I’ll begin this with a hearty thanks to John Stein for our time together Friday. John, I think you might be one of my best friends. and, I am always appreciative of our time together – and, recently in particular.

I’m copying Tim Barker on this email because of ROI ministry (Tim created this Ministry and he’s letting me help him).

all this said, I’m actually directing this post towards Todd Miechiels, as I continue to think about the  financial model for The 3:15 Project. I’m pretty convinced that $315 per video is the way to go. and, selling (sponsorship) packages of six (6) for $1890 is sublime. NOTE: it was John that taught me Friday that “6” is the number for man in the Bible. so, $315 x 6 = $1890.

in any event, this communique is about Return on Investment (“ROI”). and, since Todd wants a For Profit Ministry (and, I really applaud this), ROI will be a key to it’s acceptance, proliferation, and success (that requires definition for human comprehension).

take heed, Tim.

I believe that I’m quickly coming to the conclusion that ROI relative to most Ministries is going to be subjective and ultimately arbitrary. but, most of the time we seem to equate a Ministries success as involving the “saving of souls” in one form or another.

so… how about this… lets assign the value of a saved soul in the United States as $315,000 US Dollars. in Great Britain it can be £315,000 Pounds. In China, ¥315,000 Yen, etc.

it comes down to economies of scale. each nation recognizes and can relate to its own currency, yet the proverb of 3:15 remains consistent.

each video that is bought and shot, any where around the globe can now be assigned it’s relative value and we can create a financial model that will be accepted. we now have a universal methodology for calculating a requisite ROI. and, people in business can relate and communicate all of this in a way that legitimizes the integration of faith and business.

John, whom is a healer, says I’m “annoited” for business. we all make a difference. my gut tells me my thinking, here, is inspired. so, lift me up, please. I don’t need to be “right”, mind you. recently David Quail accused me of having an ego. but, candidly, I’d rather be useful.

peace be to my Brothers and Sisters.

brian patrick cork

the background for this post is fascinating, for me.

John Stein is a remarkable fellow, on a number of fronts. his story, in part, and in relation to my own, has been extolled on this blog at several points. the dude is relevant. but, with this preamble established, I’m going to take the easy route and drop in an email message he sent me earlier today. so, make of it what you will. it’s both informative, and possibly helpful. it’s certainly useful stuff to know.

especially if it means God “shows up”.

to wit:

“Jenetezen Franklin is free chapel’s pastor who wrote a book called, “Fasting”. It’s awesome on the biblical teaching on the subject. The church could do a better job with the subject.

My own testimony has shown God to break through and do amazing things when I fast. It is a matter of humbling yourself before the LORD in petition for help. It’s all throughout the Bible. God has called me to a life of fasting which is not for everyone.

However, everyone can tap into its power. I believe that this is such a time.

Fasting is not abstaining from certain things like tv, cussing, etc. Biblical fasting varied from Esther’s drink or eat nothing to Daniel’s fruits and vege fast.

For three day fasts, I do water only.

Expectations – body cleanses during day one, and toxins are removed. Headaches are a common complaint, but I rebuke that. After day one, you move to a different place.

Prayer is a good thing to mix in a lot more during a fast than other times. Some folks read the Bible during meal times.

My experience has been that there is definitive strength in corporate fasts. It seems to be a lot easier to fast when you are along side others doing the same.

This will be one of those times.

I dont prep. I just stop eating. I will get soda water to go with tap water.

During long, long fasts, I will do juice or broth or fruit. Earlier this year, I did a 21 day fast of fruit and veges and hated the fast. It was easier for me to just to juice.

God showed up, though.

JS”

peace be to my Brothers and Sisters.

brian patrick cork

Todd Miechiels came by Wednesday to discuss the 3:15 Project.

it makes sense both from both a self-sustaining and self-sufficient model. then, from a Kingdom and best practices perspective it represents a good business model. it’s also aligned with theories around trends (see my discourses around Steve Jobs and video anywhere and everywhere). so, it could lend itself to the viral process with ease, aplomb, and a form of elegance. perhaps the best part is it requires almost no outside capital. so, it’s genuinely “part of the solution, and not part of the problem”, unlike most Ministries.

in a moment of careful thoughtfulness, Todd told me I was “intimidating”.

I’m pondering that. so, more about that later.

meanwhile, John Stein lofted over another of his herculean and epic prayers:

“Father, in the name of Yeshua, God I decree the soil of Brian’s heart be watered. God, let your wellspring of life come forth. May Brian know the love of Christ beyond any indifference, any confusion and any doubt. God, may Your presence be upon him. May He know the love of a perfect Father. God, may You tear down the walls that the enemy has built around his heart. May they be destroyed, and may his inheritance come forth. God, please anoint Brian today for the service of the King. LORD, let him see his purpose. Let him know his destiny. God, I call him into that now. In the name of Jesus, Brian will fulfill all that he was created to fulfill. LORD, I confuse the enemy now. I say to all relationships that are of hell, be gone now! LORD, raise up today new relationships of divine destiny. Let Brian have encounters, O God. Invade his night time. Increase his dreams. Bring forth more LORD. Give him strategies of heaven to change an entire economy. Let him know, Jesus, that Your Spirit is at work in him. May Your light shine brightly through Brian. In the name of Jesus. Amen” – John Stein

okay… that’s intimidating.

how the hell (just run with me here, I’m all worked-up and excited) can anything stand in defiance against that? it’s like Green Lantern’s, well, lantern. and, his awesome oath:

In brightest day, in blackest night,                                                                                                                                      No evil shall escape my sight,                                                                                                                                              Let those who worship evil’s might,                                                                                                                          Beware my power… Green Lantern’s Light!

…that’s meant to be intimidating, for good.

so, it’s the same. now there exists scienter. and, the dutiful requirement to use our super powers for good.

I’ll likely take heat for this. Gale Jackson may well gnash his teeth and shake his fist at me. but, I’m good. my heart is pure in this matter.

by the way… I remain a work in progress. but, I understand. and, I know what I want.

peace be to my Brothers and Sisters.

brian patrick cork

I found myself, and early Thursday morning, looking to the stars while getting ready to walk with Emma Jo to the bus stop.

Amidst the caucaphonic singing of birds I found myself contemplating the twilight, and rapidly processing a broad array of thoughts that included: Gatsby, the “Word” as a lens, Speed Racer (actually, Racer X), and why it is light posts dim when special people draw near.

I thought of Bill Pope, and how he and I would have stood there quietly together, our hands in pockets, putting lines-of-thought together that might have only, and at best, confused (possibly, admittedly, concerned) others. It’s not simple easy understanding where Walker Percy both came from, and where he was coming from.

…and, now this:

Bryan Davidson had opened my eyes Wednesday when he reminded me of something one of his own professors had said to him at Liberty Baptist College: “Death is morbid but meaningful”.

Apparently, and according to this same professor, the meaningful part is because it opens your eyes. It’s how you see it.

Death, that is – someone else’s.

I’m also pondering what death might look like when it’s racing at you, or even creeping up on you. I’ve faced my own mortality in some tough spots. But, I don’t want any of this to be about me, right now.

So… I’m in a kind of “zone” for the moment around the whole Bill Pope situation. I’m not seeking answers, nor understanding. Possibly I am sorting out direction. I do know that I, for one, won’t ever be able to say enough good things about Bill. However, wherever he is – it begins in my heart and memory, and has clearly set a standard for a baring point.

By the way…

…on the tail tale-end of that telephonic exchange with Bryan I asked him how he was feeling (he was sick with what seemed like allergies to everything, including air and all edible things, for years). He mentioned “some dude” put his hands on him at a soulybusiness event, and he was healed.

I asked him if it was John Stein, of course.

And, it was, indeed (and Jesus, apparently).

John, just so you know, is a Healer. It’s true. I don’t even find it odd. But, then, you need to understand John – and man, is that another story. My favorite is a long run in the mountains of Tennessee early morning along train tracks. But, that, another time.

Bill Powis (I call him: “Pastor Bill” – a natural teacher, by the way) is leaning into me as well. I think he likes my torment. But, he also appreciates my open-heart. Man, he would have really liked Pope.

And, if we must be judged, I’ll hope it’s by the men around me.

And, to that end…

I’ll note, and do it here, that Marcus Crocket came back from Bill and Bryce’s funeral with the comment: “I was amazed at the testimonials for Bryce. It made me understand what a great influence in his life Bill and Jane were. They were READY. They lived their lives like Jesus”.

Those are powerful words around a man with a life well-lived.

But, there is more. It’s happening all around us. …change and perspective, I think…

Another dear friend, and agonizingly patient spiritual mentor, Durwood Snead, also lost his seven day old grandaughter this week, ironically named Madison (the name of Bill’s surviving daughter). She held her Mother’s gaze for only a few short hours. In his email to me, today, Durwood said: “We talked about how we did not understand why God needed Madison more than He felt we did, but that we had to trust Him because He gave His only Son for us.”

I’m not sure what’s next with all of this. So, now this is something like they. But, we can all count on there being a next what.

This I do know… We’ll need to make our stand her, and now. We must decide, each of us separately, and together, to either reel with these blows, or grow because of them.

We need to be READY.

Peace be to my Brothers and Sisters.

Brian Patrick Cork

NOTE:  Walker Percy (May 28, 1916 – May 10, 1990) was an American Southern author whose interests included philosophy and semiotics. Percy is best known for his philosophical novels set in and around New Orleans, Louisiana, the first of which, The Moviegoer, won the National Book Award for Fiction in 1962. He devoted his literary life to the exploration of “the dislocation of man in the modern age.” His work displays a unique combination of existential questioning, Southern sensibility, and deep Catholic faith.