Setting The Stage

In order to properly set the stage for all that has transpired, I want to go back a few years. It was in 2003 when God first got my attention with the idea of operating our business from an eternal perspective.  It had never crossed my mind before, but this idea penetrated and captured my heart at that moment.  I was hooked!

Since that time, I have attempted to operate our family business in a way that honors God and points others to Him (adding silhouettes!).  Since 2011, I have documented here many of the bumps and bruises we have experienced along the way, but I have had the opportunity to share some incredible victories as well!  God has done much work in and through our business over these last 15 years.

A New Desire

Over the most recent few years, a desire has begun to grow inside of me.  This desire is to show other business owners and leaders how to do the same thing in their businesses.  This blog has been part of that journey, but the desire has grown beyond even this medium.

During this time, I have found myself searching out and volunteering for speaking and teaching engagements.  I have started writing short ebooks.  I have seized opportunities to coach and mentor other business leaders, both younger and older.  Whenever I had the chance to speak into the life of another business leader, I took it!

From Adding To Multiplying

My passion has moved from “adding silhouettes” (souls impacted for eternity) to multiplying them.  God has put this fire in me and I have done everything I could find to do that would quench this desire.  If left unchecked, I would have been fine with continuing on this same path for years to come.

God had different plans.

I received a call back in October.  A friend on the other end of the call asked if I would be willing to listen to an opportunity he felt God was leading him to share with me.  In case you missed my last post, it was that experience that has caused me to always listen to discern if God is speaking.  I told my friend I would hear him out.

The short version of this opportunity is that my friend was working with a non-profit ministry that was looking for a CEO.  The ministry is called His Way At Work and its mission is to inspire and help business owners put God at the center of their workplace and care for people as He does – all to create eternal value!  The more I listened to him describe the mission, the more excited I got.

The Decision Process

Over the following months, my wife and I fasted and prayed like never before.  Our prayer was that God would make it more than clear to us that He was in this.  For us to be willing to sell everything, leave our extended families, and walk away from the family business, we had to remove ALL doubts.  If not, we wanted no part of it.

At each step in the process, God went overboard and showed us that He was driving.  He could not have been more convincing without sending Gabriel to tell us!  At some point later, I may describe all that happened, but for now, just know God overcame our doubts.  He convinced us He was leading us to leave the comforts of our current lives to follow Him on this new path.

New Future

We said “Yes” to the offer to come on board with His Way At Work and we are now in the process of moving our family to Spartanburg, South Carolina where the ministry is headquartered.

It is now the beginning of February and I have been on the job for two weeks!  I am still transitioning out of my position with the family auto business, so I have not yet been able to fully engage in the work.  Even so, I am loving all that I am seeing!  This new role is definitely a good fit for me and I am excited to charge into it with all of my energy!

What About The Blog?

There is one question that I want to address before I close.  What will happen to Christian Faith At Work – will it continue?

The answer…I am not sure!  In some way, I plan to integrate this blog into my efforts at His Way At Work.  I just do not yet have clarity on how that will look.  If you have any thoughts or ideas on this, I welcome your feedback!  I will stay in touch and keep you updated on what is transpiring.

Thank you for your support!

Photo by AndreyPopov / iStock

Not One Size Fits All

First, I want to make sure to tell you that the following ideas will not necessarily apply to every situation like this. In some cases, you may need to get out of your situation. In other cases, God may have you exactly where He wants you. It is these latter situations that I want to address today.

You need to be in prayer about your particular circumstances and allow God to direct your actions. At the same time, I think there is a lot we can learn from God’s word and then apply to situations like this.

David As Example

One story that I believe is full of lessons for a Christian in a difficult employment situation is the story of David. For a Christian that is under the authority of a non-believer, someone who does not share (or is even opposed to) their beliefs, the relationship between David and Saul can serve as an example on how to think and behave.

If you want to get the full effect of the story, you can read 1 Samuel (all 31 chapters) in its entirety. However, for the sake of time, we are only going to focus on 1 Samuel 24:1-7.

In this passage, Saul has hunted David in order to kill him. David has an opportunity to kill Saul instead, but chooses not to do so. He then goes on to tell Saul how he passed on the chance, honoring Saul’s God-given authority instead.

Do Not Apply Literally!

Clearly, I am not saying that you will be in a work situation where your non-believer employer is trying to kill you! Do not try to take this story and literally apply the details to your situation. Simply look at this story from 10,000 feet.

David has been anointed king by Samuel, but is “in waiting” until God removes Saul from the throne and places David on it. In fact, David was anointed at what was likely in the middle of his teenage years. He would not actually be crowned as king until he was 30 years old.

While David knew he was to be king after Saul, he did not take action on that knowledge. Instead, he bided his time and trusted God for the right timing. He continued to honor the authority that God had given Saul. He passed on two opportunities to kill Saul and take the throne by force. He simply allowed God to work His will.

Non-Believer Work Environment

His situation is in many ways similar to yours if you work in an environment that limits or prohibits the open exercise of your faith. You may feel you are in a position where you are wasting time because you cannot openly share your faith with your co-workers.

I am sure David felt something similar as he waited for God to be removed from the throne. However, even though David knew the time was not yet right for that to happen, he did not sit around and do nothing. Instead, he got busy building relationships. He organized and trained a band of misfits that eventually became his most trusted soldiers – his Mighty Men.

Build Bridges?

Can you do something similar? Though you are not able to share your faith with your co-workers in a way that violates your workplace rules, there is nothing that says you cannot be building relationships. These relationships can eventually be the bridges God uses for you to share your faith.

Maybe you feel God wants you to be in charge at some point, but nothing seems to be happening in that direction. Would it make sense to begin building a case against your supervisor to speed up that process?

Trust God’s Reasons

If you follow David’s example, then the answer is “No.” Instead, you need to recognize that God has His reasons for His timing. Trust Him to handle it. Instead of building a case against the supervisor, maybe you should strive to make them look good.

The goal here is to remember that you are working for the Lord, not for men. Do all you do in a way that honors Jesus, regardless of what your “feelings” tell you to do.

God Assigns Authority

We could go on and on with examples, but I think you get the idea. We need to follow David’s example and recognize that no one is in authority unless God has placed them there. We may not like it, but it is not our job to pass judgment on God’s choices for authority.

It is our job to honor God AND the authority He has placed over us (Romans 13:1-2). We then must trust Him to make a change in that authority when it is His timing to do so. Until then, we are to work as if working for our Lord. He will reward us for this – now or later.

Have you felt this way about a non-believer in leadership above you?

What has been your strategy?

How has that worked out for you?

Desire For Victory Is Okay

Sure, we want to win. Most of us have participated in some form of team sports during our lives at one point or another. I am assuming that all of us have wanted to taste victory to some degree. To some, you may not want to win at all costs, but certainly would prefer winning to losing!

Some of us REALLY want to see victory in EVERYTHING! As long as we do not let that desire for victory override our desire to please God, there is nothing at all wrong with it. In fact, I think God places that desire for victory inside of each of us.

Most Stop Here

If you are like most people, this is about as far as your thoughts have gone. You have probably not thought a lot about what victory actually looks like in your life as a whole. If you have, congratulations! You are probably the exception.

For the vast majority, if asked what victory in life means, they would respond with things that the world considers important. Even if we exclude the obviously “non-Christian” answers (money, toys, fame, etc.), we would still likely hear things like the following:

• Good education for my children
• Comfortable retirement for me and my spouse
• Successful career with reputable company
• Solid reputation with everyone, no enemies
• Large attendance at my funeral

Are any of these answers BAD?

I think it depends.

Victory Goals or Results?

I think it depends on whether these were your goals or just the results.

Think about that for a minute. If you sought these examples as your ultimate goals, then that means you placed them above any other priorities. Assuming you are a believer, then it means you placed these goals ahead of your relationship with God. That is not good.

If, on the other hand, your ultimate goals related to your relationship with God and these examples came to you as byproducts, then I do not see a problem with them at all. If that is what God blessed you with at the end of a life submitted to Him, then I would say, “Awesome!”

Ultimate Question

I say all of this to come to one central, and very important question. In fact, I would rank it as one of the most important questions any of us can ask ourselves. This is a question few ask, but all answer in one way or another. Whether you stop and ask this question or not, you will end up answering it. Here it is…

How do you define victory in this life?

It looks like a fairly straightforward and simple question, doesn’t it?

Simple Question, Rarely Asked

It may be a simple question, but it is not one correctly answered by most people. Instead, most people never ask the question at all. They simply accept the definition given to them by the world around them.

Most people allow everyone else to define victory for them. Then they spend the rest of their lives chasing that definition. I think this is sad.

Simple Answer

I think it is sad because there is a simple answer to this question. I think it is sad because the simple answer to defining victory is found in the Bible and chasing this definition brings everyone the fulfillment they so desperately crave.

For the question itself, and the answer, we only need to look at Matthew 22:34-40. Jesus is asked about the greatest commandment of all. Jesus is essentially asked how He defines victory for all of us. Here is His answer…

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Simple and Straightforward

There it is. It is very simple and straightforward. We are to love God, our Creator, with all of our heart, mind, and soul and we are to love our neighbor as ourselves. That is God’s definition of victory for all of us. It does not get any simpler than that.

As a result of this Scripture, there really is no longer a need for us to struggle in defining victory. We have it right there in black and white. All we need to do is chase that definition.

Of course, it may be a simple definition, but it is not that easy, right?

More Questions

Once we accept this definition as the truth, many more questions begin to come to mind.

How exactly does God want me to show Him this love through my life?

How do my individual skills and talents play into this?

How much of this victory depends on me and my efforts?

What happens when I mess up and lose?

I understand. I have the same kinds of questions at times…okay, all of the time! That is not a problem. God likes these questions! When you are asking these questions, it means you are thinking about it! That is exactly what He wants from us. It is so much better than mindlessly accepting the world’s definition of victory.

Over the next several posts, we will be talking a lot more about victory in this life and our roles and responsibilities in seeking it. Stay tuned!

Are you one of the few that has already defined victory in your life?

On what Scripture is your definition based?

If you’ve never thought about it, when will you start?

The focus of this material is also the focus of this blog – God’s call for us to run our businesses as a platform for Christian ministry. Hopefully, after reading this series, you will agree that it is God’s will that we run His businesses as stewards with an eternal perspective. You should also have a better understanding of what this looks like in today’s marketplace.

My Story

As I began teaching the group in India about exactly what marketplace ministry looks like, I thought it would be helpful to start with my own story as an example. Hopefully, through reading about my experience, you will get a better picture of what I mean when I talk about marketplace ministry or Christian business.

As the oldest of three sons, I grew up working in the family’s automobile business. I always expected to eventually take over my father’s business, along with my brothers. About 12 years ago, I was in that very role – running the family business. I was enjoying what I was doing and could easily see it being my lifelong career.

My Awakening

That is precisely when I had a spiritual awakening. Through Bible study and prayer, I began to realize that I was only giving God 1.5 days a week. I was spending the rest of my time thinking about business, profit, and family.

Convicted, I went to my father and explained that I wanted to leave the family business to pursue work that would allow me to give God more of my time in actively living out my faith.

My Desires

I sincerely wanted to bring others to know Jesus, help others in need, teach what I was learning in my Bible studies, and to generally be a great disciple of Jesus. I just felt like I could not accomplish that while giving so much time to the business. So I began praying about how God would establish me in a career that would give me the flexibility to accomplish all He had put in my heart.

His Answer!

The crazy thing? It took nearly two years, but He showed me exactly where I was to accomplish all of this…in the very family business I was trying to give up!

In a brief period of time, God showed me how all of my desires for ministry could be achieved through the business I was already running. I just had to approach this business through His eyes, not the ones I had been using.

My Decision To Stay

I went back to my father and explained my revelation. He fully supported my request to stay in the business and apply this new vision. From that point until now, I have been giving my all to running a Christian business from an eternal perspective. My goal is to accomplish all God laid on my heart, but to do it through our family business.

What IS Marketplace Ministry?

One website defined marketplace ministry as, “The directing of evangelism and other Christian activities toward the secular marketplace.” I think the simplest definition is to be a disciple and witness for Christ in and through your work or business. A similar approach is having the attitude of being a full time minister in the workplace.

In a recent post, one of my readers sent me a comment that said my description of a Christian business sounded just like a description of the daily life of a normal Christian. I told him he was right…taking your faith to work should look exactly like what you do with your faith when you are in church or trying to reach others for Jesus outside of work.

Location is the only difference.

Why Is It Critical?

Folks, there are many reasons why marketplace ministry is critical. First of all, in the secular marketplace, the majority of the people you work with are lost and need Jesus. You will interact with many who will never darken the door of a church. Because they are on their own turf in the marketplace, they are relaxed and not spiritually on guard like they would be if you forced them into a church setting.

Not only are they more comfortable, but due to your relationship with them, you can have more influence on them than your pastor can. They trust you. They feel it is his “job” to push them toward God. With you, it is different in their eyes.

So What?

My prayer is that you recognize where God has placed you in business and what He expects as a result of your efforts there. He is not going to grade you on your business success as the world does. Instead, God is looking for the eternal impact you will have as a Christian business owner or leader.

Commit right now to run your business with an eternal perspective. Commit to making an eternal impact on everyone you meet through your business dealings. Commit that you will no longer attempt to separate your business life from your spiritual life – instead acknowledging they are one and the same!

What is your view of marketplace ministry and Christian business?

Do you see the opportunity for your eternal impact in the marketplace?

Where are you on the path toward marketplace ministry?