Truth in Life and Business

My book on Christian Project Management …

John 8:31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 

The biggest obstacle, pitfall, slough of despond in project management is TRUTH.  No one can bring a project to the desired conclusion if the information in the project plans, schedules, stakeholders responsibilities, etc., is deliberately misleading, obfuscating, untrue. Erroneous is OK, but not untrue.

Why? An error is something that the stakeholders can work together to remediate. We can smack ourselves on our own foreheads and moan “How could we have MISSED  this?” And inevitably we can answer that question (often it’s because we didn’t include some subject matter expert or other) and then do what needs to be done to accommodate this new data.

But a deliberate lie points to a perpetrator or conspiracy of perpetrators. Someone who can’t or won’t be truthful, whether is it because he thinks the truth will make him look bad, or the project will have a negative impact on him personally.

Or a deliberate lie may uncover a dishonest project – one not intended to succeed, or perhaps to succeed in name only. It is a betrayal of everyone else on the project team.

I have taught Project Management to different cultures, and discussed project with hundreds of people

Colossians 1: 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 

My book aspires to provide a project management paradigm that  is informed by the Word of God. The author is not working to convince the reader that the Bible is true—the truth of the Word of God is an assumption:

2 Timothy 3: 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

1 Peter 1: 3 [Jesus’] divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, 4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. 

But whether the information guiding a project is true will inevitably be disclosed – for good or for ill -- by the inexorable progression of time and tides.

And so, love the truth.  

A Psalm of David, the servant of the LORD, who addressed the words of this song to the LORD on the day when the LORD rescued him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. He said: I love you, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” Psalm 18:1-2 ESV It is sometimes hard to say these words BEFORE you rescue from the hands of my enemies. Or before you give me what I want – even when what I want is assurance or guidance or submission or acceptance of what YOU want in my life. But there is a truth here as well as an expression of trust. The truth is that I do love you Lord. And that you are my strength. I am not my own strength. It is you, not my understanding, my success, not my lack of problems or positive bank balance or expectation of income. It is you, not my intellect or talents or experiences or creativity. It is you, not my daughter or granddaughter or friends or husband or family. None of these things are my strength, rock, fortress, deliverer, rock, place of refuge, shield, source of salvation, or stronghold. None of them work in those ways. This is not a statement of faith but of truth. When I seek to find strength, protection, deliverance in these things – any of these things – the strength etc. does not come. Simply evades me. O my foolish and weak and wandering soul. Do not forget the truth, for the truth will set you free. O my soul, yes I am speaking to myself. Midge, remember, return to what is true: • You DO love the Lord. And God, Jesus, Holy Spirit, He IS your Lord. Your master, mentor, elder brother, counselor. • He is my strength. Nothing else gives strength. If I feel weak, so what. I am not my own strength. It is normal, even truthful to feel my own weakness, for God is my strength. Lord, please help me to know you, sense your presence, believe in your personal presence with me, so that I know in my itchy, creepy, antsy, fatigued, frustrated, negative weakness that I am even then, right then, feelings and humiliation notwithstanding, in the arms of my Redeemer and my God.

Hosea 14:1-3 1 Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God, for you have stumbled because of your iniquity. 2 Take with you words and return to the LORD; say to him, “Take away all iniquity; accept what is good, and we will pay with bulls the vows of our lips. 3 Assyria shall not save us; we will not ride on horses; and we will say no more, ‘Our God,’ to the work of our hands. In you the orphan finds mercy.” Such a heart-rending plea. Looking upon the people of Israel who have strayed so far from God. And whose sins have pulled them ever further from the God who loves them so very much. Pleading with them to gather up the words that would express to their Creator, their Guardian even during their times of rebellion, waiting, teaching, reminding, punishing and comforting. Hosea is pleading with them to gather up and take to God words of repentance, a humbled request that God free them from their own choices, their own sins. That they would say to God they have taken the wrong road, believed the wrong things, made themselves orphans by leaving their Father, and that those days are over … and that they have the nerve to come to him with all this because of His gracious character. Even though they have made themselves orphans, still God will have mercy on them. Because regardless of whether it was their own choices that brought them there, they are now orphans. Now helpless. Now even the resources God had given them to start with they squandered away and still God has mercy on such a helpless orphan.

Oh, Lord God You dwell in unapproachable light So great is your existence that we cannot conceive of it except in metaphor and even then our words are inadequate. You dwell in unapproachable light. No panorama encompasses the fullness of your being. No symphony does justice to your intricate harmonies. What eyes can endure your brilliance Or distinguish the faceted prisms of your radiance? So great is your glory, so complete your holiness; So mighty your power, your passion, your love, your wrath. Mere contemplation of your majesty Silences the spinning clamor of this present world. To know you is to know the pain of separation from you. To know you is to know the price of rebellion against you. To know you is to be carried back to you Back across an unbridgeable chasm of my own making. Cradled in your compassion Held fast by nail-pierced hands.

Hosea 6" 1 “Come, let us return to the LORD; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up. 2 After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him. 3 Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth. … 6 For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.” Lord God maker of heaven and earth make these verses known and compelling and healing to the weary. To those who say it has been so hard that the moments of triumph are not healing, not joyful. Those who are so tired that they can’t really rest. I wonder how many are feeling this way right now -- dedicated men and women who, in spite of all the intentions to rely only on Your strength, not their own, are spent. Please Lord refresh them in the ways only You know. Lead them down new paths, joyful and peaceful and restful paths, walks of encouragement and fellowship and comfort and contentment. Calm their fears and doubts and reassure them of your watchcare. May those who work with them be supportive and respectful and honoring. May they be faithful, joyful, energetic, loving, dedicated, honorable, and productive, and may they surround the weary,joining together in the grace and knowledge of your son our Savior, the Lord Jesus, for your Glory and the extension of your kingdom on earth and the bringing of help to those who are suffering and needy. In Jesus name I pray.

Freedom and Joy

O, thank the Lord for His goodness and His revealing of Himself through His Word. He does not leave us without hope or comfort, but guides and enfolds and encourages and reminds us that He is our sufficiency. Let this day be a song of joy and praise to His name, and let His peace rule in your heart. Whatever else He may be saying to us this day, He is always saying this to every entanglement: Let my people go.

Project Management (my profession)

ANY project management methodology can be implemented in a way that pleases God. Or not. So what is the differences between plain old project management and project management “Christ’s Way”? the differences fall into two categories: there is much to say and learn about each category but that would get boring on a blog. Some differences are invisible and some visible -- these kind of flowing out of the invisible. the invisible have to do with you and God together -- your prayers, your daily commitment of your work to the Lord and of your attitudes to the Lord and especially of any obstacles or frustrations or un-met goals to the Lord. The visible are the behaviors and attitudes you demonstrate towards others or under the scrutiny of others. Shouldn't these visible behaviors result from the invisible ones? Professionalism -- facing reality fully, calmly, speaking the truth in love, seeking and respecting the input of others. Peace. Persistence without anger. Kindness. Submission to your earthly authorities. Humility. Self control. And all these visible attributes to the glory of God and for his pleasure. I love being a project manager. Many is the day I head for a client, or leave the client's office praising and thanking God that He has helped and blessed, and even from time to time has moved someone to say to me, "How do you stay so pleasant and calm and worry free even when things are falling apart?" "Well," I start, "Do you REALLY want to know why I don't get upset? Because this has just now turned into a conversation about Jesus Christ. Shall we take a break? Have lunch? Or have I already answered your question ...."