Monthly Archives: September 2012

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Part 2: Are You A Borderline Christian?

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ChristianAre you settling near the place God has in mind for you, but not right in the middle of it? Are you settling for “good enough” when God wants the best in His relationship with you? Is it possible that you are also doing this in your business? As Christians, shouldn’t we want to be exactly where God wants us…not just on the border?

Choosing The Border Land

In my last post, I posed the question, “Are You A Borderline Christian?” In this post, I talked about how several of the Israelite tribes chose to take as their inheritance the land just outside of the Promised Land. This land they chose was across the Jordan river from the land God had promised their fathers.

Unfortunately for these tribes, they decided the land just outside God’s Promised land was “good enough” and so they settled there. This decision caused several problems for these tribes.

Christian Business Application

So, as we always do, let’s talk about how we can apply these ideas to our lives as Christian business owners and leaders.

First, let’s recognize that this is very much a picture of Christians today. So many believers hear that God promises us peace and joy in ways we cannot imagine, but they still decide that what they can see in the world right in front of them is “good enough” for what they need!

So many times, we know God has something awesome for us one day, but we choose to take the “good enough” that we can see in front of us right now. Why do we do this?

Why Choose The Border Land

There are several possibilities. Maybe we think “a bird in the hand is better than two in the bush” is from the Bible! We want what we can have right now rather than waiting on what God has for us later. Maybe, like the borderline tribes, we may not want the “fight” it will take to get it.

But sometimes we are even okay with accepting the fight and still want to settle for less than God has for us. What could we be thinking? Maybe it is our fear of full commitment to God and what He wants from us. Maybe we are much more comfortable in the “borderline” position – getting just enough of God to make us feel better, but not so much that we are no longer in control.

Whatever the reasons we may have, we need to stop and realize that we are thinking this way. We need to search our own hearts and allow God to reveal the truth to us about where we stand.

This Is A Big Deal!

Second, we need to recognize that this is a VERY BIG DEAL. God wants our all (Matthew 22:37-40). He is jealous and does not like it when we live as borderline believers. He wants us fully committed to Him. In fact, Jesus would rather we were AGAINST Him than in the middle (Revelation 3:14-16).

This is true in our businesses as well. We cannot pick and choose which parts of Scripture we will apply to how we run a business. If we are going to live in full commitment to God, we need to fully commit our jobs to Him as well.

Dangers To Christian Business

Finally, let’s discuss the dangers of living as borderline Christian business owners and leaders. Just like the borderline tribes, we are putting ourselves and our businesses at risk when we try to ride the fence like this. When we are living as borderline believers, we lose our clear and frequent communication with God.

As a result, our decisions suffer. We are more susceptible to temptation and attack – spiritual or otherwise. We are also weaker in our defense agains the storms that will come. Quite simply, we are on our own – and that is not good!

Trust Him Completely

D.L. Moody said, “The world has yet to see what God will do through a man who trusts Him completely.” I think this statement rings true for our businesses as well.

Let’s commit together to move out of the borderline areas and into God’s Promised Land – His will for our lives as well as our businesses and jobs. Let’s give him total control and submit to His leadership. I think we will find that He is faithful to make good on His promises!

Where are you living? Your business or job?

If on the border, what are you going to do to change it?

If you don’t know, what is your next step to find out?

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Are You A Borderline Christian?

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As I was reading through Joshua and studying for the series on the Gibeonite deception, I came upon another lesson that I think can apply to us as Christian business owners and leaders. This lesson comes from Joshua and Numbers and deals with borderline Christianity.

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Joshua’s Reminder

If you read Joshua 1:12-15, you will see Joshua reference instructions that Moses had given the people of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh. Joshua is reminding them that they agreed to go into the Promised Land with the rest of the tribes and help to conquer the land as God had commanded.

So, why does Joshua feel the need to remind only these people and not those from the other tribes? Is he just picking on these tribes for no reason? Or is there a valid reason for his reminder?

Borderline Request

To get the answer, you need to go back to Numbers 32:1-38 and read. In this passage, you find that the people of these three tribes asked Moses to give them their inheritance from the borderline land just outside of the Promised Land. They initially even requested that Moses not make them cross the Jordan and fight!

Moses got angry and called them a brood of sinners! He reminded them that they were repeating the very sin their fathers had committed. That sin was the reason they had wandered the wilderness the past 40 years!

The Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh then asked another question. If they agreed to go over and help the other tribes conquer their lands, could they return to this borderline land and settle there? Moses conceded and allowed them to do this.

As I read this, several questions come to mind.

Why The Borderline Land?

The first question that pops into my head is, “Why?” Why did these tribes want to settle outside of the land God had promised them? What does Scripture tell us about their motives?

Take a look at Numbers 32:1 again. They had a lot of livestock and saw that the land was good for livestock. That is it? Are they serious? At this point, they have not yet even seen the land inside the Promised Land to know if it is good or not.

Of course, they know from God’s promises, and from the reports of the original 12 spies that scouted out the land in Numbers 13, that this is a land flowing with milk and honey. Evidently that is not enough!

Is This Important?

The second question that pops into my mind is, “Is this important?” Is this really a big deal? Why did Moses get so upset?

Well, Moses got upset because this request reeked of the sin that caused all of Israel to wander the wilderness for the past 40 years. Moses understood that God does not take kindly to His people rejecting Him or His promises or commands. Moses did not want God to get upset again.

What Are The Dangers?

The final question I had was, “What are the dangers of taking the borderline land?” As these “borderline” tribes finished the fighting and settled in their land outside the Promised Land, what should they be concerned about? Were there any issues they needed to consider that the other tribes would not have to worry about?

The answer is that there were several dangers in taking their inheritance from this land instead of the Promised Land.

1. Lack Of Natural Defensive Border

    First, the Jordan River would create a natural defensive border for those inside the Promised Land. This natural defensive line would prevent sudden attacks and would allow for better strategic position for the Israelites inside.

    For the “borderline” tribes outside the Jordan, this would not be the case. They would be more vulnerable to attacks from other tribes and peoples.

2. Delay In Aid

    Second, and even worse, the Jordan would actually serve to separate them from the aid of their brothers. If the other Israelite tribes wanted to come to their aid in a crisis, there could be a significant delay.

3. Reduction Of Communication

    Finally, not only would it serve to delay any military aid from their brothers, but it would also drastically reduce communications between them and their brothers inside the Promised Land. This would eventually allow other peoples and their religions to influence these borderline tribes away from God.

Application To Christian Business

In my next post, I will address how we can apply these lessons to our Christian businesses. In the meantime, think about the following questions. I would love to hear your thoughts in the comment section!

What parallels can you draw from this lesson?

Have you experienced something similar in your Christian walk?

How can this “borderline” idea apply to your Christian business?

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Are You Too Focused On The Results?

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Business people count things. It is what we do! If you are like me, you often find yourself counting various processes or results in your business and your life. Of course, once you count whatever it is, you must then compare that count with something or someone else to determine if you are doing a good job or not. It is in our nature to do this and most of us do it quite often. However, there is a problem with doing this.

results

Results Are Critical

Now, before you even think about taking this to the extreme, please relax! I am not going to tell you to stop counting and measuring activities or results in your business. A significant part of being successful in business is establishing processes and goals and then measuring your progress to those goals.

I am not going to tell you there is anything inherently wrong with measuring results. That is not my point at all.

Watching Results Can Be Trouble

My point is really to shed light on some of the potential dangers of watching these results. While there is nothing wrong with the idea of measuring results, there are some pitfalls that you need to keep in mind. Once I go through the short list of these pitfalls, I think you will understand what I am saying and agree.

1. When you’re checking the results, you’re not watching what you’re doing!

    Take driving for example. Imagine you are driving on the interstate, but you are too focused on your dashboard computer as it tells you your rolling average fuel economy. Obviously, this behavior can have fatal consequences! In this case, it would be fine for you to check your mileage every time you fill up the tank or stop for food.

    We can do the same thing in our businesses. When we establish goals in a certain area, we need to measure and track the results on a regular basis. However, if we are constantly watching these results, we may miss something important! We need to set specific intervals for checking our results and resist the temptation to look more often.

2. You may find yourself well ahead of the goal and relax.

    One of my favorite scenes in the movie Facing The Giants was the death crawl scene (watch here).In this scene, the coach challenged one of the football players to crawl on all fours with another player riding on his back. The challenge was to get from the end zone to the fifty yard line. The catch was that the player was to do it blind-folded so he could not see his progress.

    Evidently the fifty-yard challenge was a stretch because the player thought he could never make it. The other players looked cynical as well. The result? The player, by giving his absolute best and ignoring the progress, ended up in the far end zone – a full 100 yards away! It was an amazing scene – proof that ignoring the progress and pressing on can produce greater-than-expected results!

    The blindfold was the key. If we can “blindfold” our teams every once in a while and challenge them to give their best without checking the results, I think we all would be surprised at what could be accomplished!

3. You may begin to believe that you are the reason for the results.

    Take a look at King David in 1 Chronicles 21. At the prompting of Satan, King David decided he wanted a census of the fighting men of Israel and Judah. The commander of the army, Joab, questioned David. He argued that God could multiply the size of the army to whatever number He needed – why the need to count? But David persisted and the census was taken.

    As a result, God punished Israel. Evidently David was beginning to feel some pride in his position and wanted to boast of the strength of the army. Rather than giving sole credit to God for the increase and the might of the army, David appeared to be looking for some credit of his own.

    If we allow ourselves to get too caught up in “counting” in our businesses or lives, pride is likely to creep in and separate us from dependence on God. Not all counting falls into this category, but you do need to be aware of the danger!

4. Your timeframe may be off.

    A watched pot never boils. Sometimes God gives us a picture of something He wants us to strive toward. Sometimes He does this without showing us WHEN that picture will come to fruition. If we continually watch the progress towards that picture, counting the results before the right time, we may be tempted to give up or get frustrated.

    God gave Joseph a clear picture, actually two, of his brothers bowing down to him. The problem was that God did not tell him when it would happen! As you can read in Genesis 37-45, it took over 20 years for the dream to come true. During the interim, Joseph was sold into slavery, accused of attempted rape, and confined to prison for many years.

    We can assume there were times when Joseph questioned God about the timing, but he remained faithful to trust God. Rather than constantly checking our results against the picture God has given us, we need to follow Joseph’s example!

Trust God

See, sometimes we can spend too much time checking our results. We can also check these results too often and at the wrong intervals. When we get to the point where we are too focused on watching our results, or the progress to these results, a lot of problems can arise. Instead, let’s learn to work our hardest and then put our trust in God and His faithfulness. The right results will come in His time.

Do you fall into this trap at times?

How do you get out of it? How do you avoid it the next time?

Do you see other pitfalls I have left out?

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What I Did In Response To My Angry Boss

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This guest post is from Mike Holmes. He is a blogger and speaker who heads the Simple Strategies for Startups community. He is also the author of I Shall Raise Thee Up: Ancient Principles for Lasting Greatness. You can also download 4 free chapters here. You can also find him on Twitter.
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extra mile

Going The Extra Mile!

I used to work for a catering company in their purchasing department. My duties included receiving heavy boxes and moving them to the appropriate part of the company. In essence, it was manual labor.

I, however, didn’t see it like that. I saw it as an opportunity to go above and beyond in everything to either:

    a) Move up to a more a favorable position,

    or

    b) Move out of the company to a more favorable position.

So to me it didn’t matter whether I was moving boxes or sweeping floors–I was going to stand out! I was going to go the extra mile!

Angry Boss

But there was a problem: while going the extra mile I encountered a lot of grumbling from my co-workers. They just seemed to be getting angrier and angrier. I was as pleasant as I could be…but they just kept getting angrier. I stopped paying it attention until one day one the assistant manager called me:

“Holmes!” He said in a gruff manner. “I want you to move all those boxed grapes to the cooler room…by yourself!”

He said this with some of the staff around him giggling.

By myself???

There were at least 40 box of grapes, each weighing 20 pounds each, and he wanted me to move them by myself! We all knew it was a 2 man job.

At first I was upset!

Livid!

I did nothing to deserve this.

My Response

But then I remembered my friend “Holy Joe.” When Joe was mistreated for doing right, rather than get upset, he simply worked harder and did it with a great attitude!

So that’s what I did.

You should’ve seen me: I got all those boxes done in less than 7 minutes.

Then I went to the same boss and said, “What else do you need help with?” I did that too in record time. I even started helping the people who were grumbling and laughing behind my back–the manager included. And for the rest of the day I was quicker, more efficient, and more helpful than anyone could imagine.

In fact, we were so fast we finished a shipment that normally takes till 2pm at 11:30am!

The grumbling stopped. They were friendlier and more respectful. You would’ve thought I just bought them lunch!

The extra mile triumphed again!

The Origin of the Extra Mile

When Jesus spoke about extra mile principle He summed it up in this statement:

    “And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.”
    (Matthew 5:41 NKJV)

He related the principle to an oppressive practice of the day. It originated with the Persian government and was later adopted by the Roman government.

Under this custom the king’s messengers had power to take horses, camels, and men into service against their will. Couriers and messengers were staged in specific locations by the king; if someone were to pass the location the courier rushed out and “compelled” them into service. Simone of Cyrene was later “compelled” into helping Jesus with His cross.

Rather than quarrel and complain about the treatment, Jesus advised otherwise: comply with the request, but exceed expectations in a spirit of love and service.

The extra mile is what separates leaders from followers, great companies from mediocre ones, and it will separate you in your chosen occupation.

The Power of the Extra Mile Principle

More than just a useful practice…the extra mile principle is a spiritual law. Like “turning the other cheek” and “loving your enemy” it’s a powerful weapon in the hand of a mature believer.

What are the benefits? I’m glad you asked:

1. You benefit by the law of comparison.

    Most people don’t go the extra mile. They go the first mile and complain all the way there! When you go the extra mile the spotlight of attention shines favorably on you. And after a while you soon become indispensable to those around you…especially superiors! And indispensable employees are always paid more than dispensable ones!

2. You develop greater leadership qualities.

    Going the extra develops the habit of personal initiative–a trait necessary for ANY kind of leadership. As you employ the extra mile your brain looks for more ways to become helpful. Soon you stop waiting for people to tell you what to do–you just do it. You no longer wait for things to happen, you make them happen!

3. God makes sure you’re compensated fairly.

    Paul said,

      “Servants, respectfully obey your earthly masters but always with an eye to obeying the real master, Christ. Don’t just do what you have to do to get by, but work heartily, as Christ’s servants doing what God wants you to do. And work with a smile on your face, always keeping in mind that no matter who happens to be giving the orders, you’re really serving God. Good work will get you good pay from the Master, regardless of whether you are slave or free.” (Ephesians 6:5-8 MSG)
    At the end of day whether we’re salaried or self employed: we write our own checks! We do this we the quantity and quality of service we give to either a boss, company, or clients. But even though we write our checks God is still the Boss. And if God sees you going above and beyond that what you’re paid rest assured, He’ll make up the difference. In the end He’ll reward you fully:
      “Because I, God, love fair dealing and hate thievery and crime, I’ll pay your wages on time and in full, and establish my eternal covenant with you.” (Isaiah 61:8 MSG)

But what do you think? Are there any other benefits to going the extra mile?

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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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Are You Too Busy To Fulfill Your Job Description?

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As I posted last week, I recently hired a COO for our organization after a lengthy hiring process. It was a huge win for our company, but also for me personally and spiritually. The reason I say this is that this hire effectively ends a long period of time where I was entirely too “busy” to do fulfill my God-given job description. I did not feel I was able to impact others for eternity like I wanted to.

job description

Before I explain what I mean by being too “busy” to do my job, let me first tell you about my job as I see it. As President and co-owner of my family business, I have certain duties and responsibilities that are required of me. These are certainly PART of my job. But when I really look at the job that I have been given, there is so much more to it than that!

God-given Job Description

You see, I believe my job has been given to me by God for a season. As a temporary steward of God’s business, I believe that I am in this role for a specific purpose – to impact other people for eternity by pointing them to God. If I had to boil my job description down to one line, that would be it. In fact, I believe that is your job description as well.

Whether you are a President, a Manager, or in an entry-level position, I believe you have this same job description. It comes from Scripture (Matthew 22:37-40, 28:19-20; 2 Corinthians 5:20). If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, then you have this purpose in life and in work – there is no difference, except location.

Busy vs. Job Description

Having said that, there are times that our job “activities” begin to take our focus off of our eternal purpose, our real job description. In some cases, these times are only temporary and have a clear beginning and end (like my recent experience). Other times, it can be the nature of the job itself. There are even times when we take on too much and create our own prison of busyness.

Regardless of the duration or cause, these times of being too busy can dramatically impact our ability to fulfill our God-given job description. If you have been a disciple of Jesus for any period of time, you have likely experienced this problem. If not, congratulations on keeping your focus on your true purpose in life!

What Do You Do?

For the rest of us that either bump into this problem occasionally or actually feel like we have set up camp here, lets’s discuss what we should do when this happens. For this discussion, there are two possible paths.

Self-Created Busyness

The first path is for those times when we have created the busyness for ourselves. The busyness could be the result of an over-zealous appetite for responsibilities or maybe a lack of intentional scheduling. Either way, we have brought this on ourselves and we need to correct the problem. In the cases I am referring to here, shedding these additional responsibilities would not have an effect on your employment.

To do this, I am not necessarily recommending breaking any commitments, but I am saying that you need to recognize that you are putting the temporary ahead of the eternal. As a result, you need to correct the imbalance as quickly as you can. This will likely take time and energy, but it is worth it.

As you are doing this, you need to begin putting intentional habits in place to prevent returning to this position. I suggest starting with a LIFE plan. By creating a LIFE plan, you will establish the priorities by which you will make future decisions on responsibilities you will and will not choose.

Externally Imposed Busyness

The second path is a little more difficult to correct. This is mainly because the cause of this path is usually beyond our control. It could be the loss of a key employee (as it was with me) or it could be change in management above you. It could even be related to the overall economy as it has been since 2008 for many businesses.

Whatever the cause, the solution is not as simple as it is for the first path. In these cases, there may not even be an immediate solution at all. If that is true, then what are we to do? How are we to continue fulfilling our God-given job description when we are overwhelmed with busy?

For that answer, tune in to my next post!

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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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9 Lessons From Our Hiring Process

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Well, it is finally over and I am so glad! Of course, now the hard work begins! I am referring to the hiring process I have been going through over the past 90 days. While I have not discussed much detail, I have alluded to this process in several posts. Now that it is over, I want to share some of what I have learned.

hiring process

Lesson #1 – Trust God.

This hiring process began for me at the first of June when a key leader in our organization let me know he had been given an opportunity that he simply could not decline. While I instantly knew that my workload had just increased dramatically, I also knew it would only be for a season.

For some reason, God had been preparing me for this very eventuality. As a result, I did not panic. For the first time in a long time, I really trusted – right from the start – that God would take me through to a better place. As a result of this trust, my stress level really never increased throughout the process. I was truly amazed by this!

Lesson #2 – Begin with Prayer.

Well, I did not immediately start by looking for a replacement. Instead, I began praying that God would reveal to me His structure. I prayed that God would take a blank slate and put His picture of our organization on it. I was prepared for His picture to look very different or exactly the same. I was prepared for anything in between.

I can honestly say, I was prepared for whatever He showed me! I can also say that I have not prayed for any other decision as much as I prayed about this one. I was determined that He was going to show me the way. I was not going to choose it for myself.

Lesson #3 – Seek Godly Advice.

In addition to prayer, I began to seek advice from those I knew and trusted to give godly advice. I sought this advice from my C12 group, other Christian dealers in my industry, and various other advisers I know personally. Quite simply, I did not try to handle this hiring process alone.

As a result of prayer and the advice we received, the decision was made to seek to hire a COO for the organization. This was to be a step of faith as this position has not existed in our organization before. Even so, when we looked at all of the pieces, it made the most sense.

Lesson #4 – Cast a Wide Net.

We began by running ads in a national trade magazine and online. I reached out to those contacts I knew would possibly know of a candidate and asked them for help. I also continued praying!

We were overwhelmed with the number of applications. Even though we included the description, “Christian automotive group” in the ad, we had over 70 applications submitted. This may not be many for some of you, but it was a mountain in my eyes.

Lesson #5 – Set Clear Guidelines (and Don’t Waiver).

It takes more than gut instinct to successfully filter 70+ applications down to a manageable number. Based on the scope of the job, we worked hard to come up with a list of several requirements that we used to evaluate resumes. While there were several applicants that I identified with, they did not make the cut unless they met the qualifications. There were several hard decisions, but I pressed through it. The first round of filtering by these guidelines brought our number down to 12 solid candidates.

From there, we had each candidate complete a behavior and motivator assessment. Again, due to the specific nature of the job, we had a clear picture of the type of personality that would be successful in this role. This picture was compiled from the input of several current key leaders in our organization. This avoided any single perspective driving biased results.

Lesson #6 – Turn Up The Heat

Once we had narrowed the candidates to the final three, the hiring process got more intense. We started with a phone interview of each candidate. This interview was conducted by a close friend and adviser who also happens to be an industry expert. He followed a script of a number of questions that were posed to each of the three candidates. He took notes on the answers that we reviewed together after each interview.

At this point, we each called several references on each candidate. Fortunately, one of us knew someone on each of the reference lists. It always helps to know the person giving the reference so you have a better feel for their perspective.

With good reports from the references, I then interviewed each of these three candidates via Skype. This gave me the opportunity to see facial expressions and gestures. I could gauge their stress in response to certain questions as well. Just like the phone interviews, I followed a set of questions that I posed to each candidate.

While the intent was to select one of the three candidates to bring to the dealership in person, we were unable to narrow it down beyond two candidates. So, we brought both candidates to town to go through the remainder of the hiring process. We scheduled them to come in back-to-back (two days each) over a four day period.

Lesson #7 – Involve Your Team

Each candidate arrived in town the day before the interviews would take place at the dealership. That evening, they went to dinner with me and my brother, our spouses, and the friend/adviser that conducted the phone interviews. At dinner, we got to see how they would interact with others. We also were able to get a very different perspective from our wives! This proved to be very helpful.

The next morning, each candidate had breakfast with two members of our executive leadership team. Then they went through a series of interviews with management teams from each department. They were also interviewed by a mixed group of front-line employees. This part of the hiring process, an idea from another adviser, was priceless! I would not trade it for anything!

Lesson #8 – Can You Work With Them?

For the last couple of hours before they were scheduled to depart, the candidates answered some tough questions, ate lunch with us, and answered more tough questions on a variety of issues. At this point, the candidates had been vetted and were both capable of filling the position. It really boiled down to which was a better cultural fit with our team. Which one would we enjoy working with more? Which one seemed like they would enjoy working with us?

Lesson #9 – Pray Some More

At the end of the entire hiring process, we were all clear on the candidate we thought would be the best fit. It was not an easy process and both candidates were highly qualified, but we felt the right one had come to the surface. At this point, I decided to wait one more day.

I prayed in depth that God would make it clear to us who we should choose. Although we had prayed all through the process, I was determined to make absolutely sure that our decision came from God, not from our own preferences or biases. I wanted Him to give me a peace about moving forward.

Hiring Process Result

The final result was that we made an offer of employment to one of the candidates. He accepted with excitement and started at the first of the month. Like I said in the beginning, there is now a lot of work ahead of us! At the same time, I trust that God will guide us through this new season.

I would live to hear your thoughts on the hiring process we used.

Take a moment in the comment section to let me know what you liked.

What you would do differently?

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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?

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Mistakes Are No Excuse To Break Your Word!

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Have you ever given your word to help someone with a need on a specific day and time, only to be invited later to some incredible event at the same time? Have you ever agreed to sell something at a price BEFORE you found out you had additional costs you had not considered? These situations can come up regularly in life and business. The question is whether making a mistake is a valid excuse for breaking your word.

mistake

Joshua’s Mistake

As we continue our study of the story of the Gibeonite deception, this same issue occurs for Joshua. In fact, it really occurs twice in a very short period of time. Let’s take a look at what happened to him and how we can apply it to our own Christian business leadership.

As we read in Joshua 9:1-10:15, the Gibeonites deceived Joshua and the Israelites into agreeing to a peace treaty with them. The Gibeonites actually lived within the boundaries of the Promised Land and were therefore sentenced by God to be destroyed by the Israelite army. Because they tricked Joshua into thinking they were from a distant land, they were given the peace treaty they sought. Joshua’s mistake was in not seeking God’s guidance first.

But They Lied!

The problem is that three days later, the Israelites somehow found out that they had been tricked. It became crystal clear that the Gibeonites had lied about where they lived. They even admitted it to the Israelites when confronted about it.

So, if that is the case, what stopped Joshua from ordering the Israelite army to attack the Gibeonite city? Why did Joshua and the other Israelite leaders decide to let them live? Wasn’t it still true that God had ordered them to destroy all people groups inside the Promised Land boundaries?

Sworn Oath

While that was still true, Joshua and the Israelite leaders knew that they were now bound by their oath. Mistake or not – they had sworn an oath, by the Lord, that there would be peace between them and the Gibeonites. These leaders knew a truth that we need to remember and apply in our own businesses.

Mistakes do not give you the right to break your word!

If you continue to read, you will see that the whole community of Israelites grumbled against the leaders for this decision. If left up to the crowd, they would have attacked and claimed that the oath of peace was based on deceit and was therefore invalid.

God’s Perspective

Unfortunately, God does not see it the same way as the Israelite community. Take a look at 2 Samuel 21:1-14 and see what happens many years later when David was king. There had been a famine for three years and David inquired of God as to why.

God answered that it was because King Saul had killed some Gibeonites and violated the oath made by the Israelites. Generations later, God still remembered the oath to the Gibeonites and was holding Israel accountable to that oath!

Joshua Understood God

Fortunately for the Israelites following Joshua, he understood this about God. He knew that his oath was valid, regardless of his mistake and the circumstances leading up to it. As a result he and the Israelite leaders honored their word to the Gibeonites and did not allow the Israelites to attack.

Another Level!

If the story ended here, it would be noteworthy. Instead, Joshua showed us another level of leadership that we can aspire to imitate. At the beginning of Joshua 10, we read that five kings and their armies went to attack the Gibeonites. Quickly, the Gibeonites sent word to Joshua, asking for help based on their treaty!

Surely, the deceptive Gibeonites did not actually expect Joshua to put the lives of his men at risk by coming to their defense against the five armies. Isn’t that asking a little much?

Evidently, Joshua did not see it that way. He immediately gathered the Israelite army to come to their defense. Not only that, but he also had his army march all night in order to catch the other armies by surprise!

God’s Reaction

What did God think of his actions? Well, we read that God reassured Joshua, telling him that He had already handed the other armies over to him. Then, during the actual battle, we read that God threw hailstones on the five armies as they fled! More soldiers died from the hailstones than from the Israelite swords!

If that is not confirmation that Joshua made the right decision, then I do not know what is!

Our Application

Folks, this lesson has direct application in our businesses. Whether we have given our word to a customer, an employee, or even a vendor, we are bound by that word. If we later find out that we made a mistake or were deceived, we are not excused from our word.

The lesson here is that we need to do our best to move slowly when it comes to giving our word to someone. We need to buck the trend in society today that says your word is only good as long as it is convenient for you to keep it. Look at failed marriages, businesses, mortgages, etc. and see that too many people simply see their word to be more a matter of convenience rather than binding.

Higher Standard

As Christian business owners and leaders, we are called to a higher standard. Before you give your word to someone, make sure you have prayed for wisdom and guidance in the decision. Then, once you have given your word, live by it. Keep your word even when you have made a mistake and it causes you loss. Follow Joshua’s example.

Have you experienced something similar to this before?

What was your decision and why did you make it?

What were the results of that decision?