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Archive for the ‘Bible’ Category

Try Sitting in a Circle

Posted in Bible, Encouragement, Faith, Faith and Work, Leadership, Relationships, Small Groups, tagged , , , , , , , , on September 13, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

There are so many things that you can do to grow as a leader. To grow in your faith. Most of them are good. But what are the things that will have the most impact? A real, lasting impact?

I was reminded of an answer to that question this week as 62 leaders committed 60 minutes to sit in a circle. Well, actually they were sitting in a rectangle around large conference room tables. 62 men and women, in five different marketplace groups, from companies across northwest Arkansas invested 60 minutes to begin a journey. For 13 weeks, they will learn biblical leadership lessons from one of the great leaders of the Bible…Nehemiah!

I received an email from one of our WorkMatters Group leaders that met at 6:00a.m. yesterday! The anticipation these women expressed was powerful.

How encouraging to see all ten chairs around the table in the Harvest board room filled with women yearning to:

  • plug into a Bible study for the first time since college
  • meet other women in business
  • learn practical ways to have my faith be part of my life at work and not be separated from the rest of my activities
  • put God first even though I’m not a morning person and it won’t be easy as a single mom

Have you considered sitting in a circle with a small group of leaders that can create a lasting impact in your life and you in theirs?

Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.  1Thessalonians 5:11

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3 Ways to Deal with Difficulties at Work

Posted in Attitude, Bible, tagged on June 14, 2012 | 2 Comments »

This week I have been reminded of the difficulties in work and life. Stuff happens. Sometimes it comes through the anxiety of our ever increasing workload. Sometimes it comes through an event (or two) that happen unexpectedly. Sometimes, we have very personal issues at home that we must live with at work.

What is yours today?

And what will you do about it?

Here are three suggestions for you:

  1. Read Psalm 34:19.
  2. Have you been on your knees lately?
  3. Genuinely encourage someone else. Send a text, a tweet, an email or just stop someone at work.

I hope this helps you wherever you are today. God bless your work.

David

Colossians 3:23

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10 Attributes of a Humble Leader

Posted in Bible, Faith and Work, Humble, Servant Leadership, Serve, Seven Pillars of Faith and Work, tagged , , , , , , , , on March 6, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

All of us want to be humble leaders. It sounds good. It sounds right. But pride is a mighty warrior. It fights for the enemy. And we so easily fall prey to the enemy.

Some of us seem to be born with more humility than others. Some of us have great mothers or fathers that modeled humility. But most of us get out in the world, especially out in the marketplace…and humility doesn’t seem to win. It doesn’t seem to get promoted. It doesn’t seem to get talked about or noticed.

So pride drives until we GET humbled. Then, we begin to open our eyes. We develop a vision for a greater purpose for our lives and our work. The Bible begins to show us that humility has value!

Our friends at Catalyst have shared some great ideas on working to become a humble leader. If you are intrigued with these ideas, click over and read the Catablog for the details.

10 ATTRIBUTES OF A HUMBLE LEADER

  1. Dangerous trust
  2. Sincere investment
  3. Gentle, but strong
  4. Readily admits mistakes
  5. Forgives easily
  6. Quickly diverts attention
  7. Remains thankful
  8. Recognizes limitations
  9. Shares authority
  10. Invites feedback
Marketplace Scripture:
“For those who make themselves great will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be made great.”
Luke 14:11

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“How To” Tips for Relationship with God at Work

Posted in Bible, Faith and Work, God, Prayer, Serve, Seven Pillars of Faith and Work, Small Groups, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on September 26, 2011 | 1 Comment »

For those of you that could not attend the WorkMatters Eight to Five event in early September, here are some tools to help you on your faith@work journey.

This month we are focusing on the first and most important of the Seven Pillars of Faith at Work – RELATIONSHIP. Here are seven simple “how to” tips to help you be successful in abiding with God at work:

  1. Morning bible reading and prayer - include your work!
  2. Wear a wrist band as a reminder to “think God.”
  3. Meet weekly with trusted co-workers to discuss/pray for your work.
  4. Ask God for his peace in your work.  Start watching for it.
  5. Crazy but…the privacy of the bathroom makes an awesome prayer room.
  6. Over lunch one day, fast and serve in a food kitchen or homeless shelter.
  7. Be intentional with the Seven Pillars of Faith at Work.

What suggestions do you have?

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1 + 1 = 2

Posted in Balance, Bible, Faith and Work, Family, Marriage, Prayer on March 16, 2011 | 4 Comments »

We get so strung out with the incredible pace of our lives. I am living through that right now. I just got off the phone with a business leader expressing the same anxieties and frustrations.

Our work is demanding and full of pressures. We strive to be the best husbands and wives possible. Many of us have children who we deeply desire to spend time with. Some of us serve, but so often that gets back-burnered. Some make church a priority, others fit it in if possible (try having a child involved in competitive sports). And the list goes on.

Do you need help?

Last month we had a powerful message on Legacy at our Eight to Five marketplace ministry. Mark Saviers, partner in Sage Partners, took us back to the basics. It was so refreshing. (Listen to Mark’s message)

1 + 1 = 2 … it is a simple, predictable equation.

If we wake up, work out (or not), eat breakfast, and run out the door … we will have a fairly predictable outcome.

What if we added one element to that equation… a few minutes of time alone with our Father … again, I believe we will have a fairly predictable outcome.

One will yield a day spent grinding. The other a day spent grounded.

After Mark’s message, he handed me a simple booklet (50 pages) that is a powerful tool for helping us get back to the basics of a quiet time with God. It is appropriately titled, Quiet Time, by Bill Smith. You can call 501-224-3238 to order a copy (only $5).

I need 1 + 1 = 2 in my life. I need to be grounded so that I have a fighting chance to reflect Christ in my life, especially at work.

Do you?

Pick up the book…see if some quiet time spent each day reading the Bible and praying and listening will help you find 1 + 1 = 2.

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Inspiration

Posted in Bible, Encouragement on September 23, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

Do you need this for your work today? I know I do…

“Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!  Amen.”

Ephesians 3:20-21

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Raising Sheep

Posted in Bible, Purpose on September 9, 2010 | 1 Comment »

…not a particularly spiritual job, is it? Do you ever feel that way about your job?

You may not read the book of Amos very often. I know I don’t. But Amos, as a simple Shepherd, became a channel for God’s message to others.

Your job may not make you feel all that spiritual. You may or may not be “successful”. But if you are in the place God wants you at work, how powerful that can be! God can work through you to do extraordinary things, no matter how ordinary your job may feel.

“The words of Amos, one of the shepherds…” Amos 1:1

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Daniel Leadership

Posted in Bible, Economy, Faith and Work, Heaven, Honesty, Integrity, Leadership, Seven Pillars of Faith and Work on September 8, 2010 | 2 Comments »

I have been blessed to build a friendship over the past few years with a business leader who “gets it” about as well as any I know. Donnie Smith, new CEO of Tyson Foods (located here in northwest Arkansas), has worked at Tyson Foods for 30 years.

On Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal published a feature interview with Donnie. I have enclosed excerpts of the interview here (the entire interview is here). This is powerful. Whether you are just out of college and getting started in your career, a millennial trying to decide how you want to live at work, or a boomer still “working it out”, Donnie’s words will inspire you.

Finally these men said, “We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God.” Daniel 6:5

———————————————————————————————————————-

Mr. Smith, who teaches a Sunday school class, says one of his most important jobs as CEO is to promote an ethical culture. The company employs 120 chaplains and he blogs about integrity.

From his egg-shaped office, Mr. Smith shared his views on leading his flock.

Excerpts:

WSJ: What’s your management style?

Mr. Smith: I’ve got this little saying: the answer is always in the room. We have to free people up to operate in an environment where there is no fear. We are going to make mistakes. Don’t worry about it. Let’s fail fast and fail forward. Then take that empowering spirit, and let’s go solve some problems.

WSJ: On your internal company blog, you mention the Bible as a favorite book. Does your faith affect the way you manage?

Mr. Smith: I don’t think you can say, “I do all my church stuff on Sunday between nine and noon, and the rest of the time I am either out for myself or running my business.”

My faith influences how I think, what I do, what I say. There are a lot of great biblical principles that are fundamental to operating a good business. Being fair and telling the truth are biblical principles.

WSJ: How moral can a company be?

Mr. Smith: We are going to do what is right. And we’re going to do what is right for one reason: because it is right. Now listen, we’ve got 117,000 people. There might be somebody that steps out of line occasionally. We will correct that.

WSJ: The Bible says the chances of a rich man getting into Heaven aren’t good. Can a Fortune 500 CEO get into Heaven?

Mr. Smith: This one will, because I did what the Bible said I had to do to get into heaven. Feeding people is a laudable purpose in life.

WSJ: The recession has brought widespread complaints of Wall Street greed. What do you think?

Mr. Smith: There seems to be this attitude that big is bad. And it really does bother me. Big banks are bad. Big Ag is bad. And you know what? We’re not bad.

We provide jobs for 117,000 people around the world. We make great, safe food products.

WSJ: Last thing: Which of your beef customers makes the best hamburger?

Mr. Smith: There is zero chance I am answering that question. No, I will tell you who makes the best hamburger: I do.

WSJ: So it’s not McDonald’s? Burger King? Wendy’s?

Mr. Smith: On my grill.

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Making “Perfect” Decisions

Posted in Bible, Jesus, Planning, Prayer on July 1, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

Ok, let’s go deep today. In your work, you make many decisions every day. You contemplate strategies for the future, right? Jesus gave us a couple of great examples why…

Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’

Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace.   Luke 14:28-32

But, what tool do we have to ensure that our decisions are consistent with God’s will for our work? This is so powerful…

But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.   John 16:13

The Holy Spirit, the often overlooked third of the Trinity, is an incredibly powerful tool to guide us with our decisions and strategies at work.

In case you are not completely sold, read one more piece of wisdom from the Bible in 1 Corinthians 2:10-16.

Father, we so often simply pray just to you and your Son Jesus. Open our eyes Lord to the power of praying to the Holy Spirit, who will guide us to do your will…just as the Bible promises.   Amen

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Seeing the Cross

Posted in Bible, Jesus, Prayer on June 23, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

Guest Blogger Blair Johanson, Partner, Johanson Group

Recently, I was traveling east on Interstate 40 between mile markers 27 and 28 on the way to Little Rock, AR for a late-morning business meeting.  If you know this stretch of the interstate highway, you are probably familiar with seeing a large cross in a small clearing on top of a hill rising up from the road.  At night, this cross is lit with lights and it is visible for miles. 

This particular dawn morning the gray sky backdrop made the cross invisible from mile marker 27.  I knew that the cross had to be there, but I couldn’t see it.  Had the owner been pressured to take down this symbol of hope and salvation?  As my Pathfinder sped closer to the rising hillside, the cross began to appear and I was relieved to see that Jesus’ cross was still standing tall for the wearied and burdened I-40 travelers.  

As I passed mile marker 28 with the image of Jesus’ cross on my mind, Matthew West’s song “Going through the Motions” was playing on XM radio.  I was reminded that my walk with Christ and my salvation journey would be blessed greatly through the study of his word each day.  Jesus tells us to study the words of truth in the Bible and learn to carry his cross daily.  As I grow in Christ through daily scripture study and prayer, Jesus’ cross becomes clearer each day. 

Jesus replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”   Luke 11:28

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