LATEST RELEASE
In a relay race the one holding the baton also holds the aspirations of the entire team.
The race is won or lost in the ‘exchange zone’ where the baton is passed from one runner to the next.
We all pass through exchange zones in life, times when crucial insights are given and received. We need to know what to do when we get there.
Author Terry Bone takes profound truths about transitions and makes them easily accessible to the reader.
‘The Season is NOW for this book, this message must get ‘out there’
Joy C. Senior Pastor
‘Terry redefines what it means for a Leader to finish well’
Todd P. Lead Pastor
‘The concept of the exchange zone has impacted how I think of every relationship in my life.'
Darin L. Lead Pastor
‘I couldn’t put it down. Our success is found in the exchange zone with the next generation’
Paul M. Church Ministries Pastor
"The Great Exchange comes at a crucial time for leaders unsure how to properly enable the next generation to RUN”
Jake N. Business Owner
Contents
Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgments
PART ONE Discovery
Summary of Part One 17
ch 1 Your Amazing Race 19
ch 2 World Shapers on the Way 31
ch 3 A Thousand Generations 41
ch 4 When God Closes the Gap 51
PART TWO From Destiny to Dynasty
Summary of Part Two 65
ch 5 Know Your Battle 67
ch 6 The Pioneer Generation 75
ch 7 The Bridge Generation 83
ch 8 The Occupier Generation 91
PART THREE The Exchange Zone
Summary of Part Three 97
ch 9 Drop the Bag! 99
ch 10 Know Your Anointing 107
ch 11 Timing is Everything 115
ch 12 Other-Centered Living 123
ch 13 Next, Please 131
PART FOUR An Unstoppable Life
Summary of Part Four 139
ch 14 When God Makes a Promise 141
ch 15 Telling Your Story 153
ch 16 Unstoppable Prayers 163
ch 17 The ‘Anchor Leg’ 173
Appendix The Power of Three in a Row 179
About the Author Terry Bone 182
CHAPTER 1
Your Amazing Race
Definition of a Relay race:
A track-and-field sport consisting of a set number of stages (legs), usually four, each leg run by a different member of a team…The runner finishing one leg is usually required to pass on a baton to the next runner while both are running in a marked exchange zone.1
Everyone loves a good race. As a young adult in the 1980s, I was in awe of the ‘Golden Milers’, an elite group of athletes who constantly set new world records for running the mile. But my favourite was the 26 mile marathon. It seemed so extreme.
Not so any longer. Since the ‘X Games’2 debuted in 1995, racing events have been getting longer, wilder and more dangerous. Pounding the pavement for 3 hours? Barely worth being called a marathon anymore. Now we have week-long mountain Death Races and Peruvian Jungle runs where broken limbs are optional but not unexpected. And how about the ‘Yukon Arctic Ultra Marathon’, a 300 mile winter endurance footrace in which you pull your own supply sled? In 2018, twenty-one people began the race in temperatures below -40C/F. Eleven days later, exactly one person crossed the finish line. The rest dropped out, losing not only the race, but also toes, fingers and even whole feet to frostbite.3 In spite of such stories, new extreme races are constantly appearing with no signs of abatement.
I would like to add one more to the list. I refer to it as The Most Amazing Race. Unlike the frantic competitions mentioned above, this unique race offers ample adventure without the broken bones or frostbite. And best of all,
1 retrieved May 2018 from https://www.britannica.com/sports/relay-race
2 The X Games is an annual extreme sports event hosted, produced, and broadcast by ESPN
3 reported in many news articles such as www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/yukon-arctic-ultra-changes-1.4677313
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you don’t have to be an adrenaline junkie or extreme athlete to win! Many people with ordinary abilities have entered with low expectations only to experience the joy of standing upon the medal podium when it’s over. So what is this race? And why is it the most amazing one?
It is the Great Relay Race of Faith. The Christian faith is often described as a ‘walk’ with God. That it is. However, when it comes to fulfilling your destiny, that special purpose for which you have been placed upon this planet, the New Testament seems to prefer the metaphor of running rather than walking. Followers of Jesus are called to emulate great heroes of the faith by running the race that is set before them.4 The Apostle Paul also talked about running his race of faith.5 Today’s preachers use this metaphor to encourage perseverance using catch-phrases such as, ‘Life is not a sprint, it is a marathon’ and, ‘Keep your eyes on the prize, stay focused on Jesus!’
A relay race is the only
event where you don’t
have to cross the finish line
to win a medal.
But those messages miss one vital element. This Great Race of Faith and Destiny is not meant to be a series of solo runs where everyone gives it their best shot. It is actually a relay race. That one word makes a fundamental
difference. A relay race is the only event where you don’t have to cross the finish line to win a medal. Wrapped inside that pithy statement are some profound insights that have shaped my personal values and defined my destiny. I refer to them as life-shaping truths. Here are the top three:
Life-Shaping Truth #1
Your personal destiny is not a call to individual greatness - it is a team event.
Your life is not a solo run. Who you are today, what you will accomplish tomorrow and who you will eventually become, are all connected to others
4 Hebrews 12:1-2
5 2 Timothy 4:7
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Contents
Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgments
PART ONE Discovery
Summary of Part One 17
ch 1 Your Amazing Race 19
ch 2 World Shapers on the Way 31
ch 3 A Thousand Generations 41
ch 4 When God Closes the Gap 51
PART TWO From Destiny to Dynasty
Summary of Part Two 65
ch 5 Know Your Battle 67
ch 6 The Pioneer Generation 75
ch 7 The Bridge Generation 83
ch 8 The Occupier Generation 91
PART THREE The Exchange Zone
Summary of Part Three 97
ch 9 Drop the Bag! 99
ch 10 Know Your Anointing 107
ch 11 Timing is Everything 115
ch 12 Other-Centered Living 123
ch 13 Next, Please 131
PART FOUR An Unstoppable Life
Summary of Part Four 139
ch 14 When God Makes a Promise 141
ch 15 Telling Your Story 153
ch 16 Unstoppable Prayers 163
ch 17 The ‘Anchor Leg’ 173
Appendix The Power of Three in a Row 179
About the Author Terry Bone 182
PART 1
Discovery
In this opening section, we will discover how life becomes an ‘Amazing Relay Race’ when differing generations meet in life’s exchange zone. We will also discover how profoundly generational thinking will impact your important life decisions.
Chapter 1 introduces the ‘Relay Race’ theme and its three associated ‘life-shaping truths’:
- Your personal destiny is a team event.
- The baton pass defines the outcome of the entire race.
- There is a way to create generational permanence in what you are called to do.
Chapter 2 identifies and celebrates the EMERGING GENERATION. This generation is producing a great number of potential World Shapers, whom we define as persons who will noticeably influence and impact the sphere in which they live.
Chapter 3 goes beneath the surface of success to discover the timeless truth of the idea of COVENANT. It examines how the ‘thousand generation’ promise God made long ago is still relevant and powerful for every follower of Jesus today.
Chapter 4 is a modern day account of restoring lost destiny. Using a light-hearted manner, Terry tells a story of how the amazing grace of God overcame generations of unbelief and negative patterns, when just one generation chose to turn back to God’s ways.
PART 2
From Destiny to Dynasty
Part Two is devoted to understanding the unique set of challenges faced by each of three generations on the road to creating permanence. Each leg of a relay race has unique elements depending upon the shape of the track where the baton is being passed. Likewise, each generation of believers will face unique challenges in their faith relay.
These principles apply not only to faith but also any form of leadership.
Chapter FIVE provides an overview of predictable battles the three generations will face on the pathway to permanence.
Chapters SIX through EIGHT deal with the individual challenges of each generation.
The First, or Pioneer Generation, fights the Battle for Dominion, the right to rule.
A pioneer is called to establish something new by leaving the comfort of familiar culture.
The Second, or Bridge, Generation fights the Battle of the Bridge,
A second generation person is called to connect the founders with the future. They take the newly established culture passed to them and link it to the generation that follows them.
The Third, or Occupier, Generation fights the Battle for Permanence.
A third generation leader or believer is called to capture the available momentum from the previous generations and turn it into an unstoppable force for the generations that follow.
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PART 3
Exchange Zone
The Exchange Zone is a track and field term for the marked area in a lane of track where two relay runners must meet and exchange the baton. This part of the book deals exclusively with the ‘what to do’ and the ‘how to do it’ in that zone. These are principles that span all applications of passing the baton between two generations, including the batons of faith, of leadership, and also the business world.
Using the word B-A-T-O-N as an acrostic, a chapter is devoted to each letter describing the necessary elements for success:
B is for BAG Chapter 9
We all have some amount of emotional baggage. This chapter will give an overview of what’s typically in that bag and how to set it down.
A is for ANOINTING Chapter 10
Anointing is defined as the unique blend of Spiritual authority and ability that each of us carries as followers of Jesus Christ. This chapter will discuss how to understand what you carry and how to bestow it upon the next generation.
T is for TIMING Chapter 11
Getting the timing of transitions right is always crucial. This chapter discusses how to not miss the moment by investing in the right people at the right time and learning to discern the voice of God in the process.
O is for OTHER-CENTERED Chapter 12
Other-centered behavior is simple to understand yet eludes our grasp all too often. This chapter examines the profound generational consequences that follow a lack of prioritizing those who follow after us.
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N is for NEXT Chapter 13
Our minds and hearts must be pointed in the direction where God is going,
not where we have been. This chapter examines how to identify the NEXT
thing and the NEXT person that God has in store for the race in which you
have been placed. The role of the Holy Spirit is essential as no one can get
this right using human logic alone.
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PART 4
An Unstoppable Life
It is possible to live in such a way that the Blessings resting upon one life are transferred to the lives of others for many generations. Part Four reveals three key components for making this a reality in your life.
Chapter 14 When God Makes a Promise
This chapter reveals a deep and powerful truth. It has to do with your relationship with God’s promise to Father Abraham. In this chapter all political viewpoints of modern day Israel are temporarily set aside in order to think of Israel only as Abraham’s family.
Chapter 15 Telling Your Story
This chapter reveals and examines time-tested methods for creating spiritual momentum within your family.
Chapter 16 Unstoppable Prayers
This chapter lays down two foundational principles for effective praying:
How to get answers that span generations and how to go beyond what you normally would ask or think.
Chapter 17 The Anchor Leg
This chapter sums up our great relay race of faith with a brief inspirational message based upon Hebrews Chapter 12. Special attention is given to the final or ‘Anchor Leg’ of your race.
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Terry R. Bone
Terry is an Author, Leadership Coach and Consultant. He serves church leaders, business persons and missions workers by assisting them to make excellent life transitions. Terry worked as a software systems analyst before becoming an ordained minister.