5 Often-Overlooked Truths for Christian Business Leaders

Christian business

The days get faster and faster.. Deadlines and headaches rush at us at a high rate of speed. We do well just to survive to fight another day, right? It is in this kind of environment that Christian business owners or leaders can get so busy and we forget some key truths about our ministry. Hopefully, this post will remind you of some ideas you need to revisit.

Christian Business Leader Truths

1. You must live by example and to a higher standard.

As the owner or leader of a Christian business, you are the example to follow, whether you like it or not. You are the head of the business and your employees are going to look to you for the example. What do they see?

Are You Willing To Walk Away?

I love movies. One of my favorites is the movie Heat, with Robert Deniro and Al Pacino. Likely my favorite scene in that movie is the coffee shop scene. During this scene, Deniro, a bank robber, is talking face to face with Pacino, a cop. During this conversation, Deniro shares advice he once received about being willing to walk away from anything.

walk away

Don’t let yourself get attached to anything you are not willing to walk out on in 30 seconds flat if you feel the heat around the corner.

While Deniro is referring to “heat” in the sense of law enforcement catching up to him and his crime-filled lifestyle, I think we can apply this same advice to our own lives and even our businesses.

Does God Only Speak Through The Bible?

I recently posted about my quiet time process and how it occasionally needs an overhaul. I listed the materials I am currently using in this process. I also included a timer that helps me stay on track. I got some good feedback from that post, but I had one reader question the materials I listed in that post.

bible

Is The Bible Our Only Source?

Her approach was very professional and considerate. She simply stated that she feels the Bible is the best and only proper component for use in a quiet time for building one’s relationship with God through Christ. She made some very good points about the potential for mistakes or false teaching in materials produced by man. She posed an excellent argument and never got personal or rude.

Employee decisions: Rigorous or Ruthless?

As Christian business owners and leaders, we are usually very involved in employee decisions on a consistent basis. In fact, that part of our job can absorb a majority of our time. Our ability to handle these employee decisions well can also be one of the biggest influences on the success of our company, as well as the ministry we desire.

employee decisions

Ruthless vs. Rigorous Employee Decisions

Assuming this is true, then it is clear that we must devote time to learning how to best handle these employee decisions. While we all agree that issues concerning people often account for the majority of the time and energy we spend in our jobs, many Christian business owners fail to spend much time thinking about their approach to this important subject.

Do You Need A Quiet Time Fixer Upper?

Have you come to a place where you have lost your passion for what you do? Maybe you are in a rut or just burned out. Maybe you are just not that “into” the purpose you once felt. It could even be that business going better than ever, but you just don’t “feel it” anymore. I have a couple of ideas that might just help you regain your passion for your God-given purpose!

quiet time

Forgetting Their First Love

In my last two posts, I have referred to a passage in Revelation where Jesus chastised the Christians at Ephesus for forgetting their first love. He praised them for some of their good works, but He called them out for their wrong motives. In drifting from their relationship with Jesus, they abandoned their first love.

Do You Remember Your First Love?

When I say, “First Love”, what is the first thing to come to mind? If you are like most people, your mind goes back to high school and that first love or first kiss. For others, a certain type of food comes to mind! There are even those who think of their first car! Whatever the case, almost everyone has some clear association with the phrase “First Love”.

first love

First Love Forgotten

In my last post, I talked about how I had read a passage from Revelation that resonated with me – up to a point. Jesus was praising the church at Ephesus for their works, labor, and endurance.

But then He turned and criticized them severely for forgetting their first love (Him!). Evidently, this church was doing good works, but their motives were out of whack. As I began to assess my own motives, I realized there was definitely room for improvement!

7 Steps To Prevent Dangerous Hiring Practices

With all of the recent news about mass shootings, have you ever stopped to think about how you would respond if you had advance notice of a similar pending tragedy and had the time to avert it? Would you step in and prevent the crisis? What if this exact same danger is coming from your hiring practices?

hiring practices

Proverbs & Business Practices!

I have been going back through the book of Proverbs with my “business glasses” on. I have been looking for business truths that we can apply to our business. If you have never done this, I strongly recommend that you try it. If you would rather let someone else do that and tell you about it, then keep reading!

Should A Christian Business Terminate Employees?

In a previous post, 10 Pitfalls To Running A Christian Business, I included the fact that “People think a Christian business does not terminate people” as one of the pitfalls. What do you think? Should a business that professes to be run according to Christian principles terminate employees?

terminate

Is It Wrong To Terminate?

Many people associate Christianity with always being nice and kind, turning the other cheek, and overall just being weak. Or they believe that a Christian should never “wrong” anyone else…and they consider any sort of termination to be wronging the employee. The problem is that this does not match up with what the Bible teaches.

What is Christian Ministry?

Christian ministry

Have you heard anyone say, “I think I am going to quit my job and go into the ministry!” Have you ever heard a pastor talk about so-and-so that left the business world to go into full-time ministry? Has anyone ever told you that you should not be in business, but should be in full-time Christian ministry?

“The” Christian Ministry

So, what is all the fuss over “the” ministry? What exactly do you have to do to qualify for Christian ministry? What exactly is full-time ministry? Is it something you must be called to do?

Who Do You Teach First?

Assume for a moment that you only have enough tuition money to engage a teacher for yourself OR for your children. What do you do? If you are a Christian business leader, this same question could apply to you OR your employees. Who do you teach first?

teach

Teach Yourself First

In his book, Thou Shall Prosper: Ten Commandments for Making Money, Rabbi Daniel Lapin refers to Deuteronomy 11:19 to give us the answer.