When Jeff began leading his family’s 4th generation business, he was anxious, knowing that most businesses never last beyond the 3rd generation. He worked hard, but nothing seemed to succeed. The business struggled and Jeff began feeling like a failure. Desperate, Jeff bowed down on the shop room floor and dedicated his business to God. Soon thereafter the business began ...
Some business partners I know were professed Christians, but they kept having disagreements about how their faith should be reflected in their business. One partner was adamant that their faith should be separate. During a heated exchange, the one partner who was reticent about his faith blurted out, “My father taught me that business is business and faith is faith. ...
When I was a boy, we attended a church where most weeks we heard about our sin and our need for repentance. Our pastor’s messages elicited guilt, conviction, but also a desire to change. Many people were saved, but the sermons caused some to fear God in a way that was unhealthy. Today, many churches rarely discuss sin and repentance. ...
Sometimes God limits our resources. You might ask, “Why would God limit what’s needed to accomplish my goals?” God gave Adam and Eve unlimited resources, with one restriction; they were not to eat from the tree of good or evil. When the serpent convinced them they could be like God if they violated God’s one restriction, they later discovered God ...
In the book, “The CEO Next Door,” the authors did a deep-dive on survey data to determine what attributes surfaced for successful CEOs. Their findings debunked several CEO Myths. One of the myths was, “to become a CEO you need a flawless resume.” Instead, these researchers discovered that 45% of CEO candidates had at least one major career blowup that ...
Neal Jeffrey is a stutterer, but also a tremendous athlete. He became a quarterback for the San Diego Chargers. Because of his football success Neal receives many requests to speak publicly. Initially, Neal tried to cover-up his handicap. Then one day his wife said, “Why don’t you quit torturing yourself and proclaim that you stutter, then make some jokes about ...
Years ago, when my wife, Kathy, and I purchased furniture for the office, Kathy typically started to assemble it using her instincts. My role usually came when we discovered leftover pieces. That’s when I would show Kathy the instructions and we would make the necessary adjustments. The manufacturer knew best when they designed the instructions. Barna Research discovered that 87% ...
Years ago, my office in a bank lobby had a large glass window to the outside. One “Good Friday” had been a lovely sunny day, until early afternoon. In just moments a total darkness settled over the city. My office filled with people as they came to marvel at the sudden darkness. A co-worker proclaimed, “This is like the original ...
If you ask most people about St. Patrick’s Day, you might hear about drunken Irishmen, leprechauns, and lucky green shamrocks. St. Patrick would likely be appalled at how his legacy is now celebrated. St. Patrick was a 5th century Irish slave who later escaped and became a Catholic priest. Later, God called Patrick to return to a hedonistic Ireland! For ...
Although we don’t always get it right, over the years we’ve tried as a ministry to partner with like-minded faith at work organizations. Some leaders, however, view us as competition and refuse to work with us. At times, ministries fear they are competing for the same donor dollars. Likewise, many businesses fear if they don’t win every job, then there ...
Equipping Others to Do Work Differently
