Just this last week, one of my daughters asked me to help with the business portion of a presentation she was creating for a school project. She certainly does not realize it, but that was one of the greatest things she could do to excite me – being sincerely interested in something I love and could teach to her! I was on cloud nine!
For the first time on this blog, I am going to spend a little time discussing recent political events in the U.S. and how I see they apply to the Christian in business. I am not really interested in digging deep into the actual politics of the now-complete election, but I do want to offer practical advice for all of us to follow – especially regarding how we are seen by our enemies.
If you are in leadership in any way, then you have dealt with complexity. Whether it is personnel issues, financial situations, competitive decisions, or moral choices, leadership can be complex at times. This is even more true when there is growth happening. It is during these times that as a leader, you need clarity.
Andy Stanley is a name that is fairly well known in Christian leadership circles. He is senior pastor of North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, GA. He has authored a number of books, is a sought-after speaker, and leads thousands of others through his church and ministry organizations. With all of this, he attributes much of his leadership success to the clarity he gets from a simple 3×5 index card on which he wrote three questions many years ago.
I had dinner with a friend of mine recently and the story he shared with me was eye-opening! In fact, if you have ever experienced a drop in sales, reduced margins, increased turnover, and general frustration among the employees in your business, then his story could have an impact on you as well! It is a story of lost and restored vision.
Have you ever done anything you are ashamed of? Are there stories from your past that you would not want as headlines in the news? If we are honest, I would bet that the vast majority (if not all) of you would have to say “Yes” to these questions. In light of that, let me ask another question. Are you ashamed of Jesus?
When I mention the word competition, what comes to your mind? For most business leaders, thoughts of rival businesses are the first to appear. While this is not wrong at all, I think there is a competition that deserves more of our attention than these other businesses. It is this competition that renders many of us useless in God’s kingdom. It is this competition that we must destroy by every means necessary!
Have you ever set some seriously strong goals for yourself or your business, only to later find yourself so far from them that you lost hope? Have you done the math and realized you simply had too far to go in too little time? If you have ever set huge goals, it is likely you have experienced this frustration. When you did, how did you feel? What was your overall outlook at the time?
I do not have the national polling data to support this, but I would bet heavily that the one obstacle keeping most non-believers from being open to a relationship with Jesus is the hypocrisy of those calling themselves Christians. Even more critical is the hypocrisy of Christians that hold leadership positions. Fortunately, Jesus spoke many times about hypocrisy, giving us clear instructions on how to avoid these obnoxious behaviors associated with it.
Look around at the business world today and take note of those who claim to be Christians. Include yourself in this assessment. Some are easy to identify because their business practices clearly align with what they believe the Bible says. The rest are more difficult to identify because their practices are no different than the non-Christians around them. Why is this? Are these business people guilty of paying lip service to God or is there more to it?