In my work around the world, I have noticed that the people I love and serve that are not flourishing spiritually are also not flourishing physically. They often suffer from poor air quality, water stress (both quantity and quality) and the impact of degraded soils. I cannot stand idly by watching them suffer. So my colleagues and I have introduced two initiatives, one of them being the Environmental Technology Initiative (ETI). ETI...

Devotions for a Busy Business Person, no. 313 – S()R – A Sacred Space The demands never stop. A client sends an urgent email. A project runs behind schedule. A staff member needs guidance. A new opportunity appears on the horizon. “Better one handful with tranquillity than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind.” — Ecclesiastes 4:6 In my workaholism, stimulus and response often collapsed into one...

The hard work of radical discipleship leads to great hope.  Isaiah does not describe a thin hope, or a hope built on sentiment. He describes a hope that rises when God’s people spend themselves on behalf of the hungry, satisfy the needs of the oppressed, and allow His light to break into dark places. “Your people will rebuild the ancient ruinsand will raise up the age-old foundations;you will be called Repairer of...

Devotions for a Busy Business Person, no. 311 – Being Radical Oswald Chambers is characteristically direct when he writes that surrender is not primarily about giving up the external things of life, but about surrendering the will. In My Utmost for His Highest, he says that once the will is surrendered, “all is done,” and the rest of life becomes living out that surrender. He also warns us not to mistake surrender for a religious...

Devotions for a Busy Business Person, no. 310 – Take the Towel  Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God;  so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped...

Devotions for a Busy Business Person, no. 309 – Using the leavings Recently, I have been watching my wife Terri at work with what most people would consider scraps. Pieces of fabric. Buttons without a home. Zippers, ribbons, and bits of texture that would normally be set aside or thrown away. Notions, as they are called in sewing. Leavings. With care and creativity, she gathers them and begins to assemble something entirely new. A...

Devotions for a Busy Business Person, No. 308 – Curiosity A couple of weekends ago at St. Philip’s in Houston, I had the privilege of speaking to two remarkable groups, one over dinner and one in the Sunday School class. What struck me most was not just their evident commitment to creation care, but their curiosity. They asked thoughtful, searching questions, the kind that lean in, that want to understand, that are willing to be...

Devotions for a Busy Business Person, No. 307 – Be Still There are moments in business when everything in you urges you to act. You want to fix what is broken, respond quickly, push harder, and take control of the situation before it slips any further. Action feels responsible, even necessary. And yet, into that urgency comes a most counterintuitive instruction: “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be...

Devotions for a Busy Business Person, no. 306 – The Work of Bees We had (Western Rite) Easter last week, and as the Easter Candle was lit at the Easter Vigil, we heard these words: “On this, your night of grace, O holy Father,accept this candle, a solemn offering,the work of bees and of your servants’ hands,an evening sacrifice of praise,this gift from your most holy Church.” The Exulset[MP1]  “The work of bees.” It is a...

Devotions for a Busy Business Person, no. 305 – Joy, Take 2 There are some lessons I need to learn more than once, so I would like to return to Joy.  I once wrote that joy comes from knowing God is with you. I am now learning that joy grows when you begin to work with Him. Holy Week is the clearest example of this. Out of the deepest suffering comes the greatest joy. While nothing compares to the suffering of Jesus, your...

Devotions for a Busy Business Person, no. 304 – God of the small things View this in your browser I’ve always admired my colleagues who give careful attention to detail. So does God. “For who has despised the day of small things?” — Zechariah 4:10 In my work, I am often tasked with maintaining the vision and building the superstructure of an organisation. But all my grand visions would be mere vapour without the specific,...