New Book: Working for a Difficult Boss: Lessons from the Life of Daniel
Posted inChristian Stewardship Executive Insights Leadership Theology and Business

New Book: Working for a Difficult Boss: Lessons from the Life of Daniel

In the United States, roughly 158 million people go to work daily. Well over half (70%) report working for a bad boss. At some point, 50% will quit their jobs because of a boss who lacks the skills and ability to manage people well. In addition, according to Barna Research, 25% of American adults are practicing Christians. This means that (roughly) 40 million Christians go to work...
May 6, 2023Posted inChristian Stewardship, Executive Insights, Leadership, Theology and BusinessTags:
Self-Preservation and Losing Our Lives: Lessons from the Life of Daniel
Posted inLeadership Theology and Business

Self-Preservation and Losing Our Lives: Lessons from the Life of Daniel

1King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, sixty cubits high and six cubits wide, and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. 2 He then summoned the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials to come to the dedication of the image he had set up. 3 So the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and...
January 28, 2023Posted inLeadership, Theology and BusinessTags:
Leadership Lessons from the Life of Daniel: Favor Created by God
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Leadership Lessons from the Life of Daniel: Favor Created by God

9Now God had caused the official to show favor and compassion to Daniel, 10but the official told Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the King, who has assigned your food and drink.Daniel 1.9-10 NIV A short social media video has remained in my mind for many years. It is from the campaign’s final days between President Obama and Senator John McCain. President Obama was riding in...
October 19, 2022Posted inLeadershipTags:
LGBTQ Activists Protest Hiring Practices of Seattle Pacific University
Posted inCurrent Events Leadership

LGBTQ Activists Protest Hiring Practices of Seattle Pacific University

These protests against the university for upholding a policy prohibiting hiring LGBTQ people are coming from the university's students. Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson is (effectively) supporting the students in their litigation against the school. In response, the university is suing the State of Washington over its probe into the school's LBGTQ exclusion, claiming a violation of its first amendment rights. This is another example of...
July 29, 2022Posted inCurrent Events, LeadershipTags: , , ,
Leadership Lessons from the Life of Daniel: The Importance of Identity
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Leadership Lessons from the Life of Daniel: The Importance of Identity

A transcendent life purpose is essential to leading well as a Christian in the marketplace. We cannot lead the way God intended if we don’t have a set of core convictions about our life purpose that extends beyond our vocation. Without deeply held beliefs, you’ll negotiate away too much of yourself when normal business pressures and uncertainties come your way. From a leadership viewpoint, the book of...
January 7, 2022Posted inLeadershipTags: , ,
Leadership Lessons from the Life of Daniel: Resolve Comes from a Healthy Fear of God
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Leadership Lessons from the Life of Daniel: Resolve Comes from a Healthy Fear of God

This lesson focuses on the contrast between Daniel and the chief official,[1] Ashpenaz (vs 3). Whereas the chief official fears the king, Daniel and his friends fear God. This is what verses 9-10 says: 9Now God had caused the official to show favor and compassion to Daniel, 10 but the official told Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your food and drink....
December 11, 2021Posted inLeadershipTags:
Leadership Lessons from the Life of Daniel: Christian Leaders do not Trade their Purity for Success
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Leadership Lessons from the Life of Daniel: Christian Leaders do not Trade their Purity for Success

Lesson in Brief Daniel demonstrates an unusual but health fear of God, which forms the foundation of his resolve to not defile himself as he is assimilated into Babylonian culture and beliefs. If we are to lead as God intends in the marketplace, we must have a similar resolve. Let's learn about Daniel's resolve as a way for us to think about our own resolve. Introduction A...
November 26, 2021Posted inLeadershipTags: , ,
Leadership Lessons from the Life of Daniel Part III
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Leadership Lessons from the Life of Daniel Part III

While this site is focused on business ownership, our lesson today from Daniel 3.1-30 is really about those who work for difficult bosses. Let’s start by reading the Scripture: King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, sixty cubits high and six cubits wide, and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. 2 He then summoned the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges,...
February 14, 2021Posted inLeadershipTags: , ,
Leadership Lessons from the Life of Moses, Part 1
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Leadership Lessons from the Life of Moses, Part 1

View the video here. Download PowerPoint slides here. In this leadership series, I’ll explore what we can learn from the life of Moses about leadership. We’ll spend our time in the book of Exodus. Let’s start by reading Exodus 1.1-7: These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt with Jacob, each with his family: Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah; Issachar, Zebulun and...
February 1, 2021Posted inLeadershipTags: ,
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Leadership Lessons from the Life of David – Part IV: David Fights Goliath

Listen to the podcast here. In this post, we’ll look at how David passed the test of leading a nation when the future and the obstacle(s) seemed overwhelming and likely to end their existence as an independent nation. This lesson is directly applicable to Christian Business Owners because we face dangers every day which are seemingly insurrmountable.  How did David respond in the face of Goliath? We’ll...
September 19, 2020Posted inLeadershipTags: ,
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Leadership Lessons from the Life of David Part III

Listen to the Podcast here. In my previous post, we learned how David experienced being underestimated. We observed that he started his journey to becoming King of Israel by first being underestimated by his own family. We also learned that when one is given seemingly insignificant tasks, one must infuse those tasks with as much effort, learning and development as possible if one is to absorb all...
September 2, 2020Posted inLeadershipTags: ,
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Leadership Lessons Life of David Part II

Listen to the podcast here. The first leadership lesson that David needed to learn was about being underestimated: Sometimes, you will be underestimated in your leadership potential and consequently, you will be overlooked even though you are chosen by God. Let's read from 1 Samuel 16: The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your...
August 14, 2020Posted inLeadershipTags:
Posted inLeadership

Leadership Lessons Life of David Part I

No one is born ready to lead. Leaders must be developed before they are needed. Leadership doesn't come naturally to most people. When it comes to leadership development, leaders cannot be mass produced. Competent leaders cannot be created after the crisis occurs. As we look at the life of David in this series, we’ll find that God prepared David for leadership over a ~15 year spane of time. In...
August 13, 2020Posted inLeadership
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Lessons Learned from the Life of David Before He Became King

The companion podcast is here. What follows here is a summary of the lessons learned from the Life of David before he become King but after he was anointed by Samuel. To learn more about what is behind these lesson, please read through the posts and perhaps download the PowerPoints on this topic as well. Our sin may not accurately reflect our heart for God David and...
October 15, 2019Posted inLeadership
Posted inLeadership

Leadership Lessons from the Life of Daniel II

In this post, we'll look at what we can learn about leadership from what Daniel did right. This post will focus on Daniel, chapter 2: In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his mind was troubled and he could not sleep. 2 So the king summoned the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers to tell him what he had dreamed. When they came in and stood before...
September 8, 2018Posted inLeadershipTags: , , , ,
Leadership Lessons from the Life of Daniel I
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Leadership Lessons from the Life of Daniel I

In this series, I'll highlight some leadership lessons which we can learn from the life of Daniel. Unlike King David, who was the King of Israel, Daniel provides significant leadership lessons for those who are high up in an organization, but report to someone who is antagonistic toward God. Chapter 1 of Daniel reads as follows: In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of...
August 20, 2018Posted inLeadershipTags: ,
Lessons from the Life of Joseph Part IV
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Lessons from the Life of Joseph Part IV

Genesis 39.21 – 40.23: "But while Joseph was there in the prison,the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph's care, because...
May 31, 2016Posted inLeadershipTags: , , , , ,
Lessons from the Life of Joseph Part III
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Lessons from the Life of Joseph Part III

The Life of Joseph can be highly instructive for Christian business owners, if we are willing to look at ourselves through the examples we find in Scripture. Joseph became a man of integrity and forgiveness, which was a result of God's work in his life over a 13-year period to prepare his character and skills for a work that would save millions of lives. You might recall...
February 9, 2016Posted inLeadershipTags: , ,
Lessons from the Life of Joseph Part II
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Lessons from the Life of Joseph Part II

Genesis 37.26-36: "23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the ornate robe he was wearing—24 and they took him and threw him into the cistern. The cistern was empty; there was no water in it. 25 As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, balm and...
January 26, 2016Posted inLeadershipTags: , , , ,
Lessons from the Life of Joseph Part I
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Lessons from the Life of Joseph Part I

The Life of Joseph is a portrait of a man of integrity and forgiveness. Joseph was a highly talented guy. In today's vernacular, we'd say he was "crazy smart". His strongest gifting from God was his ability to interpret dreams, yet his greatest ministry to mankind would not utilize his strongest gift. Gifting and the Call of God Our gifts and calling to serve in particular ways...
January 19, 2016Posted inLeadershipTags: , , , ,
Leadership Lessons Part XV: Building Your Team While Taking Greater Risks
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Leadership Lessons Part XV: Building Your Team While Taking Greater Risks

David begins to build his team right after his disgraceful journey through Philistine territory and having to act insane in order to evade capture and death. Our text comes from 1 Samuel 22.1-5: David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and his father's household heard about it, they went down to him there. 2 All those who were in distress or in...
September 20, 2014Posted inLeadershipTags: , , ,
Leadership Lessons Part XIV: Living Under a Government that is Opposed to Your Faith
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Leadership Lessons Part XIV: Living Under a Government that is Opposed to Your Faith

Christians in America find themselves living under a Government that is increasingly opposed to our faith. It's not as strong here as it is in the United Kingdom or Canada, or Australia, but it is a growing element that we must factor into the running of our businesses as Christians. We don't have it nearly as bad as David did when he was on the run from...
September 8, 2014Posted inLeadershipTags: , , ,
Leadership Lessons Part XIII: Ignoring Your Intuition
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Leadership Lessons Part XIII: Ignoring Your Intuition

After David has lied to Ahimelek and Saul kills him for not reporting where David was (see the balance of 1 Samuel 22), David was informed that Ahimelek had been killed and his response was recorded for us in the last part of 1 Samuel 22: "But one son of Ahimelek son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped and fled to join David. 21 He told David that Saul...
September 6, 2014Posted inLeadershipTags: , ,
Leadership Lessons Part XII: Going without God
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Leadership Lessons Part XII: Going without God

In 1 Samuel 21, we find that David is going to let his anger drive his decisions and move forward without consulting and following God's leading. David makes some crucial mistakes that are both understandable and damaging to him. Here is the text: David went to Nob, to Ahimelek the priest. Ahimelek trembled when he met him, and asked, "Why are you alone? Why is no one...
September 2, 2014Posted inLeadershipTags: , ,
Leadership Lessons Part XI: The Value of a Close Friend and Supporter
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Leadership Lessons Part XI: The Value of a Close Friend and Supporter

Find the companion podcast here. David had a huge gift from God in the form of Jonathan, his friend. Even though Jonathan was the rightful heir to the throne since he was Saul's son, he God had long since given the kingdom to David because of his father's sin. David learns the valuable lesson of having a close, lasting friendship who will supports his leadership. Our story...
August 31, 2014Posted inLeadershipTags: ,
Leadership Lessons Part X: God’s Protection
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Leadership Lessons Part X: God’s Protection

God's Preparation of David for leadership led Him to put David into a multi-year (well over a decade, actually) experience in which he was on-the-run and without a "base" that many of us take for granted: he was a hunted and wanted man by the government, he lacked a physical home and he spent years away from his first wife. Leaders go through "desert" experiences. God refines...
August 31, 2014Posted inLeadershipTags: , , ,
Leadership Lessons Part IX: The Test of the Broken Vow
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Leadership Lessons Part IX: The Test of the Broken Vow

You can listen to the Companion Podcast here. If you're in leadership, chances are good that you have had someone lie to you and perhaps even break their promises to you. This is as aspect of Christian Business Ownership which many who get into business ownership don't anticipate: a few employees will take purposeful actions that they know will hurt you and the business. In essence, an...
June 16, 2014Posted inLeadershipTags:
Posted inLeadership

Leadership Lessons Part VIII – Impacting the Quality of Leadership Through Righteousness

Continuing on in our study of David's life from the time he was anointed King until he actually became King, we find ourselves now in 1 Samuel 18.10-30: 10 The next day an evil spirit from God came forcefully on Saul. He was prophesying in his house, while David was playing the lyre, as he usually did. Saul had a spear in his hand 11 and he hurled it,...
March 17, 2014Posted inLeadershipTags: , , , ,
Leadership Lessons Part VII – The Lesson of Success
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Leadership Lessons Part VII – The Lesson of Success

The worst thing that can happen to a person is to succeed before he is ready. -Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones The Companion Podcast can be found here. Thus far, we have seen David learn the lesson of being underestimated, the lesson of submission, the lesson of knowing when to risk and the lesson of authenticity. Now, he will learn how to handle public success in a Godly way....
March 5, 2014Posted inLeadershipTags: , ,
Leadership Lessons – Part VI: David Fights Goliath – Part III
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Leadership Lessons – Part VI: David Fights Goliath – Part III

Being Yourself in Your Calling The Companion Podcast on this Article can be found here. Reading from 1 Samuel 17.15-40: Now the Israelites had been saying, "Do you see how this man keeps coming out? He comes out to defy Israel. The king will give great wealth to the man who kills him. He will also give him his daughter in marriage and will exempt his family...
February 16, 2014Posted inLeadershipTags: , , ,