I hesitate showing you these statistics. They are so very sobering. They tell the real story of leaders like you and me in the market place…..of leaders who are pastors and vocational Christian workers. These numbers tell the story of men and women who long to “do good” and yet find themselves trapped in, what seems to be, a never ending road of confusion and misdirection.”
These were the words communicated at the front end of a talk I was giving to a conference of pastors and vocational Christian workers (and a few “lay” leaders).
Some of the statistics I was referencing came from an American Psychological Association survey on the impact of stress on the average American.
Here, also, are the statistics from my keynote that I….with sober reflection…..offered to the vocational Christian leaders seated in front of me.
So what’s your response as you read these statistics?
Anger or apathy?
Compassion or judgment?
As I was reflecting on these numbers I couldn’t help but think about how quickly you and I can forget about the “log in our own eye”.
I wonder what the percentages would look like for our community of Christ following business owners? What do you think?
What percent of business owners…
- Feel that the business has negatively affected their family?
- Do not regularly pray with their spouses?
- State that their business is an outright hazard to their family?
- Constantly fight depression?
- Say that they have a lower self-image now than when they first started the business?
- Do not have someone they consider to be a close friend?
- Confess that they have had inappropriate sexual behavior with someone in their business (or at least have mused about it)?
What do you think?
A Deliberate Application:
What’s God asking of you as you reflect on the above questions?
Who will you share this with?
