Business Description: Bread of Life Counseling provides individual therapy for teens and adults. I provide treatment for people dealing with a range of mental health and emotional issues. My therapy draws from faith and a biblical perspective coupled with evidence based techniques including mindfulness, CBT, and solution focused therapy.
What first inspired you to get into your line of work? And what motivates you to do the work you do still today? I’ve always been drawn to help people and feel a special compassion for those that deal with mental health issues. It’s important to note that there are more people in this category than you might think and it’s not something that’s always easy to identify in someone. I enjoy getting to know people and to hear their stories. Its an amazing feeling to be able to help people find healing and validation when dealing with issues that not everyone can understand. I feel blessed that God has called me to such a rewarding career.
How did you come to faith in Christ? I’m lucky to have a wonderful family that have helped to instill faith in me since childhood. There are also many things in my life that have helped me grow in this faith. Many life situations including my own experiences with depression and anxiety have drawn me closer to God and helped me learn to trust him to get me through. There are countless people and circumstances that God has placed in my life as well to help guide me in my walk with him.
How does your faith impact the way you do business? My business is centered around my faith and what I feel God has called me to. I often pray over my clients and also ask God to guide me in my counseling. There are many times when I am able to suggest Bible verses or find stories in the Bible that will help people in their healing. My hope is to not only help clients manage their symptoms but also to grow in their relationship with God.
Business Description: Roberson Law has over 100 years of combined experience and has been in operation for 35 years. I limit my practice to estate planning, probate. and trust law. In 2002, I was certified by the Ohio State Bar Association as a specialist in these areas. In my estate planning work, I teach people what they need to know about death and disability planning. I enjoy teaching clients one-on-one, and I welcome speaking opportunities at churches or religious or civic organizations. A large part of my practice involves settling estates after people die. This is where we see how millions of dollars are lost to the kingdom because people fail to plan or plan improperly. However, our estate clients who have done their estate planning with us significantly reduce estate settlement costs by having their affairs in order. I also practice in the areas of elder law and asset protection planning for people who have dementia, are terminally ill, or are facing an extended stay in a nursing home.
What first inspired you to get into your line of work? And what motivates you to do the work you do still today? I’ve been a Christian and involved in church all my life. When I was 12 years old, God called me to be a missionary. Today I am a missionary disguised as a lawyer.
How did you come to faith in Christ? I grew up in the church that was founded by my grandfather. I always believed in God, but remember making the decision to follow Christ in my nursery school class taught by Miss Eddy.
How does your faith impact the way you do business? On the wall outside of the entrance to my conference room is a drawing of Mother Theresa next to a picture of a young woman and an older woman. The upper part of the picture shows the young woman helping the older woman, and the bottom part of the picture shows the reflection of the young woman helping Jesus carry his cross. That’s what I try to do every day with my family, friends, employees, and clients. I see my place in this world as one who helps others carry their cross. That cross is what brought me to my Savior and my faith to my practice.
Business Description: Provider of Residential HVAC. Sales – Service – Installation of Heating and Air Conditioning Systems. Emergency Service Offered 24/7/365. Fire & Ice employs a team of 32 hard-working individuals and has the pleasure of serving over 10,000 wonderful customers. I attribute this success to strong work ethics, honesty and integrity in all that we do. We believe wholeheartedly that “Your Trust is Our Business”.
What first inspired you to get into your line of work? And what motivates you to do the work you do still today? God’s will. After ruining my life with poor choices and as a result losing everything – my car, home, girlfriend, job and self-respect – I had nothing! I had nowhere and no one to turn to. I broke down and gave everything to God. I took a long walk the next day and passed by the American School of Technology. A sign advertised, “Classes starting Monday.” I walked in and said I wanted to start. They asked, “What I courses are you interested in?” I said, “What do you have?” They said “HVAC”; I said, “Let’s do it”. I stay in it because I feel like it’s where I’m supposed to be, leading and setting standards for an industry loaded with immoral characters.
How did you come to faith in Christ? I grew up with a Baptist preacher Grandfather and a Sunday school teacher mom. However, my true faith in Christ came from the moment I hit rock bottom, and gave total control of my life to God.
How does your faith impact the way you do business? We do not steal, cheat or screw anyone over when they are looking or when they aren’t looking. We do it right or we don’t do it. Money is great, but not at the expense of cheating a customer or losing my soul.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
God has always been with us at work. And he wants us to be fruitful there as well as all the other areas of our lives. Yet, we often find it difficult.
During a recent trip to London, I had the incredible opportunity to spend time with Mark Greene and some of the staff of the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity (LICC). John Stott founded LICC in the mid-1980s, and over the years they have worked diligently to “engage closely with Christians on the frontline to develop the wisdom and practices that can help us all live fruitfully for Christ in a complex and rapidly changing world.” LICC views Christians in their everyday work (not just missionaries overseas) as serving on the “frontlines” of God’s mission in this world.
The following quote from John Stott serves as a cornerstone for LICC’s work, “Contemporary Christians are called to the difficult and even painful task of ‘double listening.’ That is, we are to listen carefully both to the ancient Word and to the modern world, in order to relate the one to the other.”
One of the tools they have developed through this way of thinking about the way we interact with the world is a framework Mark calls his “6 M’s for fruitfulness.” It’s a simple framework for helping Christians see where they are fruitful in their everyday lives and how to think through ways to be more fruitful:
Modeling Godly Character – On our frontlines, godly character is both modeled and displayed. This character includes love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Gal. 5:22-23).
Making Good Work – There is dignity and value in the everyday tasks we do, and everything we do, we do for Christ.
Ministering Grace & Love – God has shown us grace and love, how might we minister to those around us? How do we go the extra mile for others?
Molding Culture – How can we influence the culture on our frontlines so people will flourish more? How do we find ways to make a change for the better?
Mouthpiece for Truth & Justice – Becoming champions of right living and fair dealing in our everyday lives by combating lies and working for justice.
Messenger of the Gospel – Growing in confidence in talking about Jesus with people on our frontlines.
The “6 M’s” is an excellent tool, but let’s take a step back and ask why fruitfulness matters at all. What do we find in scripture about this idea?
Fruitfulness in the Old and New Testaments
The picture of bearing fruit is an archetype image in both the Old and New Testament. We read in Psalm 1,
Blessed is the one…whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers.
In one of his most profound statements about true discipleship, Jesus tells us that he is the vine and we are the branches, and the only way we will ever bear the fruit that matters is to be in him.
I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples (John 15:5-8).
Even the Apostle Paul picked up on this theme in his letter to the Colossians:
We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God (Col. 1:9-10).
As we look across the entire scope of scripture from the opening chapters on creation to the closing vision of the new heaven and new earth, we see this idea of fruitfulness woven throughout God’s word. It symbolizes God’s plan for the restoration of his entire creation through his son Jesus Christ. As we are obedient to God’s word in our own lives, we bear the fruit of righteousness which comes from the Spirit working within each of us as believers. As Antony Billington, another member of LICC’s staff writes:
Fruitfulness, then, is bound up with the larger biblical drama of creation and redemption, God’s relationship with his people and his plan for the nations. And it’s our privilege as disciples of Christ to take our place in his grand scheme, working out the implications of the gospel on our frontlines, our lives reflecting the scope of his reign, our relationships displaying the arrival of the kingdom and anticipating its future completion, all the while bearing fruit to the glory of God.
As it says on LICC’s website, the opportunities to bear such fruit are endless: “With Christ, there is no ordinary. With Christ, every encounter, every task, every situation brims with divine possibility.”
This article is reprinted with permission from the Institute for Faith, Work & Economics (www.tifwe.org).
Business Description: Hess Tree Stump and Landscaping is a professional tree and landscaping company with customer service at its core. 100% customer satisfaction guaranteed. Serving the entire Southwest Ohio area with Tree Trimming, Tree Removal, Mulching, Shrub Trimming, Gutter Cleaning, and Residential & Commercial Landscaping & Hardscapes. 24 Hour Service — Bonded & Insured.
What first inspired you to get into your line of work? And what motivates you to do the work you do still today? Till the ground all your days. Out of all the things I could do outdoors, trees are my favorite.
How did you come to faith in Christ? Realized I was a sinner and I was going to Hell without Jesus.
How does your faith impact the way you do business? Honesty and fairness… ’cause that’s how our Lord wants us to be. I consider how the world does business, and it’s not how Jesus would have us be.
Business Description: Since its inception in 1986, Childress & Cunningham Architects continues to be an architecture and construction management firm providing value-added designs for organizations, businesses and home owners across the greater Cincinnati area. We provide individualized attention to our clients, encouraging their involvement throughout the process to ensure that what they envision becomes reality.
What first inspired you to get into your line of work? And what motivates you to do the work you do still today? I developed a desire to be an architect before leaving elementary school. It was just something discovered in my soul, that seemed to be there almost from the beginning. I designed my high school curriculum with architecture school as my goal.
I believe that the built environment not only reflects our philosophy of life, but often has a larger impact on the emotional and relational aspects of our lives than we realize. Therefore, each building we design is an opportunity to positively impact the lives of those in the community which the building serves.
How did you come to faith in Christ? My journey started when my grandmother suggested my brothers and I go to church. During elementary school, we asked our parents, and they allowed us to begin attending a neighborhood church. Though I had a desire to please God and live out some of the scriptures I was taught, I’m not sure I understood the nature of salvation until a friend invited me to attend his church when I started university. I responded to an invitation, and entered into a relationship with Christ which has continued to this day.
How does your faith impact the way you do business? Faith affects everything about my life and relationships. My life is in the continual process of being refined through consideration of the scriptures, self-examination, prayer, and interaction with believers and non-believers, while seeking to be an ambassador of Christ in this age. I strive to achieve the highest quality in my work, which can be appreciated not only by the average person, but also recognized by those within our industry.
Business Description: Think of us as advisors with a loftier goal.
Our thinking is unique — put clients first and deliver institutional-quality advice to high-net-worth families. Every banker, broker, and advisor claims to offer the same level of service, leaving clients wondering where to turn. In all this sameness, Assurgent Wealth Management offers a new direction. Our thinking has led us to start up a wealth management practice that focuses on providing clients with actionable advice with tangible impact.
Our efforts as complex planners and qualified fiduciaries deliver a better view of the big picture and enable you to keep more of your wealth to provide for future generations. Working with top industry professionals, including your existing trusted advisors, we ensure follow-through on decisions that impact your wealth.
What first inspired you to get into your line of work? And what motivates you to do the work you do still today? Growing up I always had a passion for business and finance. My faith instilled in me a desire to help others. So when I entered college I realized we, as a society, have a huge lack of financial literacy. My passion for finances and the desire to help families led me down the path to personal financial planning. I saw a way I could combine education with financial services to help families navigate some of the most difficult decisions in their lives.
I have now been in the industry for almost 15 years and I have seen a lot of different ways to provide financial services. I think the industry as a whole drastically needs to change. Most people don’t know or understand what fees they are being charged and what services are being provided for those fees. The industry is riddled with commission salespeople just selling their broker’s newest hot product and not providing unbiased financial advice. Unfortunately, we do not have better differentiators between investment salespeople and advice-providing financial planners. That is why I am a fee-only planner. We need to do a better job looking out for clients and educating the public to make informed decisions on who they will entrust with their money and financial future.
How did you come to faith in Christ? I was blessed to grow up in a home where my parents took me to church every Sunday morning, Sunday night and Wednesday. But just as important as that, they lived out the bible every day. I learned just as much from Sunday morning class as I did from watching my parents growing up. It was through that upbringing and my own individual study that brought me to know Christ and his message of saving grace.
How does your faith impact the way you do business? My faith greatly impacts my business in almost everything I do. It starts with having a strong faith and understanding that God will provide and take care of my family. That takes so much pressure off of me as a business owner. Then it extends to every interaction I have with my clients. I want them to see God’s light and his amazing message through me with my actions and words. It helps me look at Financial Planning a little differently, too. It isn’t simply about money and rates of return. While those things are obviously important to meeting your goals I try to get my clients to look past that and go deeper into their purpose. Once we can identify the true purpose and connect that emotionally to their goals the chances of success increase dramatically. It is my faith that first pushed me to look beyond the superficial and dive deeper with my clients.
•Business Description: Covenant Financial Advisors (CFA) is a faith based independent financial advisory firm. We help people organize the individual pieces of their financial life into a clear picture. Special consideration is given to integrating our client’s faith values into many of the recommendations that we make.
•What first inspired you to get into your line of work? And what motivates you to do the work you do still today? We love helping bring organization and confidence to our client’s financial lives. When people first come to us, they often have many different investment accounts, insurance policies, and various other financial instruments that have been acquired at various times of their life- often in a reactive way and without coordination with other areas of their financial life. We help our clients see how the decisions they make in one area of their financial life can and often does impact other areas of their financial life and strive to help them view their financial life in a more coordinated way so that these instruments are working together efficiently. When people first come to us, they often have a lot of “stuff”. Rarely do they have a “plan”. We guide our clients through the process of developing a clear, coordinated plan for themselves and their loved ones.
•How did you come to faith in Christ? I was blessed to be raised in a Christian home where I was introduced to Christ at the age of 12.
•How does your faith impact the way you do business? My faith impacts my work because I realize that finances present an opportunity to both meet our temporal needs as well as an opportunity to have an eternal impact. I have always seen my profession as a calling. I have been a financial advisor for more than 30 years. I began when I was 16 in a support capacity in a financial services office, obtained my license at age 18, and it is literally all that I have ever done on a full-time basis. It has been said that if you find something that you love to do, you will never have to work a day in your life. I was blessed to find my calling at a very young age, and I love what I do in developing relationships with and serving our clients along with my wonderful support team.
“Climbing the corporate ladder” is a phrase frequently used in a negative way to describe someone who is selfishly advancing their career at the expense of others. Millennials, however, view rapid upward mobility as something to be desired and praised. According to Entrepreneur magazine, one of the most significant issues for this generation and, likely those following it, is forward progression in their careers.
Career mobility is not a bad thing to want. The question is, why do you want it? And, what do you do if it’s not happening right away and you feel stuck in some “lowly” position?
This is where we need to reorient our thinking around work as a calling from God. What might the Lord be doing in and through you during this time of waiting? Also, do you believe the work you’re doing now is less valuable than the work you will do in the future? Let’s look at two key biblical passages on this point.
1. We often need to take a lower position and wait for God to use us in greater ways.
In Luke 14, Jesus tells a parable when he notices guests are picking places of honor at a meal:
When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, and he who invited you both will come and say to you, “Give your place to this person,” and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, “Friend, move up higher.” Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted (Lk. 14:8-11).
Note that it is better to take the lower place and wait for the appropriate time to be moved to the higher place. It is hard, especially for gifted young people, to start in a lower position in a job. We are often impatient to use our gifts more fully. If we are faithful in little tasks, we will prove worthy of greater responsibility.
Francis Schaeffer once said that in the lower place you have more peace and quiet and opportunity to spend time with the Lord. If you reach the highest position, you are weighed down with many cares, concerns, as well as a very demanding schedule that leaves you little time to rest and reflect on what you are doing. Schaeffer said it is better to stay in the lower place until the Lord sees you are prepared for the demands of the higher place. He will then “extrude” you to that higher responsibility (just as toothpaste is extruded out of a tube). You don’t have to be passive when opportunity comes, but it is important to realize the importance of being prepared.
2. God created people for every position in the Body, and every position on the corporate flowchart.
1 Corinthians 12 is an important reminder for those who feel they are a lesser part of the body:
For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body (1 Cor. 12:14-20).
I have found some interesting cases among the hundreds of vocational profiles I have done. Relatively few people are made to be CEOs. Some are best as the second in command. Some are made to be inventors. Others love managing the details of an organization.
I interviewed one man whose greatest desire was to be janitor of the local school and make those floors shine. Another interviewee wanted to help the boss succeed and loved being a support person. Some love to be up front, to star, and others want to be out of the spotlight.
It is critical to know what you are made for, and not to desire, envy, or covet another’s position. Few are created to be Billy Graham, Chuck Colson, or Ravi Zacharias—but you can still find your place and delight in it.
Why Calling Matters
Seeing our work as a calling helps to reorient our thinking about its value. God calls people to a variety of different things and at different levels of responsibility. No job is more valuable than the other. Our identity is not in our job title but in the One who called us to the work in the first place. When we put too much stock in how far we’ve climbed, we tend to climb on top of others, not with them or for them.
In 1985, Robert Bellah wrote a classic book called Habits of the Heart. Bellah and his team interviewed many people throughout America about why they were committed to friends, spouses, community, and political life. They found that people had great difficulty articulating reasons for their commitment other than their own selfish interests. The language of commitment to others was lacking.
Bellah maintained that our nation desperately needed to recover the idea of calling. We are called out of our autonomous, self-centered existence in order to love God and others. To paraphrase President Kennedy, we need to ask “not what another can do for you, but what you can do for another.”
We live before an audience of One and are called by him to give our lives for others.
This article is reprinted with permission from the Institute for Faith, Work & Economics (www.tifwe.org). The original article appears here. It is an adapted excerpt from Art Lindsley’s new booklet, Be Transformed: Essential Principles for Personal and Public Life. IFWE is a Christian research organization committed to advancing biblical and economic principles that help individuals find fulfillment in their work and contribute to a free and flourishing society. Visit https://tifwe.org/subscribe to subscribe to the free IFWE blog.
Business Description: A family business since 1939, H.J. Benken is celebrating their 80th year in business in 2019. With one location at 6000 Plainfield Rd in Silverton, the 37-acre business is the largest florist, greenhouse and garden center in Cincinnati.
What first inspired you to get into your line of work? And what motivates you to do the work you do still today? Michael grew up in the business, tagging behind his Grandpa Harry, digging in the soil bins and playing hide and seek in the greenhouses. My father was an avid gardener and my childhood was spent at his side as he tended his Peace roses and vegetable plantings. We were a natural fit for the hard work that lay ahead.
How did you come to faith in Christ? Michael and I were both searching for meaning in our life and for a Church to feed the need we were beginning to experience when he was invited to go to Nigeria with a small group from Grace Chapel. It was there that he saw the power of prayer in action and the belief that God would answer those prayers. And boy, did He answer!
How does your faith impact the way you do business? Working with family on a daily basis can be challenging, and we (my husband Mike and I) are trying by our words and actions to leave a legacy founded in love and mutual respect. We both have tried since coming to Christ to share our faith with our employees and in our interactions with customers, as well. We support and give back to our local community, schools and churches and special causes.
If I were to take you in a helicopter to Afghanistan and parachute you into the middle of the country without a map and without knowledge of how to discern where one of 10 million land mines are located, how long do you think you would last?
Being dropped into minefields without knowing how to avoid them is like life without wisdom. It is important to know life’s terrain in order to negotiate it safely as well as to experience the fullness of life.
If we are to pursue our callings to the best of our ability, we need to obtain wisdom.
Really wise people have put a lifetime of effort into gaining wisdom. How do they do it? Here are eight steps.
1. Fear the Lord
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom because when we are in awe of him we are humbled. We realize our finitude and fallenness. There are several verses throughout Proverbs that note this, including:
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge (Prov. 1:7).
The fear of the Lord is the instruction for wisdom (Prov. 15:33).
Calvin began his Institutes by saying that all our knowledge comes down to knowledge of God and the self. The more we truly know God the more we can see who we are as created in God’s image, fallen, redeemed, and destined for eternal life. We then know our need of knowledge, wisdom, and grace to live our lives.
2. Be teachable
The humility that comes from properly fearing the Lord leads to a lifelong hunger to learn. Wise people are always teachable. They never feel like they have arrived. Note the following verses:
Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and turn away from evil (Prov. 3:7).
Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you, reprove a wise man and he will love you. Give instruction to a wise man and he will be still wiser, teach a righteous man and he will increase his learning (Prov. 9:8)
The wise desire to gain more knowledge, and they are also open to correction and reproof. Wise reproof is like an accurate mirror that gives a clear reflection of how you really look.
3. Learn from the wise
There is a tendency to learn from and model the people we are around the most. For instance, scripture warns us about associating with a habitually angry person:
Do not associate with a man given to anger, or go with a hot-tempered man, or you will learn his ways and find a snare for yourself (Prov. 22:24-25).
On the contrary, associating with and listening to the wise is highly commended:
Where there is no guidance the people fall, but in abundance of counselors there is victory (Prov. 11:14).
Without consultation, plans are frustrated, but with many counselors they succeed (Prov. 15:22).
Cultivate relationships with wise people, then consult them on important decisions.
4. Watch out for spiritual entropy
As long as we keep listening and learning, we can continue to gain wisdom. Once we stop listening, things tend toward disorder, as with the thermodynamic law of entropy.
For example, Solomon started out as the wisest of kings, but later in his life he did some very unwise things. How was this possible?
I believe that he forgot the teaching ascribed to him (see Prov. 10:10), as recorded in Proverbs 19:27:
Cease listening, my son, to discipline, and you will stray from the words of knowledge.
If you cease to listen, you will stray. Perhaps we all know those who seemed wise but have done foolish, life-altering things. In many cases, they fell in private before they fell in public. Spiritual entropy took over when they stopped listening to wisdom.
5. Seek wisdom every day
One of my favorite Old Testament passages is Isaiah 50:4-5:
The Lord God has given me the tongue of disciples, that I may know how to sustain the weary one with a word. He awakens me morning by morning, he awakens my ear to listen as a disciple. The Lord God has opened my ear; and I was not disobedient…
Wouldn’t it be tremendous to gain a wise tongue so we could speak the right word at the right time in the right way? But, how?
Whether your best time is early in the morning or later in the day, it is important to orient your life to the Lord when you wake up. Unless we spend time with the Lord daily, we will not grow or gain wisdom. We need him to open our hearts and minds on a daily basis, enabling us to taste the goodness, power, and beauty of the scriptures and pray in the Spirit (Eph. 6:18).
6. Note the difference
Wisdom notes the differences. What does that mean?
We face many different situations throughout our workdays. Just because you have experienced similar situations in the past doesn’t mean that the present one is exactly the same.
The wise person perceives the similarities and the differences in each situation. The wise realize that they never experience exactly the same person, people, dynamic, or circumstances twice. Although past experience may be very helpful, it is essential to ask, “how is this situation different from anything I have experienced?”
7. Ask God for wisdom
Solomon asked for wisdom and received it. We are urged to do the same. James 1:5 says,
But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
Often we have not because we ask not. While we must ask God to provide wisdom, we are not to forsake the disciplined process by which we gain it.
We are to work, study, pray, fast, and fellowship to the best of our ability, but realize we have God to thank when we make progress.
8. Recognize that wisdom leads to flourishing
Those who gain wisdom are compared to a tree firmly planted, that yields fruit in abundance in due season, whose leaves do not wither; whatever they do prospers (Ps. 1:3).
They experience the Lord’s blessing (Ps. 1:1), which entails the Lord’s favor and peace in every direction of their lives.
Above all, remember that we are being made like him, conformed to his image, who is the power and wisdom of God (1 Cor. 1:24).
This article is reprinted with permission from the Institute for Faith, Work & Economics (www.tifwe.org). The original article appears here. It is an adapted excerpt from Art Lindsley’s new booklet, Be Transformed: Essential Principles for Personal and Public Life. IFWE is a Christian research organization committed to advancing biblical and economic principles that help individuals find fulfillment in their work and contribute to a free and flourishing society. Visit https://tifwe.org/subscribe to subscribe to the free IFWE blog.
Company/Organization Name: Regal Maid Cleaning Service
Phone Number: 859.781.3300
Web Address: www.regalmaid.com
Address: Servicing Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati
Business Description:
Regal Maid has been serving the Northern Kentucky / Greater Cincinnati area since 1986. Regal Maid is a 2nd generation family-owned cleaning business. The staff is insured, bonded and covered with Worker’s Compensation. Regal Maid sends two uniformed staff members to your location in a company car loaded with the cleaning supplies, and offers FREE estimates both On-Line and at your location.
How did you come to faith in Christ?
I have been a member of my church since baptism as an infant. I truly believe that without Christ in our life, we are not living to our fullest potential.
How does your faith impact the way you do business?
In my business I follow the “Golden Rule – Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”. At Regal Maid, I treat my cleaning staff, customers and vendors with honesty and fairness. I go above and beyond what I am required to do for them from a business point of view. Being in business since 1986, we have proven ourselves to our staff and customers. Following the Golden Rule in my business practice now and the future will preserve my company’s reputation for years to come.
Please share a story where you saw God move in your business or impact a customer.
We recently were made aware of a parishioner with cancer. We made our cleaning service available to the family while they are going through treatment at no cost. They family was SO excited about not worrying about the cleaning of there home and spending the time with their family member going through treatment.
Costanzo Insurance is a third-generation family-run insurance agency that handles all lines of personal and commercial insurance – Auto, Home, Life, Commercial, Health, and Medicare. They are a 26-year member of the Christian Blue Network.
What first inspired you to get into your line of work? And what motivates you to do the work you do still today?
My father started in the insurance business after he graduated from college in 1959, and I never really thought I would do anything else. As a child growing up, clients and agents would share evenings at our family’s kitchen table discussing insurance and their life. I always enjoyed it as my Dad would help take care of their needs and problems, whether it was insurance or life circumstances.
How did you come to faith in Christ?
My father and I came to Christ through the reading of the Bible. We were searching for something more, and at age 50, my father made his decision to follow the Lord, and I followed at age 29, less than 6 months later. I started reading the Bible from the beginning, and 4 months later when I was reading Isaiah, the Lord gave me a vision of Hell. I saw Heaven in the distance, with bright lights shining all around it, but I was forever on the outside, never allowed to enter. It was more horrifying than just being dead, and my wife shook me out of this vision, and from that point on, I was changed forever. I never wanted to be separated from God again.
I recognized very early on that the Bible was a story of redemption through our savior, Jesus Christ and that these books were pointing and telling his story. All of this was before ever reading the New Testament. Three weeks before my vision of hell, I was jogging and listening to Scripture, when the Holy Spirit revealed to me that God was indeed real. When I stopped after receiving this feeling that overwhelmed me, I looked down, and on the ground was a playing card laying upside down. I had always worn the number 9 through all of the years that I played baseball, and I knew that that card would be the 9 of hearts, the moment I saw it laying there, upside down. Yes, it was the 9 of hearts!!
I am ever grateful for God’s free gift of Grace through our Lord Jesus. My friends recognized the difference in me, and they finally realized that I was Born Again!
How does your faith impact the way you do business?
When my Dad started our agency in 1988, he dedicated our agency to serve the Lord first, and we have continued that way ever since. Our family considers it a calling, and we are now continuing into a 3rd generation, as my son has also joined the agency with the same convictions that my Dad, wife, and I personally have. We are here to help our clients with their insurance needs and spiritual needs as well.
We have lost sight of this perspective, and, as a result, we have lost any sense of calling. What is calling, and what does it mean for our lives?
Types of Calling
I want to focus on two types of callings:
General Calling: The primary meaning of calling in scripture is a general one—we are called out of an old, sinful way of life into a new, redeemed, and faithful way of life. There are numerous references to this general calling throughout the New Testament, especially in Romans.
Particular Calling: This type of calling, used in 1 Corinthians 7:17-24, refers to our state or condition of life. 1 Corinthians 7:20 and 7:24 repeat the refrain, “Let each man remain in that calling in which he was called.”
Even though the particular calling does not speak specifically to our jobs, it is important to note that the general call is sufficient to understand that we should be faithful to the Lord in all areas of our lives, including in our work.
Implications of Calling
The primary emphasis of scripture is on the general call. We are called to a new way of life and faithfulness to our Lord. This means being faithful to God, our families, our church, our nation (as citizens), and our work.
Our faithfulness can sometimes be gauged by examining our priorities, or how we spend our time. When we are faithful to the callings God has placed upon our lives, we will experience meaning, significance, and wholeness. If our priorities are askew, we will not.
If we are faithful, calling impacts and orients our lives in a variety of ways:
A sense of calling gives us perspective on what we do. Whether we succeed or fail, we can sustain motivation to our calling if we remain faithful. For instance, William Wilberforce fought for the abolition of slavery in England for almost thirty years. He endured constant vilification and many disheartening obstacles. Yet he pressed on towards his goal because he knew what God had called him to do.
Calling can keep us from compromising. Sometimes in our work we face the temptation to compromise our values. We may be challenged to act unethically in order to advance in our careers. I have a friend who became a whistleblower. He worked for a state government and found out that some workers were being treated in a way that was not right. He was warned that exposing the issue would lead him to lose his job and worse. Because of his faith in Christ, he decided to do what was right. What was most important to him was faithfulness to Christ—faithfulness to calling, not to compromise.
We are called to be good stewards of our gifts. If you look at 1 Corinthians 12:8-10, Romans 12:6-8, and Ephesians 4:11-13, you will find various lists of gifts to be used in the body of Christ. We are called to know what our gifts are and to use them vigorously for his kingdom. We are to use the same gifts in the world with respect to our work. Our “natural” gifts are our “created” gifts—given to us by God. The Fall has withered, misdirected, or twisted our natural gifts. However, the Holy Spirit can redirect these gifts to benefit both the church and the world.
Don’t expect a “perfect” use of your gifts. We live in a world that is far from perfect. It is often difficult to find a job that fully fits your gifts. Even if you could land the perfect job, you would find that it wasn’t perfect because you are fallen, and the people around you are fallen. Although you shouldn’t expect perfection, you should strive to be a good steward of the gifts you were given.
You have been called for a purpose—to use your gifts to serve the common good, bring glory to God, and to advance his kingdom. By God’s grace, we can know whywe are called, what we are called to do, and how we are to do it.
This article is reprinted with permission from the Institute for Faith, Work & Economics (www.tifwe.org). The original article appears here. IFWE is a Christian research organization committed to advancing biblical and economic principles that help individuals find fulfillment in their work and contribute to a free and flourishing society. Visit https://tifwe.org/subscribeto subscribe to the free IFWE Blog.
Neely Dental Team practices General Dentistry. We have two Doctors, myself and Dr. Barton on our team. We offer dental exams, cleanings, fillings, and other services such as: Teeth whitening, veneers, and cosmetic dentistry, Endodontic therapy (root canals), extractions, crowns, and dental implants, Periodontal care for gum disease, Pediatric dentistry and emergency dental care.
What first inspired you to get into your line of work? And what motivates you to do the work you do still today?
I knew early on that I had a passion for serving others and I have always been interested in the healthcare. I love serving my patients and providing the best care for them. It motivates me everyday knowing that I can make an immediate change in the oral health of our patients.
How did you come to faith in Christ?
The need for Christ was instilled in me as a child. I attended a Christian university and as I grew and matured I came to find my own faith that has continued to strengthen.
How does your faith impact the way you do business?
My faith is the foundation upon which I live my life and conduct my business. I try to treat others the way Christ has always treated me, with mercy, grace and love. This includes my family, my co-workers and my patients.
By: Hugh Whelchel, originally posted on July 2, 2015.
You wake up in the morning hoping your actions will have purpose.
You want the work you do during the day to be affirmed, to be directed towards a meaningful end, and to have an impact on the lives of those around you.
You want to lie down at night and feel satisfied, content that the work you did was your very best and made a difference in the grand scheme of things.
You want the peace of mind, the satisfaction that comes with living out your purpose in the world.
You want fulfillment.
And you know what? You can find it. Everyone can.
Each person is created in God’s image, and like him, has the desire – and the ability – to be creative and find fulfillment using their God-given talents.
You can find fulfillment in many ways, by knowing your place and purpose in your community, your family, your church, and especially in work.
You can find fulfillment by living into who God created you to be, and doing what he created you to do.
In short, you find fulfillment when you discover and carry out your calling. This fulfillment finds expression in many ways – in serving your community, church, and family. In these places, you can make contributions that have eternal significance.
Work especially is an area where you can find fulfillment. Your daily work provides you with the challenges and opportunities to serve God and others. In fact, it’s the best way to serve others. And service is key – ultimately, work isn’t just about your personal fulfillment. It’s about serving your neighbors and even complete strangers by using your God-given gifts, talents, and resources to help meet their needs. Your service gives people a glimpse of how things will be when Christ returns and restores creation in full.
There are, of course, times when work may be difficult. Some days you feel the “thorns and thistles,” the stress, the burden of your responsibilities more than others. Through it all, work remains a formative activity for finding fulfillment by teaching us about God and ourselves.
Fulfillment can be found in whatever work God places in front of you, regardless of whether it’s your dream job or not. When we work hard everyday at the work God has given us, it’s pleasing to him and way more fulfilling for us.
Ultimately, fulfillment is not found in our circumstances, but in the actions – and attitudes we take towards our work, family, church, and community each and everyday. It’s found in working diligently to glorify God, serve the common good, and advance the kingdom of God in all that we do.
This article is reprinted with permission from the Institute for Faith, Work & Economics (www.tifwe.org). The original article appears here.IFWE is a Christian research organization committed to advancing biblical and economic principles that help individuals find fulfillment in their work and contribute to a free and flourishing society. Visit https://tifwe.org/subscribeto subscribe to the free IFWE Blog.
Many of us often wonder what our true calling might be.
We ponder what it is we can bring to the world, something that is uniquely “us.”
We ask the questions “what difference can I make?”, “Am I significant?”, “When it’s all said and done, will my life have counted for something?”
One of my favorite scriptures gives us some insight as a starting point for answering these questions:
Let me tell you why you’re here, You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth… Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world (Matt. 5:13-14, The Message).
This scripture conveys two rich metaphors, of salt bringing out God-flavors and light bringing out God-colors in the world. When you think about it, there are infinite flavors and colors, and our task is to uniquely reveal some piece of those infinite ranges.
Each of us is necessary if we’re going to reveal the entire palette of God’s flavors and the entire range of all God’s colors! That’s great news, for it’s an assurance that there is a unique story we each get to convey with our lives—a story that is part of God’s larger story. Each individual story is important, no matter how different or unconventional that story might be.
Many of us struggle with discovering our story, or understanding the significance of our story. Society tells us that in order to be successful, x, y, or z has to occur. One common notion is that we have to be front and center. We have to be the star.
But this is not what God is telling us. Just like one dish is composed of multiple ingredients and flavors, the same can be said of your life in relation to those around you.
Just because you aren’t the pasta of the dish doesn’t mean that your small amount of oregano isn’t essential in making the dish sing. We are all integral parts of a bigger entrée, ultimately making it taste great. In the same way, a painting has both soft and bold colors, each essential in creating the masterpiece and conveying its beauty and message to the viewer.
So how do you become salt and light, giving expression to your unique role in revealing God’s flavors and colors to the world around you?
One key way you can do this is through risk-taking. God is constantly speaking to us and inviting us to take risks, ranging from small and simple to looming and large. He’s asking us to get outside our comfort zones. As we do, we become salt and light. Our stories gain depth and nuance.
Risks are varied and diverse, of course—saying hello to someone, helping a neighbor you don’t know too well, asking for a promotion, taking a new job, moving across the country, going back to school, making a call to a relative, resolving a conflict with a co-worker, the list goes on. God’s invitation to risk for you is going to look different from his invitation to someone else.
We can’t expect to fully be salt and light without first stepping out in faith and taking steps of risk toward who and what we are meant to become.
This might feel daunting at times, but remember: God has promised us that we are all salt and light. What we have to bring to the table is indeed enough. Not only is it enough—it is essential!
I want to encourage each of you that through risk, your personal story can come alive! Through risk, you become an expression of salt and light to the world around you. Through risk, you can step into and align with God’s far bigger story.
This article is reprinted with permission from the Institute for Faith, Work & Economics ( www.tifwe.org ). The original article appears here . IFWE is a Christian research organization committed to advancing biblical and economic principles that help individuals find fulfillment in their work and contribute to a free and flourishing society. Visit https://tifwe.org/subscribe to subscribe to the free IFWE blog.
The staff of the Christian Blue Network has had the privilege over the past 23 years to open our work week on Monday mornings with staff prayer. During that time, we’ve committed to praying systematically through the alphabet for our business clients (businesses whose names start with “A” one week, B the next, etc.), and other prayer concerns that come into our office regularly. As a result, God has shown us, time and time again, that the prayers of the righteous do avail much (James 5:16).
During our prayer time this week, I shared about the 40 Day Prayer Covenant, a Cincinnati, Ohio based, international prayer movement which focus on 10 areas of prayer for believers in Christ – Grace, Love, Compassion, Repentance, Worship, Commitment, Dependence, Influence, Discipleship, and Authority.
Having recently attended a Christian business networking meeting where Stephen Eyre, Executive for Ministry Support shared about their 40 Day Prayer Covenant, I was greatly inspired by their Bible-centered prayer ministry, so I’m led to share it with you.
The mission of the 40 Day Prayer Covenant is to inspire and encourage Christ-centered covenant prayer partnerships among adults and children that empower discipleship, transformation and evangelism. Their vision is to see the Prayer Covenant be a catalyst for an awakening to the supremacy of Jesus Christ as Lord throughout His church and His world.
Here are the 10 prayers they recommend you pray daily for 40 days…
Grace – Dear Father, thank you for your grace that has made me one of your dearly loved children.
Love – By your grace, make being with you, loving you and obeying you my highest priority.
Compassion – Empower me to love others the way you love me.
Repentance – Wash me clean of every sin.
Worship – Enable me to Praise You, O Lord, with all my heart.
Commitment – Jesus, be Lord of my life today in new ways, and change me any way you want.
Dependence – Fill me with your Holy Spirit.
Influence – Make me an instrument of your grace, truth, forgiveness, righteousness and justice.
Discipleship – Use me today For Your Glory, as a witness to your kingdom, and to invite others to follow Jesus Christ as Lord.
Authority – Gracious father, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ our Savior and in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
So, if you feel led, visit www.theprayercovenant.org to find out more about how to incorporate this prayer covenant into your daily walk with the Lord.
May God bless you abundantly in all that you do, in Jesus’ name!
By Daniel Darling, originally posted August 20, 2018.
Because we live in a Genesis-3 (fallen) world, we are tempted to think wrongly about our work in two ways.
First, we can make our work everything: an object of worship and devotion instead of the good gift God created it to be.
Our careers are often seen as a marker of identity and worth. Consider the way a conversation goes when you meet someone for the first time. Next time you greet a visitor at church or strike up conversation on the train or meet a new family in your neighborhood, you will likely, without even thinking, ask, “So, what do you do for a living?” Their answer will, to some extent, inform the way you think of them.
I spend much of my time in either Nashville or Washington, D.C.—two cities where this question takes on heightened significance. In Nashville, a city blessed with a vibrant artist community, people are often defined by their creative acts. I’m a songwriter. I’m working on a project with so-and-so. I’m working in marketing for this or that label/company/nonprofit. In D.C., it’s a power game, where business cards are exchanged and contacts are stored to leverage influence. I work on the Hill on Ways and Means. I just started at this think tank. I work at this government agency.
Think about the questions work often provokes:
Is my job significant?
Does it give me influence?
Do people know what I do and do they think it matters?
We don’t ask these questions out loud, of course, but we think them, subconsciously.
And so it is very easy to end up worshiping work as that which gives us our significance, our ultimate fulfillment. Sometimes it’s important for us to step back and see what work, when worshiped as an idol, demands of us. We don’t just leave it at the office or the factory floor—we take it home. It is in our pocket, always pulling us away from our family and friends with one more check of our email, one more phone call, one more quick project. Work whispers in our ears that we are God-like, without a need for rest.
If we are not careful, we will load our vocations with the weight of a significance they were not meant to bear. As long as we are working, productive, and influential, we think we are happy. We often don’t even realize we’ve worshiped this faceless god until we’ve looked up and seen all of the unnecessary sacrifices we’ve made to it.
Work matters, and it matters to God, but it makes a poor god. We were not created in the image of our salaries or our positions or the organization for which we work. These good things will one day pass away, leaving us, if we are not careful, empty and unfulfilled.
This is why we must return, again and again, to the truth that our identity is not dependent on our utility or our influence or our paycheck, but is grounded in the love God has for his image-bearers. And in Christ, we know we are not merely laborers for corporations, but co-heirs with him forever. Tim Keller says that “faith gives you an inner ballast without which work could destroy you.”
As much as we are tempted to exalt our work, we are tempted to diminish it as well.
I’ve heard variations of this sentiment in the churches I have served: “Pastor, I wish I could really serve Jesus like you do. I have to sling it in a factory or stuff bags on an airplane or serve coffee to college students.”
This reflects an underdeveloped view of work, as if only what we do on Sundays when we meet as a church “counts” as Christian service, and work is just the way we get a paycheck and the place we go to try to evangelize.
Sadly, much of this exists because of misguided teaching and preaching. We pastors have often failed to teach a robust doctrine of work and have often elevated our own vocations higher on the heavenly org chart than God does. When we reduce the significance of our callings to mere utilitarian purposes, we diminish our own dignity. God did not create us as mere money-generating bots, but as creators, even if much of our creating seems mundane and monotonous.
Perhaps I’m particularly sensitive to this because I felt that everyday vocations such as my father’s were considered second-class by the church culture in which I grew up. It is too easy for those of us who receive paychecks from Christian organizations to consider our callings more sacred than those of the people we serve.
Constructive work is in and of itself a way we live as image-bearers. And the way we work can be a way we demonstrate that we understand the value of those we work alongside, and those we interact with. Our work is how we love and serve our neighbors.
When my father gave full attention to installing plumbing systems that work, he was serving the family whose house he worked on, and thus the community and the world. A craftsman should make good products because fellow image-bearers will use them. A baker should produce delicious baked goods because they will be consumed by fellow image-bearers. A retail employee should stock shelves with excellence because those shelves will be perused by fellow image-bearers looking to purchase goods. And in all of this, our Father is watching, pleased with our honest labor (Col. 3:23).
This article is copied with permission from the Institute for Faith, Work & Economics ( www.tifwe.org ). The original article appeared here. IFWE is a Christian research organization committed to advancing biblical and economic principles that help individuals find fulfillment in their work and contribute to a free and flourishing society. Visit https://tifwe.org/subscribe to subscribe to the free IFWE Daily Blog.
Contact Name: Tom Strauss Your Title: Owner Company Name: Prime Accounting Services, LLC Phone Number: 317-804-1174 Web Address: www.myprimeaccounting.com Address: 3501 Westfield Rd (St Rd 32), Westfield, IN 46062
1) Please describe your business here:
Prime Accounting Services, LLC provides bookkeeping, tax return preparation and IRS representation to individuals and small businesses. Prime Accounting Services was started to assist small businesses with the many financial issues they encounter. This is in addition to preparing personal federal and state income tax returns. As an Enrolled Agent for the IRS, you can feel confident that Tom Strauss will be able to handle your particular tax situation, including helping you with resolving back tax issues and dealing with the IRS. When you are ready to learn more about how you can be helped, please feel free to contact Tom Strauss.
2) How did you come to faith in Christ?
There was this girl I wanted to get to know, and early on I discovered she was a Christian. I decided that to really know her, I had to understand her faith. The process of learning about the faith she displayed was my own personal journey of encountering and, eventually, accepting Jesus as my Lord and Savior. Oh, Sherry and I did get married, in July of 1998!
3) How does your faith impact the way you do business?
My current and potential clients are my mission field. The way I interact with them can have an eternal impact on their lives. I try to treat everyone as Christ has treated me: with love, as a servant, willing to put their needs ahead of mine. Every client is a person, loved by God. To Him, every one of them has immeasurable worth. I strive to view them the same way, as a unique child of God, rather than just a client paying for my services.
4) Please share a story where you saw God move in your business, or impacted a customer.
Just a few years ago, I was working my business on a part-time basis while holding down a full-time job. My business grew, by word of mouth, each year. Two years ago, it had gotten to the point where I wouldn’t be able to accept any more clients and continue working full-time. I asked God to give me some direction; I wanted to be an entrepreneur but wasn’t sure that’s what He had planned for me. Well, He answered by taking away my job! And ever since, my business has thrived. I had prepared myself with all the necessary training in tax preparation, and when He saw that I was ready, He made it happen for me! What an awesome God we serve!
By Daniel Darling, originally posted August 20, 2018.
Contact Name: Tom Strauss