Tag Archives: prayer

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Goals: Get A Bigger Frying Pan!

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It is the first of the year and I hope you are thinking about what goals you want to accomplish in 2012. I hope you are making plans to do something new, make something better, or to stop doing something – maybe all of the above!

Goals

The Frying Pan

I want you to read this brief story and then answer the questions below.

    Two men went fishing. One man was an experienced fisherman; the other wasn’t.

    Every time the experienced fisherman caught a big fish, he put it in his ice chest to keep it fresh. Whenever the inexperienced fisherman caught a big fish, he threw it back.

    The experienced fisherman watched this go on all day and finally got tired of seeing this man waste good fish. “Why do you keep throwing back all the big fish you catch?” he asked.

    The inexperienced fisherman replied, “I only have a small frying pan.”

So what is the point of this story? How does this apply to the first of the year?

Well, I think there are a couple of points to be made.

Goals Too Small?

First, let’s assume your mindset is the frying pan. When opportunities or goals are put in front of you, do you throw them back or dismiss them because they are too big for your current mindset?

Is someone asking or expecting more of you than you have given before? Maybe you would like to go for it, but you are afraid because you have never done it before?

Faith Too Small?

Or, second, maybe your faith is like the frying pan. Maybe God is showing you a path that scares you because your faith is too small. Maybe you see what you should be doing differently, but you do not have the confidence that God will protect you and see you through it.

Whether it is a problem or possibility that you are facing in your work, personal, or spiritual life, I encourage you to get a bigger frying pan this year. Stretch your mindset and pray for stronger faith. Step out of your comfort zone and see what happens! You may just surprise yourself!

Are you comfortable with your 2012 goals or are they stretching you?

Are you ready to get a new frying pan in a specific area of your life?

What is holding you back? What are you going to do about that?

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How To Face Your Anti-Audience

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In my previous post, I quoted from L.L. Barkat, in her post The Perverse Monstrosity of our Beautiful Work over at The High Calling blog community. In my post, I described how our “good work” as Christian leaders will meet opposition and criticism in this world. Using Barkat’s quote, I labeled this rejection as “anti-audience.”

“Good work doesn’t just find audience; it also finds anti-audience.” – L.L. Barkat

anti-audience

Knowledge of Anti-Audience Enough?

While it would be nice if the simple knowledge of this “anti-audience” was enough to give us the strength to press on in acting out our Christian faith, I am sure that it is not. It is not enough for us to know this any more than it is enough to tell your husband or wife you love them on your wedding day and expect them to know it from then on!

We are just not that good. We forget the things we learn. We forget important truths and fail to recall them when we need them most. I think that is the primary reason God has given us the Bible. With His Word in our hands, we can regularly remind ourselves of His promises and truths. By memorizing His Word, we can refer to it when we need it.

Everyday Battle

As Christian business owners and leaders, we go into battle everyday. We battle this anti-audience (the world) as well as the enemy that is in charge of it for a time (Ephesians 6:12). Every time we try to impact someone else for eternity, we are going to face this anti-audience. Whenever we make strides to grow closer to God and bring others along with us, we will get resistance from the world that hates us (John 15:19).

Tools For Battle

In an effort to help you in this battle, I want to give you some tools that you can use when you face opposition. This list is not an exhaustive list. I am sure you can add some of your own favorite verses or tools that have helped you in similar situations. Either way, I hope you find this list to be helpful.

1. Memorize God’s promises – Pick out a handful of verses that clearly speak to your heart about God’s promises regarding the plans He has for you. Memorize these verses and practice calling them to mind when trouble comes. God’s Word is living and breathing…use it! Here are a few that I recommend for a start.

Even if you (likely) have read these before, try to read them again for the first time, as if offered by the most esteemed mentor you can imagine. Don’t just memorize the words, but internalize them.

    Matthew 6:33 – Seek first the kingdom of God, and all these things will be given to you.

    Romans 8:39 – For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

    Isaiah 54:17 – No weapon formed against you will prosper.

    Psalm 37:5-6 – Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun.

    Romans 8:31 – If God is for us, who can be against us?

2. Find an accountability partner – Find someone of like mind that can understand the fight you are in. Someone who is not out on the field of battle themselves, but is instead on the sidelines, likely won’t make a good partner in this case.

Find someone that has been bloodied a few times themselves. This person will understand what you are going through and can encourage you when you need it most. You can do the same for them!

3. Begin a journal – If you will start by taking roughly 10 minutes a day to write (or type) your thoughts and experiences, you will benefit greatly. First, it always helps to get your thoughts out of your head and onto paper (or the screen). For some reason, this just makes it easier to deal with.

You will also find that you can go back during those times of heavier opposition from the anti-audience and read about your past successes. This does wonders for your confidence! Many electronic journals (I use LifeJournal) allow you to tag and categorize entries for easier searching later.

4. Get in the habit of prayer – Of course, this seems like a no-brainer. It is also really tough to do because so many people feel like their prayers need to be clean and organized. I read something the other day about praying sloppy (I know the grammar doesn’t work, but it fits!).

God does not need us to clean up our thoughts before we pray any more than He wants us perfect before we enter the church. Give God everything on your mind AS IT IS in your mind. He can handle it! The more you do this over time, through smooth AND rough times, the more peace you will have.

5. Keep reminders of your positive results – Build a scrapbook, Evernote folder, or other method for organizing any evidence of past results. I have an Evernote folder where I store such reminders as “Thank You” notes, letters, voice mails, and other scraps that remind me of successes I have had in the past. I return to these when I am feeling worn down by the anti-audience!

I hope these tools help you. If you have other ideas I can add to the list, please include the in the comments section below! I would love to hear your thoughts.

Which of these do you need to add to your arsenal?

What has worked for you in the past?

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How To Do Christian Ministry In Business

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I often get asked (and ask myself) “Just exactly HOW do you do Christian ministry in your business?” or “How do you integrate your Christian faith into your business?” In my last post, What is Christian Ministry?, I put forth my belief that we ALL are to be in full-time Christian ministry, whether that is our paid vocation or not. Now I want to help you learn HOW to do that!

Christian ministry

Christian Ministry Practices In Business

Based on multiple requests from readers and others, I am going to start a new series of posts. Unlike other series I have done, these posts will not be back-to-back in a continuous stream. Instead, these posts will be scattered among my posts from week to week. The common subject of this series will be actual Christian ministry practices in our business that are designed to bring the Christian faith into our business. Many of these practices came out of our Strategic Ministry Planning.

I will tell you what we are doing and how we are measuring our progress (if we are!). I will also tell you about any results, feedback, success stories, etc. that we have received. I will include any documents (on my Resources page) that apply.

Christian ministryYou will be able to recognize these posts right off by seeing this symbol to the left. I will include it anytime I add a post to this series!

As you can see, the cross, representing the Christian faith, is integrated into the upward-tracking graph arrow, representing business. While it is simple, I think it conveys what we are trying to do.

Goals Of The Series

In showing you how we are attempting to integrate our faith into our business through Christian ministry actions, I hope to accomplish several things:

  • Give you ideas that you can implement in your business
  • Help you think outside of the box in coming up with your own ideas
  • Get feedback from you about how we might improve our practices
  • Generate conversation that contributes to everyone’s learning

I hope this series will be helpful to you as we go. I know it will be helpful to me…especially if you do your part in commenting at the bottom! Feel free to ask questions, add suggestions, or just make general comments for each practice. I am truly interested in hearing from you and learning with you.

Pray First

Before we go into this series, I encourage you to begin praying about how God might want you to start doing ministry in your own business. If you are already bringing Christian ministry into your own business, then pray about how you can improve on what you are already doing.

Maybe He wants more from you in this area. Maybe He wants you to share what you are doing with other business people. It could be that you need to start including more of your employees in the Christian ministry already going on. Who knows?

Whatever the case, you need to start with prayer. I am not the expert in the area of Christian ministry in business, but I know that God is. Seek His wisdom as you try to invest the talents He has given you. I hope to have some ideas that will help you, but He is the source of all ideas and creativity.

What is God placing on your heart right now relating to Christian ministry in your business?

Are you seeking His wisdom and guidance?

What do you need to do next?

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How Do You Become A Ministry Superstar?

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Average is all around us. If you don’t believe me, just take a look around and see what you find. It is simply uncommon to see a superstar, someone performing at levels that most people think are beyond their own reach. Whether you are looking at sports teams, businesses, schools, or churches, average is just too common. So what does it take to break from average and become a ministry superstar?

ministry superstar

In my last post, I talked about how our desire to be an impact player is often not matched up with our preparation. So many people want to be great, but are not willing to pay the price. Others may be willing, but not sure what to do.

I will not even attempt to tell you everything you could do to prepare for greatness. I will instead share three simple, common traits most often found in those people who have shown greater consistent impact in ministry. Buck Jacobs, founder of the C12 Group, calls these people “ministry superstars.” These three traits come from his observations during his decades of experience working with Christian business leaders.

A God-focused Mission Statement

The first trait of Buck’s ministry superstars is that they have a God-focused mission statement. Regardless of the size of the organization, those with a mission statement that honors God have greater ministry impact. The same is true for businesses or individual leaders. As I described in a previous post, mission statements capture the organization’s purpose or fundamental reason for existing. A God honoring mission statement sets the path toward greater ministry impact.

They Lead!

The second characteristic of ministry superstars is that they lead! Ministry superstars recognize that ministry does not just happen. They know they cannot sit around and wait on ministry opportunities to come to them. They are intentional with their time, talents, and treasure. They know what they are to be doing and they do it. They also enlist others in the effort. These ministry superstars draw others to them because of their focus.

Intimate Daily Quiet Time With God

The final trait of Buck’s ministry superstars is that they have an intimate daily quiet time with God. This is not a quick verse-of-the-day calendar and prayer-headed-out-the-door type of quiet time. This is not a once or twice a week devotional reading when the mood strikes.

No, the ones who consistently make the greatest impact in ministry are those who spend consistent quality time with their Creator. God is personal and wants a personal relationship with each of us. He has given us His Word and told us to hide it in our hearts. Jesus lived as our model in this as he did nothing other than what He heard from the Father. He could only do this if He spent regular time in prayer. We are to do the same.

While this is certainly not the only way to spend quiet time with God every day, Buck offers the following structure as an option.

    1. 30 minutes reading the Bible (always include a Gospel chapter)
    2. 15 minutes reading marketplace ministry materials
    3. 15 minutes in prayer
    4. 15 minutes to journal

Ministry Superstar?

If these three traits are supposed to be indicators of ministry superstar potential, do they match up with Scripture? I would consider the Greatest Commandments and the Great Commission to be our Scriptural benchmarks. When I compare Buck’s three traits to these mandates, I think they fit. As we said earlier, this is certainly not an exhaustive list of traits. At the same time, I believe we would do well to start here and make continuous progress.

What does your quiet time look like?

Do you lead or do you wait for ministry to happen?

Is your mission statement God-focused?

What do you need to change today?

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Are You an Impact Player?

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An impact player is someone who changes the game when he or she steps onto the court. You know the kind I am talking about. When it appears they may have been injured, the crowd gasps! The team does not want to lose them, even for a short time. These are the players that we all strive to be in our fields…at least that is what we say.

impact playerRecently, my daughters tried out for and made the local middle school girls basketball team. Now they are athletic, but they have not actually played organized basketball in several years. Soccer has been their dominant sport. In soccer, they have been impact players for years!

My Surprise

Last night, I watched something that surprised me. Last night was their first basketball game of the season. I truly do not know what I was expecting to see. Maybe I thought it would be a slight step ahead of the last time I saw them play (when they were 7, now they are 12). Maybe, I just pictured a cute game of basketball because dad’s think that way about their daughters. Regardless, I did not see what I was expecting to see.

Not Prepared

I witnessed a game that was MUCH faster paced and more aggressive than I ever imagined! I was blown away. Because my girls had not played organized ball in several years, they were told to watch the first game and get a feel for the flow. I am glad he held them out of this game. They were simply not prepared. Neither was I!

After the game, we talked. They were frustrated with not being starters and not even getting to play. We discussed what they needed to do to catch up. They are so athletic and competitive that they can if they put their mind to it. Each of them can be an impact player!

Preparation To Come

Fortunately, we also have a friend that was a hometown hero and star on her high school girls basketball team. She still holds scoring records there after more than ten years! She has agreed to spend some time with my daughters, giving them some one-on-two coaching. She knows what to do and I believe they can do it. It will take work on their part, but I know they can pull it off.

What Is The Point?

So, what is the point to all of this? My point is that many of us go to work every day expecting to make a difference. If you are a regular reader of this blog, then I assume you also go to work hoping to impact people there for eternity. I will assume we all want to be an impact player that makes a difference in God’s Kingdom when we step into our everyday roles.

Let me ask you this…if that is the case, how are you doing at your preparation? What does your quiet time with God look like? How much time every day are you spending with your Lord to grow spiritually so you can fight the battle at the level it is being fought around you?

Results Without Preparation?

Would it have been reasonable for me or my daughters to have expected starting positions on the basketball team with little to no real preparation? Is it reasonable for you or me to expect different results in life?

How is it that so many people can go out on a day to day basis, expecting to change the world for Jesus, without spending significant time in Bible study, prayer, and one-on-one seeking of God’s will?

I guess it is understandable when we occasionally get off track and skip our quiet time or let it get stale. I know none of us are perfect.

Impact Player?

What is not understandable is when we are shocked at the results we see! We are genuinely surprised when we trip and fall into temptation. We are stunned when things begin to unravel around us. We just don’t understand why the people we want so desperately to reach will not listen to what we have to say. Is this consistent with being an impact player?

How can this be?

In my next post, I will give you some suggestions on how to power up your ministry impact! In the meantime, I am going to leave you with these questions.

On a scale of 1-10, how would God rate your quiet time with Him? Consider quantity and quality!

If your score is less than you think He would like it to be, what are you going to do about it?

What is your very next step?

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Three Steps To Develop Your Inner Circle – Part 1

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In my last two posts, I described why you need to develop an inner circle of leadership. We looked at several compelling reasons you need an inner circle, including the example that Jesus set for us. I also identified and answered several common objections to this idea. Now that you are convinced that you simply must have an inner circle, let’s take at look at how you do it!

inner circle

In this, and the next two posts, I am going to break this process into three simple steps using material from Dave Anderson’s book, How To Run Your Business By The Book.

The first step in developing your inner circle is to:

1. Identify and invest more into those with the highest upward potential

Identify Your Inner Circle

Let’s start with identifying the people with the highest upward potential. So, exactly how do you go about doing this? Well, first and foremost, I would pray about it. I would pray for wisdom and discernment as I reviewed my employees for prospects. Ask for Him to reveal qualities and characteristics that you may not already be aware of. Pray for patience as well. Jesus prayed all night!

Next I would look at your current leadership structure. The easiest people to choose are already in your key leadership positions. Hopefully, assuming you have these positions, the people you have here are trustworthy and have the potential you are seeking. Mutual trust is mandatory.

For me, it was fairly clear because I had been fortunate enough to have people in my key management positions that fit this role perfectly. Not only did they have the highest potential, but they also shared the same values and beliefs and were quickly bought in to the mission as I presented it.

Your situation may not be the same. If not, you may have to spend more time on this step. You also may see that you are not positioned well with your key people. While that is likely not something you can change quickly, it is certainly something you need to address over time.

Here are three keys to choosing these people:

    Ready – The people you choose must be ready to take on the additional learning and responsibility. Regardless of where they are now in their leadership growth process, they cannot be immature, unstable, or short-sighted. They need to be ready to take on the challenge you will place in front of them.
    Willing – Another requirement is that they must be willing, even eager to join this group. You do not want someone that you are constantly having to sell on the idea! They need to see the opportunity you are presenting and value it.
    Able – The actual level of each members’ ability to take this on depends on the general ability level of the group. While every member of the group does not necessarily have to be on equal ground with all of the others, they need to be close. If you have one potential member that trails the others by a significant amount, you may want to consider another path for them. Otherwise, they will likely hold back the progress of the group.

One note, it is my opinion that you may need to start with only one individual that IS the right fit rather than trying to force two or three others that are NOT a good fit. Think quality over quantity! Personally, I have a total of five. I am not sure there is a magic number, but I would not have many more than this. Intimacy is also important for this group.

Invest In Your Inner Circle

This step will be different for each leader, depending on the level of the members of the inner circle. Depending on your industry or your company’s mission, you may already have a ready-made path for leadership development. If not, you may have to create your own. The key here is to be intentional about their development.

Here are some simple steps to consider:

    Determine the gap – Look at where they are as a group right now. Look at where you see them in x number of years after you have invested in their development. Now try to plot out a path to close that gap!
    Gather material – Choose material that will reinforce your mission while moving them down the path you have chosen. Make sure it is not too far above or below their ability to absorb. Obviously, the internet is an almost infinite source of material! Consider joining a C12 group as one source!
    Schedule time alone with them – Jesus spent time with the crowds, but He also carved out time just for His twelve. He then carved out other time for the three. You have to do the same.
    Monitor your progress – Take time along the way to stop and check your progress. Document what you are doing. This will give you a sense of how far you have come as a group.
    Celebrate growth – Take time to celebrate your progress! While there is a lot of work to be done in this process, you need to enjoy the fruit of it as well!

Are you ready to choose your members?

What are your challenges here?

What is your next action step?

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The #1 FREE Resource For Christian Business Leaders

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free resourceI have a deal for you! With all of the incredible resources available to leaders by way of the internet, do you have trouble determining which one is the best? If you will bear with me until the end, I will show you how to get the #1 FREE resource for Christian business leaders.

This is not a trick and it is certainly not a ploy to drive traffic to this blog, though that would not be bad if it happens!

However, before I tell you what it is and where to get this free resource, I have to tell you about my search and the various places I did not find it.

Life-long Learner

You see, I have been a life-long learner. I love learning new facts and ideas. I enjoy learning about big concepts as well as trivial tidbits. I just get a kick of any kind of learning.

Books

Since I have always been taught that a leader is a reader, I have always sought out the next greatest book to teach me what I need to know. Over the years, I have found some really good books and I have indeed learned a lot from them. In fact, I have created a whole page on this website dedicated to my recommended Reading List. Many of the books on this list have had significant impacts on my life. I would not give up having read any of them.

Other Leaders

I have also been taught to look to those who are smarter than me and have more experience than I do and to learn from them. I have learned from my parents, coaches, other business leaders, and even people I have never met through blogs, conferences, and webinars. I am always looking to meet people that can teach me something!

But, regardless of all of the combined learning from all of the above sources, none compares to the resource I am about to reveal to you. If I could somehow measure everything I have learned from these sources, that total would hardly register when compared to what can be learned from the one resource I about to share with you.

#1 Free Resource

Enough of the build-up, already. The #1 free resource for Christian business leaders is godly wisdom, or as James puts it, wisdom from above. Let’s take a look at what wisdom really is, as defined by Webster:

    -deep understanding, keen discernment, and capacity for sound judgment
    -ability to discern inner qualities and relationships

If we could all have our fill of the above definition of wisdom, do you really think we would need a whole lot more? There is so much that we encounter from day to day in our businesses, families, and other interactions that would go so much smoother if we were filled with this wisdom. Can you imagine the impact we could have if we could relive some of our missed opportunities, but this time be armed with godly wisdom?

Value vs. Cost

I can tell you this…I will take all of it I can get. I have seen the results in those situations where my wisdom from above kept me from making a decision I am sure I would later regret. I have also seen the results when I failed to employ godly wisdom. I do not need to be convinced of the value it holds.

So, what does this godly wisdom cost us? Do we have to live for 80 years before we can experience it? Do we have to be able to afford a higher education to gain it?

No, no, no! It is free for the asking! Take a look at this:

Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without criticizing, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith without doubting. For the doubter is like the surging sea, driven and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. An indecisive man is unstable in all his ways. – James 3:5-8

All we have to do is ask God and have faith that He will do what He says He will do. It is really that simple!

Give it a try. For the next 90 days, pray earnestly that God will give you wisdom and have the faith that He will answer that prayer. God is faithful. I guarantee you will notice a difference! What do you have to lose?

What are you struggling with that requires wisdom?

Have you prayed for wisdom before?

Have you seen God answer this prayer for you?

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Prayer In The Strategic Plan For Ministry

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A new friend of mine asked me a simple question in his comment on my final post in my Strategic Plan for Ministry series. His question was simple, but convicting! My friend, Loren Pinilis (see his blog here), asked me how prayer enters the process of this planning. While this seems like an innocent enough question, it actually is a very penetrating question!

prayerI wish I could say that I had planned to address that separately or that I just assumed everyone knew that prayer was a continuous part of the process and therefore did not include it. Or I could be bold and say I was trying to draw someone in to ask that very question!

Confession

The problem is that none of these excuses are true. The simple truth is that I forgot! In a six-post series on being intentional about doing ministry in the course of doing business for the purpose of pointing people to God, I actually forgot to include anything about seeking God for guidance in the process! I left out the very One who knows all there is to know about ministry, business, and people. Are you kidding me?

Of course, now that I have done this, I have the perfect post material! How often do we do this exact thing? We plan, we strive, and we sweat the details of our efforts in every facet of our lives, but we often completely forget to seek His guidance ahead of time. Most often, we ask Him to bless our efforts once we have decided what we are going to do! This is insanity!

Why do we always seem to wait until we have run into an obstacle or crisis before we call out in prayer?

We are children of the Creator of the universe. He is all-knowing, all-present, and all-powerful. He wants to equip us “with all that is good to do His will” (Heb. 13:20-21). All we have to do is ask! There is nothing that exists that is not available to Him to use to accomplish His will (Psalm 24:1). So why do we so often forget (or refuse) to go to Him in advance? Why do we always seem to wait until we have run into an obstacle or crisis before we call out in prayer?

Role of Prayer

Whatever the answer, let’s take a look at how we should pray when preparing our strategic plan for ministry in and through our business.

Mission Statement

As we discussed, the mission statement tells why we exist as a company. If this statement is to be used for direction, to make decisions, and to inspire us, it only makes sense that God should guide us in developing it. Our prayer should seek guidance from Him on our direction (Proverbs 3:5-6). Trying to do this on our own, without seeking Him in prayer, could lead to wasted time and failed plans.

Mission Field

The mission field is effectively our target audience. We need to pray for a couple of things here. First, we need to ask God to identify those groups of people He wants us to minister to. Second, we should be praying that He will give us the right words and actions for effective ministry to these people. Finally we should ask Him to prepare their hearts to hear what He will say to them through our words and actions. (Colossians 4:3-4)

Brainstorm

As the Creator of everything we see (Colossians 1:16), don’t you think God is more creative than anyone else we know? As we go into our brainstorm session to gather ideas for ministry activities, we need to ask Him to expand our minds and spark our imagination so that we can come up with those ideas that will be the most effective in pointing others to Him.

Action Plans

Next, we need to pray for wisdom in choosing and prioritizing the best ideas from the brainstorm session. We also need to pray that God would lead us in laying out the action plans (Proverbs 16:9) and that He would grant success in these plans as well (Proverbs 16:3).

Accountability

Finally, we come to measurement and accountability for our plans. Because we will reap what we sow (Galatians 6:7), I believe we need to ask God for more wisdom. We need wisdom in determining what to measure and how to establish good accountability. Because ministry results are so hard to measure, we need to be especially careful here. This another area that could cause us significant trouble if were to do it on our own.

What other roles do you see prayer playing in this process?

Is prayer a vital part of how you run your business?

Are you willing to follow His guidance when He gives it – regardless of the cost?

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Building A Christian Platform

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I was praying the other day and reflecting on the struggles I have experienced over the years in my efforts to honor God with our business. So as I was reflecting, I asked God why it has been so hard. I asked Him why I always seemed to be facing yet another challenge. I really wanted to know why it was not easier to do what I was trying to do!

Christian platform

Oppositions, Challenges, and Disappointments

You see, it has been eight years since I turned over the business to God. During that time, I have seen two to three times as many oppositions, challenges, and disappointments as I can remember in as many years before turning the business over to God.

Sure, there have been victories. And there have been innumerable rewards as well. Please do not misunderstand my point here. I would not go back and change anything, but there is no doubt in my mind that these eight years have been my toughest ever in business.

Questioning God

As a result of these challenges, I often question God about what I am doing and how I am doing it. He and I have had some heated discussions about the business and all I have experienced (at least one side of the discussions has been heated!) . I am just thankful that He continues to listen!

It was during this particular “discussion” that He gave me a picture. The picture is one of a platform. As I considered this picture, I thought about what it might mean in the context of what I had been asking Him. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that He was showing me that all of theses struggles and challenges were part of a bigger picture.

In going through these experiences, I was in fact building a platform!

Building a Christian Platform

This platform I am building will allow me to speak to others now and in the future. For example, as a result of building this platform over the past eight years, I am able to speak through this blog. Maybe I reach a large number of people and maybe not. But whoever gains anything from my experiences could be impacted for eternity as a result! The more struggles I have going forward, the more opportunities I may have in the future to speak to others. While my platform may only be a small wooden deck right now, it could become something beautiful one day! Either way, God will certainly be able to use it!

Platform

Purpose and Hope

Now after telling you all of this, why is it actually important? Well I believe we all require purpose and hope to keep going through life, especially during the hard times. Without purpose or hope in the equation, it is easy for us to get depressed with our circumstances. Maybe it is different for you, but I need to know that what I am experiencing has a purpose. So, as I thought about how my experiences are serving to build a platform that God may use later to reach others, I got a sense of purpose. I had hope that there was a point to it all. And for me, that was comforting!

What are you building?

Does the thought of building a platform help you?

What will your platform look like in the future?

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3 Sources of Godly Wisdom

by

wisdom

I made the decision to turn my business over to God.  I was going to run it as a Christian business with an eternal purpose.  Now what?  What does that really look like?  To tell the truth, I had no idea what a Christian business was or what it looked like. I did not even know where to start, so I went to look for help.