The Hope QuotientSample

The central invitation of the Bible is to develop a hope-giving relationship with God. Hope in Him and you won’t be disappointed.

Several years ago, I received a surprising call from Forbes magazine. An editor said they wanted to interview me “because the church you lead has sustained a consistent growth rate for fifteen straight years. Most CEOs would like to have that happen in their companies.” 

Two hours later, the final question they asked was the best. “What’s the most important thing you have learned in the last ten years?”

“That’s easy,” I said. “The most important leadership lesson I’ve learned in the past decade is that the solution to everything is the right person. In a company, on a team, for a church, when the right person arrives and is in charge, everything goes well. And when the wrong person arrives, things do not go well.

“Anything that is not effective is one really great person away from being effective. And the opposite is true. Anything that is in good shape is one wrong person away from falling into decline. In the Bible, when the nation has the right king, the people thrive. When they have the wrong leader, it declines.

“The solution to everything is to have the right person.”

I was able to be emphatic with the interviewer because that one principle is the central message of the entire Bible. The solution to everything is not the right religion. It’s not the right ritual. It is the right person. That person, for your life, is Jesus Christ.

If you have realized that you don’t have the right resources to make hope rise in your life, then I have a final message for you: God wants you to have every spiritual resource you could ever need.

This is the very reason that Jesus Christ came to this earth. The solution to those needs is not religion or ritual, but a relationship with Jesus Christ. Jesus came to earth because He wanted to have a relationship with you. Never forget that, embrace Jesus, and your hopes will soar.