When Things Look Fruitless

Many months ago I send a survey out. A few commented that I had become too personal by inserting too much of my own life experiences. One seemed so adamant that the person unsubscribed shortly thereafter. There were, of course, those who enjoyed the transparency and learned from it. I must admit that I need to be personal in order to teach on leadership. There is a false belief that to be a leader you must not do anything that makes others think you are weak or imperfect. That includes writing about it.

That is why I need to be blunt and say I cannot do what I do without being personal. For if I am to try to satisfy those who want information only and nothing personal, I will quit writing now. Over the last 15 years I have been told several times that I am a strong leader, and a good teacher who should have considered being a pastor. However, no one really knows how weak I really am. There is no doubt that I can relate to two Biblical characters. Peter for his boldness including his weaknesses, and Jeremiah for his lamenting and seemingly ineffectiveness as he warned God's people over and over again.

The Bible says you can recognize a good tree by its fruit. Good fruit, good tree, bad fruit, bad tree. This verse has caused me to think that God wants me to do what I do that bears fruit.  For the last two years the company I own and lead (www.portersnetwork.com) has increasing been bearing good fruit. Praise God for that. I feel my leadership in that has been effective. So when I ponder where to spend my time, this verse overpowers the Jeremiah in me and pushes my emphasis into business and to consider going "all in" to corporate life.

During the last two months of this journey, I came across 2 Peter 1: 4-8. I cannot escape my total devotion to this chapter. Its context is about "our calling".

Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. NIV

These verses are not about the effectiveness of unbelievers, or their organizations. Many unbelievers have effective products and businesses. This is talking about the 'effectiveness IN our knowledge of Christ'. That assumes we have Christ in our lives already and have a certain level of knowledge of him. As a businessman and ministerial, I see the application in both areas of my life. Since God has given me these gifts, I am "called to be effective" as my life demonstrates growth adding goodness to my faith, self-control to my knowledge ... and so on.  Preceding effectiveness is this requirement ... "if you possess these qualities in increasing measure".  That means ... leaders cannot stay where they are ... we must keep growing.

Think of it in terms of the fuel mileage of your car. Sometimes in winter, we do not notice our miles per gallon diminish until the tires lose so much air pressure, we realize they are going to go flat if we do not inflate them. Once inflated, we notice that our mileage increases and then actually realize the reason for it. On the one hand I am trying to choose the right seat on the right bus while checking my "tire pressure of godliness". On the other, I wonder if Jeremiah just needed to check his godliness, or whether he simply needed to persevere because of his calling. As one might imagine, it is an intense mental exercise.

I suspect many of you will agree that our flesh does not drive us into scripture when we get discouraged. On the contrary, our flesh drives us away. Fortunately, I have overcome my flesh enough to be challenged, somewhat sustained and somewhat comforted by this chapter. It contains a promise that I can have faith in. Right now, I am just trying to add to my life goodness and kindness. I will try to love those who are hard to love and continue to control my desire to throw in the towel.

Whether this is the last chapter in my "book" or whether it is simply a "crisis of belief" that every Christian leader goes through, I do not know yet. Yet I know I must write this to move on, wherever that leads.

There is an old saying. Misery loves company. Please know that I write this not to inflame the misery within you or to invite you to a pity party. I write this because ultimately I have confidence that there are many like me, who are not sure about what to do next. For now, I will focus on finding increasing measurements of godliness.

That party I do invite you to.

My Apologies For Low Empathy

Acts 20:31  Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish everyone with tears."ESV

Empathy is: "the intellectual identification with vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, or attitudes of another". Dictionary.com

Offering coaching myself led me to believe I should experience being coached myself, so some time ago I hired a professional coach. That is all he did and he was really good at it. After several sessions he complimented me about my own awareness of myself,  particularly my strengths and weaknesses. Evidently I should have been coached longer by this person since it may have exposed my lack of empathy for certain people a lot sooner.
 

At first glance, I see that I do have empathy for many people. When I heard on the news this morning that 16% of Americans are using and in need of food stamps, ... my heart grieved. When I hear the hurt of simple people who lack the ability to understand my heart grieves for them. When I go to Africa and see the hurt, the famine, the lack of what we have come to believe are needs, .. my heart cries out for them. So it is not like I was clueless and lacked a beating heart.

However, I have always known and understood that I lack a certain kind of grace for people I believe are smart, or through their education or experience, should know better.  As I type I could add a bit of satire and sarcasm by acknowledging that maybe the reason I lack empathy for smart people is because I am not that smart myself, therefore being unable to "intellectually identify" with them and their hurt. Ah, ... but that would just be an escape and excuse for my sin and put the onus on others for not having any empathy for me. Who knows, ... maybe there is nothing satiric about it.

For the most part what I lack can go unnoticed unless I say something unkind or if I challenge or admonish people I have categorized this way. Paul did not share my weakness or predicament. In one simple verse above he showed me what I need and what I find to be critical to my development and to any leader.

Friends and leaders, Paul cried for smart people that should have known better. He admonished and corrected godly people that he most likely had a part in choosing and ordaining in the church of Ephesus. Our scripture verse states he did this for years. He shed tears for the spiritually mature elders who were overseers, teachers, and most likely even the elders who pastoring the church. And ... he kept on shedding tears.

For eight years now I have had many opportunities to travel and teach leadership regionally, nationally and oversees. In those eight years I have challenged all kinds of leaders including some very prominent people, including James MacDonald. I thank the Lord I delivered that with a bit of empathy for him, since on his blog, he publicly acknowledge the noteworthiness of my point with him. But in my travels I am going to assume that I have not performed well with everyone, and I want to publicly apologize to anyone that still subscribes to this newsletter-blog that I have challenged with apparent lack of empathy. I ask for your forgiveness. 

Most teachers will tell you that God teaches the teacher before he can teach others. Today I only write what I have been taught first. It is my hope that through was God revealed to me, I can help other leaders just like me, who will never reach their full potential until they experience the delivery of empathy for everyone they lead, everyone they work along side of, and everyone that leads them.

In closing, may I ask if there is someone you have to shed a tear for today?  Is it a friend? Is it someone you don't agree with? ... a co-worker, a family member, a subordinate, your boss ... or your pastor?

How about committing to work with me today in developing an inner empathy, ... an empathy people will follow.

Success - A Chasing After the Wind?

Ecclesiastes 2:11 Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun. NIV

I would suspect that we all talk to ourselves once and a while.

I enjoy debate, there are times when I want to debate with myself over certain ideas or subjects, taking both sides of an issue and finding out which one seems to be true and accurate. God prompted this characteristic of mine ever since He embedded His promise in Proverbs 2, when He promised wisdom to those who sought it with the intensity of a search for silver or hidden treasure. That serves me well most of the time, but it can lead some to think I am argumentative. I really don't want to be, but I sure do have to watch that I don't become that way, or portray myself that way..

Solomon's Debate

You would think that a guy like Solomon, who attained the greatest level of wisdom, would not have to debate with himself over anything. However, the book of Ecclesiastes is twelve chapters of just that--a lengthy debate over the meaningfulness of his life.

Come on! What was he thinking? And why? Here was a guy who began his reign with a solid demonstration of strength and power when he took care of a couple of his father David's nemeses, then out of humility appealed to God for wisdom because he felt his wisdom was the level of a "small child." He became more wise and wealthy than anyone in the world and had more women in his life than any man could imagine. Yet he had not found enough happiness to identify that his life, or anyone's life, contained meaningfulness.

In his debate he reflected on his material success, his own great wisdom, times when he slipped into folly, and the perceived success of handing over an inheritance to his descendants. Reflecting on it all, he declared it to be meaningless to him, a chasing after the wind. He does not actually define what the "wind" is. However, he does insert and repeat that "it is good and proper for a man to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in his toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given him—for this is his lot. Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work—this is a gift of God" (Eccl 5:18 NIV).

His varied repetitions of this verse reveals what Solomon is learning in his debate with himself. He comes to realize that the times of joy in his life were the most meaningful to him, reflecting that the perceived success of his life, he had now set aside in his mind. He goes on to declare that the time we spend with him in "debating over this subject" could be a sign that joy has not been achieved. Verse 20 says, "He seldom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart."

Friends, life is all about the "joy" of "toil," not about the common worldview of success, the size of your business or church. In the pursuit of joy, Solomon adds his simple path to joy in chapter 12 when he declares, "Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole [duty] of man"( Eccl 12:13).

Sometimes We Get Our Eyes on the Wrong Ball

Friends let me leave you to think about one more way to understand the theology of meaningfulness. Shaping your leadership through the lens of success is like shaping your life around good deeds in pursuit of salvation.

Shaping your leadership through the lens of success is like shaping your life around good deeds in pursuit of salvation. 

Some times we get our eyes on the wrong ball. I believe Solomon is teaching us that our first measurement in our churches and businesses should be the "joy-o-meter." Discover the meaningfulness of joy, then we can go on to study other prudent measurements of church attenders, ministries, revenue and business profits. In the same way faith produces good deeds, joy produces God defined success. Solomon, the wisest and richest man in his time defines success as in the size of your JOY!

That, my friends is most meaningful. That we can chase.

Leadership & Reconciliation Encore Post

2 Corinthians 5:17-19 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 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.

As leaders, we must be the initiators of reconciliation.

People who have been leaders for any length of time will eventually find that there are times where they fall out of fellowship with one or more of their followers. Although this can happen for a variety of reasons, a short list of some of the most common would include:

1. A simple misunderstanding 
2. Poor performance by the follower 
3. Poor management by the leader

The Importance of Being the Initiator 

Invariably, small issues fester within teams, only to be compounded when new conflict occurs. Trying to build a team with a variety of broken relationships will ultimately develop an aroma of disunity. And initiating reconciliation is one of the hardest parts of being a leader. Why? Because it is very hard to do.

A regenerate leader has to put off the "old self,” who wants others to take the first step. Forget for the moment when you just need to eat some humble pie and apologize for your actions. That is hard, but not as hard as initiating reconciliation when one of your followers has performed poorly, and through correction or discipline, falls out of fellowship with you. While some form of relational stress is expected, effective leaders watch diligently for the remnants of bitterness or anger. When these signs don't subside in a reasonable length of time, the leader needs to take action. In other words, the leader needs to become the “initiator.”

Four Responsibilities from Scripture

What are we called to do in today's scripture reference? Take a moment to read it again and see if you can spot at least the four responsibilities that I see.

1. Recognize God's call for us to do what we normally would not want to do. We are "new creations," putting off what we wanted to do in the past. Sometimes the old self wants to initiate pain, not reconciliation.
2. Acknowledge that God is not calling us to do something He has not modeled for us first. He gave us a ministry that is precious. We need to treat and treasure it like a gift. 
3. Learn also that the wrongs of your followers should not "count against" them so much that you as a leader fade from your role as the "initiator,” the one who initiates reconciliation.
4. Preach and teach reconciliation within your organization or ministry. If we model it, we can not only teach others to do it, but we can also require it within our own organizations and churches. Ban the soil in which Satan likes to farm! 

God was the first initiator. He took the initiative to reconcile himself with us through sending his Son. We were completely in the wrong and should have gone to him first, begging to be reconciled to Him. But man did not do that, nor could man accomplish on his own what Christ accomplished for us.

Because God took the initiative with us, we must take the initiative with those we lead. Would you agree with me that everyone reading this has some form of relationship that could be shored up? If you would try today to become an "Initiator,” trust me when I say that a blessing is waiting for you.

Do Leaders Need to Be Holy?

This is an encore TCL article by one of our TCL board members. Its message so important and timeless, I must post it again, though a year later.

By Pastor Chris Carr     (Executive Pastor of Ministries -  Bethel Church - Crown Point, Indiana

I have to admit from the get-go that writing this article was a little daunting. What do I have to add to the discussion on leadership? A simple search at Amazon.com shows almost 350,000 available resources on leadership. It would seem that perhaps everything there is to say about leadership has been said at some point.

"And yet I do find something missing from most discussions on leadership today – the necessity of personal holiness."

We must pray for God to help us achieve personal holiness.

And yet I do find something missing from most discussions on leadership today – the necessity of personal holiness. There are plenty of books and articles about rules or laws of leadership, keys to leading an effective team, how to be not simply good but great, and how to use your gifts to their maximum potential. But there appears to be few people discussing the vital issue of personal holiness in the life of a leader.

How important is personal holiness in the life of a leader? Before I answer that with my thoughts on the matter, answer it for yourself – how important do you view your own holiness to your success as a leader?

The Importance of Personal Holiness

My answer to this question is that personal holiness is the most important issue to leadership success. I realize that this is a fairly bold statement, so let me take a moment to back it up. My belief in the importance of personal holiness comes from the foundational truth that, as believers, our ultimate goal in life is to bring glory to Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 10:31, Col. 1:18). Flowing from that, our goal as leaders should be to lead in such a way that our followers are influenced to pursue Christ’s glory as well. Our ability to glorify Christ is in direct proportion to how holy we are becoming (2 Cor. 3:18).

"Our ability to glorify Christ is in direct proportion to how holy we are becoming."

Robert Murray M’Cheyne, a Scottish pastor in the mid-19th century once stated, “what my people need most is my personal holiness.” I couldn’t agree more. Without personal holiness, a Christian leader has no foundation from which to lead.

"If your integrity or morality is in question (which they likely will be if you aren’t pursuing holiness), you cannot be an effective leader."

You might not consider personal holiness to be a vital issue if you aren’t a pastor or a ministry leader. I would challenge you to reconsider. If you are a business owner and your employees (or customers) know you are a believer, you will be unable to lead them effectively if you aren’t living out what you claim to believe. If your integrity or morality is in question (which they likely will be if you aren’t pursuing holiness), you cannot be an effective leader.

How to Pursue Holiness

So, how do we pursue holiness? First and foremost, we begin by focusing on Christ. Second Corinthians 3:18 tells us that as we look at Christ, the Holy Spirit transforms us into His image, with ever-increasing glory. Something about simply focusing on Christ makes us more like him (1 John 3:2).

Second, we must be faithful in our study of the Word. In John 17:17, Jesus prays, “Sanctify them by truth, thy word is truth.” We become holy as we get into the Word and the Word in turn gets into us.

Finally, we become more holy through prayer. As we pray and seek the Father’s face, He pours out the Spirit and draws us closer to him (Acts 4:31, Jude 20).

As God is holy, let’s continue to strive to be holy in all we do (1 Peter 1:15), setting an example for our people to follow.

Photo courtesy of Flickr.

Should There Be a Pastor of Leadership?

Romans 12:6-8 We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently (NIV)... 1 Cor 12:28 And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues (ESV).

Titles, titles, titles. We have the senior pastor, the senior teaching pastor, the associate pastor, pastor of administration, the pastor of worship, the director of worship, the director of small groups, the pastor of small groups, the director of adult education, the pastor of .... On and on it goes. Where is the pastor of leadership? Not sure we should go there? Well this is now a blog, so don't feel like you have a muzzle on. To go there, though, we need a bit of review.

Today, the word leadership is used in so many ways that it can get confusing. To clarify this concept of leadership, let us review how and why we use the word and what we think of when we hear it. We talk about our “country’s leadership,” our “business’s leadership,” and our “church’s leadership.” In almost every case, the word is used to describe the authority of a certain entity. In the examples above, the word “leadership” simply communicates the plural form of an occupational or volunteer position—it means a group of “more than one leader.”

A Leader is a Person, Not a Position

However, the Bible’s definition of leadership is quite different. In Romans 12:8, when the Bible declares leadership a spiritual gift, it would seem clear to most that Paul is not referring to the gift of “more than one leader”! Within the context of this scripture it appears that when he writes, “If it is leadership, then let him govern diligently” (NIV), it would naturally refer to the relationship between two groups of people: those who govern and those who are being governed. The first word of this sentence, “if,” is not asking whether or not a person has a position of leadership. It seems to be asking whether or not a person actually has leadership ability and the spiritual gift of leadership.

Thus, if leadership is a gift found in the relationship between the leader and the one who follows then it would also follow that the gift looks just like this definition by Dr. James Bultman: “Leadership is the art and science of inspiring others to reach their full potential in the pursuit of a common vision.” Since I believe in the accuracy of this definition, I have shaped this definition to the mission of TCL, and the results are posted on the home page of my web site. I have shaped it a bit more by narrowing the vision to a kingdom vision.

"Spiritual leading and governing is the ability to inspire others to reach their full potential in the pursuit of a Kingdom vision."

Either definition emphasizes the fact that that leadership is all about the follower. In a leadership relationship, the followers are the primary recipients of what flows from the leader, not the other way around! “Inspiration” flows into the followers; “full potential” is achieved by the followers! The vision, however, that must be the equalizer—the “common factor.” Show me a leader good at leadership, and I will show you a leader who either has great vision that embraced by his/her followers, or one who pursues with delight the vision of others.

The Differences Between Leadership & Administration

To me I believe there is often a misunderstanding within the realm of administration. In Ist Corinthians 12:28 administration is also identified in the Bible as a distinct spiritual gift. Just like in the "body of the church" the two roles are equally important. It would seem to me the best way to help distinguish the difference between leadership and administration is in the function. In the simplest terms, administration is task-oriented and leadership is people-oriented. There are occasions where a single person has both leadership and administrative gifts, but more often this is not the case.

In the simplest terms, administration is task-oriented and leadership is people-oriented.

How does one organize the structure of authority while keeping in mind the "governing" implications are reserved, as instructed in our passage above, for those with leadership gifts? And how does one reconcile this with the fact that God seems to be implying that he appointed the apostolic teachers of the church first and instructed us later in that same passage to "desire the greater gifts"?


I believe a strong case could be made that the "greater" gifts have more to do with what gift would impact a person's salvation than they have to do with apostolic governing or pastoral leadership in and over all things. I know I would trade leadership authority for a stronger teaching gift any day. Since the eternal impact of teaching is far more important, this is what I believe is being emphasized by the instruction to "desire the greater gifts". I have been told that I have both leadership and teaching gifts. However, for me there is just no comparison between the blessings. Teaching is far more rewarding. I think others would agree.

Administration is task-oriented, while leadership is
people-oriented

In addition, desiring a greater gift because it contains more authority would seem to be contradictory alongside other teachings concerning acquiring a servant's heart. That would also strengthen my case that greater gifts are not speaking of "governing authority".

Staying Faithful to the Text

So it would seem to me that to be faithful to both of the texts, the church organizational structure could be divided into two decision making flow charts. The first could be limited to spiritual teaching and support systems. In this model the lead pastor, who of course is the leader of teaching, would take the lead regarding the doctrine of the church, the hiring of teachers, and all aspects of shepherding.

Might I suggest that a second person of equal authority be a person with a leadership gift (Lead Leader), who could take the lead in the day to day decisions implementing the vision and direction of the church, and all business functions of the church. This would stay faithful to the text of the governing aspect over "people things." Both the lead pastor and lead leader would be subject to the ruling body of the church. Church administrators would then be servants to the lead pastor and lead leader, ready to shine in performing the tasks that need to be accomplished for each leader.

I believe that this model could have more potential for the spiritual growth of the congregation and the spread of the gospel. It could accomplish this simply because the pastors would focus on what God has called them to do, and that is preaching, teaching, shepherding, and spreading the gospel. Let the vision also grow the church by a leader whose job it is to inspire the troops, treating and governing over them fairly on a daily basis.


I could see where those that know me might sense that I am interpreting scripture toward my own gifts. I cannot stop people from saying or thinking that. However, let me assure you it is not the case. Every time I have asked pastors to identify the percentage of pastors who have a leadership gift, they ALL say less than 10%. I have asked this question dozens of times and I always get close to the same answer. Does it not seem strange that as they say this most of them also claim that leadership development is their number one problem?

Those that claim that leadership is their number one problem also have difficulty allowing those that can lead well, actually lead. In most cases is not because they don't want the help. Many times it is simply because trained pastors do not think that others who could lead are "spiritual enough". While I would be the first to admit that spiritual maturity is required to govern in the church, many of those spiritually qualified will never pass the pastor's "spiritual" tests. These "test" are not only spiritual, they also can be "educational".

All this to say that I think it is worth considering a new form of decision making authority within the church. I would suggest that if implemented, it might not be long that leadership would no longer be the number one problem. Would or could this be the right vision for the bride of Christ ? Would pastors spending more time on their messages and helping people spiritually grow be just what we need to speed up the spread of the gospel?

I think it might be worth the risk of discussion.

Assurance in Times of Economic Uncertainties

“After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward." Genesis 15:1 (NIV)

By Guest Writer Harold Biswas

Harold Biswas

Harold is the  Marketing Manager, Strategy & Business Intelligence Leader at Wanted Technologies, Quebec, Canada. Wanted Technologies is a publicly traded company in the Canadian Stock Exchange.

As the media keeps rolling out the news of credit downgrading of the U.S. sovereign debt and implications for the nation, I wonder what lies ahead of us. With about 15 million people still unemployed, where is the bottom?

The credit downgrades is likely to be followed by high cost of borrowing for businesses and consumers which is adding salt to the wounds in hard times such as this. How a Christian should find an assurance?  Where they should seek? The IRA and 401(k) funds are experiencing the same fate. Job security is fragile. I heard from a former colleague the other day that “everyone is walking on an egg-shell” at his office. It was just last week that I was spared too, from a massive cut in my company in Canada.

Psalms 107 in v.23 talks about the merchants who went out on the sea in ships on the mighty waters. A storm came, and the sea waves were lifted high. Verse 26 in the same chapter says “they mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths; in their peril their courage melted away”. Such is the time now, where current situations are akin to the tempest in the ocean. The people are on their wits’ end, staggering and reeling like drunken men (v.27) with job insecurities, depleting household wealth, low savings, high debts, unpaid bills, mortgage delinquencies, etc.

As fathers, husbands or women who are bread-winners for our families how are we to respond to this crisis? Are we acting alone the same way as the World behaves? Frantically trying to find a solution, or losing our mind and blaming each other in the family?

Psalm 107: v 28-30 “Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress. He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. They were glad when it grew calm, and He guided them to their desired haven.” All of us are looking for a safe haven now. As Christian leaders we are to guide and shepherd our people to seek the Lord fervently. It is going to be Him only, only He who can bring us to our safe haven and helps us reaches the shore that we see now from far.

What is our primary reward in this World? Is it our wealth, regular income, home equities, retirement savings? When God was making a covenant with Abraham, he received as benefits silver, gold, wealth, livestock, etc. (Gen 13:2). The Lord in Genesis 15:7 also explicitly expressed that Abraham was brought out of his homeland to give this vast land to take possession of it. Sure, these are the rewards from God, but they are all secondary in life.

God wants us to dwell on the thoughts of our primary reward that is not the wealth or possessions.  Gen: 15, v.1 “the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward."  While promising lands, possessions and other benefits of covenantal promises, God wanted Abraham not to forget what his primary reward going to be ultimately. The practical assurance in this life comes from the primary reward, it is the primary reward that gives the security, safe haven, it is the primary reward that quiets down the stormy seas, that guides us in this turmoil, it is GOD Himself as our very great reward!

Never lose the sight of the fact in good times that it is He, He only is our very great reward, and everything else is secondary to that. He is our shield, who protects us. In Him, as Christian leaders our trust should abide and in whom we should always seek refuge. This statement has never been truer when I realized just last week in my own work-place that many will return homes that evening jobless.

As Christian leaders, are we sufficiently anchoring our safety into our primary reward, our very great reward?  

Harold Biswas
Quebec, Canada