Tag Archives: hearing from God

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How To Create A Life Plan Document

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This is the second post in a series on life planning. In this series, I am sharing with you the basics of a life plan and why you need one by going through the details of my own LIFE planning process. Neither my plan nor my process are perfect. In fact, they are evolving from year to year. My hope is that you can take what I do (or even just parts of it) and use it to create your own plan.

life plan

The Components

As I said in my previous post, there are many components that you can use as parts of your life plan. I can break my process into three main components – the Plan, the Dashboard, and the Technology. In this and the next two posts, I am going to describe each of these components in detail. In the final post, I will describe the process I use each year to review and update my plan for the new year.

Side Note: In case you did not notice, I use all CAPS when referring to my personal LIFE plan – it stands for Living Intentionally For Eternity.

LIFE Plan – Main Document

Let’s talk about the LIFE Plan first – the main document for me. This document consists of three parts:

    -Role Descriptions
    -Focus Areas
    -Goals

To create this document, I drew heavily from Stephen Covey’s book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. In this book, Covey talks about the various roles each of us plays in our lives. For me, I am a husband, father, steward of God’s business, etc.. In each of these roles, my responsibilities and goals vary.

Role Descriptions

As a result of the material in this book, I based the structure of my LIFE plan on what I defined as my roles. Here they are, in order of priority for me:

    1. Sold-out Disciple of Jesus
    2. Intentional Individual
    3. Loving Husband
    4. Godly Father
    5. Faithful Steward of God’s Business
    6. Servant Leader at Church
    7. Compassionate Neighbor
    8. Loyal Friend

For each of these roles, I have written a brief summary description of what I believe that role looks like. Essentially, I used Covey’s Habit #2, Begin With The End In Mind.

I have cited the Scripture upon which these descriptions are based. I have written these descriptions in the form of positive affirmations to help me visualize my living out each role with maximum effectiveness. These role descriptions go beyond just the one year and represent what I want to look like at the end of my life.

Here is an example of one of these descriptions:

Example Role Description

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    Sold-Out Disciple of Jesus

    As a disciple of Jesus Christ, I love the Lord my God with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength(1). It is my first and most urgent priority to seek to know God in a way that is real and that serves as my primary motivation in life. I believe in a true eternal life and therefore I live this life with an eternal perspective(2) at all times.

    (1) Matthew 22:37
    (2) Matthew 6:19-21; 1 Timothy 6:17-19; 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

[/box]

Focus Areas, Goals

In addition to the role descriptions, I have decided on 3-5 main focuses for the upcoming year under each role. These focus areas could be areas where I need improvement. Or they could be areas where I need to start exploring something new. They may even be something I am going to stop doing!

For each focus area, when applicable, I have listed one or two clarifying goals. Here is an example of a focus area and goal:

Example Focus Area and Goal

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    Faithful Steward of God’s Business (role)

    Focus Area: Mentor & Teach
    This is something I believe God has gifted me to do. I will be more intentional about scheduling this time in 2012. I will focus mainly on the management staff and the Leadership Team.

    Goal: 25 Hours of actual teaching (not including prep time)

[/box]

Summary

In essence, these three parts (Role Descriptions, Focus Areas, and Goals) make up my entire LIFE plan main document.

So that you get an idea of what one full role portion of the plan looks like in its entirety, you can [Click Here] for a copy of my Godly Father role plan for 2012. You can also [Click Here] for the Title Page Summary I wrote for the beginning of the document. While it is not detailed above, it may help you get a clearer picture of my approach.

I have said it before and I will say it again. I am sharing my plan in an effort to get you started. Your plan may look very different. It may be more involved or less so. Either way is fine.

Seek God First

The important part is that you seek God and ask Him to impress on you what your plans and direction should be. You can certainly do this on your own, but I do not believe that is His desire for us. If we start with His plan (and stick with it!), we will experience the fulfillment for which we were designed.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to comment here or email me privately from the Contact Page. I am not an expert, but I will do my best to answer any questions you may have.

In my next post, I will describe my LIFE Plan Dashboard.

Is this what you were expecting?

Do you see the benefit of this kind of plan?

What one obstacle is keeping you from getting started?

Originally posted 1/24/12

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Is A Yearly Audit On Your To Do List?

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I have been a C12 Group member now for over 6 years. For the past 6 years, our December meeting material has included one segment that has been the same every year. While you would think that might get boring after a couple of years, it doesn’t. This one segment is called the “Yearly Audit” and it is a very effective tool for a year-end review.

yearly audit

LIFE Planning

If you read my series of posts on my LIFE planning process, you will likely remember that I spend time at the end of every year reviewing that year and creating a game plan for the next year. I feel this process is a critical part of my job as a CEO, husband, and father, as well as all of the other roles I play throughout the year. One valuable part of this annual process is C12’s “Yearly Audit” segment.

I encourage you not only to read this segment, but also to incorporate it into your own year-end review process. If you do not have a year-end review process, then this is the perfect tool with which to start!

Below is the introduction to the segment by C12 founder Buck Jacobs.

Yearly Audit

[box]It has become a year-end tradition in each of our C12 groups to take a uniquely Christ-centered retrospective look at the results of our past year’s activities, focusing on the eternal perspective.

Taking such an inventory is, of course, a very normal thing to do in the economic dimensions of our businesses. We’re all familiar with such metrics as net income, profit margin, ROI, market share, and sales growth. We’ve devised numerous ways to measure our financial effectiveness and it’s important that we use them well.

This segment, however, is entitled Working ‘On’ my MINISTRY in God’s Business and in it we focus on an entirely different set of criteria. In many ways it’s much more difficult to measure our results in the ministry or spiritual dimension of our business lives. The whole idea of using our business as a platform for ministry can sometimes seem bewildering as it’s not nearly as well ‘codified’ as such routine business processes like filling orders and tracking financial profit or loss.

In terms of what’s eternally important to our lives, the spiritual dimension is much more — even infinitely more — important to us. So, with apologies to none, we are now going to offer some thoughts on how we might take a year-end audit from a uniquely Kingdom-oriented perspective.

What is it that we should be looking for as we examine ourselves and our spiritual lives in relation to the ministry in our business? Is it only souls won to the Lord, or dollars given to support His work, the number of Christ-honoring events we’ve hosted, or the number of tracts distributed? Is it only those things that we can quantify?

No, of course not. While we know that all these things are an important part of the fruit of our ministry which need to be quantified and recorded to help us measure progress in these areas, we also know that there’s another set of criteria.

It is these personal criteria that we’ll examine today. These criteria pertain to growth, the kind of growth that will lead to fruit…much fruit! We offer these criteria as indicators of growth which we can all use to measure what kind of a year we really had in our Master’s eyes.

For those who were members a year ago, we recommend putting the prior year’s ratings alongside for comparison purposes, as each of these areas deserve long-term focus. For each of the following 10 dimensions, rate your year from 1 to 10, with 1 being Low, 5 Average and 10 High as measured against your potential or opportunity.

– Buck Jacobs[/box]

Yearly Audit Download

Now that you know what to do, CLICK HERE to download the “Yearly Audit” in .pdf format. I encourage you to begin in prayer, asking God to prick your heart in any area that He wants to get your attention.

I hope you find the process of going through these questions to be as fruitful as I have. If you approach it with the right heart, I am sure you will see the benefit.

Are you currently doing a self-evaluation at year end?

If not, what other ways are you planning for effectiveness?

Do you see how this “Yearly Audit” can help you focus?

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Final Lessons From David Green Of Hobby Lobby

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This is my third and final post in a series I am doing on lessons we can learn from David Green, Founder and CEO of Hobby Lobby. Recently, I shared an article from The High Calling (a Christian blog community) which was an in-depth interview of David Green. Because the article was so long itself, I did not expound on it in that post. Instead, I am taking a more detailed look in this short series of posts.

David Green

David Green

As I said before, I have never met David Green. Maybe one day I will be able to meet him and learn more about his Christian approach to business! Until then, I will simply do the best I can by reading various articles (and soon, his book More Than a Hobby). As I do this, I will attempt to apply what I learn. I will also share it here on this blog.

In reviewing the interview article I mentioned above, I found what I believe to be 15 clear lessons for anyone attempting to integrate faith and business. Though each of us has different situations and challenges, I think you will quickly see that these lessons span across industries and business sizes.

I have already written two posts covering the first 10 of these lessons. Hopefully you have learned something (again or for the first time!) that you can apply to your situation. In today’s post, we will cover the final five lessons.

#11 – Be bold about your faith.

This lesson will likely contradict what some of us have been taught – don’t mix business and religion. However, I think you need to hear exactly what David Green is saying here. Hobby Lobby does not ask about beliefs when hiring. There is not a faith requirement for employment.

However, he is committed to telling everyone – employees included – about his faith. A Christian business is not one made up only of Christians. Instead, it is a business in which the leadership or ownership sees the eternal need in all of us and seeks to share the One that will meet that need!

#12 – Have a clear statement of purpose.

Does your business have a Christ-centered mission statement or statement of purpose? If not, have you thought through the benefits of creating such a statement? I would encourage you to take the time and seek God’s guidance in this area. I think you will be surprised at the results.

David Green mentioned the Hobby Lobby Statement of Purpose. This statement effectively answers the question, “Why does this company exist?” This statement not only serves as a great roadmap for determining strategic direction, but can also be used in making the tough decisions we face every day.

#13 – Trials are good for us.

Two statements that David Green made when discussing the tough times in 1985 stood out to me.

At that time, I learned more than I ever learned in my life.

I know I couldn’t handle all of the success today, if I hadn’t gone through that.

Folks, James tells us to consider it pure joy when we face trials. This is what he is talking about. David Green makes it clear that he is thankful for the trials. He knows the value they brought him. If we are willing to learn, God can do the same with us.

#14 – Recognize you are a steward.

I am not supposed to choose favorites among these lessons, but I think I might have to at least hint at this one! At the same time, I will resist the urge to take the next 45 minutes of your time sharing my thoughts on this subject.

The Bible says that the earth and everything in it is God’s. We do not own anything! This includes our businesses, regardless of what the stock certificates may reflect. As a result, we are merely stewards of these businesses for the time God gives us. As stewards, we should be asking how God would have us use them for His glory and eternal impact.

David Green and his family have gone to great lengths to make sure this is clear among them. If you noticed, he described how the company is technically in their names, but they have all agreed (and signed) that they have no rights to any money from the stock. They earn their compensation through whatever jobs they hold – not through the value of the stock.

Whether you are willing to go to this length or not, you truly need to recognize that you do not own your business. Begin the mental and emotional process of acknowledging this fact to God and see what He does. I think you will be amazed.

#15 – Trust in God.

Though the above lesson is my favorite in the bunch, this one trumps them all. If you are not able to apply this lesson, then you will not be able to stick it out with any of the others for very long. For you to truly live out any of these other lessons, there are some basic assumptions you must accept first.

    God is good.
    You are a child of God.
    God has your best interests in mind.
    God is perfectly faithful.

If you will accept these truths in your heart, then you will KNOW that you can trust God. When you trust God, you will follow His lead regardless of the apparent consequences – even when others may be advising you in a different direction. David Green made decisions against the advice of some Christian professionals because he knew clearly what God was asking him to do. That is trust!

What lessons would you add from the article?

Which one(s) stands out to you?

What actions do you need to take as a result of these lessons?

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More Lessons From David Green Of Hobby Lobby

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In a recent post, I shared an article from The High Calling (a Christian blog community). The article was an in-depth interview of David Green, founder and CEO of Hobby Lobby. Because the article was so long itself, I did not expound on it in that post. Instead, I am taking a more detailed look in a short series of posts.

David Green

David Green

While I have never met David Green, based on the articles I have read, there is plenty there is plenty we can learn from him! In fact, the more I read about the Hobby Lobby story and David Green’s leadership, the more I want to model our business after his. Hopefully you will learn something from this short series of posts as we dig a little deeper into Green’s story.

In reviewing the interview article, I found what I believe to be 15 clear lessons for anyone attempting to integrate faith and business. Though each of us has different situations and challenges, I think you will quickly see that these lessons span across industries and business sizes. In my last post, I took a look at the first five lessons I saw in the interview article. Today, we will review the next five lessons.

Let’s dig right in!

#6 – Learn from mistakes

I bet you have never heard this one before, have you? I know this is supposed to be common sense, but I have not found it to be that common. Too often, we are guilty of repeating our mistakes. At least I am.

Note what David Green said when asked about learning opportunities. He talked about how his company almost lost it all when they stretched too far for growth. He did not dwell on this point, but I will.

They survived that time period, but made the decision that they would be debt free in the future. That is a huge decision that impacts virtually every other financial decision in a business. Sacrifices are made and “deals” are passed up that would require debt. This is no easy lesson.

By the way, what do you think David Green is saying about this decision after what we have been through the past several years. Regret? I don’t think so!

#7 – Simplify your priorities

Again, this is not rocket science here. We hear this a lot, but do we act on it? In many cases, we get so elaborate with our plans, for Christian ministry or business, that we tie ourselves in knots. We start out feeling great about our strategic plans, but before long we are confused and paralyzed.

Instead, David Green tells us that he and his company had three simple priorities for using their cash: pay tithes, grow, and pay debt. Folks, that is as simple as you get. No confusion here, just simple priorities (based on Scripture as well!).

#8 – Plan for the future

In addition to preparing for their future by paying down debt, David Green and company also made sure to set goals and budgets for their future.

I have heard many managers and leaders claim that forecasting and budgeting is too difficult given today’s uncertain business climate. I simply disagree. Sure, it is more difficult! But that does not mean we should not even try!

Even with the uncertainty, there is huge value in laying out the budgets and forecasts and the game plan to back them up. Make adjustments along the way as conditions change, but do not give up the planning altogether!

#9 – Take care of the people

If you will notice, Green spent twice as much time talking about how he is determined to take care of his people as he did in discussing his three uses of cash! That is significant. Without the people, there is no cash!

I am taking special note of this lesson myself. Based on the feedback I received in our recent employee focus groups, there are some areas related to this subject that we need to address.

Our goal here (for all of us) should be to base our decisions here on Scripture. There are many ways to view this subject, but I think it is important we start by looking at what the Bible says. More on this later.

#10 – Have stated personal life goals

David Green had three stated personal life goals: have a strong marriage, be successful at what he did, and for his children to serve God.

He later added two more: for his grandkids to serve God and to tell as many people as he could about Jesus Christ.

I have talked at length about LIFE planning on this blog. If you have followed my posts on this subject, you know that I am a huge proponent of taking the time to state these personal life goals. Some people may be more detailed or complex in their goals while others keep it simple.

Either way, this is not a lesson to skip over. I encourage you to take the time and start this process. I think you will be amazed at what God will do in your heart as you do.

What comments would you add to any of the lessons so far?

Have you learned similar lessons on your own? How?

Which lesson is one you need to act on now?

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15 Lessons From David Green Of Hobby Lobby

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In my last post, I shared an article from The High Calling (a Christian blog community). The article was an in-depth interview of David Green, founder and CEO of Hobby Lobby. Because the article was so long itself, I did not expound on it in that post. Instead, I will take a detailed look in this and the next couple of posts.

David Green

David Green

First, let me clarify. I have never met David Green and only know what I have read from various articles online. As with any topic you read about online, there is much we do not know.

At the same time, in the articles I have read, there is plenty of meat to chew on! In fact, the more I read about the Hobby Lobby story and David Green’s leadership, the more I want to model our business after his. Hopefully you will learn something from this short series of posts as we dig a little deeper into Green’s story.

Faith And Business Lessons

In reviewing the interview article, I found what I believe to be 15 clear lessons for anyone attempting to integrate faith and business. Though each of us has different situations and challenges, I think you will quickly see that these lessons span across industries and business sizes. Today, I will cover five lessons.

Let’s dig right in!

#1 – Be patient.

    Too often we look at someone like David Green and wonder why our business has not taken off like his. Why can’t our business be debt-free and giving away so much money at this point? Then, when we look closer, we realize his did not “take off” either!

    Reading the details in the article, I noticed that he borrowed the $600 in 1970 to begin making frames in his garage. The first retail store was not opened for another two years! Look at the patience it must have taken to keep working out of the garage for two years.

    We need to have the same patience with our businesses. We need to make sure we are doing the right things, but we should not expect overnight success. God is certainly capable of giving us overnight success, but He is more interested in our development and maturity as His children. Trust His timing.

#2 – Be willing to sacrifice.

    Did you notice that David Green’s wife worked for the business for the first five years without getting paid anything? He did not mention what he made, but I imagine it was not more than they needed for their bare necessities. Are you willing to do that if necessary?

    Frequently, we are all guilty of thinking that we are entitled to certain luxuries or benefits. We are almost shocked when we realize we may have to give up something we love if we want our God-given dream to continue. We argue that we “deserve” whatever it is and we begin working hard on finding ways to keep it.

    God’s goal is not to see how low He can take us in our lifestyles, but He will test our hearts at times to see our reaction. We need to be willing to give up our earthly “treasure” for His will.

#3 – Follow Scripture.

    When asked about leadership lessons he had learned, David Green’s first response was to point to Scripture. Aside from that, he did not go into much detail about all of the ways he has applied Scripture in the business.

    However, if you pay close attention to what he says about his business principles throughout the article, you can see how closely it is tied to Scripture. From his talk about paying good wages, elimination of debt, and being bold about his faith, it is clear the Bible is his foundation for the way he runs the business.

#4 – Rely on prayer.

    Immediately after mentioning Scripture, David Green goes straight to prayer. He talks about how his team relies on daily prayer to determine their path. He goes on to say that God is the only one who knows the future and therefore they seek His leading in everything.

    As I have said before, this is the greatest resource we have as Christian business owners and leaders. We need to be committed to a daily discipline of seeking God’s guidance through prayer. This may well be our most important responsibility (that we cannot delegate).

#5 – Trust God’s will.

    Just seeking His guidance in prayer is not enough. We must be willing to follow His lead, regardless of the consequences! We must have a core belief that God has our best interests at heart.

    David Green mentions that God is always there to help them, even in the problems. They always come back to knowing He is there and wants to help them. If we will KNOW this and act accordingly, there is no limit to what He can do through us.

More To Come

Stay tuned the rest of the week for further lessons from the David Green interview!

Which of these lessons speaks most to you?

Which one is already part of your walk?

What do you need to do next to put these into action?

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Do You Deny Jesus?

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Reader Beware: Todays post may contain questions that are not appropriate for the weak or immature. Please do not read any further if you are not prepared to be challenged, even questioned, about your loyalty to Jesus. If you are one that doesn’t think you can deny Jesus, then be warned. Don’t complain later to me that you were tricked into reading this post. I won’t hear of it!

deny Jesus

Peter’s Big Mistake

The basis for today’s post comes from the passage in Matthew 26 when Peter is found to deny Jesus three times. We are likely all familiar with this passage (if not, read Matthew 26:31-75). In fact, it is just as likely we have all judged Peter as being weak in this passage.

I know we usually look to the future after Peter is restored. We see his boldness and we “forgive” him for this cowardly act. We still feel that for him to deny Jesus was almost criminal, but we see how God uses him later and we accept him. If you have never had these thoughts, then congratulations. More likely, you have never admitted having these thoughts!

What About Us?

So if this is true – if we call it cowardice to deny Jesus – what does that say about us?

What does it say when we go from Monday to Saturday every week without actively acknowledging our allegiance to Jesus?

What does it say when we look exactly like everyone else as we go through our normal work day – when there is no recognizable difference between us and the guy next to us at the soccer field or in the school or at the office?

What does it say when so few of our daily decisions clearly reflect our allegiance to Jesus?

Active vs. Passive?

Do you see a difference between a decision (like Peter’s) to “actively” deny Jesus and our daily decision to “passively” deny Jesus?

I have to say that I do not see a difference. I do not see Peter’s public decision to verbally deny Jesus when asked about his association with Him to be any different than our decision to go quietly about our daily work or other duties without a clear acknowledgement that He is our Lord.

In case there is confusion as to what I am saying, let me try to clarify.

Actively Deny Jesus

A decision to “actively” deny Jesus is usually pretty easy to recognize. In the most extreme cases, we picture one of the students at Columbine High School in 1999 being asked if she is a Christian. As the story goes, she answered that she was a Christian and it cost her her life. For her to answer otherwise would have been to deny Jesus.

In a less extreme example, maybe we are asked a simple question about why we choose not to drink alcohol or participate in other activities that others see as the norm. “Are you a Christian? Is that why you don’t drink? Are you a goody-two-shoes?”

Maybe it does not get asked exactly like that, but you get the drift. The idea is that we are put in a position where it is uncomfortable to acknowledge Jesus as our reason for our behavior. If we answer “No” to their question, then that is a decision to deny Jesus.

Passively Deny Jesus

For most of us, this type of opportunity to “actively” deny Jesus is not our problem. In most cases, we have a problem with the “passive” denial of Jesus.

Most of us would argue that this decision to “passively” deny Jesus is not as clear to most people, but I believe that is really just an excuse.

See, I believe it is our culture that has conditioned us to believe that an overt, bold statement about our allegiance to Jesus – whether through our work or through our family decisions – is taboo. It is not politically correct to be an active Christian in our society today.

Obviously, this is more true in some areas of the world and less so in others. But even right here in the “Bible belt” of the southeastern United States, this kind of behavior is not popular. Just as obvious is the fact that there are many reasons for this to be the case.

But my point is not about the reasons why it is like this.

Conformity = Deny Jesus?

My main point is to question whether we realize that when we accept society to be like this and we simply go with the flow, we are making the decision to deny Jesus. I don’t care whether this is an active or passive denial, in my mind it is a denial all the same! What do you think?

I want to talk more in my next post or two about HOW we deny Jesus, WHY we do it, and how we can turn from that behavior.

Your Homework!

In the meantime, I encourage you to mentally replay your last week. Think about all of your activities, decisions, and thoughts. Pray that God will first clear you heart and mind of all distractions. Then pray He would search your heart and show you where you are denying the very Son that bought your salvation with His life.

As I said at the beginning of the post, this is not for the faint of heart. This is tough discipleship and no one will know if you bypass this post and keep going on the path you were on before. At least no one else will know – outside of you and God.

Unfortunately, that is exactly what we are talking about here.

Do you think I am off my rocker or do you agree?

If you agree, are you guilty of the decision to deny Jesus?

Why are we so slow to call it a denial?

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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?

pray

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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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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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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Turn Your Mistakes To Your Advantage

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Here it is – my last post in the series of lessons we can apply from Joshua’s encounter with the Gibeonites (Joshua 9:1-10:15). We have covered a lot of ground in the past couple of weeks as we have broken this story of Joshua’s mistake into a total of seven lessons for Christian business owners and leaders. Today we will discuss the seventh, and final, lesson.

mistake

Series Recap

In this story, God had commanded the Israelites to destroy all people groups inside the boundaries of the Promised Land. The Gibeonites disguised themselves as living in a distant land and convinced Joshua and the Israelite leaders to pledge an oath of peace.

Listed below are the lessons we have drawn from this story so far:

1. Don’t relax after a victory; be prepared to face the enemy.

2. The Enemy sometimes comes as roaring lion, sometimes as slithering serpent.

3. The Enemy knows God’s Word (better than you) and will use it to his advantage.

4. Don’t trust your own senses, but slow down and seek God.

5. Don’t repeat the same mistakes twice.

6. Mistakes do not give you right to break your word.

Two Mistake Examples

For our seventh lesson, we need to take a look at two different examples in this story and the circumstances leading up to it. First, let’s look at what Joshua did once he realized his mistake in granting peace to the Gibeonites. We already discussed the fact that he stuck to his oath a kept peace between them. What else did he do?

This is what Joshua did to them: he delivered them from the hands of the Israelites, and they did not kill them. On that day he made them woodcutters and water carriers—as they are today—for the community and for the Lord’s altar at the place He would choose. – Joshua 9:26-27

Mistake To Advantage #1

Rather than simply give peace to the Gibeonites, he put them to work! He took his mistake and used it to his advantage. His oath kept him from destroying the Gibeonites, but did not prevent him from gaining from their labor. In doing this, the Gibeonites were thrilled to be alive and the Israelites had additional laborers!

Let’s look at a second example of Joshua using a mistake to his advantage.

Looking back at the first battle against Ai (Joshua 7:1-5), you remember that the Israelites were quickly driven back and many were killed. After hearing about the many Israelite victories due to God’s miracles, seeing the Israelites flee in front of them must have had an impact on the people of Ai! I imagine they were rather proud of that moment, wouldn’t you think?

Fast forward to the second attempt to take Ai. Joshua and the Israelites have cleansed their camp of the sin of Achan and they are ready to give it another go. Do you remember what God told Joshua to do in his battle plan?

Mistake To Advantage #2

He set up a fake retreat, causing the people of Ai to think the Israelites were fleeing again! I can only imagine the thoughts going through the minds of the soldiers of Ai. They must have been determined to finish the job they had started the last time. They were likely so overconfident due to the first battle that they did not even pause to think it was a ruse.

As a result, the soldiers completely abandoned their city and allowed the Israelites to come in behind them and set it on fire. Then the Israelites had them surrounded and destroyed them.

Again, the first battle was a mistake. They did not intend to go up to Ai and get their tails kicked! However, they were later able to use that mistake to their advantage!

Our Application

Folks, we can do the same thing. As we make decisions in the process of doing business, we will most certainly make mistakes. The only way to avoid making mistakes is not to get into business in the first place – and if God has called us there, we do not have that option!

When we make these mistakes, we need to stop and pray about how we can use it to our advantage. God will show us things we never would have considered if we will simply put Him first in our decision process. Trust Him to do this and He will surprise you!

Have you had the opportunity to turn a mistake into an advantage?

Have you missed an opportunity like this?

What were the results?