Slides from the kickoff meeting of the Austin Christian Executives (ACE) 2014 spring semester. Includes a review of ACE history and a challenge to engage with God in your daily business and all parts of life. This process starts by considering how we truly want to be defined by our lives by the end of 2014, by the time we retire, and on our death bed. The challenge then is to move our identity beyond ourselves and into one that is God-defined and Spirit-filled.

1. ACE Men’s Bible Study
WELCOME!
Spring Semester
2014

2. ACE Leadership Team
• Communication and systems:
• James Higginbotham, Dan Rourke, Dave Gemuenden
• Member care: Skip Crowe, Ryan Vernon
• Teaching & curriculum: Greg Herring
• Leadership team chair: Warb Lee
• Small group leader recruitment: Warb Lee
• Student teacher & ranch hand: Ron Harris

3. ACE in a Nutshell
• ACE Mission:
• Prepare, launch, and support men to achieve
their ultimate purpose
• ACE Values:
• Deep teaching: Learning, understanding and
knowing God
• Deep relationships: God, Family, Community,
Marketplace

4. ACE in a Nutshell
• ACE Goals:
• An Encounter with God that you NEVER
Recover From…
• Regardless of your “spiritual maturity”
• A life forever CHANGED!
• A life spiritually ENERGIZED!
• A Different Person by Semester‟s End
• True change from the inside out…

5. Something to Think About this Semester
• Consider three time horizons:
• New Year‟s Eve 2014
• First day of your retirement
• Death bed
• Look back - what will truly define your life?
• Where does „change‟ and „purpose‟ fit into your
schedule and priorities?
• How are lives changed from the inside out?

6. The Power of the Gospel
1 Corinthians 15
1 Now I would remind you brothers, of the Gospel I
preached to you, which you received, in which you stand,
2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the
word I preached to you – unless you believed in vain.
3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also
received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with
the Scriptures,
4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day
in accordance with the Scriptures,
5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.

7. The Power of the Gospel
6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at
one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have
fallen asleep.
7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.
8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.
9 For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an
apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace
toward me was not in vain..

8. Change from the Inside Out..
• Gospel – the power of God for salvation to all who believe
• Gospel brings the future (co-heirs with Christ), into the present
(gift of the Holy Spirit), as a result of the past (resurrection)
• You are not just a „rescue project‟, rather God saving you for a
purpose
• The Gospel is alive and working in us and thru us everyday!
• Why seek a comfortable life – seek God and the adventure He
has in store for you!

9. The Power of the Gospel
• Application of the Gospel (your life and others):
• What‟s my identity?
• What‟s my problem?
• What‟s the solution?
• What‟s my hope?

10. The Power of the Gospel
• Application of the Gospel:
• What‟s my identity? Successful entrepreneur
• What‟s my problem? Never successful enough
• What‟s the solution? Work harder
• What‟s my hope? Next deal is a winner
• What‟s the outcome: Empty life, dead relationships

11. The Power of the Gospel
• Application of the Gospel:
• What‟s my identity? Child of God (Creation)
• What‟s my problem? Sin (Fall)
• What‟s the solution? Jesus (Redemption)
• What‟s my hope? Co-heirs with Christ (Restoration)

12. Tapping into the Power of the Gospel
• Recognize the difference between „strength‟ and „power‟
• Your strength – rise to the occasion, make it happen!
• God‟s power – kneel to the occasion, let go, hold on!
• “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses
his life for my sake and the Gospel‟s will save it”. Mark 8:35
• Start each day by asking the Lord: “Empty me of me and fill me
with the Holy Spirit”
• Let‟s lose our lives so each one of us will find the life that God
has in store for us every day!

13. ACE Men’s Bible Study
Spring Semester
2014
Let’s Start Today!