Believers who are past the guilt of whether to prosper are currently in the “So how do I make money?” stage. It’s a great question because all dreams have one common ingredient: they cost money. We could define our dreams so they didn’t cost money and we would find ourselves painted in a corner of “small self interest.” We all have to pay the bills and if we want to export something for others, we have to learn how to multiply wealth. That’s the essence of business in the real world and in the Kingdom. Many spiritual people have a message but no money. There is an answer.
In touch with my heart – This is a term we use for discovering the desires God put in our heart. There is a real convergence or health that comes to us when we connect the dots between desires, passion, personality, vocation, ministry, prosperity and Kingdom. When we discover our life purpose, our heart has the “why” it needs to do great things in every area. Biblically, holy and holistic really are connected. We weren’t designed to monks. Our goal is be part of our culture, disciple nations, and fill the earth with his glory and make more than enough money so our cup overflows with generosity in the process.
If I’m not fully in touch with my own heart there is still a script I follow. It usually belongs to someone else. We all go through a stage of being “faithful in that which is another man’s” but eventually we need to find that which is our own and learn to be ourselves and express God’s unique design. Otherwise, I simply adopt another script, often a religious script, and try to hold myself accountable. I simply want to suggest that in the long run, holding yourself accountable to that which isn’t in your heart can never last. It’s just not how the Kingdom works.
Impacts on leadership style – People who are in touch with their own heart experience a jailbreak kind of liberation to be themselves. They are more creative, productive, motivated and entrepreneurial. The most glaring trademark of people who are in touch with their own heart is that they can help other people get in touch with theirs. They have been set free and they are more able to help others find their own unique expression of their heart’s desire. It’s a night and day difference in the way they lead. These leaders produce more leaders.
Marketing expression – These people start with “What do you need?” And simply offer something relevant and helpful that fits, has value and helps a dream come true.
Leaders who are not in touch with their own heart are living out some kind of external script. Their leadership style is to help others live out of the same script. Their leadership style is autocratic, procedural and legalistic. Accountability is the only tool they have to motivate their “servant” followers. They reproduce servants who are promoted on the basis of their cult-like allegiance to the cause.
Marketing expression – these folks explain their product and explain why you need it. They are not above explaining why God wants you to buy their product, service or philosophy.
Business Impacts (out of touch) – Let’s start with the person not connected with his/her own heart. Then I’m conforming to an external script and I’m basically doing business or ministry to meet my own needs. The common failure scenario is a Christian who can hear the Kingdom emphasis trying to drag a religious script into the business world. The example they try to emulate includes preaching, prophetic, leading and serving ingredients. Here’s how the script comes across.
- Preaching – These folks have a need to preach or teach. They naturally seek a platform to tell others about their message. In personal conversations, they do most of the talking and it sounds like preaching… not too complicated, and we all know some of these people.
- Prophetic – These folks also have a need for revelation that sets them apart or above their audience. Trying to generate something prophetic happens to be the shortcut to deception. These people have a second trademark… some imbalance in practice or theology that just seems odd and out of place.
- Leading – These people need a following to feed their self-esteem. They are usually selling, promoting, dominating and driving… “Inflicting others with their ministry.”
- Serving – The religious script self-identifies with serving. Although they claim to serve others they are really serving their own needs. Their “service” is signing others up to be servants of the same script.
Business impacts (in touch) – Now let’s consider a person in touch with his/her own heart in business. These businesses are profitable for the same reason all businesses are profitable – they create the best value and give the best service that other people are gladly willing to pay for. Instead of meeting their own needs, Kings are helping other people get in touch with their own hearts and fulfilling their own dreams. If my business helped your dream come true and made or saved you money at the same time, would you be interested?
- Listening – Instead of preaching, the first priority for Kings is hearing the desire God wrote on the other person’s (customer’s) heart. They simply listen and ask questions to hear that answer.
- Prophetic – Kings use the prophetic to help discern the overlap between another’s heart and God’s heart. Kings resonate in their own hearts when they help another identify their real heart’s desire… what God really wrote (aka “His will”)
- Leading – Kings lead others into their own metron or sphere of authority. They actually help others to find their area of leadership.
- Serving – Kings do serve but they don’t see themselves as servants. They are simply giving people what their hearts are really asking for instead of pulling them into an external script. There also a huge networking aspect of the Kingdom. If I don’t happen to have what your heart wants, I may know someone else who does. Kings always have two brief questions; 1) “what’s your dream,” and 2) “How can I help you take the next step.”
Learning to multiply – A friend recently shared a story of an internet marketer who was having trouble “selling” his product. He finally got frustrated and asked one costumer what he wanted. Of course it wasn’t what he was offering and he had to create a customized solution… which the customer liked and paid for. The process worked so well that, instead of “selling,” he asked the next customer what it wanted and created that product. To make a long story short, the process and the story went viral on the internet…. For a very simple reason: that’s how the Kingdom works! That’s how business works.
If you will build your business or ministry around the concept of helping others find and fulfill their hearts desires, you will never be short of money. That product is really the gospel of the Kingdom. We can share it and live it in the marketplace every day by giving value to other people. It ministers much more than preaching… it feels like being loved.
Jesus didn’t ask for sacrifice and offerings. He knocked on the door of our hearts and invited us into a relationship with the Father that includes abundant life. He made that offer while we were yet sinners. The love that results has a natural expression of fruit in terms of work and sacrifice, but it is always motivated by a dream deep in the heart of the King. Jesus is the King of Kings and he’s invited you and I to ask for the desires of our hearts and to do even greater works.
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Luke 4:18-19 NIV
PS: We are all graduating through those four scripts as we get in touch with our hearts and become Kings. There is one more Kingdom script issue: God is calling Kings to focus their business and ministry on our secular culture. That means our platform ministry to other Christians is distinctly “second” in terms of priority (and fruitfulness).
