Author: Phill

5 Facts God Wants All Marketplace Workers to Know

/ Phill

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Christian Business Impact

It is my firm belief that God has much greater plans for impacting the world through Christian business owners and leaders than most people realize or acknowledge. In the right hands (and heart!), a business running according to Scripture can have immeasurable influence for eternity. Unfortunately, because there are not enough pastors talking about this to their congregations, it is up to the rest of us to get the conversation started!

5 Facts You May Not Have Heard

Here is a brief list of things I believe need more attention among Christian business owners and leaders today:

1. God cares about your work and business.

Too many people think God is only concerned with what we do on Sunday or after hours at the church. They mistakenly segment their lives into compartments and think God only cares about the “spiritual” things.

The truth is that we were created with work in mind. God told Adam and Eve to subdue the earth. Later, Paul reminds us to do our work as service to the Lord. Add that to the fact that He cares enough to number the hairs on our head. I am convinced He cares about our work. (Ephesians 6:6-7; Colossians 3:23-24)

2. You are a full-time minister.

Though it sure would be easier for all of us if we could just leave ministry up to our church’s paid staff, that is not how it works. We are all given different talents and gifts and we are each parts of the body of Christ – each with a different function.

We are also called ambassadors for Christ. As ambassadors, we are to live in a foreign land (the world) and represent our King (Jesus) to the people (non-believers) of that land. This is a full-time job, not something reserved for one day a week! (1 Corinthians 12:4-11; 2 Corinthians 5:20-21)

3. Your business is a gift and a responsibility.

God has given you the gift of owning or leading in business. This gift can produce rewards, financial and otherwise, that the vast majority will never experience. This is a tremendous gift. You should be thankful for it.

The gift comes with added responsibility. Just like in the parable of the talents, more is expected of you because more has been given to you. This responsibility takes many forms. You are to use your God-given resources to build what will survive into eternity. Simply using your business to provide a better lifestyle for your brief stay on earth is not Biblical. (1 Timothy 6:17-19; 1 Corinthians 3:9-15)

4. Your words can carry more weight than his.

Though you may not have thought of this before, it is a simple truth. If a pastor says something about living his life according to the pattern that Jesus gave us, no one will think anything of it. That is his job. He is paid to say and do things like that.

However, if you say the same thing in a group, people will take notice. They take you more seriously because they know you are not paid to say that. It will get their attention. It will be even more powerful when they see you living it out.

5. You can have a greater impact than he can.

Your pastor will most likely only have significant influence with those who attend his church. While there are exceptions, few pastors have much impact among those who do not attend church.

Your situation is likely different. As a Christian business owner or leader, you have the opportunity to influence your employees, customers, and the community where you work and live. You will regularly come into contact with people who may never darken the door of a church. The impact you can have among these people dwarfs that of your pastor.

So What?

If this is all true, what does that really mean for you? Well, I believe it means you need to get on your knees and seek God’s guidance as to how you should be running your business. Is your perspective eternal or temporal? What do you think He wants from you?

Get in a deep conversation with God and start pressing into Him for answers. At the same time, get more familiar with what His Word has to say about your purpose. The answers will come.

  • Do you agree with the items on the list? What would you add?
  • Are you already impacting eternity with your Christian business? How?
  • How could you increase your influence beginning today?

Powerful Stories of Muslims Who Met Christ

/ Phill

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Many people have heard that Muslims 
are led to Christ through visions and dreams.

Now the American pastor Tom Doyle has gathered several such stories in a book called «Dreams and Visions: Is Jesus Awakening the Muslim World?»

– The stories in this book are about real people I know personally or are known by my family’s closest friends in the Middle East. If we couldn’t verify the experience, we left it out – no Christian fairy tales here, states the author in the introduction to the book that was released last week.

In addition to being a pastor, Tom Doyle plays a central role in the mission and development agency named “e3 Partners”. He estimates that he has been visiting the Muslim world close to 100 times. The content of the book is partly based on interviews with 200 former Muslims who have received Jesus.

One of the stories is about Adel from Syria who was a nominal Muslim in his teenage years. As a young adult he started searching for the real truth.

– The beginning of the end of his search occurred the first night he met Jesus in a dream. The morning after, he tried to convince himself it was “only” a dream, a desire erupting from somewhere in his subconscious and motivated by his compulsive thinking about ultimate things. The next morning – the morning after his second dream – dismissing the experience was more difficult. Twenty-eight additional nights in a row of seeing Jesus left Adel helpless before the gracious God he had encountered. Within a week after the last dream, he found a Christian believer who could explain what he should do, and Adel accepted Jesus, states the book. Adel later on was imprisoned because of his faith. While in prison he led many of the other inmates to Christ.

The author confirms reports given by other sources that more people are coming to Christ today than ever before in history.

– I believe Islamic terrorism is Satan’s attempt to keep the gospel message away from Muslims. The enemy thinks that if he can make the rest of us afraid of Muslims or make us hate them, then he can short-circuit Jesus´ church fromreaching Muslims. But that is not working. Jesus has stepped in 
and is opening Muslim hearts Himself, states the author.

Widespread Business Corruption Demonstrates Need for Christian Business Influence

/ Phill

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“About two in three adults worldwide believe corruption is widespread in the businesses in their countries,” according to a recent Gallup study.

Results vary from country to country, but perceived rampant corruption is just as likely to occur in developed as developing countries. Corruption is seen as a major impediment to ongoing development and to overcoming poverty. As such, the poor and those in developing countries are hurt most.

Investors are hesitant to put their money where trust in the economic system is lowered. They fear losing money and having it fall into the wrong hands.

According to the World Bank, corruption is “one of the single largest obstacles to economic and social development.”

Gallup says, “Strong leadership, policies, laws, and greater transparency are necessary to fight corruption, which in turn may actually promote job creation and economic development. Business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs rely on a stableenvironment, but widespread corruption makes it difficult to estimate the risks involved in starting new enterprises.”

This report overlooks the most important factor of all. What these countries need is men and women of integrity to participate in business and the governments of their countries and transform their communities to align with the principles of God.

This report should really be seen as a call for the church to engage more strongly in doing Business as Mission and transform their spheres of influence, their communities, and their nations.

“Gospel Entrepreneurship transcends the typical categories of entrepreneurship—social entrepreneur, business entrepreneur, artist—by uniting them around the idea that men and women who work for shalom must think of their enterprises first and foremost as mechanisms through which they can restore and renew the human community.

“Shalom” is that condition in human community described in scripture as including beauty, truth, justice, goodness and human flourishing. We believe it is the gospel-minded entrepreneur who is equipped to bring innovations to life that advance shalom in our communities and in our world.”

What the world needs now… more than strong leadership, policies, and laws… is godly leadership. Christians in the marketplace can be the salt and light that make the difference.

How to share Faith Naturally – A Case Study

/ Phill

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Greg is an international consultant who spends many days living out of hotel rooms. Along the way he has made many international friends. He is making new discoveries about them all the time.

Discovery.

He brought a colleague from work to his hotel to see if he might like it better than where he was staying. The non-Christian friend noticed a book on business as mission on his nightstand.

Later his colleague mentioned that he had bought and was reading the book he had seen on Greg’s nightstand.

He said he was surprised it talked about mission so much. Greg explained that the principles were good and applicable to all businesses.

The friend also accompanied him to church one Sunday. He noticed Greg did not carry a Bible like the others and asked, why not. “Ah,” Greg explained, “there’s an app for that.” He showed him that he had the Bible on his smart phone. 
The colleague immediately downloaded the Bible onto his phone too. Clearly, there was a desire to understand and emulate Greg as a wise and successful business person and friend.

As Greg discovered, your business associates are always watching. You never know what will make an impression on them, so you need to always be ready.

Opportunity.

If you are alert, there are lots of opportunities. When the opportunities come, give an explanation and move on. Don’t “over-respond”. They will continue to pursue their questions when they are ready. Because Greg did not become “preachy” his friend didn’t feel pressured but did feel welcome to continue the conversation later.

Takeaways:

1. People are always watching. Let your light shine. Learn to drop tiny spiritual bombshells in the most casual, natural way!

2. People are curious. Any casual thing you do or say that discreetly announces 
“I know about God and I am willing to talk,” will feed their interest.

3. Follow up on openings. Answer questions briefly, adding bits of information to keep more questions coming. And move on.

4. Take small steps. Allow seekers to pace the conversations with their questions as they are ready. Seekers need time to process what we tell them and time for the Holy Spirit to work on them.

This approach is what Ruth Siemens referred to as fishing evangelism. It is patient, allowing seekers to pursue their conversations and questions as they are ready. We can turn people off or confuse them by saying too much too soon and using terms they do not yet know. Speak briefly and then wait. Think, “The next move is up to them.”