Be Encouraged!

I saw an article recently about how to behave at a family gathering. Another reading offered thoughts on the mistakes men make at Christmas. Of course, there are always those weighing in on how to survive the holidays.

Ah, the irregularity of the season.

It does seem that the older one gets and the more complex life becomes, the greater the probability for holiday drama. As if life is not currently filled with sufficient theatrics to keep us all off balance.

So much of what derails us and taunts us in this season are unrealistic and unrealized expectations—expectations somehow associated with our wellbeing, our efficacy, our sense of personal significance.

Disrespect. Dismissal. Disappointment. Discord. All these unpleasant “dis” words. Disenfranchised. Whew.

Over the course of 2021 I’ve written to you about two subjects: 1) how to manage chaos while engaging with society, and 2) how to make your faith in Christ relevant, powerful, and compelling in both your personal and public life.

I hope you aren’t confused about the parallel lives I lead, one through PrestonGillham.com and the other through Lifetime.org. But just in case…

It was a soft start, but somewhere around 1978 Bill (aka, Dad) and I co-founded what you know as Lifetime Ministries. In 2008, I transitioned myself, our Board of Directors, and a refined Lifetime to the next generation of leadership. I moved to my home office and devoted the bulk of my time to writing books and blogs through PrestonGillham.com.

In 2019 Lifetime.org came back into my care—a very different entity than what I handed off years earlier. Organizations change, and while this is the case with Lifetime, the message of Lifetime is constant and worldwide. Furthermore, the majority of our resources are free, thanks to your financial support and the electronics we employ.

The message of Lifetime is simply the Gospel of Jesus Christ. What makes the ministry of Lifetime unique is our dedication to helping you make your Christian life practical. We do this with honest, transparent stories and simple presentation.

My job at Lifetime is twofold: 1) to care for the organization, and 2) to care for you. While guiding the organization is second nature, caring for you is a privilege I value and dedicate myself to each day. I want you to thrive in life and in your walk with Jesus. As the days grow more tumultuous, I hope to communicate a steady hand that will encourage and inspire you.

As you know, I drew the unpleasant attention of both the Facebook and MailChimp.com powers because I dared write about a practical Christian perspective on social issues like abortion and racism. Both platforms sanctioned and throttled my visibility to you and the broader audience for whom I write and speak. Facebook effectively ruined a platform I spent nearly twenty years building. MailChimp.com continues to simply not deliver the articles I write to portions of my database of subscribers.

Herein is the reason for the parallel lives I lead. By maintaining a distinctive identity from Lifetime.org, I reduce the threat to it that I pose as a critical writer in today’s cancel culture.

I share this background so you more fully understand the rationale to my work, the parallel platforms from which I operate, and how you can play a part in advancing both the ministry of Lifetime as well as what you read from me each week.

At PrestonGillham.com, I need your partnership in buying, gifting, and distributing the books and articles I write as well as encouraging others to follow my work. Apart from you, my channels to the outside world are now greatly restricted—and MailChimp.com is gunning for you. (I’m exploring a switch in mail delivery, but it is a complex and costly problem to resolve.)

You don’t need to ask my permission to share an article, just give credit or supply a link, then share up a storm. Given the sanctioning of my work, I trust you comprehend that we truly are important partners. I write, you distribute. And as I’ve said before, if you stop receiving my articles, assume I’ve been blocked and go directly to PrestonGillham.com/blog to catch up. We live in weird days, so be shrewd, just as Jesus exhorted.

Thank you in advance for your endorsement by helping distribution of what I write.

At Lifetime.org, you can take full advantage of the nonprofit, tax-exempt status of Lifetime when you make an investment. Your financial contributions are fully deductible and your contribution advances the message of Christ as only Lifetime shares it.

For all the angst the technology gods are causing me by sanctioning what I write, the power of technology has transformed the ability of Lifetime to share its message. Once upon a time, the offices of Lifetime were a beehive of workers, studios, and warehousing. Today, the ministry of Lifetime is more vibrant than ever before, but the organizational demand is a small fraction of what it once was.

What does this mean?

It means that over $.98 of every dollar you contribute goes directly into ministry.

At some level, you realize that when you make a donation to an organization, a portion of your dollar is devoted to overhead and administration—keeping the lights on and people paid. Because of the way Lifetime is structured, only a small fraction of your investment stays inside Lifetime.

So, when you make a donation through Lifetime, you are assured of a tremendous return on your investment. Not in money, but in transformed lives. Without reservation, I encourage you to become a vital and vibrant partner in what we are called to do via Lifetime. You can participate through this link: Lifetime.org/Invest.

As I mentioned to you last week, I’m working hard to assemble my 2021 series of articles on the spiritual practices into a book titled, Rigorous Grace. I hoped the book would be ready by the end of the year, but that was an ambitious hope that isn’t going to materialize. Look for Rigorous Grace early in the First Quarter of 2022.

An aspect of Lifetime’s ministry message is the security that is yours in Christ. Of course, confidence in your true identity won’t smooth-out the wrinkles of the holidays, but understanding who you are and whose you are will help clarify what matters and what doesn’t.

My hope is that through the copious resources of Lifetime.org and PrestonGillham.com you realize that your faith is pertinent, relevant, and powerful for all that life throws your way.

Thank you for your love, encouragement, prayer, participation, and investment throughout 2021.

I’ll see you on the other side of the New Year!

Now, may you know more fully today the great mercy, love, peace, and grace of Father God in your life and the lives of those whom you love and influence.

Keep your wits about you!