Category: Blog

— by Henry Kaestner

Editors’ note: This was adapted from Faith Driven Entrepreneur: What It Takes to Step Into Your Purpose and Pursue Your God-Given Call to Create by Henry Kaestner, J. D. Greear, and Chip Ingram. Copyright © 2021. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries. All rights reserved.

Sharing our faith is important. Obviously. In His last words on earth, Jesus gave His followers what is now known as the Great Commission:

Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. (Matthew 28:19-20)

The question is, how? You may have heard a quote that is often misattributed to St. Francis of Assissi that says, “Preach the Gospel at all times. When necessary, use words.”

My struggle with this quote is that it creates an unnecessary hierarchy between preaching by action and preaching by word. We could go back and forth on this forever, but why not both? The love of Christ can be seen in the way His followers live their lives, but we shouldn’t stop there. Our words should absolutely back up our actions. 

There are opportunities to do this everywhere. David knew this.

I will give you thanks in the great assembly; among the throngs I will praise you. (Psalm 35:18)

Imagine what it would look like to praise God everywhere we went. Now, this idea may conjure a strange image of a man walking around the office with his hands raised singing worship songs, but that’s not what I’m saying.

I’m saying every place and every person is an opportunity to share the good news of what Christ has done in our lives. This perspective changes the way we live our lives. Think of how different your life might look if you sprinkled truth throughout every conversation you had during the day.

When we read this verse from David, things like “the great assembly” and “the throngs” don’t necessarily sound familiar. The thing is, we do have those. They just look different. We have an office space. We have co-workers gathered together for lunch. We have meetings with investors. We have conversations with customers. God can be praised in both our words and actions in those moments.

My point is evangelism is a vocal activity, and every single place you go and every person you encounter is presenting you with an opportunity to praise God by living and loving in a way that draws others to Him. And if entrepreneurs are good at anything, it’s seizing opportunities.

But if you feel nervous, uncertain, or awkward, I get it. That’s why I want to walk you through how you can share your personal testimony, what it looks like to be winsome, and why prayer is the linchpin of your ministry.

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Simon Sinek has a powerful TedTalk titled “How Great Leaders Inspire Action.” And in it, he talks about the importance of “why.” He uses Apple, Martin Luther King Jr, and the Wright brothers as examples of what can happen when we are in touch with our core motivations for living and doing what we do.

He shares how almost everyone knows what they do, many people know how they do it, but few know or even acknowledge why they do it. He asks the audience to consider their purpose, their cause, their reason for existence.

In business, the “why” behind what you do is crucial. Entrepreneurs especially know this. You’re not going to get out of bed every morning and enter the risky start-up world if you don’t have a strong motivation for why you’re doing this in the first place.

The same is true when it comes to integrating our faith and our work. We may know the why behind our business, but do we know the why behind our lives? This question is reminiscent of the famous Socrates quote, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Well, you, the Faith Driven Entrepreneur, don’t have to worry about this quote. You’ve examined your life, you’ve surrendered to God, you know the reason for which you live—namely, to glorify Him.

Yet, for some reason, “God’s will” for our lives remains this mysteriously indiscernible thing that no one ever quite understands or figures out. We all want to know what God’s plan is for our lives. But this isn’t the right question. We’re focusing on the “what” instead of the “why.” We can find some clarity in Proverbs:

Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and He will establish your plans. (Proverbs 16:3)

Notice that this verse says to commit “whatever you do.” It doesn’t say “figure out exactly what God would have you do and then do that for His glory”—although that may be today’s common wisdom. It says commit whatever you do to God. That’s your why.

The what of your business is less important than the why. And the why is so that God would be glorified in all of it.

Maybe it took you a long time to start your business because you weren’t sure if it was God will. Well, regardless of how you came to discern what God’s will actually is, you can now live in the fact that God’s will is for you to glorify Him in whatever you do. Period.

And the way in which you got there is a journey. It’s your personal testimony. This is what you can share with others. It’s the simplest, most effective way to share the Gospel. 

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Redeemer’s Center for Faith and Work conducted a survey of working believers from around the country and found that only 6% had shared their faith at work. 6%!

It seems that while there is plenty of conversation around faith and work, there aren’t many people talking about faith at work. Thankfully, Peter gives us three tips in one verse that will help us better share our faith at our jobs.

Always be willing to share the reason for the hope that you have with gentleness and respect. (1 Peter 3:15)

Always be willing

Notice this doesn’t say always be sharing or always be talking about your faith. It just says always be willing. Sometimes, sharing your faith doesn’t fit in a sales meeting. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be prepared to talk about Jesus if the conversation allows it. Find the balance between forcing a faith conversation and letting it organically occur. Always be ready and always be praying for opportunities.

The hope that you have

What God has done in your life is not up for debate. We often tend to view conversations about faith as chances to convince someone or argue someone into a relationship with God. But that’s not really how it works, right? We can never go wrong with simply talking about what God has done in our life. We are all broken people who need Jesus. Or, as a famous theologian once said, “Christianity is just one beggar telling another beggar where he found food.” The most conversational and relatable thing we can share is why we believe and why we have hope.

Gentleness and respect

Gentleness and respect are the results of healthy relationship building. People are always more receptive to information when it’s coming from someone they know and trust. Which means more, movie recommendations from strangers or from friends? It’s the same with faith! Establish relationships with your employees and co-workers that are built on gentleness and respect and let the conversations flow from there.

We don’t need to corner our employees during their lunch break to share a sermon with them, nor do we need to walk through the Roman Road with every customer we encounter. But we do need to be ready and willing to share. Paul gave Timothy the same instruction.

Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage–with great patience and careful instruction. (2 Timothy 4:2)

I understand that this isn’t always easy. But you aren’t in it alone. When in doubt, you can always turn to prayer.

Raising funds. It can be every entrepreneur’s greatest nightmare. Steady climb after steady climb to the top of Venture Capital mountain, only to walk back with your head down after each rejection. It’s not easy. In fact, this is the easiest stage of the journey to toss out the elevator pitch and quit.

When we first began fundraising for Bandwidth, we started out going 0 for 40 on pitch meetings. Seriously. People weren’t touching us with a ten foot pole. At the time, we thought that people were prejudiced against our faith. But now, I look back and see that, no, in reality, we were forcing our will over God’s. We weren’t seeking Him first—we weren’t seeking Him at all—and instead we focused on doing what we wanted to do.

Now, we would pray before walking into every meeting, But we prayed for success. We prayed that we would walk out of those investor meetings with a certain amount of capital. But we never prayed whether we should be raising money to begin with.

When I read Matthew 6:33 today, a specific word sticks out.

But seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Matthew 6:33)

Faith Driven Entrepreneurs are great at seeking after God, but seeking after Him first is a huge distinction. And when it comes to sharing our faith at work, when we’re ministering in word, seeking God first changes the entire way we do this.

Because when we’re praying for God to show us opportunities, to provide the right words for us to say, He will. But when we’re trying to find ways to force our own evangelism strategy into conversations where they don’t fit, we’re being willful, not faithful.

Ministering in word means being able to pray for someone in Jesus’ name. It doesn’t stop at praying for ourselves. It’s seeking God first and foremost in any conversation. When someone shares a struggle or a worry with you, the first thing you can then do is ask if you can take that problem to God.

And when we pray, we’re communing with the living God. We’re talking to God. And when you pray with somebody else present, you’re inviting them into that very sacred communication you’re having with God. They’re now witnessing the power of God.

When you pray for someone, you’re inviting them to experience God for themselves. And after you pray, you can look at someone who may have zero experience with God and say, “What I just did, you can do any time you want. You might think I’m crazy, you might think I’m talking into the air, but I believe in a God who loves me and listens to me. And He’s there for you too.”

Think about how incredibly beautiful and powerful that moment can be. Asking someone, “Is it alright if I pray for you?” is such a simple question, but it’s the type of moment that God can use to open their eyes to see Him.

And that’s what ministering in word is all about. We’re not trying to be incredible orators and apologists. We’re just inviting people to see God with their own eyes. Ultimately, we’re incapable of doing that for them—that’s the work of the Holy Spirit.

But God is eager to use us, eager to take our words and to transform them into something truly powerful and life-changing. We just have to start by opening our mouths.

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The thoughts and passages given above are true and have proven true to me over the years.  The Word of God is an anchor to the mind, heart and soul of the believer.  His Word is also a comfort and guide and the clearest revelation He has given us of Himself, His Son, His Spirit and His purposes.

I’ve found through the years the great benefit that comes from regularly reading through the entire Bible.  This practice pushes me away from familiar passages that I like most or most easily understand and focuses me on aspects of God and His purposes that don’t fit at all with modern sensitivities and sensibilities.  The creation story, the conquest of the Promised Land, the book of Job and the many descriptions of God’s wrath in the prophetic narratives are just a few of these.

And the perplexing and wonderful thing is that in these descriptions of God and His purposes, the “difficult” parts are not explained away, apologized for or redacted—though all must be measured and understood by the whole of Scripture.  God through Isaiah in Isaiah 40:9 commands God’s people to “Behold Your God!”  It will not do for us to behold only certain aspects of God.  We must learn to behold Him as fully as the Scriptures puts Him forward, including the comforting parts and the troubling parts.  As I’ve wrestled to understand God as He is revealed in all of Scripture, I’ve come to see the truth of Isaiah 55:8-9, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”  God’s revelation of Himself to us in the Word isn’t an adapting of Himself to us, it is rather a revelation of who He is that includes a call for me to repent, believe and follow, by the work of the Holy Spirit.

Once while addressing a crowd Jesus asked them what they went out to see when they went out to see John the Baptist.  He suggests that they went out to see a prophet but that in John they saw a man who was much more than just a prophet.  A similar question is appropriate to us every time we read God’s Word—“What are we expecting to see?”  However we reply to that question, as we read through all of God’s Word, we come to realize that God and His purposes are much more than we imagined.  This is the God we behold, these are His purposes and promises to which He calls us.  It is all much more than we in this life will ever get our heads around.  And it blows apart our modern sensitivities and sensibilities.

As a Christian leader I must remember that to represent God well in my spheres of influence, I must humbly go to the Word again and again and learn more and more about God, His purposes and promises.  I must read all that it says about Him.  Though I’ve done so consistently for nearly 50 years, there is still more for me to learn, to believe and to follow.  For I know it is true that the most trustworthy and God-honoring leaders are those who through years have been shaped by God through His Word.

The revelation of God in the Bible shows me that He is my Father, His Son is my savior, brother and friend and His Spirit is my guide, sanctifier and comforter.  And it tells me a whole lot more than that.  As Moses told the Israelites, the Word is not an empty word for me, it is rather my very life.

Take it to the Lord

Read through this meditation again, asking God to open your eyes, mind, heart and soul to His message for you today.

As He speaks to you, listen.  Ask Him to guide you as to what you should do with what He says and for the grace to do so.

End your time with some form of worship – prayer, praise, thanksgiving or surrender.

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— by Stephen Graves

300 feet. 2 seconds.

These numbers may not mean much to you, but if you were a pilot sitting on the deck of an aircraft carrier, they would mean a great deal.

300 feet. That’s the entire length of a runway in front of you. That’s all the distance available to take your plane from a dead stop to airborne, to gain enough speed and achieve enough lift to a safe takeoff. And it all has to happen in 2 seconds.

That’s less time than it takes to do nearly everything else in our lives. It’s less time than we spend pouring our morning coffee, buckling our seatbelt, or kissing our kids goodbye. It’s quite nearly the blink of an eye, but on an aircraft carrier, it’s all the time you’ve got.

In most situations and under most circumstances, these parameters would be ridiculous and the task would be impossible. Take any pilot to a football field and tell him he’s got two seconds to clear the uprights, and he’ll laugh you off the field. But aircraft carriers are designed for this very function—to launch planes. They aren’t built for speed, or for hauling cargo, or even for fighting. Their massive decks and elaborate catapult systems are specifically built to do one thing very well—propel a plane from zero to 170 miles per hour in a short time over a short distance. They are giant floating launch pads, overwhelming in size, yet beautiful in their simplicity and singleness of purpose.

Launching Our Children

This image of planes hurtling down a carrier’s swaying deck and launching into the open sky is precisely what graduation is all about. When the plane drops off the end of the carrier, with only 60 feet between the sky and the ocean, it all comes down to training and thermodynamics.

Springtime always signals a launch of high schoolers and collegians gassing up their planes and heading to the end of the carrier. Classes wind down, resumes get polished, and parents grapple with a new reality.

After years of car-pooling, chasing them all over the region watching their games and shows, and making their favorite dessert, it is time to let them go. The direct parental tutorials are going to shift to a new model. It is time to let them fly the plane.

The first child to launch carries a particular set of challenges—and so does the last child to launch. And now that I think of it, any child in the middle actually carries certain unique headwinds too.

Five Great Moves

I have written a short guide to help parents with the process. Included are five things to do and how to do them. Here they are:

Let Go, But Don’t Disconnect.
Inject Mighty Vision into their Soul.
Trust Yourself. Trust Them. Trust God.
It’s Time To Celebrate.
Double Down on Your Future.

This article was originally posted here by Steve Graves

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— by Justin Forman

I’m not a huge Marvel movie fan. 

But I’m also the dad of three. 

So you won’t be surprised to hear that more than a few times I find myself walking into a multiplex movie theater—tub of popcorn in my hands—willing to enjoy a little nostalgia with our 13 year old son.

Not too long ago, we weren’t too deep into our popcorn when I rediscovered a common plot line… 

Sound familiar? 

I’m not going to equate an entrepreneur to a Marvel action hero. But then again at the rate Elon Musk is sending things into space, it seems the gap for some is closing rapidly.

Still, when we look at the framework, they’re not altogether different. 

We praise entrepreneurs who try to solve the world’s problems. We praise them for never being satisfied.

It impresses us how they shout from the rooftops, “Bury the status quo in a time capsule.” 

With increasing emotions and visuals, they paint a beautiful picture of why the offerings of today are simply not enough. They call us to visions of a future reality … one where we can see, feel, and explore an existence where things can be better.

And like a superhero, they feel specifically called and uniquely qualified to solve the problem. 

And for years, if not decades, they carry this discontent around with them. Through long nights—50-60 hour weeks and countless personal sacrifices—they live in this superhero space with their teams … customers … partners … vendors … 

Over family gatherings, dinner parties, or debriefs with their spouses, it invariably comes up. Passionately they speak of their big idea. 

Oftentimes those conversations are met with understanding or affirmation. These entrepreneurial champions are hailed as visionaries. And they’re celebrated for their calling to deliver us from the ailments we face in the present day and onto the precipice of a shiny, new future. 

Some pastors have even gone so far as to say in some contexts that this is a “holy discontent”.

So after years of business owners and innovators trying to get people to move towards something better … 

Are we surprised that the greatest struggle of entrepreneurs is often contentment?

I have come to find that like the Marvel action hero, our greatest superpower as we pursue our call to create is also our kryptonite. Our greatest strength is our greatest weakness.

Today is not enough. 

Tomorrow needs to be better. 

The performance of today is not good enough for tomorrow. 

There’s so much more we could and should be doing. 

So the question for us is how can someone be so “in” on a future reality yet fully present where we are? 

Casey Crawford shared this insight recently on the Faith Driven Entrepreneur Podcast: “God hasn’t called me to comfort. He’s called me (as an entrepreneur) to some really dangerous places.”

There’s no mistaking that God has called entrepreneurs to dangerous places.

And the hidden dangers have consumed many along the way—entrepreneurs are 2-3x more likely to struggle with depression, anxiety, and more likely to fall into alcoholism.

Behind it all, I think, a battle of contentment is being waged.

If we’re not mindful, that trained discontent can quickly lead us into striving, working, pushing… trying to get to that future reality so fast that we run away from our understanding of who we are and whose we are.   

We all know the life of an entrepreneur is difficult to compartmentalize. It’s an all-consuming, full-contact sport.

We’ve trained a muscle inside ourselves to run fast and hard.

And yet we need to keep in our hearts and minds fixated on the real truth of our pursuit.

We have been given so much more than we deserve. 

God is more than enough.

One thing is for certain, entrepreneurs who are on this journey cannot go it alone. We need to put to death this idea of the lone wolf.

We need people close enough to help us unmask the sacred and secular tensions of this road less traveled. 

For the past year, we’ve been doing more to support and help. Online and in person. No cost, no catch. From over 88 different countries, we’ve gathered entrepreneurs and investors together. 

They come for the content, but many stay for the community. 

It’s been a gift for Henry, the team, and so many leaders of the movement to see the joy that comes from walking this road with others and to find the allies we need for the journey ahead. We are honored to be connecting the next generation of superhero entrepreneurs. It’s a marvel to witness.

Is it any coincidence that many of the action hero movies we enjoy involve a team…four superheroes teaming up together to fight evil…or Spider-Man from three different multiverses uniting to save the world from chaos? 

Maybe it is. 

But then again, maybe not. 

Maybe there’s something to this idea that each of us has a unique superpower. And that together we’re more powerful than we are trying to go alone. Perhaps we can experience contentment not in settling for what is, but while running with others to an exciting future that is yet to come.

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— by Paul Michalski

” Let every man abide in the calling wherein he is called and his work will be as sacred as the work of the ministry. It is not what a man does that determines whether his work is sacred or secular, it is why he does it. (A.W. Tozer)

The brilliant and famous Tozer asserts that my work can be “as sacred as the work of the ministry”.  Really?  That’s an exciting idea—it suggests my work can be my ministry.

And he says it “is not what a man does” that makes the difference.  I like that, because being a lawyer does not feel intrinsically “sacred”.  But wait, don’t “deeds” matter?  

He also says what does matter is “WHY” I do my job.  That’s certainly confusing. Isn’t it to earn a living?

Tozer’s statement touches on several topics that are important to unpack for a faith-driven leader wanting to understand the intersection between work and faith:

The sacred/secular nature of work.

The relationship between “ministry” and “work” and how they can work together.

The relationship between “deeds” and the “WHY” behind our work.

Mind the Gaps: Understanding the Sacred Nature of Work in God’s Design

In England, riders on the “Tube” (aka the Underground or the subway) are warned to “mind the gap”.  Faith-driven leaders must heed the same warning.  There are three gaps to cross before you can realize Tozer’s vision of “sacred” work as ministry:

“Sunday/Monday” gap: crossed when you understand that what you do Monday-Friday is not disconnected from the faith you practice on Sunday–you should bring your whole self (including your faith) to work or to your business.

“Sacred/Secular” gap: crossed when you understand that your work or business itself has intrinsic value in God’s Kingdom–your work and the way you manage your business is a sacred vocational calling and a form of worship (you have probably heard that the Hebrew word avodah means work, worship and service).  As Tozer says, what matters is the WHY behind your work or business.

“Knowing/Doing” gap: crossed by taking those understandings and implementing change through deeds.  Although Tozer says what you “do” doesn’t matter, he does not mean you don’t need to “do” anything—deeds do matter, but they must come from the right WHY behind your work or business.

It would appear that only a very small slice of Christians have crossed the Sacred/Secular gap. In 2019, I learned that two faith and work organizations conducted surveys to ascertain whether Evangelical Christians understood that all their work was a sacred activity.  

They concluded that only 5-9% of the workers had a Tozer-like understanding of work as a sacred activity and a calling.  Some did not feel their work had anything to do with their faith (stuck behind the Sunday/Monday gap), and others cited only the times they were doing things like attending Bible studies or prayer groups or praying for co-workers (stuck behind the Sacred/Secular gap).

Taking Work Across the Gaps to Ministry

“Work” and “ministry” can be found in various combinations as you cross the three gaps, but I believe only one represents the sacred nature of work envisioned by Tozer.

Specifically, let’s look at three versions of “work” and “ministry”:

Ministry AT Work: work as a platform for ministry.

Ministry THROUGH Work: work as a vehicle for ministry

Ministry OF Work: work as ministry.

Ministry AT Work.  Ministry AT work occurs when a person has crossed the Sunday/Monday gap but may not have crossed the Sacred/Secular gap.  Their ministry activities are deeds done AT their place of work, but they are not activities unique to their work, to their workplace or to workplaces in general.  Work is the secular platform for sacred deeds. Based on the informal surveys described above, this is how “ministry” and “work” come together for 90% of Evangelical Christians.  

Ministry AT work is bringing overtly “faithful” deeds and activities into the workplace.  For example:

Organizing Bible studies, prayer meetings and community service projects.

Wearing or displaying “faith” objects

Hiring a corporate chaplain.

Praying for a co-worker or telling them about your faith.

Being kind to people at work.

Ministry AT work is not bad–it is “good”.  But it is not what Tozer envisioned.  The person’s WHY for their ministry deeds can be different from their WHY for work, because their ministry deeds and work activities are occurring on parallel tracks. The WHY for work may still be to earn money or maximize profit.  The WHY for ministry deeds is probably to evangelize people (directly or indirectly) or to “do good”.

Ministry AT work represents deeds based on what Dallas Willard would call a narrow “Gospel of sin management”.  It is deeds that come from a focus on correct beliefs (evangelism) or correct actions (a social Gospel of helping the underserved).  It is sometimes called a “Two-Part Gospel” because it comes from just the two middle parts of God’s grand four-part narrative (1-Creation, 2-Fall, 3-Redemption through Jesus, 4-Restoration of the Kingdom).

A Two-Part Gospel is “good” but not enough to explain the intrinsic value of work and business in God’s Kingdom.  A Two-Part Gospel makes it hard to see how work (or business) can be “sacred” unless it involves “good” deeds that are explicitly evangelistic or helping the underserved.

Ministry THROUGH Work. 

Ministry THROUGH work is another ministry/work combination often stuck between the Sunday/Monday gap and the Sacred/Secular gap.  While ministry AT work is faith deeds done at the workplace in parallel with work (with work being the platform), ministry THROUGH work is using work and the workplace as the secular vehicle for sacred activities that are unique to a workplace but not about the work itself.  For example:

Including faith expressions in mission/value statements, on a company website, or in or on packaging.

Evangelizing employees, vendors or customers through work activities and materials.

Donating profits or products to faith-based charities.

Like ministry AT work deeds, ministry THROUGH work deeds are “good”, but not what Tozer was talking about.  A WHY of maximizing profit can easily co-exist with ministry THROUGH work, because ministry THROUGH work is not about the work itself—it is about faith deeds that are facilitated by a work vehicle.  Those faith deeds only need a narrow Two-Part Gospel for inspiration.

Ministry OF Work.  I believe what Tozer is describing is ministry OF work.  Work activities are the faith activities because the work itself is treated as sacred.  Ministry OF work requires crossing the Sacred/Secular gap, and that requires understanding a BIGGER Four-Part Gospel of the Kingdom.

By including Creation, a Four-Part Gospel tells WHY we are here, HOW we were made, and WHAT work (and business) and relationships represent in God’s design.  

By including God’s Restoration plan for His Kingdom on earth, a Four-Part Gospel tells the whole story of WHY Jesus redeemed us (beyond salvation), WHAT we are supposed to do after being redeemed and HOW work (and business) is relevant in God’s Kingdom plan.

I am not saying that those engaged in ministry AT work deeds and ministry THROUGH work deeds have not crossed the Sacred/Secular gap—only that those deeds do not require it.

From WHY to Deeds—Crossing the Knowing/Doing Gap

A ministry OF work opens new possibilities for deeds that are part of “work” itself but also constitute “ministry”. (Tozer did not say “deeds” don’t matter—he said that the nature of the work does not matter.)  For example, regardless of the type of work (CEO, banker, lawyer, shopkeeper, plumber, barista), deeds can be wrapped up in HOW you carry out the work and WHO you are while working. 

It is understanding work as God’s creation and gift for living out Imago Dei, the creation mandate in Genesis 1:28 (be fruitful and multiply), and the commandments to love God and love your neighbor through the work itself, through the products and services it creates, and through the wealth it generates. For example:

Working in a way that is sustainable in the broadest sense and treats flourishing of people and creation as the “end” and profit as a “means”.

Working with excellence and integrity.

Working in a way that creates a healthy work culture–treating all people with dignity, prioritizing relationships and cooperation, and valuing and caring for all people touched by the work.

Creating both products that meet needs and provide solutions to the material challenges of human life, and the economic prosperity that makes those products affordable and accessible in a way that cares for all creation.

With ministry OF work, the WHY of ministry deeds aligns with the WHY of work deeds, because the work is the ministry and the ministry is the work.

The overt faith deeds of ministry AT work and ministry THROUGH work are not inconsistent with ministry OF work—they can all be occurring together.  But (unlike ministry AT work and ministry THROUGH work) ministry OF work can’t sustain a work WHY of profit, because a WHY of profit can’t sustain the sacred ministry nature of the work.  Ministry OF work requires that profit be optimized as a means rather than maximized as an end.

The only WHY that can truly sustain work and ministry simultaneously is the only purpose for which we were created—to glorify God.  And we glorify God by loving what God loves.  I believe that is the WHY Tozer had in mind.

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— by Jonathan Reckford

In a recent book club exchange on a divisive social issue, a friend expressed frustration in trying to convince people of her position. She said, “I’ve tried talking to them and explaining how stupid they are, but they just don’t listen so I gave up.” With some humor, I expressed my surprise that her technique had not been effective. I wondered how often someone approaching her that way had been effective in changing her mind on something she cared deeply about. 

This example is far too representative of our world that has become increasingly divided. Sadly, the rhetoric has become extreme. The algorithms that determine what media we consume are designed to generate fury from the right and left, putting fuel on top of the deepening cultural and political dissonance. 

Indeed, our world is in need of a “great reset.” So how do we do better? 

First of all, we start by trying to really understand the other side. Organizational psychologist Adam Grant says when we disagree with others, our instinct is to become preachers and talk about why we are right or prosecutors and tell our foes why they are wrong. 

He adds, “I think when we encounter people who disagree with us on charged issues, it is worth thinking about no matter how passionately I feel about a given issue, I could imagine having grown up in a family or in a country, or in an era, where, because of my experiences and the people that I knew, I might believe different things. That allows me to be open to rethinking my animosity.” 

What if we could have healthy debates in which we first have to clearly articulate the position of the other side? What if we sought common ground—rather than standing our ground? I’m not suggesting we abandon deeply held beliefs or principles. Watching individuals and organizations, I am convinced that people are loved, not coerced, into considering new ideas. For example, many people who did not grow up in the church have been drawn to Jesus because someone cared about them and loved them enough to invite them into a loving faith community. 

The church is too often—and sometimes fairly—viewed as judgmental, angry, and coercive. Our calling, however, is to recognize and love everyone as a child of God. 

Our answers always start with the prayers of a servant heart and a commitment to do what is loving. I have long held that the church has to earn the right to talk to people about the gospel. Serving together to make the world a better place gives us the chance to have those conversations. 

That is one of the primary reasons Habitat for Humanity emphasizes volunteering. Certainly, it is not the most efficient way to build houses, but bringing people together to build homes, communities, and hope is central to our mission. We are committed to the belief that everyone has something to give—and everyone has something to gain—when we work toward a common goal to help another. 

We have discovered that having people from different backgrounds work together to build a home is literally constructive. Our Abraham Builds are a great example. For many years, communities have organized Christians, Jews, and Muslims to come together out of their common faith imperatives to help the poor. As members of the faith groups (all descendants of the biblical Abraham) raise the walls of a home, they build relationships that weave strong bonds of unity and that influence how they see one another. 

That has been Habitat’s strength for more than four decades. Over and over, we hear how Habitat projects have attracted young and old, executives and laborers, blacks and whites, Catholics and Protestants, Hindus and Muslims—even Democrats and Republicans! 

Following the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, we were a part of an extraordinary demonstration of how service can change the narrative. Before the disaster, no Christians were allowed to be in the city of Aceh in Indonesia, which was wiped out by the storm. I traveled there to see our recovery efforts being coordinated by a team that was half Christian and half Muslim. Flying in on a small missionary plane, I was sitting in the cockpit next to the pilot. As we were preparing to land, I looked out the window. For miles, all I could see were the foundations of homes that had been washed away. That is an image that haunts me still. 

A couple of years later, Habitat won an award from the Indonesian government for being one of the two most effective respondents to the tsunami. Aceh was one of the saddest places I have ever been, but some of the comments I heard from many of the families, who were Muslim, were really wonderful. 

They said of Habitat’s work, “We may not share their faith, but we are so glad they are part of our community because they have helped us rebuild, and they have helped us make this a better place.” 

By putting our serving towels over our arms and showing up, God can do amazing things. As Archbishop Desmond Tutu once said of a Habitat build in South Africa, “As the walls go up, so many more invisible walls come down, and new hope is built in the heart of the community.” 

I believe service is key to solving the problems of divisiveness in our world. When we serve, we focus on others rather than ourselves. And when people from different backgrounds serve together, they focus on their shared values and not what separates them. 

During the tragedy of World War II, a generation of young Americans from all backgrounds (albeit racially divided) served together in combat and learned about one another. Following the war, the U.S. saw tremendous strides in building the country’s infrastructure as a result of national service programs. 

If we could reimagine that idea, we could make improvements that would benefit millions. Participants would gain skills that they could transfer into so many areas of their lives, and they would have opportunities to work alongside people whose worlds are very different than their own. Consider the possibilities, the healing experiences that could strengthen communities, the life-changing relationships that could develop, and the networking opportunities that could result. What a positive and productive way to build a shared identity. 

Unlike social media, which can be a rage accelerator that causes people to think that those who disagree are bad people, serving together takes people away from false perceptions and stereotypes and increases the opportunity to see the humanity of the other. 

One of my first experiences after joining Habitat was to travel to India to build homes with President and Mrs. Carter and many other volunteers from around the world. One group of volunteers that I’ve never forgotten gives me hope for the future. It was a group of young people, half from Lahore, Pakistan, and half from Mumbai. They were brought together by the Seeds of Peace program, a nonprofit that trains young people in the leadership skills needed to foster reconciliation and co-existence on a local and a global scale. 

During the partition of India in 1947, when the two independent nations of Pakistan and India were created, violence erupted as millions of people were uprooted from their homeland. Hindus from the new Pakistan were forced to move to India, and Muslims from India moved to Pakistan. Tensions between the two groups has lasted for decades. 

When I met with the students at the end of the week, all they could talk about was what they had in common—how they looked so similar to one another, dressed practically alike, and spoke a common language. They experienced firsthand that what they shared was so much more important than the differences they had been taught their whole lives. 

Perhaps our way out of name calling, accusations, and attacking one another is to roll up our sleeves and find ways to serve together. 

Then, we have to do the hard work of organizing our lives. Cities, by necessity, were once characterized as mixed-use and mixed-income communities because everyone needed to be close to work. In the past 100 years, we changed housing patterns, and as a result, postal 

codes began to determine destinies. In the small college town where I grew up, I went to school with the full diversity of the town. Similarly, our church included professors and doctors and also blue collar service workers. Now, only wealthy people can live in that town, and even university professors cannot afford housing. The area, like many others, is becoming increasingly economically segregated. 

What if we intentionally sought to return to neighborhoods that were designed so that people can live closer to where they work and so that children from low-income households can have access to decent schools and jobs? That will require continuing to invest in historically underserved communities and opening up more possibilities for low-income families in high opportunity communities. 

What steps would you be willing to take to open access to communities of opportunity all around your city? Would you be open to allowing apartments to be built in your school zone, for example? 

We need to improve the quality of life for residents of disinvested neighborhoods, and we need to make sure that low-income families are not pushed out of the places they call home. If families do move, they should be able to move to communities with good schools and job possibilities. We have to listen to residents and create connections within and among neighborhoods. People of faith need to lead this effort because our human nature is to say, “Not in my backyard (NIMBY)” or “BANANA (Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anything).” I imagine Jesus would be on the “Yes, in my backyard” side of things. 

I make no pretense that any of this is easy. If we are committed to following Jesus, we are compelled to truly understand differing opinions, to create opportunities for service that bridge differences and build a common identity, and to organize our lives and communities in ways that are inviting and thriving for all. That reset would look more like building His kingdom here on earth—as it is in heaven.

Article originally hosted and shared with permission by The Christian Economic Forum, a global network of leaders who join together to collaborate and introduce strategic ideas for the spread of God’s economic principles and the goodness of Jesus Christ. This article was from a collection of White Papers compiled for attendees of the CEF’s Global Event.

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— by Mary-Catherine McAlvany

Culture is a social creation that makes us uniquely human and different from animals. Art is part of what influences culture—macro-cultures, micro-cultures, and even business cultures. Conversely, businesses are also part of what influences culture. Many Christian business owners view their businesses as a calling, fulfilling part of Christ’s missional mandate. Through their businesses, they are caring and providing for God’s people—employees and customers —creating environments of holistic provision and growth. Many of these Christian-owned businesses use their profits to further the kingdom through tithing to their churches, as well as giving to global and local church-related and charitable organizations. 

A business owner’s calling has only recently been held in higher regard by the Church. The artist, on the other hand, has a calling whose value in the kingdom is still disparaged in many Protestant churches. Their contributions to kingdom affairs and missional mandates seems minimal. However, artists have much to offer the Church, as well as businesses. The reverse is also true; business has much to offer the Church and artists. In fact, far from being alien to one another, the arts and business share many attributes. A Venn diagram of the Arts, Business, and Entrepreneurship reveals what these three share in common: 

ARTS + BUSINESS + ENTREPRENEURSHIP 

SUSTAINABILITY, MAKE IMPACT, CONTRIBUTE TO CHANGE, EXPRESS IDEAS AND OPINIONS, CREATE, INITIATE, EFFORT, PEOPLE IN FOCUS, STRATEGIC DESIGN, RISKS, LONG-TERM VALUE, INVESTMENT, TIME + RESOURCES, COLLABORATE, EXPERIMENT, VALUE OF WORK, PURPOSE, TECHNOLOGY, SALES, SOCIAL MEDIA, NETWORKS, MENTORS, PASSION, SKILLS, MARKET, REPUTATION, UNCERTAINTY, AMBITION, CREATIVE.  [1]

These mutual attributes set the stage for a beautiful and fruitful relationship which can multiply each one’s impact for the kingdom of God. But why should businesses work with artists? 

There is power in art—a power that can affect change. According to a study conducted by the University of Toronto researchers, “Art can change the way we see the world, even relieve mental fatigue and aid in recovery from illnesses like depression.” And according to Maria Popova, the founder of Brain Pickings, “Art allows us to see the world from diverse vantage points, which makes us more empathetic civic agents. Art stimulates us creatively, which makes us better, more productive, more entrepreneurial business agents. Art can speak so subtly that it forces us to think more deeply, feel more fully, engage more wholeheartedly. Art can speak so loudly that it upsets entire governments and sparks uncomfortable but necessary global conversations.” [2] 

Because of the power art possesses for change, Millennial-led businesses are at the vanguard of shifting the relationship between business and art. They are finding value in collaboration with artists, with a focus on boosting employee mental health, work output, working environment, product appeal, and social impact. Of course, the alliance between art and business is not so avante garde: In 1472, Siena’s Monte dei Paschi bank gathered the first corporate art collection. What is different with Millennial-led businesses is that they have not only collected and been inspired by art but they have also hired artists to help their businesses embrace creative change, employed innovative architects to design their buildings, and collaborated with visual and performing artists to influence their working environments. John Moran, a Google real estate project executive, shared, “Our mission with Google is to create amazing work environments and experiences that help Googlers perform at their best every day. We look to find ways to enhance the campus and create experiences that make this [3] an interesting place to work.” It is about using art to invest in the wellbeing of workers. It is about using art in the workplace to transform the employee, so that the work they do and the product they create will both be transformative and have social and cultural impact. 

In the same way, purpose-driven, Christian businesses have an opportunity to look around the world for those brothers and sisters in Christ who have embraced their calling to be an artist, and commission them to help affect their employees, customers, and the overall health of their businesses. It may seem an odd reach to integrate business and artists, but it is an opportunity for both businesses and artists to mutually edify one another by investing in the other’s success. 

There are many ways businesses and artists can collaborate. What follows are just a few ideas. 

Businesses contribute financially to local visual + perf. artists—amateurs and professionals—who have similar values in their artistic pursuits outside of the business culture. This could extend to businesses using the arts for entertainment by giving employees benefits such as tickets to live performances and art exhibitions.

Businesses use visual arts for decoration in and around their businesses or hire architects (who are Christians) to design unique company buildings—all of which create environments for impact.

Businesses invite performing artists (such as musicians) into the company for performances at annual meetings, customer events, or special occasions. 

Businesses use the arts as instruments for team building, communication training, leadership development, brand development, problem solving, and innovative processes.

Businesses integrate the arts in a strategic process of transformation, involving personal development and leadership, culture and identity, creativity and innovation, as well as customer relations and marketing. In short, this is purposefully bringing artists into a company to tackle business issues and catalyze change. The company Lever Faberge created their own internal arts and creativity program titled Catalyst. Its purpose, according to company Chairman, Keith Weed, is to bring artists and arts organizations into the business “to motivate, inspire, challenge and unlock the potential of our sta”, on both a professional and personal level. Artists and arts organizations come into the workplace to [4]  tackle specifc business issues, from creative thinking to leadership styles and writing skills.” 

Businesses use their influence to encourage Christian Colleges and Universities to create degrees in their business and art schools which bring these two fields together. Courses such as Creativity and Innovation, Strategic Design, Art Business, Creating and Designing Healthy Business Environments, and Design Thinking for Business Missiology can all be used to influence the next generation of business and art professionals. 

Businesses work with artists to design new products that create God-inspired global solutions by tackling a social issue, such as lack of water or energy access (only two of many). A wonderful and inspiring example of this is the secular artist Olafur Eliasson’s design contribution to the creation of Little Sun, a simple solar-powered LED light that o”ers an alternative to kerosene in developing countries throughout the world, making it safe for children to study at home and to walk between villages at night. Especially in the regions of the world that lack consistent access to the electrical grid, this small device is transforming lives and communities. 

So why should businesses work with artists? There are so many ways in which the body of Christ can collaborate to care for God’s people—in our local churches, communities, and globally. When we associate and coproduce, we magnify our creativity and influence. Part of reimagining the future for the Church—and its influence in global cultures—is finding these places where callings, giftings, and occupations can merge and find new and innovative ways to solve problems, lift others up, and live out our kingdom mandate here on earth. 

The Millennial-led business culture in the West has already commissioned the arts and the artists in their work environments, creating intentional ecosystems of change and cultural influence. Christians in the business world have a dynamic opportunity to utilize this model and have far-reaching influence into the greater global culture. Business has an important role to play in shaping societies, communities, and households. In short, business and arts are callings that shape culture. By embracing the arts and artists around us, by inviting artists to contribute to the wellbeing of our employees and businesses, and by contributing to the calling of the artist through commission and employment, businesses can amplify their micro and macro-cultural impact. We have an opportunity before us to inspire the world and bring the kingdom to Earth through our mutual edification of our callings. We will have more influential and kingdom-forwarding businesses when working together. 

——

For Further Reading: 

Dorso, Lotte, Artful Creation: Learning-Tales of Arts-in-Business, Samfundslitteratur, Denmark, 2004. 

Austin, Rob and Lee Devin, Why Managing Innovation is Like Theater, HBS Working Knowledge, Sept. 29, 2003. 

Davis, Stan and David McIntosh, The Art of Business: Make All Your Work a Work of Art, Berrett Koehler, 2005. 

——

[1] 

 Bardua, Sascha.“Synergies between Arts, Business and Entrepreneurship”, Medium, https://saschabardua.medium.com/synergies-between-arts-business-and-entrepreneurship 46f76b3a306e 

My own emphasis is placed on the bold words because they best describe what the arts and business have in common that can mutually benefit one another. 

[2] 

 Davidson, James. “Business and Art, a Valuable Relationship”, October 18, 2018. www.weheart.com/2018/10/18/business-and-art-a-valuable-relationship/ 

[3] 

 Davidson, James. “Business and Art, a Valuable Relationship”, October 18, 2018. www.weheart.com/2018/10/18/business-and-art-a-valuable-relationship/ 

[4] 

 Naiman, Linda. “The Intersection of Art and Business” 

http://www.catalystranchmeetings.com/Thinking-Docs/The-Intersection-of-Art-and-Business.pdf

Article originally hosted and shared with permission by The Christian Economic Forum, a global network of leaders who join together to collaborate and introduce strategic ideas for the spread of God’s economic principles and the goodness of Jesus Christ. This article was from a collection of White Papers compiled for attendees of the CEF’s Global Event.

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— by Craig Hill

For the last twenty-five years, Jan and I personally and our ministry, Family Foundations International (FFI), have been working together with Jorge and Marcia Nishimura, their extended family, and the ministry they founded, University of the Family (UDF) towards the goal of transforming the nation of Brazil. Over these years of partnership, I have observed what I consider to be a very unique transformational process taking place within the extended Nishimura family, their family-owned company, The Jacto Group, and the small town of 22,000 in which they reside, Pompeia, S.P., Brazil. The result of this process is that this one entrepreneurial family is creating a transformational model impacting all 7 cultural spheres of influence in society within their community that potentially could be duplicated in many towns and cities throughout Brazil—and perhaps in the communities of many other nations as well. 

While I have attended many Christian conferences on city transformation, I have found very few Christians who are actually transforming a city by taking leadership and investing resources in the infrastructure of these seven key spheres which impact the entire ecosystem of the city. In Pompeia, Brazil, however, the Nishimura family, in partnership with others, is doing exactly this. 

The more common model I have observed among Kingdom-minded entrepreneurial business families is that they operate businesses that generate a profit and then contribute substantial portions of that profit to ministries doing Kingdom work through donor advised funds or other charitable vehicles. This is an awesome model of business that I greatly applaud and encourage! 

However, an alternate model that the Nishimura family has chosen is to operate a businessthat generates a profit and then to use substantial portions of that profit to invest directly in the ecosystem of their city, thereby becoming prime influencers in all seven spheres of influence in their city. Their goal is to create the best small city in Brazil by year 2038, the centennial anniversary of the founding of the city. This, then, creates a model that can be easily duplicated in other cities throughout the nation of Brazil.
A unique aspect of the positive impact we are having upon the city of Pompeia, Brazil, in partnership with the Nishimura family, has to do with the Nishimuras’ servant leadership in humility, vulnerability, and a willingness to allow God to do a deep spiritual and emotional work in them individually and as a family first—before they try to impact others in the city. 

The first ministry course that we (FFI) brought to Brazil through UDF was a course called “Ancient Paths” (Jeremiah 6:16) through which, in a safe environment, we expose deep emotional childhood wounds in individuals and families that many times result in self-sabotage and relational conflict or tension in adult family, church, and business life. For the first decade, we trained leaders and multiplied this course through UDF to many churches throughout Brazil. 

Then in 2007, Jorge Nishimura realized that, while we were helping thousands of families in churches around Brazil through the ministry of UDF, his own extended family, including three generations of about 45 people, was experiencing much emotional wounding and relational conflict themselves, without effective solutions. That was when Jorge asked me if I thought we could bring a similar healing process to the extended Nishimura family as we had been offering to church families through the Ancient Paths course. Part of the concern in our first family meeting was that many of the family members were not yet committed followers of Christ, and our process within the Ancient Paths course entails much prayer and presentation of Bible scriptures and concepts. 

However, much to our delight, we discovered that, when presented the opportunities for prayer and repentance without pressure, no one in the family was opposed to prayer and help from God. In that first family meeting in 2007, we saw tremendous personal emotional healing, repentance, apologies to each other, profound forgiveness, and reconciliation of relationship between second generation brothers and also between parents and children. 

We began to introduce the concept of generational blessing with profound affect. One deeply moving part of this first meeting was when 97-year-old, first generation patriarch, Shunji Nishimura, was able to give his blessing to his sons in the second generation for the first time in their history. The entire family was then able to bless, thank, and pray for Mr. Nishimura in response. He not long afterwards passed away in 2010. 

This first family meeting of this type was so successful that I was invited to continue similar meetings with the extended Nishimura family every couple of years. In each meeting, I have observed the members of this family becoming more open and more vulnerable with each other. In 2013, I introduced the idea of creating a very simple “relational covenant,” detailing how the family members agree to treat each other and the prescribed remedy when someone breaks the relational covenant. This agreement has proven to be very effective in helping the family to deal with any ongoing emotional or relational conflicts that have arisen. 

Of course, there have also been many other consultants with other emphases that the Nishimura family has worked with in developing their family and business generational legacy strategy and protocols. 

However, three or four years ago, Jorge and his niece Alessandra Nishimura requested that I conduct the same sort of “Ancient Paths” style emotional and relational healing seminar for the Jacto Group top corporate executives and their families. Initially some of these executives were quite skeptical about the potential spiritual nature of this company event, since many of them were not committed believers. However, because of the humility, transparency, and servant leadership of the Nishimura family in having already embraced this process themselves, the corporate executives were willing to attend the weekend retreat with their families. 

This retreat was met with tremendous results in reconciliation, forgiveness, and healing within the families of the Jacto Group top executives. In his description below, Jorge has outlined how this same “Ancient Paths” type of ministry has now spread to many levels within the company and then out to the surrounding community through the various vehicles the Nishimura family has created. 

I have observed two key transformational principles the members of the Nishimura family have followed that are resulting in their city being truly changed: 

1. Allowing God to first heal and transform one’s own life and family first before trying to impact others. 

2. Implementing long-term consistency of purpose, vision, and investment. 

Proverbs 10:17 in the Amplified Bible tells us: “He who heeds instruction and correction is (not only himself, in the way of life, (but also) is a way of life for others. And he who neglects or refuses reproof (not only himself) goes astray, (but also) causes to err and is a path toward ruin for others.” 

Over the last 25 years, the members of the Nishimura family have consistently gone before others to allow the Lord to bring healing and transformation to their own lives and family relationships first. They have not just initiated projects to improve their city and invested money in them, but rather, they have become involved personally in consistently leading through example. In addition, they have continued to lead and perpetuate the initiatives they have begun with consistent effort and investment for over 25 years. 

The practical outworking of this one Brazilian entrepreneurial business family working together with a North American Christian ministry to create a culture of blessing, first in their own family and then in the community, is now resulting in a transformational prototype in which all 7 spheres of society are being positively impacted within the ecosystem of the city. This model of transformation may then be duplicated in many cities throughout Brazil and elsewhere. 

By Craig Hill, Littleton, Colorado, U.S.A.

——

The remainder of this white paper is written by Jorge Nishimura. 

As we move forward with the dream of transforming Pompeia into one of the best small cities in Brazil, we are discovering that there are still extremely relevant areas that were not on our radars. The 7 areas of influence—family, church, business, education, arts and entertainment, media, and government—are evolving, some faster and others slower, but I think we need to improve. And one of the things we are discovering, which was not clearly on our radar, and which strongly impacts people’s growth potential, is what the market calls soft skills. 

Craig Hill had previously observed, as a church pastor, that there were members in his congregation who absorbed his teachings and grew spiritually while other members, who received the same teaching, remained stagnant. Why did this happen? In search of understanding, Craig found that the members who were stagnant were those who carried deep conflicts in their inner lives that needed to be addressed. These people, unfortunately, were unable to reach higher levels in their faith, in their professions, and also in their family lives. 

People who carry deep conflicts in their inner lives that lead to stagnation need to find emotional/spiritual balance in order to grow again. 

There are many fronts that need to be developed in order to transform our small city into an excellent city. But I will focus in this White Paper on the subject of the emotional/spiritual balance that has gradually transformed our community. 

What I am going to share can be illustrated by the drop of water that, when falling on the surface of a standing water tank, forms a series of ripples emanating outward from the center. 

The first ripple formed reached pastors and leaders of our local church. The impact was so profound that we were encouraged to take this revelational teaching to others. 

The second ripple was taken by the University of the Family to thousands of churches across the country. More than 300,000 people have participated in and been blessed by the FFI “Veredas Antigas” or “Ancient Paths” course. 

The third ripple was an attempt to bring relationships back to our entrepreneurial family. For a variety of reasons, members of the second generation of the Nishimura family had experienced deep personal conflicts, and through the ministry of Craig Hill, hurts, wounds, and pains were brought to the surface and healed. The family environment has improved a lot, breaking with the emotional/spiritual stagnation that hindered the development of our entrepreneurial family. 

The fourth ripple was the desire of our business family to offer employees and their families lessons that had blessed us so much. Through the creation of the Chieko Nishimura Family Development Institute, we started offering free courses and seminars on various topics related to family strengthening. And one of the most sought-after seminars has been about internal conflicts. 

The fifth ripple was the identification that our top managers were also in need of checking their emotional/spiritual balance. That’s why we invited executives and their families to spend a weekend at a resort being taught by Craig Hill. According to the testimony of one of the executives, that weekend had been the best gift he had received from the company. 

The sixth ripple is starting this year. In February 2021, we signed a partnership agreement between The Family Institute (IDF) and the municipal government of Pompeii to bring the transforming principles of the Word of God to municipal schools, the social and family protection network, and the public health network. 

I have a dream to see the transformation of Brazil. And the way that seems most reasonable for me to contribute to this is to develop an experimental laboratory in Pompeia that, if it works, could serve as inspiration for transformation in other cities in our immense country. 

By Jorge Nishimura, Pompeia, S.P., Brazil

Article originally hosted and shared with permission by The Christian Economic Forum, a global network of leaders who join together to collaborate and introduce strategic ideas for the spread of God’s economic principles and the goodness of Jesus Christ. This article was from a collection of White Papers compiled for attendees of the CEF’s Global Event.

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— by Steve Bell

Where is God when businesses struggle or fail? Steve Bell, an award-winning entrepreneur, has dealt with this profound and painful question numerous times throughout his career. Bellmont Cabinets is a cabinet manufacturing company near Seattle, Washington. The company has won numerous awards for high quality, innovation, community impact, and service. But Steve’s journey has been far from easy: two near bankruptcies served as crucibles to form his faith and lead him to a new understanding of how God measures success. Steve shares a snapshot of his journey below which beautifully illustrates the differences between God’s definition of success and our own.

I was very naive, I was 28 years old. We were doing tenant improvement work at the time. We’d go into an empty space and build it out. But I was starting to have trouble getting money from these guys for whatever reason. Then I got a phone call from my attorney one morning and he said, Steve, are you sitting down? I go, Yeah. He goes, Well, you better pick up a copy of today’s Seattle Post-Intelligencer because your body is on the front page. He just got arrested in an FBI sting operation with a briefcase full of cocaine. These two guys that I was contracting for were involved in a drug smuggling ring with organized crime. They owed us about $100,000, and we owed nearly all of that money to everybody else… Suppliers and subcontractors and employees. And we just lost it all. 

And I remember coming home one day. I was up in our bedroom. And I just laid on the floor and I told my wife that I had really messed up. I didn’t know how I was going to make the House payment. I didn’t know how we were going to eat that month and. Well, Carolyn came in, laid down with me and put her arms around me and said, “Steve, I believe in you… God will provide.” 

I remember sitting in front of my attorney, an accountant, and they looked at me and said, Steve, you’ve just been had. And I said, you know, I know it doesn’t look good. I don’t know how, and I don’t know where. But if it takes me the rest of my life, I’m going to pay these people back. And I remember the attorney saying that’s not the way the world works. Within a month, you’ll have a dozen lawsuits filed against you. Bill collectors will be harassing your wife day and night. Your life is going to become a living hell. I said, sir, life’s already a living hell. And maybe you’re right. Maybe this is what I’ll have to do. But first, I’m going to try it my way. They sent a letter to every single person I owed money to explaining what happened. And then I followed up with a personal visit or phone call and told them that all I had to offer them was my good name. If they would trust me, I would pay them every dime with interest. 

Folks had been reading these trade magazines and learning about this thing they called ‘frameless cabinet’, which was kind of a novelty at that time. To me, it looked really simple, it looked really efficient. And in 1986 / 87, I switched cold turkey and started building frameless cabinets. Dealers started asking me to build cabinets for them, and that’s when the lights went on… I realized that, hey, maybe I could build a business around manufacturing. 

Eventually, he was actually making good money again. It took us six and a half years to pay off every bill. It’s often been said that overnight success in business is 15 years, and for me, it took a little longer. 

In 2004, I bit off probably way more than I could chew, but we built out this one hundred and eighty five thousand square foot facility, and we moved into it in April of 2006 and we saw a huge upswing in business. We don’t apologize for success in terms of growth and finance. 2006 was a great year. Seven was a great year and 2008 was a fantastic year. And then our world fell apart in November of 2008. Someone just turned the faucet off. We had our first big layoff in November of 2008. One year later, we had gone from over 200 employees and by November of 2009 we were down to 85 people. 

I’ve always made it a practice of spending time in the word and time in prayer. And I remember one night I sat here in my office. I couldn’t sleep all night long. I felt like Jacob wrestling with the angel up until I was wrestling with God, why are you allowing this to happen to us? We’ve been so faithful all these years. And God kept saying, Do you trust me? 

Since that time, we’ve grown five-fold. Today, we unabashedly want to be successful because that is the scorecard. If we are successful financially, then we’ve got 300 employees that can go home with their paychecks and take care of their families… thousands of customers that can enjoy making a meal around a beautiful kitchen… dealers who make a living by selling our products and installing them, and all through that food chain, people are being blessed through God’s common grace. It really does give me a great deal of joy to know that I’m a conduit of His grace. 

God loves cabinets, and the cabinet maker.

This article has been adapted from an original video series produced by Faith & Co. in partnership with Faith Driven Entrepreneur.

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As a non-profit ministry we are generously supported by the donations of a few leaders to advance the movement.

Faith Driven Entrepreneur is an educational website hosted by Faith Driven Movements (501c6) and FDM Foundation (501c3) nonprofit corporations whose mission is to inspire, educate, and mobilize people to use their time, talents and other resources in the marketplace. Faith Driven Movements brings together leaders from around the world that seek to make a financial, social, environmental and spiritual impact through their business ventures. The website is intended to be an opportunity to exchange ideas for educational purposes. Faith Driven Movements is not responsible for the opinions, advice, statements, materials, presentations, data, images, videos, documentation and other information (collectively, the “Materials”) expressed or otherwise shared by guest contributors (including without limitation podcast guests, conference speakers, guest writers, participating companies and investment professionals). The Materials are for informational purposes only, and the statements, views and opinions expressed at any presentation or in any Materials are those solely of the presenter and not of Faith Driven Movements. Hosts and Guests may maintain positions in the companies and securities discussed. Further, Faith Driven Movements does not endorse or recommend any presenter, promoter, investment advisor, strategy, company or any views mentioned at any conference or in the Materials. Under no circumstances will Faith Driven Movements (or their respective trustees, directors, officers, employees, or agents) be liable for the accuracy, quality or reliability of any of the presentations or Materials, any defamatory, offensive, or illegal conduct of presenters, or any direct, indirect, incidental, special or consequential damages arising from any presentations or Materials. By visiting the site you agree to comply with the Terms of Use, Privacy Policy and Code of Conduct.

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