--- id: ff26_terry_heart_to_church_cfo title: FLYINGFREE - Terry from Heart Crisis to Church CFO category: Biblical Life Counsel predicted_narrative_arc: corporate-peak-to-ministry-finance sentiment: Redemptive emotions: - Steady - Hopeful - Practical keypoints: - Terry Parks was CFO of major Fortune 500 companies at the height of success - Heart problems stopped his career; surgery and reduced lifestyle - High energy to barely able to walk — most would have exited life - He determined to contribute to others' future - Became CFO of a large growing church — growth plan, cash flow, usable budget summary: > Terry Parks fell from Fortune 500 CFO peak through heart crisis into barely walking — then put corporate skill to work as CFO of a growing church. tags: - flying-free - chapter-26 - terry-parks - heart - cfo - church - vocation - dean-rush - book-excerpt - biblical-counsel sycophancy: 0 truth_score: 9 entropy: 2 sample: false consent: owner_approved agent: flyingfree created: '2010-01-01' updated: '2026-09-09T00:00:00Z' vault_stage: 07_CODEX headwaters: FLYINGFREE prefix: FLYINGFREE enrich_status: ok enrich_blockers: [] enrich_method: manual pipeline_filename: FLYINGFREE_26_terry-heart-to-church-cfo.md source_kind: book_excerpt proposed_topic: FlyingFree lane: FlyingFree voice: desk active_voice: desk voices: - desk routing_source: carbon corpus_topic: FlyingFree content_status: active date: '2010-01-01' share_url: https://deanrush.net/downloads/flyingfreebook.md source_url: https://deanrush.net/downloads/flyingfreebook.md site_category: Flying Free book_title: Flying Free book_chapter: 26 book_chapter_title: Perfect Touchdown – Examples in Good Landings source_file: flyingfree/flying-free-26-perfect-touchdown.md description: > Chapter 26 — Terry Parks’s heart crisis ends Fortune 500 peak; he becomes church CFO using corporate planning skill for ministry resources. --- # Terry from Heart Crisis to Church CFO **Author:** Dean Rush **Book:** *Flying Free* · **Chapter 26:** Perfect Touchdown – Examples in Good Landings **Full book:** [deanrush.net/downloads/flyingfreebook.md](https://deanrush.net/downloads/flyingfreebook.md) ## Context for the Reader The third perfect-touchdown friend is not Parkinson’s but heart disease at career peak. This lesson holds Terry’s fall from Fortune 500 power to reduced body, and his choice to put financial skill under a church’s growth. > Voice note: Everything under **Dean's excerpt** is Dean's original prose (lightly cleaned only). Sections marked **Biblical foundations**, **Scholar sidebar**, **Takeaways**, and **First-time learner** are enrichment for Asker / first readers — not Dean speaking. --- ## Biblical foundations (preface) Terry’s move from corporate command to church stewardship shows gifts redirected when one runway closes. Scripture honors faithful management and refusing to bury talent after shock. | Dean's claim | Scriptural undercarriage | | --- | --- | | Peak success stopped in its tracks | Do not boast about tomorrow… (Proverbs 27:1); life is a mist (James 4:13–15) | | Determined to contribute to others’ future | It is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35) | | Growth plan, cash flow, usable budget for ministry | Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much (Luke 16:10) | --- ## Dean's excerpt ### From command to church resources Our third friend, Terry Parks, was the CFO of major Fortune 500 companies. He was at the height of success in the business world and renowned for his problem-solving prowess. He was suddenly struck with heart problems that stopped his career in its tracks. He went from being in charge of his corporate environment to having major surgery and a reduced lifestyle that would have sent most people scurrying for the exit. He moved from high energy to barely able to muster the ability to walk. Instead of giving up on life, he determined he could contribute to the future of others. He accepted a job as the CFO of a large and growing church. The job required developing a growth plan for the financial resources of the congregation, monitoring the cash flow of the church, and developing a useable budget that could safely manage the resources available for ministry. He used all the mental resources he had mustered over the years in the corporate world to help the church. > **Scholar sidebar — Skill under a new master** > Proverbs 27:1 and James 4:13–15 humble tomorrow’s boasting. Acts 20:35 and Luke 16:10 turn contribution and trustworthiness toward ministry resources. Dean’s friend does not waste corporate formation. --- ## Takeaways 1. **Peak, then stop.** Fortune 500 CFO height met sudden heart crisis. 2. **Reduced lifestyle.** Surgery; barely walking — exit temptation was real. 3. **Would not give up on life.** Contribution replaced scurrying for the exit. 4. **Church CFO role.** Growth plan, cash flow, usable ministry budget. 5. **Corporate skill reused.** Mental resources transferred intact to a new field. --- ## First-time learner ### What is Dean saying in one sentence? Terry Parks’s heart crisis ended his Fortune 500 CFO career, but he refused to give up on life and became CFO of a growing church using the same planning skill for ministry resources. ### Why detail the job requirements? So “new landing” is concrete — budgets and cash flow, not vague inspiration only. ### Key verses to read with this lesson - **Proverbs 27:1** — Do not boast about tomorrow. - **James 4:13–15** — Life is a mist; if the Lord wills. - **Acts 20:35** — More blessed to give. - **Luke 16:10** — Faithful with little and much. ### A simple practice List three skills from a past role. Circle one that could serve a community or church need this month. ### How this feeds Ask Dean Seed material for: *Who is Terry Parks? What happened to his career? How did he serve the church?*