EP 77: Mission Driven Stories: Millard Fuller

“God sometimes calls us into service at the most inopportune times. Often, we find a hundred reasons to say no…God wants our availability. He wants our hearts and minds, and lives. He wants us to say in the words of Isaiah, ‘Here am I. Send me.’” ~Millard Fuller Millard Fuller believed that success was measured in dollars. He longed to be a millionaire more than anything else in the world. He ate, drank and slept his vision of riches. He was willing to pay the price, too. He brainstormed, he worked, and he sacrificed for his ultimate goal...until it was almost too late.  Like Millard, many of us are caught up in the rat race with dreams of more and more and more...not even knowing where we're headed or why we want more. The story of Millard and Linda Fuller is a wake up call for all of us - reminding us what success truly is, and showing us how to get it.  In this podcast Audrey demonstrates how truly living the 7 Laws of Mission transformed Millard and Linda, then how they, with God's help, transformed the world.   Listener's Guide: Use the time stamps below to skip to any part of the podcast.  2:33       Family, Faith, Church 4:32      Learning Principles and Practices of Success 9:18      Two Formative Projects 16:30    Law School - Morris Dees 21:45    A Covenant with God 27:00   Cookbooks, Toothbrushes and $1 Million 31:38    The Cost 35:58    The Call and the Facade 43:55    Submitting to God and Starting Over 48:50   Answering the Call 56:32    It is a blessing and privilege to do God's work Quotes from this episode: “Sunday and church went together in our family, like ham and eggs.” ~Millard Fuller “I developed a real love for business and for making money before graduating from high school. My dad and I talked a lot about making money and about business. He spent a lot of time with me…he did a great job of teaching me and motivating me to be self-reliant and self-starting.” ~Millard Fuller “By the end of high school, I had developed a strong desire to go into business. I didn’t know yet what kind of business, but I wanted it to be big, profitable, and successful. I wanted to be a millionaire too. This would be a sure sign of success in life.” ~Millard Fuller “Without a doubt, my college career had been full. For three years I had packed in as much as I possibly could—days, nights, weekends, vacations, and summers. I always had something going. I had heard and believed that youth is the time to do something and become somebody. My aim was to fill my life with as many varied experiences as time allowed. All the while, I had a sense of being close to God and in tune with his reality—his will—for my life. ” ~Millard Fuller “When asked to do missionary work for a few months - Deep inside, I knew I should go. I felt the invitation was a call from God to perform a particular service for his church. But I turned it down. In my replay to Mr. Waery, I wrote, ‘I’ll do it in two years, maybe.’” ~Millard Fuller “God sometimes calls us into service at the most inopportune times. Often, we find a hundred reasons to say no…God wants our availability. He wants our hearts and minds, and lives. He wants us to say in the words of Isaiah, ‘Here am I. Send me.’” ~Millard Fuller “When I was in Law school, I had promised God that I would make myself available for his purposes. I had assured God that, regardless of the success or financial achievements of our company, I would always put his kingdom first…But in a real-life situation, I said no to God and yes to business and further financial achievements.”  ~Millard Fuller “The words of praise from the community rang in my ears. ‘You’ve got it made,’ these voices said.