Walk on Water

Walk on Water

You can walk on water. I want to tell you how.

“Everyone can walk on water if it is cold enough.” Unknown

A Calling, Chaos, Courage, Being Centered, Being Clutch, A Crew, & A Chance are all necessary for you to walk on water! Make no doubt about you can walk on water if all these conditions exist! It is easy to believe Jesus walked on water: He is God. However, for mere men to walk on water the conditions must be right!

(Maximforleaders.blogspot.com)

Peter walks on water!

Matthew 14:28-36 Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.” ²⁹ “Yes, come,” Jesus said. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. ³⁰ But when he saw the strong^[d] wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted. ³¹ Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said.“Why did you doubt me?” ³² When they climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped. ³³ Then the disciples worshiped him. “You really are the Son of God!” they exclaimed. ³⁴ After they had crossed the lake, they landed at Gennesaret. ³⁵ When the people recognized Jesus, the news of his arrival spread quickly throughout the whole area, and soon people were bringing all their sick to be healed. ³⁶ They begged him to let the sick touch at least the fringe of his robe, and all who touched him were healed.

Conditions for walking on water!

1. Condition 1. Called: You have to ask and be invited.

The opportunity to walk on water is by invitation only. Jesus invited Peter over the side of the boat. Peter asked to go walking on the water on was invited by Jesus. Only one man in all the world ever walked on water and that was Peter. Peter had a desire to do everything that His master Jesus did. He didn’t let his humanity inhibit his abilities. He was bold. He asked to walk on water.

My point is this. When there is an opportunity in a difficult situation you want to be invited to help solve that problem by the leaders in your organization, team, and business. You should ask

2. Condition 2. Chaos: You have to be in a difficult situation.

Storms are under God’s hand. It is God’s classroom. God’s classroom often comes with on the job training. Storms require quick thinking, calmness, and character to endure. Storms are a difficult situation God puts you in to train you for his greater purposes, and to teach you his greater principles and truths. This storm was unexpected, sudden, and caught all of them off Guard. They didn’t have their sail up, they had their oars out. There was no wind for them to catch so they were rowing to make better time. “They were in serious trouble.” Mark said.

Trouble is not the end of us. It is a test for us. Trouble need not distress us, as it can grow us. In trouble, just remember God sees it, controls it, has sent it, and wants to accomplish something through it in you. “Trouble” comes from the word “turbuler” and refers to waters that are raging and waves that are like tubes crashing over you. Waves like this which can drown you are ridden everyday by surfers.

3. Condition 3. Courage: You have to know fear and face it.

Leading is not for everyone. It is called a spiritual gift. Leading means you have to know fear and face it. Know fear and face it! If you are in the storm and it scares you that is all right. General Ulysses S. Grant was often afraid in battle. However, he wrote, (I am paraphrasing) his fear of battle and Lee’s army soon dissipated when he realized that General Lee was just as scared of his army. He was determined from that moment to press on and pay the cost and risk his soldiers in the great cause of God’s judgment on the nation in the Civil war. Great difficulties are the stuff of making great leaders. In the locker room of the University of Michigan Football team a sign hangs and it says, “Those that stay will be champions.” You have to face the difficulty to become all that you are meant to be. What happens if Peter stays in the boat? What happens if that boat sinks to cause of Jesus Christ and the church? What happened because Peter walked on water?

4. Condition 4. Be Centered: Focus is essential, as distraction will drown you.

Grow your ability to stay focused and to keep your faith in your calling amid the wind, waves, water, and distressing people. Peter shows us very clearly that in our humanity it is very easy to become distracted, decrease in our faith, and to drown in the storm. The distraction of the storm can drown you.

Focus is what Herman Cain calls WAR. It is Working on the right problems. It is Asking the right questions. Finally it is Removing all the barriers you face to success. Leadership is W.A.R. Herman Cain

How focused are you in the difficulty of the storm.

Faith is not, in this situation, merely a belief that Jesus could allow Peter to walk on water. It is faith that Peter himself a man could walk on water. He could do what only God himself was capable of doing. Faith like this is what Gene Kranz the director of Apollo 13 had when he said, “This could be our finest hour.” If you have the faith that you are called to lead then do what leaders do and get out of the boat and walk on the water.

(http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0005117/quotes)

5. Condition 5. Be Clutch: Seize opportunities to grow that appear as obstacles.

A storm on the sea has all the elements of a storm on land without anyplace for shelter. On the sea you must cling to what can drown you. You cling to the boat, the oar, and your team and in the midst you either build your reputation or destroy it. You either become the leader or there is a mutiny. Distress and difficulty are a great opportunity and when you meet with obstacles you will either rise of sink. The leader sees the storm as a chance to demonstrate his character, courage, and abilities.

There is a line in the first Pirates of the Caribbean where the young man and sword smith doesn’t want to follow Captain Sparrow right after they have stolen the ship Intrepid. Sparrow reminds young Will Turner that on the sea there is only one rule. What a man can and can’t do. Turner could not navigate or captain a ship so he was going to be servant to Captain Sparrow. In the storm leaders will rise and lead. The rest will follow out of necessity. Remember difficult situations are opportunities for you to grow.

Condition 6. A Crew: You have to have people pushing you out of the boat.

I love the story of Peter walking on the water. I love it because I often wonder what the other disciples were thinking when Peter asked to go walking on the water. I just can’t picture Peter as anything but the captain of the ship in this venture and the crew in mutiny. I think the others pushed Peter out of the boat. It was his leadership, his boat, and his brother John was likely a better navigator. It is my opinion that Peter wanted out of the boat for a number of reasons.

A good leader often feels like he is responsible and bears that burden to the end. This was Peter’s Jonah moment. Maybe going off the boat would cause the storm to stop and save his crew. I think some of the disciples were pushing Peter to get off this boat believing at some level he was responsible for the situation they were in.

A good leader has influence. I believe it is also possible that Peter was encouraged to go to Jesus by the disciples for another reason. He was the bold one. He was the strong one. He was a natural leader with a gift for leading and influencing others. How cool would it be to see Peter walk on water?

Condition 7. A Chance: You have to get out of the boat!

A good leader understands that in any venture there will be an opportunity to sink. However, there are few things that risk brings with it. Peter lived a more exciting life. Peter experienced so much more about the storm than the others. Peter understood what it would take to work miracles. Peter had greater focus, greater experience, and was the most prepared. Risk is a part of leadership. You will sink, you will swim, and with the conditions you can walk on water!

Leadership Maxim: When the ship is sinking it makes perfectly good sense to get out the boat.

Water Walking Links:

http://www.marcandangel.com/2009/01/31/how-to-walk-on-water/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBQLq2VmZcA

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walking_on_water

http://biznik.com/articles/who-thinks-you-walk-on-water

http://books.google.com/books/about/If_You_Want_to_Walk_on_Water_You_ve_Got.html?id=KJHqRd5vRrQC

NeXT

NeXT

“There is no success without a successor” John Maxwell

Dave Brandon was the CEO of Dominoes Pizza. He has recently become the Athletic director for the University of Michigan. He was charged immediately with reviving the Michigan University Brand. One of the things that he found necessary was to go back to having a “Michigan Man” coaching the football team. There have only been 19 head football coaches in the history of the program. However, Brady Hoke the new coach is connected to the last two champion football coaches at Michigan both Lyod Carr, and Bo Schembechler. The biggest reason for the lack of success in the program has been the failure of the previous Athletic Director to have a succession plan in place that brought a “Michigan Man” back as head coach. Brandon alluded to this idea when asked about taking his time to get the right man who was the right fit for the program to be the leader. He stated that there was no plan for when Coach Carr resigned for a successor from that program and that going outside was likely a big risk. Michigan is an elite program and it requires elite leadership.

Do you have a succession plan?

Recently we were all stunned by the fact that Steve Jobs revealed he was battling cancer. Sadly, he lost that fight. However, he not only left a legacy but he picked his successor, Tim Cook.

An Alabama native, Cook was hired by Steve Jobs in 1998 following Jobs’ return to Apple in 1997 to oversee the manufacturing of Apple computers. He had previously worked at Compaq and IBM. Despite speculation over the years that Cook could be lured to a competitor - with reports linking him with Motorola and Dell - Cook has remained a loyal member of Job's close-knit team.

He has built a trusting relationship with Jobs and has long played a key, behind-the-scenes role in steering Apple, alongside the tech giant’s colorful founder. In August 2004, Cook ran Apple for two months while Jobs recuperated from surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from his pancreas. In 2009 Cook stood in as chief executive while Jobs took a leave of absence for a liver transplant. [1]

I am going to make a prediction about who is going to be the face of Apple over the next two decades. It will be a young man named Scott Forstall. How can I be so sure? He was a part of the Next company that was purchased by Apple to get to Steve Jobs back with Apple. He has been doing the presentations with Steve Jobs for all of the new phones and pads that Apple has been rolling out. He is going to be the front man because he has the charisma that Steve Jobs had. Cook will run the company, but eventually Scott Forstall will become the leader. Both Cook and Forstall are a part of the succession plan that was put in place by Apple when they discovered that Steve Jobs had cancer. Steve Jobs last public speech was given at Stanford University which is where Scott Forstall is an alumni.

Forstall came over from NeXT when it was purchased by Apple in 1997 and is regarded as one of the original architects of the Mac OS Xoperating system as well as the Aqua user interface.^[2] He was promoted to Senior Director in January 2003.

Forstall became responsible for Mac OS X releases after Avadis Tevanian stepped down as the company's Chief Software Technology Officer and before being named Senior Vice President of iPhone Software.^[3] He has spoken publicly at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conferences, including talks about Mac OS X v10.5 in 2006 and iPhone software development in 2008, later after the release of the iPhone 2.0 and 3G Versions and January 27, 2010 at Apple's 2010 iPad keynote. At WWDC 2011, Forstall introduced iOS 5. Forstall also appears in the iOS 5 video, narrating about three quarters of the clip, and in almost every major Apple iOS Special event[2]

Do you have a succession plan?

I think it is responsible leadership to have a succession plan for your ministry, business, and every task that you will undertake as a leader. In books like “Good to Great” and “Built to Last” by James C. Collins the idea of a succession plan is a part of how a company never gives in and builds a legacy. If you want your work to endure you must begin with your end in mind. You are going to leave the job you are in at some point, and what will be the result?

Do you have a succession plan?

Jesus had a succession plan. His plan revolved around 4 steps. 1. He called people to his team that he knew could replace him. 2. He mentored them and let them lead while he was present. 3. He sent them out on their own. 4. Finally, he left them to the task he prepared them for. No one was a greater leader than Jesus.

Who can replace you right now if you leave? If the answer is no one then it isn’t time to leave.

Who are you mentoring right now that you are letting lead in your business? Peter, James, and John were all leaders that Jesus knew could replace him and would do a greater job in impacting the world than even Jesus did. These were mentored and kept closer than the other disciples. Jobs’ team included both of the men I have listed above because he knew he was leaving. Steve Jobs said, “Death is the ultimate change agent for good.” If you do not have a team around that can carry your organization then it isn’t time to leave.

Who is leading in your business right now? If the answer is no one then you have to find and get the right people in your business and let them lead.

Your company is in danger of closing its doors if you don’t have succession plan in place for your eventual departure as the leader. You will not do what you are doing right now forever.

Do you have a succession plan?

“There is no success without a successor” John Maxwell

Publish Post

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[1] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/steve-jobs/8721508/Apple-who-is-Tim-Cook.html

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Forstall

Talk about the Future!

Talk about the future! Jesus & Steve Jobs

(Steve Jobs commencement speech to Stanford University and Jesus’ way in the Scriptures)

“I am going to prepare a place for you. Doubtless, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there you may be also.” Jesus

“The Kingdom of God is like a farmer, like a seed, like a man plowing, and like a man who left and entrusted his servants with his money. You should abandon everything and seek the Kingdom first and above everything. To get into the Kingdom you must be like a child. The first shall be last. The ruler is a servant. Faithful over a few little things and be a ruler over many things.” Jesus

“The Kingdom of heaven is coming so change everything and come back to God!”

The statements that Jesus gave us were in the context of his death and leaving us. He talked about the future so much as to inspire us to create with him both the Kingdom of God on earth, and in the time to come. Anyone who is a devoted follower is motivated by the fact that life here is not the end game. Life right now, where we are is not our final home. This place, these circumstances are the not the end, but the end of the beginning for you and I.

I prefer the future, but not so I can escape the now. Rather, the future lets me live more freely in the present. I live foolishly and hungry. I trust in my passion. I risk failure freely, and as each day could be my last I embrace today fully. Jesus said, “To live is to die.”

1. Connect the dots of life.

“… You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.” Steve Jobs (http://news.stanford.edu/news/2005/june15/jobs-061505.html)

God understood that to move forward people He would need a leader to connect back to. Steve Jobs alludes to this fact: You can’t connect the dots looking forward. Our future is always tied to our past and God’s divine providence. When talking about the future of your company or life the past should give you confidence of God’s guiding hand as you have wandered with Him. Leaders look back to connect the present to the direction they wish to go. Trusting and knowing what others can’t the leader guides others forward into a new future! You have to trust in this “something” as Jobs calls it “karma”. It is God’s sovereign leadership of your life!

Think of leaders who have acknowledged this truth in our country. Washington in his first address as president acknowledged trusting in God’s guidance. Lincoln at Gettysburg acknowledged trusting in God’s guidance in his life, the countries life, and the soldier’s life and moved the country forward. Reagan looked back and connected our country to its past to move us forward. Leaders help others connect their dots.

2. Failure is freeing not fatal.

“My second story is about love and loss. … I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life. Steve Jobs (Ibid. 1.)

Jesus’ life is considered by some to be a terrible waste. He died at a young age. He never really had a great following. He touched very few men’s lives and mostly women and children followed him. He touched just 10-11 men’s lives. He was a failure by today’s standards as a leader. However, the scriptures teach us something entirely different. His followers took up his mission and his message and story became God’s love story. Failure is often more freeing than fatal.

Steve Jobs acknowledges this truth when he talked about how the future is affected by failing. The future is often inhibited by success but it is enhanced the opportunity failure often provides. We should not be afraid to fail, or fear failing. Success can be a heavy weight that prevents and inhibits us from being what we are made to be and from doing what we are made to do.

As leaders embrace the opportunities that failure may free you to have. As you talk about the future and help others connect the dots to from the past to the present and into the future acknowledge that failure is a real possibility. Never forget that what you were made to do is to risk failing.

Edison failed. Bill Gates failed. Michael Jordan failed. Jesus failed. You and I will fail. Is failure a prison cell or a ticket to freedom? Leader’s help their followers embrace risk and failure so that they move forward into a preferred future. Success is always temporary, always fleeting, and always connected to a past failure. Help your people be free to fail.

3. Live as though today were your last.

“Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. …No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.” Steve Jobs (Ibid.1.)

Jesus spent most of his last year talking about leaving. He spent a lot of his time preparing people for his departure. He spent his time with his followers preparing them for the time when he would no longer be with them. When we look back at Jesus’ life it is as though he had this in mind from the very beginning. Invest in leaders, leave them a legacy, and leave them to carry on. It is as though he knew every day that it was close to his last day. Leaders seem to have a sense of the end of their lives and are always preparing others for it.

Steve Jobs has cancer. He is stepping down, but he has been preparing his company for his departure. He has risen up several knew leaders and innovators in his place. In living his life he didn’t waste it living someone else’s life. Leaders prepare others for their departure. What is your succession plan? Jesus had one and you and I should have one. Your time is limited. Who are you investing in right now that could replace you?

The future is for the hungry and the foolish!

“Stay hungry. Stay foolish” Steve Jobs (Ibid. 1.)

Talk about the future it is essential to the health of your team and to life. What are some futuristic questions you need to ask?

Wear your feelings on your sleeve and you will be leading from the heart!

Ironpig

Pig Iron is a lot of little pieces of metal, iron ore, and fragments from the earth. These little shards are the foundation for something spectacular. They are the material for molten steel. Pig iron when melted becomes the key ingredient in casting steel beams for building. When they are heated they fuse, melt, and then become formable. They become metal, steel. They become one large piece together when they are under pressure. In the process they lose their own identity to that of what they are becoming. They become metal. They are formed into steel.

In our hearts we all start out with a lot of little shards. Our passions, desires, dreams, visions, failures, and skills are our pig iron. Then God applies pressure, life circumstances, and our choices are the oven that heats us. As we go through this process we are becoming something in our heart. This is what it means to “have metal”. Metal is our character, our skill, our experience refined by circumstances, choices, by passion, vision, failure, and the pressure of life. What we are becoming is revealed by the Creator’s process.

A lot of little things make a big difference! Never discount the little shards of life as something to be thrown away. There are no wasted experiences, and there are no “throw away moments.” These little things are the materials our Creator uses for making us metal.

When you look back and you find some piece of pig iron just remember that experience is a valuable piece of material for what God wants us to become. Don’t discount the little things in your life as without value, but rather let the creator make metal of them.

FISH

FISH
Matthew 4:19 Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!”

Follow: “Come, follow me,”
I will be a leader others want to get close to.
Jesus was the kind of person others wanted to get close to. The word “come” means to get close to as it is used in the original language. As I read this I asked myself this tough question, “Am I the kind of person others would want to get close to?” Jesus was a leader who naturally attracted others to him. He had influence. What was it about Jesus that made him the kind of person others would desire to follow?
1. He was an expert on the scriptures and their message.
2. He had the habit of praying and listening to God.
3. He genuinely loved people and took time with them. He was interested in others.
Philippians 2 describes his attitude. He was humble. He put others first. He didn’t cling to his status. He took an interest in what others were doing, and not just in his own agenda.
I think his humility and integrity are what made him so attractive. His knowledge of God and the scriptures and his faithful practice of his religion was secondary to his love and interest in people.
CEO’s and people with a positional title tend to cling to their status as a means of leading, but this clinging to a title often weakens, and disqualifies you from leading. The way to be worthy is to put those that you desire to lead first. Your attitude is either building your reputation and influence of diminishing it.
Who could you ask to come with you if you had no money to give them and only your life and time to offer? Would they would drop everything and follow you?

Intent to Show: “I will show you”
“I will” have a plan for those that come after me.
Jesus had a plan for these men who would come after him. He was intent on giving them everything they needed to accomplish the purpose God had given him for them. The plan involved three phases of training.
1. They were close and walked with him everywhere as he did life. They walked and shared life together eating meals and talking about God’s plan to redeem mankind. No one can learn how you want to reach people unless they are willing to drop everything first. Assess right now who is the most willing to go on a journey with you to accomplish what your vision is. Everywhere they went for the first year they watched what Jesus did and how he did it. They witnessed his life, his practices, and his way. Who do you have that is that close to you?
2. In the second year they were instructed to go out and to try out what they had witnessed with others. They were sent out do the work that Jesus was doing. Jesus gave them instructions and watched them do it.
3. Jesus had an exit strategy. He gave them his authority and then he left. He charged them with doing what he had done and then he finished his work. If you had to leave your job right now who would be in charge of what you are doing? The plan was to give the work of the Kingdom to these men to influence and to pass on for others. Do you have an exit strategy? Do you have a list of people who can replace you? Who is the guy you are mentoring to step in for you?

How: “how to fish”
I will demonstrate to others how to love (fish for) people.
Jesus was the Master at loving people. He laid down his life for others. He became our example of how we are fish for people. Jesus knew how to handle people, how to get people to like him, how to win people to his way of thinking, and how to change people without making them angry. He was the Master at fishing for people. Here is a list I borrowed on how to love people.

• Techniques for handling people.
Treat others as you wish to be treated. Be humble, and be truly interested and a good listener of what others are saying. Take others suggestions seriously. Value their thoughts without illuminating the errors in their thinking right away.
• Ways to make people like you.
Be humble. Be friendly. Be kind. Paul talks about what makes a person attractive when he gives us the “fruit of the Spirit”. Be loving, joyful, at peace with others, have patience with others, a modest opinion of yourself, and have your life in order or be self controlled. If you are a giver of love, a bringer of joy, and strive to be at peace with others you will be attractive and others will listen to you and want to be around you.
• Winning people to your way of thinking.
You can’t win anyone to your way of thinking if you are not willing to listen to them intently. You must value criticism and demonstrate that you are going to do something about it. You must enlist the critic in the cause. Be a good listener, own your errors, and engage the critic.
• Changing people without arousing their anger or giving offense.
When you need to change anything or any action begin with finding fault in you first. As Vince Lombardi says when the team wins we did it, and when the team loses I did a lousy job. Use the sandwich technique of complementing, revealing the concern, and complementing. Give the person a chance to correct the issue and save face. When you come to them have several options they can pursue to correct the issue that sets them up for success. Be their coach and encourager. Lastly, move the employee or volunteer to a different place that may well suit their talents better. Get them in a seat for success. Be vested in seeing them succeed and they will do what need them to do.
(Outline is from “How to Win Friends and Influence People” Dale Carnegie)

Priorities

1. Get your priorities in line. “Do you love me?”
Is your faith more important than your work, business, and life? What exactly are your priorities?

Take a moment and do a time assessment. How much time do you spend with your family, spouse, or children? How much time do you spend watching TV, internet browsing, texting, or using other media devices? How much time do you spend seeking God?

Take a moment and do a financial assessment. Where do spend the bulk of the money you have? What do you spend the bulk of your money on?

Peter had gone back to what he was doing before he ever met Jesus. He had started a fishing company. However, they weren’t doing very well. It was early in the morning about quitting time for fishermen and Jesus shows up and has made a fire, some fish and bread, and calls out to them and tells them to throw their net on the other side and they would catch fish. They do it, and catch 153 large fish. This is a fish fortune. Peter jumps in the water, swims ashore to see Jesus and the other disciples ground the boat and haul in the net. Together they have breakfast and Peter and Jesus get into the following conversation.

John 21:15 … Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” (The large fish were of tremendous value as fish from Galilee were a delicacy with Romans, in Damascus, and in Jerusalem.) Jesus is referring to the fish that he had blessed them with catching.) “Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.” I can see the large fish lying on the side of the shore. I can see the disciple’s thoughts being taken back to these fish and knowing that they needed to get these fish sold that they could be taken to be salted, dried, and shipped. Fish had to be sold wet and the opportunity might soon be lost if they didn’t get them to market. “Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him. 16 Jesus repeated the question: “Simon son of John, do you love me?” The need to get the business of selling the fish might well be why it was necessary for Jesus to repeat the question as the Lord would know what they were thinking. “Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “you know I love you.” “Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus said. 17 A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” If you have to ask someone three times whether they love you and the first two answers are yes there is a real heart battle going on for the priorities of that person’s life. The fact that the fish were there, the other men that loved Jesus were there sitting around a fire in the morning created a piercing place for accountability to take place. Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep. 19… Then Jesus told him, “Follow me.”

“Follow me.” Jesus said. The first stepping stone in leading in the Kingdom is to get your priorities in line.

If Peter really loved Jesus he would not be fishing. If Peter loved Jesus he would be out looking for other men who needed to hear about the Kingdom of Heaven. If Peter really loved Jesus he would be fishing for men, fishing, feeding, and caring for the sheep, men God would allow him and these other disciples to catch. Peter was challenged with the need to make a clear decision about following Jesus. Was he going to abandon everything and follow Jesus and demonstrate that he loved him or was he going to go back to fishing?

Setting your priorities will order your life and give you a clear and definitive template for making decisions about time, money, and relationships. Setting your priorities may force you to abandon some things that may be financially sound, and time wise right now.

A great example of setting priorities about putting faith first and leading in that venue is the policy that Chic-fila has in place concerning taking Sunday off so that the team members can attend a place of worship or be involved in faith filled activities. It is clear that faith in God is CFA’s priority. They founders have a made decision which affects both how they use their time, and the financial profitability of their company. They do not even ask the question about how much money can be made on Sunday if they were open. Putting God first and faith in God first determines or should determine how we use our time and how we make our money and spend our money!

If you are going to be a follower of Christ you will have to abandon some things that you feel are good. Peter was a very good leader of guys who fished. He was a wealthy owner of a fishing company. However, he was better at fishing for men, feeding God’s people, and taking care of the things of God’s Kingdom. He left his business and the large fish to go back to following Jesus.

He did this because he loved Jesus. He did this because he loved Jesus. He did this because he loved Jesus.

Jesus is asking us the same question. “Do you love me, more than these?”

Just what are your priorities? How do priorities determine our work and profit? What is a good next step for determining your values for your life? What affect does faith and loving Jesus have on how you lead?