by Jim Wood I know a gentleman who runs a major division of a global firm. He is super-successful, has a wonderful family, and is faithful to his church. By all appearances, he models Christian maturity. But when I asked him to get involved in a discussion group promoting spiritual growth among business leaders, he turned me down flat. “Stan doesn’t ‘do’ small group discussions,” his wife later told me, on the sly. Her voice was lowered to a shushed whisper,... Read more
A few weeks ago, I was asked by the President of my company to go and fix an area of the business that wasn’t doing so well. I’m talking here the organizational equivalent of a two-headed beast with six horns. There were so many moving parts and levels of complexity involved with this situation that there was not one person over the past 15 years who had been able to get their arms around it. Yet however dysfunctional it was,... Read more
by Christine A. Scheller I don’t live the kind of life that includes friends whose obituaries are featured inThe New York Times. And yet, there I was one December morning riding the DC Metro, scrolling through my daily headline news email, when I was stopped short by a friend’s obituary. Ours was an unlikely pairing on the surface. Me: an evangelical Christian, one-time homeschooler, pro-lifer. He a secular Jew, pioneering New York City public television host and station co-founder, long-time president of... Read more
One morning on the way to work, I let my mind drift during the drive. When I arrived at the office, I thought to myself, Man, that drive went by fast. I tried to recall something about the journey that would have caused it go faster than usual. But I couldn’t remember a thing! Actually, the whole drive was a blur, essentially erased from my memory. How many times have I made that daily drive to work? Hundreds, probably. I take the... Read more
by J.B. Wood A friend confided that, lately, he goes home from work every day feeling like a failure. He is in charge of a sales organization that has been slipping ever since he took over a few months ago. The pressure from upper management is tremendous. It seems like everything is stacked against him – the tough economy, internal politics, the negative morale of his people — yet every day he comes to work, sucks it up, and fights like... Read more
by Jonathan Dodson The word “grow” is used for all kinds of things. We talk about growing our gardens, growing our savings, growing our leadership, the growth of our children, the growth of our business or ministry, and even our own spiritual growth. The Importance of Growth Spiritual growth also is a pervasive theme in the Bible. Adam was created to grow in his love for God and for Eve. Israel was commanded to grow into a holy, worshipping multitude (Gen 48:16).... Read more
by Makoto Fujimura Over twenty years ago, when I founded International Arts Movement (IAM), I wanted to help nurture a cultural movement toward the integration of faith, art and culture. Initially, I set out to create a connection with artists, musicians, and other artists. I was seeking the highest standard of excellence, with a high level of inquiry toward theological integration. Almost immediately, I began to realize that such a cultural movement, what I call Culture Care, cannot be accomplished with artists alone. We needed, I discovered,... Read more
by Darcy Wiley It was ten in the morning, and he was supposed to be at the office, but the garage door quaked open and his truck rolled in nonetheless. Soon he stood in front of me in his nicest dress shirt, the one he had chosen earlier that morning for the boss’ yearly visit to the global sales division. He dropped the briefcase from his shoulder. It fell like an anvil to our hardwoods. Company-wide cutbacks. Every place had been... Read more
by Bob Robinson “Keep on with the talents that the Lord has given you. You weren’t put on earth to be a loner. If you are a loner, you have real problems ahead of you.” This is part of the advice that Richard Eckart, 80, would give if he could write a letter to his younger self. He started out as a son of a farmer in Copley Ohio and ended up beginning a very successful company. His love for the... Read more
by Christal M. N. Jenkins One of the greatest stories ever told began with these words: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). The first time I heard those words, I imagined myself surrounded by darkness in the midst of a huge void, and for a moment, time and space stood still. In the distance, I heard the sound of water stirring and felt a breeze brush past my face. The sound harmoniously blended with the... Read more
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