In my last post, I described the life of a missionary family I know that is living in Cusco, Peru. I told you about their basic plan, from start to finish, and how God’s call on their lives is not at all different from His call on your life or mine. In this post, I want to explain that idea further.
Search Results for: decisions
How Do You Respond In Difficult Circumstances?
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Mike Tyson was once quoted as saying, “Everyone has a plan ’til they get punched in the mouth.” While I am not a Tyson fan, I do think his quote should get our attention. Our “plan” to define success as hearing Jesus say, “Well done” is one thing. Living it out when there are difficult circumstances…that’s a different story.
One Responsibility A Christian Leader Cannot Delegate!
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Recently, I read a powerful book (Essentialism by Greg McKeown) that taught me the need for better delegation. When we properly delegate, it allows us to focus our attention on those issues and tasks that require our skills and ability while offloading those tasks that do not (Acts 6:1-7). It also helps in the development of our team members so that their skills can increase. While there are many benefits to delegating, there is one responsibility that a Christian leader cannot delegate…that is prayer!
Delegating Prayer?
As Christian leaders of our organization, department, or team, we have several responsibilities. Among these responsibilities are casting the vision, setting priorities and goals, and holding the team accountable. In many cases, we can delegate parts of each of these areas to qualified team members. As I said above, there are many benefits to doing this.
But there is one responsibility that you simply cannot delegate to your team – not even to your inner circle. This responsibility is prayer.
5 Steps To Dealing With Compromise In Business
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If you are a Christian in business, then you have been compelled to compromise your faith (or how you exercise it) at some point. It may have come in the form of a small decision. Maybe it came in the form of a big one. Whatever the case, there are many opportunities to compromise. We need to be aware of this and fight hard to stand firm.
Some Examples
It really does not matter if you are the business owner or if you work for someone else. Either way, people will come to you with decisions or directives that can impact the way you walk out your Christian faith at work. Let’s take a look at some examples.
Is Some Sin Unavoidable?
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I was raised to believe in free will. I was taught that God gives us complete and total choice in our actions and behavior – therefore no sin is unavoidable, right? Well, evidently this is not completely true. It appears that there is unavoidable sin.
Unavoidable Sin
According to Proverbs 10:19, this unavoidable sin comes into play when we talk too much. Take a look at the verse and see what you think:
When there are many words, sin is unavoidable,
but the one who controls his lips is wise.
The way I read this verse, some sin is unavoidable. At the same time, I think this is really more about timing. If you think about it, the author is saying sin becomes unavoidable WHEN there are many words.
Recommended Reading
Business
Loving Monday: Succeeding in Business Without Selling Your Soul
by John Beckett
Instead of grinding it out until Friday and living only for weekends, a successful Ohio manufacturing executive has seen how his work can be filled with meaning and purpose by integrating his work and beliefs. Beckett brings all of life together: work, belief, value, character, relationship, truth, worship and joy. The result is employees who feel valued, enjoy their work, work hard and are successful at what they do.
Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t
by Jim Collins
Collins that aims to describe how companies transition from being average companies to great companies and how companies can fail to make the transition. Peppered with dozens of stories and examples from the great and not so great, the book offers a well-reasoned road map to excellence that any organization would do well to consider.
Business by the Book: Biblical Principles for the Workplace
by Larry Burkett
What would happen if you made your business decisions by the BOOK? The bestselling Business by the Book offers radical principles of business Management that go beyond the Ten Commandments and other biblical maxims. Business by the Book is a step-by-step presentation of how businesses should be run according to the Creator of all management rules.
God is My CEO: Following God’s Principles in a Bottom-Line World
by Larry Julian
Will money or morality emerge victorious in the war zone of work skirmishes? Julian, with seasoned experience as a leadership management consultant for companies such as 3M, Honeywell, AT&T and General Mills, provides solid answers for this troubling dilemma. Many leaders, whether newly indoctrinated to the world of business or veteran executives, will find tools for the trade in this excellent guidebook to living out one’s faith in a ruthless “bottom-line” world.
Doing Business by the Good Book
by David Steward
Jesus’ teachings were not meant to be spoken only on Sunday, writes Steward, CEO of World Wide Technology Inc., the world’s largest African-American-owned company. Rather, those teachings were meant to be implemented everywhere, including the workplace. In this book, Steward shares 52 biblical principles in short, easy-to-read chapters that can be digested once a week for a full year or devoured in one sitting.
R.G. Letourneau: Mover of Men and Mountains
by R.G. LeTourneau
Despite early failures, R. G. LeTourneau rose to eminence in the competitive world of manufacturing and construction. Although his competitors thought him insane, history has proved that his inventive genius was decades ahead of its time. His combination of enterprise and Christian commitment led to his sponsoring many works involving missions and education. Through a lifetime of business ventures, this engineering genius put faith into action and reaped big rewards.
Christian Life
In His Steps
by Charles Sheldon
Rev. Henry Maxwell, not fully realizing the implications of what lay ahead of him, repeated his astounding proposition, “I want volunteers from First Church who will pledge themselves, earnestly and honestly, for an entire year, not to do anything without first asking the question, “What would Jesus do?” Maxwell never dreamed that among those who responded would be the most influential members of his congregation. But together they pledged themselves to a new step of faith that would change, not just a handful of people, but an entire town – for good.
Heaven is for Real
by Todd Burpo
Heaven Is for Real is the true story of the four-year old son of a small town Nebraska pastor who during emergency surgery slips from consciousness and enters heaven. He survives and begins talking about being able to look down and see the doctor operating and his dad praying in the waiting room. The family didn’t know what to believe but soon the evidence was clear. Told by the father, but often in Colton’s own words, the disarmingly simple message is heaven is a real place, Jesus really loves children, and be ready, there is a coming last battle.
History / Biography
Shadow of the Almighty: The Life and Testament of Jim Elliot
by Elisabeth Elliot
This is the account of the martyrdom of Jim Elliot and four other misisonaries at the hands of the Auca Indians in Ecuador. Elisabeth Elliot makes full use of Jim’s rich and revealing diaries to expose the roots of what makes a person at the threshold of life commit his very being to a God who he felt might call him to death at any time. Elisabeth Elliot gives us the vivid details of a life “hid with Christ in God” and creates a portrait of a figure that continues to inspire many.
Tortured for Christ
by Richard Wurmbrand
Richard Wurmbrand endured months of solitary confinement, years of periodic physical torture, constant suffering from hunger and cold, the anguish of brainwashing and mental cruelty. His captors lied to his wife, saying he was dead. Yet he went on to tell the West the truth about Christianity behind the Iron Curtain. Millions of people have been touched by this story.
Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce & the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery
by Eric Metaxas
William Wilberforce electrified Parliament in his early years. Had Wilberforce continued along this path, he might well have succeeded William Pitt the Younger as Prime Minister. Metaxas documents a powerful change to Wilberforce. Through a serious and intelligent conversion to Christianity, Wilberforce’s life was forever altered. His heart was changed … to God and humanity. He brought his faith to bear on politics … as controversial in his day as in ours.
Productivity
Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity
by David Allen
Allen provides tips, techniques, and tricks for implementation of his workflow management plan, which has two basic components: capture all the things that need to get done into a workable, dependable system; and discipline oneself to make front-end decisions with an action plan for all inputs into that system. In short, do it (quickly), delegate it (appropriately), or defer it.
Do You Remember Your First Love?
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When I say, “First Love”, what is the first thing to come to mind? If you are like most people, your mind goes back to high school and that first love or first kiss. For others, a certain type of food comes to mind! There are even those who think of their first car! Whatever the case, almost everyone has some clear association with the phrase “First Love”.
First Love Forgotten
In my last post, I talked about how I had read a passage from Revelation that resonated with me – up to a point. Jesus was praising the church at Ephesus for their works, labor, and endurance.
But then He turned and criticized them severely for forgetting their first love (Him!). Evidently, this church was doing good works, but their motives were out of whack. As I began to assess my own motives, I realized there was definitely room for improvement!
7 Steps To Prevent Dangerous Hiring Practices
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With all of the recent news about mass shootings, have you ever stopped to think about how you would respond if you had advance notice of a similar pending tragedy and had the time to avert it? Would you step in and prevent the crisis? What if this exact same danger is coming from your hiring practices?
Proverbs & Business Practices!
I have been going back through the book of Proverbs with my “business glasses” on. I have been looking for business truths that we can apply to our business. If you have never done this, I strongly recommend that you try it. If you would rather let someone else do that and tell you about it, then keep reading!
Should A Christian Business Terminate Employees?
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In a previous post, 10 Pitfalls To Running A Christian Business, I included the fact that “People think a Christian business does not terminate people” as one of the pitfalls. What do you think? Should a business that professes to be run according to Christian principles terminate employees?
Is It Wrong To Terminate?
Many people associate Christianity with always being nice and kind, turning the other cheek, and overall just being weak. Or they believe that a Christian should never “wrong” anyone else…and they consider any sort of termination to be wronging the employee. The problem is that this does not match up with what the Bible teaches.
Why Do You Get Out Of Bed?
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This is not the first time you have heard this question. It will not be the last. I guess the real question is whether you can quickly answer it or not. If you are given no time to think about it or wordsmith a response, how would you answer the question, “Why do you get out of bed?”
More Than Meets The Eye
Obviously, there is a lot more depth to this question than meets the eye. This question demands more than a shallow, off-the-cuff answer. This question is not really about getting out of bed at all.
Instead, this question really drives at what drives you.