Thursday, August 28, 2008

Are You About Your Father's Business?

Are you a business owner, President, CEO, or General Manager who could benefit from the insight and counsel of other business owners who will help you make business and personal decisions from a Biblical perspective? That was the question Jim Lange asked me via email. I met him at the Prayer Breakfast during the National Day of Prayer last May. And while I don't own a company, I checked off on their survey that I did because I am committed to being about "my father's business" [cf. Luke 2:49]!!! LOL!!!

So yesterday when Jim introduced Ray Hibbert from Truth @ Work, a non-profit organization out of Indianapolis [click pic for more], and Ray challenged 50 local business owners [and the only pastor present, me!!!] to give 5 hours/month and pay a significant chunk of monthly change [he told us to think of it as "tuition" pursuing your MBA — which actually is available through Drew University] to join one of their monthly Business Roundtable Groups, I decided to do it [hoping the tuition money could be raised].

The rationale? The Barna Group says 78% of Americans will be having spiritual conversations this next week. But 71% of those conversations will be taking place at work because that's the number of Americans who will NOT be attending church this weekend. So the idea? Get 10-12 local business owners together to hold each other accountable to leading with integrity. It's basically a high cost, high expectation, high reward small group full of people unconnected to God but wanting to be.

So I'll keep you posted. I already told them I'm the pastor at the Toledo First Adventist Church in Sylvania. But they let me stay anyway. LOL!!! I know God is going to use them to grow me up. And perhaps, God will use me to grow them too because together we'll be about our Father's business!!!

1 comment:

Life is Good said...

Way to Go, Pastor Mike.
You have a real knack-nose to smell where the opportunities are to make church (any) life relevant to Toledo. Barna is right on!