Todd Wilson - More: Find Your Personal Calling and Live Life to the Fullest Measure

ZONDERVAN

More
Copyright 2016 by Todd Wilson

Requests for information should be addressed to:
Zondervan, 3900 Sparks Dr. SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546

ePub Edition March 2016: ISBN 978-0-3105-2426-7

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Wilson, Todd A., 1976- author.

Title: More : find your personal calling and live life to the fullest measure / by Todd Wilson.

Description: Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 2016.

Identifiers: LCCN 2015040685 | ISBN 9780310524250 (softcover)

Subjects: LCSH: Vocation Christianity.

Classification: LCC BV4740 .W495 2016 | DDC 248.4 dc23 LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015040685

Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.Zondervan.com. The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.

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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Published in association with the literary agency of Mark Sweeney & Associates, Bonita Springs, Florida 34135.

Cover design: Brand Navigation
Cover image: 123RF.com
Interior design: Denise Froehlich

16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 /DHV/ 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

To Jesus,
who makes it possible for us to take hold of exceedingly, abundantly more in this life

To Anna,
my wonderful bride and partner for over three decades, who has faithfully stood by my side, encouraging most every step, and filling the voids created by my weaknesses

Contents

by Pastor Rick Warren and Dr. Robert Coleman

by Bob Buford

BY PASTOR RICK WARREN AND
DR. ROBERT COLEMAN

M ore is one of those unique books coming at just the right time, with just the right message, and written to everyday folks. You will be inspired and convicted to action. You will see your personal calling in a new light.

Jesus said, I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly (John 10:10 KJV). Some translations of Jesus words use life to the full or to the fullest measure. Unfortunately, too many people pursue abundance in all the wrong ways, year after year, only to find emptiness.

What would happen in our generation if Christians were to rise up and show the world what it looks like to have the fullness of Jesus in them? What would it look like for that fullness to overflow into the world as love in action? What if we were to truly embrace the truth that Gods unique personal calling is his gift for equipping us to play our part in his mission in the world?

I [Rick Warren] have walked with Todd Wilson and been part of his team at Exponential for several years. He cares deeply about Jesus and the church. He is a student and lifelong learner. His passion for living for Gods glory and helping others do the same is genuine. Im proud of how he has used the gifts God gave him, and I encourage you to learn from his experience.

In More, my friend Todd provides a fresh framework for helping others discover and engage their personal calling. With the creativity of an artist, the insights of an engineer, and the experience of a lifetime learner, Todd explains the idea of Gods personal calling for each of our lives.

Todd reminds us that while each of us has a unique calling, we also share a common calling that unites us in a common mission. Specifically, we are all called to be disciples of Jesus who make disciples. We are called to BE like Christ, DO good works, and GO wherever he sends us.

More challenges us to fulfill Gods calling instead of pursuing our own personal fulfillment. It is only in giving our lives away that we find the meaning of our lives. Significance does not come from sex or salary or status. It comes from serving. Todd is a great example of someone who has made the transition from simply pursuing a career to fulfilling a calling.

I [Robert Coleman] am honored to have played a part in Todds journey and the writing of More. When you spend time with Todd, you cant help but see his passion for the kingdom of God and his heart for multiplication. He is a strategic futurist who naturally sees and understands the importance and power of a fully devoted follower of Jesus released on mission.

Todd is giving his life to modeling what it looks like to live in your unique sweet spot of personal calling and to equip others to do the same. He is not a theorist with good ideas. Instead he is a practitioner with lots of experience in the trenches.

Many books have been written on discipleship. Many books have also been written on calling. More finds the unique intersection of both. Using the lens of discipleship, More brings the truth of personal calling to life, and this brings joy to my soul. Im encouraged by the impact this book will have in advancing the conversation about discipleship and in mobilizing the latent capacity of calling to action within the body of Christ.

We dont have to reinvent Jesus ways. We simply need to rediscover them and put them into practice. That is exactly what Todd helps us do with the idea of personal calling.

Jesus started his movement in the most humble and nonconventional of ways. He didnt start with a tagline, a clever business model, political clout, or a massive platform of influence. He started with ordinary people called to extraordinary things. He started with disciples called to make disciples wherever they were.

The ripple of that common calling extends to us today. Hes still calling all of us to be his hands and his feet. Hes still calling us to be his voice.

Our prayer is that youll read these words and find your deepest purpose in life. That as ordinary folks we will once again rise up to simply become disciples. And in that title well find everything God has created us to be.

God is calling. And when you answer, this world will never be the same.

I have come so that they may have life, and have it to the full.

JOHN 10:10

T here has to be more.

These words echoed in his ears with ever-increasing intensity, invading his daily routine to the depths of his soul. In years past he could escape it for days at a time, sometimes even weeks or months. But not anymore. It was there. Always there. Always lurking. Always stirring and never quite satisfied.

Eat. Sleep. Work. Conquer. Repeat. His heart felt like it was stuck. He found himself questioning how his environmenthis friends, his community, his circumstances, and even his workmight be the cause of his discontentment. And yet this feeling seemed to emanate from deep inside his soul, so deep that it couldnt possibly be caused by anything external. It was a seed planted when God had knit him together in his mothers womb. It was a seed longing to sprout and blossom into fruit.