The Workplace Minister and the Adversity Test
I had the privilege of attending an event where Os Hillman, founder of Marketplace Leaders and author or TGIF devotional, discussed the six steps in becoming a change agent. Everyone in the audience resonated with Os’ stories of the role of adversity in the life of a leader and a change agent.
It reminded me of the encouragement I give leaders who are in the throws of adversity–
Marketplace Leader and The Adversity Test
- Don’t Quit!
- Keep pressing forward!
- This is a season of testing and strengthening.
- Commit yourself to passing the The Adversity Test.
Here’s a well-loved poem that may encourage you on your way–
Don’t Quit
When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you are trudging seems all uphill,
When funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must – but don’t you quit!
Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometime learns,
And many a failure turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don’t give up, though the pace seems slow –
You might succeed with another blow…
Success is failure turned inside out.
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt.
And you can never tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems afar;
So stick to the fight when you are hardest hit –
It’s when things get worse that you mustn’t quit!
By Edgar A. Guest
© Copyright 2010, Danita Bye Sales Growth Specialists, All Rights Reserved.
Focus for the Christian Business Professional
I’m in the process of writing my Internship Development Plan which is a requirement for finalizing my Masters in Transformational Leadership from Bethel University. As I’m writing the plan, I’m reminded of the importance for Christian Entrepreneurs and Christian Business owners to focus on the greatest priorities. This saying helps me to examine my goals and ensure I’m headed in the productive pathway.
Focus for Christian Professionals
May you love God so much
That you will love nothing else too much.
May you fear God enough
That you will fear nothing else at all.
Let us go by His grace, and in His love.
May you fear God so much
That you fear no-one else.
May you love Him so much
That you love nothing more.
Unknown Author
The Marketplace Minister’s Question: What are you loving? What are you fearing?
The Marketplace Minister’s Lesson: Ensure you have a God-guided focus daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually.
You’ll find more about the many areas that we as leaders need to balance when you read Leadership Shift.
© Copyright 2010, Danita Bye Marketplace Ministers, All Rights Reserved.
Miracle on the Orient Express IV
This posting is a reflection of Miracle on the Orient Express Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3, which is a story of faith for the Christian entrepreneur and businessperson.
As I reflect on the Trek to deliver Bibles to persecuted Christians behind the Iron Curtain, I am reminded of the core lessons I learn through these experiences:
Christian Leadership
- Leadership Lesson: I’m most safe at the center of God’s plan.
- Wisdom Lesson: God is a miracle-working God.
- Faith Lesson: He is the God of the Impossible and can be trusted.
The Orient Express is now out of service but not forgotten. Its voyages through Europe’s period of political and social upheaval and under the long shadows of the Iron Curtain played a role in opening up Europe’s more repressive regimes to the world. I’d like to think that our daring Bible missions helped to dissipate the shadow and bring more of God’s light to Eastern Europe.
Regardless of the political ramifications, the lessons I learned during these treks continue to challenge me in my walk as a Marketplace Minister today. For I need to constantly remind myself of the truths I learn at the Hungarian-Romanian border:
- I’m most safe when I’m at the center of God’s plan.
- God is a miracle-working God.
- He is God of the Impossible and can be trusted.
The Marketplace Minister’s Question: Are you at the center of God’s plan? Are there areas where you know that you’re misaligned and need to change?
The Marketplace Minister’s Lesson: God is trustworthy.
© Copyright 2010, Danita Bye Marketplace Ministers, All Rights Reserved.
Miracle on the Orient Express III
This story is a continuation of Miracle on the Orient Express Part 1 and Part 2, which is a story of faith for the Christian businessperson.
My tension increases with each passenger check, especially since I realize that I don’t have a bribe
Miracle on The Orient Express
for the guard! I was praying hard before … but now I really start praying. In fact, I’m praying so intently that I have no idea what happens to businessman number three, who also stays on the train.
Finally, the stern looking guard motions to my partner, glances at our passports and then demands that we get our bright orange backpacks down from the overhead compartment. Even though they are packed to the hilt with Bibles, my partner and I try to pretend that they are light. As they clunk to the floor, we look to the guard for our next set of instructions, hoping and praying that something will happen and he won’t require us to open them and reveal the Bibles.
He impatiently instructs us to open the backpacks. As we slowly begin to unlace and untie them, he’s getting irritated with us and motions us to hurry up. We take a deep breath, say another quick prayer silently and begin to raise the top flap of our orange backpacks.
Just as the flaps are about to expose the stash of Bibles, there’s a shout at the other end of the train. It sounds like another guard is shouting, “Help!” Our guard pauses for a second, then indicates to us to stay there and that he will be right back.
We wait five minutes, and no guard. Ten minutes, no guard. Finally, after 15 minutes, the Orient Express begins to roll out of the station and I realize that the guard isn’t coming back.
To myself, I exclaim, “A miracle! The guard isn’t coming back! We made it!”
As the train pulls away from the border, I fight to contain my relief and joy, not wanting to alert any other passengers (who might be spies). Quickly, I turn my back on them, facing the window. Tears stream down my face as I feel God’s miraculous protection. Through the tears of thanksgiving, a scene of promise becomes etched into my heart — a brilliant full moon outlining a barbed wire fence protecting a guard watch tower staffed by a line guard with a large machine gun and a Doberman.
Even today, when I see a full moon, I am reminded that God is the God of the Impossible. I can implicitly trust him to accomplish all that He calls us to do.
The Marketplace Minister’s Question: What’s “impossible” in your life?
The Marketplace Minister’s Lesson: God is the God of the Impossible. He can be trusted to accomplish that which you entrust to Him.
As a leader, you may also be interested in seven leadership paradoxes which is discussed in my e-Book: Leadership Shift: Paradoxical Wisdom for Transformational Leaders During These Times of Change.
© Copyright 2010, Danita Bye Marketplace Ministers, All Rights Reserved.
Miracle on the Orient Express II
Christian Entrepreneur, Miracles on the Orient Express
This posting is a continuation of Miracle on the Orient Express, which is a story of faith for the Christian businessperson.
Despite the dangers of two border crossings , we accept the odds and embark on the Orient Express. As we enter our train compartment, a sense of foreboding immediately comes over me. As I acknowledge our traveling companions — a frail grandma and three businessmen dressed in well-fitted, tailored dark blue suits — I feel an ominous tension in the air.
My partner and I successfully crossed the Austrian-Hungarian border earlier in the day. Now, the tension mounts as we roll into the Hungarian-Romanian border at 1 am and our odds narrow.
As the infamous Orient Express coasts into the border station, a guard bursts through the door, jolting awake all six passengers in our compartment. He turns first to the elderly, frail, peasant-looking woman who’s sitting across from me, gruffly demanding that she pull her brown, tattered suitcase down from the overhead compartment. She feigns being too weak. Irritated, he instructs the successful looking businessman sitting next to her to help.
The well-dressed, well-mannered businessman dressed in a blue, pin-stripe suit stands up confidently, lowers the suitcase and sets it gently on the seat. Again, the guard demands that she open the suitcase. She fidgets, struggling to do so. Finally, she haltingly zips the suitcase open, raising the top. Even I can see that it is loaded with electronic parts. It’s not one of the four big no-no’s, however, it’s still contraband in these parts of the world.
As the guard became more aggressive, the imprisonment of my colleagues the year before flashes in my mind. The silhouette outside the train station doesn’t calm me: the towering guard tower against the full moon that reveals a barbed wire fence, a menacing guard dog and an armed border guard.
The station guard calls his assistant; they literally pick both the woman and her suitcase up and haul them off. I am stunned. First of all, who would expect that sickly looking “grandma” to be a smuggler? I am even more stunned at how rudely they manhandled her. I wonder if my partner and I could be next.
After ushering the elderly woman out, the guard moves to the the most well-dressed of the three businessmen. Again, the guard demands that he pull his suitcase down from the overhead compartment. Compliant, he does. When the guard instructs him to open it, he does so. As the bag opens, I see the same type of electronic components that “grandma” had. However, this time a bottle of whiskey is lying on top of the contraband. The guard takes the bottle, slips it into his shoulder bag, then gives a nod of approval to the well-dressed businessman.
The situation repeats itself with businessman number two: get suitcase down, open suitcase filled with electronic contraband, guard takes bottle of high-end liquor, and the nod of approval.
As I watch this scene unfold, I begin to panic. I think, we have no bribe. None. In fact, we haven’t even been overly cautious about trying to hide the Bibles in our backpack. We wanted to deliver as many Bibles as possible, so we brought only one change of clothes and a toothbrush. We had no cover and no bribe.
I was praying hard before … but now I really start praying. In fact, I’m praying so intently that I have no idea what happens to businessman number three, who also stays on the train.
The Marketplace Minister’s Question: Where are the places in your life where you feel like you’re stuck, with nowhere to turn and nowhere to hide? In fact, maybe you’ve tried the “bribe,” but it didn’t work.
The Marketplace Minister’s Lesson: Stay tuned and you’ll see how God is the God of the Impossible-especially when you’re stuck and have nowhere else to turn.
Note: If you’re looking for a speaker for an upcoming event, I apply these stories of faith to our everyday faith-in-the-workplace lives.
For the Part 3 of Miracle on the Orient Express, go here.
© Copyright 2010, Danita Bye Marketplace Ministers, All Rights Reserved.
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About Danita
Bold and Refreshing
Danita has a special gift of igniting others into action. Her skill and experience, partnered with ministry insight, makes Danita a powerful marketplace minister! Her sharp precision cuts right to the heart of business matters – assisting others in breaking new ground for Kingdom Advancement!- Rhonda M. Kalal, President
MN Christian Chamber of Commerce
Connects in Conversation
"Danita delivered a powerful, insightful and thought-provoking talk that dramatically kicked off the new semester with great success. She is a polished, professional and prepared speaker, yet connects with her audience as if she were having a conversation with a good friend. Thank you, Danita!"- Heather Lam
Communications & Marketing Director
Moms In Step, Woodridge Church
Medina, Minnesota