Tag Archives: Christian business

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Advice For A New Christian Business Leader

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I was recently speaking with someone about using business as a platform for Christian ministry and was asked a great question. She wanted to know what advice I would give another Christian business leader that was just recognizing the mindset of business as Christian ministry. What would I tell them to get them started on the right path?

advice

Start Of A Series!

As I thought about how to answer the question in that context, I also thought about how that would make a great post – even series – for this blog. (I am sorry, but I often get these thoughts in the middle of conversations!) As a result, I am starting a 5-part series on the advice I would give you if you are interested in using your business or job as a platform for Christian ministry.

In this first post, I want to lay the groundwork and then tackle the very first recommendation I have. Hopefully, you will get something out of this series, even if you have been doing Christian ministry through your business for years now. Maybe there is something you can revisit (like me!) or something you never did but can go back and handle today!

Target Audience

I am writing this post to someone who has heard about Christian business and is intrigued by the idea. Maybe you have progressed from intrigue to a real interest in using your business to impact people for eternity. It could be that you have even resisted pursuing it for one reason or another.

Regardless, you are either very close to pulling the trigger and moving forward OR you have just pulled the trigger and realized you do not know where to start! If that describes you, then this advice is for you.

Check My Advice

I will go ahead and tell you that I am NOT an expert. I cannot tell you all that you need to know about this subject. I will say that some of my advice may even be wrong for you. All I can promise is that I have been doing it myself for almost 10 years now and I will share from my heart. You then are responsible for discerning what will and will not work for you.

Now that I am through with the disclaimers, let’s dive in and tackle the first recommendation!

Recommendation #1 – Pray

While I am sure you are in awe over my keen insight and the intellect that must be present in order for me to come up with this advice, I ask you to hold your judgment until I am finished. Maybe this sounds simple and assumed. In fact, I know it does. At the same time, I feel it is so important (and often neglected) that I am willing to risk your ridicule!

When I say pray, I mean several things. Actually, I mean for you to pray about several things. Let’s start with the first prayer – a clear heart and mind.

Different Goals For Prayer

My advice is that you pray first that God would clear your heart and mind of any and all distractions, motives, and desires. Pray that He would erase your preconceived notions of what you are being called to do. Ask Him to give you a completely fresh perspective on whatever it is that He is going to share with you next.

Next, I want you to pray for clarity of purpose. Notice I am not talking about strategy, resources, or results. While these are important, their time will come later. All you want from Him at the beginning is a very clear and compelling purpose to be planted in your heart.

Clear Picture Of Purpose

As you are doing this, pray that He would give you a picture of what should be. Andy Stanley, in his book called Visioneering, refers to the gap between what is and what should be. You want God to put a vivid picture in your heart of what it is He wants you to pursue. For me, it was silhouettes. For Joseph, it was a couple of dreams. For you, it will look different.

Regardless of the differences in our pictures, you need something that you can refer back to over and over as opposition and difficulties come your way. You need to ask God to sow this seed of a clear purpose for your specific Christian ministry. Over time, this vision will grow and His desires for how He will accomplish it through you will become more clear.

Strength And Commitment

Next, you need to pray for strength and commitment. What you are about to undertake is not for the faint of heart. While it seems harmless enough, it is anything but. You are putting on the uniform of Christ and stepping out onto the battlefield for His kingdom.

Not only are you declaring your loyalty to Him, you are also doing it in a realm (the business world) where the enemy reigns for a time. This is not a common position for a businessperson to take and it is one the enemy hates. As a result, you can expect to see more than your fair share of opposition. You need to start praying now for the strength to withstand it.

Give Thanks!

Finally, you need to give thanks that He has put you in a position like this. The tougher roles are reserved for those with stronger faith. While you are not yet completely ready for what you will face, He sees the potential you have and deems it worthy of the job. For that, you should be very thankful!

Stay tuned for more advice to come in future posts!

Have you prayed for God to give you a clear purpose picture?

What other issues should you pray about?

Do you agree with this advice to pray first?

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Visual Fixation As A Strategy!

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Jesus tells us we are not to worry about the material things of this world, but are instead to focus on the eternal. He says we are to seek first His kingdom, not the temporal things of this world. That may be easy to do for a moment or two, but how are we supposed to maintain this fixation?

fixation

Visual Fixation

If you have ever ridden a motorcycle, you have experienced the dangers of visual fixation. Imagine riding a motorcycle on a narrow two-lane mountain road. You are enjoying the twists and turns of the trip up the mountain. At the same time, you are fairly nervous as you try to keep you and your motorcycle in the middle of your lane.

This is difficult because there are cars and trucks coming at you on your left. If you let your bike drift too close to the yellow line, you could easily find yourself catching your handlebars on their side view mirror (or worse!).

On your right side is a significant drop-off down the side of the mountain you are climbing. Sure, there is a guardrail that is supposed to keep you from falling, but you are not sure that would help if you ran into it. You are determined not to find out!

Visual Fixation Dangers

This is where visual fixation comes into play. See, if you allow your eyes to become fixed on either side – the yellow line OR the guardrail – then you and your motorcycle will naturally drift toward that point. It will not happen suddenly, but will sneak up on you before you know it.

In an effort to prevent this from happening, you are instead taught not to fix your eyes on any given point. Initially, you may not even take this instruction seriously. However, let your eyes fixate one time on that guardrail and you will quickly find out that this is no joke!

So what does this have to do with maintaining an eternal perspective?

Good question!

Turn To Your Advantage!

My answer is that I think there is a principle in this idea of visual fixation that we can turn to our advantage! Rather than avoiding a fixation on something, I am suggesting that we embrace the idea.

See, I believe that God desires our fixation on Him. I believe that Scripture points us to this fixation and calls us to embrace it. Take a look at these examples:

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:18

Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest.
Hebrews 3:1

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.
Hebrews 12:1-2

The Enemy’s Strategy

I also believe the enemy knows this and is just as determined to prevent it.

If you think about it, everything that is thrown at you by the world is a distraction or decoy. Most often, it is not what it appears. At first, you are led to believe whatever it is will fulfill you, but in the end you realize it only disappoints. This is fine with the enemy. All he wants to do is interrupt your fixation on God!

Fixation On Jesus

If we can somehow use this visual fixation to our advantage, I think you can see what happens. Rather than allowing ourselves to be distracted by the enemy, we focus with more determination on fixating our eyes on Jesus and our relationship with Him.

Instead of getting sidetracked by the countermeasures thrown at us by the world, we choose to glue our eyes on the One that created us and will supply our every need. We do this simply by creating the disciplines in our lives that we know should already be there: Bible study, prayer, small group and one-on-one accountability, etc.

Maybe not suddenly, but over time we will begin to see our lives drift more and more toward God. Over time, our thoughts and actions will begin to reflect an eternal perspective rather than a temporal one. Before we realize it, we are locked in and seeing eternal fruit!

Examples

What would this look like?

You get a bonus in your paycheck and your first thought is not to spend it on a new toy. Instead, without even trying, your mind jumps to an opportunity you recently saw to help someone else. You act on it.

Someone asks to meet you for lunch to discuss a personal issue on the same day you had lunch plans with your best friends. You choose the person in need over your friends.

Business is not great and you are concerned about the end of the month results. At the same time, you are notified that your employee assistance program is paying out more than it is taking in. It doesn’t even cross your mind to shut it down or even decrease what it is paying out. You realize it is simply a cost of having an eternal perspective.

While I would not recommend trying this on a motorcycle, I think this visual fixation could really work in our Christian walk!

How do you maintain a fixation on Jesus?

Have you allowed your fixation to fade lately?

What action steps do you need to take today?

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Focused On The Eternal Perspective?

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When most of us think about the future, what we think about often depends on our age. So much of the focus of our thoughts depends upon what the world has told us we need to be thinking about at our age. Despite Scripture to the contrary, we worry about temporal things instead of focusing on things from an eternal perspective.

eternal perspective

God Will Provide

In my last post, we looked at a passage in Matthew 6:25-32 in which Jesus teaches us not to worry about the temporal things of this world. He tells us that God knows our temporal needs and that He will provide for us because of His love for us.

We discussed how difficult it is for us to avoid thinking (and worrying) about these things because our flesh is so weak. Knowing this is true, what are we to do?

First Priority

I think the first priority should be determining what we should be focusing on. If we want to get our thoughts off of the wrong things, it helps to know what the right things are, right?

To figure this out, let’s look at the next verse in that same passage, as well as two related verses.

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.
Matthew 6:33

So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:18

Fight the good fight for the faith; take hold of eternal life that you were called to and have made a good confession about in the presence of many witnesses.
1 Timothy 6:12

Eternal Perspective?

Based on what you read here, what is it that you think you should be focused on right now? What perspective should you have as you go through this life here and now?

I think it is clear that our thoughts should be focused on the eternal perspective, not on the temporal worries of this life. Instead of worrying about our retirement or the travel we are going to enjoy, we should instead be focused on impacting other people for eternity by pointing them to God and sharing His love with them!

Somehow, we need to learn to stop allowing our minds to be occupied with the stream of material desires, social status, and career success. Thoughts of the kind of car we drive (hurts ME to say!) and the clothes we wear should take be replaced by thoughts of how we can best meet the needs of those around us in a way that points them to God.

Don’t Miss The Point!

The point of this is NOT to simply stop spending on ourselves and start giving it away to others. Not at all!

The point is that we should begin to look at our existence in light of a 1,000 year picture instead of the next 30 days, 18 months, or 5-10 years. This is the eternal perspective. When we do this, the worries of today fade and suddenly we begin to realize how meaningless these thoughts are in light of eternity.

When we realize that our actions today could mean the difference between someone else spending an eternity with God or separated from Him, our actions begin to change.

When we realize that 1,000 years from now it will be too late to share the love of Jesus with someone who does not know Him, our attitude toward money will change.

Eternal Perspective!

We we stop focusing on what is seen and begin to focus on what is unseen, then we are seeking first His kingdom. We are taking hold of the eternal life we were called to. It is then we are fighting the good fight. It is then we are seeing from an eternal perspective.

I realize this is easier said than done. I struggle with this myself, probably more than you do. At the same time, I am determined not to give up on myself. I am committed to continue training my thoughts to seek the eternal. It is not an easy battle, but it is one I will not quit fighting.

Stay Tuned!

In my next post, I plan to give some tips on how we can fight this battle. Stay tuned!

Do you have trouble seeing this life from an eternal perspective?

What is your biggest challenge in changing this mindset?

What are the potential downsides of seeing from the eternal perspective?

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What Do You Think About?

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When someone mentions “your future” to you, what is the first idea that comes to your mind? Depending on your age, it could be any number of things that pop into your head. The question I would pose is this…what should you think about?

think

What Do You Think About?

If you are really young (under 30 yrs. old), you probably thought of finishing school or starting a career. Maybe you thought about getting married or even beginning or growing your family. If you are more forward-thinking than the average person, you may have thought briefly about retirement!

Someone a little older (maybe 30-45 yrs. old) likely considered a promotion, funding college for their children, and maybe even what life as an empty-nester might look like. Travel probably entered their mind. Retirement likely registered, but probably still looks like it is a long way off.

For someone in their 50’s or 60’s, retirement is more at the forefront of their mind. Things like grandchildren growing up is probably on their mind. There is also the chance that a fear of the nation’s current financial strength is occupying their thoughts, possibly delaying their retirement or limiting their dreams of travel.

If you are in your 70’s or 80’s, your thoughts are different. Maybe you are concerned about the legacy you will leave behind. It could be that you are no longer concerned with many of the issues mentioned above, but are instead focused on enjoying every day to its fullest.

Worldly Thoughts

While I may have missed you in the descriptions above, I think you get the point. What we think about the future really depends on our age and our perception of how much longer we have here. The world has trained us to think about certain things at certain ages and we normally follow suit.

The problem is that this line of thinking, regardless of our age, is not in line with what we are told in God’s Word about the future. Think about the following verses for a moment…

“This is why I tell you: Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the sky: They don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they?

Can any of you add a single cubit to his height by worrying? And why do you worry about clothes? Learn how the wildflowers of the field grow: they don’t labor or spin thread. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these! If that’s how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, won’t He do much more for you—you of little faith?

So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For the idolaters eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

Matthew 6:25-32

What Is Your Response?

First, I am sure you are familiar with these words of Jesus. Most likely you have heard them before. You may have even heard a sermon preached on this passage. If that is the case, why are you still worrying about these things? Why do the temporary things still occupy your thoughts?

The truth is we can learn this principle, attempt to apply it, and within a short period of time we forget it. The pressures of this world break down our wills to trust God. Pretty soon we are back to worrying about the very things He tells us not to worry about!

We Cannot Give Up

Have you experienced this? I can promise you I have. In fact, despite the fact that I am posting about this very topic this morning, I will be guilty in some way of failing to live it out before the day is over!

Even though this is true, we simply cannot give up on trying to follow the instructions Jesus has given us. We cannot just chalk it up to weak flesh and quit fighting it.

So what are we supposed to do? What should we think about? How are we supposed to maintain that focus?

To Be Continued

In my next two posts I will try to answer those questions. In the meantime, I encourage you to be praying that God will reveal your heart to you. Pray that He will show you where you are failing in this effort and where you are doing well. Ask Him to teach you what He expects from you in this area!

Is your mind full of the things of this life?

Are these the topics you want to think about?

What would you prefer to think about? Why?

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Culture Victory!

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Every once in a while I get frustrated with the business I am in. Either the month does not turn out like I thought it should or something goes wrong that I was not expecting. Whatever the case, it is always nice when something happens at the same time that makes it all worth it – especially when that something is related to the culture we are trying to create.

culture

Recent Culture Example

While I will not go into too much detail (in an effort to protect the innocent!), I will give you a rough sketch of what happened. Hopefully you can get some encouragement that your efforts in this area of culture will bear similar fruit over time!

One of our employees had a very critical, time-sensitive situation that required additional money they did not have. Hearing about this situation, a co-worker made the quick decision to seek assistance from our Impact Fund. As a result, the employee was able to successfully resolve their situation in a way they would remember for the rest of their life.

Without My Knowledge!

While this is pretty amazing to me on its own, the more incredible part of this situation is that I knew nothing about it until days later! We are not a huge company, but clearly I cannot always know what is happening in the life of every employee. None of us can.

At one point in time, this frustrated me because it meant we could not help those whose needs went unnoticed by me. As badly as I wanted us to be able to meet every need as it came up, it just wasn’t feasible. I knew there was not really anything we could directly do about it, but it bothered me just the same.

Culture & Process

What COULD be done was to engage the other leaders in the company and create a process that could address the individual needs of the employees as they came up. This process, reinforced with a culture of serving and giving, could address this overall need. That is what brought about our Impact Fund.

Effectively, this is a fund made up of voluntary contributions from employees. The money is deducted from their paycheck each pay period according to whatever amount they choose. Some give $2 per pay period and others give $50.

This money is accrued as given. It is only used to meet employee needs that come up in emergencies. It may be a family health crises or a community disaster like damage from a tornado. It could be as simple as supplementing their utility bill payment or putting gas in their car.

Victory!

It is not a complex process and fortunately does not require onerous paperwork or applications. If there is a valid need that can be met with a reasonable amount of money, the decision is made quickly and the funds disbursed immediately. Obviously, based on the recent situation I described, it is working as intended. To quote a friend of mine, “Victory!”

It is exciting to see results like this come from such a process. It is more exciting to see it happening without my knowledge. It is a reflection of the culture we have been working to create over many years.

It is also a reflection of the quality people we have working here. It makes me very proud to be a part of this company.

What kind of culture are you creating?

Is your culture constantly being reinforced?

What kind of culture victories have you seen?

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More Advice For Onboarding New Hires

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The following post is written by Bill Higgins and is the conclusion to his last post. In addition to his last post, you may remember him from his previous guest posts. Bill’s following post gives us great insight into how a Christian business should approach onboarding new employees. I think you should get some great ideas from his post!

Onboarding

Onboarding New Hires

You have sounded the “All aboard!” in the form of a job offer, but it takes several other activities before new hires can settle in for the ride.

The scriptures will provide a backdrop and principles for planning your onboarding activities leading to employee integration and effectiveness. The following will present some guidance; whether you incorporate them through mentoring, an orientation class, e-learning, or a blending of several of these methods is up to you.

Onboarding Must Do’s

However you decide to do it, here are the remaining focus items you want to be sure are included in your onboarding activities:

People:
Some new hires will be so focused on their job, their tasks, they forget the people element. They forget they are part of a team. They forget their efforts or decisions impact people downstream. They forget people don’t always see things the same way they do.

That’s why the onboarding process must emphasize that people are important regardless what your job is. Remind them to learn to give and take criticism and to learn how to function as part of a team and call for help when they need it, or volunteer to help others when they need it also.

More people struggle with change than embrace it with excitement. Remind them of this as they start their new job. Some changes will be met with enthusiasm; others will be resisted and actually lobbied against. Don’t discount the feelings of those who make the plan work or those impacted by it. Feelings aren’t always grounded in reality. They’re just feelings, but they do affect the way people live.

People have all kinds or reasons for resisting. The reasons aren’t important, the people are. People need to be treated with respect, even if they oppose your ideas, plans, and changes.

Galatians 6:1-10 helps us understand the importance of people when it says, “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” The word translated “burdens” here is a word that means a load too difficult for one person to carry alone. We are to watch out for people and help them through the difficult times. New hires need to learn to be aware of this.

Take think time:
One of the things we see from Paul’s action plan as documented in Galatians 1:15-18 is that he took three years to spend time with the Lord, thinking and praying before launching into anything resembling “productive work.” He wasn’t just converted and then launched into ministry.

It’s important for new hires to understand there is no substitute for taking time to think. One sage put it this way, “There’s never time to do it right, but there’s always time to do it over.” The difference between the two is often time to think it through.

There will be deadlines new hires will be expected to meet, but they must also get used to thinking about their job, the processes, the plans, and the way things are done. Out of this comes new, more efficient ways of doing things that often save time and money and improve quality.

Time with leaders:
Galatians 1:18 tells us when Paul was launching his ministry he went to meet the man who was the most recognized leader in the first century church, Peter. Leaders in organizations are tasked with aligning the business goals of their units to the overall goals of the organization. To do this may necessitate changes in structure, processes, or business relationships.

It’s helpful for new hires to hear directly from their business leaders, just as Paul did, what their perspective and long-term plans are. The leader can also provide insight to the organization to make the early days for the new hire more efficient.

Encourage new hires to reach out to their business unit leaders and supervisors to initiate meetings with them. Provide new hires with a list of topics they can include on the agenda to make effective use of the time. The following topics make a good list to start with:

    • How members of the team work together
    • Who on the team is expert in what subject
    • Who are the recognized team leaders
    • How the leader got to their position
    • Their long-range plans
    • How the new hire can best contribute
    • What will be good for them to learn

Good Onboarding Is Critical

Onboarding can be a foundational time that sets the tone and provides a baseline for new hires. To accomplish this, haphazard assignments just won’t cut it. The points outlined above, and in my last post, will give you ideas on how you can make the most of your onboarding of new hires.

Those early days set the tone, inspire, inform, and engage. Start them out in the right direction and “…when they are old they won’t depart from it.”

About the Author:
BILL HIGGINS is currently the Managing Director of MindWare Incorporated, an independent training and career coaching consulting firm. He previously served on the pastoral staff of churches in the U.S. and Canada, and worked in a managerial capacity for industry leading organizations. Bill is a graduate of Biola University and Talbot Theological Seminary and his book; Your Road to Damascus: 6 Biblical Secrets for an Effective Job Search is now available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and MindWare Publishing websites.

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All Aboard! The Art Of Onboarding New Hires

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The following post is written by Bill Higgins. You may remember him from previous guest posts of his. Bill’s following post gives us great insight into how a Christian business should approach onboarding new employees. I think you should get some great ideas from his post!

All aboard! The conductor makes his last call and you hurry to your seat. You get oriented, pull out your ticket, locate the restrooms, and settle in for the ride. It doesn’t take long for you to get comfortable as the train pulls away from the station.

onboarding

Onboarding New Hires

Oh, that onboarding new hires in your company was that easy. You have sounded the “All aboard!” in the form of a job offer, but it takes several other activities before new hires can settle in for the ride.

The scriptures will provide a backdrop and principles for planning your onboarding activities leading to employee integration and effectiveness. The following will present some guidance; whether you incorporate them through mentoring, an orientation class, e-learning, or a blending of several of these methods is up to you.

Onboarding Must Do’s

However, you decide to do it, here are the items you want to be sure are included in your onboarding activities:

Know the corporation:
Part of Proverbs 22:6 reads, “Train up a child in the way they should go…” it literally says according to their bent or their way, the way they are made. Parents need to understand how their children are made; so too new hires need to know how their new company is made.

Cover the mission, vision, values, and the history that brought the organization to this point. This will give new hires a context and framework in which they will be expected to operate.

Take a long view:
The second part of Proverbs 22:6 reads, “…and when they are old…” This encourages both parents and business people to take the long view. When it comes to onboarding, help newcomers begin to grasp this perspective. Show them some things that have been started, some changes or plans that have been initiated, but that will take a while to be completed, take effect, or see results

Help them see that some of their own activities may not be implemented right away either, but not to get discouraged by this, but to rather be encouraged that the company plans to be around long enough to make the changes.

Work the details:
Luke 16:10 provides another point to focus on. It says, “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.” Help new hires understand that the details of any job are critically important.

None is too small to be concerned about or to take notice of. Whatever the task, it’s important to get down in the weeds to see that each of the details is addressed.

Count the cost:
Luke 14:25-35 provides another factor for your onboarding when it says, “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower…” and “Suppose a king is about to go to war…” What’s the next part, “…will he not first count the cost.”

It’s important for new hires to learn to look at downstream impacts of decisions, investments, changes. New hires need to begin to see how their job impacts other people, other processes, and other products related to what they do.

Too often individuals, teams, and work is viewed discretely. But no one works alone and without impacting others. Viewing the cost helps to get a more global view of the work and a holistic view of the corporate team.

Worry:
From Matthew 6:25ff we learn another principle that will serve new hires well (as well as old-timers too). It’s the principle of doing your best on whatever you’ve been assigned and then leave the results in God’s hands.

The passage starts out, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life,…” This passage is not telling us to forget planning or thinking down the road, but it is telling us not to worry about our plans. Worry accomplishes nothing, but gray hair.

So think, plan, apply your abilities and let God take care of the rest. You can’t foresee every eventuality and control the results anyway so you might as well learn to leave them in God’s hands.

Stay Tuned! In the next post, Bill will finish with the final three segments of his recommended onboarding recommendations. I am sure you will want to continue learning from him!

About the Author:
BILL HIGGINS is currently the Managing Director of MindWare Incorporated, an independent training and career coaching consulting firm. He previously served on the pastoral staff of churches in the U.S. and Canada, and worked in a managerial capacity for industry leading organizations. Bill is a graduate of Biola University and Talbot Theological Seminary and his book; Your Road to Damascus: 6 Biblical Secrets for an Effective Job Search is now available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and MindWare Publishing websites.

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How Do I Discern God’s Direction?

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If you have been a Christian for any length of time, you have tried to seek God’s direction at some point. Whether it is a business decision, family situation, or personal question, we have all desperately wanted God to lead us in the right direction. The problem is that we often fail to get the direction we seek and end up frustrated or confused.

direction

Direction Exercise

In my last post, I described this kind of situation. I then went through an exercise in an effort to illustrate what may be part of our problem. While this exercise may be an oversimplification of the process of seeking God’s direction in our lives, I think you will understand the main point when we are done.

Compass Competition

To recap the details of the exercise, you are on a team in an outdoor scouting competition. The goal of the competition is to use a compass to quickly navigate a series of directions and to arrive at a designated location for your team. The first team to arrive at their designated location wins.

The twist is that many of the teams have also been given a magnet that is to be attached to the side of the compass and to remain there throughout the competition.

Because compasses rely on an attraction to the earth’s magnetic north pole, the additional magnet plays havoc on the compass needle. As a result, these compasses are rendered virtually useless and only serve to frustrate and confuse the teams using them.

Parallels

Now that you are caught up, lets move on to the parallels.

Assume for the purpose of the exercise that the direction we seek from God is represented by the magnetic north pole. For this analogy, this magnetic north is the truth, the leading we need.

Imagine the compass represents our efforts to discern God’s direction through the study of His Word, seeking advice from godly mentors, and prayer. Without any other interference, these efforts can often help us to find the direction from God that we seek.

Outside Influences

The problems arise when outside influences begin to affect these efforts. These influences are represented by the magnets we added to the compass. I can initially think of three categories into which these influences fall:

1. Desires – selfishness, greed, fame, wealth, respect, acceptance, power, independence

2. Busyness – work, social activities, children, ministry

3. Fear – loss of respect, physical harm, alienation, mockery, poverty, dependence

The more you think about the various influences we bring with us as we seek to gain direction from God, the more some of them may blur from one category to another. The fact remains that it is clear these influences can dramatically affect how we hear direction from God.

The more of these influences we bring with us as we come before God, the less likely it is that we will ever be able to hear His still small voice!

Example Of Influences

For example, imagine my work schedule is killing me and my wife is telling me I have to do something about it. I know she is probably right, but if I change jobs I will probably have to get rid of some of the expensive toys I have purchased lately because I won’t be able to afford them.

I attempt to read the Bible for answers on what to do, but I simply cannot stay awake. So I go to a godly mentor and ask for his advice. As I describe the situation to him, I leave some of the facts out because I don’t want him looking down on me.

He gives me advice to consider, but it is not as severe as it would have been if I had told him everything. Even what he tells me to do seems a little dramatic to me, so I tone it down before I implement it.

I then pray to God that He will bless this slightly new direction and thank Him for speaking to me through my friend. I head into the next day feeling pretty good.

Results?

What do you think happens?

Exactly. Not much in the way of improvement.

After weeks of getting the same feedback from my wife, I am so frustrated. I did exactly what my pastor told me to do. I read the Bible, got advice from a godly mentor, and prayed about it. What more can a guy do, right? My “compass” should be working fine, but something is wrong!

Looking back over this example, can you see all of the outside influences (magnets) I brought into the picture? It is no wonder my “compass” is not working!

What Are Your Magnets?

So the key question for you is this – what are your magnets?

When you begin to seek God’s direction for your life, are you coming with a pure heart? Are you coming to Him with ALL of your heart committed to Him and Him alone?

Are you willing to get rid of the influences? Are you willing to focus always and only on His voice, forsaking the rest of those around you?

Are you willing to hear what He tells you and then do it, regardless of the potential cost?

Scriptures To Ponder

I am going to leave you with the following Scriptures to read and meditate on. Notice that all of these promises from God are dependent on your full commitment to Him. No magnets allowed!

He rewards those who earnestly seek him.
Hebrews 11:6

For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him.
2 Chronicles 16:9

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29:13

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Want To Know The Will of God?

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I am sure you have heard it said before from a friend, spouse, or any other Christian you may know. In fact, I would bet you have said it yourself…recently! The statement, “I just want to know the will of God!” is a common one among Christians.

know the will of God

We Want To Know The Will Of God!

As Christian business owners and leaders, we are constantly coming upon situations in which we need to know the will of God about something. We want to know what direction He wants us to take, which job or applicant to choose, or how long to wait on an answer before moving ahead!

We pray, we ask mentors, and we read the Bible – all in an effort to know the will of God in our lives.

Something Missing

Yet, in many cases, there seems to be something wrong. We don’t always get the answer we seek. Sometimes we get what we think are conflicting answers. Then there are times we do not seem to get any answer at all!

We end up pulling our hair out in frustration because we think we are doing all we can do to know the will of God, but we do not feel we are making any progress. We feel stuck, confused, and exhausted – and without the answer we seek.

Similar Feeling?

In an effort to recreate this feeling, I want you to try to imagine you are in an outdoor scouting competition. In order to win the competition, you have to follow the instructions given to you and your team as they lead you to the specific location designated for your team.

Your instructions look like this – From the starting line, take 25 steps North, 30 steps West, 24 steps North, and then 18 steps East. In addition to these instructions, your team is given a compass. All of the other teams have been given a compass and similar instructions to a different designated location.

Given clear weather and no other obstacles, how do you think you would do? While most people have never been trained how to use a compass in survival situations, I think most have a general idea of how a compass works, right? Could you manage this exercise?

Here’s A Twist

Now, to throw in a twist, let’s assume your team was given additional instructions along with a magnet the size of a nickel. The additional instructions indicate that your team is to attach the magnet to the side of your compass with the tape provided.

You are instructed to attach the magnet before your team uses the compass to determine any direction. Once attached, the magnet is to remain in place until the competition is completed.

Confused?

Now, if you know anything about how a compass operates, you are likely confused. Why would anyone instruct you to attach a magnet to the compass? That makes no sense, right?

I agree. However, just for the sake of the illustration, let’s play it out.

Because a compass operates on an attraction to the earth’s magnetic north pole, attaching another magnet is only going to alter the direction of the compass needle. In this case, you would never find the correct location designated for your team.

Frustration Ensues

Instead, you would find yourself in full blown frustration while the altered compass led you in circles as the needle reacted to the additional influence of the attached magnet!

If your team was the only one given the additional instructions for the attached magnet, then your team would clearly lose the competition. However, can you picture the scene if nearly all of the other teams had magnets attached to their compasses? Chaos, right?

Only the team(s) who were allowed to seek their designated location without the influence of an additional magnet would have a chance to win. To them, your wandering would seem silly.

To Be Continued

Because I am out of space (ha!), I am going to wait until my next post to clarify the points I am trying to make in regards to how we can know the will of God…remember, that is where we started!

In the meantime, I would like you to think through this exercise and its implications. Get a magnet and compass if you need to – play with them and pray that God will reveal to you how this applies to you and your relationship with Him!

Can you connect the exercise to trying to know the will of God?

If so, what is your personal magnet?

How does Proverbs 4:10-11 fit this exercise?

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Jeremie Kubicek Book Give Away!

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[title color=”orange-vibrant” align=”scmgccenter” font=”georgia” style=”normal” size=”scmgc-7em”]Free Book Give Away!!![/title]

Kubicek

Another Free Book Give Away?

You read that right! I am offering a free copy of Jeremie Kubicek’s book, Leadership is Dead: How Influence is Reviving It!

How Do You Win?

If you scroll down just a bit you will see the Rafflecopter entry form which outlines a bunch of ways to enter the Leadership is Dead giveaway. Just complete as many as you would like to be entered to win!

Why Am I Doing This?

I started this blog in an effort to spread the message of integrating the Christian faith into our businesses. I want to see more Christian business owners and leaders begin looking at their businesses from an eternal perspective and running them as platforms for Christian ministry.

While I know my posts are written toward this effort, I thought I would try to step it up a notch for 2013. My plan is to give away one book a month for the entire year! All I am asking from you is to follow the Rafflecopter instructions below. As you enter, you will be helping me to spread the word about this blog at the same time. We both win!

This Month’s Book: Jeremy Kubicek’s Leadership Is Dead

Jeremie Kubicek is the president and CEO of Giant Impact and a founding partner of the GiANT Companies. He has been growing and leading domestic and international companies for two decades that value people over processes and integrity above all else.Today he leads the global leadership event and training company and has added key new partnerships with Dr.Henry Cloud, Pat Lencioni, Andy Stanley and Mark Sanborn along with Dr. John Maxwell.

Anyone can make an impact. All you need is influence—the most potent professional asset on the planet. The problem is that influence is also the most underused asset on the planet. This book shows that the key to effective leadership is learning how to influence in a way that engenders greater trust, stronger partnerships, and more impactful endeavors.

Enter The Give Away

Follow the instructions below to enter the Leadership Is Dead contest and then spread the word to others! The contest ends at midnight on Wednesday, July 31st and the winner will be announced on Thursday, August 1st.

a Rafflecopter giveaway