Leadership Void-Act 1

I attended a major California university (aka CSUF....Go Titans!) and enjoyed my business management courses. As I took each class, I began to discover that business practice originated in the Bible. No doubt! For any buisness practice I saw, I can see where this came from.

One encounter that churches and businesses encounter is a leadership void. Whether it is an owner, key manager, or lay person leadership voids need to be dealt with. In Acts chapter 1, we see that was the very first issue that needed to be addressed. How do we fill the void?

We see that they had gathered together and one of them (a key leader named Peter) spoke up about the problem when he quoted Psalm 109:8 in verse 20,

May another take his place of leadership

We have a problem. We have an important role that needs to be filled. We must find someone who shares the same experiences and shares the direction that we are being told to go. We must "choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time..."

In leadership, it is important that the problem be defined and addressed. Once they discovered they were going to choose another leader, it was a group (team) effort. Leaders must recognize that it is important to have teamwork. It is important to have unity in decision making.

Verse 23 says, "So they proposed two men...". Together they made some recommendations. Worthy and respected people were nominated and the decision now relied on God's hands.

Ultimately, God knows the leaders. We must recognize what our roles and responsiblities are in leadership. Once we accept them, we must trust God and follow through and apply the principles he teaches us.

A good leader can make things go and run well. A great leader can make thing go, run, and grow. That's the difference. Growing together...growing in God. What void do you need to fill?

My Dad's Business

My Dad has a very successful business. Despite these down times in America, his housing business is still on the increase! He tried to get me to join, but I refused his offers. I neglected the opportunity.

Despite my rejections, he always seemed to have others invest in his home building business. He made outrageous promises to homeowners such as the building would never fall so long as people remembered who built it.

He started off with building over 11 homes at one point, but now he has grown to millions of homes worldwide. He started his business in a desert town. No it wasn't Las Vegas, but it did have some people whose values were against His. It wasn't the ideal town in those days.

He also said that his building were built on the BEST foundation. He spoke many times to me about how His foundations withstood the test of time. Yet I would still resist. I couldn't believe his business was booming. I thought, "There must be some trick to this! How could my dad profit in bad times." He told me, "Son, my home building business is good. But I want you to join my company. You will be my employer and I will be the boss of everything you do." Huh? Dad wants to boss me around? He wants to tell me what to do?

Again, I went years on other jobs. I worked selling tools using my carefully crafted words to make a sale. From there, I moved on into the furniture business. I visited homes that were built by the best. But as I looked at those homes filled with artwork, decorations, and furniture galore, they were nothing compared to Dad's homes. In fact my Dad's house had many rooms. He was constantly adding rooms as our family grew and grew and grew. It was an ongoing building project.

As I got older, I better understood this business. I joined my Dad's business. I was happy to call him boss. I learned and listened from everything he taught me. It seems that every day, he always had something new for me. In fact, he left me a Book for me to read. A book about building my life. A book about how I can tell others of the many rooms he had built.

My Dad always said that if I came to him, listened to him and followed him that, "It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the flood waters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built."

Thank you Dad for teaching how to live and how to invest in the eternal home business.

Love always,

Your son