One of the things I enjoy most about teaching is when God shows up, in response to my prayers. Recently, I was delivering a talk when I sensed God urging me to scrap one of my stories and substitute another. I marveled as I watched closely the eyes of the men listening. That story resonated with them. Several men later ...
Over the years I’ve heard people say, “I don’t listen to Christian music, because it all sounds the same, or, I don’t like Christian movies because of their poor quality.” When Christian’s attempt to mimic secular approaches, the result often ends up being cheap imitations. When God’s in the middle of our projects, however, they will likely be unconventional. God ...
Dr. Richard Blackaby shared with our Des Moines members a time when his father, Henry, was speaking to a group of Fortune 500 CEOs. Henry challenged each of them to carve out what he called unhurried time with God. One CEO interjected, “Henry, that’s not likely, you have no idea how busy we are.” Henry reportedly said, “Well, you have ...
Mark had two business partners. Mark and one of those partners had a falling out that resulted in some deep hurt and ultimately destroyed the partnership. Bitterness permeated Mark and impacted his attitude for years. He couldn’t shake the grudge he had against his former partner. It took years for Mark to finally forgive that partner and eliminate the bitterness. ...
In this series, we’ve been discussing how meetings and email are consuming the average worker’s time, making us less productive. Recently, I’ve noticed another trend that concerns me – the growing number of messaging tools. When I first started my consulting business, if someone wanted to reach me, their choice was to call me or drop by. In the last ...
As we celebrate Memorial Day, I’m reminded of the end of the movie, Saving Private Ryan. Private Ryan is in a cemetery reflecting on the men who died in World War II due to their mission of retrieving him from combat. Private Ryan wrestles with how well he lived out his life after the war. He struggled with knowing ...
If you had known me when I was working construction during college, you would have experienced a very different person. At that stage in my life, my language was filthy, I drank heavily, I was a thief, and women were not treated respectfully. In my early 30s, when God finally captured my heart, I had to begin killing off my ...
A recent Harvard Business Review article discussed the culture of busyness that permeates the workforce. Adam Waytz, the author, had several antidotes for the growing prevalence of busyness. One performance coach tracked the responses of people she met for one week. When asked, “How are you?” eight out of ten responded, “Busy.” According to Gallup, the number of people who ...
According to the Oxford English Dictionary the word good in the context of “Good Friday” actually references this day in history as being holy due to Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf. God’s ways, and the Bible, are full of paradoxes. The darkest day in history also begins the best weekend in history as Jesus not only died for our sins, ...
In this series, we’re discussing some of the snares that can surface when a business leader begins experiencing success. The final snare I wish to discuss is pride. When I was in banking, I watched several companies begin to experience rapid success, often leading to newspaper articles and favorable press. The CEO’s pride often led them to pursue more and ...
Equipping Others to Do Work Differently
