Partnership Insider

Dear Partner — Are you ready for some good news?

Good news #1: We reached our annual Matching Gift Opportunity of $65,000 during April!  A huge thank you to each of you who partnered with us.

Good news #2: While high schools and universities have their commencements this month, so does Lead With Your Life with over 100 leaders finishing the nine-month Rock Solid journey.

Good news #3: We are now beginning to gear up for the 2022-2023 Rock Solid season. Praying. Preparing. Identifying coaches. We eagerly anticipate our largest group of leaders to participate.

Good news #4: We enjoyed an awesome backyard LWYL Appreciation BBQ a few weeks ago, honoring many who have partnered with us this past year. Check out a few snaps below!

Thank you for your faithful support that allows us to equip Kingdom leaders! The impact of your partnership is exponential because leaders influence leaders who influence more leaders.

Chuck Olson
Founder | Lead With Your Life

Dear Partner — I am so encouraged to let you know that Lead With Your Life has twelve Rock Solid discipleship groups  taking place right now during the 2021-2022 season. What a privilege to witness the deep and transforming work God is doing in the life of each leader on this journey.

And the work is happening because of your partnership, making this kind of impact possible for so many leaders. Thank you!

It certainly is not breaking news to announce that the need to raise up more courageous and influential leaders is of the highest order. We want to be found faithful in responding to the open doors of opportunity that God continues to put before us at Lead With Your Life.

To that end, during the month of April, through an anchor gift of $65,000, each donation received will be doubled up to that amount!

Not only will your gift be doubled, but it will also be multiplied in the lives of Kingdom leaders who will turn around and impact countless others. In short, the ROI is inestimable.

Thank you for considering joining with Pattie and me in participating with a gift to Lead With Your Life during the month of April.

Fighting for the hearts and souls of leaders…together,

Chuck Olson
Founder | Lead With Your Life

Dear Partner — I’d love to tell you about one of the many ways YOUR partnership is making a difference.

One of our goals of Rock Solid—Lead With Your Life’s signature ministry—is not only designed to build into the lives of individual leaders, but we also partner with the local church. Specifically, this season we have come alongside four churches in providing the nine-month Rock Solid journey for the expressed purpose of “deepening the church’s leadership bench.”

In the Spotlight below, you can get a glimpse of our work from Jim Alden who serves as an elder at his church in the San Gabriel Valley.

YOUR partnership makes this possible. Thank you!

Remember: Everyone’s life gets better when a leader’s life gets stronger!

Equipping Kingdom leaders—together,

Chuck Olson
Founder | Lead With Your Life

Dear Partner — As a friend and as a partner of Lead With Your Life, you know that I have a passion, a burden for leaders who follow hard after Jesus. Having seen too many leaders crash and burn, God has placed a call on my life to help leaders avoid the pitfalls and temptations of leadership by introducing and calling them to practices that will empower them to lead from the inside out. To live as leaders who are constantly being renewed and transformed by Christ. I speak from my own experience as a leader.

One of these practices is SOLITUDE—the spiritual practice of being absent from people and things for an extended time in order to be present and sit in His presence.

I’m often asked about what my time of solitude looks like. In short, I practice solitude on a weekly basis. I start my Sabbath early with a couple hours of solitude in the local foothills of the San Gabriel Valley. Different than my daily time with Christ, it is a time for me to have a longer, more in-depth conversation with Him.

While it varies, sometimes my time of solitude will be about the past, reviewing the game film of last week: ranging anywhere from calling out God’s faithfulness to addressing sinful attitudes or actions. Sometimes, the focus is in the present, simply enjoying extended time with the Lover of my soul. And sometimes, it is about the future: listening carefully to gentle whispers, as I seek to discern pending decisions or steps to take.

Where am I going with this?

Realizing the deeply significant impact that solitude has played in my life and leadership, I’m a huge advocate! I desire everyone in my circle of influence to benefit and experience personally this ancient spiritual practice.

With that, I’d love to have you join me. Specifically, during the month of March, schedule on your calendar 2-3 times of solitude where you can experience the beauty and blessing of extended time alone with God. (You may want to take a look at The Practice of Solitude for some helpful input.)

And…would you drop me a note to let me know how it went? How this practice impacted you?

In this note I also want to thank you for your vital partnership with Lead With Your Life as we build into the lives of leaders. Because at the end of the day, everyone’s life gets better when a leader’s life gets stronger.

Fighting for the hearts and souls of leaders—together,

Chuck Olson
Founder | Lead With Your Life

Dear Partner —

As we embrace a new year—a year that will be filled with ups and downs and uncertainties—I want to invite you to take a moment and listen to the song “All My Life You Have Been Faithful”.

Let the words wash over you.

Let them fill your soul.

And let them be a daily reminder of our Father’s faithfulness and goodness.

With blessings,

Chuck Olson
Founder | Lead With Your Life

Dear Partner —

During this final month of 2021, we as a team at Lead With Your Life stand in gratitude and awe at how God is working in the lives and hearts of Kingdom leaders. During these unprecedented days, we see leaders inspired, challenged, and stirred to courageously step up, lead out, and serve as never before. You have been a strong ally in your partnership of this Holy Spirit-anointed ministry. THANK YOU!

You can see below a few snapshots of the work God is doing as we equip leaders to lead from the inside out. Two of the photos were at a recent Rock Solid Grad Breakfast where leaders were reminded to stand strong, resisting the temptation to compromise in their lives and in their leadership. And the Zoom call photo is of one of the twelve Rock Solid cohorts launched this fall that will meet together over the next nine months. (We have seven Rock Solid’s happening virtually and five in-person.)

We continually hear stories of how lives are being impacted through Lead With Your Life. Here is what one Rock Solid grad shared in gratitude with me just the other day:

I took the Rock Solid journey five years ago, and that experience set in motion a deep and undeniable change in my life and leadership that continues to this day. I am so grateful for the investment you made in my life.

Your support in the mission of Lead With Your Life is both needed and appreciated. Would you consider joining with us in a year-end investment as we carry on this work? You can do so by clicking here: LWYL website.

Thank you for partnering with us and thank you from all the leaders whose lives and leadership have been forever impacted.

Fulfilling His purposes—together,

Chuck Olson
Founder | Lead With Your Life

Partner —

Roll the highlight reel!

A few weeks ago, dozens of Rock Solid grads rallied together for a morning of friendship and encouragement and inspiration. The energy was palpable as we were able to give high-fives in person after a time-out of almost two years.

Of the many significant moments, Lead With Your Life board member Pastor Garrick Hanger brought a poignant challenge as we probed the nagging question: Why do so many Christian leaders fall? (Check out some of Garrick’s reflections in the Spotlight below.)

Leader by leader, year after year, LWYL is disrupting the status quo of Christian leadership. We seek to come alongside Kingdom leaders challenging them to be more on the alert to the pitfalls and temptations of leadership. We do this by equipping and discipling them on what it means to lead from the inside out.

God is at work. It is very evident as we hear the storylines of leader after leader who give witness to His work of transformation.

In short, THIS is what your partnership makes possible.

Thank you for standing with us!

Chuck Olson
Founder | Lead With Your Life

Partner —

I want you to know how grateful I am for your support of Lead With Your Life. Because of your prayers and your partnership, this month we will launch twelve Rock Solid cohorts. As you know, Rock Solid is a nine-month leadership development and discipleship experience done in community with other like-minded leaders.

Over 120 leaders will be equipped and resourced to be more rock solid on the inside and more dangerous/courageous for the Kingdom on the outside over the upcoming 270 days.

These twelve groups will be a led by 28 coaches. Here’s a snap of several of those coaches in a Zoom meeting a few weeks ago when we met to prepare and pray for the launching of Rock Solid.

In the Rock Solid Spotlight below, you will hear from one of our Rock Solid coaches, Pastor Brandan Spencer.

Thank you for standing with us! Your partnership is making a huge difference in the lives of leaders…and all those their lives influence!

Chuck Olson
Founder | Lead With Your Life

If you’re not yet an investor in the mission of Lead With Your Life, consider this your invitation to jump in!

Partner — Life can be overwhelming. The ever-unfolding losses and upheavals surrounding us—personally, locally, and globally—can easily bring waves of discouragement, depression, and anxiety.

Can I offer a word of encouragement?

It’s against the backdrop of these realities that the sustaining truth of God’s word stands out. I think you’d agree, without these challenges, so much of Scripture would seem irrelevant.

The good news is that God, through His Word, meets us at the level of our deepest need. And He speaks to us individually in undeniably clear ways.

Recently, I’ve been meditating on some familiar verses. Since these verses have become too familiar, I am now memorizing them in another translation:

Don’t worry about anything;
instead, pray about everything.
Tell God what you need,
and thank Him for all He has done.
Then you will experience God’s peace,
which exceeds anything we can understand.
His peace will guard your heart and mind
as you live in Christ Jesus.
–Philippians 4:6-7 NLT

Did you see it? The very last line: “…as you live in Christ Jesus”. My part, our part is to LIVE in Christ Jesus—abide, remain, commune…connect with Him.
 
May the truth of this passage (and others like it), deliver peace to your soul despite the overwhelming realities you may be facing today.
 
Be sure to take a look at the Spotlight below where you’ll catch a glimpse of the very significant partnership I share with my son Dusty, one of our Rock Solid coaches. Over the next nine months, there will be 120 leaders who will experience the Rock Solid journey! 

Thank you for faithfully standing with us as we equip and develop leaders to courageously lead from the inside out.

Chuck Olson
Founder | Lead With Your Life

Dear Partner — YOU are an essential person in the work God is doing in and through the mission of Lead With Your Life. Your partnership and prayers fuel this ministry!

These summer months have been all about the next season of Rock Solid. As you know, Rock Solid is the centerpiece initiative of LWYL. It is our nine-month, intensive discipleship experience for Kingdom leaders. And it is transformative! During these months we created an online and printable Rock Solid NOTEBOOK, customized and printed a Rock Solid JOURNAL, developed plans (and needed infrastructure) to support twenty-five coaches and twelve Rock Solid groups launching this fall, and made plans for the Rock Solid Grad Breakfast in September. (Yes, ministry has been full!)

Thank you for continuing to stand with us. The mission of LWYL is needed now more than ever. Never forget that everyone’s life gets better when a leader’s life gets stronger by growing in Christ!

To extend the reach and effectiveness of LWYL, you may recall that several months ago we added Kevin Hoist to our team as part-time Director of Key Initiatives. What a privilege to serve together! He understands and lives the purpose of the ministry. You can learn a bit more about what makes him tick by reading the Spotlight below.

Chuck Olson
Founder | Lead With Your Life

If you’re not a monthly investor in the mission of LWYL,
consider joining Pattie and me today.
Your partnership is valued and needed!

June 1, 2021

Dear Partner –

With Father’s Day coming soon, I’m reminiscing about one of my life’s greatest privileges as a dad. Though my two sons, Boe and Dusty, are now well into fathering their own kids (making me a grandfather six times over!), it’s easy to rehearse back-in-the-day how dependent I was to ask God for His grace and guidance in helping me be the father they deserved.

As my two sons were growing up, I recall sharing with them some very practical lessons I had learned over the years and wanted them to be mindful of. A few were: Give firm handshakes. Always look people in the eye. Be optimistic—see problems not as obstacles but as opportunities. (Here’s the full list of advice.)

We would love to have you join with us this Father’s Day 2021 in making a donation of tribute to Lead With Your Life in honor or memory of a father, husband, or son. Pattie and I will be donating in loving memory of our two fathers, Warren Olson and Joseph Parker, and to honor our two sons, Boe Olson and Dusty Olson. These gifts will serve to pay-it-forward for the equipping of the next generation of those who will be asked to love, lead, and serve their families well.

Leading into tomorrow…together,

May 2021

Dear Partner –

It has been said that “character may be manifested in the great moments, but it is made in the small ones.”

In many ways, this is the outworking of our Lead With Your Life mission. Daily we equip and resource Kingdom leaders to stand up strong, in the defining moments of life, with deep character and resolve—moments when godly leadership is desperately required. Your prayers and your partnership are allowing us to fulfill this mission!

The Rock Solid nine-month discipleship experience is the primary way we are seeing God do a deeply transformative work in the lives of leaders. And this month of May, we have 93 leaders who will launch from this journey better equipped to lead those in their circles of influence. We’re excited to share with you some Spotlight stories that have occurred during Rock Solid through our Partnership Insider each month.

Fighting for the hearts and souls of leaders…together,

Chuck Olson