A Taste of Heaven

Its amazing how under God’s leadership we are one and God’s leadership principles cuts across denominations, economic status, profession, regions, age and even language. Who have ever thought that a Baptist will teach a group of Pentecostal pastors on principles of leadership. Some thoughts on the Leaders Empowering Emerging Leaders Seminar conducted at Bacolod City with the Pentecostal pastors in Negros Occidental district.

Again and again, leadership is relational. If leadership should be transformational then leaders should develop relational skills. Leaders who want to mentor other leaders should relate, understand their uniqueness and develop them in accordance to what God hopes them to be.
Leadership is not about “me” but its about others. Confirming again and again what has been a new paradigm of leadership for me, its always about others. Its not about our agenda, it is always about the other’s agenda.
Leadership is about the God’s kingdom. God’s kingdom is boundaryless. It is not found in “our church”, “our denomination” but it is bigger than we thought it is. God’s children are all over the world, they can be found everywhere. The world does not move around us, it moves around us and others. The ministry is not ours, it is God’s. He owns it we are just his stewards which means He decides whether we will continue with our tenure or not. Ministry is not also for ours to keep, it is for us to take care of.
Leadership is not about managerial skills but it is the ability to motivate people to a direction that God has intended them to be. To help them uncover what God’s purposes in their life is and make them believe that they are able and capable of achieving God’s purposes in their lives. That God has greater purposes for them than what they are experiencing now. They need to be encouraged to think of a better tomorrow for themselves and for others.

Now I can say to myself, I have tasted heaven. This is true unity in Christ. We are one and we must unite with each other and keep the bond of peace.

The Christian As A Change Agent

We have always heard the phrase "change agents" and this is the one of the thrusts that the Lord has given us - to the change the world. Yet many Christians find it difficult to change because several assumptions: activity, programs has been correlated with the absolute word of God. Many time I say to my students we do not change the message we only change the method. Christians in the marketplace are so used to change because corporations in order to remain competitive recognize the need to be sensitive to the market. Change is constant in the business that's why many Christians are looking for security and for some steadiness and the sad part is that they look for it inside the church. That's why when they become comfortable with the programs of the church they dare not change. And the assumption is that what we're doing since it is being practiced by the New Testament church and is written in the Bible should not be changed, the message and the mission strategy of Paul is absolute. Second assumption, ministry is connected with a place or with a particular program. When we say we are called to a certain ministry we look at the church or the organization or the ministry program. But ministry is not a place nor a program it is a mindset, it is a purpose and it is an inner motivation. God calls us to ministry wherever we are so it is not connected to a place. Third assumption is that change is instant. When a person receives the Lord Jesus in his heart, he is instanlty changed. Then we get frustrated when after a year the person is showing some rough spots in this attitude or habits. But change is a process. It is a process that an individual goes through, a process that an organization experiences. It is constant, it never stops. It is a journey and not a destiny. Thus, when change does not happen in accordance to our timetable we get frustrated. So we translate this assumption even to ourselves. We do not feel victorious in the way we live our lives because we easily get discouraged when we do not get what we want. But we are all a work in progress. When we want to become physically healthy we work hard at the gym, we discipline ourselves in terms of our diet intake. But why don't we have the same discipline when it comes to our spiritual and emotional aspects.

We are called to transform the world but how can we carry on this calling when we ourselves do not welcome transformation in our lives and our organizations. The Lord is continually changing me. The journey is sometimes rough but for me what is important is that I am on the journey. My final destination is heaven and I know that I have a long way to go. But while on the road, I want to enjoy the view, stop once in a while and establish relationships with the people along the way, live behind some markers and take note and learn from the experience. But all I want to do is to enjoy the ride and allow God to transform my life through this journey. And I hope and pray that I was able to live some lasting impressions with the people I will meet along the way. Enjoy the journey because at the end of the road, the Lord will be there to welcome us.

Can integrity be a determinant for success in business?

I just finished reading the book "Integrity: The Courage To Meet The Demands of Reality" by Dr. Henry Cloud, a Christian psychologist from California. He is also a consultant for various Fortune 500 companies and non-profit organizations. In this book, he gave 6 essential qualities determine your success in business. Integrity is more than just honesty because a person with integrity has the ability to pull together, to make it all happen no matter how challenging the circumstances. The 6 essential qualities of integrity are (italized notes are my thoughts):

1. Are able to connect with others and build trust. Character is an integral part of integrity. The ability to connect authentically which leads to trust. (Sometimes people don't just get it. When we build about authentic connections, it is not always about us and our agenda. We connect with people because we are interested in them and we want to listen and learn from them. In the workplace, we are taught to be focused on the things that we are involved in. But sometimes this idea of being focused and prioritizing transcends in our relationships. We focus on our task but when it comes to people, we focus on them. It all about them not you.)
2. The ability to be oriented towards the truth which leads to finding and operating in reality. (We most often assess one's character through the externals that's why many of us tend to admire people on what we see they can do rather than what they really are inside. Maybe because we also tend to focus the improvement of ourselves externally but we refuse to see the reality of what's inside us.)
3. The ability to work in a way that gets results and finishes well which leads to reaching goals, profits or the mission. (If we are able to know who we are inside and out then we are able to accomplish greater things because we are able to balance our own strengths and weaknesses and use this knowledge to do our tasks with joy.)
4. The ability to embrace, engage and deal with the negative which leads to ending problems, resolving them and transforming them. (In the book Good To Great, this is called "brutal facts", our strength of character is sometimes determined when we face troubles and tribulations. In Romans 5:3-4, Paul is saying that we can be hopeful in the midst of our suffering because it is one way of gauging our spiritual maturity. We need to be joyful despite our troubles because in the midst of suffering there is hope.
5. The ability to be oriented toward growth which leads to increase. (Many of us are good problem solvers, we can make things better and things improve but it is only improvement of what already exists. But we need to be growers . But being a grower takes effort, the ability to sustain pain. The grief, too, that there are times we need to let go of things in order to go to the next level. )
6. The ability to be transcendent which leads to enlargment of the bigger picture and oneself. (There are things in life that are bigger than us. God, His principles and values He gives to us are bigger than us but they have been made transcendent because these principles He wrote it in the Bible. Yes, they are bigger than us but God made it all possible that it can be transcendent and it is not impossible to do.)

Success in not related only to talent and brains because there are many bright and talented people who have not been successful. And the most successful are not the only ones who have the most talents. What Cloud is demonstrating in this book is the makeup of the person. All of us can grow in the kinds of real character that bring about fruitful relationships and achievement of purpose, mission and goals. Integrity is not something that you either have or don't have but instead is an exciting growth path that all of us can engage in and enjoy.

Integrity: The Reality to Meet the Demands of Reality by Dr. Henry Cloud (Harper-Collins, 2006)

Jesus Paid It All ... Then Why Do We Live in Debt

Dr. Andrew Liuson, President and CEO of Cityland Development Corp. has given an inspiring message on "Debt Free Living" to Seaoil employees and business partners. It is always inspiring to hear Dr. Liuson, a successful businessman yet remaining faithful and humble before our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He has found what true success is - success that is eternal, long lasting and will always remain.

Just a few thoughts and reflection on his message:

Money is neither good nor bad, but it is simply a neutral medium of exchange. Money does not make the world go round but it surely moves the world and turns it upside down. Money affects the world economy and can either divide or bring closer the rich and the poor. On the other hand, money represents wealth, power and status; as such that it has the tendency to wield extraordinary power over our lives. The questions is not whether you have money but does money have you? Not whether you have material possessions but does your material possesions possess you?

Money is not evil in itself but what the Bible speaks of is the love of money as the root of all evil. It talks about money, like natural resources, material goods or time itself is ours to be used for the glory of God, not to take the place of God.

We must keep on reminding ourselves that God must be first in our lives and that material things cannot satisfy our deepest need. The only way to acquire deep and lasting happiness that always satisfies is when we focus our minds more on accumulating treasures in heaven.

"So do not worry, saying, "What shall we eat?" or "What shall we drink?" or "What shall we wear?" For the pagans run after these things and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:31-33

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