“I lost my heart.” Those were the words Pat Ahern shared with me on a dreary February morning at a local Starbucks. After serving for 20 years as CEO of Red Rocks Credit Union and receiving numerous professional awards, recognition and influential political appointments, Pat had somehow, unknowingly, buried his heart along the way.
As a self-admitted “go through the motions Christian,” Pat was offered – out of the blue – a senior role with a global Christian nonprofit organization. The offer served to highlight one glaring fact: his heart and his family were completely unprepared to serve in this capacity.
A move of this magnitude would have implications at the financial, marital, social, emotional and spiritual levels. A key question needed to be answered: “I know this is a noble role with a worthy cause, but is it God’s purpose for my life?” The answer was not “Yes” or “No.” It was, “I don’t know.”
That marked the beginning of a journey that Pat took with five other Halftimers who were attempting to answer the same question. He joined a Halftime Roundtable that helped him design a personalized approach to work on this challenge. It was as simple as it was profound:
Completely surrender to God and earnestly seek him out in any way possible
Take a deep dive into how God wired him with unique skills and capabilities
Shore up communication and rebuild trust with his wife and two daughters
Aggressively pursue healing for the woundedness in his family
Open up his time (and his heart) to explore and be attentive to what’s going on in the world around him that breaks God’s heart
His honest and authentic pursuit for God and his relationship with Jesus has led him on an amazing adventure (Wild Goose Chase) to minister to broken, wounded people that society has written off and God loves dearly.
While his journey may be unconventional, moving from “Success to Significance” requires an honest and authentic pursuit for what breaks God’s heart and our relationship with Jesus Christ. I hope you are blessed to know the nature of his journey. I hope, too, that this video – the fruit of his journey – blesses you as well. I think it’s safe to say that Pat has found his heart again.
