God wants me to be. Now, Thursday morning is my best day of the week as I facilitate a men’s group of my own (for seventeen years), and I am encouraged to see other men grow in their faith as Paul has challenged me to do through his impact on my life. He will always be a competitive athlete on and off the ice, as I can attest to when we golf together, but he presses on for the goal of a higher calling – one where he will enter heaven, with a life poured out for others, and receive his heaven’s hall of fame commendation of “well done, good and faithful servant.” Paul has always been there with discernment and wise counsel in times of need for me and my family, and he will always have a special spot in our hearts
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When Paul Henderson invited me to join a men’s group, I have to admit that I was not too enthusiastic about the idea of getting up early in the morning to sit down with a bunch of men to discuss spiritual values. That just did not appeal to me. I had tried an early men’s Bible study before and found it an absolute chore to start off the day this way. The result was … I didn’t last long
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Paul wears his spiritual life on his sleeve, which I admire. It wasn’t my style at the time, but I discovered it is infectious. I’ve moved a long way to wearing my spiritual life on
my sleeve. For me, the discovery group meetings turned into “I can’t wait to come back next week.” And I know the feeling is mutual for many men in our group
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Now it has been years since I first tried on a discovery group, and my love and appreciation of groups continues to grow. I’m thankful to Paul for inviting me and know I have a closer relationship with Christ today and a greater hunger to learn more about Him. My purpose in life has become more clear to me than ever. Over time, I’ve increased my involvement in discovery groups and learned what a difference it can make to your life. I say “treat yourself” to a discovery group … it’s one of the best presents you can give yourself
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I have learned to be more disciplined in life. Paul, you are an outstanding role model. You show discipline in your spiritual walk, your physical workouts, and your driving desire to improve your mental capacity – such as memorization, reading, crosswords, et cetera
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I am more serious about my faith. I want to finish this life well. I try to memorize more scripture and read good spiritual books. I try to set time aside at the end of the day to evaluate my day. Did I live this day as Jesus would have me?

I love your enthusiasm about your relationship with Jesus. You are so positive and not afraid to say the right word at the right time. You have a zest for life and your attitude toward your cancer is refreshing, uplifting, and without fear
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You are an encourager – like Barnabas. Your messages are
so positive and encouraging. It means a great deal to me to know that you faithfully pray for me. If we ever go to war, I want you on my side!

Blessings, Paul!

Having lost my earthly father who I revered for several years at the age of eighteen, I have now gained my Heavenly Father Jesus Christ who I call Lord!

My daily spiritual walk with Lord Jesus Christ has instilled a great sense of calmness and gentleness into my everyday life, as this spiritual covenant has removed the letter “D” in front of the word “Anger”!

I am in touch (pray) with my Heavenly Father every day, and that provides me with great discipline, focus, and leadership. In turn, He provides me wirth peace, security, and love
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I lead a LeaderImpact Group (
LIG
) at
AMJ
Markham and I’m also the York Region City Team Leader. I am also a member of the Partner Development Committee
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LIG
has been the catalyst for transforming my life. Despite trying, I could not do it by myself as I could not deal with it on my own! My Christian faith is the core, and my participation in a weekly discovery group helps me protect the core day in and day out!

I was transformed and became a new person. I learned that God, who laid the foundation of the earth and whose hands made the heavens, also created me in His image. By inviting
His son, Jesus Christ, into my heart, I have the right to be God’s child and am able to enjoy a personal relationship with God as my Father
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I set aside a quiet time every morning to spend uninterrupted time with God, reading his word, and through prayer, hand my day over to Him so that I may serve Him. I memorize scripture; I pray; I am always aware of God’s guidance. The difference is that it is not about me; rather, it’s about glorifying and praising God
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I am a member of a vibrant men’s group that meets weekly and am a deacon at my church. I witness freely to people interested in learning about or exploring spiritual questions
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Paul Henderson’s ministry ignited the Holy Spirit in my life. I became a new person – a spiritual leader at home; a caring, loving husband; a servant leader at work; a caring friend. I am forever grateful for how God touched me and called out to me through Paul’s ministry
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You changed my life by introducing me to the truth of biblical scripture and the reality of Jesus Christ. I began to move away from worshipping self and all things of this world to Jesus and the values of His Kingdom – loving others as He loves me
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l live a different lifestyle from that of twenty-five years ago – Christ-centred rather than self-centred, and while in no way am I perfect, I am also not the person I used to be and am moving closer, I believe, to becoming the person God wants me to be in Christ Jesus. That is a person who puts others before self, prays and reads God’s word daily, and
recognizes that God has given me many blessings with which to do His will – which I try and focus upon daily while rejoicing in the fact that my Saviour lives and has forgiven me all my sins and granted me eternal life!

Some examples are: I try to love others as God loves me, which involves the forgiveness of those who have hurt or offended me; I practise daily discipline of quiet time, prayer, and reading God’s word; and I am involved with and a supporter of many Christian charities and organizations
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I recently launched a National Mentoring Program for insurance-based financial advisers, which teaches them how to “fish in deep waters” in accordance with biblical principles. I always proclaim Jesus from the public platform whenever and wherever I speak. To Him be the glory!

I am very grateful that you had the courage to ask me how my spiritual life was twenty-five years ago, as it not only changed my life, as mentioned, but it resulted in my salvation. T
HANK YOU MY DEAR FRIEND!

Paul, having spent half of my thirties and all of my forties in one of your groups, I can attest to the significant impact it has made in my role as a business leader and as a father. I quickly learned from other men in the group that life does not require you to make the same mistakes that someone else made just so that you can say you learned by the school of hard knocks. The truth is that many of the men in my groups, especially those older and more mature than myself, were able to help me avoid pitfalls and mistakes that they had made
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As men, we tend to think that we have not learned something well unless we got bruised or scraped in the process, when in fact simple truths that are shared by men who have been there can actually provide you with the same learning opportunity minus the damage. I also learned from Paul, having heard one of his favourite passages thousands of times, that iron sharpens iron, and that the sad reality is that there are very few venues in a man’s life where he can experience the type of exchange, learning, and support that comes from being in a group like so many of us were
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There have been many times in my life where I have met someone who I knew needed the type of learning, support, encouragement, and direction that comes from a group, and being part of Paul’s network allowed me to invite them to join. In my own business, I know that this has resulted in some of our most senior people coming to faith and experiencing life-changing results through their participation in a group that we were able to place them in. Long-term, I believe that most men who have had the opportunity to belong to a group will look back in the later years of their lives and realize the impact that their participation had on their own family lives, the lives of those whom they interacted with in the group, and the generations of children whose lives will be forever different as a result of a decision their father, grandfather, or great-grandfather made to belong to a group
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Being a part of a group helped me to develop a disciplined prayer life, a much deeper and more applicable understanding of the Bible, and a profound understanding and appreciation for the many common threads that intertwine us as men living in the business world. Being part of a group is like being tethered to a safe place where accountability, support
,
learning, and encouragement all become something you look forward to and yearn for when you are away
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I would also add that the life and work of the group is not confined to one morning a week, but in fact it has created bonds of friendship among men and families that will last a lifetime and touch people in ways that we could never track or imagine
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The impact to me was centred around discipline. While I was successful in the business world, I was not quite as adept at applying the disciplined principles I used in business to my personal life. Through Paul and the group, we had enough open, frank conversation in which I was able to be honest to my colleagues – and, more importantly, myself – about the gaps in consistency in my behaviour. I was also able to understand that stress is created by a multiplicity of purpose. If I am able to align everything in my life to a central purpose – in my case, being a Christ follower – much of the stress disappears
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I am disciplined about daily devotions with my wife, Debra. I try to align all my decision making with my central purpose of being a Christ follower. I ensure that disciplined principles from my work life (being present, being an encourager, maximizing my time) are also principles that I follow in my personal life
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Paul has touched me in a way I would allow very few other people to. In that he has the combination of tough-minded accountability as well as compassion, I was able to address weaknesses in my life without feeling like I was being
judged. He has become a model of the kind of man I want to be, and – as I turn fifty this year and am halfway through the earthly portion of my existence – has given me the drive to
finish strong
and do the next half way better!

Paul, it is hard to articulate how important the group was for me at that point in my walk, but here is one comment that comes to mind at once
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You can hear all the advice about personal prayer time, and read all the books on the importance of a personal devotional time becoming a habit, but until you personally witness the transformative power of this spiritual discipline, it will not imprint itself into a daily routine. Experiencing with other men in a discovery group what this transformative habit looks like, how to do it, how to stick with it, changes the course and the depth of our spiritual journey. And encouragement has always been recognized as the by-product of meeting together (Hebrews 10:25)
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Paul, you have to be kidding. I could write a book!

As you know, the group significantly changed my life. For the first time in my life, I was challenged to read the Bible, discuss it, memorize scripture, and actually consider its impact on my life. It became clear to me that putting Jesus Christ in the centre of my life was essential to a meaningful and significant life. I was taught how to share my faith in a non-offensive but clear manner. I learned the importance
of having a good church and having a close circle of Christian men in whom I could confide and whose counsel I could seek
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And most importantly, I learned what living an abundant life is really all about. I try to start each day with a “quiet time” as Paul encouraged us to do. I must confess that with the rush of life and the many demands on me, I am not as faithful in doing that as I should be
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After leaving the group led by Paul, he urged me to start my own group. I did that and have led or been actively involved in a group ever since … which is about twenty-five years now
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Because of being in Paul’s group, I was asked to share my faith at a Billy Graham Crusade in October 1988. On that evening, I met a lady who arranged for the men in the group I was leading at that time to take a mission trip to Haiti in August 1989. Since then, I have been back to Haiti more than forty times and worked with other volunteers to build twenty-five Christian schools in the north of Haiti where approximately seven thousand children now receive a Christian education. We have also built two churches and an orphanage where thirty-four children are fed, housed, and cared for largely due to donations from generous Canadians. We have seen the lives of many Canadians changed significantly when they have seen and smelled and felt the plight of the poor Haitian people
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Many of them have made decisions to accept Jesus Christ in their lives as a result of their exposure to that country
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Today, my faith is more important to me than ever as I deal with the multitude of concerns that confront me as a father, husband, and friend. In my role as a Superior Court
judge, I daily ask God to give me wisdom before I enter the courtroom because virtually every decision I render significantly affects the lives of others
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