Mark Fields

MEMBER OF THE INTERNATIONAL FELLOWSHIP OF EXCHANGED LIFE

From Performance To ProvisionFrom Performance To ProvisionFrom Performance To Provision By Mark Fields, Director of Training & IFEL Representative Christian Families Today I grew up in a loving and supportive family. It was characterized by “that” generation – dad a WW II vet with all the good values of those times, but not the expression of affection or emotion. We had a Christian home, with strong emphasis on Christian living. I complied with those values, wanting to please my parents in everything I did, pretending to be a Chris-tian. This led to good behavior, and excellent performance in the classroom and in the athletic arenas. As I grew older, my peers became the more important influences in my life, and my purpose became to please them. I set out to accom-plish this in excelling in sports and the parties - being the funniest and nicest guy you ever wanted to meet. I found my-self depending on people’s responses and performance results to affirm my worth and value. These achievements earned me a football scholarship to Georgia Tech, where I wanted to become an engineer and obtain a fulfilling ca-reer. In my Freshman year, everything changed - 5 months out of High School, 2 months into college. I was living my dream, attaining my goals - a starter for the football team, attending the top school of Industrial Engineering in the coun-try, enjoying the smorgasbord of fraternities and trying to decide which one to join. I was trying to study for a Calculus test, but found myself not being able to. I began realizing how I had attained everything I wanted in life, and yet was very empty inside. I realized I was (we ALL are) born with a hole in my heart the size of God. Only HE could fill it and He wanted to do that very much. Putting down my Calculus book, I talked to my Creator, and asked Him to fill that hole. Based on His Provision for relationship, I accepted His offer of relationship and began a fantastic journey. His Provision was that He became a man, lived this life perfectly, and then died to pay the consequence for sins. At this point, I got the first half of the Cross - Christ died for my sins. It would be 30 years later before I realized Christ also killed the sinner on the Cross. I lived a roller coaster Christian life for 30 years, defined by performance, a desire to please God, (continued on page 2)

2

Mark Fields Testimony Continued: and to be a Christian all would admire (and like). Teaching Sunday School classes, and serving in leadership roles in church brought me much recognition. Performance and promotions at work brought me the desired results that proved my worth. That was all on the outside. But on the inside, I was still seeking to find love, acceptance, and worth only God can provide. This became more and more desperate until I nearly ruined my marriage with wrong choices. I needed to find out how a "man after God's own heart" can make choices with behaviors so contradictory. I was connected with a Counseling Ministry that explained clearly why I do what I do, and where the Christian strug-gles. They showed me first, my Identity is based on what God has ALREADY done for me and in me, and that I am defined as His child, fully righteous. This means I don't have to strive and perform to gain God's approval, and I don't have to depend on other’s opinion of me, but only God's. He is SO pleased with me, because He made me in His image, a new creation, containing all of His Life and all that it en-tails. And I gotta tell you, a relationship with my Creator changes all relationships - with myself, and with others. Nothing else satisfies, because nothing else is meant to do so. 12 years later, I retired from the Corporate world and became a counselor/discipler, Life Coach, and trainer in the same ministry that so impacted me, Christian Families Today. Knowing my Father's view of me, owning my Identity, and living out of Christ's life, has truly changed everything.

Grow In Grace Seminar | CFT Staff The Grow In Grace Seminar has been designed to teach others how to consistently experience God's love, joy, and peace in the midst of

life's busyness & stress. This is not just another performance based seminar but a life transforming experience empowered by the Holy

Spirit to all who believe. This insightful, yet practical seminar is commonly scheduled on Friday night and Saturday format. Read More

Greg & Connie Brezina | Founders

http://urfm.org/home.html

Learn More About IOM America’s Online School Partner!

Upper Room Fellowship: Valy Vaduva

3

Editorial Comments: Kathy Hill, CO editor@iomamerica.org Entire content of this publication is under © supervision of IOM America 2014

Reproduction permitted when entire publication remains intact.

Digital view or copies can be obtained online at: click here All Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible, © Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963,1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

IDENTITY MATTERS CONFERENCE

Identity Matters: Workbook & Confer-

ence Guide is a 13-week course designed

for a combination of individual, small group

& conference study guide. It is a course in

the personal discovery of a believer’s co-

death, burial, resurrection & ascension in

Christ Jesus – the Exchanged Life. Chapter

titles are: Basics of Discipleship, Godship,

Rejection, External/Internal, Problems, My

Flesh, Repentance, Identity Matters, Ac-

cepting Your Righteousness, Extending

Forgiveness, Seeking Forgiveness, Rest,

Abide, & Walk, and Love Life.

Living Life Discipleship Manual contains

over 80 diagrams with “cheat sheets” ex-

plaining each diagram with an application

section for the individual being discipled.

Section titles are: Basics of Discipleship,

Godship, Rejection, External/Internal, Prob-

lems, My Flesh, Repentance, Identity Mat-

ters, Accepting Your Righteousness, Ex-

tending Forgiveness, Seeking Forgiveness,

Rest, Abide & Walk, and Love Life.

Exchanging Life

Press Releases by Dr. Stephen R. Phinney:

Founder: Mushtaq Gill

SMART PHONE REGISTRATION

This one day conference helps members of the Body of Christ to expe-rience, mature in, and communicate effectively the message of identification with Christ in His death, burial, resurrection, and ascen-sion. Learn more about how to press forward through enslaving men-tal, emotional, and spiritual conflicts by placing a special emphasis on IDENTITY MATTERS. Speaking topics include: Basics of Discipleship, Godship, Rejection, External/Internal, Problems, My Flesh, Repentance, Identity Matters, Accepting Your Righteousness, Extending Forgiveness, Seeking For-giveness, Rest, Abide, & Walk, and Love Life. Dr. Phinney’s new workbook and discipleship manual will be publically released at this conference (see ad below). IDENTITY MATTERS CONFERENCE Saturday, April 12th 8:00 am to 8:30 pm Lunch and Dinner Provided $10 Conference Fee + $20 for Workbook Studio 96, Inc. 121 South Broadway Sterling, KS 67579 Reasonably Priced Housing Available for Out of Town Attendees Registration: Call 602-292-2982, log on to, www.iomamerica.org

4

IOM AMERICA | INTERNATIONAL FELLOWSHIP OF EXCHANGED LIFE | P.O. Box 71, Sterling, KS 67579 | ChristAsLife@IOMAmerica.org |www.IOMAmerica.org

Notes To The Editor

Dear Dr. Stephen and the staff of IOM America, Praise the Lord! It was good to speak to you on the phone about Liberia. We are a ministry about fulfilling the Great Commission. Preaching the Gospel to the rich and poor here in NYC and the nations of the world. I will let my Biography, newsletter, and website www.itstimeforrevival.com reveal more clearly our vision and labour of love to reach the lost and bring revival to the church. If you further like to discuss hosting us to hold Revival to reach Sterling, Kansas then don't hesitate to call our office at: 718-777-1755. His bondservant, Rev. Doug Mohr, Liberia

Dear Dr. Phinney, For some of you, this message will serve as an update of all that the Spirit is doing in and through the Hope of Life in Gospel Ministries in Faisalabad, Pakistan. For others, this will bring to light this seemingly dark but truth-hungry region of the globe. Led by 3 pastors, The Hope of Life in Gospel Ministries is a church located in northeast Pakistan that has nearly 220 fam-ilies and has doubled in size in the past 2 years. After reaching out to local Muslims over the past 4 months, this church has 44 people who are ready to be baptized and who are in need of new copies of the Word of God. Our events and this ministry needs your prayers. A local sister church located in the town of Faisalabad also has 24 recently converted, bap-tized Believers who are also in need of Bibles. Would you and your readers please consider placing us on your prayer lists—thank you! - Dr Amir, Nadab, Pakistan

Dear Stephen, Calvary greetings to you and the entire ministry team. Its a thing of great joy reading from you and same time seeing just a wonderful committed mission minded group. Thanks for your selfless efforts towards reaching Africa for the salvation of souls. We have been blessed / encouraged so much through your network ministration information. My heart is full of fresh challenges. I know that God still have a Mission minded people He is still using in this era to perfect His divine plans towards His Church Worldwide. We have taking enough time to browse through your ministry website and we are so delighted for the positive infor-mations we were able to gathered about you & your ministry goals / objectives. Importantly, it will be a thing of en-couragement if you can consider extending your mission hand towards this side of African Nation. -Henry I. Nwandu,

Lome Togo, W/Africa