I love what I do.
I get to engage in fascinating conversations with all sorts of
interesting people. Some of them even
pay me decent money to make brutally honest observations and ask the kinds of
stubbornly probing questions that used to get me fired.
Then there’s the coffee. Given the nature of what I do, it makes no sense for me pay for office space just so I have a place to host face to face meetings. There are simply too many great indie coffee shops around. Unique surroundings. Decidedly lacking in straight lines and generic corporate chic. Disarming. And convenient for the people with whom I'm meeting. Most of my professional and social encounters take place in
coffee shops. As a result, I consume an
inordinate amount of coffee. Mind you, it's good coffee. Choice suppliers. Black. High test. No additives. In my world, decaf
is an abhorrent waste of good beans and usually a dreadful waste of the barista’s
talent.
I had coffee this morning with friend who is a
former corporate executive and is now an author, consultant, strategist and
advisor to universities, corporations, and regional and national governmental
leaders. Although he would probably argue the fact, he is one of the key
innovators and influencers in his field. Most people have never heard of him, precisely
because he is a gifted network builder and an accomplished servant leader.
As we savored our dark roast, we talked
about the waves of innovation that have swept over the world in recent decades,
shifting the way in which people across the globe do almost everything. We talked about the emerging demand for radically different skill sets in virtually every field, and about the need to think and act
quickly, intuitively, and creatively in order to keep up, especially in a business and economic
environment that is changing at an exponential rate and with near blinding
speed.
And we talked about the role that our faith
perspectives have on our work. On the
details and processes.
My friend is a person of influence. Anyone who meets
him quickly discovers that he has a contagious passion for what he does. He is also a person whose deep Christian faith
and practical biblical wisdom form and inform everything about him. He doesn’t hide his faith from those in his
spheres of influence, but he doesn’t insist that they understand “Christianeze”
either. He speaks practical truth in their
language and leads with action. And
value. And results.
When I asked him about how he saw God influencing
his professional activities, beyond principles and best practices, he
smiled. “Sometimes I see it in discovering principles and best
practices,” he said. “And then there are times when I’m talking with a business
owner or writing or searching for an application or a solution to a particular
problem. In any case, I can have a sudden ‘Ah
Hah’ moment. The answer is there,
and I know it…and I know that it’s
God.”
Is it
possible that our friends, our families, our jobs and our communities could be blessed and transformed by the
involvement and insight of people who are actually listening and hearing from the God who designed their world?
Some key questions have come up in
response to our Marketplace Kingdom podcast and conference call conversations…
having to do with actually hearing from God today. We’ve talked a lot about intimacy with God
being the starting point for understanding how to live as Christians in the
midst of our vocations and relationships in the broader community. While we
acknowledge that Jesus is Lord, and believe that He wants to extend his
lordship in realistic ways into all the various areas of our lives and
activities, many still wonder what that looks like in the details of 2016.
Does the God of the Universe really
have a specific design for individual human lives? Our lives?
How do we listen for His voice and the Holy Spirit’s direction as it
pertains to our particular situations?
With these questions in mind, we
have released a bonus episode, “Seeing
and Hearing from God”, the keynote address from a Western Michigan
regional prayer leaders’ conference involving participants from a wide variety
of backgrounds and professions and representing some twenty six churches and
nineteen different denominations. This
is a fast paced, entertaining and practical biblical teaching and it’s our gift
to you. We hope you’re encouraged. And we hope you share it with a friend. Then get together and talk about it. Over coffee.
And tip your barista!
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