Tag Archives: life plan

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How To Manage The Tension Between Business and Christian Ministry

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It seems that every time I turn around I am neglecting either the business of our company or the goal of doing Christian ministry through our company. It is a difficult balance to maintain. In fact, I have often felt I was doing something wrong because I could not shake the tension between the two. I recently found out this is not true.

tension

Jim Reese – CEO, Atlanta Mission

This is the third 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.

In the first post in this series, we discussed how Mr. Reese advised us to Redefine Success if we are going to attempt to run our business as a platform for Christian ministry. In the next post, I told you that he urged us to remember that when we do ministry in the course of doing business, Results Are Not Always Immediately Evident Or Measurable.

Below, is the third 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 #3:[/typography]

    [typography font=”Cardo” size=”24″ size_format=”px”]Recognize and manage the constant tension between business and ministry.[/typography]

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Always A Tension

Mr. Reese did not say that business and ministry do not mix. He did not say that you cannot do both at the same time. What he did say was that there will always be a tension between the two. To ignore this fact is to deceive yourself. To embrace this fact is to accept reality and work through it.

Consider Non-Profit Work

The truth is that anyone who has ever worked in ministry or in the non-profit sector has experienced this as well. Regardless of the nature of the organization, there is the need always to balance your focus between impact activities and fundraising (or profit) to pay for the activities.

On one hand, you need to be thinking about what you can do to make the programs more effective. You ask how we can serve more people and meet more needs.

On the other hand, you also need to be thinking about how to add more donors or givers and raise more money. You cannot have the impact through the activities unless there is funding to make those activities possible.

Same True For Christian Business

The same is true in a business where the goal is to be a platform for ministry. Without a healthy and growing business, there is no opportunity for ministry.

As a result, we must manage this constant tension. We cannot eliminate it and we cannot ignore it. We must simply manage it.

So the question is…How do you do it?

Well, there are several options that I will offer.

Managing The Tension

1. Get outside help rather that going it alone. For me, being a member of a C12 group provides me with a group of like-minded business owners who all need the same type of support. We offer each other accountability in this area as well as ideas on how to better manage the constant tension. You could also choose to create your own board of directors or even enlist a life coach. The key is to gain an outside perspective.

2.Develop an inner circle of leadership within your company. Having other like-minded leaders that are walking with you every day can be a great source of support and ideas. They can warn you quickly when they sense something is out of balance. They know your company best and will have the same goals.

3. Create a personal life plan with a weekly review. While this is a solo activity, it is one that has gone far in helping me stay balanced over this tension. The weekly review helps me to get a 10,000 ft. view of where I have been and where my energy has been allocated. Any imbalances are quickly evident and correctable.

Have you recognized this tension in your life or business?

How do you manage it?

What do you need to do differently?

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Are You Making This Common Mistake With Your Life Plan?

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LIFE Plan

A couple of weeks ago, I posted a series about the process I use in creating and maintaining my LIFE plan. I have received a great deal of feedback from a variety of sources, mostly positive! I have been told this was the first time many of you have even considered doing a life plan or something similar.

For others, a life plan seems daunting and too time consuming. Regardless of which way you lean, I encourage you to read on and think about how the following illustration applies to your situation. Are you making this common mistake?

life plan

Read the following illustration from Herschel Hobbs’ My Favorite Illustrations….

River vs. Canal

    Have you ever looked down on a river while riding in a plane thousands of feet above the ground? If so, you know that the river’s course winds here and there like the track of a large serpent. This is because, in its formation, the river followed the path of least resistance.

    On the other hand, a straight canal calls for advance planning, toil, and suffering as those who make it dig and blast their way through the terrain.

    Lives are like that. Crooked or unrighteous lives follow the lines of least resistance. They twist and turn as they adapt to the changing mores of society. In doing so, they wander aimlessly with no certainty as to their final destination.

    Like those who dig a straight canal, the righteous determine their goal and pay the price necessary to achieve it. That is the way of Christ.

Just think about this for a minute and then take a look at your own life.

Do You Have A Destination?

First, do you have a certain destination or purpose in mind for your life?

The river has no specific destination and therefore any path will do. So many people today make a critical mistake and just take life as it comes, with no real plan or idea of why they are here. Others have plans, but they change with the winds. As shiny objects catch their eye, they run off in a new direction, seeking the newest pleasure or escape.

The canal, on the other hand, is designed with a specific destination in mind. For most of us, we were not handed a road map in school with the destination or purpose of our life highlighted for us, along with the directions to get there. Instead, we have to determine it for ourselves. For the majority of the readers of this blog, the desire is to base this path on the Bible.

On What (Whom) Is It Based?

Second, on what (or whom) are you basing your life’s purpose decisions? Are you striving for something you have seen on TV or in a movie or magazine? Are you chasing the wind?

Or are you following a plan based on One who designed you and knows the best for you? It’s up to you, but I know my choice!

The destination I have set at the end of my canal is to hear from Jesus, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”

Are You Still Following It?

Finally, if you have determined the purpose or direction of your life, are you still on track or have you reverted back to following the path of least resistance?

Are you allowing outside influences to determine your course or are you working hard, with advance planning and sweat, to overcome outside influences and stay on course? For the short term, just winging it may seem easier, but over the long haul, that method will bring more hardship and disappointment.

However, intentional effort and decision-making toward the right purpose can lead to fulfillment and contentment.

Do you have a certain destination in mind for your life?

Are you digging a canal or following the path of the river?

Have you allowed outside influences to distract you from your canal?