ASI 2021: Into All the World

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Young Professionals

Jason Bradley

K'dee Elsen Crews

Denzil McNeilus

Process of Progress

So this morning, our first speaking segment is called Process of Progress.

Behind every individual who finds success in business or ministry or career.

Often we see the results, we see, wow, look at what they're doing.

But how did they get to where they're at?

Today you'll actually hear the intersection of 3 unique, very distinct, highly successful, deeply spiritual leaders in our Adventist church.

A little sneak peek into how God has led each of their journeys.

So what do a banker, a program manager, a psychologist, what do these have in common?

I hope today you will see that golden thread of faith that intersects these journeys, the burden of the gospel that ties each 1 together.

Our first speaker this morning is a face that I'm sure all of you recognize.

He is no stranger to ASI, Denzel McNeilis.

Both him and his wife have served as past ASI presidents and he serves on the ASI Mission Incorporated.

Also owner of Sterling Bank in Hills from Minnesota.

Denzel we are so happy to have you here and just even I just love hearing you come on stage and sharing your stories even just like last night the stories of evangelism and what God is doing.

You know, it's an honor and privilege to be able to be here this morning to talk to you.

But I just want you to know that whatever I say, I want to make sure that all honor, glory, and praise goes to our Heavenly Father.

Because if you think about it, our earthly endeavors of what we do is really insignificant when you look at what he has done for us.

You know, I was trying to decide what I was going to speak about today.

You know, I grew up with the Seventh-day Adventist.

We got married when I was 20 years old, and We just celebrated our 40-year anniversary.

So, that tells you I've been working for more than 40 years.

I started working in our family business when I was 8 years old.

As I tried to try to figure out what I was going to talk to you about today, I was trying to figure out what area would be the most important to highlight.

I thought maybe I'd talk about how my wife and I, when we grew up, we grew up very poor.

I mean, literally, it took us 1 full year to save up enough money, because we didn't want to borrow money, to buy a microwave.

We believed we should work half days, 12 hours a day.

And it took a lot of time and effort in what we did.

There were 9 manufacturers when I started in the family business.

There were 9 mixer manufacturers and when we sold the business, we were the world's largest mixer manufacturer in the world.

I became a president of our company when I was 26 years old.

You know, the mixer business, I could talk to you about how we did our marketing, how we did our distribution systems, how we put up our systems for our sales and our management, our factory operations, how we did our production, how we set up our factory.

I could talk to you about that when we did sell our mixer business, that there were registered or registered mixer trucks in the United States that were actually on the street was just under 69, 000 mixers, trucks in the United States.

Just under 69, 000 registered mixer trucks in the United States on the street, and 62, 000 of them had our name on them.

We are the world's largest in the mixer business.

I could talk to you about how that we decided to go into the garbage truck business.

And in 8 years, we came from starting in the business to be the second largest mixer or garbage truck business in the world.

I could tell you we were the largest concrete plant manufacturing business.

And we started in that, became the largest of that in the world.

We became the largest leaser of mixer trucks in the United States.

But then we always had all our people flying back and forth because they couldn't work on Sabbath.

So we had all these trucks we were delivering all over the United States.

So we had to buy airplane tickets and of course we started buying a lot of airplane tickets.

And I said, well, how do I get a discount to buy more airplane tickets?

We need, became a travel agent and then I bought travel agencies and I became the second largest travel agency owner in Minnesota.

But then I decided I wanted to diversify and so I actually bought a little bank.

And we started with that bank and that bank when I bought it was 28 million in assets.

I work with my son Justin and Tyler Coleman, my son-in-law.

And we're a bank now of 450 million in assets.

But the Lord really blessed us through all these efforts.

But that's not what I want to talk to you about.

I have 3 things I want to talk to you about.

I want 3 things that I'd like you to listen, learn that I wish I would have known when I was your age.

The first thing is the most important thing, make God your partner.

If you make God your partner and you're doing what he wants you to do, you'll be successful.

Elder Rizzi, I don't know, does anyone know Elder Rizzi?

Elder Rizzi had a saying that I really appreciate.

He said, the secret of wisdom is knowing the direction the Lord wants you to go and following it.

But I also, the other thing I wanted to tell you was when I started in business, I Wanted to be the first Adventist billionaire.

I know you think about billionaires today.

But you 40 years ago, billion a billion dollars a lot of money.

Today is not as much as it was back then.

But back then it was I want to be the first Adventist billionaire.

I'm a talk about that a little bit later as I finish up when they tell me I only have a few more minutes.

But the thing I want to tell you that I want is so important.

Most people will tell you, never let a crisis go to waste.

And I want to tell you what I want to spend a little bit of time on today is, through crises we were able to grow.

Every time there was a downturn, every time there was an issue that came up to place, we looked at it as an opportunity to grow.

And so I want to urge you today that as you get a crisis, as you have a problem, it's an opportunity to expand and to improve your business or your professional life.

Like the first crisis that came into our family was my grandmother had open heart surgery.

Matter of fact, they tell me she was the first 1 in the Mayo Clinic to have open heart surgery in 1955.

And they were there around and she was there for a long time recovering.

My dad was walking by and they're digging a hole and he yelled down the hole, you need help.

Why he was sitting there and it was to build a concrete plant.

That's where he learned the ready mix business.

Then that grew, he, why I say grew, He bought 1.

He said in the newspaper that he hoped to employ 3 people.

He didn't tell the newspaper that 1 was him and 1 was my mom of the 3.

And when he started in the ready mix business, it was very tough.

Rochelle Mekowulu

Purpose Discovery

So Zaria did the introduction, so I'm not going to waste any time and do that.

But what I would like, if we could have maybe 2 individuals, maybe 1 from this side and 1 from that side, share why you chose to attend this workshop.

Because we know that there's a variety of workshops that are going on now, and you could be anywhere, or you could just be relaxing.

So I would really love if just 1 or 2 brave people, and just so you're forewarned, you know, this is an interactive workshop.

So how I generally do things is if I ask a question and nobody answers, I just stop.

And we just pause until someone brave enough kind of says, okay, Okay, okay, fine.

So just nothing long, no dissertation, just a quick synopsis, a quick thought as to why you chose, what are you hoping to get out of this workshop?

Who will be brave enough to do that for us?

I chose to come here because I like to be productive and confident be well spoken and then I'm prepared to answer questions.

I know because it's fine to find your purpose.

You know, any topic on finding purpose, you know, I'd like to get more information about that.

I know that as we go along, we're going to loosen up because I'm going to be coming back to you quite often for some feedback, so stay tuned for that.

Just want to do a quick overview in terms of expectations that you can expect from our workshop today.

So again, the workshop is called Finding Your Sweet Spot.

Now, we understand generally that God has a purpose and a calling for humanity collectively, right?

The Bible says, for example, that he desires that all men should be saved.

So there's a universal purpose that God has.

But within that universal purpose, he also has an individual purpose for each and every 1 of us.

And that purpose differs from 1 person to the next.

And so when we're talking about finding our sweet spot, I just want to give you the definition that I'm kind of working with for our purposes.

It's that place where who you are and what you do are fully integrated.

So it's the place where your greatest passions and your talents and your abilities and your unique disposition and your personality where they all intersect and it's in that place where you find the greatest efficiency and you are the most effective.

So that's what I mean by sweet spot And when you're in that sweet spot, that's when you're generally operating in your God-given purpose.

So that's the general topic, finding your sweet spot.

Now within that, we're going to look at 3 particular subsections.

Number 1, understanding that we're designed with a purpose in learning how to hear God's voice so that we can understand that purpose.

And then understanding what are the unique gifts and talents, et cetera, that God has given me to help to fulfill that purpose?

And then thirdly, what are the roadblocks that we may encounter in seeking to fulfill that purpose?

Now I'm operating on a Proverbs 4.18 principle does anyone know what Proverbs 4 18 says yes amen did you guys hear the path of the justice as a shining light that shined it's bright and vital it's the perfect day now What do we want to take away from that?

When the sun rises, does the sun go from 0 to 100?

It's a gradual process, isn't that right?

And so even in understanding your purpose and what God has called you to do, don't consider it an event.

Don't consider it an event, but consider it a process.

So we're meeting together for about an hour and a half.

I will not have you think that when you're leaving here, you're going to go skipping and say, I got it.

But What you're going to get is some tools and resources that if you implement them, you will arrive at that God-given purpose.

I don't want you to think I'm selling you like snake oil or anything like that.

Now we're going to look at different tools, right?

You don't want to look at any of these tools as though they are the end in and of themselves.

Each of the tools that you're going to learn is a piece of the puzzle, Right?

And as you assemble the tools and as you assemble these pieces of the puzzle, it's going to help you to see the picture of what God is calling you to do.

So, for example, you know, let's say you were trying to understand what's my personality type.

And maybe you discover that, oh, I'm such an introvert.

And so automatically, it's possible for you to say, God can never call me to speak or do anything like that, because my personality type said that I'm an introvert, so I'm locked into that.

We don't believe in that, because God can operate outside of the box, can't he?

And so you're looking at these as tools, you're putting them together to get the whole puzzle.

And finally, there's some work that you're gonna have to do, right?

And if you do the work, then God is going to do the rest, amen?

So as we look at each of these sections, there are some worksheets that we have, and I don't want you to go looking through them until I tell you, except for those who started your purpose questionnaire.

But for each section, there's something for you to do.

I'm going to stop and I'm going to give you some time for you to do some work, and then we're going to have some feedback.

1 or 2 individuals can share with us what's your feedback that you get.

It just kind of happened when it was being printed.

And let's just try to do the best that we can with what we have.

Awesome, so before we get deeper into it, I'm gonna give you 5 minutes.

So it's 1.13, I'll take you to maybe 1.18.

And you're gonna go to page 3 in that handout, the purpose questionnaire, and if you haven't completed it, I want you to try to complete it now.

Once you've done that, you're gonna tally what your score is for each of the questions that are there, and then you're gonna go to page 4 where there's a guide and it says if you got 50 this is what it means if you got 70 this is what it means and so I'm going to give you 5 minutes I know some of you may not finish it and that's okay you can take it home and finish it there but we just have to move through some things so I'm gonna try to move things a little expeditiously so 5 minutes go if you have any questions just call me and I'll come over yes John oh yes we do have some extra pens if you don't have a paper raise your hand if you don't have a pen raise your hand.

You're going to page 3, and you're going to fill it out.

And I want just 1 or 2 individuals, when you're finished, I'm going to ask you to share with us where you are on the spectrum and whether you agree with the results that have come into light.

And I do have a magnifying glass if anyone needs it.

Sometimes when we're filling out these things, we try to think of the politically correct answer to give.

And I just want your honest reaction as you're looking at the question.

Stephen Lee

Goal Setting and Time Management

Father in heaven, thank you so much for again giving us this opportunity to learn, to understand, ultimately so that we can come up higher.

Higher in your will, higher in your calling.

Whether we feel like it or not, you have great plans for us.

And sometimes what limits us is the time.

Lord, we understand we all have 7 days, 24 hours in a day.

And there are those who are able to accomplish a lot more than others.

So, We need a better understanding and maybe even changing some of our habits To Do better To ultimately having time for the precious moments of our life So be with us now Again, open up our eyes our minds.

Alright, There are more room, please come in, come in, it's okay.

There are lots of space in the front, in the back, I don't bite.

All right, so as you guys know, Divinely Appointed, Go N Time.

I am the marketing director of Center for Online Evangelism.

I don't know if you checked out the booth.

We have 1 down in the exhibition hall and also I am the co-leading director of ASIYP.

So, my first question to you is, what are your expectations of the seminar?

I like this question because I like to customize my seminars to really help you.

But I want you to gain something out of it that you need help on.

So As much as I can, I'll try to help you.

What are some of your expectations today in this seminar?

With the goal setting, what are some problems you've been having or time, if you could tell me?

So with goal setting, because I'd like to learn more about how to make realistic goals.

So at the beginning of the year I did like a vision board, and I noticed some goals I completed pretty quickly and other ones were taking a while.

Yes, good thing that you're doing a vision board already, but realistic goals are very important.

I would say actually following through because I have a good intention to do stuff but then it's like, nah, you know, I could actually follow through with a commitment that I've already made.

Exactly, you are talking about my life here.

It's maybe sometimes accountability, consistency.

Especially in the beginning of the year and then what happens?

I'm not even looking at the goals anymore.

And then you're again, busy with your life.

So, we want to touch upon those things and I believe our seminar will and much more but at the same time these are usually series that I go through So we only have a very short time together.

If you have any questions, raise your hand and I'll try to clarify, but you really have to get your brain to think at this point.

So, so just, if you get tired, stand up, whatever, and you probably need the pens as well.

You're going to go through a workbook later on again, why?

ASI YP is really about you skin in the game, right?

You put it in and you're going to get more out.

If you don't put anything in, you're not going to get anything.

So, talking about goal and time management, let's make it a little bit clearer, right?

The first thing we're going to go is understanding.

So understanding the principles of the time.

Those are the workbooks that you have, worksheets, and you're going to go through that next.

And then third, we'll just conclude with some testimonies and understanding of how to really apply that and commitments.

So the first 1 is the understanding the principles of time.

What's important enough to spend your time on?

So what are some of the things important in your life that you like to spend more time on?

Yes, yes, we're sometimes too busy with work.

Self-care, yeah, that's a big 1 these days.

Yeah, me, it's always spending meaningful time in my business and like making the most out of that time that I have.

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