I have heard it said that integrity is who you are when no one is looking. Dictionary.com defines integrity this way: adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty. With those definitions in mind, read this great story and ask yourself what you would have done had you been in Joe’s shoes…

A successful business man was growing old and knew it was time to choose a successor to take over the business. Instead of choosing one of his Directors or his children, he decided to do something different. He called all the young executives in his company together.

He said, “It is time for me to step down and choose the next CEO. I have decided to choose one of you. “The young executives were shocked, but the boss continued. “I am going to give each one of you a seed today – one very special seed. I want you to plant the seed, water it, and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from the seed I have given you.

I will then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next CEO.”

One man, named Joe, was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed. He went home and excitedly, told his wife the story. She helped him get a pot, soil and compost and he planted the seed. Everyday, he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After about three weeks, some of the other executives began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow.

Joe kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew.

Three weeks, four weeks, five weeks went by…still nothing.

By now, others were talking about their plants, but Joe didn’t have a plant and he felt like a failure.

Six months went by — still nothing in Joe’s pot. He just knew he had killed his seed. Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. However, Joe didn’t say anything to his colleagues. He just kept watering and fertilizing the soil. He so wanted the seed to grow.

A year finally went by and it was time for all the young executives of the company to bring their plants to the CEO for inspection. Joe told his wife that he wasn’t going to take an empty pot. But she asked him to be honest about what happened. Joe felt sick to his stomach. It was going to be the most embarrassing moment of his life, but he knew his wife was right. He took his empty pot to the board room.

When Joe arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the other executives. They were beautiful – in all shapes and sizes. Joe put his empty pot on the floor and many of his colleagues laughed, a few felt sorry for him!

When the CEO arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted his young executives. Joe just tried to hide in the back. “My, what great plants, trees and flowers you have grown,” said the CEO. “Today one of you will be appointed the next CEO!”

All of a sudden, the CEO spotted Joe at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered the Financial Director to bring him to the front. Joe was terrified. He thought, “The CEO knows I’m a failure! Maybe he will have me fired!”

When Joe got to the front, the CEO asked him what had happened to his seed. Joe told him the story.

The CEO asked everyone to sit down except Joe. He looked at Joe, and then announced to the young executives, “Behold your next Chief Executive Officer!

His name is “Joe!” Joe couldn’t believe it. Joe couldn’t even grow his seed.

“How could he be the new CEO?” the others said.

Then the CEO said, “One year ago today, I gave everyone in this room a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds; they were dead–it was not possible for them to grow.

“All of you, except Joe, have brought me trees and plants and flowers. When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Joe was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be the new Chief Executive Officer!”

My friend Patrick McBane recently wrote the following that I wanted to share with you:

New York City Mayor Ed Koch appeared on a local news program in 1980 in the middle of the city’s financial crisis. He had spent more than a quarter of a million dollars to put bike lanes in Manhattan. They turned out to be a disaster. Cars were driving in the bike lanes, pedestrians were bumping bikers, and the bikers were getting crowded out. It was a real mess and many people in the Big Apple were irate.

Koch was coming up for re-election and a handful of journalists cornered him on this show, planning to tear him to pieces for spending money foolishly when the city was nearly broke. One reporter said, “Mayor, in light of the financial difficulties New York City is facing, how could you possibly justify wasting $300,000 on bike lanes?”

“It was a terrible idea. It was one of the worst mistakes I have ever made,” responded the mayor.  Surprised by his blatant admission, the conversation switched directions to a more productive, less volatile topic.

What do you do when you are wrong about something? (Maybe your co-workers or spouse should answer that question about you!) Do you ever admit that an idea you had wasn’t so great? Or do you think that you never have a bad idea? No one is right all the time. And even brilliant business people, educators, engineers, and entrepreneurs pull the trigger on ideas and decisions that they later regret. Can you…will you…do you admit it when you are wrong? What would happen to your relationships if you did?

Today’s Workplace / Life Challenge: Humility is the beginning of Wisdom. Humble yourself with God first and He will lift you up. Here are 6 simple – but not easy steps in which to Apologize – that will help you navigate relationships everywhere from now on.

1. Acknowledge that you did it – whatever it is.
2. Admit you were wrong.
3. Tell the one(s) you hurt – “I am sorry!”
4. Ask them, “Will you forgive me?” and wait for their answer.
5. “Will you help me from now on never to do that again – to you or anyone else?”
6. “Is there anything else?” (That I’ve done to you or that you need to share with me about).

All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.
2 Corinthians 5:18-20a

I recently heard about a Candid Camera episode from years ago. They had setup in a store in a mall and there was a sign on the cash register that said, “No change given today.”

Many people came in and made their purchases. When they would ask for their change the clerk simply pointed to the sign. Of course, all different reactions followed including much anger.

One man however, reacted differently than all the others. He made a purchase of something for a couple of dollars and change. He handed the clerk a $10 or a $20 bill. When he asked for change, the clerk responded by again, pointing to the sign. This man simply shrugged and walked out of the store with his package in hand.

When the camera crew caught up with him and asked him why he wasn’t upset, he simply replied, “Because I decided long ago to not let people like that rent space in my head.”

Isn’t that great? I decided long ago to not let people like that rent space in my head. In other words, he was saying he was not going to allow others to impact his mood. He wasn’t about to let people steal his peace and joy. What a great concept!

A friend of mine once asked me, “If someone spits on you does that make you mad?”

I said, “You bet!”

He challenged me and said, “No it doesn’t, it only makes you wet. It is your choice to get angry.” I wanted to dispute him, but he was right. He had me. In all cases, we choose our response. That is exactly what this man on Candid Camera was demonstrating. He was choosing his response. You and I can too!

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Romans 12:2

I was watching my son at his martial arts class last week when I struck up a conversation with another father who was there. As we talked, he began to tell me a fascinating story from his days as a salesman.

He was a new sales rep with this computer company at the time and was asked to visit one of their largest clients. He introduced himself to the six or seven who were in the room and asked how he might be able to serve them. They began to share with him a few pretty major issues.

He calmly responded, “Is there anything else?”

They then shared more issues they had with his company.

Again, “Is there anything else?”

More issues. And now they were beginning to be agitated with him because he represented the company causing so many issues.

He continued, “Is there anything else?”

This continued, he said, for six hours. At the conclusion of their time together, he had written down over 330 issues on the board. He then asked once more, “Is there anything else?”

They responded by saying, “Isn’t that enough?” and he replied, “I thought it was enough five and a half hours ago but I wanted to hear all your issues.” Then he said, “I am really sorry for the pain my company has caused you. How can I help you?”

They asked that he take all their equipment back and give them a refund (some of the equipment had been installed for over 10 years). After they admitted that the equipment had been working for them, they understood that he could not take the equipment back.

Then, the head of the company spoke up for the first time and said, “We have never had anyone care about our concerns as much as you have. I am going to give you a purchase order for our new systems.”

This guy ended up walking out of that meeting with an order for $25 million worth of equipment. Quite a turnaround, don’t you think?

He told me that he now uses this approach with everyone who gives him any complaint, even his wife.

My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen,
slow to speak and slow to become angry.
James 1:19

Have you ever heard someone say, “I’m just doing it for the glory of God”? Have you, ever wondered what that meant? I know I have.

I remember years ago when my son Robbie was younger, he used to love to play with Legos. He would excitedly run to me with his latest creation. “Dad, look what I made! Do you like it Dad?  Is it good?” He wanted to know if what he had done was worthwhile in my eyes. Of course, I would always respond enthusiastically with a, “That’s great!” or a, “You are really good at that!”

Do you think as a Christian dad I would have been better to say something like this? “No, son, it’s really not good because it has no eternal value – one day it will burn. Your Lego-mobile can’t get souls to heaven, so it’s not worth anything.”  Of course not! What he built and the things he does now have real value in my eyes. They reflect his creativity and his God-given gifts and I believe this truly glorifies God.

Do you remember what Eric Lydell said in the movie, Chariots of Fire? “When I run I feel God’s pleasure.” How can running please God?  How can building with Lego’s glorify Him?  I think many of us fall into the trap of thinking that we must be a pastor or a missionary in Africa to bring glory to God. I used to think this way but this could not be further from the truth. What we do every day glorifies Him as well.

Check this out from Luke 5:1-3: One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God, he saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.

Did Jesus ask to use Simon’s boat? Nope. He just took it. Sounds kind of rude doesn’t it? Actually, it’s not because it was really His boat to begin with as He owns everything. He was just letting Simon use it to earn a living. And that wasn’t just true 2,000 years ago…it is still true today. If you work in retail, you work in His store. If you work in a plant, you work in His plant. If you work in a medical setting, you work in His office or hospital. If you work in an office building, you work in His office building. If you work at home, it is His home you are working in.

The bottom line is that your work is His work. And when you dedicate it to Him and seek to glorify Him, your work becomes your calling…and a very noble one at that!

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
Colossians 3:23-24

It seems we are so quick to segment our lives into these little compartments…family, spiritual, work, friends, hobbies, etc… We then talk about and aspire to this thing called “work-life” balance. Have you, like me, been chasing work-life balance and have yet to find it?

While the notion of living a balanced life is a noble one, I believe the main reason we struggle so much with this is that it is simply impossible to balance work and life. Here’s what I mean. Work is a part of life, it is not separate from it. Therefore, it is impossible to balance something that is a part of something else because the “something else” will always weigh more. I believe this false belief has gotten us in trouble because we are striving after something we will never find. At times you will need to spend more time in one area than another. This doesn’t mean your life is out of balance though.

Because life is integrated, we get out of line when we put the wrong thing at the core. If money is at our core, then we will be out of line. If our family is at the core, we also will be out of line. I believe the only way to be in alignment is if we place Jesus at the core of who we are in all areas of our lives, even at work.

Pastor and author John Piper said this, “The aim of all human life in God’s eyes is that Christ would be made to look as valuable as he is. Worship means using our minds and hearts and bodies to express the worth of God and all he is for us in Jesus. There is a way to live-a way to love-that does that. There is a way to do your job that expresses the true value of God. If you can’t find it, that may mean you should change jobs. Or it might mean that verse 2 is not happening to the degree it should.”

I love Piper’s quote. The verse 2 he is referring to is Romans 12:2 which says, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Most of us need to transform our minds…in other words, change our thinking about our work.

Work is a very spiritual act. In fact, it was created by God for us on earth as a form of worship. Seriously, this is true. In Genesis, God told Adam to go and work the garden. This was before sin entered the world. This was God’s perfect world…and it included work! In addition, the Hebrew root word from which we get the words “work” and “worship” are the same, Avodah. So in God’s eyes, when we work, we are worshiping Him.

With this in mind, do you need to change your thinking about your work? How would you approach your workday differently if you really understood this? Does this help you to think more positively about your work?

Who Am I?

I am your constant companion.

I am your greatest helper or heaviest burden.

I will push you onward or drag you down to failure.

I am completely at your command. Half of the things you do you might as well turnover to me and I will do them – quickly and correctly.

I am easily managed – you must be firm with me.

Show me exactly how you want something done and after a few lessons, I will do it automatically.

I am the servant of great people, and alas, of all failures as well.

Those who are great, I have made great.

Those who are failures, I have made failures.

I am not a machine though I work with the precision of a machine plus the intelligence of a person.

You may run me for profit or run me for ruin – it makes no difference to me.

Take me, train me, be firm with me, and I will place the world at your feet.

Be easy with me and I will destroy you.

Who am I?

I am a habit.

I was recently interviewed by the Greater Toledo House of prayer for their monthly newsletter. I thought I’d share the text of that interview to make you aware of GTHOP and how they have benefited our region. It also tells a bit more about some of the work I’m doing so I thought this would be worth sharing…

GTHOP: Jim, how did you come to be the chapter president of Truth@Work in this region?

Jim: I was the chairman of Toledo’s National Day of Prayer Breakfast in 2008. Ray Hilbert was our speaker that year and he is also the founder of Truth@Work. Ray did a great job at the breakfast that year and many were impacted by his message. Immediately afterward, he and I spent close to three hours together at a local Bob Evans getting to know one another. During that time together we both knew the Lord was doing something in our midst. That led to me investigating Truth@Work further and them investigating me. We then decided to work together sometime that summer.

GTHOP: What exactly is Truth@Work?

Jim: Truth@Work provides a forum for Christian business and ministry leaders to share their struggles as well as successes and to receive input from trusted advisors. This is delivered through a roundtable setting in which 12-15 peers sit around a table together once per month to guide and encourage one another. In doing so, we help one another to grow our organizations in a God-honoring way while at the same time helping each other to grow personally and spiritually. Currently we have 60 or so members and over the past three years I have witnessed God do some incredible things in the personal lives, families and businesses of our members.

GTHOP: Jim, how did you become connected with GTHOP?

Jim: At the 2008 prayer breakfast, Denise Emerine completed a response card saying that she wanted to connect with some business leaders. As a result, I invited her to our initial introduction session about Truth@Work and she attended along with Bonnie Mohan. God spoke to them and Denise approached me afterward to tell me that she felt strongly that she was to provide prayer support for Truth@Work. I was humbled, to say the least.

GTHOP: What role has GTHOP played in Truth@Work’s success?

Jim: I must tell you that I have not been one who understood the importance of prayer. However, that has been changing over the past three years. I believe that the prayers coming from GTHOP have been vital to the success of Truth@Work…and I don’t say that lightly. Around the country, I know other Truth@Work chapters who are struggling and I know in my heart that prayer is one of the primary reasons God is doing such amazing things here.

GTHOP: Why are you so passionate about GTHOP?

Jim: Not only have I seen the benefits of GTHOP on Truth@Work, but I have seen significant growth in my family as a result of GTHOP’s ministry. Denise Emerine has really been instrumental in ministering to me and my family and discipling my wife and me. We have really formed a great relationship in which I am very thankful to God for. To add to this, I look around at some of the amazing things happening in our city (that I don’t see in other cities) and I marvel at what God is doing. I attribute much of that to GTHOP’s prayers for our city. It was a couple of years ago when I attended OneThing in Kansas City that the light bulb went on for me. When I heard Mike Bickle explain that all of the revivals that occurred in the Old Testament were preceded by day and night prayer, that’s when it hit me…this region NEEDS 24/7 prayer. It is not just a nice thing to have, it is a necessity!

GTHOP: Jim, if someone would like some more information about Truth@Work, how would they get that?

Jim: They can simply leave a comment at the bottom of this post and I will follow-up with them. They can also go to our website at www.truthatwork.org.

GTHOP: Thanks so much Jim!

Jim: My pleasure, anytime!

If you’d like to learn more about the Greater Toledo House of Prayer and how you might be able to participate, you can visit their site here.

The 23^rd Psalm. We have heard it at funerals. We have heard it read at church. We may even have it memorized. But do we really grasp its full meaning?

I decided to take this Psalm line by line over the past week to really try to understand it better. Though I probably only touched the surface of the true meaning, this well-known passage became much more meaningful to me as I jotted down thoughts that came to my head for each line. Here are some of the things I wrote down—I hope they help you to come up with some of your own:

Day 1: The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.

• He cares for me and loves me
• He will protect me and keep predators away
• He will provide for me
• He will comfort me
• He will carry me when needed
• He will help me with difficulties I face
• He will look for me if I wander
• He will call out to me and give me instructions
• He owns me
• He is all I need so I want for nothing
• He will take care of everything so I can be content right now knowing that He knows what is best for me

Day 2: He makes me to lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters.

• He made me to require and have rest
• True rest is found when I follow Him
• Rest is pleasant
• Rest is mandatory
• Even when moving (beside quiet waters), I can have rest
• When stressed, I need to listen and look for the quiet waters
• My shepherd does not want me hurried, stressed and worn out—I was not made to live this way!
• There is great contentment in Jesus

Day 3: He restores my soul. He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.

• He makes me whole
• He, and only He, completes me
• He makes me shine again
• He makes me run well
• He takes pride in me and likes to show me off
• He gives me lots of loving attention
• He thinks I’m special (He may even take a cloth diaper to polish me up…only hard core car enthusiasts might understand that!)
• He shows me the way to go
• He leads me
• I walk in righteousness because of His name
• He brings me back to life

Day 4: Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.

• Regardless of my circumstances, He is there
• He will never leave me
• Because of Him, I don’t need to fear…no matter what!
• He is the only answer in the shadow of death
• My Daddy is at my side!

Day 5: Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

• He loves me so much that He disciplines me when needed
• He guides me in the way I should go with His staff
• His correction and guidance is all for my betterment and this brings great comfort to me

Day 6: You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

• He serves me…amazing!
• He hosts me in His house!
• He shows me I’m important to Him
• He protects me regardless of the circumstances
• He presence is the only place I want to be
• He brings peace in the midst of chaos

Day 7: You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

• He prepares me
• He consecrates me
• He cleanses me
• He gives me power and strength
• He covers me
• He blesses me abundantly
• He gives me so much more than I need
• He gives me more so I can share with others
• Thank you God!

Day 8: Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

• He wants the best for me
• He promises to take care of me
• He is love. He promises to never leave me. Therefore, love will follow me always.
• Goodness and love are with me even on my darkest days
• I am a resident in His house forever and ever—Hallelujah!