Daniel Allen Jr. - Summoned: Stepping Up to Live and Lead with Jesus

InterVarsity Press
P.O. Box 1400,
Downers Grove, IL 60515-1426
ivpress.com

2014 by Daniel Allen Jr.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from InterVarsity Press.

InterVarsity Pressis the book-publishing division of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA, a movement of students and faculty active on campus at hundreds of universities, colleges and schools of nursing in the United States of America, and a member movement of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. For information about local and regional activities, visit intervarsity.org .

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Published in association with the literary agency of WordServe Literary Group, Ltd., www.wordserveliterary.com.

While any stories in this book are true, some names and identifying information may have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals.

Cover design: Cindy Kiple
Images: e+/Getty Images

ISBN 978-0-8308-9703-2 (digital)
ISBN 978-0-8308-3687-1 (print)

To

Lainie

Bobby

Tom

Lana

Terry

Hugh and Matt

Austin

and Trey

who encouraged me

to write.

PART ONE
Summoned: Discovering God's Call and Our Life Direction

PART TWO
Shaped: Cultivating Integrity and Influence

PART THREE
Sent: Stepping Up to Lead and Serve Others

PART FOUR
Supported: Connecting with Those Who Help Us

Im forty-seven now. Not too old yet, but not a young man either. Just the right age to know that the most important things in a mans life are what he believes about himself and what he believes about Jesus.

At the age of sixteen I was forced to work a full-time job. My sister was in and out of state mental hospitals and my parents were divorcing. At that time, I had to either bank on my own ability to navigate life alone or I would have to literally and figuratively bank my life on the character of God, which seemed elusive, hard to figure out, and thus pretty tough to orient your life on.

I was out of my league. Try to be godly? Yeah, right. Try not to lust after women? No way. Operate my business with absolute integrity? Who does that? Be different, live supernaturally, be a leader. These were inspiring concepts, but I didnt know where to turn. My heroes were fading, falling out of relationships, failing morally, and soon I forgot that I could be any different.

The only men I found inspiring were MMA dudes that could get kicked in the face and keep their minds straight and their emotions intact. Blokes that had vision and dreams of wild exploits they wanted to pursue and actually did something about it. I wondered, and always have: Where are the real men? Can I be one of them?

It changed for me on a day when one man took me out and summoned me. A summons is a call out of the normal and into something unique, hard, but worth every drop of blood it costs. A summons is a good coach who grabs you by the facemask and while spitting into your helmet, screams something that pushes you beyond yourself. A summons is a woman you care about asking if youre any different than all the other guys. A summons is what every real man needs before you end up like everyone else.

I hope that as you read this book youll accept the summons. Most wont, but maybe you will. Daniel is a friend and a mentor to me, and I can commend him as a guide that has been where you want to go.

Read on if you want to live the life God dreams for you.

Hugh Halter

Author, The Tangible Kingdom and Flesh

Founder, Missio

Put aside the Ranger. Become who you were born to be.

Lord Elrond to Aragorn, The Return of the King

I run into people my age all the time who just dont have a clue about what God might want for their lives besides grinding it out nine to five at some lame job.

Andy, a twentysomething photojournalist

Everybody has a story. Fans of The Lord of the Rings know that Aragorn was born to be a king but was reluctant to step into that role. He knew that the blood of his forefather Isildur, who clutched greedily to power and the desire for immortality, also ran through his veins. Aragorn feared what he might do if tempted by power and titles. It was left to Elrond, lord of the elves, to challenge him to step into his destiny and lead the armies of Middle Earth in battle against the dark lord, Sauron.

Andy has a story too. An award-winning photographer, he was born to tell stories through his talent with light and camera lenses. He was also born to tell Gods story and to help others find the intersection between their story and Gods. It pains him to see how some of his friends have not yet made that connection.

Im wondering about your story. Wondering how you understand who you are, why youre here, where your life is headed and who youre becoming. I wonder how youd answer the following questions:

• If your life keeps going on its current trajectory, wheres it headed? How do you feel about where its headed?
• What do you want to do with your life? Whats leading you in that direction? How do you assess whether thats something youre suited to do with your life?
• Whose expectations do you feel you need to satisfy through what you do with your life? Whose voice seems loudest at the moment?
• What do you think about the possibility that Jesus might have a direction for your life? If you believe that Jesus might have a direction, whats been your experience with finding that direction?
• Who are the people in your life who help you sort out such questions? Who helps you make an honest assessment of where youre strong and weak and what you need to work on now?

Heres how others have wrestled with some of these questions: Gene was deciding which college to attend. His high school buddies wanted him to attend the state university where they could all have fun together partying every weekend and scoring with as many girls as possible. Gene wasnt sure he wanted to do that. Partying was losing its appeal. He liked his friends a lot, but he wanted to follow Jesus too.

Johns dad wanted him to learn a trade and was willing to pay all related expensesas long as he could dictate the trade. If not, John was on his own. His dad had a wonderful plan for Johns life and wanted him to follow it. Though John respected his dad, he had no interest in that particular trade, and he resented the pressure he felt from him.

When Keith graduated college, he was expected to go into the familys automobile business. He wanted to do that at first, and he even dreamed of one day running it and owning his own business in a related field. A couple of years later he wanted to work in sales for a multinational corporation. A couple of years after that he wanted to live abroad and find himself. He recently decided he wants to work with the soil on an organic farm.

Tom was jaded and cynical about the whole institutional church scene, but he was a gifted musician and worship leader. Hed been offered a job in a church across the country from where he lived. The job would pay the bills and provide support for his family, but hed have to uproot them to move there. And he wasnt excited about that church or that city.