Men of Issachar

In 2006 internet giant Google bought youtube.com, a popular website where people can post videos of themselves and others doing anything and everything under the sun. Some videos are serious, some are hilarious and others are just plain dumb, but they’re all pretty much home-made, home-edited amateur recordings.

The founders of youtube.com are two twenty-something average geeky guys who only decided to start this web site 1 ½ years ago, more for fun than anything else. They never imagined it would become the largest video site on the web, but they say they knew people had a desire to express themselves through video. And how much did Google pay to buy the site…$1.65 billion! Split two ways that comes to a cool $825 million a piece. Don’t ever say it doesn’t pay to be a geek!

What was the key to their success? VISION! They had their finger on the pulse of the culture and realized that people wanted a way to express themselves. Webster’s dictionary defines vision as the ability to perceive and foresee. It reminds me of a little obscure verse in 1 Chronicles 12:32. In describing David’s powerful army of over 300,000 men, there was a very important group called the “men of Issachar.” They didn’t shoot arrows or throw spears. These 200 men and their families just had one job…to understand the times and know what decisions should be made.

Their ministry was to see the vision, understand what could be, and then devise a plan for how to make it happen. They could perceive and foresee. These were future-minded, God-directed people.

I'm proud of the leadership team of Christian Life Center. They remind me of the men of Issachar. They too are future-minded and God-directed. All of us are extremely excited for what God is going to do as we go forward into the future! He's given us the vision and we march together...onward and upward!