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

I regularly get the privilege of welcoming new employees into our company. As part of our orientation and new hire training process, I go over our company history (three generations!) along with a deep dive of our company’s mission, vision, and core values statements.

In an effort to help you think through your own mission, vision, and values, I wanted to share these components with you. I do not expect anyone to take a look at our mission, vision, and core values and immediately decide to copy them because they are so good! However, I do think someone reading this may get some ideas for their own company statements.

Because I have already covered in previous posts the benefits to creating these statements of mission, vision, and core values, I will not review those here. Instead, I will simply communicate and explain these statements for our company.

Mission Statement

The Mike Patton Auto Family seeks to honor God by impacting the lives of our employees, customers, and community.

We believe that God owns this business and we are simply His stewards of it for a season. We want to make sure that all we do in and through the business honors Him. By the same token, we do not want to do anything that will dishonor Him.

We believe that we are here, and that this business exists, for the purpose of impacting people for eternity. We believe that this is our ultimate goal.

Vision Statement

Moving people.

This statement is short, but is full of meaning. First, it obviously references transportation, reflecting the automobile business we have chosen. But it goes much deeper than that.

We want to take employees, customers, and those in the community and we want to “move” them from their current position (or circumstances) to a better place. Regardless of where they are in life (financially, professionally, emotionally, etc.), we want to move them to an improved situation. Regardless of how they interact with us, we want them to be better off having done so.

If you are interested in following my process to create your own mission, vision, and core values, then check out my new ebook – Why Does Your Business Exist?

Now Available on Amazon!!!

Click Here For Ebook!

Core Values

Integrity
We do what is right even when no one is watching.

This core value comes first for a reason. Without integrity, we will not have the impact that we desire. We take this very seriously. We will extend grace when it comes to mistakes and errors, giving people a chance to grow and improve in their jobs. We are not as tolerant of violations in this area. We need to know we can trust our coworkers without question.

Excellence
We are constantly redefining our goals, expectations, boundaries, and potential.

Our team’s talents and performance vary from person to person. That is normal. We simply believe that regardless of your talent or performance today, you should want to be better tomorrow. We want teammates that are constantly striving to learn and grow, improving every day!

Employee Development
We strive to create an atmosphere that inspires and enables people to reach their full potential.

As a company, we want to meet our employees where they are as they strive for excellence. Our goal is to provide the resources and inspiration required to “move” them forward on their path. Sometimes this means they advance within our company and sometimes it means they move on to other opportunities. Either way, we want to help!

Spiritual Growth
We provide the opportunity for all to know God and make Him known.

No one who works in our company is required to believe what we believe. However, we make it clear early on that God is the owner of our company. Therefore, all that we do centers around Him. This includes many efforts to sow seeds of faith all around through various efforts. We will not force anyone to believe, but they will certainly have opportunities to hear.

Community Impact
We use our talents and treasures to make a difference in those who need it most.

We believe we are part of the community in which we work and therefore have the responsibility to give back to that community. Whether through benevolence or sponsorships, community service or fundraising, we are going to take the time and energy to give to those who need it.

Your Mission, Vision, And Core Values

Hopefully, you have found this helpful as an example of a good set of mission, vision, and core values statements. If you only gleaned one idea from this, I consider it worthwhile.

If you want to take this further and develop your company’s own set of mission, vision, and values statements, you should check out my ebook – Why Does Your Business Exist? A Christian Business Guide to Creating your Mission, Vision, and Values Statements.

It is now available on Amazon! I believe you will find this ebook to be a solid, step-by-step guide to help your team craft meaningful mission, vision, and values statements to use in guiding your company.

Is your company engaged in a strong mission, vision, and core values?

If not, are you ready to revisit this with your leadership?

Do you see the benefits from having a strong mission, vision, and core values?

Photo by ipopba/iStock

College Test

I once read about a college student that was struggling in a particular class. The end of the semester was approaching and that meant he would have to do well on the final exam if he hoped to make the grade he needed.

In a surprising twist, the professor explained that she would allow a “cheat sheet” to be used when taking the final exam. The professor explained that she would allow them to include all of the information they could fit on one 8 1/2 x 11-inch sheet of paper. They could access this information during the test.

Confusing Behavior

When the day of the test arrived, the students were sharing the creative ways they crammed enormous amounts of information onto their sheets of paper. The struggling student did not participate. In fact, he sat quietly in his seat with a blank sheet of paper!

The other students could not understand why he had passed on the opportunity to fill his cheat sheet. They knew he was struggling in the class and would need all the help he could get.

Cheating Perfected

Finally the test was distributed and the class settled down. At this point, the struggling student went to the door of the class and opened it as if he was leaving. Instead, he motioned to whoever was standing out in the hall, inviting them in. Everyone instantly recognized the professor’s TA (Teaching Assistant) entering the classroom.

To the astonishment of the other students, and the professor, the struggling student then took out his blank sheet of paper and laid it on the floor. He again motioned to the TA and took his seat. As he did this, the TA walked over and stood on the blank sheet on the floor.

Surprise Strategy!

When the professor asked the student what was going on, he simply explained that he was exercising his right to access all of the information he could fit on a single sheet of paper. He planned to ask the TA for help with his test!

Of course, this caused a huge uproar among the other students! They cried out that he was cheating. They said, “That’s not fair!” Clearly, they thought the professor would stop this nonsense.

However, after considering her earlier instructions and noting that the TA indeed fit on the single sheet of paper, the professor granted the student permission to proceed with his plan!

Your Thoughts?

What are your thoughts at this point? Do you wish you had access to this same type of information as you face the various tests during your business day? Or do you think that simply would not work in the business world?

The truth is that we have this very access. Unfortunately, we often do not realize it or we forget about it. Even worse, at times we use it and then turn right around and ignore it during the next test!

God Has All The Answers!

God created business. He knows all there is to know about our particular business. He knows the applicants we are interviewing. He knows the future we will face and how we need to prepare for it. There is not a question we can ask that He cannot answer.

So why is it that we do not call Him into our tests? Why do we ignore Him as we struggle to pass tests that He could breeze through? What would possess us to continue facing tests without using every resource available to us?

Reasons?

If we are honest, some would say that they are not sure God really cares about our business. Yet I do not understand how He could feel that way when He goes as far as to count the number of hairs on our heads and even give every star a name. It seems to me God is concerned about every detail in His universe. That includes our business!

Others may admit they do not know how to ask Him these questions. Or maybe asking is not the problem, but discerning the answer gives them trouble. I struggle with this issue as well. Fortunately, the more we read and study His Word, pray, and seek Him, the clearer His voice becomes to us.

Draw Closer To Him

When I am closest to Him, I find it easier to know His answers to my questions. When I stray from Him, it is impossible for me to hear what He is saying. Funny, it is always my movement away, never His.

Regardless of your own reasons, I encourage you to give this a try. Start seeking Him on your every decision. Whenever you face a test, force yourself to remember to approach God for the answers. I promise you He is faithful to provide.

Have you tried to take tests on your own?

Why is it so easy to ignore God for answers?

How do you plan to change this?

Photo by Chalabala / iStock

Lots To Read

Let me explain. When I started this blog, I decided I was not going to write about theories or ideas. I had read a lot on the subject of Christian business by authors that I am sure were very well educated. The problem I saw was that some had never actually been in business themselves.

While I understood their theories and ideas (even agreed with most of them), I had a problem knowing they had never actually had to face the challenge of implementing those ideas. They had not faced the “whirlwind” of business that keeps many of us from being as effective as we want to be.

Application, Not Theory

As a result, I wanted to write from the perspective of one who was actually IN the business world and trying to implement the ideas I promoted. I wanted to write about application, not theory.

So that is what I did. I committed to only writing about processes we were actually trying in our business. In fact, I found the writing of the blog posts actually served as a form of accountability, keeping me focused on the application of ideas that otherwise may have faded over time.

Lapse In Effectiveness

Fast forward a few years and I have started to look around again. What I have found is not exciting to me. What I have realized is that some of the very processes and ideas that were once carried out regularly are no longer being performed. Either that or they are not as effective as they have been in the past.

If it was only about me, that may not be such a big deal.

People Depending On Application

However, I have come to find that there are many people depending on me to focus on the application of these ideas. Our entire employee base (whether they realize it or not) is relying on me to ensure the application of these processes. Their family members are depending on this. Our customers are also expecting this.

You, as a reader of this blog, trust that we are actually doing what I say we are doing. If I was promoting this blog as one of theory (not application), then you likely would not care as much. However, since I am saying the opposite, you should expect that the application of these ideas is in place.

Dangerous Clouds

So, the danger I described before, is that over time it is easy to get lost in the clouds when writing a blog. It is easy to get caught up in the coolest new idea that comes along rather than ensuring the application of that idea first.

I want to give an example from Scripture that illustrates this. While the analogy is not an exact fit, I think you will get the idea.

After He had said this, He was taken up as they were watching, and a cloud took Him out of their sight. While He was going, they were gazing into heaven, and suddenly two men in white clothes stood by them.

They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up into heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come in the same way that you have seen Him going into heaven.”
Acts 1:9-11

Disciples In The Clouds

In this passage, Jesus has just given instructions to the disciples and has ascended into the clouds, going to heaven. The disciples have things to do and instructions to follow, but what do they do? They stand there gazing into the empty sky.

What they were thinking about, no one really knows. They were probably reflecting on how cool it was to see Jesus ascend. They likely were thinking about what this ascension meant to their future. It is even possible they were wishing they could follow Him right then and skip all they had in front of them to do.

Thoughts Interrupted

Whatever the case, the two men in white clothes came along and interrupted their thoughts. Effectively, these two men told them to get their heads out of the clouds and get back to the tasks they had at hand!

I laugh every time I read this passage! I can imagine being in the disciples’ shoes and wanting to stand there gazing. I can imagine wishing to be following Jesus right then. In fact, to be honest, there are days I DO feel that way!

We Have Work To Do!

The problem is that we have work to do. Theories are good and we certainly can use new ideas in order to increase our ministry effectiveness. At the same time, the work must continue! We cannot get lost in the theory and forget the application!

It is not enough to say we added a step to our sales process at one time. We must make sure that step remains a part of the sales process for as long as it is effective. Allowing it to fade out while we pursue new ideas…this is a problem!

In the same way, applying something once that we have learned in our study of the Bible is not enough. We must maintain that application over time. It is not enough to say we studied or fasted once. We must keep up these disciplines.

Self-Assessment

I encourage you to do a self-assessment. Where do you rate yourself on a scale of 1-10 when it comes to application? Are you guilty of too much theory and not enough work? Have you allowed your gaze to shift to the clouds?

As I mentioned, I have noticed some cloud-gazing myself lately. As a result, I am committing to an increased focus on application. I hope you will do the same!

Where have you allowed application to lapse?

Are you ready to jump back in and get to work?

Where are you going to start?

Photo by Choreograph / iStock

Building Sand Castles

What usually happens is that the kids get started in the smooth, hard-packed sand when the tide is out. I guess this offers a better foundation and is easier to build upon.

They have their buckets and shovels and make frequent trips back and forth to the water. As they form walls and parapets and moats, they seem like they are in another world. In fact, the kids can stay like this for hours if allowed. Sometimes they will even try to miss a meal to keep going!

The problem comes later when the tide starts coming in. Initially, the water starts attacking the base of the castle, eroding the walls. Eventually, the waves overrun the walls and fill the moats with such force that the whole castle is destroyed. Within hours, there is no sign a castle ever existed there.

Not As Exciting For Parents?

My question – why is this not as exciting for parents as it is for the kids? Sure, there is an element of excitement for a parent as they see their kids having fun. But why don’t parents do this without their kids? Why aren’t the kids begging to go back to the room while the parents continue to work on the sand castle?

I am convinced that parents understand how meaningless it is to work hard to create something that will certainly be destroyed within hours. I believe, whether they consciously consider it or not, they know it is meaningless because they will have nothing to show for their work the next day.

Does this make sense? Do you think this same idea may also apply to our work in the marketplace? Have you ever stopped to think about it?

Work Is Meaningless

The author of Ecclesiastes (likely Solomon) certainly thought about this. In fact, he sought all there was in life – all pleasures, wealth, work, etc., and found that all of it was meaningless.

“Absolute futility,” says the Teacher. “Everything is futile.”
Ecclesiastes 12:8

Many of us have found the same to be true about our work at first. For some, revelation that there was more to it came at an early age. For others, this revelation came later. For many, they cannot see it.

The truth is that (according to Scripture) your work, in and of itself, is meaningless. All that you work for and achieve in this world will burn one day and there will be no reward for it in eternity. Whether you like it or not, this is what the Bible says. Check out 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 to see the basis for this.

There Is Hope!

Fortunately, there is another verse in Ecclesiastes that gives us hope. If this is true, then we can hope to bring more people to the realization that all work is not meaningless.

He has also set eternity in the human heart;
Ecclesiastes 3:11

God put eternity in our hearts. The way I understand this, there is an eternal hole or void in our hearts. We have it from birth and nothing can fill it but Him. No work, wealth, pleasure or achievement can fill that void, no matter how hard we try.

Eternal Perspective

However, once we fill that void through a salvation experience with Jesus, all sorts of opportunities open up to us. Suddenly, our work CAN matter! It is no longer meaningless if we approach it from an eternal perspective!

We first need to realize that our work, to the extent that it points others to God and a relationship with His Son, can have eternal meaning AND create eternal reward! Once we realize this, we can begin working through our jobs and businesses to have impact on people for eternity.

Share With Others!

Then, as we gain more clarity on how this works, we need to begin sharing this realization with others. Can you imagine what it could look like if all the Christians you know in the business world began doing their jobs and running their businesses with an eternal purpose?

I can tell you that this very idea is what drives me to keep writing this blog. It is the hope that others can come to the realization that their work does not have to be meaningless. It can have a dramatic eternal impact if they will simply turn it over to God and follow His lead!

Have you come to this realization regarding meaningless work?

If so, who have you shared it with?

If not, I encourage you to pray about it! Will you?

Photo by Vladimir_Timofeev / 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

Why Is That?

Why are we like that?

What, you think you are any different? You think you are much more sensitive to your surroundings and if you lived near such beauty, you would always make time to enjoy it? I have to argue against you on that one.

Instead, I bet you are living near something just as beautiful now. You just don’t see it that way. Likely, you noticed it at one time, but it has simply become something you take for granted. It no longer grabs your attention, but it is still beautiful to someone who has never seen it before.

New Gets Old Fast

The problem is that we lose excitement quickly. When opportunities come our way for something new and exciting, we are eager to engage. In some cases, this eagerness lasts for weeks or even months, but at one point or another, it fades. The opportunity becomes mundane and no longer interests us.

Now I come to my main point. Your job or business is likely the same way. At one time, you saw the work you do as a magnificent opportunity to get fulfillment and hopefully, serve God in ministry through that job.

Opportunity Excitement Faded

At one time, you got up in the morning with just as much excitement about the opportunity at work as you have had when heading off on vacation. Ideas were floating through your head about how you could minister here or there and how God could use you for eternal impact.

Then time happened. You weren’t thinking about it, but something changed and you no longer see the magnificent opportunity for Christian ministry through your business. Instead, you are beginning to see your job as a mundane obligation.

What went wrong? What did you do to cause this?

We Stopped Working At It!

Well, if you think about it, this same analogy can apply to our marriages, our friendships, and even our relationship with God!

A sluggard’s appetite is never filled, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied.
Proverbs 13:4

We stopped working at it.

We did not stop working at our job, but we stopped working at seeing the opportunity in our job (or marriage, friendship, relationship with God). Rather than regularly praying for God to show us the “new” in our jobs, we focused more on surviving them!

What Is The Solution?

So what is the solution? How do we get back to seeing our jobs as an opportunity to serve God and not an obligation?

There are many ways to do this, but I would suggest a couple of steps that have worked.

Get A New View!

Determine in your heart that tomorrow you are going to walk into your workplace with a new set of eyes. Pray that God would give you a new vision for what you can do and how you can be used at work.

Rather than taking the normal path to your office or workstation, change it up. Come in a little early. Look around as if this is your first time there. Expect to see an opportunity for ministry at every turn. Prepare in advance for what you might see.

Then block out some time and begin to take notes. Act as if it is your first day on the job and you have to decide what needs to be done differently in what areas. Pretend you have just been hired (by God) to come in there and to impact the people around you for eternity.

Look For Impact Opportunity!

Go person by person through your co-workers and see if you can think of ways you can begin to serve them. Think about their struggles and pray for ideas on how you can help.

Begin praying for them individually. Pray for their success and peace in their struggles. Pray for an opportunity to show them God’s love. Pray for God to renew your eyes every day so you can see the needs around you.

Change Will Come!

This may not completely change your vision overnight, but I promise it will change in time. Pretty soon, you will be getting up with energy in the morning.

No longer will you drag yourself out of bed, but will instead get a bounce in your step. You may even be able to give up the coffee…well, maybe that is pushing it!

Have you lost excitement over the opportunity in your job?

When will you commit to changing your view?

Can you enlist someone to keep you accountable to this commitment?

Photo by SergeyNevins / iStock

To Honor God?

As I said, our company mission statement includes the phrase “to honor God” as the central goal of our company. It is this goal that drove me in the beginning of my journey to run the business for eternal impact. It is the desire to honor God in everything I do that was my drive for the longest time. Unfortunately, other goals have begun to distract me.

Before I go any further, take a look at his quote and think about it:

Quit competing and live to honor God. Both will result in our best. One will receive rewards in eternity and the other now.

Choose To Compete?

Do you get what he was saying? We can choose to compete rather than simply seeking to honor God in all we do. We can compete with other businesses. We can compete with our neighbors or our family members. Maybe you are competing with childhood friends or an old nemesis. Many compete with everyone, not satisfied unless they are the best in the world at a certain skill or measurement.

While competition can be a good motivator, we need to ask ourselves if it is the best one. We need to ask ourselves if competition brings out the best in us or not. Then we need to think about whether a better motivator could simply be the desire to honor God.

Different Approach

What if, before taking any action at all, you ask yourself if it is God-honoring? What if, when approaching a business strategy, you decided not to look at the competition to decide what to do? What if you decided instead to determine how to honor God through your strategy?

Clearly, God is not honored with mediocrity, right? So what would it look like if you made it your absolute goal to devise a business strategy that would honor God? It would have to be a strategy of excellence. Driven by this goal, you would not be able to accept less than the best, would you?

Difference Is Timing

Just as my friend said, whether competing or seeking to honor God, the result will be our best. The difference is in the timing and longevity of the rewards.

If our motivation is to compete with the best, then we will likely find reward in the marketplace. This reward will most likely be financial and will come sooner. However, if we choose to honor God as our motivation, then rewards will also come. They will just come in an eternity that never ends.

Maybe there are immediate financial rewards, maybe not. God does not promise that. However, He does promise to reward us in eternity (Matthew 16:27). He promises that our rewards will not fade or suffer loss (1 Peter 1:3-4). He cannot go back on His promises.

Lost Focus

I have often allowed the idea of competition to take my focus off of my goal to honor God. While there have been some positive results in some areas, the overriding result is usually one of frustration. In fact, that’s another result of competition…anything short of winning it all is disappointing, even depressing.

Of course, seeking to honor God will not always result in actually pleasing Him (you WILL miss the mark at times!). At the same time, the frustration is not nearly as debilitating when we miss this goal. There are satisfaction and joy that remain, even in failure to hit this mark.

So which way will you go?

Are you guilty of competing?

Which rewards would you prefer?

How will you honor God?

Photo by peshkov / 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?

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Ambassadors For Christ

In my first post on ambassadors, I shared with you the verse from 2 Corinthians 5:20. Here it is again for reference:

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, certain that God is appealing through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God.”
2 Corinthians 5:20

After sharing this verse, we went on to look at the ways in which the responsibilities of a political ambassador parallels the responsibilities we have today as ambassadors for Christ. In my next post, I shared what I believe are the most critical points in understanding our jobs as ambassadors for Christ.

I won’t go back into the details from those posts now, but I will encourage you to read them before moving on. It will help you understand the context for this post. For today, I want to look specifically at the workplace location for political ambassadors and illustrate how it relates to our roles today.

Ambassadors’ Workplace?

I understand that most of have not studied the job of political ambassadors. That’s fine. You don’t need to know the intricate details of how they work and exactly what they do to understand their overall role and how it impacts us.

Since we have covered the major functions of the ambassador role in my previous two posts, let’s now turn and look at the workplace of the ambassador. If you had to guess, based only on the knowledge you currently have about an ambassador, where would you think they perform most of their work duties?

If you were to guess that an ambassador’s work takes place at the embassy, you would be wrong. Sure, that is where their office is located. In fact, their staff is located there as well. But the majority of their work – building relationships with the native people and representing the desires of his king – is done outside of the embassy.

Active And Intentional

See, the ambassador serves in an active and intentional role. He is not assigned to a certain foreign land and asked to sit idly and wait until he is called upon when needed. He is actively seeking to build relationships outside of the embassy.

He is likely meeting in government offices throughout the foreign land. He is probably eating many meals with various representatives in that land. There are probably many impromptu conversations between the ambassador and people of influence in that land. He is also likely attending many functions of various sizes for all sorts of organizations.

Role Of Embassy?

The entire time he is doing all of this, his focused purpose is to represent his “king” and influence the people he meets in the direction of his “king”. At no point does the ambassador have the luxury of waiting for someone to call on him.

Regarding the embassy, there are certainly times that he performs work there. He is probably communicating with his king when he is there. He is planning strategy for influencing the people of the foreign land when he is at the embassy. And of course, there are times he invites to the embassy some of the people he is attempting to influence.

Church = Embassy?

Now, let’s take the same set of lenses and focus them on our roles as ambassadors for Christ. For the sake of this discussion, let’s substitute the church building in the place of the embassy. While it is not a perfect analogy, I think there are enough parallels for you to see the point.

First, as ambassadors for Christ, we are to be active and intentional. We are not called to sit and wait until someone comes to us and asks us about our King Jesus. We are instead to be actively seeking to build relationships with the lost that are OUTSIDE of the church (embassy).

Wherever We Go!

Just like the political ambassadors, we are to be meeting people wherever our lives take us – workplace, community, home – and influencing them toward the desires of our King. We can do this in our office or out in the field. We can do this at the soccer field or at the theater. This can and should be happening in our homes.

The key is that wherever we go and whatever we are doing, our focused purpose is to represent Jesus and point others toward Him. We cannot ever allow ourselves to relax and simply wait for others to come to us and ask. That is not the job of an ambassador.

Church Building Has A Role

As for the church building, it plays a role as well. We should go there to communicate with our King in the faith community. We should go there to learn about our King so we can better represent Him and His desires as we leave to go out into the community. We will also learn and develop our strategies there.

We are even going to make the effort to invite people we meet to come and visit our church. I do not want to minimize this part at all, but I DO want to emphasize that this is not our end goal. Nor should it be part of our strategy to just invite them and hope they catch what we have.

Go Make Disciples!

Our job is much more involved than that. Our job is to make disciples, not just to add to the church membership. This requires our full attention AS we go about our lives in this foreign land. It is our purpose for being in this foreign land. It cannot be overstated.

Do you do most of your work at the “embassy” or in the field?

What part of the ambassador’s work do you struggle with?

What action do you need to take?

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