Kingdom Treasury

We’ve seen some high profile ethical failures in the press in recent years. The problems and devastation caused by accounting fraud at the investment company run by Bernard Madoff will not soon be forgotten, nor will the earlier frauds at Enron and Worldcom. People have also raised ethical questions over the welfare of some organizations’ staff and suppliers.
 
This highlights the extent to which it can be difficult for leaders to determine what’s right and wrong. Some make the wrong choices – and end up in the courts, or in the news.
 
What we rarely see, however, are stories about the numerous companies that are managed by ethical leaders. While standards seem to keep falling in some corporations, other leaders “raise the bar” and inspire their teams to do the same. These leaders do the right thing, at the right time, for the right reasons. They put their ethics before the bottom line – and as a result, they have dedicated teams that would do almost anything for them.
 
So how do they do it? And how can you do it as well? We’ll show you how to define your own ethical standards – and start putting those standards into practice.
 
Define Your Organization’s Values
 
To lead your team with character and integrity, you must set an example. You’re the leader, remember? Your team looks to you. To begin, you must know your own values as well as your organization’s values.
 
For example, the global technology giant 3M is well known for its company values. Why? Because the entire team – from top executives all the way down to the mailroom – live and breathe the principles of honesty and integrity every day. 3M communicates clearly that it wants its staff to do things like keep promises, have personal accountability, and respect others in the workforce. Every leader in the company knows this, so they work by these rules. And as a result, everyone else follows.
 
Hopefully, your company has clear rules about how it wants team members to act. As a leader, it’s up to you to know these rules and codes of conduct – and to make sure you enforce them.
 
Your personal values are also important. If the company’s written rules don’t say that you must be fair to everyone, but this value is important to you – then, of course, you’re going to do it.
 
Good leaders follow their personal values as well as organizational values.
 
Ask yourself these questions:
 What standards of behavior are really important to my company?
 What specific values do I admire in certain leaders? Do I identify with those values?
 Would I still live by those values, even if they put me at a competitive disadvantage?
 
Set the Tone
 
Now that you know your company’s core values, you can begin to set the tone and create the right environment for your team and your organization. Again, leading by example is the best way to do this.
 
It’s what you do, not what you say, that demonstrates to your team what you care about. So, if your company values honesty above all else, then make sure you demonstrate that by being honest with everyone around you. If your company values free speech, then make sure you allow your team to communicate their ideas openly.
 
Next, establish consequences for team members who don’t follow corporate values. If you allow someone to come in late continuously without making up the hours, that won’t set a good example for the rest of the team.
 
You need good consequences as well. Set up some kind of reward system for team members who consistently act according to the company values.
 
Storytelling is a great way to reinforce and communicate these values. If you know of team members – or even clients – who acted ethically in difficult situations, then tell their stories. This shows your staff that they can do it as well.
 
By getting your team interested in ethical conduct, you communicate how important these values are to both you and your organization.
 
Recognize Ethical Dilemmas
 
Here’s the scenario: You’re in a meeting with other top executives, and you realize that one of your colleagues has changed the numbers in his report.
 
As you listen, you realize that he’s exaggerating how well his team is doing on a major project. Instead of saying that his team will finish in eight weeks, which he previously told you, he’s promising to be done in only five weeks. And instead of saying that the project will help increase company earnings by 4%, which he also told you earlier, he’s promising a 12% increase.
 
What do you do? He’s a close colleague and a personal friend. On the other hand, he’s overstating how well his team is doing. Do you support him, or do you tell the truth to the other executives?
 
We’re often faced with tough choices like this in the workplace. Most of the time, however, ethical dilemmas aren’t this obvious, and they can be hidden in ways that are hard to uncover.
 
So, how do you recognize these dilemmas?
 
Identify “trigger” situations – Certain situations seem to attract ethical dilemmas. Some of these are areas like purchasing, hiring, firing, promoting, and calculating bonuses.
 There can also be other unexpected situations. You could make a mistake – will you admit it to your boss, or try to cover it up? Or you could discover that a colleague is acting unethically – do you protect the person or tell someone?
 By recognizing when these situations might occur, you can make the right decisions when and if something actually happens.
 
Prepare in advance – Imagine yourself in the situations we just mentioned. What would you do if you knew one of your colleagues was about to be fired, but you weren’t legally allowed to tell her?
 Putting yourself in these imaginary situations can help you work through your feelings and decide what you would do if the situation became real. In real life, you may have only seconds to reach a decision. Of course, you won’t be able to imagine every possible ethical dilemma you might face, but this exercise WILL help you get to know your values, and it can prepare you for the decisions you may have to make.
 
Listen to your “inner voice” – Your conscience often tells you that something isn’t right, even if this is just a feeling of uneasiness with something. If you face a situation that makes you uncomfortable, or goes against one of your core values or beliefs, then make sure that you stop and think things through rationally. (the Holy Spirit added by Editor)
 
Reevaluate your decision before you act – If you’re in a difficult situation and you aren’t sure what to do, make a decision. But before you act on that decision, ask yourself how you would feel if your actions were in the company newsletter or on the evening news for everyone to see. Would you be proud of what you did? If not, then reconsider your decision.
 
When in Doubt…
 
At times, you’ll make a decision but still wonder if you did the right thing. You may be uncomfortable, but these situations can teach you to trust yourself and your instincts. If you calm your anxiety and look logically at the situation, your instincts will often guide you in the right direction.
 

Key Points
 
Ethical living – and leading – takes courage and conviction. It means doing the right thing, even when the right thing isn’t popular or easy. But when you make decisions based on your core values, then you tell the world that you can’t be bought – and you lead your team by example.
 
Once you identify your company’s core values as well as your own, you can start to set the tone with your team and your organization. Actions always speak louder than words, so make sure you do as you would wish others to do.

James Manktelow,  Guest writer

Americans give more to help others than the residents of 152 other countries, according to a new global survey. That’s a big change from last year, when the United States ranked No. 5.

The poll, conducted last year with about 1,000 residents in each of 153 countries, asked people whether they had donated money to a charity, volunteered their time, or helped a stranger in the previous month.

By averaging the responses of people who had done each of those things, the survey ranked the United States as No. 1 with a score of 60. The average score for all countries included in the survey was 31.6. Following closely behind the United States was Ireland, with a score of 59, Australia (58), New Zealand (57), and the United Kingdom (57). Researchers said they were still assessing the results to figure out why each country had landed where it did on the rankings.

Regional Rankings
The survey was the second of its kind to be released by the Charities Aid Foundation, a nonprofit organization that seeks to increase charitable giving. Founded in the United Kingdom, it has offices in eight other countries, including the United States

Researchers also compared different regions of the world such as North America, Australasia, Central America, and sub-Saharan Africa. While the United States was the top-ranked country in terms of giving, North America, which includes Canada, turned out to be second most-generous region behind Australasia, covering both Australia and New Zealand.

Among other findings from the survey:

Eight countries had scores that increased or decreased by 10 percent or more.
Noting that the global financial crisis affects many countries, the survey found that the total number of people who gave cash to charity last year dropped from 2009. The decrease was less than 1 percent, on average, but the researchers noted that even such a small drop translates into millions of people giving less.
“We are delighted to have a picture of a giving world, but concerned” about the drop in giving, said Richard Harrison, director of research at the Charities Aid Foundation, speaking in a conference call from his office in London. “These are very difficult economic times, but perhaps we should be glad it only declined by a small percentage.”

Two percent more people worldwide said they had helped a stranger last year, compared to 2009, while 1 percent more said they had volunteered.
Giving money to charity and volunteering both grew the most last year among people older than 50, while helping strangers became more common among middle-aged people.

http://philanthropy.com

As the globalization of the world “amps” up and as the Kingdom of God begins to become a visible reality and need, it has also become necessary for saints in the marketplace to find each other. There are many choices out there and if the Church of our Lord is going to be serious about doing all it can to manifest the Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on this earth then we must implement a workable model that will make for quick identification.

Many years ago I advertised in a publication called the “Shepherds Guide”. It was like a local Christian business yellow pages but it did allow non-Christian businesses to publicize. The way they would differentiate between the two was to add a small fish symbol at the bottom right of the banner ad. Those who were Christian businesses could be easily distinguished and you could direct the Lord’s finances in their direction by choosing to patronize them.

Now, I know what some of you are thinking. You have found some non-Christians to have more integrity in their business dealings than Christians, so have I. The question here is not to stay in a reactionary mode and accentuate the bad apples among us but to be pro-active and create a model of integrity which we can build upon. Certainly our present model of “outsourcing” the Lord’s resources is not building the Kingdom of God.

We are not advocating entering blindly into negotiations globally because someone has a small “K “on the top right of their Facebook profile picture or their Twitter Image. We are simply creating a way of quick identification that can be used to give initial preference. Of course, this in no way cancels out your usual preparation and procedure that you use before you enter into negotiations with someone.

We know from the Word that in the end times the enemy will demand that we take “his” mark. We need to maintain active discernment concerning marks but the clue here is that there will be a need for marks. It’s easy to see why as the internet has almost erased geography and replaced it with community. Your community today need not be geo-located as relationships are becoming more global via the net and social media.

So here is a sample of what we are advocating. Let’s ad a small K preferably in white or in black if it’s a white background to our profiles and images and let’s just see what the Lord will do with it!

                                                                                                                                 Also see along the same lines    www.unashamedlyethical.com

I was recently sharing with a friend that as I looked back at all the unexpected blessings in my life they always followed my giving. Not just any giving but usually some type of sacrificial or unusual giving. I strongly believe some words I found on an image I recently used in this post.”

May the Lord lead you to give you life away in such a way that it opens the windows of heaven over your life!

Jose Bosque      JaxChristian1@aol.com

Prayer Thanking Holy Spirit for His grace upon the morning session

Creator frustrated His own Creation- What is God hoping for in all of this?

Trinity = Is Father, Seed and the Chemistry and now he is after a Woman. That Woman is the bride of Christ. Even the world knows that without the chemistry what you have is date rape. This is what the church has been doing.

Satan doesn’t care if we know about God but he hates us knowing the Father

Testimony of how God spoke to a brother after being diagnosed with 3 terminal illnesses, God told him that God has trusted him with those illnesses for a testimony to others.

Rom 8:28 The Greek says God works together- God is not there saying bring me your mess on the back end but he is on the front end. He is leading in all we go through.

(Deep prayer for deliverance) Entrance that which God has prepared- Deliverance comes by Revelation. Reform our minds not asking for but entering into the finish work and coming into agreement. Delivered by one word “you are Awesome!” We decree His perfected love at work within us. WE thank you for Chemistry today God! We rebuke fear and the torment associated with.

Singing erupts “We are awesome in this place Abba Father. We are awesome in this place mighty God (Repeats)

Authority comes out of identity and favor. We are from the tribe of the FAVORITES. We should be living above sowing and reaping because in the promise land there is only entering into His Inheritance.

After He has given us everything He still has everything to give!

Sin is the author of death- satan comes to rob kill and destroy. There is an opponent we must conquer.

As long as we question God we are separated from His love according to Rom 8:28.

If it’s going to be established on the earth it’s going to be established in hearts

We can be philosophical all day long but we when it’s in our own flesh we need to stare death in the face. Not an information problem it is a will problem. I can start right here!  Who are the poor and the widows we know?

Our inheritance is one another! One weeps we all weep. One rejoices we all rejoice. That takes losing your life. You lose your life when you lose it in other people. Community was everything in the New Testament! We won’t see the manifestation of the sons of God. It is beyond our wildest dreams because it takes the death of all things. Lose yourself in the body. Become unseen leaven so you are not seen and Christ only is seen. We need a transfer beyond a paradigm shift to a whole different planet.

Shame is broken and we can agree what God has placed in us- We need to take our places and rule with Him.

If the contradiction of the cross is not an example of the Kingdom Economy I do not know what is. You cannot escape suffering to inherit our inheritance.

I have come looking for an impartation! I have come looking for liberation! God is sharing us with each other.

God is taking us into a greater revelation of who we are in Him.

Discussion on the definition of Success and the need for a definition

We have decided not to put anything specific on paper because we have all received by impartation being together and sharing together.

Share a covenantal meal together tonight

Break for Dinner.

(Prayer) God empty us and give us what is on your heart.

God has called us to be frontrunners and pioneers

ECONOMY Oikos- household & Nomia-rule or process of law

Trust- all economies are based on trust

God’s Economy is Relational- not law or rules

Love- Not superficial friendships based on contact, connections or positions

Need to base it on- Fear of the Lord- Trust what each will share

Father releases us as a son in the house. Money has been arriving not as a form or system but from love and relationships. This is the Father’s House he will encourage & supply. We need to know the character and the nature of the Father.

(Prayer for repentance and intercession) brokenness

Lots of pain in this room- problem of our own misplaced trust

(Prayer for misplaced trust in men and mammon)

There is a principality that wants us to rule in our hearts- We need to declare that this spirit will not rule- Western world – gods of Ruling & Power- name of the beast is Self

 Man’s idea- Because mans nature is what it is we need to establish government to control human nature. Church has same problem if we need to establish structure to control self- Jesus’ plan is to surrender and crucify the flesh by the power of the Spirit.

It has all been done for us- A New Creation is on the earth and it doesn’t have financial problems. We have died and our life is hidden in Him. His presence is always with us. You cannot God and mammon. Mammon is bigger than money!

(Prayer for thankfulness for His Sonship) WE are His instruments for changing the atmosphere. Thank you for our daily death. We speak deliverance over these spirits. (Individual prayer for a brother confessing his sin of finding security in mammon)

(Prayer began again for our maturity. Help us leave the former things)

I am honored to be here as a woman. Women know what it means to be broken and poured out. My husband encouraged me to be free in the Lord. Listen to women. Our children have suffered. I am not into process I am into people and love of God’s family.

Thank God for ministry of the Spirit beyond dialogue.

God wants us to simply return (corrective) to loving His people more than process no matter how pure or doctrinal that is.

God is moving us forward in maturity- We have to move on from adolescence. We must learn to walk in our inheritance. We all need a spiritual bar-mitzvah!

Sons are male and female- We need to accept our responsibility for dominating women.

(Prayer asking forgiveness, not accepting their counsel, they are the crown of your creation. Increase your Glory in your Bride. Restore a healthy motherhood. Fill us for your Agape love. So that sons can be accurately restored. Forgive us as fathers and husbands for being children and violating your order.

(Prayer of restoration for a brother to be healed in his family relationships)

We need to repent as ministry leaders for seeing business leaders as our cash cows.

(Prayer for repentance for holding wrong viewpoints when we see those (businessmen) as cash cows who will finance our vision.) We declare this to be sin and we repent!

(Prayer-We have misrepresented fatherhood and we have misrepresented His nature and character.) We repent for all the damage that has been done through males in all preceding generations. Restore us as true representatives of you our Father. Forgive us for mishandling your children.

We have a bad attitude against everything that represents non organic institutionalism. The spirit of denominationalism is alive and well in many living rooms. Pray that our love would be gentle and kind. We all were here before. Forgive us for our stinking thinking.  Give us a right spirit towards those among the spectrum of maturity.

We have been in denial of the fatherhood of God are present among us in His body. This is not let’s make a deal, multilevel marketing or “ministerial covering and government”

Basis of original sin was an accusation against Father’s goodness. Father put a son on the earth in dominion. First murder is brother to brother concerning worship. How to access the Father is the basis of the first murder.

To everything that is real and true, there will always be counterfeits and perversions. That because we are a person of wealth I have some kind of success is a fallacy. We need to measure the results eternally not carnally.

We have really been dealing with the root and heart issues. We are focused on abiding instead of trying to produce something.

Re-establishing what is Father The love of mammon is a counterfeit. We need to be delivered to the love and provision of the Father. We need to break the orphan culture- We do these things because we don’t know the Father. We must make a decision before we can go any further.

This is sharing life!

Break for lunch!

We shared a meal together followed by an opportunity for each participant (20+ brothers & 3 sisters) to share if the wanted what is the passion of their hearts. Here is some of the things said;

I want to encounter placement, transformation and fulfillment in his Body

I want o enjoy the journey

I want to show them who found me.

I want to articulate the heart and mind of Christ & to increase the Kingdom on the earth

I want to see each member of the Body equally valued

I want to bring hope to the next generation

I want to see a unified expression of the Body of Christ

I want to experience intimacy with Jesus- Be a Light so people are drawn to Him

Then we had a dialogue on our expectations and what we felt from the Lord

Some of the comments;

Many shared that they had come to this summit empty of notes like if God had said I just want you to come to listen to what I am going to say through my Body.

God wants to speak collectively to a mixed set of needs

This is a Kairos moment for all in attendance and for the body of Christ

Our financial lack is related to God’s refinement and His provision is related to His will.

There is an appeal from Heaven. Who will be an instrument of His passion?

I had a sense that we were repairers of the breach. There is a price to pay for the proclamation of the truth.

We agreed that removing the division between the secular and the sacred is necessary to reach the marketplace.

There is a sense that there are too many answers as if order brings life which it does not. LIFE brings ORDER

We need to return to the core values more than well –informed mechanics

We need to learn the hard work of resting in God. He has a plan and He is building His Church.

We dismissed to rest as many had traveled from Australia, England

It is interesting to note in the following verses that The Lord compares sexual sins to greed. Both are considered to be Idolatry because they replace the Lordship of Christ in our Life.

Eph 5:3-5
3 Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God’s people. 4 Obscene stories, foolish talk, and coarse jokes—these are not for you. Instead, let there be thankfulness to God. 5 You can be sure that no immoral, impure, or greedy person will inherit the Kingdom of Christ and of God. For a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world.

Greed always wants more. The flesh is never satisfied so we buy more and build bigger. How much is enough? What is enough for a person whom God has blessed with wealth? Where do we draw the line?

Many gladly tithe as long as God leaves them alone to spend the rest. Many give but cannot release the use of the funds biblically at the feet of the apostles. Its hard to part a greedy person from “His” money because he believes he earned it because of his wise decisions and hard work. The truth is that God has graced us to make money and to Him all of it belongs.

Maybe we should change our question to Lord how much of your money should I keep for my needs? Are you in His  Kingdom?

NO greedy person will inherit the Kingdom of Christ and of God!

The Greek word for the KJV, “household,” is oikonomia. Literally, it means the rule, or law, or order of the family/household: “How the family is run.” It is also exactly the same word which we derive the English word “economy.”

God’s economy is based on the exchange of love and charis (gifts) in a family of relationships. It is not based upon money. Without functional relationships in which love and charis are exchanged, there is no kingdom economy, nor can there be.

In God’s economy, finances and material resources follow upon the exchange of love and charis.  Gift exchange in the family is the economy of God.  It is possible to have lots of finance and never touch God’s economy because the genuine relational infrastructure of love and gift exchange is absent. Rather, in its place are the mechanics of money and the strong arm of human determination to build something for God, even using “biblical principles of finance.”

The flow of finance is the logical fruit of an economy based on the exchange of love and charis. A lack of finance for legitimate kingdom efforts is not a lack of money. It is the fruit of a lack of love, and a lack of the understanding of the financial responsibilities of “one-anotherness” in a functional relational community. Love expressed has an economic element.

There are those today who think that a more “faithful” approach to the “stewardship” of money and finance, if overseen by “governmental apostles,” is somehow the magic key of the hour to open up untold kingdom opportunities in the present day. God’s economy is much more sublime than the “release of marketplace ministries,” as valuable as that may be. I submit to you that Calvary’s plow must go yet much deeper than that if we are to even approach a semblance of a  “kingdom economy.”

Everything . . . and I mean every practice, belief system, theology, value . . . every precious “conviction,” up to and including our right to be “right” in our views, must be on the table for radical reassessment and reconfiguration to Christ.

If we get the cart of spiritual money mechanics ahead of the horse of loved-based family economy, we will experience the logical end of that order of things: NOTHING.

Copyright 2011 Dr. Stephen R. Crosby www.drstevecrosby.wordpress.com

The Father is speaking to his people on these subjects lately with such incredible clarity and revelation. How I wish this information had been made available to me 25 years ago as I was contemplating going in the ministry. My heart was sincere, I had a love for His people but I was sincerely wrong. I put on the trappings of organized religion with such ease and never questioned if I was doing things right or not. Some days I felt uneasy about what we did  and how we used the Lord’s provision but but hey that is what everyone does and I would dismiss my feelings. Not anymore! After watching the spiritual “train wrecks” and experiencing the pain associated with doubting the Lord’s provision I can no longer remain with the status-quo. Thank you Father for you patience and long suffering towards us in these areas! Let change begin  and let it begin in me!