How Can You Make This World a Better Place? Something Different to Consider…

I was ordained into the Christian ministry as a deacon in 2001, and later as a minister in 2011. I have served God as a leader in the church, my family, the workplace, a multi-book author, in other countries outside of the USA, and in various social organizations for 21 years. During this time, for 10 years, particularly as an Associate and Senior Pastor in the local church, I’ve watched in sorrow how much our nation has deteriorated morally, professionally, spiritually, and within the family unit.

I am now a retired after 34 years with the federal government as a mid-level and senior-level leader. About two years ago, I founded, and serve as CEO, The Johnson Leadership Group LLC. During this short timeframe, the company has grown exponentially through the leadership development training and professional coaching services that we facilitate for state and local governments, corporations, churches, other non-profits and academia. Our sole and primary purpose is to train, coach, mentor and teach the current and next generation of leaders. What’s unique, though, about The Johnson Leadership Group LLC, is that my vision to take the gospel message into the multiple workplaces, where the majority of American citizens interact with one another daily. In doing so, we stand on the following three Scriptures: (1) 2 Corinthians 3:2-4 - be a living epistle…, (2) Proverbs 3:5-6 - Trust in the Lord with all your heart…, and (3) Matthew 7:12 – The Golden Rule. 

Prior to my decision to focus on the development of future leaders as my life’s mission, I sought other avenues unsuccessfully over the years:

·        I tried residential real estate investing in my 20’s and 30’s. I followed the advice of the older and more seasoned mentors who taught me how to succeed in this field of buying distressed homes, flipping them and making a huge profit. Within a short timeframe, I learned that these tactics only work when taking advantage of homeowners, so I opted out.

·        Also in my 20’s and 30’s, I played the game called multi-level marketing. Wisdom prevailed when I discovered that I must enter into the game early in order to make any money. What’s more, most people that are introduced to these money making schemes enter much too late to generate any meaningful revenues and usually drop out within a few months.

·        Finally, later in life, I looked into motivational speaking but quickly discovered that 98% of speaking gigs only pay $1,000 or less/speech. That means, two percent of the speakers that are active in the “crabs-in-a-barrel” speaking industry earn over $1,000/speech. I quickly got it out!

In their recent report titled, “The State of the Church 2020,” a year-long project exploring the current challenges and opportunities facing the Church, Barna Research reveals that of the ~331,029,576 citizens of the USA (77.6% are over age 18 and have jobs), the overwhelming majority do not attend or have membership in a local church. In fact, one-fourth (25%) of Americans do not acknowledge any affiliation with religion at all. They are referred to as the “none’s.” Further, research shows that only ~15% of Americans attend a local church and that’s an embarrassingly low number considering that we claim to be a Christian nation. “I God We Trust” is even engraved on our currency. Barna’s article titled, “Signs of Decline and Hope Among Key Metrics of Faith,” taught us the following:

·        Just one in four Americans is a practicing Christian

·        The share of practicing Christians has nearly dropped in half since 2000

·        Committed churchgoers are now about half as common as they were two decades ago

·        One-third fewer Americans attends church weekly now than in 1993. This trend started after 2012.

In another one of Barna’s articles titled, “Five Trends Defining American’s Relationship to Churches,” we learned:

·        Nearly two in five churchgoers report regularly attending multiple churches

·        Churchgoers are divided on the value of church

·        Churchgoers largely experience – and have come to expect – positive emotions and outcomes by going to church

·        Church membership is still a common practice and is correlated with positive outcomes – but its importance is declining among younger churchgoers (these are our future leaders)

·        The perception of the Church’s relevance to the community is under question – especially among non-Christians.

While practicing Christians firmly believe that Christian churches have a strong community impact, the rest of the U.S. population is not as quick to sing their praises. What happened????

I see evidence everyday that I am on the right track in leading The Johnson Leadership Group LLC. On more than one occasion, I’ve witnessed men and women weep publicly, during classes, as they discuss what they’ve learned and how they will apply the new leadership principles and strategies that were taught. It’s the result of their change of heart and new way of thinking. They have a renewed focus on how to lead their people and create an environment that is conducive to high performance and improved productivity because they learn about all:

·        Empathy.

·        Effective communication,

·        Compassion, and

·        Care for others.

These core behaviors, attributes, mannerisms and characteristics should be taught in the local church, but most Americans do not attend. A key takeaway is to become relational and not dictatorial in their approach to leadership. Additionally, the Small Business Administration, and other Fortune 500 companies, has provided access to emergency funding during this season of COVID-19 to sustain day-to-day small business operations throughout the USA. This includes the Payroll Protection Program, the Economic Injury Disaster Loan and grants of various amounts. While I did hear about the many miscues and missteps regarding the roll out of these programs, I personally experienced little to no concerns. My business was approved for every source of funding that I applied for except one. The one $10,000 grant request that I did not receive was due to my own error by misreading the instructions and guidelines. The funding has assisted The Johnson Leadership Group LLC in our pursuit to support our clients without a hiccup, while continuing to build the business daily.

How can you make this world a better place? Follow your dreams and work diligently toward your goals. This world needs your gift(s). It’s something different to consider. I am taking my gift(s) and the gospel message where most Americans are – at work.

www.thejohnsonleadershipgroup.com