Integrity

Fresh Start

2025-04-26T14:38:57-05:00May 5th, 2025|Tags: , , |

With hindsight, I can remember thousands of times when I acted selfishly or without integrity when dealing with coworkers. When I caught myself in those times, it was easy to pull back, feel like a failure, and stop trying.   Yet God doesn’t define us by our failures. He is a God of compassion and restoration, as Moses told the Israelites ...

Social Media Deceptions

2025-04-05T20:53:44-05:00April 30th, 2025|Tags: , , |

My wife, Kathy, regularly calls business leaders asking how our team can best pray for them. Over the last year, Kathy has noticed one common request.   They often ask for prayers for their adult children. Many speak of children who have “ghosted them” due to political or social disagreements.   When Kathy delicately probes about the underlying issue, most share one ...

The Fiery Ordeal

2025-04-05T20:33:01-05:00April 29th, 2025|Tags: , , |

After twenty years in vocational ministry, Kathy and I have a habit of forewarning new hires at UBN to expect trouble. The enemy doesn’t want our ministry to succeed.   It’s not uncommon to watch new employees experience significant challenges. Challenges may be health related, household appliances breaking, or event persecution.  One of our employees recently shared that it was ...

Standard Operating Procedures

2025-03-29T17:02:48-05:00April 16th, 2025|Tags: , , |

Recently, I asked my friend, Steve, about the rising number of airplane crashes. As a pilot for over 40 years, Steve had an interesting perspective.  “The beauty of the air travel process,” Steve said, “is that every aspect has standard operating procedures. There’s a detailed process for each step. Most pilots and air traffic personnel know that if they deviate ...

Embracing Moral Restraint

2025-03-28T19:58:58-05:00April 2nd, 2025|Tags: , , |

During my final Graduate School of Banking summer, I was a new Christian. My midwestern peers noticed a difference and seemed determined to draw me back into drunkenness and debauchery.   One evening, my peers decided to visit a strip club. It suddenly became their mission to ridicule and pressure me to join them. I locked myself in the bathroom until ...

The Toll of Hypocrisy

2025-03-10T12:30:05-05:00March 28th, 2025|Tags: , , |

When someone feels compelled to tell you they are ethical, it’s likely they aren’t. Years ago, I met a business owner who kept telling me that he was a person of high integrity.   While touring his business, one of his employees stopped me to say, “Don’t believe anything he says. My boss is a crook and a liar.”   In Isaiah ...

The Destructive Nature of Envy

2025-03-01T13:45:58-06:00March 21st, 2025|Tags: , , |

My friend, Roger, used to call on small town radio stations. These small radio stations often struggled to survive unless they found a good advertising salesperson.  But frequently, a good salesperson would become very productive. Their sales commissions would soar until eventually they made more money than the owner.  Roger observed that this often led to the owner, or their ...

Negotiating Agreements God’s Way: Part II

2025-02-21T19:39:24-06:00March 11th, 2025|Tags: , , |

In this series, we’re discussing five guiding principles on how best to negotiate agreements. The second principle I recommend is to avoid negotiating with those you can’t trust.  A previous bank customer of mine was represented by their manipulative CFO. This CFO would leverage his other bank relationships to pressure us to give him a better deal.  We agreed ...

No Need For Apologies

2025-02-21T18:16:03-06:00March 3rd, 2025|Tags: , , |

As the Kansas City Chiefs headed to Super Bowl LIX recently, the Press questioned Kansas City Chiefs kicker, Harrison Butker, again about his controversial statements made at a Catholic University in 2024.   According to the Associated Press, Butker said, “I don’t feel the need to apologize for anything.” He added, “I feel like God’s prepared me for that moment to feel ...

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