Truth or Consequences?

There has been a movement in this country where people commit vandalism looting throwing rocks and worse and they do not expect to suffer any consequences for their actions. They believe that because they keep getting away with disobedience at home and in their cities there are no consequences for their actions. If we take these actions we must suffer the consequences of what we do.

The train left Kaiserslautern on its way up north to Frankfort, then on to the North Sea port of Bremerhaven. I was on my way home after a three year tour with the US Army in Germany and had chosen the liesurely ocean voyage over a crowded airline flight. We were to meet the USS General Alexander M Patch, a recently reactivated troop ship that would take us to the Brooklyn Army Depot, in New York.

The train made several stops along the way, and large groups of GI's boarded at each stop. Interestingly, they all seemed to know each other. I questioned the private sitting across from me how everyone knew one another.

"We were all in the stockade together and were just released. We are being sent to the home to be dishonourably discharged."

These troops, fresh out of the Army prison, were to be my companions on the voyage home.As we boarded the Patch the next morning I received more bad news. It appeared as a 1st Lieutenant, I was the senior Army officer on board and was assigned the command of those 300 former prisoners. My cadre was two helicopter pilots and a group of sergeants. We were grossly outnumbered.

At first blush there was not much we could do to these people that was not already planned and there would be eleven days to New York. The first night started off badly with fights and destruction of the property. Our strategy was to arrest one troublemaker from each of the six sections and put them in the brig.The brig of the Patch was all the way in the bow, at the water line. The compartment came to a point where the bow cut through the waves. It was most vulnerable to the wave action of the North Sea in November. Ten to thirty foot swells were translated into ten to a thirty foot rise and fall in the brig as well as the continuous pounding of the waves. The brig had a three decker steel bunk beds with steel springs with no blankets, sheets, pillows or mattresses. The meals consisted of the Navy's traditional bread and water.

The next morning, the men were released and sent back to their respective sections to tell of the conditions of the brig. We had no more trouble until we arrived in New York harbor. The realization of the consequences of their actions allowed for a peaceful ten days.It was too late to dock, so we spent the night anchored in the harbor a few miles from shore. That night the fire hoses had to be deployed.


Something is dreadfully wrong when people can do anything they want without paying the consequences for their acts. Sexual activity outside of marriage can lead to disease or pregnancy, but we have ways to eliminate the consequences, abortion, pills and medical research all contribute to the unrealized consequences of immoral acts. Rioters and looters in cities around the nation are getting away with crimes against the community with little or no consequences.


When there are no consequences only a personal moral compass or religion will say what is right or wrong. As a result many feel they can get away with whatever they want to do because no one will stop them, this results in anarchy.

It is not just the minorities and the downtrodden that are getting away without paying consequences. Businesses, that are "too big to fail", are not suffering the consequences of poor management, because there is always the government to bail them out. Maybe if there were no bail out managers of companies and government bureaucrats would be more careful how they handle other people's money

In the end there are always be consequences for our actions.

At the end of this life there will be consequences to pay for all we have done and not done in this life. At that time no one will be able to escape the consequences of their actions.

Bill Johnson

www.aslanministries.org

http://www.aslanpress.com/destiny.html

What in the World is Happening?

There seems to be a geometric expansion of anger, bitterness and frustration. Religious leaders explain it in terms of eschatology – the world is coming to an end. Scientists explain it in terms of entropy; the second law of thermodynamics – the disorder of systems will increase as time passes. In other words, left to themselves things are going to continue to get worse.

As we meet and talk with people around the world, there seems to be a growing frustration that we have never seen before. In my experience the level of anxiety and anger is higher now than at any time in my lifetime. There is a frustration within nations, ethnic groups, political parties, and religious bodies. As frustration rises, anger increases. As anger increases, actions become stronger and emotions explode. We see this happening almost everywhere - in our cities and towns and around the world.

In the US we see frustration rising in minority communities, in the millennial generation as student loan debt and unemployment rise. Middle class workers find their income falling while their cost of living increases.

Frustration is at the base of the world’s explosion of violence, and is the result of a reality that does not live up to expectations  The level of anger increases geometrically as the ratio of expectation divided by reality increases.

We elect a leader or a political party and expect things to change for us. Instead they get worse and frustration rises to the boiling point. We have sold our youth on the idea that if they graduate from college, they will get good paying jobs. They went to school and they still live in their parents basement playing video games.

So, what is the solution? How do we solve the problem? At first glance, there are two methods which may work: Change reality or lower expectations.

Lowering expectations has been practised by many nations by establishing socialistic economic systems. The state controls everything and owns everything.. That evens the playing field for everybody except the ruling class. There is little incentive for workers to excel and the populace lives in mediocrity while the power of the state increases and often leads to tyranny.

We have seen the lowering of expectations in our education system as grades were eliminated. In our children’s sports activities winning has been de-emphasized. Lowering expectations will lead to more frustration because the human spirit seeks the frontiers of creativity, the highest reaches of consciousness and wisdom. Plato termed this “A fully functioning person", others have used the term, "healthy personality." Abraham Maslow, in his hierarchy of needs, calls this "a self-actualizing person."

The only viable solution is to change reality, but how?

In the twentieth century, missiologist  Donald MacGavren coined the term "Redemptive lift". Missionaries in India and the third world began to notice an interesting phenomena. Where ever the Judeo-Christian message impacted people groups, there was a parallel increase in standard of living. In my first trip to India, I noticed that there were areas that seemed prosperous and healthy while other areas the populace was living in extremely third world conditions. India is the worlds largest democracy with social programs galore, but many people are locked into an illegal caste system with no hope.

We can change our reality through a revival of Judeo-Christian values including love, acceptance, forgiveness, and hope.

Any traveller to Israel can see the difference between the Israeli controlled areas and the Palestinian controlled areas. There is a stark contrast that is not caused by Israeli persecution of the Arabs. It is more dependant upon the God they worship. We become like the God we worship. If we worship a kind and loving God we tend to be kind and loving. If we worship an angry and vengeful god, we will be angry and vengeful like him or her. If we worship the dung beetle (scarab) we will become like it.

So how do we change our reality? Find the right God to worship and allow Him to guide our lives, as a nation, as an tribe, people group, or as an individual human being. Social programs fail while cities, nations and regions have only been changed by the presence of God in the lives of the citizens.

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Peace That Passes All Understanding

Last night I lay awake thinking about all of the events of the recent past. Terrorism throughout the world, wars in the Middle East, political infighting in this country, the economy and our personal and family issues. It was not a peaceful time. It was then I remembered that day in 1992, 

Rita and I had scheduled a well-earned three day vacation at Lake Quinault, a mountain lake in the rain forest of Washington’s Olympic National Park. The gauge at the lodge measured rain in feet rather than inches. Annual rainfall is around 10 -12 feet. On the days we were there, we had only bright sunshine. 

Our cabin had no telephone, no television and no radio. Cell towers were scarce and we had no signal. It was indeed a time away. Our first evening we watched through our picture window as the golden sun set on the other side of the lake. The smooth lake surface was broken only by hungry trout leaping for low flying insects. It was so peaceful and relaxing. But, back down the mountain, the world was falling apart.

It was May 2, 1992. We left the world behind us and relaxed in our tiny cabin. The Rodney King verdict acquitting police officers of brutality had been released a few days earlier setting off riots in Los Angeles and San Francisco. More than fifty people were killed, thousands injured, and twelve thousand arrested. Over one billion dollars in damage occurred. 

In Guadalajara Mexico, sewers were exploding because of lack of maintenance. In Chicago, the river broke through its bed and flooded city hall destroying vital records. It took years to restore and some vital records were lost forever. The Soviet Union was splitting open and the residents of Nicaragua were recovering from a large earthquake.

That was a million miles away from our lakeside retreat. After the best sleep in months, we got up, purchased trail mix and water, and set off on a hike through the legendary rainforest. The walking was easy as the under-brush was thin and the trail well marked. Beams of sunlight occasionally penetrated the dense canopy of old-growth hemlocks and cedars. It seemed we were totally alone. 

We had encountered no one on the trail and only the soft whisper of a breeze or the sound of an animal scampering away broke the stillness of the place. At noon, we stopped by a waterfall and ate sitting on a bench watching the snow melt pour over the rocks down to the lake, and then to the pacific ocean.

That night I wrote in my journal the phrase “Peace that passes all understanding” kept going through my mind and I thanked God for His respite in a crazy world. Closed the journal, I sensed the lord say, “this is not the rest I am talking about.” He continued, “it is easy to have peace when you are away from all your cares.  That is understandable.  But my rest is having that same sense of peace when you are in the middle of the trials and tribulations back in the world.”

There is so much that needs to be done to correct the problems of the world. When there is so much to do, people normally fall into two separate but equally disturbing camps. The first group sees the enormity of the problems and realizes they can’t solve them, so they give up and do nothing. The second group sees the problems and tries to solve everything and as a result, burns out and has a breakdown.

There is another way. Find out which piece of the problem God has assigned to you and do only what you are called to do. Only then you can be at peace.

You Have so Much Potential!

It happened just the way my high school coach explained it while preparing for the big game against

our rivals from the next town. The other team's quarterback handed the football to the halfback who started tthe sweep around their right end. Our defense reacted and followed the ball carrier. As the defensive end on the opposite side of the field, my coach’s words stuck in my mind, “Don’t be fooled, hold your ground, they will run a reverse.” Taking two steps into the backfield, I  stopped, watched and waited. Sure enough, the halfback had given the ball off to the wide receiver on a

reverse and he was coming straight at me. Everyone else had followed the halfback. We were the only ones on this side of the field. Holding my ground, he tried to run around me as I kept forcing him backwards and then tackled him for an eight yard loss. It was a great play and a great game for me. The next day’s newspaper article finished with the line, “Johnson finally lived up to his potential.”

 “You have so much potential!” How often have you heard them about yourself?

Those words are usually meant to be an encouragement but they are double edged sword. There is the positive; we have the potential to be successful, to grow, to become something great. But there is the negative; we are not there yet, we are not as good as we think we are. 

Most of us never live up to our potential. Why do some people exceed their potential, while others with the same capabilities and same history spend their lives well short of their potential? Why is it that many people never realize their dreams and visions? 

The answer is motivation!

The church has done a reasonable job over the years of converting people to Christ, but has not been as successful in making lifelong, passionate, apprentices of Jesus. Our role here on earth is to follow and serve the Lord, accomplishing the tasks for which we were created, and becoming His people. When we face Him in heaven, we want to hear, “Well done faithful servant!” Not, “You had so much potential!”

Motivation is a reason or incentive to do something, a feeling of enthusiasm, interest, or commitment that makes somebody want to do something, or something that causes such a feeling. Motivation is what makes you keep going when things are tough.

The pastor of a medium size church in a nearby city once confided in me, “I can’t get the people to do anything. They just want to come on Sunday morning and be entertained.” Since he had asked for our help, we decided to listen to the other side of the story. So without the pastor present, we interviewed a few of his leadership team. We asked,

“What do you think is the biggest problem with this church?” 

Each responded identically, “The pastor won’t let us do anything.” This was not a single event. We have heard this response in almost all the churches we have helped. Pastors often blame their people and the people blame their pastor when things are not going right. It really does not matter who is right, what matters is the perception that one is right. Leaders may be trying to motivate people, but may be de-motivating instead. Motivation is the major issue in all leadership situations. How can leaders motivate their people to become more active? How can we motivate our people to give more of themselves and their resources toward expanding God’s kingdom?

In the field of sports, it isn’t the most gifted player that makes the hall of fame. In business, it isn’t the smartest person that builds the largest company. In fact a study of CEO’s of Fortune 500 companies indicates that most were “C” average students. Motivation is the major factor which will determine whether or not someone reaches their full potential.

As a leader, what motivates you to be great? What motivates you to be lead? What motivates you to follow Jesus? If you are not motivated you may have a modicum of success but you will never reach your God-given destiny. You may have potential, but without motivation you will never fulfill God’s plan for your life.

Extrinsic motivation comes from the outside; e.g. your mother threatens you with pain if you don’t go to church or your boss gives you a raise if you do better on the job. Intrinsic motivation comes from the inside; the feeling of accomplishment, the satisfaction of helping someone. It just makes you feel good. In his book, “Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us,” Daniel Pink[1] describes how traditional forms of motivation may, in some cases, decrease performance. Pink cites studies conducted with college students in the USA and with villagers in central India. The results were consistent despite the obvious cultural differences. The researchers found that as long as the task required only mechanical or routine performance, extrinsic rewards worked well. Reward and punishment motivated the people when they were just required to just follow the rules. However, when the task became even slightly complex requiring even a bit of thinking or creativity, extrinsic rewards failed to motivate and even reduced levels of performance. Extrinsic methods work well with small children, but as the children grow up these methods become counter productive. Other studies cited by Pink identified three major intrinsic factors which have the power to motivate individuals engaged in other than routine tasks; 

Autonomy, 

People need to believe that they have some kind of say in what is happening. They need to feel ownership in the vision, priorities and practices they are asked to support.

Mastery: 

Everyone wants to be good at something. It is a matter of finding that something and practising it until you can be good.

Significance: 

People want to believe that they are making a difference, that their life has meaning. People must be encouraged to attempt things that are meaningful which God must be a part of in order to succeed. Their purpose for being must be important.

When leaders learn to motivate properly, it will be amazing how followers respond.

Bill Johnson

Aslan Ministries, Inc.

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[1] Pink, Daniel H. (2009-12-24). Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us Riverhead Books Penguin Group

What do you want out of 2015

What are your priorities for the coming year? 

What do you want out of your relationships? 

What do you want out of your career?

If failure was not an option, and money was not a problem, what would you do with the rest of your life? Somebody asked me this question years ago and it changed me forever. Since then I have asked the same question to hundreds of people. Some have been inspired and moved out of their rut, while others had a dream but were never able to move beyond their present situation. Someone once told me that their life goal was to win the lottery and travel the world. So I asked if they had purchased a lottery ticket. They had not. If you want to win the lottery, you must buy a ticket. Whatever you want out of life requires some action. The following quote is on a plaque in an ancient English chapel.

A vision without a task is but a dream
A Task without a vision is a drudgery
A vision with a task can change the world.

If you have a dream or a vision of what you want your future to become, the following steps will aid you in your quest.

1. Identify ten things you want to accomplish in 2015. They can be general or very specific. They may include, family, finances, job, school, or anything you want. Do not be afraid to dream big.
2. Take that list and select the five things that are most important to you.
   
3. Of the five, now rank them in order of importance 1 - 5.
4. Select number 1 and list the actions you must start now in order to achieve your desired outcome. Put the actions in proper order.
5. Select number 2 and list the actions required to achieve the desired outcome.Put the actions in proper order.
6. Each day read your list of the top five things that are most important to you. At least once each week, 
7. Review your lists and see how you are doing and make adjustments as appropriate.
8. Every day take some action which is on the lists and will lead you to your dream.

If you follow these steps 2015 will be a successful year for you.

For more help go to:
http://www.aslanpress.com/destiny.html

Attracting and Keeping Good People: in Business or the Church

 Attracting and keeping good people is a common problem in industry and in the local church. Businesses need hard workers who contribute their ideas and effort to improve the business. Churches need strong members who participate and volunteer in ministry to others. They are the ones who serve rather than waiting to be served. 

How do we attract such people to our business and our church? How then do we keep them?

Several years ago I started the West Coast Division of a company headquartered in Northern Virginia. After several successful years things began to change - slowly at first, then more abruptly. The changes began on one of my trips to headquarters.

It was snowing outside the windows of the dark paneled boardroom, on the top floor of a high rise office building outside the Washington DC beltway. Our professional services company had just merged with a larger corporation and the new CEO was making his first presentation to the new team. My position as Director of Western Operations was not going to change, but my worldview was about to take a hit. Our company had been run as a family. Now, it was explained, we would be run as a corporation. Change is inevitable, but at the time I had no idea how much it would impact my personal life.

In his book the “Outliers, The Story of Success,” author Malcolm Gladwell writes that to make any job satisfying requires autonomy, complexity, and a connection between reward and effort. Before the merger my employees were given considerable autonomy, their tasks were considerably complex, and we had a bonus system which was available to every employee. Our division maintained the lowest turnover rate, lowest overhead and highest profitability of all divisions.

After the merger things changed; corporate headquarters put little value on individual employees; emphasis was placed on immediate return, and bonuses would be restricted to executive level only. While my personal bonus increased substantially, my team lost the relationship between reward and effort. Salaries could not change as they were set contractually by our customer.  Our team lost much of its autonomy as a result of more oversight. For a time, I was able to be a buffer between the corporate attitudes in Washington and our west coast team. But as people realized the changes our turnover rate increased.

 

At the time I was becoming more involved with our church and Christian ministry. Still we considered it a part-time gig while keeping my secular position. It didn’t take long for ministry to become more satisfying than business. It was then we walked away from our high income, and started to move into full time ministry.

The means to attracting and keeping great people is to provide great satisfaction. Satisfaction in the church resembles satisfaction in the workplace and can be accomplished by providing autonomy, complexity, and a relationship between reward and effort. 

1.     Autonomy: Autonomy means independence or freedom. Whether on the job or in the pew, people need to feel that they are important. Leaders who are overbearing and controlling may get away with it for a while but the workers or parishioners will leave if given the opportunity. Old line factory workers, migrant farm workers, and members of the more legalistic churches have very little autonomy. A good leader delegates responsibly and gives freedom to those he leads. An orbital model of relationship held together by mutual attraction provides autonomy as opposed to a hierarchal model.

2.     Complexity: To be satisfied in our job, it must have a challenge. Just putting widgets into gadgets does not keep us motivated. In the church, we must also be challenged. Simplistic, homilies which entertain but do not inspire, do not challenge. Churches which teach the deeper things of the God’s Word and life will continue to attract and keep members. A more complex teaching in the church will attract and keep stronger members.

3.     Connection between reward and effort: Do not consider only monetary rewards for effort in business or in a church. An employee needs to feel his effort is appreciated. Complimentary and encouraging words are even more important. An early boss of mine would give out titles rather than increase pay. A church member needs positive affirmation as well for a task well done, but also needs to be accountable for negative behavior.

Whether you are a business leader or a pastor, you will be able to attract and keep great people by considering these three; Autonomy, Complexity, and Relationship between reward and effort.

Seven Reasons to Start Your Own Business Now

Why should I start my own business now?

When I was a child, my father started several businesses. It was a roller coaster ride, sometimes successful but mostly not. As a result of this early experience, I chose the safe road and became employed in corporate America, pretending a lack of desire to be my own boss, Steadfastly toeing the corporate line and receiving my bi-monthly pay check, I enjoyed a comfortable life. But something was missing. There had to be more than the routine. So while still employed, I began to prepare myself for a future in a different field entirely - so as to not be disloyal to my employer. When all was ready, I resigned my position and dove into the unknown. After starting my first business I discovered the thrill and excitement of starting a business. Now after starting several businesses, I can give you four reasons why I believe you should start your own business.

The first reason to start your own business now is: Your life has become too routine, too predictable. It is time for a little excitement. It is time step out and take a chance.

The second reason to start your own business now is to overcome fear, Fear had kept me from realizing the need that lives within most of us, the need to become the person God created us to become - or at least to try. There is a risk to starting a business. Small businesses can start on the proverbial shoestring - which means there is little financial risk - but there is an investment in time and emotions. Any time you start something there is the risk of failure. However, if there were no risk, life would be boring. Everyone needs a certain amount of risk to get the juices boiling. Taking a risk is healthy for your body, soul and spirit.

The third reason to start your own business is economic. As our nation has been in economic recovery for the past eight years, the unemployment figures are improving, but family income has not risen with the increase in employment due to an decrease in working hours and a loss of the middle class. With more time on our hands we can start a business while remaining employed. The income from your new business could replace all that was lost due to additional costs of living and less income.

The fourth reason  to start your own business is to develop autonomy, and begin to move toward your God-given destiny. Deep in my heart there was a desire to be more autonomous and implement my goals and ideas. Abraham Maslov called this autonomy, "a fully functioning person" or “self-actualization.” 

The fifth reason to start your own business is to fulfil your creative urges. The Lord created all of heaven and earth and we were created in His image. He gave us the desire and ability to create. Each of us has different talents and gifts which we can use to create. Some paint beautiful pictures, some create fine music, some create poetry and tell stories, but all of us have great ideas. When we develop our ideas into a means of earning money we have created our own business.
The sixth reason to start your own business now is that the time is right. It is right for you. If you have read this far, you have been thinking about starting a business. It is time to take the first step and trust the Lord to lead you in the right direction.

The seventh reason to start your own business now is it is the right time in the state of the nation and its economy. We are in the slowest recovery from recession in our economic history, but things are moving forward. Winners are the ones that jump on a rising wave. 

Whatever your ideas may be, it is time to turn them into something tangible that you can build on.

There is a sign on the wall of an Anglican Church in Suffolk England that has been there for since 1730.

A vision without a task is but a dream

A task without a vision is a drudgery

A vision with a task can change the world.

A great tool for finding your specific business can be found at: http://www.aslanpress.com/destiny.html