Hard Work

A number of years ago, with our children entering middle school, she went back to school to get her Master’s degree in education. She had not studied education as a undergraduate, so she had to take extra courses in order to earn her teaching certificate along with the Master’s degree. This was incredibly hard work and she met the challenge head on (with excellent grades, I might add)!

Immediately after graduation, she started as a 2nd grade teacher at a local elementary school. She was not sure (at the time!) if 2nd grade would be the best age for her, but she was excited to get to work and teach! I knew she would be good at it, but I truly had no idea exactly how good.

An Incredible Teacher!

I honestly wish I could I could describe the pride in my heart and the emotion in my throat as I think about exactly HOW great she is at being a teacher. It is not possible for me to communicate the depth of her commitment to these kids and to their education. It is truly an emotional experience for me to watch.

I know I am biased, but there is simply no way I am overstating the impact she is having as a teacher. I promise that her students will look back as adults in a couple of decades and credit her for whatever changed in them while they were in her class. I am confident of this!

What Is The Application?

Now, you are probably asking what this could possibly have to do with business and Christian faith. That is a good question! Let me explain.

There is no doubt that my wife is gifted by God to be a teacher. It comes naturally to her. She LOVES what she does and cannot imagine doing anything else. The work she puts in after hours and on weekends does not seem like work to her.

Not A Teacher?

Many Christian business leaders might look at someone like my wife and point to her gifting. Doing so, they might claim that they have no such gifting. For them, being a teacher is not exciting. Depending on their perception of the job requirements or the size of the crowd, it may even scare them!

Some may not fear teaching, but simply think they do not have the time. Others may feel they are not enough of an expert to be a teacher. There are many excuses we come up with to explain why we don’t play the part of a teacher.

Commanded To Teach!

Because of these thought processes, many Christians ignore the fact that we are in fact commanded by Jesus himself to be teachers! Instead of accepting this command, we may tend to rely on others to be the teachers. We claim all sorts of other activities to show that we are making a difference. We think this earns us a bye when it comes to teaching.

The bottom line is that we are all to be teachers.

Gifting Not Required

Now, some of you will argue with me about this. You may say that Paul says not all of us are given the gift of teaching. In this case, we are on the same page. I agree that not all are given the gift of teaching. Yet, I think we are all commanded to do it anyway.

Stick with me and let me explain my position before you close out this post and move on. If you finish this series and still feel the same way, then we will simply agree to disagree. No harm, no foul!

Commanded?

Most likely we are all familiar with the Great Commission. Jesus was speaking to the disciples (and, I believe, to all of us as believers) when he said the following (emphasis added by me):

Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and TEACHING them to obey all I have commanded you.
Matthew 28:19-20

If you believe the Bible to be the inerrant Word of God and that this verse is directed to all believers, then you accept that you are to be a teacher. I do not see any way around this. It is right there in black and white.

Perception Of Being A Teacher

Now, the problem most people have is with their perception of the word teacher. When I say all of us are to be teachers, many assume that means they are to be in a typical classroom (at school, church, etc.) and are to teach a room full of students (youth, adults, etc.).

This is not so. When I sit down with a salesperson and give them advice on how they can improve their performance, I am a teacher. When I spend ten minutes giving a simple devotion to a small group of employees at work, I am a teacher. The size of the audience and the setting are both irrelevant. There are endless combinations of situations where I can show I am a teacher.

More To It!

Of course, to fulfill the Great Commission, there is more to it than the above examples. Hopefully, you are interested in digging further into this idea. If so, you will be glad to know that I will spend the next several posts doing just that.

My hope is that you are excited to see your role as a teacher once we have completed this series. If nothing else, I pray you have begun to seek God about this, asking Him to reveal to you how He wants you to be a teacher.

Stay tuned!

Gifted or not, do you see yourself as a teacher?

Who do you see as your student(s)?

Who has been a teacher to you?

Photo by Syda Productions/Shutterstock

“The” Christian Ministry

So, what is all the fuss over “the” ministry? What exactly do you have to do to qualify for Christian ministry? What exactly is full-time ministry? Is it something you must be called to do?

Well, if you listen to most people, full-time Christian ministry is being employed and getting paid by a church or other ministry organization. Most people have the idea that you must leave whatever secular job you may have if you want to do Christian ministry. The two cannot exist together in the same job.

How Do You See It?

Do you think this way?

Assume you and I are sitting next to each other on a plane and we start up a conversation. During the course of this conversation, you ask me what I do. If I respond that I am in full-time Christian ministry, what would you assume I do? Would your next question be related to what church or church organization I work for?

If this would be your assumption, then you are among many who would think the same. However, I think Christian ministry applies to more than just the paid church staff.

Christian Ministry Is For Everyone

Christian ministry is something we are all commanded to do. When Jesus said we are to love our neighbors as ourselves, He pointed us to ministry. He failed to qualify that statement by adding, “on Sundays” or “as staff members of the church.” Instead, He meant everyone, everyday.

Folks, YOU are to be in full-time Christian ministry. It is not something reserved for church staff members. It is not something you are only to do when at church on Sundays or Wednesdays. Christian ministry is an attitude and action of serving others…all the time!

Uncommon Philosophy

I know this is not a common philosophy. I know that your pastor, along with most of your Christian friends, may have a different view. They will not necessarily disagree, but will simply assume a separation between Christian ministry and the business world. That is okay! It really is fine!

You see, we cannot change everyone’s perspective all at once. We cannot expect to explain this idea to a few key people and all of a sudden, everyone realizes they are to be in Christian ministry.

No, we simply need to change our own mindset to embrace full-time Christian ministry right where we are in our current jobs. We need to eliminate the separation in our minds between spiritual activity and secular jobs. We need to begin doing ministry and let others catch on as they will.

Obviously, engaging in Christian ministry can take on many forms. If surveyed people at church, work, or school, you will likely get many answers as well. For the purpose of the discussion now and in future posts, I will tell you what I believe is the root of Christian ministry.

Christian Ministry At The Core

I believe it boils down to two passages of Scripture.

The first is known as the Greatest Commandment. Jesus was asked by an expert in the law which was the greatest commandment. Jesus answered…

He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important commandment. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commandments.
Matthew 22:37-40

The second passage is known as the Great Commission. Some of the very last words Jesus used to instruct his disciples are these…

Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:19-20

Living It Out

When you attempt to live out these two passages, whether in business, as a paid church staff member, or anywhere else you may find yourself, I believe you are doing Christian ministry.

If you would like to see various examples of the methods we have used to live out Christian ministry in our business, check out these posts (Christian Ministry Actions). Maybe you will get some ideas you can use in your business.

I will likely say this many times…we do not have it all figured out. We simply began attempting to act out our faith in the business. You may not agree with all we do. You may think we take it too far or not far enough. Either way, I want to encourage you to think about how you can do something similar where you are.

As we go, I hope you will leave comments and let me know what you are thinking. Who knows, your comment may affect someone else that is reading and seeking answers. Don’t hold back!

Do you agree with this definition of Christian ministry?

What do you do to live it out in your life?

Do you meet resistance? How?

Waiting To Be Told

If you have been working for any length of time, you have probably witnessed this. For the most part, any new employee needs to be told what to do in the beginning, right? Unless they have worked that exact job before, there are things they need to be told first.

They probably need to know WHAT to do, WHY, WHEN, and HOW they are to do it, and maybe a few other tips. Once they get this, they should be able to go forward on their own with only occasional guidance along the way.

Still Waiting…

The problem is that some employees are still waiting to be told what to do. You probably know some of these people where you work. Maybe they work for you. No matter how many times they have read the job description or listened to the training, they refuse to take action on their own. They can sometimes be found actually standing around because no one stopped to tell them what to do next! It really amazes (and frustrates) me!

To be clear, I am not talking about waiting to be told about NEW tasks, responsibilities, or ideas. As employees are being developed for promotion or more responsibility, they need to be taught more. They cannot know the new stuff until it is taught to them. I am only now talking about what they already know (or should know) they are to be doing.

What About Us?

So now that I have you worked up and as frustrated as I am, let’s (again) turn this around to be about us. You probably knew this was coming, didn’t you? For the sake of this discussion, we are the “employees” in this picture and God is the “employer”.

As you go through the rest of this post, ask yourself if you are acting just like one of these employees. Ask yourself if you are “standing around” waiting to be told by God (again) what He wants you to do. Be honest with yourself and allow Him to guide you. He will show you what He wants you to see.

Examples

Let’s take an easy example to start with.

Our “handbook” (the Bible) says that we are to love God (Matthew 22:37-40), right? This is called the Greatest Commandment and we should all be aware of it by now. We have probably read it many times and have likely heard sermons (training) on it as well.

So, are you DOING it? Are you really LOVING God? Are you doing it with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength? OR are you waiting to be told again that you are to do this?

If I am honest in answering these questions for myself, then I would say I am doing it sometimes and I am trying to do it other times. I can’t really say that at any point in time I am sitting around waiting to be told again to love God. I think I have a passing grade here, but not by much.

Another Example!

Let’s get a little tougher. We have all likely heard of the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) as well, right? We are told here to go and make disciples of all nations. Again, we have read it and heard many sermons on it. I doubt there are any of us that can honestly claim ignorance here.

So, again I ask the question. Are you DOING it? Are you truly making disciples? Are you mentoring someone in the Christian walk? Are you engaging your employees, co-workers, and others in Christian ministry? Are you teaching what you have been taught?

In the past, I could answer this question with an easy “Yes!” without blinking an eye. Lately, I have allowed distractions to creep in and now I am unable to answer with confidence. What about you? Have you made an effort? Have you allowed distractions to interfere?

More Examples!

I won’t go into detail with each of the following areas from our “handbook,” but I will at least list them and let you ask yourself the questions. Think about each category and ask yourself the tough questions. Where are you waiting to be told what to do? If that is difficult for you or if you think you will go too easy on yourself, ask someone else to help you. Maybe that can be the start of a discipling relationship!

Evangelism (Acts 1:8)

Tithing (Matthew 23:23)

Love your enemies (Matthew 5:43-44)

Forgive your enemies (Luke 17:4)

Praying for others (1 Timothy 2:1-4)

Bible study (2 Timothy 2:15)

Take Action!

When you have had enough abuse for one day and you are ready to close out this post, stop and do one more thing. Decide on one, only one, of these areas and commit to do something!

Commit to make at least one change. Start doing something that you already know you should be doing. It will be the first step down a great and rewarding path!

Where are you doing what you know you should be doing?

Where are you waiting to be told what to do?

What are you going to do about it?

Spectator Costs

If you will bear with me, I want to describe how it looks on a normal Friday night. First, we have already paid for the season tickets and the parking pass. Next, we will walk into the stadium carrying the stadium seat that bears the logo of the team. We purchased this from the school, along with various articles. Finally, we will likely spend a little on the various refreshments they sell at the concession stand.

All of this money spent is part of the experience and is acceptable because we know it goes to support the team, right? As spectators, it gives us a sense of pride that we can do our part to financially support the efforts of the local team. After all, we cannot very well go out on the field and contribute by playing, can we?!?

Football vs. Christian Faith

Before you think this post is about how expensive it can be to be a spectator at a football game, let me make the connection. The problem that I want to highlight here is that many Christians operate in this same way with their faith.

Go back to my description of a typical Friday night – change it to a typical Sunday morning. We go to church. We have paid our tithes and feel good about that. We watch the show and pay a little for the coffee in the cafe if our church has one. We may even add a little to the offering plate for the upcoming youth mission trip.

All in all, we feel good about our contribution because we know our money is put to good use. We know that we are supporting the ministry of the church when we do this, right?

Still A Spectator!

The problem with this is that we are still only spectators in this case. While we might get arrested if we attempted to suit up and run out onto the field of a high school football game, this is not the case with our faith!

Called To Participate!

Instead, we are actually CALLED out onto the field! With the Great Commission, we are COMMANDED to go out and be participants, not spectators! There is no limitation here, no security guards keeping us in the stands!

There is actually a Coach out on the field calling out our names and beckoning us to join Him. So, what is our response?

Don’t Stop There!

Before you get upset, I am not saying that financial support of the church is not critical. It is absolutely necessary. The only problem is that too many Christians stop here and think they have done something. In fact, many think they have fully met their responsibilities.

This is simply not right. Jesus is sending us ALL out to be participants. We are to step out of the stands and onto the field. We are to join the battle that is going on and we are to do so with a very clear objective.

For some, what you do as a participant will look different from the next person. Not everyone will have the same role. There will not be hundreds of quarterbacks out on the field. Each person’s talents and gifts are different and therefore their contribution will look different.

Spectator No More!

The bottom line is that there must be an active contribution. Simply sitting in the stands holding up the foam #1 sign is not enough. It may be all we can do in high school football, but more is expected of us when it comes to our faith.

So, what does this look like? How do we apply this idea to business?

I am glad you asked! I will try to take this analogy further in my next post by describing what some of the various levels of participation may look like and where we might fit in. I hope you will stay tuned!

Would you consider yourself a participant or a spectator?

What should you change to be more of a participant?

What are the risks of being more of a participant?

Jim Reese – CEO, Atlanta Mission

This is the fourth post in a series of five that describes the advice my brother and I received from business and ministry leader, Jim Reese. Mr. Reese seen incredible success in the business world over a stellar career with executive positions in companies such as Randstad N.A., Frito-Lay, and HoneyBaked Ham, but he has also significantly impacted people for eternity through his work with Atlanta Mission. He has taken his exceptional business skills and is applying them in Christian ministry.

Below, is the fourth of five main points I gained from our conversation. This advice is directed at anyone trying to buck the norms of this world and integrate their faith into their work. If you are trying to run your business from an eternal perspective, then you need to heed this advice.

[box][typography font=”Cardo” size=”18″ size_format=”px”]Recommendation #4:[/typography]

[typography font=”Cardo” size=”24″ size_format=”px”]Excellence is not optional.[/typography]

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Emphasis on Excellence

If there was one of the five main points Mr. Reese made with extra emphasis, it was this one. We spent at least twice the time on excellence as we did on the other topics.

Obviously excellence is an extremely wide topic. For the purpose of this post, here is our definition of excellence.

Excellent organizations achieve and sustain superior levels of performance that meet or exceed the expectations of all their stakeholders.

Lower Expectations?

So many Christian ministries and organizations today think they get a free pass in regards to excellence because they are doing God’s work. They think people will (or at least should) accept less than excellence when they know the cause is right. While it is truly sad, many people have come to expect this from Christian organizations.

Folks, this is simply ridiculous thinking! If anything, work done for God should be held to a higher standard, not a lower one. If we are following Scripture and working as unto the Lord (Colossians 3:23-24), then we should act like it! We are serving the King of the Universe! He would not accept less than excellence from Cain (Genesis 4:3-7) or from the Israelites (Malachi 1:6-13), why should He accept it from us?

Excellence Is Central

This attitude of excellence should be central to everything we do. It should drive every aspect of our lives and our businesses. There should be nothing in our lives that we accept as less than excellent.

This is not to say that we can achieve perfection, but we should always maintain a culture of improvement. This culture will cause us to always be working on any weaknesses so that they do not remain that way.

Right To Influence

If we are to be Greatest Commandments and Great Commission companies, then we must earn the right to influence others. We earn this right by doing business with excellence. Anything less will risk pushing people away from the Gospel.

Do you consider your company as one of excellence?

Do you recognize the importance of excellence?

What do you need to change right now?

Jim Reese – CEO, Atlanta Mission

My brother and I had the privilege of spending a couple of hours this past week with business and ministry leader, Jim Reese. I first met Mr. Reese when he was a speaker at the Catalyst conference in Atlanta this past October.

After attending his session, I sought him out and we spent a few minutes talking about the integration of faith and business. It was then that I asked for the opportunity to visit his ministry, Atlanta Mission, and get his advice on how he thought I could better use our business as a platform for Christian ministry.

Though we have been working at this for over eight years, we know there is still so much to learn! We know we have just barely scratched the surface and therefore are always on the look-out for opportunities to learn. This was clearly one of those opportunities. In fact, we came away with much more than we could have hoped.

Extensive Experience

Not only has Reese seen incredible success in the business world over a stellar career with executive positions in companies such as Randstad N.A., Frito-Lay, and HoneyBaked Ham, but he has also significantly impacted people for eternity through his work with Atlanta Mission. He has taken his exceptional business skills and is applying them in Christian ministry. His leadership is taking the Atlanta Mission organization to new heights.

I could take the rest of this post telling you how gracious and helpful Mr. Reese was in taking the time to pour into us. He clearly has a passion for what he does and is very willing to share that passion. We will not know the full impact of this short visit for many years to come, but I can tell you that it will be huge!

His Advice

Below, I have listed the first of five main points I gained from our conversation. I will discuss this first one in detail today and the other four points in my next posts. This advice is directed at anyone trying to buck the norms of this world and integrate their faith into their work. If you are trying to run your business from an eternal perspective, then you need to heed this advice.

[box][typography font=”Cardo” size=”18″ size_format=”px”]Recommendation #1:[/typography]

[typography font=”Cardo” size=”24″ size_format=”px”]You must redefine success.[/typography]

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Secular Company

In a publicly-owned corporation, success is most often defined as an increase in shareholder wealth (stock price). Maybe revenue growth is a close second. In private business, net profit or net cash flow probably leads as the definition of success. Growth may also take a top spot in some of these businesses as well.

Since virtually all of us have worked in a secular job for a non-Christian company at some time or another, you probably know exactly what I am talking about. I do not know the statistics here, but success in most companies is defined this way. I am not judging them (not my job to do so). I am simply pointing out the facts.

Christian Company

But when you step out and say that your business is God’s and you are just a steward of it for a time, then you must redefine success. The normal business metrics will not work for this purpose. Instead, you must determine what is most important to God for His business.

Of course, the best place to look for this is in the Scripture. You may need to translate what you find into various specific definitions of success for your own business based on variables such as type (manufacturing, retail, services, etc.). It may be different specific results for different businesses, according to God’s will for each, but I guarantee it will be related to the Greatest Commandment and the Great Commission.

When Jesus says that all of the law and prophets hang on loving God and loving others as ourselves, then you can bet your success definition needs to be founded on this. When Jesus’ last words on earth charge us to go and make disciples of all nations, then you need to include this as well.

Redefining Success

I will not attempt to give you a single rule of thumb for redefining success for your business from an eternal perspective. This is something that you need to determine for your business through searching the Scriptures and fervent prayer. I will tell you that I think it is solid advice to redefine success for your company.

By redefining success from an eternal perspective, you will change the way you make decisions. You will hire differently. You will invest your time, talents, and treasure differently. When you have redefined success, your motivation changes and that picture of success begins to permeate your thoughts, actions, and words. Success redefined is a powerful force!

What is your definition of success in business at this point?

How have you prayed about this?

What do you feel God is leading you to do?