The content below is taken from the February 14^th Get Off Your Attitude Radio Show where Ryan Lowe and I discuss the faith-based leadership content of my two business leadership books: The Make It Happen Journey and Kings Come Forth. Besides reading the basic content of our discussion below, there is also a link to the actual podcast of the radio show at the end of this post.

 1.      As an executive business leader with more than 20 years of professional business leadership experience, a degree in Finance, a Masters in Business Administration, and a CPA, what caused you to make such a significant career transition from the business world into Christian ministry?

Well, after working for more than 16 years as a business executive at Ochsner, the place I was born and the place that helped cure my sister of cancer twice, it was a very difficult decision for me to choose to leave.  However, my wife and I really felt that the Lord was leading us in a new direction for our family and my life.  With that said, I guess it was sort of like when God called Abraham to leave the land of his family and move to a new land that God would show him.  Abraham had to trust God and leave the place of familiarity to move to a new place of faith in God.  It was the same with me, so I approached the President of Ochsner Health System and asked for the blessing to leave, even while Ochsner had been a wonderful place for me to work, learn, and grow as a business leader for so many years. With the President’s blessing to leave Ochsner, I took the huge step of faith trusting God to lead me on a new exciting faith adventure with Him. 

At that time, my church which is Church of the King in Mandeville, Louisiana was continuing to grow and needed some help with building the operational infrastructure to sustain the growth, so I joined the leadership team as a full-time volunteer for one year and then joined the paid staff as the CAO and an Associate Pastor at the end of that year. Now being on the staff for more than 2.5 years, it has been an awesome pleasure and privilege to be part of Senior Pastor Steve Robinson’s Lead Team and working with the tremendous leadership team at Church of the King to believe God and to make a big impact in His kingdom.  At Church of the King, we build people and with 4,000 to 5,000 people attending services each week at our 4 campus locations across the Gulf South region - Little Creek Campus in Mandeville, North Causeway Campus in Mandeville, Gulf Coast Campus in Biloxi, and our South Shore Campus in Metairie – we are making a significant difference reaching people with the love of God and building lives in our community.

2.      Besides being on the Lead Team at Church of the King in New Orleans, you are also the President and Founder of The Make It Happen Learning Institute. What is The Make It Happen Learning Institute and why did you create the organization?

The Make It Happen Learning Institute is a leadership development and professional coaching organization that I created in 2003 to help leaders in the marketplace to build organizations on faith-based leadership principles from the Word of God and help create cultures of empowerment that unleash people’s God-given potential to make a difference in life.  The vision of The Make It Happen Learning Institute is Reaching People, Unleashing The Extraordinary! ®.  Through the team values and the leadership principles that I teach as an executive leadership coach, I believe business leaders in the marketplace are effectively engaged, equipped, empowered, and encouraged to build their teams and their organizations to the glory of God and the benefit of others. 

Unfortunately, when I first became a leader, even though I had an MBA, a CPA, and a Bachelor’s degree in Finance, I quickly realized that I needed to learn some things about being a leader which I had not learned in college.  Therefore, I began to attend leadership conferences and also reading all kinds of leadership books to help me become an effective leader. Then I realized that even though learning about leadership was helpful in my personal leadership growth and development, it would be even more helpful to my team if I could help teach them the leadership principles that I was learning as a leader; therefore, I started a leadership development book club called The Make It Happen Leadership Development College to help the leaders on my team grow and develop as leaders also.  I called it The Make It Happen Leadership Development College because we were learning things from leadership books that were not taught in college.  From that little leadership development book club came the idea for the founding of The Make It Happen Learning Institute to not only help the leaders on my teams to  grow as leaders but to also help the leaders in other organizations to grow and develop as leaders as well.

3.      Tell me about your book The Make It Happen Journey.  What is the book about and what was your motivation for writing the book?

The Make It Happen Journey is my very first book that I wrote and it is about the journey I took with my team at Ochsner Health System to build an extraordinary team of make it happen people.  In fact, I had never really set out to be an author; however, as I was building my team on Make It Happen Team Values, I discovered, as Ken Blanchard would say, “values needed to be lived and not framed”, so I was constantly living, breathing, teaching, and modeling the values every day with my team and also teaching my leaders to do the same. Therefore, as a result of doing that for a few years, I thought that it would be helpful to actually write all of the values and leadership principles in a book so that my leaders could use it as a leadership tool and reference with their own teams.  So I started writing the book; however, after writing one chapter, I became discouraged and actually quit until sometime later when one of the leaders on my team began to encourage me to start again and finish it.  He was an entrepreneur who was writing and self-publishing medical coding books to help medical coders become certified professional medical coders and he believed that I could do the same with my book by writing it and self-publishing it.  So with his encouragement, I decided to get up early every morning to write the book and self-publish it.

Additionally, the Bible says that the two greatest commandments in the kingdom of God is to love the Lord with all your, heart, mind, soul and strength and to love your neighbor as yourself.  As servant leaders in the kingdom of God, I believe every leader has the spiritual leadership responsibility to do this with the help of God in their respective teams and businesses.  There are many examples of business leaders who are successfully building their organizations on the values and leadership principles of the Bible.  For example, Chick-Fila, Hobby Lobby, and Interstate Batteries are just a few of the many businesses that are building their organizations on biblical leadership principles and are thriving in the marketplace as a result.  The lie of the devil is that it can’t be done, but the truth is that it can be done and it can be done well!

4.      Of the nine team values that you write about in The Make It Happen Journey, describe which values you think have the biggest impact in building an extraordinary team?

Well, I believe that all of the Make It Happen Team Values are very important, however, before I share the importance of those values, I’d like to share how they came about.  At the time I was given leadership responsibility for my large division at Ochsner, it was no secret that we were having significant problems in performance.  In fact, prior to my leadership assignment for the division, our division had three different leaders in three short years, so the life cycle of the leader responsible for the division was not very good at all and I was seriously wondering if it would be any different for me.  With that as a reality, I knew that I had a major challenge on my hands and was majorly concerned about my ability to make the changes that needed to be made, until one evening when I heard a physician colleague share a personal story about his family’s vacation experience flying Southwest Airlines.

He said they were on their flight home from being out west when they landed in Dallas with a three to four-hour layover. However, as his family was waiting in the lobby, he noticed there was a plane at the gate headed for New Orleans, their final destination, and passengers were beginning to board right at that time. So, he went to the ticket counter and asked the agent if it would be possible for he and his family to get on that plane instead of waiting several hours for their flight. The ticket agent happily checked the system and found that there were, in fact, enough open seats on the plane for him and his family. However, she told him that, because the plane was leaving in just a few moments, there would be no way Southwest Airlines could retrieve their luggage in enough time to get it on the plane. My colleague considered this dilemma for a minute and then decided that they would prefer to fly home sooner than later, and that they would just have the luggage delivered to their home once it arrived. Therefore, he and his family immediately received their tickets and boarded the departing plane.

After he was seated on the plane, he peered out the window and, to his astonishment, he noticed that his luggage was sitting on a cart right outside the plane. Because of this, he hastily called over the flight attendant, who was wearing a “Can Do” pin, and asked her a simple question, “Is it true that you (Southwest) are really the ‘Can Do’ people? After she contemplated his question for a moment, she confidently answered, “Yes, why do you ask?” With that, he succinctly explained to her the situation regarding the connection his family was making and the fact that because of the lack of time, Southwest would not be able to get their luggage on the plane before the plane departed. He further mentioned that, as he sat there, he noticed his luggage just outside on a cart. With all that said, he then challenged the flight attendant by saying, “If you (Southwest) really are the ‘Can Do’ people, then it seems to me that you could find a way to get my luggage on this plane.” After listening attentively to his plea, the flight attendant politely responded to his challenge by saying, “I guess you’re right. Let me take you to the pilot so we can talk to him about this situation.” In the meantime, the door to the plane had just been closed.

Now, I’m not sure how widely known this is, but Southwest has one of the fastest turnaround times in the airline industry, for getting people on and off their planes an back in the air. The reason they do this is that everyone in the company knows the company makes money when planes are in the air, not when they are on the ground. As a result, they build all of their processes and structures to support a quick turnaround, hence their policy of no assigned or first class seats. So, with that in mind, I am sure you can imagine that at that moment just before the flight, the pilot, probably considered the most important person on the plane, was doing some pretty important things preparing the plane for a safe flight. I say that the pilot is probably considered the most important person on the plane because he or she is the person who has the lives of all the crew and passengers in his or her hands as they travel from one city to the next. If the pilot does his job well, everyone lives and gets to where they are going safe and sound. If he does not do his job well, there could be all sorts of problems. With that as a possibility, I guess you might agree that the pilot has a pretty important job. However, the flight attendant challenged by my colleague regarding their “Can Do” value did not hesitate for one moment to interrupt the pilot from what he was doing to prepare the plane for their safe flight. Of course, this was before 9/11, when access to the pilots and the cockpit was unrestricted.

When the pilot stopped what he was doing to hear the situation, he quickly responded by asking my colleague one question, “Do you have your baggage claim tickets?” With an affirmative answer, the pilot then asked him to give him the claim tickets. Once the tickets were handed over, the pilot then climbed out of his seat, walked to the door of the plane, opened it, whistled to a ground crew member, and shouted, “Hey, you over there, could you please grab this luggage and hand it to me?” The person on the ground quickly took the claim tickets, matched them to the proper luggage, and then swiftly handed it to the pilot so they could put it on the plane. As the pilot then closed the door, he turned to my former colleague, handed him his luggage, smiled, and simply declared, “You know, it’s fun to be that good!” Then he stepped back into the cockpit and safely flew their family and their luggage home to New Orleans.

When I heard him tell this story, it was like I was struck by lightning. I was left awestruck by his experience with that entire flight team at Southwest and I knew instantly that I needed to build my team with that same kind of “Can Do” spirit and teamwork if we were going to be able to turn things around for our team mates and customers. So I went back to my team, shared the Southwest “Can Do” story with them and asked them if they thought we could build the same kind of team. With their encouraging yes, I promised to do everything I could to serve them as their leader and help them make it happen in faith. I told them that we couldn’t be the “Can Do” people of Southwest, but from that day forward, we would be the “Make It Happen” people at Ochsner and I began to define our Make It Happen Team Values as a team which are fully described in The Make It Happen Journey to help other leaders do the same with their teams.

5.      Besides writing The Make It Happen Journey, you have also written a second book titled Kings Come Forth. Why did you choose such a title for your second book and what is the basic message of the book?

Yes, Kings Come Forth is an interesting title for my second book; however, I believe that it fully captures the essence of the message contained in the book. While The Make It Happen Journey is written in the make-it-happen language of business for any business leader in business whether they have faith in God or not – if businesses don’t make it happen in business, they go out of business – Kings Come Forth is written specifically to encourage, equip, engage, and empower men and women of faith in the kingdom of God (royalty) to rise up in their spiritual leadership responsibility in the marketplace as business leaders (modern-day kings and queens) and make a huge difference in our community for the glory of God and the benefit of others. In the Bible, there are three identified roles in the kingdom of God – Priest, Prophet, and King. In Kings Come Forth, business leaders in the marketplace will find the scriptural references and support for their spiritual leadership roles in the marketplace as kings in the kingdom of God.

Furthermore, as a complementary leadership resource, The Make It Happen Journey, can be used by any business leader – whether they have faith in God or not – to build a solid team that makes a significant difference in the community and the lives of people.  In Philippians 4:13, the Bible says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” In the make-it-happen language of the marketplace, this means, “I can make it happen through Christ who gives me strength.” The Make It Happen Team Values in The Make It Happen Journey helps business leaders chart a course to build their businesses and their teams on the “can do” principles of the Word of God with excellence and wisdom. Because Joshua and Caleb possessed the “can do” Spirit of God, in faith they gave a good report of the Promised Land and declared in Numbers 13:30, “Let’s go up and take the land—now. We can do it” (The Message).

I believe that God has given the body of Christ the land of the business community, however, business leaders must believe like Joshua and Caleb that we can take the land and make it happen in Christ. Therefore, The Make It Happen Journey is written as a leadership tool to effectively equip business leaders with practical faith-based values that can create team cultures of excellence that benefit people in business, unleash people’s God-given potential to make a difference in life, and glorify God as the King of kings and Lord of lords.

6.      In Kings Come Forth, you describe two distinct leadership styles in the marketplace.  Which style do you think is the most prevalent style and why?

The distinction between a king that troubles or oppresses and a king that prevails with God is an important distinction because modern-day kings in the marketplace—business leaders—whether they know it or not, are leading with a prevalent tendency toward one or the other of these two distinctly different leadership expressions. The business leader who leads as a king that troubles or oppresses leads with a spirit of taskmaster and possesses defining taskmaster leadership character traits. And likewise, the business leader who leads as a king that prevails with God leads with a spirit of servant leadership and possesses defining servant leadership character traits.

Taskmaster leaders have leadership character traits such as:

• Internal motivation driven by power

• Ego-centric perspective focused on self

• Decisions grounded in fear and insecurity

• Tasks people without the proper tools and resources

• Takes from people more than gives to them

• Recognizes self accomplishments at the expense of others

• Tears people down physically, spiritually, and emotionally

The story of Pharaoh in the Bible provides a classic example of a leader with a spirit of taskmaster. In this taskmaster environment, the leader is the most important person on the team, the people are there to merely serve the boss, and the customers receive the lowest service priority. Unfortunately, such a leader today puts profit over people by tasking them with rigor, doubling the quota, and taking away the straw without any regard for their spiritual, emotional, and physical well-being.

On the other hand, servant Leaders have leadership character traits such as:

• Internal motivation driven by influence

• People-centric perspective focused on others

• Decisions grounded in faith and security

• Equips people with the proper tools and resources

• Gives to people more than takes from them

• Recognizes the accomplishments of others at the expense of self

• Builds people up physically, spiritually, and emotionally

The story of Nehemiah in the Bible provides a classic example of a leader with a spirit of servant leadership. In this servant leadership environment, the leader is the least important person on the team, the leaders are there to serve the people, and the customers receive the highest service priority. Such a leader today puts people over profit and serves people by giving them everything they need to win in life – personally and professionally – with the highest regard for their spiritual, emotional, and physical well-being. And as a result, the people serve their customers with the highest care and concern.

Unfortunately, when leaders in the marketplace today lead with a spirit of taskmaster, I think they just don’t know that they can lead differently and actually have the blessing and favor of God to  help them if they are willing to learn how  to lead with a spirit of servant leadership instead. The simple truth is that leaders who prevail with God and build their teams on biblical values and leadership principles will be blessed with the greatest talent on their teams and the highest performance because people want to be cared about and customers want too be served with excellence.

7.      Where can people purchase your books and how can they learn more about The Make It Happen Learning Institute?

The best way for people to learn more about The Make It Happen Learning Institute is to visit my faith-based leadership insights blog for marketplace leaders at www.makeithapppenmoment.com. On the blog, there is all kind of free leadership material and information that can help resource leaders to make a significant difference in the community by building their teams and organizations to the glory of God and the benefit of others.

To check out the podcast of the Get Off Your Attitude Radio Show hosted by Ryan Lowe where Ryan and I discuss the faith-based leadership content of The Make It Happen Journey and Kings Come Forth, please Click Here.

To see the short video book trailer for Kings Come Forth and The Make It Happen Journey, please Click Here.

Lastly, please join me on the make it happen faith adventure in the marketplace to build teams and businesses for the glory of God and the benefit of people by sharing this faith-based leadership discussion transcript of my guest visit on the Get Off Your Attitude Radio Show with your family, friends, and colleagues. Many thanks and blessings!

Copyright 2012, The Make It Happen Learning Institute.  You have permission to reprint this discussion transcript, in its entirety only, and forward to your colleagues and friends, provided the copyright notice remains part of the reprint and transmission.  All other rights reserved.

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2 Samuel 3:1 “Now there was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David.  But David grew stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker.”

Observation

In this verse, the Bible chronicles the strengthening of the house of David, the anointed king of Israel, and the weakening of the house of Saul led by Saul’s son, Ishbosheth, the appointed king of Israel. 

Application

What God anoints is strengthened by God over time. What man appoints is weakened by man over time. When I move forward in life with God’s anointing upon me, I am strengthened by the Lord with His favor and blessing to fulfill my life purpose and destiny inside of God’s will.  When I move forward in life without His anointing upon me, I am weakened by myself with nothing but human pursuit to fulfill my life purpose and destiny outside of God’s will.  God did not create me to fulfill my life purpose and destiny without Him.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, I praise You for You are El Shaddai, my All-Powerful and All-Sufficient Father God!  Thank You for Your anointing and blessing upon my life to strengthen me and empower me to fulfill my life purpose and destiny in You. I am grateful for Your life-time of favor that surrounds me as with a shield as I move forward in faith to do what You have called me to do in Your kingdom! I love You Jesus! Amen!

Stronger And Stronger Copyright 2011, Gary J. Borgstede.  You have permission to reprint the personal devotion, Stronger And Stronger, in its entirety only, and forward to your colleagues and friends, provided the copyright notice remains part of the reprint and transmission.  All other rights reserved.

Quote: “Look forward to the harvest, and remember, where there is struggle, there is life!” – Zig Ziglar

One day I was struggling with some difficult life circumstances, so in my office at work I inquired of the Lord about the matter.  “Lord, why is this happening to me?  I know that You are building my character in this situation, but I don’t understand why it has to be like this.”  Before I could descend too far into a pity party, I heard the Lord respond in His still small voice, “This is happening to you because through it, I am putting a message in you that when it comes out, it will be all Me!”  Now that gave me something to seriously ponder…the Lord wanted to use me (Wow!), but He needed to work out some things in my character before He could do so (Ouch!).  Furthermore, in the midst of my troubling circumstances, the Lord encouraged me regarding His perfect plan and purpose for my life, and even though I didn’t fully understand the struggle, with His abiding presence, I knew I could rest in the peace of Psalm 18:3 as the Psalmist David, declaring in my spirit, “I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised!” 

The Lord is so awesome that He has since helped me to even better understand what He was talking about when He spoke to me on that day in my office. In a teaching, Jewish Rabbi, Curt Landry, shared that the making of a Jewish Shofar – a holy trumpet - actually represents how the Lord shapes and molds each of us into a holy vessel separated unto Him for His kingdom use and glory.  In Rabbi Landry’s lesson, he taught that in order for a Shofar to exist, an animal has to first give its life so that the horn can be cut away for use as a Shofar.  This symbolizes the death that each of us experiences when we first give our life to the Lord and are spiritually born new in Jesus Christ.  The Apostle Paul clearly explains this in 2 Corinthians 5:17 stating, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”  Then, after the horn is cut away, the priest puts the horn in boiling water so that it will become soft and malleable – able to be shaped by his hands.  This represents how the Lord, our Perfect High Priest, will allow the tests and trials of life to soften us, shape us, and develop a teachable spirit within us.  Once the horn is taken out of the boiling water, the priest then twists and turns it in a special way so that it will be able to produce the right joyful sound unto the Lord.  This represents how the Lord will allow difficult life challenges like the one I was experiencing to directly prepare us for His specific calling and perfect purpose for our lives that will bring Him glory. 

Lastly, the priest puts the handcrafted vessel in a dry wilderness place to let it properly dry out before drilling the small pointed end of it to complete the mouthpiece necessary for making the joyful sound for which the Shofar was created.  This represents the lonely time period when the Lord is perfecting our total dependence upon Him before He fully releases us into our anointed calling for which He created us.  While such a time may feel like the Lord has abandoned us, I have found that it is in this time that we actually discover His faithfulness to His promise in Hebrews 13:5 that He will never leave us nor forsake us as well as learn the benefits found in James 1:4 of letting patience have its perfect work in us so that we may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing in God. Therefore, with a spirit of faith and commitment, embrace life and all its struggles because God is in complete control, shaping and preparing us for His perfect plan and destiny in His kingdom.

The Make It Happen Abundant People Value: “Make It Happen” People Possess A Positive Attitude!

Have a blessed “Make It Happen” day!

Edited by The Make It Happen Moment ® Editorial Team

The Make It Happen Moment ® Embrace Life Copyright 2010, The Make It Happen Learning Institute.  You have permission to reprint The Make It Happen Moment ® Embrace Life, in its entirety only, and forward to your colleagues and friends, provided the copyright notice remains part of the reprint and transmission.  All other rights reserved.

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Hebrews 6:11-12 “And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” NKJV

Do you know that inheriting the promises of God in our lives is more like a marathon race rather than a sprint race? Not sure. Well then, let me ask you to consider Noah. He didn’t build the ark in a day. It took more like 100 years to build the ark. Or what about David? He didn’t become king overnight. No, it took many years of running for his life before he became the king of Israel. Or how about Abraham? Did he become the father of many nations in a week?  No, he didn’t.  For each of these heroes of faith, it took a long time for the promises of God to be fulfilled in their respective lives.  Unfortunately, it is no different for you and I; therefore, the sobering reality is that inheriting the promises of God in our lives is definitely more like a marathon race and not a sprint race.

If you have ever run a 10k race (6.2 miles), a half marathon (13.1 miles), and a marathon (26.2 miles), you quickly discover that there is most definitely a difference between each of these races. In fact, running a marathon race versus a sprint race requires another whole level of discipline and painstaking diligence in order to successfully run the race to the end.  With that said, it’s interesting to me that the writer of Hebrews 6:11 says that we “should show the same diligence until the full assurance of hope until the end” indicating that the race of faith will require diligence to finish.

Miriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines diligence as: persevering application; being diligent is characterized by steady, earnest, and energetic effort : PAINSTAKING

In other words being diligent is not easy. Notice that I didn’t say doing diligence. Being diligent is not a doing work, but rather a PAINSTAKING being work in and through us as we run the race of faith and persevere in our faith to the full assurance of hope until the end. Furthermore, being diligent in a persevering application of faith requires patience. For example, constructing  a new building  takes a persevering application of faith and patience. Launching a new campus or a new business takes a persevering application of faith and patience. In fact James 1:4 states, “But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” NKJV

In my devotional studies, I’ve learned from Rick Renner’s, Sparkling Gems From The Greek, that the word patience comes from the Greek word hupomeno which means “having the kind of attitude that hangs in there no matter what, never gives up, refuses to surrender to obstacles, and turns down every opportunity to quit.” So then, let me ask this question. Where do you think this kind of staying power or patience comes from?  The Bible says that it comes from the Holy Spirit and is in fact one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Galatians 5:22-23 states,  “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!” NLT 

When we have the Holy Spirit fruit of patience operating in our lives, nothing can stop us, nothing can break us, no challenge is too difficult for us, no opposition is too fearful, and no dream is too big…because God is WITH us and He is FOR us!

As an illustration let me share how the Holy Spirit fruit of patience helped me to successfully complete the 2007 Florida Ironman triathlon. In the days leading up to the race, I have to be honest that I was a little nervous and a lot afraid, especially when two nights before the race at the kick-off dinner for the athletes, a short video was shown of the prior year race.  I’m not sure if it was meant to encourage me or what, but what it did do was scare the heck out of me.  After watching 2,500 people run into the water like penguins at the north pole and start swimming out into the deep blue ocean one on top of the other for 2.4 miles, I thought…I’m gonna die.  And if I don’t die in the water…how in the world am I going to ride my bike 112 miles and THEN run a 26.2 mile marathon.  I couldn’t help but think, WHAT WAS I THINKING?

Seriously though, I had intimidating thoughts that I might not be able to finish the race. I also had fearful thoughts that my body might just shut down and quit on me.  Did I properly count the cost in my training or was I going to look foolish by not being able to finish what I started? Did I really hear from the Lord about doing the race or was I just trying to find my identity in something outside of Him? As I was wrestling with these questions in my mind the day before the race, the Lord encouraged me that He was with me and that the whole thing was about learning to be patient in Him…learning patience in the 3 years of training that it took to properly prepare for the Ironman and learning patience during the most significant physical challenge of my life at that time.  

So early in the morning around 4 am on Race day, I got up and went on the balcony of our condo overlooking the beach to spend time with the Lord and pray for the patience and strength I would need for the day in order to finish the race. I asked the Lord to be with me throughout the day and I prayed Isaiah 40:31 for His supernatural patience and strength during the race.

“But those who wait on the Lord, Shall renew their strength;

They shall mount up with wings like eagles,

They shall run and not be weary,

They shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31

All through-out the race, I prayed this verse in my spirit, took my thoughts captive, and enjoyed my race with the Lord.  When I finished the swim, I was so excited that I had not actually drowned, I couldn’t stop thanking the Lord for being done with that stage and actually being alive… I finished the swim in 1 hr 18 minutes which was a great time for me.

On the bike, I was trained well and was staying disciplined to my heart rate training…no more than 78% of my maximum heart rate; however, 70 miles into the race, I experienced a sharp opposing headwind which caused me to have to drop my pace to around 15 mph instead of the 20 mph that I trained for and had set as a goal.  In fact, at mile 90, the headwind had been so persistent for 20 miles that I had to stop on side of the road to take a short break and eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to get some needed strength and refreshment.

Do you know that when we are taking steps of faith and begin moving in the direction of God’s promises for our lives, it is very likely that we may experience opposition from the enemy; therefore, we must be prepared for it and respond with a continued persevering application of faith and patience. Plus, when we are in a long enduring season of faith, we have to remain disciplined in persevering applications of faith and patience if we are going to inherit the promises of God…because all seasons eventually change if we don’t give up. Daily prayer, bible reading, small group, fasting, praise, and refreshing in the Holy Spirit are all great spiritual disciplines that can help us build faith and patience on our journey towards the inheritance of God’s promises in our life. 

At mile 106, the headwind turned into an awesome tailwind and I finished the bike stage at 6 hrs and 15 min which was about 30 minutes later than my training goal.

As I started into the 26.2 mile marathon run, my wife and children along with my mother-in-law and father-in-law were all there to encourage me and cheer me on which was a huge boost for me.  And then 6.5 miles later, my parents, my sisters, my brothers-in-law, nieces and nephews were all at the other end of a 13.1 mile loop to continue cheering me on and encouraging me to finish the race.  Their encouragement and support reminded me of the great cloud of witnesses mentioned in Hebrews 12:1 that watch us as we run the race of faith in Christ.  Hebrews 12:1-2 states,  “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” NKJV

Having my family cheer and support me at critical stages of the race was a huge encouragement that helped me run the race with endurance.  It is the same way for each of us in our personal races of faith in Christ.  Having spiritual family there to support you in the midst of life’s challenges, obstacles, hopes, and dreams is a huge part of the endurance success factor.  As I ran and took each step towards the finish line, I continued praying in the spirit as I thanked God for my family, thanked God for the beautiful sunset, and thanked Him for the ability to actually run the race. In fact, when I crossed the finish line after a long race of 12 hrs and 53 minutes, I walked across the line with my arms raised in the air giving all praise and glory to my heavenly Father for being with me the whole way and giving me everything I needed to strongly finish the race. And lastly, it was a great joy to see my training partner also finish strong and cross the finish line fulfilling our mutual commitment to run the race of life together in the wisdom of Proverbs 27:17 which states in the New International Version of the Bible that “As iron sharpens iron, so does one man sharpen another.”  

Finishing Is Better Than Starting. Patience Is Better Than Pride

Topping it all off as God generally likes to do, later that week after the race was over, in my devotional time with the Lord, He led me to discover the scripture verse of Ecclesiastes 7:8 in the New Living Translation of the Bible which states, “Finishing is better than starting. Patience is better than pride.” How awesome is that?  As a certified finisher of the 2007 Florida Ironman, I can personally testify that finishing is certainly better than starting and patience is certainly better than pride. How much more awesome will it be when you and I inherit the fullness of the promises of God through faith and patience as we cross the finish line of our race of faith in Christ? So my prayer is that you will inherit the promises of God in your life through faith and patience by hanging in the race of faith no matter what, never giving up, refusing to surrender to obstacles, and turning down every opportunity to quit because God is with you and He is for you! Amen!

For a cool short video recap of the 2007 Florida Ironman race, Click Here.

Inheriting The Promises Of God Copyright 2012, The Make It Happen Learning Institute.  You have permission to reprint the leadership article, Inheriting The Promises Of God, in its entirety only, and forward to your colleagues and friends, provided the copyright notice remains part of the reprint and transmission.  All other rights reserved.

Quote: “You have the potential – no, you have the responsibility – to be a mentor and be mentored!” – John Wooden

One afternoon at a business conference, I learned some important leadership insights from the game of basketball as taught by an excellent speaker at the conference.  Prior to the speaker’s presentation, I had never really thought about the fact that a basketball player really only has the ball in his hands for two to three minutes in a 40 minute game.  So then, what does a player do with the other 37 to 38 minutes of the game?  For great basketball coaches, the answer to this question is quite potentially the real difference between their team winning and losing; therefore, they effectively prepare their players for playing well the other 37 to 38 minutes when they don’t have the ball.  The speaker emphasized that this insight is so crucial because the real game of basketball is actually played away from the ball and great coaches instinctively know that if you take care of the little things away from the ball, the big things with the ball will take care of themselves…provided of course that the little things do in fact lead to the big things.  For instance, learning how to thank your team mate for passing you the ball after you make a score is a little thing “away from the ball” that leads to big things “with the ball” – more scoring opportunities because of the small expression of genuine gratitude and humility with your team mates.

I recently read a quote from Michael Jordan at www.twitter.com/air_jordan which stated, “Years of practice amounted to years of achievement.”  Obviously, Michael Jordan is recognizing the importance that practice played in direct relationship to his achievements on the court.  And I think his statement also clearly affirms the leadership principle that the big things in our life will not happen without us first taking care of the little things that lead to the big things.  So what are some of the little things in life that we must focus upon and diligently practice in order to properly position and equip ourselves for the big things in life? 

I have learned from my Senior Pastor as well as from real life personal application that we can learn life lessons in one of two ways: revelation (mentors and wisdom) or tribulation (mistakes and pain).  Personally, I’ve tried both ways and I so much prefer the revelation way that I now spend many hours seeking revelation wisdom from wise qualified mentors who can teach me the little things away from the ball that will prepare me for the big things with the ball.  The great apostle Paul clearly understood this wisdom principle when he encouraged his disciples to diligently observe him, learn from him, and do like him as a qualified wise mentor of faith who imitated his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  In fact, through his secure personal relationship with Jesus Christ, Paul confidently states in 1 Corinthians 11:1, “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.”  Wow, this is real life mentorship at its best!  Therefore, with a spirit of wisdom and humility, may we be like Paul – qualified wise mentors of faith and revelation who freely give others life lessons that we have freely received from the Lord and other qualified wise mentors of faith.

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The Make It Happen Moment ® Life Coach Copyright 2009, The Make It Happen Learning Institute.  You have permission to reprint The Make It Happen Moment ® Life Coach, in its entirety only, and forward to your colleagues and friends, provided the copyright notice remains part of the reprint and transmission.  All other rights reserved.

Related articles

• Mentor Matters (apreachaskid.wordpress.com)

When Steve Saint was only five years old, his father Nate Saint, left on a plane with four other missionaries – Jim Elliott, Ed McCully, Roger Youderian, and Pete Fleming – to reach the indigenous savage people group known as the Auca Indians.  On the day his father left, little young Steve did not know that his father and the other missionaries would all be speared to death by the Waodani tribe and he would never see his father again.  However, instead of allowing this tragic experience to mark his life with bitterness and unforgiveness, Steve learned how to forgive the men who killed his father by actually going to live with his aunt among the Waodani tribe when he was 10 years old.  Through his family’s tenacious missionary efforts and Steve’s willingness to forgive his father’s transgressors, the Waodani people became believers in Christ.  Through Steve’s outrageous act of love and forgiveness, the man who actually killed Steve’s father was transformed by God and became Steve’s brother in Christ – powerfully demonstrating the good news of the Gospel.

The Power of Forgiveness

I’ve heard it said that there is nothing more powerful in human affairs than the act of forgiving the least and even the most unforgivable offenses.  I believe this is true simply because of the reality of the Cross in my own life.  At the Cross, Jesus looked at His guilty offenders (you and I through the sin of Adam) and He forgave us by freely giving His life that we might have life.  Like Jesus, Steve Saint’s father, Nate Saint, gave his life as a martyr so that others – guilty offenders – might have an opportunity to receive the power of forgiveness through the Cross.  As a legacy to his father’s martyred life, Steve pressed through his painful loss to help complete his father’s mission by demonstrating the power of the gospel through the incontestable act of forgiving his father’s killers.  What else can the heart of a person do but melt at the foot of the Cross, when they have committed an unthinkable, unpardonable sin against another and that person chooses to forgive their offense.

Give What You Cannot Keep To Gain What You Cannot Lose

In his life, Steve Saint quotes one of the missionaries killed with his father as saying, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” From his painful life experiences, it is evident that Steve learned how to allow what the enemy meant for evil to be turned to good by giving into his heavenly Father’s hands what he could not keep – his relationship with his natural father – in return for the eternal life of his father’s killers and many others through the powerful demonstration of the gospel in his own everyday life.  In fact, it has been written about Steve that his life has been shaped by James 4:17 and other similar verses stating, “Anyone who knows the good he ought to do, but doesn’t do it, sins.” With such a powerful verse shaping Steve’s life, it is no wonder the powerful impact that he is having in his missionary efforts around the world. 

Dead Faith Is Worthless

In my opinion, Steve Saint’s everyday faith is an inspirational testament to the responsibility that all Christ followers have to fulfill the Great Commission by demonstrating our own faith through good works that God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. About the purpose and course of his life, Steve Saint states, “I have long dreaded the thought of getting to the end of life and regretting that I allowed my own timidity or other people’s expectations to determine the course of my life. I had decided at a much younger age that several of my beliefs should determine the course of my life.  I believe that Waengongi, the Creator, has an epic script into which my minute presence has been written.” For “Great Commission” works to be fulfilled and completed in each of our lives, I believe that all Christ-followers must believe as Steve Saint, that our Creator – Father God – has a good plan for each of us and He will be faithful to complete the good work He begins in us as the Author and the Finisher of our faith.  And if we dare to be so bold to believe the fullness of God’s Word for our own lives, we would have no need to be concerned with “dead faith” which Steve says “is as worthless as a 5-day old chewed up piece of gum.”  Therefore, as we live life at the end of the spear, trusting the Lord to teach us all things, lead us into all truth, and direct our steps on a daring faith adventure into eternity with Him, may our faith never be dead on the journey.

Question: As a Christ follower in the marketplace, how do you live your life at the “end of the spear”?  

End of the Spear Copyright 2011, The Make It Happen Learning Institute.  You have permission to reprint the leadership article, End of the Spear, in its entirety only, and forward to your colleagues and friends, provided the copyright notice remains part of the reprint and transmission.  All other rights reserved.

Related articles

• Sovereignty,Suffering and The Work of Missions by Steve Saint – son of missionary martyr Nate Saint who died in Ecuador with Jim Elliott (Desiring God) (rodiagnusdei.wordpress.com)
• I-TEC Founder Builds FAA-Certified Flying Car (indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com)

Quote: “Lion chasers don’t hide from the things they fear.  They chase lions into pits!” – Mark Batterson

Contemplating my future, I fought some momentary bouts of fear in my mind as I answered personal questions of faith and destiny.  Would I let the safety and security of more than 16 years of dedicated service as a corporate leader supersede my faith in God and possibly steal the adventure and excitement of completely fulfilling my destiny in the Lord? Would I be content as a lion caged by the safe confines of a certain job or would I embrace a potential departure into a faith-filled future as a lion chaser in the kingdom of God?  With the peace of God in my heart and the support of family, natural and spiritual, I overcame my fear and embraced what many might consider unthinkable, crazy, reckless – I gave up the emotional safety net in a steady tenured company position, for instead, a steadfast trust in the Lord to direct my steps into the good plan that He has for me as a lion chaser in His kingdom!   

Spiritually speaking, do you know the oldest strategy in the devil’s toolkit is to try to steal, kill, and destroy our destiny in God through personal fear and intimidation in our minds?  In fact, 1 Peter 5:8 states, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”  Notice the Word of God says that the devil walks about like a roaring lion; therefore, we can conclude that he really isn’t a lion at all, but rather, he’s nothing but a lying devil.  His roar is only meant to scare us through fear and his false accusations in our minds are only meant to intimidate us into thinking that we must live our lives less than the full potential that God has destined for us. 

But praise God that the devil was totally and completely defeated by Jesus at the Cross of Calvary and not only that, Jesus has given us His authority to put the devil completely under our feet.  In Luke 10:19 Jesus says, “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy [the devil and all his demons], and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”  This means that we don’t have to be “fraidy” cats when the devil is trying to steal our destiny in God by holding us captive to our personal fears.  Instead, as believers with a spirit of faith as well as the mind of Christ, we can be lion chasers in the kingdom of God with the authority in Christ to chase the devil into a pit and totally overcome his scare tactics in the battlefield of our minds!

Furthermore, Romans 8:31 states, “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”  Believing in the present that God is for us and not against us makes all the difference when leaving yesterday’s memory and reaching for tomorrow’s dream.  In chasing our God-given dreams, lion chasers choose to believe God and seek Him because Hebrews 11:6 states, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him [God], for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”  With a spirit of faith, embrace your future and your destiny in the Lord as a lion chaser who believes God because with Him all things are possible!

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The Make It Happen Moment ® Lion Chase Copyright 2010, The Make It Happen Learning Institute.  You have permission to reprint The Make It Happen Moment ® Lion Chase, in its entirety only, and forward to your colleagues and friends, provided the copyright notice remains part of the reprint and transmission.  All other rights reserved.

“While righteousness in a nation undoubtedly begins with the commitment of individuals to Christ, more souls and more churches alone will not make it holy.  Godliness comes when a nation’s Christians make it their all—consuming passion to see God’s glory reflected in every domain of the land, its arts, sciences, media, government, schools, businesses, families – in every domain.  Unless they do, their salvation will benefit only them personally, and Christ’s laws and principles will not guide their nation as He intended them to do.”

Wow!  This bold statement so identifies with the Spirit of God in me that I can’t help but seriously think that this is actually the real reason why we do not see more of God’s kingdom truly reflected in every domain of our country as mentioned by Mr. Layton.  Personally, I believe this is precisely the reason our nation continues to slide farther and farther away from our Judeo Christian heritage and values in everyday marketplace life.  Unfortunately for our nation which was founded on the principles and values of the Bible, I think we have forgotten how to teach people to practically live the principles and values of our Father’s kingdom in their respective domains of influence outside of our churches and our families.  As a result, far too many Christians lack the practical knowledge and Holy Spirit inspired boldness to bring the values and principles of our Father’s kingdom to their spheres of influence in a way that facilitates real transformational change in our societal domains.

So then how do we practically do this? Personally, I believe that the only way we can effectively do this is if genuine Christ followers make an intentional effort to focus on the entirety of Jesus’ commandment in His Great Commission of His Church as stated in Matthew 28:18-20. “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” As disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, when we objectively measure our effectiveness in fulfilling the entirety of the Great Commission as commanded by Him, we are without doubt effectively building churches that are adding souls to the Body of Christ and even building more churches to do so in the kingdom; however, by the condition of our society in America, it just doesn’t seem to me that we are being as effective as we need to be in teaching disciples how to observe all things that the Lord commands us in the different societal domains of our nation.  If we were effective in doing this, I believe that our news stations would be different, our movies and films would be different, our government would be different, our businesses would be different, our schools would be different; but sadly, all too significantly often, these domains of influence in our nation are not different and they do not reflect the values and principles of our Father’s kingdom.

In his book, Mr. Layton brings further clarity to our Father’s kingdom mandate, stating, “When we speak of ‘winning a nation’ or ‘turning our nation back to God,’ we are really speaking about bringing God’s influence, laws, principles, and kingdom authority into each of these spheres. Anything less is less than what God commanded His church to do.”  So if this is what it means to win a nation for the kingdom of God, then who is strategically thinking about how to equip the saints of God to effectively bring God’s influence, laws, principles, and kingdom authority to each respective domain of societal influence? In order for the values, laws, and principles of the kingdom of God to have any real transforming influence in any societal or cultural domain, the Lord’s kingdom values must be practically lived by the power of the Holy Spirit and the authority of God in the context of each respective domain.  To me, this means that spiritual leaders especially anointed by God in each respective domain have a spiritual leadership responsibility in the kingdom of God to live the values of our Father’s kingdom in their respective domain and simply teach others to do the same. Therefore, as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, when we effectively equip, engage, empower, and encourage spiritual leaders to do this in their respective domains, I believe our nation will experience real transformational change in every domain of our land.  In fact, Mr. Layton profoundly states in his book that “When the Church is doing its job, the society around it will eventually reflect God’s laws and principles as well.”

Consequently, Christ followers working in the business domain are not absolved from this foremost spiritual leadership responsibility to reflect Christ in the marketplace. What an extraordinary spiritual reality for business leaders called by God and anointed by Him to lead in the business domain! But God doesn’t stop there, because the Great Commission doesn’t stop there. The spiritual reality of our Father’s kingdom is that He wants to raise-up influential godly spiritual leaders in every sphere of domain influence in our nation and the nations of the world.  Personally, this gets me very excited because it affirms that God has a full-time God-ordained spiritual leadership purpose, destiny, and kingdom responsibility for all marketplace leaders who love Christ and are called by Him to build the kingdom of God in their respective spheres of influence.  With that said, as a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ and a minister of the Gospel, you can count me ALL IN, by His Grace, for helping marketplace leaders to make it happen in Christ!

Question: As a Christ-follower in the marketplace, do you feel engaged, equipped, empowered, and encouraged to reflect the values and principles of God’s kingdom in the marketplace?

Our Father’s Kingdom Copyright 2011, The Make It Happen Learning Institute.  You have permission to reprint the leadership article, Our Father’s Kingdom, in its entirety only, and forward to your colleagues and friends, provided the copyright notice remains part of the reprint and transmission.  All other rights reserved.

Psalms 34:7 “The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, And delivers them.”

Psalms 34:17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles.”

Psalms 34:19 “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all.”

Observation

In this psalm, David declares three times that the Lord delivers the righteous out of all their troubles and afflictions.  By declaring this promise of the Lord three times in the same psalm, David is saying that this promise is BIG and means a lot.  According to Bartlett’s Roget’s Thesaurus, this means that when the Lord delivers me, He saves me, rescues me, comes to my rescue, throws me a life-line; snatches me from the jaws of death, saves me at the last second or minute, rescues me at the eleventh hour, saves me by the bell; extricates me, unravels me, untangles me, extracts me, gets me out; unfastens me, unlooses me, unties me, unbinds me, unfetters me, unchains me; unburdens me, disburdens me, disencumbers me, rids me of, saves me from, relieves me; releases me, emancipates me, liberates me, frees me, declares me free, sets me free, sets me at large; unlocks me, unbars me, lets me out, lets me go, lets me off, gets me off, reprieves me, acquits me, exempts me, excuses me, dispenses me from, spares me; redeems me, ransoms me, bails me out, buys me off, purchases me; salvages me, retrieves me, recovers me, brings me back, and restores me. There is no promise bigger or better than the Lord’s promise to deliver the righteous!

Application

Personally, “by not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith,” I am declared righteous in the Lord’s sight (Philippians 3:9).  Therefore, “being the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus” (2 Corinthians 5:21), the Lord’s promise to deliver me applies to me and everyone else who calls upon the name of the Lord and is righteous in His sight through faith in Christ. This is good news!

Prayer

Heavenly Father, I praise You for You are Jehovah Tsidkenu, The Lord our Righteousness!  Thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for me so that I could be delivered from the power of darkness and brought into the kingdom of Your Son whom You love. I am forever grateful for Your promise and Your faithfulness to deliver me in Christ! I love You Jesus! Amen!

The Lord Delivers Copyright 2011, Gary J. Borgstede.  You have permission to reprint the personal devotion, The Lord Delivers, in its entirety only, and forward to your colleagues and friends, provided the copyright notice remains part of the reprint and transmission.  All other rights reserved.

Almighty God, The Loving Father

In You Only Will I Trust

Thank You Jesus

For Creating Me

From Nothing But The Dust

Almighty God, The Worthy Lamb

I Was Blind And Could Not See

Thank You Jesus

For Dying On The Cross

And Setting Me Completely Free

Almighty God, The Merciful King

There Is No Other Holy Name

Thank You Jesus

For Your Precious Blood

That Covers All Of My Shame

Almighty God, The Reigning Lord

Your Spoken Word Is The Breath Of Life

Thank You Jesus

For The Special Gift

Of My Loving And Graceful Wife

Almighty God, The Abundant Provider

Your Tender Mercies Endure Through The Night

Thank You Jesus

For Each of My Children

Your Blessing And My Heart’s Delight

Almighty God, The Righteous Judge

Your Majesty Reaches To The Heaven

Thank You Jesus

For My Church Family

And All Of My Spiritual Brethren

 Almighty God, The Great Physician

You Know Every Hair On My Head

Thank You Jesus

For Purpose And Destiny

That Uplifts My Spirit From The Dead

 Almighty God, The Living Deliverer

You Are Always So Very Near

Thank You Jesus

For Rescuing Me

 From All Of My Mental Fear

Almighty God, The Holy Redeemer

You Are My Savior, This I Know

Thank You Jesus

For Washing Away My Sin

And Making It As White As Snow

Almighty God, The Solid Rock

Your Glory Shines For All The Days

Thank You Jesus

For Your Holy Spirit

To Walk In All Of Your Ways

Almighty God, The Good Shepherd

You Lead Me Each Morning Dawn

Thank You Jesus

For The City of New Orleans

The Place Where I Was Born

Saying Thank You Jesus

Just Doesn’t Seem Like Enough

To The Holy One Who Gives So Much

So I Give You Thanks Lord

With All Of My Heart

As It Daily Beats For Your Unfailing Touch!

 All Glory, Praise, and Honor Be To You Jesus!

Forever and Ever, Amen!

Heart of Thanks Poem Copyright 2009, Gary J. Borgstede.  You have permission to reprint the Heart of Thanks Poem Poem, in its entirety only, and forward to your colleagues and friends, provided the copyright notice remains part of the reprint and transmission.  All other rights reserved.