Tag Archives: God’s will

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Please Pardon Our Progress

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If you were to drive by our Honda dealership during the next week or so, you would likely see an empty lot (no cars), a vacant building, and a huge sign that says, “Please Pardon Our Progress!” The reason? We are beginning construction on a full renovation and upgrade of this building and are now housed in a modular office building a block away.

progress

Change Is Necessary!

This process began near the end of last year when we finally decided it was time to make the necessary changes to our dated facility. While it is certainly still functional, it just does not accomplish our purposes any longer. For that reason, we are making a change.

As you can imagine, it will be a major inconvenience to make this progress. It does not just happen overnight. There are many ripple effects to this progress.

Ripple Effects

Customers will be inconvenienced as we have to shuttle them from the Honda service department to a waiting lounge in one of the other buildings.

There will be frustrations galore for employees and customers alike as new and used car displays will not be as easily accessible as they normally are.

Progress Not Always Welcome!

People will likely have their own opinions about whether we should be making this progress in the first place! They won’t clearly understand what we are doing and why. Some will actually feel we should have left things the way they were!

In an effort to overcome some of the confusion, we have tried to go overboard on signage. We are also coaching employees to be aware that customers may be a little confused or frustrated during the progress. It is up to us to minimize their pain!

My Own “Progress” Sign!

You know what I wish I could do?

I wish I could wear a sign around my neck that said the same thing. I wish I could do something to indicate to those around me – at work, home, and in the community – that I am a work in progress!

I Need Improvement, Too!

See, I know I am not all that I should be. I know there are certain parts of my personality and mindset that need renovating and upgrading. Just like our Honda store, there are parts of me that are not accomplishing the purpose that God has for me.

I know this and I promise that I am working on it, but too often others around me are still inconvenienced, frustrated, or confused. I say things or do things that I do not like. I think thoughts that I wish I did not.

I wish I could just walk around with that sign around my neck to let everyone know that I am aware of the needed improvement and that I am working on it.

Minimize Ripple Effects

Until then, I am just going to do the best I can at making the continuous progress that I need to make and to be aware of the ripple effects on those around me. I will continue to try to minimize their frustration with my slow progress. Hopefully, they will begin to see improvement and cut me some slack!

What we cannot do as Christian business owners and leaders is to decide against making the progress. We cannot decide that the way we are today is good enough. We cannot determine that making progress is too tough.

Progress Is Necessary

God is calling us to be conformed to the likeness of Jesus. While that is not an easy task, it is not optional for a true disciple. We must submit to the process and allow God to do His work on us.

Those around us will likely be inconvenienced, frustrated, or confused with us. Some will even think that we should not work to change, but should just stay the same as we were. While the short term may be easier if we agreed with them, the long term will not.

I encourage you to be a leader that is a work in progress. Wear the sign if you have to, but keep pushing ahead either way!

Are you a work in progress?

What areas are you struggling with the most?

Have you worked to minimize the effects on others?

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Why Do We Deny Jesus?

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In my last post, I asked some tough questions of everyone (myself included). The main question was the toughest – Do you deny Jesus? For more details about exactly what I was talking about, please read that post before reading further here.

deny Jesus

Why Deny Jesus?

Now that you are caught up, I am assuming that you are among the crowd of those of us who do, in fact, deny Jesus (to some degree) on a daily basis. That being the case, let’s move into the second question of this series – WHY do we deny Jesus?

To help us determine the answer to this question, I would like for us to look back at Peter. Let’s first try to figure out what caused Peter to deny Jesus. Maybe then, we can shed some light on why we do the same thing.

Misplaced Expectations?

It is clear from Scripture that many of the disciples (Peter included) and other followers expected Jesus to rise to some sort of military power and overthrow the Roman rule over the Jews. In fact, many Jews today still believe that way, which is why they do not accept Jesus as the Messiah.

In an effort to attempt to discern Peter’s motivations, let’s look at a couple of quotes from Peter in the book of Luke.

But he replied, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.”
– Luke 22:33

When Jesus’ followers saw what was going to happen, they said, “Lord, should we strike with our swords?” And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear.
– Luke 22:49-50

Mistaken Identity?

In both cases, it appears Peter is expecting (and looking forward to) a fight! Do you think anything Jesus has said to this point would cause him to think that? Or is it more likely that this was how Peter had assumed (along with virtually everyone else) the Messiah would rise to rule from His throne?

I think the latter is the case. I think Peter truly thought Jesus was going to show His true authority with some sort of rebellion and Peter wanted to be a part of it. If this is the case, how would this affect his behavior when Jesus willingly submitted to His arrest?

Peter’s Thoughts

Do you think Peter was confused?

Disappointed?

Scared he had misjudged Jesus?

I think this would easily explain his fear and subsequent decision to deny Jesus that night. In fact, this idea seems to fit the more I think about it.

However, even if this line of thinking is way off base, I think we can all agree that Peter was afraid of something when he decided to deny Jesus. He may have been afraid he would also be arrested. Maybe he was scared of how his association with Jesus would impact his own family. We cannot really know.

BUT, there is one thing we can be sure of.

Misunderstanding

We can be sure that Peter’s decision to deny Jesus came from one root misunderstanding. It is this same misunderstanding that I believe causes you and me to deny Jesus on a regular basis.

What is the one misunderstanding?

Peter did not fully comprehend WHO Jesus was and WHAT His purpose really was.

Drink that in a moment.

What If…

IF Peter had FULLY understood that Jesus was truly God in the flesh…

IF Peter had COMPLETELY grasped that Jesus created the very earth he inhabited…

IF Peter had TRULY wrapped his mind around Jesus’ mission here…

Do you really think he would have even considered the decision to deny Jesus?

Our Problem!

Please take this slowly. This is not just about Peter. I believe this is OUR problem!

We act the way we do because we have yet to fully grasp exactly WHO Jesus really is!

We go about our every day tasks, errands, and work. We raise our families and hang out with our friends. We do all the things that people do everyday, but most of us do not really behave in a way that reflects Jesus for who He is!

Do we REALLY act like disciples of the Jesus that created this world? Do we act like followers of the One that died in our place? Are we sincerely allowing Him to be Lord over ALL parts of our life (work/job/business, family, school, etc.)?

What About The Difference?

If so, shouldn’t there be a significance between us and those around us? I am not talking about having a fish symbol on your car, either. I mean different to our core!

If you are that different, again I say, “Congratulations!”

If not, like me, then something needs to change! We need to be about the business of learning WHO this Jesus truly is. I am not talking about the Americanized Jesus. I am talking about the real Jesus – the One in the Bible.

Let’s take the time to completely understand the real Jesus and His mission (and by extension, ours) here. Let’s agree to no longer deny Jesus and start boldly acknowledging Him in everything we do!

I promise you that He deserves it.

What are your thoughts at this point?

Am I off my rocker or does this make sense?

What am I missing?

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Is It A Sin NOT To Pray For Your Team?

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In a recent post, One Responsibility A Christian Leader Cannot Delegate, I explained that Christian leaders are responsible for prayer. It is not something we can delegate to someone else and be relieved of the responsibility. Today, the question gets a little tougher. Is it a sin NOT to pray for those we lead?

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Samuel’s Farewell Speech

In 1 Samuel 12, Samuel is giving his farewell speech to the Israelites. he has been their spiritual leader for many years and is now turning that duty over to Saul, whom he anointed as king. Samuel is warning the Israelites against turning away from God as they transition to following a king.

At the end of this farewell address, Samuel makes an interesting statement that directly relates to our topic of praying for those we lead. Here is what Samuel said…

As for me, I vow that I will not sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you.
1 Samuel 12:23

A Sin Not To Pray?

I am not sure it gets any more clear than that statement right there. Samuel clearly understood it to be a sin for him to fail to pray for those people he was leading. However, my initial question after reading this passage was, “Where is that in the Bible?” I could not remember a verse that said it was a sin NOT to pray for someone.

Well, here is what I have concluded after a little studying.

Samuel’s Vow To Pray

First, in 1 Samuel 7:5, Samuel vows to pray to the Lord on behalf of the Israelites. It is not clear whether this vow was intended to be an ongoing promise to pray, but it makes sense that it might. Either way, Samuel had seen it to be part of his responsibility to pray for those he was leading.

See Good, Do It!

Second, we can look to the New Testament in James 4:17 for more support of this idea that we are responsible as Christian leaders to pray for those we lead. Here is what James said…

So it is a sin for the person who knows to do what is good and doesn’t do it.
James 4:17

I Am Convinced!

Folks, that is enough for me. I am convinced that it is a responsibility of mine as a Christian leader to pray for my team. I look to men like Samuel as examples of great Christian leadership. If Samuel saw it as a sin to refrain from praying for his people, then I see it the same way.

So, assuming you agree with me, what are we to do? Well, I am sure I will leave something out, but I will take that risk and give you a list of what I think we should be praying about. If you think of additional items for this list, please let me know in the comments section!

What To Pray?

    1. Pray first for you to be the godly example and leader they need.
    2. Pray for their salvation (and that of their families)!
    3. Pray for their minds and hearts to be open to growing in their faith.
    4. Pray for their daily needs to be met.
    5. Pray that they would forgive and know forgiveness.
    6. Pray for their strength when facing temptation.
    7. Pray they find fulfillment in their jobs (current or future).
    8. Pray they would find (and develop) their own area of leadership.

My Commitment

As I said at the end of my post on being unable to delegate prayer, I am going to give more energy to my prayer life. As part of this, I commit to pray for everyone in our business according to the list above. I can’t wait to see the results!

Do you agree with our responsibility to pray for those we lead?

What prayers would you add to this list?

What other thoughts do you have on this topic?

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Are You A Borderline Christian?

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As I was reading through Joshua and studying for the series on the Gibeonite deception, I came upon another lesson that I think can apply to us as Christian business owners and leaders. This lesson comes from Joshua and Numbers and deals with borderline Christianity.

Christian

Joshua’s Reminder

If you read Joshua 1:12-15, you will see Joshua reference instructions that Moses had given the people of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh. Joshua is reminding them that they agreed to go into the Promised Land with the rest of the tribes and help to conquer the land as God had commanded.

So, why does Joshua feel the need to remind only these people and not those from the other tribes? Is he just picking on these tribes for no reason? Or is there a valid reason for his reminder?

Borderline Request

To get the answer, you need to go back to Numbers 32:1-38 and read. In this passage, you find that the people of these three tribes asked Moses to give them their inheritance from the borderline land just outside of the Promised Land. They initially even requested that Moses not make them cross the Jordan and fight!

Moses got angry and called them a brood of sinners! He reminded them that they were repeating the very sin their fathers had committed. That sin was the reason they had wandered the wilderness the past 40 years!

The Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh then asked another question. If they agreed to go over and help the other tribes conquer their lands, could they return to this borderline land and settle there? Moses conceded and allowed them to do this.

As I read this, several questions come to mind.

Why The Borderline Land?

The first question that pops into my head is, “Why?” Why did these tribes want to settle outside of the land God had promised them? What does Scripture tell us about their motives?

Take a look at Numbers 32:1 again. They had a lot of livestock and saw that the land was good for livestock. That is it? Are they serious? At this point, they have not yet even seen the land inside the Promised Land to know if it is good or not.

Of course, they know from God’s promises, and from the reports of the original 12 spies that scouted out the land in Numbers 13, that this is a land flowing with milk and honey. Evidently that is not enough!

Is This Important?

The second question that pops into my mind is, “Is this important?” Is this really a big deal? Why did Moses get so upset?

Well, Moses got upset because this request reeked of the sin that caused all of Israel to wander the wilderness for the past 40 years. Moses understood that God does not take kindly to His people rejecting Him or His promises or commands. Moses did not want God to get upset again.

What Are The Dangers?

The final question I had was, “What are the dangers of taking the borderline land?” As these “borderline” tribes finished the fighting and settled in their land outside the Promised Land, what should they be concerned about? Were there any issues they needed to consider that the other tribes would not have to worry about?

The answer is that there were several dangers in taking their inheritance from this land instead of the Promised Land.

1. Lack Of Natural Defensive Border

    First, the Jordan River would create a natural defensive border for those inside the Promised Land. This natural defensive line would prevent sudden attacks and would allow for better strategic position for the Israelites inside.

    For the “borderline” tribes outside the Jordan, this would not be the case. They would be more vulnerable to attacks from other tribes and peoples.

2. Delay In Aid

    Second, and even worse, the Jordan would actually serve to separate them from the aid of their brothers. If the other Israelite tribes wanted to come to their aid in a crisis, there could be a significant delay.

3. Reduction Of Communication

    Finally, not only would it serve to delay any military aid from their brothers, but it would also drastically reduce communications between them and their brothers inside the Promised Land. This would eventually allow other peoples and their religions to influence these borderline tribes away from God.

Application To Christian Business

In my next post, I will address how we can apply these lessons to our Christian businesses. In the meantime, think about the following questions. I would love to hear your thoughts in the comment section!

What parallels can you draw from this lesson?

Have you experienced something similar in your Christian walk?

How can this “borderline” idea apply to your Christian business?

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What I Did In Response To My Angry Boss

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This guest post is from Mike Holmes. He is a blogger and speaker who heads the Simple Strategies for Startups community. He is also the author of I Shall Raise Thee Up: Ancient Principles for Lasting Greatness. You can also download 4 free chapters here. You can also find him on Twitter.
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extra mile

Going The Extra Mile!

I used to work for a catering company in their purchasing department. My duties included receiving heavy boxes and moving them to the appropriate part of the company. In essence, it was manual labor.

I, however, didn’t see it like that. I saw it as an opportunity to go above and beyond in everything to either:

    a) Move up to a more a favorable position,

    or

    b) Move out of the company to a more favorable position.

So to me it didn’t matter whether I was moving boxes or sweeping floors–I was going to stand out! I was going to go the extra mile!

Angry Boss

But there was a problem: while going the extra mile I encountered a lot of grumbling from my co-workers. They just seemed to be getting angrier and angrier. I was as pleasant as I could be…but they just kept getting angrier. I stopped paying it attention until one day one the assistant manager called me:

“Holmes!” He said in a gruff manner. “I want you to move all those boxed grapes to the cooler room…by yourself!”

He said this with some of the staff around him giggling.

By myself???

There were at least 40 box of grapes, each weighing 20 pounds each, and he wanted me to move them by myself! We all knew it was a 2 man job.

At first I was upset!

Livid!

I did nothing to deserve this.

My Response

But then I remembered my friend “Holy Joe.” When Joe was mistreated for doing right, rather than get upset, he simply worked harder and did it with a great attitude!

So that’s what I did.

You should’ve seen me: I got all those boxes done in less than 7 minutes.

Then I went to the same boss and said, “What else do you need help with?” I did that too in record time. I even started helping the people who were grumbling and laughing behind my back–the manager included. And for the rest of the day I was quicker, more efficient, and more helpful than anyone could imagine.

In fact, we were so fast we finished a shipment that normally takes till 2pm at 11:30am!

The grumbling stopped. They were friendlier and more respectful. You would’ve thought I just bought them lunch!

The extra mile triumphed again!

The Origin of the Extra Mile

When Jesus spoke about extra mile principle He summed it up in this statement:

    “And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.”
    (Matthew 5:41 NKJV)

He related the principle to an oppressive practice of the day. It originated with the Persian government and was later adopted by the Roman government.

Under this custom the king’s messengers had power to take horses, camels, and men into service against their will. Couriers and messengers were staged in specific locations by the king; if someone were to pass the location the courier rushed out and “compelled” them into service. Simone of Cyrene was later “compelled” into helping Jesus with His cross.

Rather than quarrel and complain about the treatment, Jesus advised otherwise: comply with the request, but exceed expectations in a spirit of love and service.

The extra mile is what separates leaders from followers, great companies from mediocre ones, and it will separate you in your chosen occupation.

The Power of the Extra Mile Principle

More than just a useful practice…the extra mile principle is a spiritual law. Like “turning the other cheek” and “loving your enemy” it’s a powerful weapon in the hand of a mature believer.

What are the benefits? I’m glad you asked:

1. You benefit by the law of comparison.

    Most people don’t go the extra mile. They go the first mile and complain all the way there! When you go the extra mile the spotlight of attention shines favorably on you. And after a while you soon become indispensable to those around you…especially superiors! And indispensable employees are always paid more than dispensable ones!

2. You develop greater leadership qualities.

    Going the extra develops the habit of personal initiative–a trait necessary for ANY kind of leadership. As you employ the extra mile your brain looks for more ways to become helpful. Soon you stop waiting for people to tell you what to do–you just do it. You no longer wait for things to happen, you make them happen!

3. God makes sure you’re compensated fairly.

    Paul said,

      “Servants, respectfully obey your earthly masters but always with an eye to obeying the real master, Christ. Don’t just do what you have to do to get by, but work heartily, as Christ’s servants doing what God wants you to do. And work with a smile on your face, always keeping in mind that no matter who happens to be giving the orders, you’re really serving God. Good work will get you good pay from the Master, regardless of whether you are slave or free.” (Ephesians 6:5-8 MSG)
    At the end of day whether we’re salaried or self employed: we write our own checks! We do this we the quantity and quality of service we give to either a boss, company, or clients. But even though we write our checks God is still the Boss. And if God sees you going above and beyond that what you’re paid rest assured, He’ll make up the difference. In the end He’ll reward you fully:
      “Because I, God, love fair dealing and hate thievery and crime, I’ll pay your wages on time and in full, and establish my eternal covenant with you.” (Isaiah 61:8 MSG)

But what do you think? Are there any other benefits to going the extra mile?

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How Does Busy Impact Your Impact?

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Are you so busy at work that you do not feel you are accomplishing anything for God? Is your work situation causing you to question how you will ever impact another person for eternity? Do you wonder if this period of time will ever end? Are you even questioning the job itself – whether God may want you somewhere else? If you have ever asked similar questions, keep reading!

busy

Too Busy For My Job?

In my last post, I described how I had recently experienced a period of time when I felt I was too busy to do my job. A key executive leader had left our company and I was forced to take on many of his responsibilities. I knew it was only for a season, but I knew that season would make it difficult for me to fulfill my true God-given job description – to impact others for eternity by pointing them to God.

Eternal Job Trumps All

Based on Scripture (Matthew 22:37-40, 28:19-20; 2 Corinthians 5:20), this true job description should trump all other job descriptions. This fact is accepted by most Christians as being the truth. In fact, we usually describe it by saying our priorities are God, Family, Job – in that order.

Unfortunately, there are times when our busy-ness on the job seems to crowd out any opportunity for us to carry out this eternal job description and impact others as we should. This is especially tough when the busy-ness is not within our control – when others have the most influence on how we spend our time.

Many Treat It As Separate!

The problem is that though most agree our God-given job description is top priority, too many people also think it is also completely separate from the job description their employer gave them. Most people fail to realize that God’s job description for us is to be fulfilled IN CONJUNCTION WITH the other job descriptions we have!

You see, God has placed you in the job you have for a reason and a season. He knows all there is to know about your job and the circumstances surrounding that job. He is not surprised by the sudden busy-ness you are experiencing. Nothing about your job is surprising to Him.

Both At The Same Time!

Instead, God is watching to see how you are living out the eternal job description He has given you while you are carrying out the temporal job description given to you by your employer. It is NOT one or the other, but BOTH at the same time.

Folks, this is really great news! This means you do not have to “steal” time from your employer to carry out your eternal purpose! It also means you will never be asked by God to ignore business needs so you can work on His requests. The cool thing is that you can do everything God wants you to do WHILE carrying out your job for your employer or running your business.

My Recent Example

For a concrete example, let me describe my approach to this recent season of busy-ness I had. Before I do this, please know that I did not execute this perfectly! I am no better at this than you can be…I screwed it up plenty of times. As you read about my intentions, just be aware that my actions did not always match up.

If you will do your best to follow these same steps, God will honor your efforts as He did mine!

Step #1 – Gain & Maintain Perspective

    Fortunately for me, I was headed out on a family vacation when my busy season started. I say fortunately because it allowed me to step away from my job for a week and use the time to regain the right perspective. The “right perspective” is an eternal perspective. I had to remind myself that God knew what I was about to endure and all He wanted was my best, with a focus on the eternal impact of my actions.

    To maintain this perspective, I renewed my commitment to a productive quiet time (it had gotten stale). I began a new study of Joshua (see resulting posts here) because I saw him as a leader that followed God’s commands even under extremely tough circumstances. I knew I would learn perspective from Joshua.

Step #2 – Pray (like never before)

    Along with a renewed commitment to an effective quiet time, I dedicated myself to sincere, blank-canvas prayer. I gave God the brush and paint while I stood back and waited for Him to create the picture for me. Though it had the potential to get repetitive, I continued praying day after day for Him to paint the picture…I did not want to lose this perspective!

    Folks, I am not a good pray-er. This is especially true when I get busy. I lose focus and my mind wanders. I get off track and start listing my trivial requests before I realize what I am doing. During this time period, I fought through this weakness. I stayed on my knees for an extra 15-20 minutes when necessary, but I was not going to give up on this prayer.

Step #3 – Triage (and eliminate) Where Possible

    While being inundated with “stuff” from everyone that normally got their answers from the leader that left, I realized I was not physically capable of doing it all. Something had to fall through the cracks or I was going to crack!

    I made the decision to triage my tasks like the Emergency Room does when overloaded with injuries. Those non-critical issues were put to the side. Even “good” things I was doing in the past were put aside in favor of the “best” things. I prayed for wisdom as I did this and promised those affected by these decisions that I would return to these tasks when (and if) time permitted. In most cases, they understood.

Step #4 – Pursue Excellence in Everything

    As I described in Step #3, I allowed the non-essential “good” stuff to be delayed or eliminated altogether. I did this because I believe we are called to Excellence in whatever we do as Christians. Busy is no excuse for falling short. Rather than be mediocre at the whole range of tasks coming at me, I chose the most critical and tried to complete them in an “excellent” way.

    This was not always the way they ended up. I missed some things. I messed up on others. But I maintained this strategy and (for the most part) it worked. I will probably look back and beat myself up for some of the things I put off, but today I feel I did all I could.

Step #5 – Pray (some more)

    Finally, I continued praying. I prayed that God would make up for my shortcomings. I prayed those around me would be given more patience for my weaknesses than they normally had. I prayed for endurance to keep up the increased pace and duration of my working hours. I prayed my family would give me grace through it all.

When all is said and done, this busy season appears to be coming to a close for me. I am sure there is another just around the corner, but I am thankful for the learning from this one. I hope you can get something out of my experience as well.

Do you think these steps will help you when you get busy?

Which one(s) will be the hardest for you?

What steps would you add to this list?

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Are You Too Busy To Fulfill Your Job Description?

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As I posted last week, I recently hired a COO for our organization after a lengthy hiring process. It was a huge win for our company, but also for me personally and spiritually. The reason I say this is that this hire effectively ends a long period of time where I was entirely too “busy” to do fulfill my God-given job description. I did not feel I was able to impact others for eternity like I wanted to.

job description

Before I explain what I mean by being too “busy” to do my job, let me first tell you about my job as I see it. As President and co-owner of my family business, I have certain duties and responsibilities that are required of me. These are certainly PART of my job. But when I really look at the job that I have been given, there is so much more to it than that!

God-given Job Description

You see, I believe my job has been given to me by God for a season. As a temporary steward of God’s business, I believe that I am in this role for a specific purpose – to impact other people for eternity by pointing them to God. If I had to boil my job description down to one line, that would be it. In fact, I believe that is your job description as well.

Whether you are a President, a Manager, or in an entry-level position, I believe you have this same job description. It comes from Scripture (Matthew 22:37-40, 28:19-20; 2 Corinthians 5:20). If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, then you have this purpose in life and in work – there is no difference, except location.

Busy vs. Job Description

Having said that, there are times that our job “activities” begin to take our focus off of our eternal purpose, our real job description. In some cases, these times are only temporary and have a clear beginning and end (like my recent experience). Other times, it can be the nature of the job itself. There are even times when we take on too much and create our own prison of busyness.

Regardless of the duration or cause, these times of being too busy can dramatically impact our ability to fulfill our God-given job description. If you have been a disciple of Jesus for any period of time, you have likely experienced this problem. If not, congratulations on keeping your focus on your true purpose in life!

What Do You Do?

For the rest of us that either bump into this problem occasionally or actually feel like we have set up camp here, lets’s discuss what we should do when this happens. For this discussion, there are two possible paths.

Self-Created Busyness

The first path is for those times when we have created the busyness for ourselves. The busyness could be the result of an over-zealous appetite for responsibilities or maybe a lack of intentional scheduling. Either way, we have brought this on ourselves and we need to correct the problem. In the cases I am referring to here, shedding these additional responsibilities would not have an effect on your employment.

To do this, I am not necessarily recommending breaking any commitments, but I am saying that you need to recognize that you are putting the temporary ahead of the eternal. As a result, you need to correct the imbalance as quickly as you can. This will likely take time and energy, but it is worth it.

As you are doing this, you need to begin putting intentional habits in place to prevent returning to this position. I suggest starting with a LIFE plan. By creating a LIFE plan, you will establish the priorities by which you will make future decisions on responsibilities you will and will not choose.

Externally Imposed Busyness

The second path is a little more difficult to correct. This is mainly because the cause of this path is usually beyond our control. It could be the loss of a key employee (as it was with me) or it could be change in management above you. It could even be related to the overall economy as it has been since 2008 for many businesses.

Whatever the cause, the solution is not as simple as it is for the first path. In these cases, there may not even be an immediate solution at all. If that is true, then what are we to do? How are we to continue fulfilling our God-given job description when we are overwhelmed with busy?

For that answer, tune in to my next post!

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4 Simple Questions For Your Life Plan

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It is coming up on that time of the year when I begin thinking about my LIFE plan for next year (Read the series here). I know…it is only September, but once Halloween hits, the end of the year flies by. Before you know it, it is mid-January! As I begin to think about this, I become more aware of articles and tools that I think might help me in that process. I want to share a good one with you today.

life plan

Eric Liddell – Missionary

Many of you probably know the name Eric Liddell. It was his story that was featured in the movie Chariots of Fire. What many people do not know is that after his gold medal in the 1924 Olympics, Liddell became a missionary to China. While there during World War II, he was sent to a prison camp with roughly 200 others determined to be “enemy nationals.”

Liddell spent the last two years of his life in that camp. Many years after his death in 1945, a manuscript of The Disciplines of the Christian Life was published. It is in this book that you will find the material I want to share with you today.

Life Plan Questions

The following material from Liddell’s book only consists of four simple questions. However, a lot of self-examination can happen when answering these four questions. I plan to use these very questions in the preparation of my LIFE plan for next year. I encourage you to do the same.

Let’s get started. Before you read through these simple questions, I encourage you to pray that God will open your mind and heart to hear what He has to say to you. Try to completely clear your mind of all distractions so you can focus on the depth of these questions.

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1. Am I truthful?

    Are there any conditions under which I will tell a lie? Can I be depended on to tell the truth no matter what the cost?

2. Am I honest?

    Can I be trusted in money matters? in my work, even when no one is looking? with other people’s reputations? with myself—or do I rationalize and become defensive?

3. Am I pure?

    Am I pure in my habit? in my thought life? in my motives? in my relations with the opposite sex?

4. Am I selfish?

    Am I selfish in the demands I make on my family, spouse, or associates? Am I badly balanced, full of moods—cold today and warm tomorrow? Do I indulge in nerves that spoil my happiness and that of those around me? Am I unrestrained in my pleasures, the kind I enjoy without considering the effect…to take reasonable rest and exercise? Am I unrestrained in small self-indulgences, letting myself become the slave of habits, however harmless they may appear to me? Let us put ourselves before ourselves and look at ourselves.

(Liddell, Christian Life, 29-30).

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Write Your Answers

As you go through each of these questions, write down your answers. As you have cleared your mind beforehand, write down anything that comes to mind. Maybe it does not seem particularly profound at the moment. At the same time it may strike you differently when you go back to review your answers later.

Assume for a moment that God speaks to your heart about something in particular as you answer these questions. What should you do next?

“Start Doing” List

My thought at this point is that you create two lists for your LIFE plan. The first is a “Start Doing” list. On this list, you add things that God prompts you to add – actions or habits that you need to start.

Maybe, when asking, “Am I selfish?” you answered that you have been selfish about your health and you know you need to take action to improve it. You recognize that your family and those with whom you work are getting short-changed because your health is sub-par. In this case, put “exercise plan” or “improved diet” on your “Start Doing” list.

“Stop Doing” List

The other list for your LIFE plan is your “Stop Doing” list. While it sounds simple, very few people create one of these lists. Obviously, this list consists of actions or habits you need to stop doing.

Take the “Am I honest? question. Let’s say you answered that you have been holding back at work. You realize that your effort has not been your best because you have lost your passion for the job. You know you could give more, but you just don’t have the fire anymore.

This issue may require that you add something to both lists. On your “Start Doing” list, you would add “begin praying for passion at work” or “learn new skill at work.” On your “Stop Doing” list, you might want to add “stop staying up late watching TV” or even “give up distractions like social media” while at work.

Multiple Options

There are so many ways you could take action in response to these four questions. The creation of these two lists is simply one idea. This one works for me as I will be using the results in my LIFE plan for next year.

You can likely come up with your own ideas. The main point of this exercise is to do a self-examination (with prayer) and to identify areas of improvement. You may not like the idea of using this for LIFE planning, but may instead incorporate the questions into your quiet times. You could even use them as accountability questions in your small group.

The options are endless. I think you get the idea! It is now up to you as to what you do with them…

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9 Lessons From Our Hiring Process

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Well, it is finally over and I am so glad! Of course, now the hard work begins! I am referring to the hiring process I have been going through over the past 90 days. While I have not discussed much detail, I have alluded to this process in several posts. Now that it is over, I want to share some of what I have learned.

hiring process

Lesson #1 – Trust God.

This hiring process began for me at the first of June when a key leader in our organization let me know he had been given an opportunity that he simply could not decline. While I instantly knew that my workload had just increased dramatically, I also knew it would only be for a season.

For some reason, God had been preparing me for this very eventuality. As a result, I did not panic. For the first time in a long time, I really trusted – right from the start – that God would take me through to a better place. As a result of this trust, my stress level really never increased throughout the process. I was truly amazed by this!

Lesson #2 – Begin with Prayer.

Well, I did not immediately start by looking for a replacement. Instead, I began praying that God would reveal to me His structure. I prayed that God would take a blank slate and put His picture of our organization on it. I was prepared for His picture to look very different or exactly the same. I was prepared for anything in between.

I can honestly say, I was prepared for whatever He showed me! I can also say that I have not prayed for any other decision as much as I prayed about this one. I was determined that He was going to show me the way. I was not going to choose it for myself.

Lesson #3 – Seek Godly Advice.

In addition to prayer, I began to seek advice from those I knew and trusted to give godly advice. I sought this advice from my C12 group, other Christian dealers in my industry, and various other advisers I know personally. Quite simply, I did not try to handle this hiring process alone.

As a result of prayer and the advice we received, the decision was made to seek to hire a COO for the organization. This was to be a step of faith as this position has not existed in our organization before. Even so, when we looked at all of the pieces, it made the most sense.

Lesson #4 – Cast a Wide Net.

We began by running ads in a national trade magazine and online. I reached out to those contacts I knew would possibly know of a candidate and asked them for help. I also continued praying!

We were overwhelmed with the number of applications. Even though we included the description, “Christian automotive group” in the ad, we had over 70 applications submitted. This may not be many for some of you, but it was a mountain in my eyes.

Lesson #5 – Set Clear Guidelines (and Don’t Waiver).

It takes more than gut instinct to successfully filter 70+ applications down to a manageable number. Based on the scope of the job, we worked hard to come up with a list of several requirements that we used to evaluate resumes. While there were several applicants that I identified with, they did not make the cut unless they met the qualifications. There were several hard decisions, but I pressed through it. The first round of filtering by these guidelines brought our number down to 12 solid candidates.

From there, we had each candidate complete a behavior and motivator assessment. Again, due to the specific nature of the job, we had a clear picture of the type of personality that would be successful in this role. This picture was compiled from the input of several current key leaders in our organization. This avoided any single perspective driving biased results.

Lesson #6 – Turn Up The Heat

Once we had narrowed the candidates to the final three, the hiring process got more intense. We started with a phone interview of each candidate. This interview was conducted by a close friend and adviser who also happens to be an industry expert. He followed a script of a number of questions that were posed to each of the three candidates. He took notes on the answers that we reviewed together after each interview.

At this point, we each called several references on each candidate. Fortunately, one of us knew someone on each of the reference lists. It always helps to know the person giving the reference so you have a better feel for their perspective.

With good reports from the references, I then interviewed each of these three candidates via Skype. This gave me the opportunity to see facial expressions and gestures. I could gauge their stress in response to certain questions as well. Just like the phone interviews, I followed a set of questions that I posed to each candidate.

While the intent was to select one of the three candidates to bring to the dealership in person, we were unable to narrow it down beyond two candidates. So, we brought both candidates to town to go through the remainder of the hiring process. We scheduled them to come in back-to-back (two days each) over a four day period.

Lesson #7 – Involve Your Team

Each candidate arrived in town the day before the interviews would take place at the dealership. That evening, they went to dinner with me and my brother, our spouses, and the friend/adviser that conducted the phone interviews. At dinner, we got to see how they would interact with others. We also were able to get a very different perspective from our wives! This proved to be very helpful.

The next morning, each candidate had breakfast with two members of our executive leadership team. Then they went through a series of interviews with management teams from each department. They were also interviewed by a mixed group of front-line employees. This part of the hiring process, an idea from another adviser, was priceless! I would not trade it for anything!

Lesson #8 – Can You Work With Them?

For the last couple of hours before they were scheduled to depart, the candidates answered some tough questions, ate lunch with us, and answered more tough questions on a variety of issues. At this point, the candidates had been vetted and were both capable of filling the position. It really boiled down to which was a better cultural fit with our team. Which one would we enjoy working with more? Which one seemed like they would enjoy working with us?

Lesson #9 – Pray Some More

At the end of the entire hiring process, we were all clear on the candidate we thought would be the best fit. It was not an easy process and both candidates were highly qualified, but we felt the right one had come to the surface. At this point, I decided to wait one more day.

I prayed in depth that God would make it clear to us who we should choose. Although we had prayed all through the process, I was determined to make absolutely sure that our decision came from God, not from our own preferences or biases. I wanted Him to give me a peace about moving forward.

Hiring Process Result

The final result was that we made an offer of employment to one of the candidates. He accepted with excitement and started at the first of the month. Like I said in the beginning, there is now a lot of work ahead of us! At the same time, I trust that God will guide us through this new season.

I would live to hear your thoughts on the hiring process we used.

Take a moment in the comment section to let me know what you liked.

What you would do differently?

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Mistakes Are No Excuse To Break Your Word!

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Have you ever given your word to help someone with a need on a specific day and time, only to be invited later to some incredible event at the same time? Have you ever agreed to sell something at a price BEFORE you found out you had additional costs you had not considered? These situations can come up regularly in life and business. The question is whether making a mistake is a valid excuse for breaking your word.

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Joshua’s Mistake

As we continue our study of the story of the Gibeonite deception, this same issue occurs for Joshua. In fact, it really occurs twice in a very short period of time. Let’s take a look at what happened to him and how we can apply it to our own Christian business leadership.

As we read in Joshua 9:1-10:15, the Gibeonites deceived Joshua and the Israelites into agreeing to a peace treaty with them. The Gibeonites actually lived within the boundaries of the Promised Land and were therefore sentenced by God to be destroyed by the Israelite army. Because they tricked Joshua into thinking they were from a distant land, they were given the peace treaty they sought. Joshua’s mistake was in not seeking God’s guidance first.

But They Lied!

The problem is that three days later, the Israelites somehow found out that they had been tricked. It became crystal clear that the Gibeonites had lied about where they lived. They even admitted it to the Israelites when confronted about it.

So, if that is the case, what stopped Joshua from ordering the Israelite army to attack the Gibeonite city? Why did Joshua and the other Israelite leaders decide to let them live? Wasn’t it still true that God had ordered them to destroy all people groups inside the Promised Land boundaries?

Sworn Oath

While that was still true, Joshua and the Israelite leaders knew that they were now bound by their oath. Mistake or not – they had sworn an oath, by the Lord, that there would be peace between them and the Gibeonites. These leaders knew a truth that we need to remember and apply in our own businesses.

Mistakes do not give you the right to break your word!

If you continue to read, you will see that the whole community of Israelites grumbled against the leaders for this decision. If left up to the crowd, they would have attacked and claimed that the oath of peace was based on deceit and was therefore invalid.

God’s Perspective

Unfortunately, God does not see it the same way as the Israelite community. Take a look at 2 Samuel 21:1-14 and see what happens many years later when David was king. There had been a famine for three years and David inquired of God as to why.

God answered that it was because King Saul had killed some Gibeonites and violated the oath made by the Israelites. Generations later, God still remembered the oath to the Gibeonites and was holding Israel accountable to that oath!

Joshua Understood God

Fortunately for the Israelites following Joshua, he understood this about God. He knew that his oath was valid, regardless of his mistake and the circumstances leading up to it. As a result he and the Israelite leaders honored their word to the Gibeonites and did not allow the Israelites to attack.

Another Level!

If the story ended here, it would be noteworthy. Instead, Joshua showed us another level of leadership that we can aspire to imitate. At the beginning of Joshua 10, we read that five kings and their armies went to attack the Gibeonites. Quickly, the Gibeonites sent word to Joshua, asking for help based on their treaty!

Surely, the deceptive Gibeonites did not actually expect Joshua to put the lives of his men at risk by coming to their defense against the five armies. Isn’t that asking a little much?

Evidently, Joshua did not see it that way. He immediately gathered the Israelite army to come to their defense. Not only that, but he also had his army march all night in order to catch the other armies by surprise!

God’s Reaction

What did God think of his actions? Well, we read that God reassured Joshua, telling him that He had already handed the other armies over to him. Then, during the actual battle, we read that God threw hailstones on the five armies as they fled! More soldiers died from the hailstones than from the Israelite swords!

If that is not confirmation that Joshua made the right decision, then I do not know what is!

Our Application

Folks, this lesson has direct application in our businesses. Whether we have given our word to a customer, an employee, or even a vendor, we are bound by that word. If we later find out that we made a mistake or were deceived, we are not excused from our word.

The lesson here is that we need to do our best to move slowly when it comes to giving our word to someone. We need to buck the trend in society today that says your word is only good as long as it is convenient for you to keep it. Look at failed marriages, businesses, mortgages, etc. and see that too many people simply see their word to be more a matter of convenience rather than binding.

Higher Standard

As Christian business owners and leaders, we are called to a higher standard. Before you give your word to someone, make sure you have prayed for wisdom and guidance in the decision. Then, once you have given your word, live by it. Keep your word even when you have made a mistake and it causes you loss. Follow Joshua’s example.

Have you experienced something similar to this before?

What was your decision and why did you make it?

What were the results of that decision?