Finding Time for Spiritual Growth September 27, 2011
Posted by marcday in Biblical Life-Coaching, Growth, Leadership, New Life, Wisdom.add a comment
One of the great services leaders can offer the people they lead is to learn. Business challenges, management practices, and technology are changing at a staggering pace. Anyone who took a new job five years ago and has not kept up-to-date with the trends in their industry is at a serious disadvantage. As critical as professional development is, spiritual growth is far more important. Yet a hectic career can push out the time required for meaningful improvement.
Many Christian leaders report that although they have extensive educations they have never received comprehensive training on the Christian worldview. They admit they spend inadequate time studying God’s Word or reading Christian literature. These leaders are very much aware of shifting demographic, political, and technological trends, but they are unaware of the expectations God has for them. They have no idea what God is currently doing in the world around them, but they want to know God’s heart. The following are some tips you might find helpful as your strive to balance career and family with spiritual growth.
1. Be intentional about your spiritual growth. Develop a plan. Set aside specific times to read and engage in serious study. Set goals for yourself.
2. Free up space in your life so you have time to read. Spiritual growth occurs when it is a priority. Otherwise, almost anything will take its place in our busy lives. Clearly, there is not enough time to do everything you would like to do each week, so you must make hard choices with your schedule.
3. Use technology to help you. Listen to audio recordings on your way to work or during your lunch break. Read an e-book or article on your laptop, smartphone, tablet or other electronic device.
4. Join a learning cluster. Find people who want to grow in their Bible knowledge, and organize yourselves to study together. I recently learned about a group of 10-15 CEOs who meet three times a year. These busy executives meet at a hotel near an airport for a concentrated time of teaching that occurs over a 24-hour period. These busy leaders schedule time to fly to the designated city to undergo intensive biblical training on being spiritual leaders in the workplace. Then they return home to carry on their business and family responsibilities. This is a significant sacrifice, but the reshaping work of God and the impact upon their careers is well worth it.
5. Surround yourself with learners who also want to grow in their personal, professional, and spiritual lives. Seek out strong Christians and ask them to recommend books that will help you grow in your faith. Approach the thinkers within your Christian community and have in-depth discussions with them. Far too many people are satisfied with average. Don’t let these unmotivated people deaden your desire to grow spiritually. It is a great challenge to keep learning while also holding a busy, highly demanding job. But there are ways. God wants you to grow in your understanding of him and his Word.
Biblical Principles for Your Career September 21, 2011
Posted by marcday in Biblical Life-Coaching, Leadership, Wisdom.add a comment
The Bible offers an almost endless stream of instruction regarding career and business activity. The following are just a few points we all need to keep at the center of our thinking.
1. Whatever you do in word or in deed, do it for the Lord (Prov. 3:5; 1 Cor. 10:31; 2 Cor. 5:9; Eph. 5:15-17; Col. 3:17). As you perform your job, realize that Christians are called to honor Christ in all dimensions of life, including your activities in the workplace. You are a spiritual being; therefore, your work life is as spiritual as your devotional life. All of your life belongs to God.
2. Do all things without complaining and disputing (Phil. 2:14). The world has plenty of critics and people who seem to continually complain. Keep a positive attitude. As a Christian you know Jesus Christ and no problem is beyond his power.
3. Be humble (Prov. 11:2; 16:5; 29:23; Phil. 2:5-8). Follow the example of Jesus Christ who set aside his heavenly throne to live as an average citizen among the people he had created. Even commentators on secular leadership recognize that great leaders are humble people.
4. Watch what you say (Prov. 8:8; 10:19-21; 15:23, 26; 16:13; 25:15; Eph. 4:29; Col. 4:6; James 3:1-12). Words wisely chosen can encourage and energize others. Careless talk can weaken you or your listener. Don’t speak in a reckless manner. Think before you speak. Be mindful how you address others. Do you tend to inspire people, or injure with your words?
5. Keep learning (Prov. 1:5). Smart leaders realize there is much they don’t know. Keep reading, studying, and seeking godly, Bible-saturated, advice. Maintain a teachable spirit. Don’t let pride keep you from growing. The Bible is a storehouse of wisdom, and even secular leaders are discovering that biblical principles make sense. As a person who influences the culture that surrounds you, you can’t afford not to know God’s Word.
6. Guard your integrity (Ps. 18:23; 26:11; 37:37; 41:12; Prov. 2:7; 11:8). Whether you’re in the business and professional sector, or ministry, if you are a Christian, you are an ambassador for Christ. Competitiveness can tempt some leaders to compromise their principles if the outcome looks appealing. Don’t compromise. Don’t allow anyone or anything to dismantle your integrity.
7. Seek good counsel (Prov. 11:14; 13:18). Good advice is invaluable. The wisdom of a godly colleague can save you from critical decision-making mistakes. You must be teachable, however, if you are to benefit from wise advisors. Be proactive in seeking wise counsel. Don’t be like King Rehoboam who ignored wise instruction and listened instead to people who led him to his ruin (1 Kings 12:1-20).
8. Show mercy (Prov. 11:17). Running a business or leading an organization requires some difficult decisions, but as you seek to improve your organization’s standing, never forget to show mercy. You are where you are by God’s grace. It is possible to be competitive in your career and in business while being gracious (Mic. 6:8).
9. Control your anger (Prov. 15:18; 16:32; 29:11; Col. 3:8). Many leaders have lost everything because they could not control their temper. Anger is a deadly sin because it blinds people to the really important issues. Resentment and retaliation can destroy relationships, causing otherwise clear-thinking people to say foolish and very harmful things.
Does God Really Care About the Workplace? September 14, 2011
Posted by marcday in Biblical Life-Coaching, Grace, Growth, Leadership, Wisdom.add a comment
Professional people may think praying for God to guide and bless their business and career is worldly and something that God is disinterested in. Many Christians don’t seek God’s blessing in business and career decisions because they don’t want to appear self-seeking. This dilemma can be due to our tendency to divide life into two categories: the sacred and the secular. Sometimes we may assume God is only concerned with religious issues such as the church, Sunday school, and missions. We conclude that God is uninterested in such earthly matters as business, finance, politics, technology, and education. God, however, does not divide the world as we do. Everything is sacred to God!
The whole world is the arena of his divine activity. God designed humanity and all his creation so that it would reflect his glory (Psa. 19.1; 1 Cor. 10.31). Your business and professional activity is a channel through which God can receive honor, an avenue through which he can express his love for people, and a conduit he can use to deliver grace to a hurting world. If you view your company as secular, you may compromise with questionable ethics, exploitation of your employees, or greed, which will discredit your Christian witness. By artificially categorizing career as separate from Christian life, a person is not only dishonoring God, he or she is more likely to subject themselves to failure. Why? Because if a Christian’s life dishonors their heavenly Father, then God will discipline His child (Heb. 12.5-11). Many Christians have testified that it took financial and professional disaster to reorient them from pursuing worldly goals in their career to putting God first.
The ways to serve and honor God through your business and career are limitless. At the same time, don’t rule out the reality that God may choose to bless your enterprises extensively. When you willingly honor God through your leadership, he may choose to guide you to remarkable success. Consider: Joseph (Gen. 41); Joseph of Arimathea (Matt.27.57-60); Lydia (Acts 16.11-15). Don’t think of your work as being merely secular. It is your ministry setting. It is (or can be) a vibrant, integral component of your Christian walk. Welcome God into your workplace. Seek his wisdom and trust his leading.
Developing New Leaders June 10, 2011
Posted by marcday in Leadership, Wisdom.add a comment
►Effective leaders view new leadership selection and development as a priority in their work.
A major responsibility of leaders is the on-going selection of and development of new leaders. The process of identifying future leaders is both a means and an end. It is an end in that it produces new leaders for organizational expansion and growth. It is a means towards growth in that it stimulates life in the organization. Emerging leaders bring new life to the organization. Leaders who fail to recognize, select, and develop emerging leaders miss out on a huge opportunity for both personal and organizational growth. Overlooking this aspect of leadership almost guarantees a weak future organization that is overly dependent upon a single leader.
►Why is this important? Without the development of future leaders any organization is just one generation away from mediocrity. New and emerging leaders often help to offset “plateau” in organizations that are struggling. When organizations are strengthened, with the presence of emerging leaders, the current leader is more secure, not less secure.
►Biblical examples include Jesus and his development of the disciples in the Gospels and the apostle Paul and his development of future leaders.
