After all of the anticipation, fear, and celebration, it has finally arrived: the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States. Whatever position you have taken during the campaign and since the election, this day is a significant one for many reasons. While it would be easy to get down into the mud and argue about whether this is the right man for the job, I want to take a different approach and discuss the actual transfer of power.
If you are a Christian business owner or leader, then you have faced situations where you had to make a decision. This simply comes with the job. Unfortunately, many of us are not trained in the skill of decision making. Everyone assumes we should know how to do this – no training necessary, right?
As Christian business owners and leaders, we are often faced with major decision making opportunities. Unfortunately, these situations do not always come with much warning and often carry significant consequences. Though these opportunities are critical functions of our leadership roles, we are seldom adequately trained in how to execute them – especially from a Christian perspective. In light of that, I want to share a simple set of decision making questions that can help you make God-honoring decisions.
As another year comes to a close, I begin looking to the new year with new and improved plans and goals. Of course, that is likely not that uncommon. However, maybe the questions I am asking are different from the ones you would consider normal. Maybe these year end review questions are ones we ALL should be asking each year – especially if we are serious about getting better results!
A friend recently used the following illustration: Can you explain how cell phone technology actually works? I am not asking if you know how to use a cell phone, but if you can explain how it works? Odds are, you cannot explain this technology. I sure cannot. Yet, it does not seem like this lack of understanding of cell phone technology is a stumbling block for anyone. People do not refuse to believe in and depend upon cell phones simply because they don’t know how they work, right?
I like to read back over the Christmas story as we get closer to Christmas. I also like to dig into it and see how I can take the lessons I find and apply them to my life and business today. For that reason, I want to focus on how we can believe more like Mary and less like Zechariah.
As we near the end of this year and the start of a new one, I think it is very appropriate to take some time to look in the mirror and consider our own leadership journey. Ask yourself the following questions – Is my leadership about me? Does my leadership come from a humble or proud heart? Am I really THAT good at leading or am I leading from a heart focused on God’s will?
Just this last week, one of my daughters asked me to help with the business portion of a presentation she was creating for a school project. She certainly does not realize it, but that was one of the greatest things she could do to excite me – being sincerely interested in something I love and could teach to her! I was on cloud nine!
I often hear Christians discussing, even complaining about, how difficult it is to balance their faith, family, work, social lives, etc. I know their intentions are good and they desperately want to do what is “right”, but seeking a balance across these areas is a big mistake. In fact, this kind of goal is in direct conflict with Scripture!
For the first time on this blog, I am going to spend a little time discussing recent political events in the U.S. and how I see they apply to the Christian in business. I am not really interested in digging deep into the actual politics of the now-complete election, but I do want to offer practical advice for all of us to follow – especially regarding how we are seen by our enemies.