40/40 Vision: Outcomes Conference Book of the Year

40/40 Vision: Clarifying Your Mission Midlife

The CLA Outcomes Conference Book of the Year

Today is the first day of the 2016 Outcomes Conference in Dallas, TX.  The theme this year is “Perspectives.” Perspectives are about where we as Christian leaders and organizations have journeyed together these past 40 years, where we are today, and God’s plan for the future.

In Scripture 40 is significant and often signifies a generation. At the Outcomes Conference we’ll celebrate the generation of brave pioneers who have gone before, and look forward to the future generation of steward leaders called to impact the world for Christ over the next 40 years.

Each year, CLA selects a book that captures the spirit of the conference theme. For 2016, the Outcomes Conference Book of the Year is 40/40 Vision: Clarifying Your Mission Midlife  by Peter Greer and Greg Lafferty (IVP Books 2015). CLA is honored to have one its authors, Peter Greer, as a featured keynote presenter.

About the Book

At midlife, our perspective can become blurry. Midlife is a disruptive season where we collide with limitations on all sides. We recognize there is more of life in the rearview mirror than on the road ahead of us. We wonder if our lives so far have been worthwhile. We are uncertain about what lies ahead. But midlife is also an opportunity to recalibrate our vision. It’s a time to look back, take stock of our lives so far, and refocus on new dimensions of identity and calling.

Peter Greer and Greg Lafferty offer insight for navigating midlife with fresh clarity and purpose. Drawing on the wisdom of the book of Ecclesiastes, they show how we can come to grips with the realities of who we are and what we should become in the years ahead. In a world that can seem meaningless at times, God offers perspective that anchors us, renews us and propels us back into the world in meaningful mission and service. Rediscover who God has called you to be. And see the rest of your life with the clarity of 40/40 vision.

About the Authors

Peter Greer is president and CEO of HOPE International, a global, Christ-centered microfinance organization serving throughout Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe. Internationally, Peter served as a microfinance adviser in Cambodia, technical adviser for Self-Help Development Foundation in Zimbabwe and managing director for Urwego in Rwanda.

As an advocate for the church’s role in missions and alleviating extreme poverty, Peter has been a featured speaker at conferences such as Catalyst, Passion and Harvest International’s Development Conference and Jubilee, and he has been featured in Christianity Today, World, Forbes, Relevant and Outcomes magazine, and on CNN. Peter is the author or coauthor of The Poor Will Be Glad, The Spiritual Danger of Doing Good, Mission Drift, Entrepreneurship for Human Flourishing, Stop Helping Us and Watching Seeds Grow. Peter and his wife, Laurel, live in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, with their three children.

Greg Lafferty is the senior pastor of Willowdale Chapel, a church with campuses in Kennett Square and Jennersville, Pennsylvania. A graduate of Wheaton College, he cut his ministry teeth working with junior high kids for ten years before transitioning into adult ministry.

Previously Greg served at both Wheaton Bible Church and Christ Community Church in suburban Chicago and Saddleback Church in Southern California. He has served the church his entire vocational career alongside his wife of over thirty years, Deane, with whom he has three children.