Let Belief Reign

October 27, 2013

Gary J. Borgstede Leadership Insights , , , , 1 Comment

6 Gap Mountain Top View

Have you ever had a time when you’ve believed God for something big and then you actually saw His faithfulness manifest right in front of you by His bringing to pass what you believed Him to do? When that happens, the goodness of God and His faithfulness simply overwhelms me. God is so good!

The Annual 6 Gap Century Ride

Recently, a group of friends and I traveled to Dahlonega, Georgia to do the annual 6 Gap century ride. It is called 6 Gap because it involves riding a bike over 6 beautiful Georgia mountain passes for a total of 11,200 ft. of climbing elevation. Now let me tell you the good thing about riding a bike up 11,200 ft. of mountain elevation…what goes up, must come down…and coming down is always better than going up.

We arrived in Dahlonega on the day before the ride to check-in and get our gear ready for the ride. After we checked in, we visited the race expo and we all decided to purchase the official 6 Gap riding jersey which we thought was a great idea. But after I bought the jersey and even more so, while I was actually climbing those huge mountain passes on my bike the next day, this dreadful thought raced through my mind more than a few times. “What if I can’t finish this ride? I will never be able to wear the 6 Gap Jersey…”

Well, the good news is that I did finish the ride and I can now wear the jersey in good conscience as an official finisher of the 6 Gap century ride. However, during the ride when I was faced with each successive imposing mountain pass, I wondered if I had been a little too presumptuous in buying the jersey BEFORE I actually finished the ride. Or was it indeed, an act of faith based upon my training and my belief that God was actually with me through the peaks and the valleys of that ride.

In foresight and even now in hindsight…I know I wasn’t acting from a state of presumption because over the several months leading up to the ride, God had been speaking to my heart about “standing in the gap”. And because of it, I had a strong sense that God was with me for the 6 Gap ride and that He wanted me to experience a great ride with Him.

Standing In The Gap Takes Belief In A BIG God

Since about last summer when I hosted See You At The Office, the annual marketplace prayer campaign, God has been emphasizing to me the importance of “standing in the gap” for our nation; therefore, when my friend told me that he was going to do the 6 Gap ride, I was inspired by him and also by God to do the ride as well.  And you know what? I think there is something healthy about attempting a big thing that has the very real possibility of failure. It stretches you. It increases your thinking. It requires you to plan and prepare. And for me, it even builds my relationship with God and my faith in Him – my very BIG, All-Powerful, All-Sufficient, Heavenly Father.

Anytime you step out in faith to do something BIG, there will always be unbelief lurking at every corner in your mind saying that it can’t be done. However, we don’t have to believe words of unbelief, especially when we know God is with us and He is for us. Instead, we should think BIG and believe BIG because God is BIG! It is so unfortunate that many people live lives that are much, much smaller than what God actually has for them because of small thinking and unbelief.

Do You Know That Belief And Unbelief Cannot Reign Equal In Your Heart? The Truth Is That One Will Submit To The Other.

Just imagine that you are Moses leading Israel out of Egyptian slavery and you encounter the Red Sea with the Egyptians fast approaching on horses and chariots. You have nowhere to go and you are the leader. What do you do when God says to part the Red Sea with your staff?

Belief And Unbelief Cannot Reign Equal In Your Heart…One Will Submit To The Other

Just imagine that you are Peter sitting with the other disciples in a boat. It’s dark. It’s in middle of the lake. The wind is blowing. The waves are raging. And you think you see the Lord walking on the water.  You yell out, “Lord, is that you?” What do you do when the Lord responds, “Yes Peter, it’s me…get out the boat and come to me.”

Belief And Unbelief Cannot Reign Equal In Your Heart…One Will Submit To The Other

Just imagine that you are Martha and your brother, Lazarus, has died. It’s been four days and Jesus shows up. You tell Him, “Lord, my brother is dead…if only You were here.” What do you do when the Lord responds, “He will rise…roll the stone away.”

Belief And Unbelief Cannot Reign Equal In Your Heart…One Will Submit To The Other

Have you ever been in an impossible situation where belief and unbelief battle for supremacy in your heart? You see, it’s one thing when you are just imagining that you were Moses, Peter, or Martha in their impossible situations. But it’s another whole thing when it’s your real life impossible situation and there is the seeming possibility in the natural that the Lord may fail to move the imposing mountain. When there is the mountain of a personal health issue, or the mountain of a rocky marriage, or the mountain of a prodigal child, or the mountain of a struggling financial situation, make no mistake about it, unbelief will wage war against belief for supremacy in your heart. What do you do then, because belief and unbelief cannot reign equal in your heart…one will submit to the other.

Small Belief In A Big God Can Move Mountains

There is good news for you and I when we find ourselves in these kind of impossible situations because Jesus says that faith as small as a mustard seed can move mountains. The Bible states in Matthew 17:14-20, “At the foot of the mountain, a large crowd was waiting for them. A man came and knelt before Jesus and said, ‘Lord, have mercy on my son. He has seizures and suffers terribly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. So I brought him to your disciples, but they couldn’t heal him.’

Jesus replied, ‘You faithless and corrupt people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.’ Then Jesus rebuked the demon in the boy, and it left him. From that moment the boy was well. Afterward the disciples asked Jesus privately, ‘Why couldn’t we cast out that demon?’ ‘You don’t have enough faith,’ Jesus told them. ‘I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.’”

The Battle For Supremacy In Your Heart Between Belief And Unbelief

When we read this story and Jesus’ rebuke of the disciples, we often focus upon the faith of the disciples or lack thereof; but what about the faith of the man who brought his son to Jesus? Even after he brought the boy to the disciples and they couldn’t help him, the man didn’t give up. He still had faith enough to bring his son directly to Jesus for healing. And the striking thing about this story retold by the gospel of Mark is that even though the man struggled with unbelief, he overcame it through belief in Jesus.

The Bible states in Mark 9:21-24, “So He (Jesus) asked his father, ‘How long has this been happening to him (the boy)?’ And he said, ‘From childhood. And often he (the demon) has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.’ Jesus said to him, ‘If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.’ Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, ‘Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!’”

The battle for supremacy in this man’s heart between belief and unbelief was raging strong; however, belief as small as a mustard seed in Jesus forcefully overcame unbelief in the natural and the impossible mountain in his life was moved by God. There is no mountain in your life or mine that cannot be moved by the promises of God and faith in His word because God is good, His word is true, and He is faithful!

Stay The Course With Committed Belief

I’ve learned in life that spiritual breakthroughs often come slowly over time as we keep on believing God, walking by faith and not by sight. A little crack in a concrete dam will eventually create a huge crack that will cause the whole dam to fail and the water to breakthrough. In the spiritual realm, God’s word combined with prayer and fasting creates the crack that will eventually bring the spiritual breakthrough and the manifestation of what God has promised. We see this in Daniel’s life and it will happen in our life the same way with prayer and fasting.

I like how the Message Bible paraphrases Hebrews 6:11-16 regarding faith in God and His faithfulness to fulfill His promises. “And now I want each of you to extend that same intensity toward a full-bodied hope, and keep at it till the finish. Don’t drag your feet. Be like those who stay the course with committed faith and then get everything promised to them. When God made His promise to Abraham, He backed it to the hilt, putting His own reputation on the line. He said, ‘I promise that I’ll bless you with everything I have — bless and bless and bless!’ Abraham stuck it out and got everything that had been promised to him.”

Four Ways To Make Unbelief Submit To Belief And Have Belief Reign Supreme In Your Heart

On the basis of Hebrews 6:11-16, let me give you four ways to make unbelief submit to belief in your life and have belief reign supreme in your heart.

  1. Read God’s Word because you must know what He says about the situation in order to believe Him to do something about the situation.
  2. Believe God’s Word because He will do what He says He will do.
  3. Pray and fast because breakthrough happens in the supernatural before it happens in the natural.
  4. Never, ever give up because God is for you and He is with you.

To God’s glory, have a blessed “Make It Happen” day!

Let Belief Reign Copyright 2013, The Make It Happen Learning Institute.  You have permission to reprint the leadership article, Let Belief Reign, 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.

Culture Development – Rx For Expansion

February 9, 2013

Gary J. Borgstede Coaching Corner , , , , , , , , 3 Comments

Expansion

Expansion

The culture of an organization reflects the values of the organization and will drive everything inside the organization. In fact, I will assert that culture is the most dynamic force in an organization because it is the outward expression of the organization’s internal values that are held as firm convictions by the people inside the organization. Emphasizing the organizational strength and power of culture, Dr. Sam Chand, author of Cracking Your Church’s Culture Code, says “Culture will eat vision for lunch!” I believe this statement by Dr. Chand because everything in an organization will ultimately revolve around the written and unwritten culture code inside the organization. Understanding the unseen powerful dynamic of culture is extremely important for faith-based leaders if they desire to build an organization that glorifies God, benefits others, and endures in the marketplace. I believe faith-based leaders can only effectively do this by intentionally developing the organization’s culture code with practical faith-based values communicated in the make-it-happen language of the marketplace.

Culture Development Clarifies Core Ideology And Builds An Organization That Lasts

In their book, Built To Last, Jim Collins and Jerry Porras write, “Core ideology defines the enduring character of an organization – its self-identity that remains consistent through time and transcends product / market life cycles, technological breakthroughs, management fads, and individual leaders. Core ideology provides the bonding glue that holds an organization together as it grows, decentralizes, diversifies, expands globally, and attains diversity within.” Core ideology that is well defined within the organization’s core values and also well reflected in the organization’s culture will effectively empower organizational leaders to build the organization in a way that will stand the tests of time. This is true because core values provide the character definition of the organization and culture provides the life expression of the organization’s character as it exists through time.

Developing Culture Builds The Internal Foundation Required For External Growth And Expansion

Any farmer knows that a seed can only reproduce after its own kind. It would be completely foolish for a farmer to plant watermelon seeds and expect to harvest tomatoes because watermelons can only reproduce watermelons. In Luke 6:43-45, Jesus further affirms the principles of reproduction in the kingdom of God by stating, “A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. A tree is identified by its fruit. Figs never grow on thorn bushes, nor grapes on bramble bushes. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.” These principles of reproduction affect all forms of reproduction including organizational reproduction; therefore, before an organization starts reproducing itself through growth and expansion, it is absolutely imperative that the organization’s core values are clearly defined and appropriately reflected in its culture because the organization will simply reproduce after its own kind. Noble, strong, God-honoring, people-loving organizations will reproduce noble, strong, God-honoring, people-loving teams, departments, branches, divisions, regions, and new corporate entities.  

To help organizations effectively develop the organizational culture that fully reflects the organization’s core values, I recommend the following 4 practical steps to developing culture:

  1.  Clearly define an organizational core values statement based upon a timeless enduring core ideology that can be effectively communicated to the people inside the organization over and over and over and over again.
  2. Write, tell, and archive well scripted organizational stories that effectively communicate the core values of the organization to the people inside the organization and tell those stories over and over and over and over again.
  3. Strategically design frequent celebrations and planned events that encourage people inside the organization to celebrate the core values of the organization over and over and over and over again.
  4. Conduct semi-annual culture surveys to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the organization’s life expression of the organization’s core values through the perceptions and feedback of every person inside the organization and to make appropriate life expression adjustments that continually clarify the core values over and over and over and over again.

Thank you and have a blessed “Make It Happen” day!

Culture Development – Rx For Expansion Copyright 2013, The Make It Happen Learning Institute.  You have permission to reprint Culture Development – Rx For Expansion, 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.

The Marketplace Ministry I See

April 13, 2011

Gary J. Borgstede Coaching Corner, Leadership Insights, See You At The Office , , , , , , 2 Comments

The Vision:

To Connect Leadership Passion With Kingdom Purpose In Today’s Marketplace!

The Mission:

To Practically Engage, Equip, Empower, and Encourage Marketplace Leaders To Build The Kingdom Of God In The Marketplace For God’s Glory And The Benefit Of Others.

The Strategic Objectives:

To Build The Kingdom Of God In The Marketplace For God’s Glory And The Benefit Of Others Through 1) Local Advance Initiatives, 2) Global Advance Initiatives, 3) Marketplace Prayer Initiatives, And 4) Marketplace Coaching Initiatives

  1. Local Advance Initiatives focus on the development of marketplace leaders through weekly faith-based leadership development meetings, exclusive leadership development retreats, and annual leadership development conferences for marketplace leaders in the community.
  2. Global Advance Initiatives focus on business missions outreach and leadership development of business leaders in the marketplace around the world through faith-based business seminars and leadership development conferences.
  3. Marketplace Prayer Initiatives focus on the grass roots establishment of a national prayer movement in the marketplace called See You At The Office for 2 days during the week of July 14th where marketplace leaders unite in prayer for their teams, company, and our nation at their respective offices in response to God’s promise in 2 Chronicles 7:14.
  4. Marketplace Coaching Initiatives focus on developing faith-based marketplace coaches to walk alongside marketplace leaders and provide faith-based leadership coaching in the marketplace through a practical 4-step organizational development strategy to effectively build the kingdom of God in the marketplace.

Kingdom Mandate For The Marketplace:

“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 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.’” Matthew 28:18-20

Kingdom Promise For The Marketplace:

“If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14

Kingdom Inspiration For Marketplace Leaders:

“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.” – Douglas Layton, author of Our Father’s Kingdom 

Symbolically, we are seated with Christ on His throne (Ephesians 1:20; 2:6), told to reign in life (Romans 5:17), we are instructed to extend His scepter (Psalm 110) and are given keys of kingdom authority with which to bind and loose, forbid and allow (Matthew 16:19). We are kings and queens—royalty. And whereas priests “offer up” to heaven [through priestly intercessory prayer], kings “proclaim” [the kingdom rule and will of God] downward to earth [through kingly intercessory prayer].  – Dutch Sheets, author of Authority In Prayer

Kingdom Values For The Marketplace:

Make It Happen Team Values provide a practical leadership framework to build the kingdom of God in the marketplace for God’s glory and the benefit of others. With Make It Happen Team Values, business leaders can create team cultures of empowerment that unleash the extraordinary God-given potential of “make it happen” people in the kingdom of God to make a real difference in life. “The people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.” Daniel 11:32.

  • Make It Happen People Possess A Positive Attitude. “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.” Colossians 3:23-24. “For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.” 2 Corinthians 1:20. “These things I have spoken, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
  • Make It Happen People Are Led by Servant Leaders. “But Jesus called them to Himself and said, ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.’” Matthew 20:25-26. “But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Matthew 23:11-12.
  • Make It Happen People Are Service Enthusiasts. “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” John 15:12-13. “For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” Galatians 5:13. Ephesians 6:7 “Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.”
  • Make It Happen People Take Calculated Risks in the Pursuit of Excellence. “But Jesus looked at them and said to them, ‘With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’” Matthew 19:16. “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.” 1 John 5:4.
  • Make It Happen People Work Extremely Hard and Have Lots of Fun. “And also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God.” Ecclesiastes 3:13. “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going.” Ecclesiastes 9:10.
  • Make It Happen People Invest and Participate in Training and Development. “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” Hosea 4:6. “And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” 2 Timothy 2:2.
  • Make It Happen People Celebrate Individual and Team Accomplishments with an Abundance Mentality. “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!” Philippians 4:4. “Rejoicewith those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.” Romans 12:15.
  • Make It Happen People Foster an Environment of Teamwork and Mutual Respect. “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” Proverbs 17:17. “And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” Ephesians 4:32.“Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” Matthew 18:19 20.
  • Make It Happen People Are Professionals. “Be diligent to know the state of your flocks, and attend to your herds.” Proverbs 27:23. “Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.” Psalms 37:5

Practical 4- Step Organizational Development Strategy To Build God’s Kingdom In The Marketplace For His Glory And The Benefit Of Others

1)      Culture Development

The culture of an organization, intentional or unintentional, reflects the values of the organization and will drive everything in the organization.  Emphasizing the organizational strength and power of culture, Dr. Sam Chand, author of Cracking Your Church’s Culture Code, says “Culture will eat vision for lunch!”  To build an organizational culture that reflects the values of the kingdom of God in the marketplace, leaders must intentionally develop the culture with practical faith-based values communicated in the make-it-happen language of the marketplace. Make It Happen Team Values practically equip and empower marketplace leaders with a simple and effective team values framework to intentionally develop the culture of a team and organization where vision flourishes, people are empowered, and the kingdom of God is built in the marketplace. The culture development step includes leadership training in the areas of vision casting, values definition, values training and certification, and corporate communication.

2)      Chemistry Development

While the culture of an organization reflects the values of an organization, the chemistry of an organization reflects the unity of the organization. When an organization is unified in values and purpose, teamwork is built and enhanced for the greatest good of all stakeholders.  Ecclesiastes 4:12 states, “Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken”, therefore, it is clear from the Bible that a unified team cannot be easily broken or destroyed. The chemistry development step includes leadership training in the areas of employee engagement, employee recruitment, employee recognition, and employee ambassadorship.

3)      Competency Development

The strength of an organization is established on the foundation of its people. If the people in the organization are strong and competent, the organization will be strong and competent.  Therefore, it is imperative that an organization develop an effective process to continually build strong and competent people in the organization. The competency development step includes leadership training in the areas of goal setting, performance evaluation, leadership coaching, and employee development.

4)      Character Development

The influence of an organization rises and falls on the influence of its leaders and the influence of leaders rises and falls on the character of leaders. Therefore, to develop an organization with great influence, an organization must develop great leaders with great character. The character development step includes leadership training in the areas of leadership thinking, leadership ethics, leadership principles, and leadership practices.

The Marketplace Ministry I See Copyright 2011, The Make It Happen Learning Institute.  You have permission to reprint the leadership article, The Marketplace Ministry I See, 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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