Christian Business Concepts
Christian Business Concepts
Breaking Boundaries: How Faith Powers Leadership Without Limits
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What happens when Christian business leaders embrace the reality that they serve a limitless God? True transformation begins.
In this deeply insightful episode, Harold Milby explores how faith-driven leaders can break through conventional boundaries and lead with extraordinary impact by aligning themselves with God's boundless vision and purpose. Drawing from powerful biblical foundations including Matthew 19:26 ("with God all things are possible") and Philippians 4:13, Harold unveils how many of us unknowingly limit what God can accomplish through our leadership.
The discussion takes us through the critical traits that define limitless leadership: faith-driven vision that sees beyond current circumstances, courageous resilience that confronts challenges with divine confidence, humble service that follows Christ's example, commitment to continuous growth, and the ability to empower others to reach their God-given potential.
You'll discover practical strategies to overcome the limiting beliefs that hinder your leadership effectiveness. Through personal reflection exercises, leadership assessments, and a framework for creating your own 30-day growth plan, this episode provides clear, actionable steps to transform your leadership approach.
Whether you're leading a small team or a large organization, these principles apply universally. As Harold reminds us, "God is not too small, God is not limited, God doesn't have boundaries, God is limitless. So dream big, have big dreams."
Ready to stop putting human limitations on divine possibilities? This episode will equip you to lead with boundless faith, inspire those around you, and create an environment where people thrive according to God's design. Share this message with others in your sphere of influence and watch how God works through leadership without limits.
Welcome to the Christian Business Concepts with your host, harold Milby. Christian Business Concepts is dedicated to guiding companies and business owners in becoming effective, efficient and successful through God's Word and godly principles. Now, here's your host, harold Milby.
Speaker 2:Thanks, kelly, and welcome everyone to this week's Christian Business Concepts podcast. I'm your host, harold Milby, and each week we come and we try to discuss specific business topics and how biblical principles are given to us, to God's people, to apply. And applying these principles will help you find what I believe will be true godly success, and this is why I pray for those of you that are part of the CBC family. You know always pray that you'll be enlightened, encouraged and empowered when you listen to these podcasts. You know we thank God for you, whether you're a first-time listener or this is your first time, or if you've been listening to our podcast for several years or several weeks. We thank God for you and we thank God for your participation and thanks for having us to be a part of your growth plan and your personal life, and we take that very seriously, seriously and we humbly appreciate that and appreciate you all around the world that listen to us on a regular basis. You know you can help us grow the CBC community by sharing this podcast with four or five others and by posting the podcast on your LinkedIn or your Facebook pages. That would go a long way. We would appreciate that. You know that's the way a lot of people communicate nowadays, and if you would just put that link to our podcast episode and just post it as a link, we'd greatly appreciate that and share it again with four or five other people. Now, before we go to our business spotlight, I just want to give a big shout out really to Minneapolis, minnesota, for having so many downloads, and we thank all of those of you there in Minneapolis for doing that, and we thank really all of you around the world and in my home country of the United States, obviously.
Speaker 2:Now in our company spotlight this week, I want to mention a company by the name of Altered State. Now, first I have to tell you how they spell it. It's a little bit different. They use the word alter and then an apostrophe D altered it's an altered state. That is the name of the company. They're a women's clothing store that started back in 2009 by Aaron Walters and Brian Mason. They actually play Christian instrumental music in their stores. They have prayer request journals that are in all of the dressing rooms that people can leave a prayer request and know that people will pray for them, and all of their retail clothing is accessorized with Christian decor, and many of their customers have come through their stores and have left type messages and called them and let them know that they came into the store. Maybe they left a review. They came in the store feeling really down, discouraged and maybe having some problems, but then when they left the store, by the experience that they had in the store it lifted them up and it encouraged them and that's something that they desire to do.
Speaker 2:They also give up to 25% of their profits to charitable organizations and, man, they are just a great company to work for. Even their employees, 80% of their employees and they have about 2,000 employees, about 100 stores nationwide here in the United States and you know 80% of their employees. You know they really testify to the quality of their work environment. They really testify to the quality of their work environment. They love working there and they were actually on Forbes' list of the top companies to work for at least I know once, and maybe even more than once. But it's a great company and we really appreciate businesses like Altered State. We really do and we just salute you guys and we just tell you to keep up the good work.
Speaker 2:As a Christian business, we're so thankful. All right, you know, as Christian business leaders. You know we're called to be different, I think, than the world stereotype of really what business leaders and owners, what they look like, what they manage like, what they lead like and what they act like. You know, we're called to be God's steward and that means that we're his manager. You know, we are managing our influence, our resources, our business and even maybe a department, and we're to do that with excellence. We're to do it with integrity and faith. And you're called to be a limitless leader, a limitless leader, one who basically transcends personal, cultural or organizational boundaries, and you do that by aligning your leadership with God's purpose, by embracing growth, by inspiring other people to reach their full potential.
Speaker 2:So today I want to explore the importance of being a limitless leader, what its biblical foundation is and some practical steps to embody what I would consider to be a very transformative approach in your professional and even in your personal life. You know, I think it's so important that we understand, when we talk about being a limitless leader, it's because we serve a limitless God and that's how that we can become a limitless leader. You know, it's my hope, as a Christian business leader, that you'll seek to really deepen, really deepen your impact on the world around you and that you'll create an environment for really people to thrive in your department or your organization, your company, and to lead more with a kingdom, the kingdom of God. Lead more with a kingdom mindset and by integrating these biblical principles that we're going to talk about today with some really good, actionable strategies, you'll learn how to break through limitations that maybe world leaders may have you know people that are not born again, that are not trying to operate as a Christian business or Christian organization but you'll learn how to break through those limitations and lead with courage, okay, and with humility and great vision. So it's very important. So let's describe this in a little bit more detail.
Speaker 2:What is a limitless leader? Well, a limitless leadership is the practice of leading without being constrained, I would say, by fear, by doubt or any kind of self-imposed boundaries. You know, it's really rooted in the belief that God's power, that God's wisdom and purpose are boundless. They're limitless and as leaders we're invited to kind of tap into that infinite resource, that infinite resource, the infinite resources that God has to achieve extraordinary outcomes. You know a limitless leader I would say number one he seeks God's guidance in his decision-making. He embraces challenges as opportunities for growth and he inspires other people to overcome whatever limitations they have. And so I really, you know, see God creating this whole idea of limitless through his word. You can see that.
Speaker 2:Just a couple of passages. You know. Matthew, chapter 19, verse 26 says but Jesus looked at them and said with man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. And that's right, all things are possible. In Psalm 78 and 41, it says that, yea, they turned back and tempted God and limited the Holy One of Israel. And this was talking about the children of Israel when they went to the promised land. And they didn't go into the promised land in the beginning because they were afraid that they could not defeat the people of that land. And so the passage here in Psalms is talking about that and it says they limited God, they limited what he could do as a limitless leader. Realize that you serve a limitless God. There is no boundaries on God. There is none. There's nothing that God can't do. I've seen God do some amazing things and, yes, I've seen miracles take place, literally, bona fide've seen miracles take place, literally bonafide, certified miracles take place, and that's because God is limitless and I believe in that limitless power that he has and I depend on him.
Speaker 2:And so why does this limitless leadership really matter? I believe because we're living in a very complex and very rapidly changing world and even business environment, and Christian leaders face, I think, very unique challenges. There's ethical dilemmas, there's cultural pressures, there's temptation to prioritize, prioritize profit over purpose. And limitless leadership is critical because it aligns with God's call. First of all, because the Bible reminds us that God's plans are far greater than our own. That's what it says in Jeremiah 29 and 11.
Speaker 2:And limitless leadership allows you to pursue God's vision for your organization. It allows you to drive innovation because what happens is you remove that mental or the emotional barriers because of God being a limitless God, and so you trust in Him. So it really fosters this creativity, this adaptability, and it really enables your business to thrive, even in a lot of uncertain times. And it also inspires other people. A limitless leader is going to model courage, he's going to model faith and he's going to do his best to empower employees and stakeholders and communities to pursue excellence. And obviously it actually reflects Christ's example. You know Jesus led without limits. He broke the cultural norms, he healed the broken. You know he transformed the lives through love and through success and sacrifice. And so I believe it's important. You know David Ramsey. Dave Ramsey said that God is the ultimate entrepreneur and we are made in his image. When we align our business with his principles, success becomes a natural byproduct. What a great quote. I completely agree with what he says.
Speaker 2:Now, how do we bow? I guess we bow ourself to limitations. Why do we do that? How does that happen that we limit ourself? Well, first we fail to realize that God is limitless and he wants us to be imitators. The Bible says be imitators of me as I am of God. Paul said that. It also says in another passage that we're to be imitators, imitators of God. And so we're to imitate God. We're to be like God. The Bible says that we're to be like gods and it says are you not gods? He wasn't saying gods put us on the same level as God, but what he was saying was aren't we God's? Aren't we made in his image? Aren't we to be imitators of him? And so we fail to realize that God is limitless and he wants us to be imitators of him.
Speaker 2:Next is unbelief. You know, in Jesus's hometown of Nazareth, the Bible says that he could not do many mighty miracles there because of their unbelief Not because he is unbelief, but because of their unbelief. And so it's so important for us that we don't have unbelief in our life, especially at the potential that God puts in us, because there's a lot of potential that God has in you, a lot of potential God has in me, and God has a purpose, and God is always pushing us towards our purpose Disobedience. You know, Abraham limited God in being able to fulfill his promise in his life because he couldn't see himself being a father at 100 years old and his wife becoming pregnant at 90 years old. And so he got in there and he meddled and he got his handmaiden Hagar. He got her pregnant and gave birth to Ishmael. And that's not what God wanted, nor is it what God told him to do. But he limited God. He didn't think God could do it, so he thought he'd help God.
Speaker 2:Let me tell you something God doesn't need your help. He doesn't need your help. He wants you to be a part with him. He wants you to actually be a partner with him. But he doesn't need your help because God is all-powerful, he's all-knowing, and so it's not anything that's going to catch him off guard. So you've got to believe in that and you've got to be obedient when God speaks to you, and you've got to be obedient to his word and you can't doubt. That's the other thing. Doubt the children of Israel doubted that God could take them into the promised land, and so they didn't go. They didn't go, and the Bible says they didn't go because of their unbelief. And so again it goes back to faith, which is another issue. Lack of faith you know Jesus, you know didn't? A lot of people didn't think that Jesus could raise Lazarus from the dead, but he did. And these are the kinds of things that hinder us or cause us to fail to fully, really embrace God's power, his promises or even his plans for our lives. And so we've got a strong biblical foundation.
Speaker 2:When we talk about limitless leadership, it's deeply rooted in the scriptures, and I've read some already, but here's a couple of others. Philippians 4.13 says I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me. And this verse really reminds us, as leaders, that our strength comes from God, not from our own abilities. It doesn't come from our education, it doesn't come from our wisdom, it doesn't come from our experience. You know God will use that sometimes, but it's Christ who strengthens us and because of that we can do all things. There's nothing that we can't do when God is behind us.
Speaker 2:Ephesians 3 and 20 says now to him, who is able to do immeasurably more than all we could ask or imagine. So God's power exceeds our wildest dreams and that's why I believe we need to dream big. Dream big personally, dream big if you're involved in ministry, dream big in your business, because I got to tell you God can do it. God is not too small, god is not limited, god doesn't have boundaries, god is limitless. So dream big, have big dreams.
Speaker 2:Mark 9 23 says everything is possible for the one who believes, and faith is there to remove those limitations and it opens doors to what I would consider to be divine, very divine possibilities, godly possibilities. And Matthew 5 and 16 says let your light shine before others that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. So limitless leadership. It really glorifies God through impact of service, and that's what really it's all about. You know, when I talk about some of these businesses in the business spotlight segment every week, you know you'll find something that is in common with most of them, and that's service. You know they want to serve their customers, they want to serve their employees, but it's service. So you know, to become a limitless leader, you've got to cultivate several biblical, grounded traits.
Speaker 2:Okay, first is a faith-driven vision. You know, a limitless leader trusts God's plan and he pursues a vision that aligns with his purpose. You know, abraham obeyed God's call to leave his homeland. God told him. He said I want you to leave where you're at. I'm going to take you to the land. And he gets him there and he says as far as your eye can see, I'm going to give it to you. As far as you can see, I'm going to give it to you. So he trusted in God's promise, but yet he couldn't see it. You know it wasn't right then. It didn't happen right there, and this was something that was a far off. In fact, he told Abraham, he said I'm going to make your descendants like the sand of the sea. You know he couldn't see that in his natural eye, but he believed it. But he believed it.
Speaker 2:And so what you've got to do is identify what your current business challenge is and, instead of shrinking back, what you need to do is seek God's vision for your business or your organization, write a clear and a very faith-inspired mission statement, and then you begin to communicate that with your team and even with other people that you come into contact with that are affiliated somehow with your business, such as vendors or partners, whoever it may be. So that's important. Next is having some kind of a very courageous resilience. Courageous resilience you know, limitless leaders that you're going to face challenges, but you can do it with boldness. Why? Because we trust in God's provision. I'm not trusting in my provision, I'm trusting in God's provision. David confronted Goliath, but he only confronted him with faith, not fear. He didn't have fear when he stood before Goliath. He had faith in the God that he served. And so you know you can, instead of retreating, instead of falling back, you need to pray for courage and then take a very actionable step toward, however, whatever it is that you need to do to fix that situation or that resolution, but take at least one step forward and toward that resolution.
Speaker 2:The next thing is humility, and really kind of humility and humble service. You know a limitless leader. You know you're going to prioritize serving other people over your own personal interests. You know Jesus, even though he was the leader. It was Jesus who washed his disciples' feet and what he was doing? He was modeling servant leadership and you can find that in John, chapter 13. You know, but you need to regularly engage in acts of service, you know, and that could be like mentoring employees or maybe volunteering in your community, but that's extremely, extremely important. And then you need to make a commitment to lifelong growth. You know you need to continue to grow.
Speaker 2:You know I was speaking at church. I had the privilege of taking the pulpit as our pastor was on vacation. He had asked me to fill in, and one of the things that I was talking about is how God wants us to operate in a limitless way, because God is continually shaping us. We're changing, we're transforming, and if you're the same today as you were the same time a year ago, then something's not right. You should be growing and learning more and developing more, transforming more each day that goes by, each year that goes by. And so you want to commit to a personal and a very personal and a professional development plan and you want to recognize that God's continually shaping you. You know Paul said in Philippians, chapter 3, you know he said that I press toward the mark of the prize, of the high calling of Christ Jesus. Well, he didn't say he was there. He said I press, I'm trying, I'm growing to get to that destination, and so we have to be willing to do that on a regular basis.
Speaker 2:So you need to invest in yourself. Invest in yourself through maybe some books or conferences or coaching listening to this podcast is one get some feedback from people that you respect and then just be self-aware of your growth or lack of growth. And then the next thing that you need to do is you need to empower other people. You know a limitless leader equips people. You inspire other people to reach what their God-given potential is. You know Jesus discipled his people, his followers. He entrusted them. He entrusted his people, his followers. He entrusted them. He entrusted his disciples with his mission, and we can see that clearly in Matthew 28, verses 19 through 20. And so we need to delegate very meaningful responsibilities to people on your team and then celebrate with them their successes. You know that's how you empower other people.
Speaker 2:You know Jack Welch led GE into such a time of growth and the company really did well under his leadership. And he said this one time he said it's about growing your people, not you. You grow from the reflected glory of your people, and I think God is really approving of that statement, because I think that is what it's all about is we grow people, and we're not looking just to grow ourselves, but we're looking to grow others. So how do you become? You know we just talked about, you know, some of the characteristics of a limitless leader. So how do we become a limitless leader? Well, you've got to cultivate a deep relationship with God. And now why does that matter? Well, because a limitless leader flows from the intimacy that he has with God. And now why does that matter? Well, because a limitless leader flows from the intimacy that he has with God and without his guidance, your efforts are very limited by your own human strength.
Speaker 2:So you need to develop a close relationship, a very deep relationship with God, and there's some practical steps to do that. You need to spend time in prayer and in reading God's scripture every day, even if you just set aside 15 minutes, 10 minutes, 30 minutes if you can, but set aside this time each morning to pray and read the Bible. Have a journal and record things that maybe you feel like God's sharing with you, and prayers, maybe that you share and you write down for your leadership team and then make sure that you honor God by taking a weekly day of rest, you know, preferably on Sunday, but you need to be able to reflect, that rest and recharge you know during that time and then be accountable, show accountability, you know. Join some kind of a leadership group, a Christian leadership group, or find a Christian mentor that will encourage you in your spiritual walk and in your spiritual growth.
Speaker 2:The next thing you need to do to become a limitless leader is you want to overcome limiting beliefs, and this is huge. You want to overcome limiting beliefs because fear and doubt and insecurity can hinder your leadership potential. So limitless leaders, replace these with faith and truth. So what you have to do is you've got to identify the lies, you've got to reflect on thoughts like I'm not qualified, I can't get it done, I don't have the experience, I don't have the education, and you need to write these things down and then pray over them, overcome them. You know.
Speaker 2:Replace with what God says those things. I can't, I'm not qualified, I'll fail. You know. Replace those things with what God's word says, because God will equip you. He's called you. God equips those that he calls. So you need to do that and then affirm who you are in Christ, declare who you are in Christ. I'm a child of God. I'm called to lead with purpose. You know you've got to begin to do that. You know Mary Kay Ash, who's a founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics. She said don't limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do and you can go as far as your mind lets you, what you believe. Remember you can achieve what you believe you can achieve. If you can't believe it, you can't achieve it. So it's that important.
Speaker 2:And then develop a growth mindset. Develop a growth mindset, because a growth mindset it really embraces challenges, doesn't repel it. It embraces challenges as opportunities to really learn, and so that's important. So make sure that you have goals that stretch you. You know, make sure that you, after a failure, that you sit down and you reflect on it and you learn from it. You know what did you get taught during that failure? What did God teach you during that time? And then adjust accordingly. And then make sure you look for mentors. You know, have mentors Connect with seasoned Christian leaders for guidance and perspective. And you know, have mentors connect with seasoned Christian leaders for guidance and perspective, and you know you need to do that. These are so important.
Speaker 2:You know you need to ask yourself questions these practical tools here and exercises. So you know you want to have personal reflection. Questions like how has fear or doubt limited my leadership in the past? Write that stuff down. Have a journal. Write it down what is God's vision for my organization? How can I align what I'm doing, in other words, what my actions are, with that plan that God has, that vision that God has? Maybe ask yourself who in my team can I empower to grow in their potential? These are great questions to ask in very good and practical ways that you can help become that limitless leader.
Speaker 2:And then take a leadership assessment, you know, like on a scale of one to ten. How consistently do I seek God's guidance when I'm making decisions? How often do I take risks to pursue God's vision for my business? How effectively do I empower other people to succeed? And then you know, grade yourself, like I said, on one to 10. So you know, have an action plan. Here's an idea for you Create a 30-day plan for the next 30 days to grow as a limitless leaders and make sure you have a spiritual goal. In other words, how much time are you going to spend with the Lord? How much time are you going to develop yourself spiritually? Have personal growth goals, you know.
Speaker 2:Read a leadership book, you know, by a Christian author. Or you know, maybe, a team goal where you mentor one person, maybe once a week, and then have a business goal, you know. Launch a new initiative by faith, you know, in these next 30 days. But have some kind of a plan for the next 30 days to help you move more towards becoming that limitless leader. You know, and there's a lot of books out there that you can read. I'll encourage you to read some of these the Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. Lead Like Jesus by Ken Blanchard. Courageous Leadership by Bill Hybels. These are just a few, and there's a couple of organizations I could recommend too Fellowship of Christian Athletes. They have a lot of leadership resources and Christian Businessmen's Connection. That's another great organization that you can become a part of, so I would encourage you to do that.
Speaker 2:So, as a Christian business leader, you're uniquely positioned, as we've talked about, to lead with a limitless faith and impact your organization and the world around you for God's glory, for his glory not yours but his. And when you align yourself with these biblical principles and you cultivate some of these key traits that we've talked about and you take some practical steps, I believe that you can break through limitations. I believe that you can inspire others to do the same. I believe that you can break through limitations. I believe that you can inspire others to do the same. I believe that you can embrace the call to be a limitless leader, trusting that with God, all things are possible.
Speaker 2:So commit to one specific step that you've heard today, just one, and then maybe it's starting your daily prayer habit or mentoring an employee, and then share this vision with your team to help foster this culture of limitless leadership, and then pray, pray, say you know, lord, make me a limitless leader who reflects your heart and advances your kingdom, and so I think that's important. So, lord, I come before you right now and I thank you for those who have listened to this podcast today. I ask you, lord, that your word goes forth with power and might and that they apply these biblical principles and become true limitless leaders through you. In the name of Jesus, amen and amen. Well, thank you again for being a part of the Christian Business Concepts podcast. Be sure to share this podcast with four or five others and check out the resources page at our website by going to wwwchristianbusinessconceptsorg. Well, we're out of time, so until next week. Remember, jesus is Lord and he wants you blessed.
Speaker 1:Thank you for tuning into this week's Christian Business Concepts podcast. Go to christianbusinessconceptscom for more information and resources. Be sure to check out other podcasts that will help you take your business and your personal life to a whole new level of success.