1 Corinthians 11:18-19 “In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it. No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval.”
In a church transitioning from Jewish-only to Gentile-also membership there was bound to be dissent. This was a paradigm shift of history, a “new ballgame” altogether. No “back to basics.” This was going from law to grace. There was truth in both systems, but style and outcome were altogether different.
Principle: In a management team or change moment, do not surround yourself with “yes” men.
What happened to the church happens in business context today. The information age is different than any other. Speed of forecasting and processing of trends happens at the speed of light. The impact of globalism, consumerism. supply demands and just-in-time manufacturing is huge. There are personal changes that affect our customers and employees. Buying patterns, financial attitudes, credit, shortened attention spans, truth telling, morality, language, skill sets and family influences all affect the way we do business.
It is hard to keep up. In decision making, surround yourself with people who think outside the box. Include youth, managers with diversity, outspoken people along with the wise voices of reason.
Listen but don’t leap. Don’t necessarily drop what works but be ready to hear differing opinions. Pray about it. Compare what you hear from others with what you hear from God.
The greatest “out of the box” thinking comes from the Bible. Running a business with Biblical principles will lead you out of the mainstream. It will be unlike anything taught at the Wharton School of Management. Wall Street does not operate on these principles. Your competitors may look at you and wonder – and smile. God has challenging things to say about how you should conduct your business. Do it His way. There are temporal rewards and a ton of eternal rewards. Most of all you have God’s approval.
Discussion:
1. What comes to mind when you think about Biblical strategies vs. business strategies?
2. Recall an outcome when you intentionally went with a Biblical strategy which was opposed to “reasonable” business action.
