He proceeded to tell me that he truly believed God had called me to make the changes I made. He agreed with my determination to persevere despite the tough conditions. But then he told me that he thought I was missing a key ingredient. He told me that it appeared I had stopped listening to God.

Stopped Listening?

At first, I stiffened. There was no way I had stopped listening! I was so sure he was wrong about this that I almost stopped listening to him!

Yet he pointed out examples of my refusal to listen to other godly people. He showed me how I was clearly taking God’s initial instructions and executing them, but at the same time I was not listening for further instructions. I was assuming God would never change my path.

Examples From Scripture

To make it easier for me to understand, he reminded me of a couple of examples from Scripture. First, he reminded me of the time Mary and Joseph had taken Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem. This was clearly God’s will for them to do this. They had started on the right path. However, on the return trip, it took them several days before they realized He was not with them. Instead, He was still at the temple talking with the teachers (Luke 2:41-50).

The next example Julio gave was the story of Abraham and his son Isaac. After waiting for many years to have their own son, Abraham and Sarah were blessed with Isaac. When Isaac was a young boy, God told Abraham to take him to the top of the mountain and offer him as a burnt offering! Abraham proceeded to do as God told him. He took the right path.

However, at the very moment that he was about to slaughter Isaac, the Angel of the Lord stopped him. Though God had told Abraham to offer Isaac as a sacrifice, it turned out it was only a test of Abraham’s commitment to God (Genesis 22:1-19).

My Situation

Julio took these two examples and applied them to my situation. He explained again that he agreed that I was originally on the right path – that God had called me to do what I was doing. At the same time, he felt I was proceeding almost blindly in that original direction. It was possible, he said, that Jesus was no longer “with me on the trip” or that God had been trying to get my attention for a direction change. Either way, Julio showed me that I was not listening carefully enough to know it if either case were true.

I sat there absorbing his words. I wanted to argue, but I knew he was right. I was so set on carrying out my orders that I was not prepared for a change in direction. My journey had become more about my determination to be obedient than actually being in God’s will. I had turned it into an effort to prove my strength of resolve.

My Reaction

The first thing I did was to go to my Dad and apologize. I explained that I was not yet changing direction, but that I had recognized my stubbornness. I committed to him that I would be open to listening for God to speak, either directly to me or through the counsel of other wise and godly men.

Then I committed to a renewed attitude in prayer. I began praying that God would show me the right path. If I was still on the right path, I asked for strength to continue. If I had left the right path, I asked for guidance to get back to it. My posture in prayer effectively went from an aggressive three-point stance to prostrate and face-down. I was determined to listen to that still, small voice.

The Right Path!

The cool thing? I was still on the right path! I am more certain of that now, because I started listening. The more I listened, the more God confirmed that I was headed in the right direction. Although I knew it was God that started me on that path, I had clearly lost connection with Him and had taken over the wheel.

Thanks to Pastor Julio, I was back in the passenger seat and loving it! The struggle on the path did not go away immediately, but much of the stress did.

Has this ever happened to you?

Did you get back on the right path or are you still driving?

What are you going to do about it?

Photo by izustun / iStock

Focused On The Goal

Most business owners and leaders are in their positions due largely to their personality type. We are most often driven and ambitious to some degree. We like to push the envelope and often want to try out new ideas. We are not usually afraid of bucking the trend at least a little.

When we are applying these qualities to integrating our Christian faith into our businesses, we have the advantage. Often, the Christian walk is a difficult one, especially when done in the business world. So, our strong personalities serve us well and keep us focused on the goal.

Not The Right Path?

But what if we are not on the right path? What if we started on the right path, but God wants us to stop or change directions? Because of our ability to focus and eliminate distractions, we can miss Him speaking to us. In that case, we need a wake-up call.

A Friendly Introduction

Roughly twelve years ago, a friend introduced me to a preacher from New York named Julio. At the time, it had been a long, hard year since I had turned our business upside down as a result of God’s leading.

The path was the most difficult I had ever experienced and I was struggling. At the same time, I had a core-level commitment to continue regardless of the circumstances. I was laser-focused on seeing it through. I had no doubt I was on the right path.

However, I was so focused that I was not willing to listen to outside input. I knew what God had called me to do and I was going to do it. Truly, I was not concerned with the consequences as long as I accomplished what God wanted. While this can be a good mindset in some ways, in other ways it can be dangerous.

My Wake Up Call!

Enter Pastor Julio. He and I talked (more me, less him) for more than an hour about all that had transpired over the past 12 months. He listened intently and probed lightly to better understand what I was saying. At the end of the one-sided conversation, he asked if he could make an observation. I told him I was all ears!

He proceeded to tell me that he truly believed God had called me to make the changes I made. He agreed with my determination to persevere despite the tough conditions. But then he told me that he thought I was missing a key ingredient. He told me that it appeared I had…

To Be Continued…Tuesday!

Have you been in a similar situation?

What do you think Pastor Julio told me?

Based on what you have read so far, would you have any advice for me?

Photo by Smileus / iStock

Billy Graham Is Special

The more I thought about that, the more I realized that folks like Billy Graham are special. It is not that they are so much more gifted or even holier than many of us. The truth is that God placed Billy Graham in a specific time and place with a specific set of talents and resources. Billy Graham added his own submission and commitment to God and the results speak for themselves.

We Are Special, Too!

So, if that is the case, what does that mean for us? Well, as Christian business owners, God has done the same thing for us. We are in a specific time and place with a specific set of talents and resources.

Granted, we are not in the same position as Billy Graham…at least not yet! So what do we do? Do we sit back and wait for national fame before we start preaching like he did? Or, maybe, we could go ahead and start preaching right now. Right where we are. In our own way.

So that you and I are on the same page, I though I would remind you of the quote from St. Francis of Assisi…

Preach the Gospel at all times; when necessary, use words.

How To Preach Like Billy Graham

In light of that, I came up with a list of 10 ways we can all preach just like Billy Graham. Okay, maybe not JUST like he did, but close.

1. Give credit and take blame. – When good things are achieved by your team, give them the credit for it. When bad things happen, take the blame.

2. Show humility when unexpected. – You have just made a gutsy call and it paid off. Everyone knows you beat the odds. Don’t crow about it. Accept the congratulations and point to God as the true source of the idea.

3. Exercise grace when others would not. – You were wronged in the past and the violator is now in a position of need. Give to them and show the same grace you have been given.

4. Tell the truth even when it hurts. – Telling the truth, in this case, means you will face a loss. Regardless of the size of the loss, remember that God has your back if you will honor Him.

5. Prove your values are more important than money. – If you only maintain your silence about the minor defect, the customer will never know and the sale will go through. Make the decision to come clean and people will notice.

6. Forgive your debtors. – One of your employees makes a poor decision in a time of severe need and steals from you. You most likely have to terminate them. Is it really necessary to carry the grudge around with you from now on? Let it go and let it be known.

7. Put others first in everything. – Serve others at company meal times. Take the back seat in the car when carpooling to a meeting. Pass the last coconut-fried shrimp appetizer to someone else at the dinner celebration…coconut is not that good anyway!

8. Show that Love = Time. – Taking the time to ask and hear about an employee’s sick family member will mean the world to them. In many cases, you are the most important person they know. Giving of your time to them will show them you love them.

9. Do what you say will do. – You made a commitment to do something, but conditions changed at the last minute. Now the commitment is not as easy to fulfill. Do it anyway. No one will expect it, but neither will they forget it.

10. Trust God during tough times. – The difference between Christians and everyone else is not whether we go through tough times or not. The difference is in how we handle those times. Show them you trust your God to carry you. They will want to know how to get the same peace.

I am sure you can come up with other items to place on this list. If so, tell me about them in the comments section. I would love to hear your thoughts and examples.

What would you add to the list?

Can you give examples of something you have done or seen?

Which of these do you struggle with the most?

Photo by Tijana87 / iStock

Sermon On The Mount

Well, we are not going to focus on these people today, but I do want to focus on the idea of standing out from the crowd. In my last post, I talked about this passage from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount:

“You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may show yourselves to be sons of your Father in heaven. For He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing out of the ordinary? Don’t even the Gentiles do the same?
Matthew 5:43-47

We Are To Stand Out

I went on to point out how this passage leads us to the conclusion that Jesus wants to see us stand out from the crowd. He does not want us to look like everyone else when it comes to our actions.

Not only is this true in our personal lives, but it should also be true in our businesses and careers. If we are Christians in the marketplace, then our business actions and decisions should not blend in with those of the world around us. We should stand out from the crowd in the way we operate our businesses and perform our jobs.

Why Stand Out?

The question we did not cover in that last post is WHY He wants us to do this.

Unlike our friends that dress differently for the attention or spotlight, we have another purpose for standing out in this world. So that you are not simply taking my word on this, I want to refer to some Scriptures to make my case.

In the same way, let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5:16

Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.
1 Peter 3:15

Point Others To God

Folks, our purpose for being here on earth, for even existing, is to point others toward God. We are here for the purpose of bringing Him glory. This can happen through our behaviors, actions, and decisions. We can bring Him glory with our relationships and with our careers.

We CANNOT bring Him glory if we blend in and look like the world around us. We must stand out, causing others to see us and wonder why it is we stand out. When this happens, they will likely ask us why we are behaving like this. When they do, it is our opportunity to give them the reason for the hope we have!

Requires Faith

Keep in mind, I understand that what I am proposing is not easy. It requires faith that God will take care of us and that we will not suffer harm as a result.

There will be times that the choice between blending in and standing out can be scary. The temptation will be to play it safe and blend in. All I can say is that this kind of behavior is short-term thinking.

God is real and He will honor the one that is fully committed to him (2 Chronicles 16:9). He is not going to leave you or forsake you (Deuteronomy 31:6,8). He will make your cause shine (Psalm 37:6).

Do You Believe?

He is calling us to stand out. If we will do it, He will get the glory and we will one day be rewarded. If we shy away and instead blend in, we will miss the opportunity to see Him act. If we do this, where is our faith? Do we really believe what we say we believe?

Have You Stopped To Think?

Much of what Jesus teaches is contrary to what the world teaches. What I want to look at today is not revolutionary at all. At the same time, I wonder how many of us have stopped to think about how we apply this aspect of Jesus’ teachings to our businesses or jobs. Maybe today’s post will help you do just that!

To start, let’s take a look at the Scripture that I want us to consider.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may show yourselves to be sons of your Father in heaven. For He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing out of the ordinary? Don’t even the Gentiles do the same?
Matthew 5:43-47

Focus on the Spirit of The Passage

When you first read this passage, you were probably focused on what Jesus was telling us to do. Commands like “love your enemies” and “pray for those who persecute you” stand out because they are hard to live out. In fact, many of us feel like these are asking too much from us. I know I have felt this way.

While these are certainly good points to ponder, I want to step back a little. Rather than focusing on the specific commands, I want to look at the spirit of the passage, the intent. While I am not trying to minimize the commands, I think there is another idea here that might be useful to apply to our jobs and businesses.

Examples

Look back at the passage and read it again. Note the following phrases…

…show yourselves to be sons of your Father…Don’t even the tax collectors do the same?…what are you doing out of the ordinary? Don’t even the Gentiles do the same?

Pay Attention To The Patterns

Typically, when we see patterns of repetition like this in Scripture, we need to pay close attention. Repetition is often used to communicate a specific point, one that we need to heed.

In this case, the point I see is that we are to stand out. Beyond the specific commands to love and pray for our enemies, I think the bigger message is that as disciples of Jesus, we are to stand out from the world. It is not enough for us to do good things that others in the world do. We must go beyond and stand out!

Does Your Business Stand Out?

Let’s take a moment and think about this idea in the context of our business. Does our business stand out from those around us? Do we stand out from our colleagues in the way we handle customers – especially those difficult ones that no one wants to engage?

Do our working conditions stand out from other businesses? Do our benefits stand out? Is there a marked difference between the employee satisfaction in our business or team versus that of other companies around us? Do we smile more, have more fun, rise above hardship with more peace, etc. than those around us?

If not, why not? How hard is it to smile as much as everyone else? How hard is it to provide the same benefits and working conditions as everyone else provides? Is it really that tough to be just as good, nice, patient, etc. as those without Jesus?

Stop And Think

I encourage you to think about all of these questions. Think about them and apply them to your current situation, whether you are a business owner, leader, or employee. How can you stand out?

In addition, I want you to think about WHY Jesus calls us to stand out. What is His purpose in asking us to stand out and how should that purpose impact our actions? We will look at this in my next post.

How well does your business stand out?

What can you do to stand out more?

What are the downsides to this approach?

Photo by JeremyRichards / iStock

Of course, even if we understand this and make every effort to live it out, it is easy sometimes to drift. An example of this occurs when we get to the point where we are out of touch with our employees or team members. It doesn’t have to be intentional to happen. Business can come at us at light speed and it is easy to return our focus to the urgent rather than the important.

It Can Happen To Anyone

You really don’t even have to forget this truth to get into trouble here. It may be very clear to you that your team is the most important aspect of your company or department mission. The problem simply may be your circumstances for a season.

When this happens, regardless of the reasons or intent, unrest is often quick to appear. Depending on the culture you have built over time, this unrest may not be a huge factor. A stronger culture can handle a season like this. A weaker culture, however, could quickly deteriorate.

Do Your Employees Say This?

In an effort to encourage you to take a look at this issue before it becomes a problem, I have compiled a list of five things your employees (or coworkers) may be saying about you. I hope you will take the time to assess your current situation and determine corrective action if necessary. I know I am!

1.) “All he seems to care about is _____.”

What is it that you talk about all the time? What do you spend the majority of your time focused on? What upsets you the quickest? The answers to these questions may give you a clue to what your employees think is most important to you.

If the answers you gave relate more to business metrics or results than to the people producing them, then you may be out of balance. Sure the metrics are important, but the people producing them are more so.

Check yourself and see if maybe you have forgotten about the individuals on your team. Begin thinking about and focusing on how to engage them and their passions and you might find out that the metrics take care of themselves.

2.) “He doesn’t know what I go through.”

This is a tough one for most because it is true. You and I do not really KNOW what it is that others are going through. However, that does not mean we cannot attempt to learn and understand it.

Intentionally making yourself available to have seemingly random conversations with your team members about what they are experiencing – at work AND outside of work – can give you incredible insights into their needs and desires.

Just showing an ounce of understanding will give you the connection with them that both of you need. This is the stuff that relationships are built on, leading to opportunities to influence them for eternal impact!

3.) “He’s too busy to talk to me.”

For some crazy reason, we have been taught to believe that moving quickly and with purpose will convince those around us that we are getting things done. We think they will see our hustle and be in awe!

I am sorry, but that is hogwash. People are not enamored with leaders that rush around all the time. People want and need connections. That is simply not possible if we are always moving so quickly that we are not approachable.

Some of you are thinking that you can’t help it – you are that busy!

If so, there is a problem.

Maybe this is true in extreme situations and for short seasons. For all other times, it simply shows you are not building enough margin into your schedule. Take a couple of responsibilities off of your plate and create margin for yourself and those around you.

4.) “He would be mad if I asked for help with ____.”

There could be multiple reasons for this statement. Maybe you have a problem with #3 above and they don’t want to try to slow you down. Maybe you are impatient and they feel they would frustrate you by asking for help. It could even be something they should already know but were not properly trained to do.

Whatever the reason, they likely see you as somewhat of an expert and would love to be coached by you in one way or another. For you to give the impression that you are not available for help like this only eliminates another opportunity to influence someone.

Work at making yourself more approachable and available. Even in small increments, you may be surprised at the impact that comes out of it! Try it and see!

5.) “He doesn’t care about me.”

Assuming you are a Christian in business with an eternal perspective, this could be the worst of the five. Unlike #1, this statement reflects how they think you feel about them as an individual. This is personal to them.

There are many ways you could cause them to feel this way. In fact, this could be an accumulation of the four issues listed above. Whatever the case, you need to recognize (1) that this can happen and (2) that it is critical for you to address.

The first step – actually care about them! Make sure you are praying for them daily. Pray that God would reveal to you ways you can show them that you care. Think about them as individuals more than you do now.

The amazing thing – they will begin to realize the truth that you DO care about them if you will just start doing it! Be intentional. And get honest feedback about your progress from those you trust the most.

Have you ever been one of the employees making these statements?

Do you think you are guilty of any of these?

What are you going to do next?

Photo by Rawpixel / iStock

In fact, one of my main focuses for this blog has been to write as the one in the trenches DOING ministry in business, not the one on the sidelines TALKING about it. Of course, sometimes my mind wanders and I drift to lessons I am learning (or re-learning!) and I forget to flesh them out with specific examples. I am glad I was called out this time!

As a result, I will make an effort over the next several posts to do exactly that. I will attempt to give you examples of what a Christian business leader should see if he or she has died to self and is living out a life of ministry in business.

Take note that my examples will not be perfect. They will not cover everything. At the same time, they should give you a starting point to determine how your own evidence stacks up. We are each going to experience our call to ministry in different ways, but I hope you will find that some of these examples resonate with you.

In an effort to keep it simple today, I have put together a quick list of things your employees really want to hear you say. Sure, these could also be true of a business leader that is NOT a Christian, but that is not the point. The point is that the business leader who has died to self is no longer focused on their own self, but on others.

Employee Engagement

If you are focused on them, then the list below should be familiar to you – and you should be noticing a healthy level of employee engagement. As you read through it, ask yourself if you are saying these things to your employees on a regular basis. If not, why aren’t you?

This is certainly not an exhaustive list, but I think it is a good start toward a top 10. Read through the list and then let me know what you would add or change.

1. “I care.”

Your employees or team members are not going to care how much you know until they know how much you care. You can have the greatest information, tips, and techniques for how they can get better at their jobs. You can have all the desire in the world to teach them how to do their jobs. But until they know you care, they will not hear you like you want them to.

Of course, just telling them that you care is not enough either. To gain true (and enduring) employee engagement, you must show them that you really mean it! This obviously can come in many forms. It can also be abused. Regardless, it is critical that you figure out how to communicate your concern for them if you want full engagement from them. Without doing so, you may get their time, but you will never get their heart!

2. “I have these expectations.”

One of the worst things we can do as business leaders is to set expectations for our employees without communicating those expectations to them! You may think you have done this in the past or that they should just know what you expect. If this is the case, you are missing it. We all need to know what is expected of us in all areas of our lives. This is especially true of our work.

Your employees are no different. If you want them to reach certain goals, make those goals clear to them. If you expect certain behaviors, then describe those behaviors and give examples. Get them to play these descriptions back to you so everyone is clear on what is expected. Ignoring this simply leads to frustration on both sides.

3. “Good job.”

Why is it so hard for some of us to praise someone for a job well done? For some (incredibly misguided) reason, too many of us think our employees will get an inflated feeling of importance if we tell them they did well at something. We think they will ask for a raise or promotion just because we said something positive about their performance.

The truth is that they will look for that…somewhere else…if we do not praise them. Forget the fears you may have about giving them a huge ego with a simple, “Good job!”. Step out and try it. Make a habit out of it and see what happens! I think you will be surprised at their response. Employee engagement does not happen without praise and recognition.

4. “I need you. You matter here.”

In a similar way to the fears mentioned above, too many business leaders think they will show weakness if they acknowledge to an employee that they are needed and important to the team. Why is that? Do we really think that they will suddenly turn on us and hold us hostage with unreasonable demands? Do we think that the acknowledgment of their importance will put us in a vulnerable position?

What will put you in a vulnerable position is failing to consistently recruit and develop a deep bench. Give attention to this part of your job, but don’t fail to tell those on your team that they are important. They want to be a part of something bigger than themselves. Let them know you think they are – that is essential to employee engagement.

5. “This is how to improve.”

Our employees need to know what a good job looks like and to be told when they accomplish it. At the same time, they need to know what parts of their jobs are not meeting our expectations and how to grow. You can’t just keep telling them that they are not getting it done without also telling them how to get it done.

Granted, some will not get it even when you tell them. Maybe they are not a good fit for the job. There could be many reasons. That is a topic for another post. Regardless, you need to do everything in your power to get through to them on how they can get better. If one method does not work, try another. Just don’t expect them to figure it out on their own. You hired them. Employee engagement will increase when you take responsibility for developing them.

Have you said any of these phrases lately?

What would you add to this list?

Do you disagree with anything on this list?

New Hire Training

When we hire new salespeople at our company, we have a fairly intensive training period before we allow them to serve customers. There are certain facts and processes that they must understand before they can be effective at serving the customer in a way that accurately reflects our mission, vision, and values.

It would be disastrous for us to send these salespeople to do a job before being properly trained, right?

Once they have fully completed our training process, they are then free to serve customers. They are still supervised by our sales managers, but as long as they follow our processes correctly, they have autonomy to do their jobs without micromanagement.

Too Smart = Trouble!

It is usually a month or two later when trouble arises. You can almost predict it with a calendar! These new salespeople begin to get “too smart” and their performance starts to suffer. They can never understand it on their own, but from the management side, it is clear what is happening.

These salespeople have now served enough customers and they begin to see patterns. Because they are now so smart, they believe they know as much as their managers and so they begin to short-cut the standard processes. I am not talking about anything illegal, unethical, or immoral. They simply stop doing some of the simple (and foundational) parts of the process because they do not see the point.

In their effort to save time and energy, sometimes even fear or frustration, they skip certain steps in the process. They most often truly believe they are best serving the needs of the customer when in fact they are doing the customer a disservice. Too often, their skipping of these “unnecessary” steps causes them to miss the sale or creates situations where the customer is inconvenienced.

Common Problem

Whatever the case, I think you likely have seen something similar in your business. These are not at all bad people. They just feel they can do a better job (based on their newfound knowledge) than their manager can (despite their deeper, more experiential knowledge). Have you experienced this phenomenon of being too smart?

Now that we are on the same page, let me turn the tables a little.

Are You Too Smart With God?

Have you ever been guilty of this same behavior with God?

Have you been in situations where you felt your knowledge was sufficient to handle things so you did not seek God and His wisdom? Looking back on your decisions over the past weeks, months, even years, have you failed to give God the opportunity to speak into any critical situations, instead relying on your own understanding?

Simply put, have you been too smart?

On My Own

I will go first and admit that I have been guilty of this very behavior. I have too often realized AFTER the situation that I never consulted God for an important decision or the solution to a complex problem. Usually, it was not a conscious decision to ignore Him or to leave Him out of the process. More often, it was just the confidence I had in my own ability that caused me to move forward without asking for His help.

Unfortunately, I am guilty of the very same attitude and behavior that frustrates me when I see it in others. And like I described earlier with the salespeople, my behavior causes me to miss opportunities or creates unnecessary frustration. Many times, my “short-cut” forces me into more work and effort than I would have had if I first had sought God and his deeper wisdom!

Rely On God

I encourage you today to stop and think about the times when you are guilty of being too smart. In what areas of your life do you “short-cut” God and make your own decisions? Where do you rely on your own understanding when you should be relying on His (Proverbs 3:5-6)?

Go back to the times when you did not have as much knowledge about these areas of your life. Try to remember how you felt then and how much you relied on God’s direction and guidance. Use this reflection time to motivate you to return to a more humble mindset. Go back to relying on Him. I guarantee you will see improvement in your results!

How often do you see yourself as being too smart with God?

What steps can you take to eliminate this behavior?

How can you prevent it from coming back later?

Photo by narith_2527/iStock

Increase Your Decision Making Odds!

In light of that, I have been sharing a set of five questions from a C12 segment. These questions are NOT guaranteed to give you the right decision every time. That is simply not possible.

However, the use of these five questions, in conjunction with prayer, can dramatically increase your odds of getting the best results from your decision making process. In my last two posts, I have shared the first three of these five questions. Today I will give you the final two questions in this decision making process.

Question #4

If you do this, are you likely to become more or less dependent on God as a result?

Will it encourage you to trust relatively more in God or mammon?

Critical Decision Making Question

The first question here is a critical one. There are so many things today upon which we can place our dependence. Many of us find ourselves depending on the success of our business for our identity. Others place their full dependence on their spouse or group of friends.

Regardless of where you place your dependence, if it is not fully on God, then you are mistaken. Sure, God gives us our businesses for ministry and provision. He gives us our spouses for support. At the same time, He does not want our dependence to be placed upon these instead of Him.

He is to be our provider and sustainer. He is the One to whom we should turn first when feeling alone, threatened, weak, etc. He wants our whole heart to be focused on Him! (Psalm 23)

God Or Mammon?

Of course, the follow-up question gets more specific and asks whether the decision will make us lean toward God or money. This is probably the one area that trips up most Christian business owners and leaders. Because so much of our world is ordered around money, we often place our trust in it.

Our decision making process needs to take this into consideration. In asking these questions, we are protecting ourselves from very common pitfalls!

Question #5

Will this decision have a beneficial long-term impact on those currently under your leadership?

If this decision results in destroying the ministry flowing through the business, what eternal impact will this have on your stakeholders?

Leadership Is A Privilege!

In addition to the privilege of owning or running a business, God has also given us the responsibility of leading people. For some of us, this is not a huge number. For others, God has given the responsibility of leading hundreds or thousands.

The number is irrelevant. The critical idea here is that we were not given our businesses for the sole purpose of providing wealth and comfort for ourselves and our families. We have been placed in this position of leadership for the purpose of leading others toward an eternity with God.

As we find ourselves in various decision making situations, we must remember this responsibility. It was not given to us flippantly and we are not to treat it as such. Instead, we must consider the impact of our decision making on those we are leading.

No Perfect Decision Making Process

As I have said before, these five questions will not solve your every problem with decision making. There will almost certainly be situations that cannot be easily resolved even after going through these questions.

Unfortunately, there is not likely to be one decision making process that will accomplish this feat. Even when fervently praying through your decisions, there will be times that you simply cannot discern the best path. I assume you already know this to be true.

What this decision making process WILL do, when executed alongside sincere prayer, is reduce the risk of making a bad decision. While you will still make mistakes, you will make fewer of them when using these questions.

Apply And Report Back!

I hope you have found some value in this five-question decision making process. I also hope you will actually put this process into practice in the near future. If so, please report back to me with the results. I am eager to hear how it goes!

Do you see the decision making value in these five questions?

Are you ready to apply them to your next decision making opportunity?

Can you add a question or two that have helped you make crucial decisions?

Photo by g-stockstudio/iStock

[NOTE: I will continue my series on a Godly Decision Making Process next week.]

200 Years of Success!

The United States has successfully managed a peaceful, mostly civil, transfer of power from one President to the next for over two centuries. That is truly an amazing feat if you stop to think about it! Few companies ever truly get this transfer of power accomplished once or twice, but our country will have done it 44 times after today. This is a big deal!

Of course, you don’t come here to read interesting perspectives on U.S. history. So, what does this have to do with you as a Christian business leader? Why should this transfer of power be so important to you? For the answer to those questions, let’s take a look at why this has worked so well for our country AND how the Bible shows us similar examples.

Intentional, Detailed Plan

First, there is a very simple reason that the United States has successfully managed a peaceful transfer of power for over 200 years. There is a very intentional, detailed plan in place that we have followed closely over this same period of time. We don’t have the time or need to go into all of the details of that plan, but it is clear that the plan works. Regardless of whether you believe the best candidate has always transitioned into office, there is no arguing that the transition works.

So, what about the examples from the Bible? Why are those important?

Why Is Transfer Of Power Important?

Before I answer that, let’s make sure we are clear as to why this topic is important to you as a Christian business leader. It is my belief (more recently learned and understood) that our most important responsibility as leaders is to ensure the vision of our company or organization continues successfully beyond our tenure as leaders.

In other words, it is up to us to make sure someone comes behind us in leadership, takes up the God-given vision of our company, and continues to lead in that direction.

Have you ever stopped and thought about that?

Have you considered what that should look like for your organization?

A Bigger Problem Than You Realize!

If you are like me, you have probably allowed the chaos and concerns of the present to keep your focus from the more important future. Unfortunately, too many leaders wait until it is too late to begin thinking about a successful transfer of power in their organization. As a result, it either does not happen or it does not happen well.

For some, this is due to pride and arrogance. For others it might be paranoia or fear. For most of us, it is simply a matter of misplaced priorities. We just do not see the eventual transfer of power as something to be worked on today. We may intellectually acknowledge the importance of this transfer, but we put it to the back burner to work on “later”. Unfortunately, this is a much bigger problem than many realize.

Examples From Scripture

So that you do not think I am making this into more than it should be, let’s take a look a just a few examples from Scripture. I don’t have the space to expand on each one, so I encourage those you who are serious about your leadership to read each passage on your own. Hopefully, you will see from these examples that this responsibility is huge AND that it is YOURS!

• Moses to Joshua (Num. 27:18–23; Deut. 31:7–8; 34:9)
• Elijah to Elisha (1 Kings 19:15-21; 2 Kings 2:1-15)
• David to Solomon (1 Kings 2:1-4)
• Jesus to the Disciples (Matthew 4:18-22; 28:16-20; Luke 6:12-16)

Intentional Time And Effort

As you can see from these examples, Scripture directs us as leaders to ensure the God-given vision does not die when we exit our position. Instead, if it is indeed a worthy vision, then we must ensure it continues beyond our own leadership.

I also hope you noticed that in each example the leader did not simply choose a successor and hand off the baton. Instead, each example shows us a leader who spent intentional time and effort with their successors. In each case, he (or He) spent extended time with the successors, doing life with them and teaching them the skills and mindset they needed for future success. The leaders also taught their successors that the ultimate guidance should come from the Lord.

Not Optional

We MUST follow these examples. This is NOT something we can put off until later. It is NOT something we can leave to someone else to figure out. I encourage you to begin praying for guidance on how you can start now in creating an intentional, detailed plan for transfer of power in your organization.

In closing, check out this quote from What Makes A Leader Great by Russ Crosson:

A good measurement of whether someone is really a great leader or just a great contributor to an entity is what happens after the leader is gone. Does the mission carry on or does it die? If the entity doesn’t carry on, then that person wasn’t a great leader in the biblical sense. He or she was simply someone who was very good at what he or she did. They had fans, not followers.

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What is your current plan for leadership succession?

Do you see the long-term benefit of the necessary short-term effort?

What needs to happen next to create or improve your plan?

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Photo by carterdayne/iStock

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