Kingdom Tag

Side Roads are detours that substitute a lesser "good" for the "best" of transformational heart-change in an organization--transformation of its WHY.  They are detours off the ancient path of faithful integrity through business a better way in alignment with Biblical beliefs, principles and priorities.  Side Roads are not inherently bad--in fact, they are better than doing nothing at all.  Well-intentioned...

Many well-intentioned, faithful leaders never find the right path to faithful integrity through business a better way, or stumble off it, because of good-intentioned "faith" messages or approaches that send them in the wrong direction--"bad theology" or, at least, poor communication of good theology which create stumbling blocks that substitute the "good" for the "best".  We have identified five common...

Faithful leaders seeking to lead with faithful integrity can get detoured from the ancient path toward business a better way. The world--and our culture--does not want a faithful leader on the ancient path. But the world and our culture are not the only stumbling blocks that can lead a faithful leader with the best of intentions to "miss...

ESSENCE:  Integrity Ideas are specific actions a faithful leader can consider in leading faithfully through business a better way. INTEGRITY IDEA: Keep Your Word COVERT-OVERT CONTINUUM (six Continuums for action):  Practices COVERT-OVERT RATING (several levels from Highly Covert to Highly Overt):  Highly Covert STAKEHOLDERS SERVED: Employees, Customers/Clients, Owners, Suppliers/Vendors, Community Most Integrity Ideas are practical actions toward implementing a bigger WHY for the organization.  "Keep...

ESSENCE:  Integrity Ideas are specific actions a faithful leader can consider in leading faithfully through business a better way. INTEGRITY IDEA: Optimize Compensation COVERT-OVERT CONTINUUM (six Continuums for action):  Practices COVERT-OVERT RATING (several levels from Highly Covert to Highly Overt):  Highly Covert STAKEHOLDERS SERVED: Employees, Customers/Clients, Owners, Community, Kingdom Most Integrity Ideas are practical actions toward implementing a bigger WHY for the organization.  "Optimize Compensation"...

Organizational cultures that are broken through the toxic assumptions and motivations of business as usual lead to "work" in those cultures becoming something far from God's good and life-giving design in Genesis. There are four key aspects of toxic work as usual that flow from the attributes of business as usual: Idol and Identity; Money and Power; A Burden; and Unhealthy...

Understanding the challenge of leading faithfully through business a better way and the existential threat of AI both require understanding "priorities". Implementing business a better way in an organization requires recognizing the nature of priorities as well as common "priority problems", assessing the real "priorities" in an organizational culture, identifying and implementing priorities that align with business in accordance with...

ESSENCE:  Integrity Ideas are specific actions a faithful leader can consider in leading faithfully through business a better way. INTEGRITY IDEA: Segregate Sacred Space COVERT-OVERT CONTINUUM (six Continuums for action):  Practices COVERT-OVERT RATING (several levels from Highly Covert to Highly Overt):  Highly Covert STAKEHOLDERS SERVED: Employees Most Integrity Ideas are practical actions toward implementing a bigger WHY for the organization.  "Segregate Sacred Space" is about...

Does Easter shape the WHY of your work, business and investing?  Easter is important for every worker, business leader and investor who follows Jesus because it serves as a reminder of a bigger WHY and a sacred relevance for our work, business and investing rooted in God's Restoration plan for His Kingdom. N.T. Wright writes that the resurrection represents the...

ESSENCE:  Integrity Ideas are specific actions a faithful leader can consider in leading faithfully through business a better way. INTEGRITY IDEA: Adopt Adoption COVERT-OVERT CONTINUUM (six Continuums for action):  Practices COVERT-OVERT RATING (several levels from Highly Covert to Highly Overt):  Highly Covert STAKEHOLDERS SERVED: Employees/Community/Kingdom Most Integrity Ideas are practical actions toward implementing a bigger WHY for the organization.  "Adopt Adoption" is about adopting practices...

Leading faithfully through business a better way requires getting across three "gaps": Sunday/Monday, Sacred/Secular and Knowing/Doing. The journey across those "gaps" starts with RENEW--renewing the faithful leader's mind about God's purpose for work and business, which reveals the sacred nature of work and business. Moving across the three "gaps" of faith/work integration equips a faithful leader to see...

Business as usual is broken because it reflects a broken world.  It results in brokenness of work, workplaces and workers--its brokenness is breaking us.  It has led to our relationship to work and our relationships surrounding work bearing little resemblance to God's design for humanity and work in Genesis. Sadly, business as usual creates work cultures and environments that, more...

ESSENCE: Integrity Ideas are specific actions a faithful leader can consider in leading faithfully through business a better way. INTEGRITY IDEA: Cancel Cursing COVERT-OVERT CONTINUUM (six Continuums for action): Policies COVERT-OVERT RATING (several levels from Highly Covert to Highly Overt): Highly Covert STAKEHOLDERS SERVED: Employees Most Integrity Ideas are practical actions toward implementing a bigger WHY for the organization. "Cancel Cursing"...

ESSENCE:  Integrity Ideas are specific actions a faithful leader can consider in leading faithfully through business a better way. INTEGRITY IDEA: Buy Tickets COVERT-OVERT CONTINUUM (six Continuums for action):  Practices COVERT-OVERT RATING (several levels from Highly Covert to Highly Overt):  Overt STAKEHOLDERS SERVED: Employees, Customers, Suppliers/Vendors, Community, Kingdom Most Integrity Ideas are practical actions toward implementing a bigger WHY for the organization.  "Buy Tickets" is...

Leading faithfully through business a better way is a journey. Leading an organization in alignment with Biblical beliefs, principles and priorities requires finding the on-ramp, getting on, and then not stumbling off an ancient road of Jeremiah 6:16. We have developed a four-step process called Integriosity® to help a faithful leader navigate the journey, each of which...

Are you on the path that leads to where you want to go? Every faithful leader is on a path of some sort, but leading faithfully requires getting on, and staying on, the right path. There are really two main paths--business in alignment with the kingdom of the world and the ancient path of business in alignment with the...

Integrity is far more than honesty or incorruptibility—it means complete and undivided.  Leading faithfully through business a better way requires a faithful leader to live a congruous life of “faithful integrity” in which all they do at work is informed, guided and part of their faith.  At the core of faithful integrity is an alignment of organizational purpose, values and...

As a faithful leader seeking to lead faithfully, you face a foundational choice between two starkly different options with profound implications. One option is business as usual — business in "the way of the world" or, more precisely, according to "the kingdom of this world." We call the other option business a better way — business aligned with Biblical beliefs,...

As faithful leaders enter 2023, we want to share the four "first things" to "keep first" in leading faithfully--they are actually captured by the word Integriosity itself.   In our last post, we described the first two.  In this PART 2, we will describe the second two.  A key element of the RENEW step of Integriosity is re-ordering disordered priorities, because...

As faithful leaders enter 2023, we want to share the four "first things" to "keep first" in leading faithfully--they are actually captured by the word Integriosity itself.   In this PART 1, we will describe the first two.  In our next post we will cover the second two. A key element of the RENEW step of Integriosity is re-ordering disordered priorities,...

ESSENCE: If you are a faithful leader leading an organization, the start of 2023 is a great time to begin being more intentional about leading faithfully. In fact, the best time is always "today".  A key element of the RENEW step of Integriosity is re-ordering disordered priorities by looking at Biblical principles for work and business.  It is important to go back to first principles by...

There will come a time when a faithful leader who has been leading an organization faithfully in alignment with Biblical beliefs, principles and priorities is ready to leave.  "Leaving faithfully" is an essential element of "leading faithfully".  It is a critical aspect of stewardship, and it an aspect of stewardship that sets Biblical stewardship apart from worldly stewardship. Biblical stewardship requires...

As businesspeople or investors of faith, we face a choice much like Neo’s in the film The Matrix—two starkly different options with profound implications. The blue pill is business as usual — business in "the way of the world" or, more precisely, according to "the kingdom of this world." The red pill we call business a better way — business...

Business has the potential to beautify the world--or uglify it.  “Beautiful” was clearly God's design when he created everything and declared it "very good", and “beautiful” is the word that comes to mind as you read the description of the New Jerusalem that is coming--God's Kingdom on earth. In between the beauty of a garden and the beauty of a...

There are two basic choices when a faithful leader who has faithfully shaped the purpose, values and culture of an organization no longer wants, or is no longer able, to continue to lead the organization—succession or secession . But we are not talking about who fills the leader’s seat—we are talking about what happens to the HEART of the...

The new viral concept of Quiet Quitting is about doing just enough at work to get by--minimizing "work" in order to maximize "life". We believe Quiet Quitting is "unhuman" and a consequence of business as usual.  God made us to flourish through work, and we are less fully human when not reflecting our God-given creativity and productivity through work that...

From time to time, we are devoting posts to describing specific actions a faithful leader can consider in leading faithfully through business a better way.  We are calling these Integrity Ideas.   INTEGRITY IDEA: Intercessory Prayer COVERT-OVERT CONTINUUM (six Continuums for action):  Prayer COVERT-OVERT RATING (several levels from Highly Covert to Highly Overt):  Very Covert STAKEHOLDERS SERVED: Employees, Customers/Clients, Owners, Suppliers/Vendors, Community, Kingdom Most Integrity Ideas...

From time to time, we are devoting posts to describing specific actions a faithful leader can consider in leading faithfully through business a better way.  We are calling these Integrity Ideas.   INTEGRITY IDEA: Group Prayer COVERT-OVERT CONTINUUM (six Continuums for action):  Prayer COVERT-OVERT RATING (several levels from Highly Covert to Highly Overt):  Covert STAKEHOLDERS SERVED: Employees, Customers/Clients, Owners, Suppliers/Vendors, Community, Kingdom Most Integrity Ideas are...

From time to time, we are devoting posts to describing specific actions a faithful leader can consider in leading faithfully through business a better way.  We are calling these Integrity Ideas.   INTEGRITY IDEA: Personal Prayer COVERT-OVERT CONTINUUM (six Continuums for action):  Prayer COVERT-OVERT RATING (several levels from Highly Covert to Highly Overt):  Very Covert STAKEHOLDERS SERVED: Employees, Customers/Clients, Owners, Suppliers/Vendors, Community, Kingdom Most Integrity Ideas...

ESSENCE:  From time to time, we are devoting posts to describing specific actions a faithful leader can consider in leading faithfully through business a better way.  We are calling these Integrity Ideas.   INTEGRITY IDEA: Proclaim a Faithful Purpose COVERT-OVERT CONTINUUM (six Continuums for action):  Proclamation COVERT-OVERT RATING (several levels from Highly Covert to Highly Overt):  Highly Covert or Highly Overt STAKEHOLDERS SERVED: Kingdom Most Integrity...

From time to time, we are devoting posts to describing specific actions a faithful leader can consider in leading faithfully through business a better way. We are calling these Integrity Ideas. INTEGRITY IDEA: Hire a chaplain to be available for employees COVERT-OVERT CONTINUUM (six Continuums for action): Prayer COVERT-OVERT RATING (several levels from Highly Covert to Highly Overt): ...

From time to time, we will now begin describing specific actions a leader can consider during the Re-Align step of Integriosity®--actions that will begin to Re-Align the organization with Biblical beliefs, principles and priorities.  We will call the posts "Integrity Ideas". The Integriosity model organizes "heart change" along six Covert-Overt Continuums, and breaks the Covert-Overt Continuums into six gradations that...

There is much talk about the intersection of "work" and "ministry".  We believe there are three main ways that "work" and "ministry" intersect, only one of which is true faith/work integration--complete alignment.  There is Ministry AT Work (work as a platform for ministry), Ministry THROUGH Work (work as a vehicle for ministry) and Ministry OF Work (work as ministry).  Unlike...

We believe the mass exodus of workers being called the "Great Resignation" can more appropriately be called the "Great De-Humanization", not only for what caused it but also for what it is causing.  A recent study concluded that "toxic work culture is the single best predictor" of which organizations suffered the most attrition.  It seems people left organizations with busines...

It is impossible to talk honestly about the WHAT, WHY and HOW of business in alignment with Biblical beliefs, values and priorities without addressing how profit fits in.  Profit is NOT bad, and the creation by business of economic prosperity is good. Profit in a business is necessary for good stewardship of the business, which means it is necessary for...

“Faithful vs willful” really is a daily choice that a "faithful business-leader" must accept and wrestle with in order to lead faithfully. Even the phrase “faithful business-leader” seems to hold the tension of the “faithful/willful” dilemma. A “faithful” person wants to put God first. A “business-leader” is expected to be ruthlessly “willful” in their effort to achieve increased profits...

Easter is important for every faith-inspired worker or business leader because it should serve as a reminder of a bigger WHY for our work and business rooted in God's Restoration plan for His Kingdom.  N.T. Wright writes that the resurrection represents the beginning of God's new project "to colonize earth with the life of heaven."  Believing that Easter is the...

We believe words are important and powerful.   Words (and disordered words) can either support or undermine efforts to move an organization's culture toward faithfully "doing right" through business a better way.  Disordered words can affect how leaders shape an organization's culture and view its WHY--the heart of the organization.  For example, "integrate your faith into your work" is just one...

We believe words are important and powerful.  The culture of the world is filled with words that blind us to God’s purpose for work--words that reinforce work as a burden to be avoided rather than a blessing of God's creation.  Disordered words that embody the world's priorities rather than Kingdom priorities infect our thinking, which ultimately infects our heart.  For...

We believe words are important and powerful.  The culture of the world is filled with words that blind us to God’s purpose for work--words that reinforce work as a burden to be avoided rather than a blessing of God's creation.  Disordered words that embody the world's priorities rather than Kingdom priorities infect our thinking, which ultimately infects our heart.  For...

For a leader seeking to lead an organization to faithfully “do right” through business a better way, or a person seeking to "work" in alignment with Biblical beliefs, values and priorities, WORDS MATTER.  We believe words are important and powerful.  The culture of the world is filled with words that blind us to God’s purpose for work and business.  Even...