Sustainability is a hot topic in many nonprofit board rooms. A donation-only model doesn’t seem sustainable to many business leaders who serve on nonprofit boards. It’s their nature to look for ways to help increase profits in the nonprofit world. But is that always God’s preference? In Luke 10, Jesus commissioned 36 new “nonprofits” when he sent his 72 disciples ...
The Harvard Business Review published an article titled, “Why Ethical People Make Unethical Choices.” This article highlighted five ways that organizations needlessly provoke so-called good people to make unethical choices. This week we’re going to discuss these five organizational flaws. The first one is, “It is psychologically unsafe to speak up.” If an employee believes that no one wants to ...
As 2017 began, my wife, Kathy, proclaimed that this should be the year of adventure. Then she began researching what “adventure” meant. One of the definitions in dictionary.com says, “A bold, usually risky undertaking; hazardous action of uncertain outcome.” A different definition of adventure is, “participation in exciting undertakings.” After pondering the first definition, Kathy wanted to recant her proclamation. ...
February is a month that Americans celebrate the birth of two great leaders, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Let’s reflect on what made these two men great leaders. Both men had to navigate significant adversity. The Revolutionary War and the Civil War were major turning points in this nation, and, weak leaders could have set this nation on an ...
In 1932, R.G. LeTourneau, the “Dean of Earthmoving Equipment,” was deep in debt and behind in paying his employees. Yet, R.G. was confident God wanted him to make a $5,000 pledge to his church. R.G. reminded God that his employees would think he was a hypocrite if he paid the church before he paid them. Choosing to obey God, R.G. ...
In 1931, R.G. LeTourneau’s business was deep in debt. He was forced to obey his bonding company’s rules to save his business. According to his biography, R.G., known as the “Dean of Earthmoving Equipment,” was told if he didn’t work on Sundays that the bonding company would take over his project. LeTourneau prayed about what to do. He was instructed ...
“The Insanity of God” by Nik Ripken, is a compilation of stories by a missionary who traveled the world interviewing over 700 Christians who have been persecuted. Many of the people he interviewed didn’t wonder if they would ever be persecuted, but instead, wondered when and how frequently. Our laws in America still allow us to publicly express our faith ...
This week we’re discussing how to reinvent your business by using the word Renew as an acronym. The W stands for Willpower. A local church had a strong presence in the heart of the city, when they determined God was leading them to move to a bigger facility. But the new facility was more than 10 miles away. Although they ...
Years ago, Kathy and I had lunch with our 94-year-old friend, Cliff. That day, we learned that Cliff’s destroyer was sunk by a kamikaze pilot during World War II. Although many of the crew died, Cliff pulled himself onto a nearby raft. As Cliff tried to help his friend, and barber, into the raft, two sharks devoured the man right ...
Sometimes Matt gets up telling himself, “This is the day I start on ………”, but he doesn’t. It’s not due to laziness, lack of money, or time. It’s Fear. Matt says he’s occasionally fearful that, “This might not work.” So he procrastinates, telling himself, “that he’ll start on it tomorrow,” hoping to muster up the courage to face the possibility ...
Equipping Others to Do Work Differently
