Hey, welcome to this week's episode of Lead in 10. My name is Chris Moore, and I know this episode is a little bit late this week. I have been sick for the last several days, haven't had much of a voice. You can probably hear that. But I did have a conversation before I got sick with a business owner and he said something that really stuck with me. He said, I don't think I know how to be a Christian leader in my business. You know, that's raw and, and he was honest. And if I'm being real. I think a lot of us have felt that way. At some point, maybe you thought it yourself, you love Jesus, you want to honor him. But when you're making payroll, handling those customer complaints, trying to lead a team, just dealing with people around you, you wonder what does being a Christian leader in the workplace even look like? And here's the surprise, whether you want to be or not, whether you think you are or not. If you are a Christian, you are a leader. Leadership isn't about titles. It's not about positions. It is about influence, and every single Christian is called to influence others. Towards Christ, towards the Kingdom. Think about what Jesus said in Matthew chapter five, verses 14 through 16. He says, ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid, neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel. But on a candlestick and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your God, which is in heaven. Did you catch that? Jesus didn't say, you know, some of you are the light of the world. He didn't say that. He said, you are. That means people are watching you whether you want them to or not. You are that candle in the darkness, how you live, how you speak, how you work, how you treat others, and the way you carry yourself is either drawing people closer to Christ, we're pushing them further away. So let's be clear. Being a Christian leader in business doesn't mean that you're slapping Bible verses on your company website or praying over a

00 AM every morning. It doesn't mean turning your shop floor into a pulpit either. It means letting the character of Christ shine through in how you work, how you lead, how you love people. So how do you do that? Well, I want to expand on three simple ways. First of all, we lead through example. Our example shines more than anywhere else. Colossians chapter three, verse 23 says, and whatsoever you do, do it hardly as to the Lord and not unto men. It means work ethic. Your attitude, your integrity isn't about pleasing people. It's about serving God. If you cut corners, if you treat customers unfairly, if you compromise just to get ahead, that says something about your leadership, but it also says something about your faith. But if you consistently show up, you do excellent work. Keep your word. You own your mistakes. That says something even louder. People notice consistency. They may not comment on it every day, but it builds credibility. Credibility is that foundation of leadership. You know, even people that did not necessarily, like Billy Graham, didn't like his message, didn't like what he stood for, respected him as a person because of his consistency. He had credibility even with those. It necessarily wouldn't give credit to what he says. Excellence became a witness and it can do that for us. Second, we lead through relationships. This is where Christian leadership should really shine. Your employees, your customers, your vendors. They're not just names on payroll or invoices on a desk. They are image bearers of God, whether they follow God or not. They are people with real lives, real struggles, real needs, and if God cares about them. So should we always go back to this example, always pops up that Jesus washed the disciple's feet. Including Judas, who he knew was going to betray him, who already had other thoughts, who didn't really see him as the Lord and Messiah, but he still served him. What if leadership in your business and then seeing every person who walked through the door as someone God cares deeply about? What if it meant taking the time to listen, to check in, to encourage? Now, this doesn't mean that we're gonna cross professional boundaries, or we're trying to be everybody's therapist or pastor, but it does mean leading with humanity, treating people with the dignity they deserve. Being the boss who remembers someone's sick parent, maybe makes allowances for that at times. Or the business owner who looks a cashier in the eye and says, thank you. Here's the truth. People rarely remember everything you say, but they always remember how you made them feel. It's a cliche, but it is so true. You know, there are restaurants that I've eaten at and I don't remember what I've eaten, but I remember it was good. I don't remember the person who served me, but I remember service was good. That's influence. That's leadership. Third, we need to lead through response. Anyone can lead when business is booming, when customers are happy, when everything's clicking. Man, this feels good. The real test of leadership comes when things start to go wrong, when things. Your deals fall through sales, fall through when equipment breaks, when that trusted employee that everybody looked to quits. When your customers are just angry, that's when people are watching you the most. Do you explode in anger or do you respond with patience? Do you spiral into this hopelessness or do you show a steady trust in God? You know, I'm reminded of one Peter, chapter 3, 1 15, but sanctify the Lord God in your hearts and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you, a reason of hope that is in you with meekness and fear. Can we do that? Always ready to give answer to every man that asks you a reason of hope that is in you. When things are great, when things are bad, sometimes the best witness is simply responding with hope when everything. Else about you wants to respond with panic. When your team sees that you're steady in the storm, they will follow. When customers see that you handle problems with grace, they will trust you. Your response becomes your testimony. And let me add something important here. So many people say, I'm not really a leader. I'm just trying to run my business, keep the lights on. But leadership is not optional for Christians. It's who we are. The only question is, are you leading people towards Christ or away from him? This is your greatest calling. This is your greatest responsibility above all others. And sometimes we think that we can't because we have to be perfect. And you don't. None of us are, the world doesn't need flawless Christian leaders, and if we think that they're flawless, we just don't know them well enough or they're giving a false witness. What we need is authentic people, people who admit when they're wrong, who ask forgiveness, who keep learning, who keep pointing to Jesus, even in their failures. So if you feel unqualified, you're in good company. Look, go throughout the Bible. Moses didn't feel qualified. Gideon didn't feel qualified. Peter certainly didn't feel qualified. But God doesn't call qualified people. He qualifies the call. But how does he do that? He does it Because people step into those situations. Moses still stepped forward. Gideon stepped forward. Aaron stepped forward. Throughout the Bible, we see people who were not able, but through faith in God, they stepped forward and they were able to anyway. You don't need to know everything. You don't need to get it right every single time. You just need to be faithful. Faithful in the little things, and that is difficult. Being faithful in how we work, faithful in how we treat people, faithful in how we respond. It takes a lot of intention. It takes a lot of growth, it takes a lot of faith. But when you do that, when you live out your faith, you will be a Christian leader in your business. You'll lead without even realizing it because your life will be influencing others towards God. So lemme circle back to that business owner's question. I don't think I know how to be a Christian leader in my business. Well, the answer is simple. And maybe you think it's unfortunate, but the truth is. You already are. The moment you said yes to Jesus, you became a salt and light in this world. The question now is what kind of influence will you have? If someone spent a week shadowing you in your business with the people that you work with, watching what you do, watching how you work, how you treated people, how you handled stress? Would they walk away knowing more about Christ or would they walk away seeing no difference at all or worse yet? Seeing that you speak of Christ and yet they don't want any part of it because of how you are. Look, this is the heart of Christian leadership. It's not complicated, and it's not reserved for the few, it's for every believer, every day, ordinary faithfulness that points to an extraordinary God. So today, wherever you are, however small it feels, I want you to lead not with titles, not with platforms. But with God and the love of Christ in your life.'cause whether you realize it or not, you are leading someone. The question is, where are you leading them? I'll see you next time.