— by Kristy Edwards

Have you ever felt called to do something, and you knew beyond a shadow of a doubt it was God telling you to do it? 

I have. I deeply believe that my business, Neatly Balanced, is my calling. It may sound a little cliche or even indulgent – but I know for sure it is what I am supposed to be doing right now. 

I started Neatly Balanced to provide total home organization to clients. What is total home organization, you ask? It means getting rid of items clients no longer need and donating to various organizations that help those less fortunate. I also provide donation receipts so clients can see where their things go while also receiving a tax write-off. 

But how did I know that Neatly Balanced was my calling? Let me tell that story.

Every Calling Has a Story

It seems to me that every calling has a spark, a flashbulb moment where everything changes. It can be as simple as spending a summer afternoon playing with a DIY radio kit or grinding coffee beans with your mom. Or it can be something transformative, like coming up with a financial tool after God miraculously saves your family from debt.

But in almost every case, you know you’ve been called if there’s a story behind your “why.”

This idea for Neatly Balanced came to my mind years before it came to fruition, after a mission trip to Honduras in 2011. 

I grew up in a small town in North Carolina, to parents who gave me a simple and, in many ways, idealistic childhood. I was raised in a stable, two-parent family unit, and four years after I was born, a sister joined our family. We grew up not realizing we didn’t have a lot, because all we could dream of, we had. Dad worked at the Sheriff’s Department as a policeman, and my mom was a teacher before we were born but was a stay-at-home mom for the majority of our childhood. We were in church every time the doors were open and then some. I had a strict upbringing in every sense. I was always in church without question, and couldn’t date until I was sixteen, but because I was a product of the 80s, social media, and phones weren’t even a thought because they hadn’t been created yet. 

Fast forward to 2010, when my dad was diagnosed with colon cancer. The disease quickly spread to his liver, and four months after he was diagnosed, he died. To say that has impacted every facet of my life since is the biggest understatement of my life. I miss him every day. 

One year after my father passed away, we took a mission trip to build a chapel in a very remote village in Honduras. The chapel was named in my dad’s memory. While we were there, I witnessed the happiest people I’ve ever met, people who had absolutely nothing but the shirts on their backs. Most did not have shoes, and they gave us their food so we could eat.

On the last day, a lady in a bakery discovered I was an American, and when I explained I was a nanny and asked to hold her baby, she tried to GIVE her baby girl to me. 

Then and there, Neatly Balanced was born.  

I was astounded that Americans have SO much, but we always want more. More, bigger, better. The people we met in Honduras didn’t have many material possessions, and yet they had the biggest smiles on their faces. Seeing their experiences inspired me to bring joy to my little corner of the world by showing clients how to not just survive but THRIVE on less. 

Calling is Personal

I have a past that includes sexual assault, unwed pregnancy, and a miscarriage. I’ve spent many years trying to figure out how all that looked for me – as a girl who grew up in a strict Christian home. These experiences ultimately brought me closer to God after the mission trip when the woman tried to give me her baby. It brought all my past full circle, and I felt like God was speaking to me through this woman in Honduras in terms of how I lost a baby and she was trying to give me hers. 

I knew God was telling me something, I just wasn’t entirely sure what it was, then.

You see, for almost twenty years, my sexual assault, pregnancy, and miscarriage were my deepest secret that no one knew about. I was ashamed and felt like I had disappointed everyone who thought I was a perfect “good girl.” After lots of therapy, journaling, and personal work, I founded Neatly Balanced and realized we ALL have junk that needs sorting and cleaning out. 

Many internal issues come from undealt with junk. That’s where my business comes in. By cleaning out the clutter in clients’ attics and storage spaces, I’m able to help clients pinpoint other issues in their life that need to be sorted through as well to find more inner peace. God is still working in my life, but it’s so fulfilling to be able to let my personal story fuel my business.

Calling is Public

I travel nationwide sharing my story with teens, high school, college students, young adults, and moms. In this process, I’ve learned that God loves us exactly where we are, BUT He loves us too much to leave us there. I use my story as a launching pad to share with others how one or two bad choices do not have to dictate the path your life takes. 

I think that when we’re called to something, we feel an innate desire to share it. In a way, our callings are our testimonies. And as we read in the gospels, we’re supposed to let our lights shine in places of darkness. It is incredible to be able to share my testimony of walking through brokenness and finding healing in my identity in Christ, as part of the reason why I’ve started my business. Total home organization is part of the narrative of who God has created me to be. 

What Are You Called to Do?

One of the stories that encouraged me when I started my business is about the little boy on the seashore, which goes like this: A young boy was walking along the edge of the ocean, picking up stranded starfishing and throwing them back in the water. And old man came across the boy and grumbled, “You’re never going to save them all.” The boy picked up a starfish, threw it in the ocean, and said, “I saved that one.” 

Every single day a client will donate something and say something like, “I don’t know who could possibly need this,” and an hour later, I’ll get a text from one of the organizations I work with asking for the exact item. When I drop off donations, someone at the organization will almost always say, “We needed more of these so badly!” 

Knowing that I’ve made a difference in even just one client’s life feels SO good. I know I can’t change or fix every person’s problems, but if I can help them experience the joy of generosity, I feel that I am truly changing the world little by little. And perhaps this is the heart of finding calling – using our gifts and talents to bless others, one day at a time. 

At Faith Driven Entrepreneur, we’re passionate about helping people like you find their callings. Keep diving in and read our article “What Does it Mean to be Called?”

— by Kristy Edwards

Have you ever felt called to do something, and you knew beyond a shadow of a doubt it was God telling you to do it? 

I have. I deeply believe that my business, Neatly Balanced, is my calling. It may sound a little cliche or even indulgent – but I know for sure it is what I am supposed to be doing right now. 

I started Neatly Balanced to provide total home organization to clients. What is total home organization, you ask? It means getting rid of items clients no longer need and donating to various organizations that help those less fortunate. I also provide donation receipts so clients can see where their things go while also receiving a tax write-off. 

But how did I know that Neatly Balanced was my calling? Let me tell that story.

Every Calling Has a Story

It seems to me that every calling has a spark, a flashbulb moment where everything changes. It can be as simple as spending a summer afternoon playing with a DIY radio kit or grinding coffee beans with your mom. Or it can be something transformative, like coming up with a financial tool after God miraculously saves your family from debt.

But in almost every case, you know you’ve been called if there’s a story behind your “why.”

This idea for Neatly Balanced came to my mind years before it came to fruition, after a mission trip to Honduras in 2011. 

I grew up in a small town in North Carolina, to parents who gave me a simple and, in many ways, idealistic childhood. I was raised in a stable, two-parent family unit, and four years after I was born, a sister joined our family. We grew up not realizing we didn’t have a lot, because all we could dream of, we had. Dad worked at the Sheriff’s Department as a policeman, and my mom was a teacher before we were born but was a stay-at-home mom for the majority of our childhood. We were in church every time the doors were open and then some. I had a strict upbringing in every sense. I was always in church without question, and couldn’t date until I was sixteen, but because I was a product of the 80s, social media, and phones weren’t even a thought because they hadn’t been created yet. 

Fast forward to 2010, when my dad was diagnosed with colon cancer. The disease quickly spread to his liver, and four months after he was diagnosed, he died. To say that has impacted every facet of my life since is the biggest understatement of my life. I miss him every day. 

One year after my father passed away, we took a mission trip to build a chapel in a very remote village in Honduras. The chapel was named in my dad’s memory. While we were there, I witnessed the happiest people I’ve ever met, people who had absolutely nothing but the shirts on their backs. Most did not have shoes, and they gave us their food so we could eat.

On the last day, a lady in a bakery discovered I was an American, and when I explained I was a nanny and asked to hold her baby, she tried to GIVE her baby girl to me. 

Then and there, Neatly Balanced was born.  

I was astounded that Americans have SO much, but we always want more. More, bigger, better. The people we met in Honduras didn’t have many material possessions, and yet they had the biggest smiles on their faces. Seeing their experiences inspired me to bring joy to my little corner of the world by showing clients how to not just survive but THRIVE on less. 

Calling is Personal

I have a past that includes sexual assault, unwed pregnancy, and a miscarriage. I’ve spent many years trying to figure out how all that looked for me – as a girl who grew up in a strict Christian home. These experiences ultimately brought me closer to God after the mission trip when the woman tried to give me her baby. It brought all my past full circle, and I felt like God was speaking to me through this woman in Honduras in terms of how I lost a baby and she was trying to give me hers. 

I knew God was telling me something, I just wasn’t entirely sure what it was, then.

You see, for almost twenty years, my sexual assault, pregnancy, and miscarriage were my deepest secret that no one knew about. I was ashamed and felt like I had disappointed everyone who thought I was a perfect “good girl.” After lots of therapy, journaling, and personal work, I founded Neatly Balanced and realized we ALL have junk that needs sorting and cleaning out. 

Many internal issues come from undealt with junk. That’s where my business comes in. By cleaning out the clutter in clients’ attics and storage spaces, I’m able to help clients pinpoint other issues in their life that need to be sorted through as well to find more inner peace. God is still working in my life, but it’s so fulfilling to be able to let my personal story fuel my business.

Calling is Public

I travel nationwide sharing my story with teens, high school, college students, young adults, and moms. In this process, I’ve learned that God loves us exactly where we are, BUT He loves us too much to leave us there. I use my story as a launching pad to share with others how one or two bad choices do not have to dictate the path your life takes. 

I think that when we’re called to something, we feel an innate desire to share it. In a way, our callings are our testimonies. And as we read in the gospels, we’re supposed to let our lights shine in places of darkness. It is incredible to be able to share my testimony of walking through brokenness and finding healing in my identity in Christ, as part of the reason why I’ve started my business. Total home organization is part of the narrative of who God has created me to be. 

What Are You Called to Do?

One of the stories that encouraged me when I started my business is about the little boy on the seashore, which goes like this: A young boy was walking along the edge of the ocean, picking up stranded starfishing and throwing them back in the water. And old man came across the boy and grumbled, “You’re never going to save them all.” The boy picked up a starfish, threw it in the ocean, and said, “I saved that one.” 

Every single day a client will donate something and say something like, “I don’t know who could possibly need this,” and an hour later, I’ll get a text from one of the organizations I work with asking for the exact item. When I drop off donations, someone at the organization will almost always say, “We needed more of these so badly!” 

Knowing that I’ve made a difference in even just one client’s life feels SO good. I know I can’t change or fix every person’s problems, but if I can help them experience the joy of generosity, I feel that I am truly changing the world little by little. And perhaps this is the heart of finding calling – using our gifts and talents to bless others, one day at a time. 

At Faith Driven Entrepreneur, we’re passionate about helping people like you find their callings. Keep diving in and read our article “What Does it Mean to be Called?”

— by Ben Erksine

For faith-driven business people, there is often a tension between excellence and surrender that can be confusing or overwhelming. But instead of seeking to solve this tension, I would encourage us all to embrace it as a core tenet of how we were created. The Bible offers valuable lessons on stewardship and priorities. One lesson that is frequently referenced in the world of faith-driven investing is the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30), which I would like to examine alongside the story of Mary and Martha in the presence of Jesus (Luke 10:38-42).

In the Parable of the Talents, a master entrusts his three servants with different amounts of money to invest while he goes on a journey. Two of the servants invest the money and earn a profit, while the other buries his share and earns nothing. When the master returns, he commends the first two servants for their faithful stewardship and entrusts them with even greater responsibility, but he condemns the third servant for his lack of initiative.

The lesson here is that God wants us to be good stewards of the resources He has given us. We are called to pursue excellence, invest wisely, and use our talents to generate a return. Faith-driven investing should not be passive or fearful but should involve wise risk-taking and an entrepreneurial spirit, always seeking to honor God and advance His kingdom.

In contrast to the focal point of the Parable of the Talents, the story of Mary and Martha highlights the importance of prioritizing our relationship with God over our worldly concerns. Martha is busy serving and preparing for Jesus, but Mary sits at His feet and listens to His teaching. When Martha complains to Jesus that Mary is not helping with the work that needs to get done, Jesus gently rebukes her and praises Mary for choosing the better thing, which is focusing on Him.

This story reminds us that our ultimate priority as Christ-followers should be to love and worship God with our whole being, not just to pursue successes by economic or other worldly standards. Faith-driven investing should be grounded in a deep relationship with God and a desire to honor Him.

As John Mark Comer writes, “Life is the sum total of what we give our attention to.” Both the Parable of the Talents and the story of Mary and Martha challenge us to give our attention to what matters most: a deep love for God and faithful stewardship of the resources that He has blessed us with here on earth, born out of that love.

All Christ-followers who have a role in the marketplace should consider themselves members of the faith-driven business community. A calling to use your talents in the marketplace is a blessing in itself. By combining these two lessons, we can embrace the tension between excellence and surrender, and always seek to honor and glorify God with our lives and actions.

As faith driven entrepreneurs, we can’t forget to meditate on scripture and see how God is speaking to us. We hope you’ve gained something from Ben’s reflection today. For more devotionals and Bible reading plans tailored to today’s entrepreneur, click the button below.

GET BIBLE READING PLANS

— by Faith Driven Team

How God Calls Us to Be Creative in All We Do

Human beings are called to create. Many of us naturally embrace that drive, whether we’re decorating our home, coming up with an advertising campaign, or painting with watercolors. Creativity is something many of us do for free. Because we’re called to it. 

This is why the first mark of the faith driven entrepreneur is “Called to Create.”  We believe that since God created us in His image, his creativity can be expressed in us. God wants to work alongside us. He wants to create with us. He wants to start, share, and complete new projects and ideas with us. He didn’t leave Adam alone to tend to the Garden of Eden, and He doesn’t ask us to work in isolation.

But creativity doesn’t just mean being an artist. To fully grasp how you can embrace your God-given creativity, we need to get creative. And depending on your background, you might consider business and entrepreneurship as the antitheses of creativity. Gray cubicles, monotonous monthly reports, consultants rambling on about economic jargon. But what if we told you that entrepreneurship is one of the purest ways a human being can express their creativity?

At Faith Driven Entrepreneur, we believe in a creative God. The first thing the Bible tells us is that God is a creator. From this premise, we can redeem what entrepreneurship looks like and unlock the creative potential of thousands of entrepreneurs. So, let’s look at what creativity looks like, starting in the Bible and moving on to creativity in business.

Revisiting Our Creative God in Genesis

If we’re not careful, we might skim through the creation story and fail to understand how God’s creativity informs our own creativity. The creation story is a popular topic for sermons, podcasts, and books. We hear the story so much that the deep meaning of Genesis becomes reduced to soundbites and PowerPoint slides, and we lose sight of what creativity can truly mean. 

When it comes to humanity’s relationship with work, we need to look at Adam in the garden.

“To Work it and Take Care of It”

“The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it” (Gen 2:15). Is this a command to creativity? Most likely. God did not put Adam on an assembly line. Nor did He give Adam a highly detailed instruction list that forced Adam to work inside a rigid box. 

Instead, God put Adam in a garden and gave Adam a task that would require creative activity like problem-solving, organization, and stewardship. You’ve experienced this if you’ve ever tended your own garden or done landscaping at your home. Taking care of a space requires all sorts of creativity. A few verses later, Adam has to rely on his creativity as he names the animals. 

From Adam up until the modern day, we see that work and creativity go hand in hand. Consider the creativity that has gone into technology, data processing, transportation, and human resources over the past millennia. Even stewardship, deciding what we are to do with the fruits of our labor, requires creative thinking. So, when it comes to work, God leaves a lot of the “how” of our work up to us. We’re free to be creative.

“Bear Fruit and Multiply and Fill the Earth”

The call to “bear fruit and multiply and fill the earth” is also a well-known phrase to faith driven entrepreneurs (Gen 1:28). It’s easy to interpret this verse as “have kids” and move on to the next passage. But consider the “how.” To multiply a population requires incredible vision, foresight, and creativity. 

You need teachers to educate children. You need infrastructure to provide for basic needs. You need pastors and mentors. You need artists to create beautiful images and stories to advance culture. The list goes on and on. 

God doesn’t say to have as many children as possible just to reach an arbitrary number. It’s doubtful that wants a world full of ragamuffin children living on scraps. Rather, we can look to Adam’s call to work the garden and take care of it. 

We worship a creative God, and this applies to all areas of life. Creativity is necessary for sustaining work, family, and culture. The question isn’t “Should I be creative?” It’s “How can I be creative?” This brings us to the concept of vocation. What are you called to do? If you’re reading this article, entrepreneurship might be your calling. That, too, takes creativity.

Being Creative in Work and Entrepreneurship

The more we understand our creative God, the more we can understand our own creativity. This is a key piece to the puzzle. The more you understand how God made you, the better you can align yourself with projects and pursuits that fulfill you. Sometimes, we think that “creativity” in entrepreneurship means being an inventor like Steve Jobs or Thomas Edison. While there’s tremendous value in inventing, it’s not the only path forward.

To help entrepreneurs consider their roles in a business, the Faith Driven Entrepreneur team has created a one-of-a-kind video series titled “Called to Create.” This series helps entrepreneurs broaden their concepts of God, creativity, and work. It has also inspired thousands of entrepreneurs to live out their callings – we hope it inspires you, too.

https://youtu.be/XrA_iVDzJrE?list=PL0kSWY1Pyy2vDSpJHnSADRl4B3ZDg3YAO

6 Ways Entrepreneurs Can Reflect Our Creative God in the Workplace

The basis of God’s creativity is that He created something out of nothing. As entrepreneurs, we’re not just filling a role in an existing business. We assume risk and create jobs and products that would never exist except for our visions. In a small way, we reflect God’s original act of creativity when he brought the universe into existence. 

1. Crafting Excellent Products

Businesses often succeed because they are either the best or most innovative at what they do. The Model T was a new innovation at the time, but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t any progress left for the car industry. For over a century, engineers and researchers have worked hard to craft faster, more efficient, more comfortable cars. 

Perhaps your creative niche lies in excellence. Your passion is to design beautiful and optimized products. These products can range from websites to vacuums – the thing itself often doesn’t matter. What matters is that you use your creativity to make it excellent. 

In scripture, we read that creation proclaims the glory of God. And so can our work. Francis Schaefer once said that it’s to the degree we do our work well, that we have an opportunity to witness and be heard. And so, when you create something, do it in a way that you look at the finished project and say, “It is good.

2. Meeting Customer Needs

Innovation is driven by customer needs. Returning to the example of the car, we can easily see how Ford supplanted the horse-drawn carriage by meeting a customer’s need in a new way. You may not have the technical know-how to design an excellent product, but you can think about problems in a creative way. Or you’re simply willing to take risk that other industry players can’t stomach.

Big companies might neglect customer needs due to shareholder pressure. Or large industries might stagnate because of red tape and bureaucracy. Here lies opportunity for the faith driven entrepreneur.

Take Kamau Gachigi, for example. He developed Gearbox to help other entrepreneurs develop and test products. This incubator not only allows entrepreneurs to find the right market fit for their ideas but also serves entrepreneurs, giving them a space to freely express their creativity and innovative drives. 

https://youtu.be/p3S0-oDrhgw

3. Maximizing Efficiency

Do you have a passion for processes? Then your next business might focus on efficiencies. If you can make the same product for less time, money, and effort, there’s value to be captured. You don’t need to design a better product or a new product – just a better system. The global economy is incredibly complex, with thousands of middlemen between product concept to customer purchase. 

You can see this type of creativity in action by watching this feature on Movement Mortgage, a mortgage company founded during the 2008 financial crisis to help people get into homes quickly and affordably.

https://youtu.be/kLZFjy3JoIs

4. Developing Incredible Teams

No startup can succeed without a team focused on a common mission and vision. Working with people, however, takes creativity. As a leader, you need to pay attention to different people’s gifts and talents. Everyone is motivated in different ways. Sometimes a leader needs to reframe a problem in a new way for the team to finally grasp what’s at play. 

In an age of e-commerce, digital communication, and shifting generational expectations, you can’t stick to management strategies from the 80’s and expect your company to thrive. Leading people in an ever-changing economy takes creativity and vulnerability. We need more entrepreneurs to step up and help define the next era of management principles.

5. Redeeming the Broader Economy

Sometimes, entrepreneurship is just a stepping stone toward a broader redemptive vision. When we think about a creative God in respect to business, we shouldn’t limit God to business. As we see in Revelation, God will one day judge and redeem the entire world. There will be a new heaven and new earth. Today, we play a small role in that redemptive plan.

So perhaps your act of creativity is to provide jobs for a marginalized group of people. Or, instead of preying on the poor with high-interest loans, you create a sustainable financial product that allows people to experience hope and freedom. Rethink the current status quo regarding how the world treats others. 

Pete Ochs realized his business could help others by hiring ex-convicts at his two businesses. Pete had what we called a grander vision. He knew that his business was about more than profits and margins. He used his entrepreneurial creativity to support and care for individuals returning from the prison system.

https://youtu.be/8KU6Xf9sOu0

Unleash Your Creativity

Our creative God is an infinite God. Look around you and see how vast His creativity is. From mountain vistas to silicon chips, He has created a world full of wonder. Every nook and cranny is overflowing with God’s creativity, so don’t limit your own understanding of what creativity in entrepreneurship can be.

The list above is not comprehensive. What other ways can you be creative in entrepreneurship? We want to hear. Find us on LinkedIn and share your thoughts. Or join a Foundation Group to discuss this topic further. 

If you feel like you’re in a creative rut, then here are some resources to help jumpstart your vision. At Faith Driven Entrepreneur, we’re committed to providing you with the tools you need to succeed in business and faith.

• Find a mentor and share your ideas.
• Dive into the Called to Create video series.
• Share the God’s call to create with your kids.
• Join Biola’s “Make it Happen: Bring Your Ideas to Life” Course
• Join a Foundation Group and discuss your calling with peers.

We look forward to seeing how you reflect the image of our creative God through entrepreneurship. Whether you express yourself by connecting with people in new ways or designing cutting-edge technology, God wants to use you to help redeem his creation.

— by Chris Meroff

Empathy. It’s a word that I have been afraid of most of my life. I was so afraid of this word that I failed to truly understand what it meant. Out of ignorance, I made fun of it. 

Even worse, I made fun of people who needed it. I thought they were so weak. So needy. Not me! I was strong. 

I didn’t need someone to pamper me, encourage me or even see me emoting. In fact, I didn’t want to see myself emoting. 

I learned at an early age that emotions weren’t for me. Growing up in New England, I was told that I needed to be strong for the people around me. I needed to push emotions away so I could show up well for the people in my life. They didn’t want to be around someone who was an emotional mess. So, I stopped learning about the intricacies of emotions. I chose others instead of my own emotions. 

This is the lie I was told and told myself for 40 years. This lie led directly to loneliness, isolation, and depression. Eventually, I had to confront my suppressed emotions. And if you are wondering why empathy is important in leadership, let me tell you that it’s not only necessary but one of the most critical aspects. I want to convince you that empathy is important in leadership, business, marriage, parenting, and faith. This is my story.

Perfecting the Emotionless Life

I spent the first 25 years of marriage and 20 years as a business leader perfecting this lie. The lie; emotions make me weak and needy. No one wants to follow a weak and needy leader. Instead, I communicated to everyone in my life that they were too weak and needy to offer me help. 

My poor wife never felt as though she had any role in supporting me, encouraging me, or even understanding me. My employees learned that I had no weaknesses. They were intimidated and felt less than. I shut everyone out.

Eventually, not by my own choice, I started learning about the power of empathy…for others. I was being disciplined by a pastor in our local church in the area of empathy. I was learning that people needed to feel connected and not lonely. Through an authentic community (people who you trust and are willing to be honest with you), people could have courage to face their emotions, address the hurt, and start to heal. After mulling over this idea, I wanted to be a part of the process.

My New Appreciation for Empathy

I learned that my wife didn’t want me to fix anything, but instead wanted me to listen, understand, and feel what she was feeling. This simple act of mirroring her feelings brought comfort and healing. Through discipleship, I discovered Romans 12:15, “Rejoice with those who rejoice [sharing others’ joy], and weep with those who weep [sharing others’ grief].”

Out of obedience to my Lord, I determined to empathize with the people in my life. I would feel what they feel. Unfortunately, I learned pretty quickly that I was incredibly ignorant of the language of emotions. I started learning about all the different words used to describe how someone felt. There were a lot of words! I found myself feeling sad for people who were in high emotion, but learned that was sympathy, not empathy. 

Yikes, this was harder than I thought! 

Once I learned that I needed to feel what they felt, I realized that pushing away emotions for a lifetime left me unable to flip an emotional switch. I had to go back and categorize all of my emotional responses I had experienced since a child. I’m still working on this massive project! I could see the impact on people’s lives. God knew what he was doing! He made us for this!

Escaping the Prison of My Own Making 

After a couple of years on this journey, I faced my own breaking point. My discipleship pastor asked me if there was anyone with whom I could share my deepest fears, hopes, or hurts. Of course, I lied (to my pastor!). When anyone would ask me how I was doing, my automatic response would be “fine,” “good,” or “ok.” I would never be that messy or needy. I wouldn’t want someone to have to deal with my mess! I wouldn’t want someone to feel the pain, hurt, discouragement, fear, loneliness, insecurity…

The dots connected! It all came crashing in. I realized that I was in a prison of my own making. I wouldn’t let anyone else in. I needed empathy! Me! Never dawned on me that I needed the same healing that I was willing to offer to others. Talk about being afraid. I was going to have to tell people that I was not fine, good, or ok. 

What if they run away from me? 

What if they realized that I’m a mess? 

What if they reject me? 

What if no one wanted to follow such a needy leader? 

These questions haunted me for the next year. Slowly but surely, I started to finally be brave. 

Why Does Empathy Matter in Leadership? Bravery, Freedom, Humility, and Authenticity

Empathy requires vulnerability. Could I be brave enough to be vulnerable? If I wanted someone to rejoice or weep with me, I needed to let people know how I felt. Trust people with my emotions, needs, and mess. Be the person I used to make fun of. I needed to be brave. The bravest leader. The leader who would share their fears, failings, and emotions. The leader who trusts that God knows what I need. The leader who lives in humility. The leader who is vulnerable. 

Nobody ran away. Nobody laughed. Nobody rejected me. God answered my deepest fear with love, relationship, and real community. My old definition of leadership faking strength, confidence, and independence was replaced with one word…Empathy. Quick to empathize with others and a willingness to let others in through vulnerability.

This, in fact, was the bravest leadership!

Chris Meroff is the CEO and founder of DCX Community where he hosts a personal development conference and monthly networking event, The Table Network. He and his colleagues host the podcast, The Table Network Podcast, where they have intentional conversations with successful business owners and authors in order to build deeper relationships and better businesses. Chris thrives on getting to meet with—and mentor—other leaders in the community. In his upcoming book, The Empathy Revolution: Practical wisdom to combat organizational and social loneliness (Oct. 17, 2023), Chris shares his philosophy in a practical guide on why the current model of leadership isn’t working. 

Need a place where you can be vulnerable and share your experience with other entrepreneurs? Consider a Foundation Group! In these groups, you’ll go through our world-class video curriculum with likeminded entrepreneurs. Our facilitators are trained to be empathetic and respectful so that everyone has a chance to dive deeply into the material. Learn more!

YOU’RE INVITED TO JOIN AN ENTREPRENEUR GROUP

— by Roland Heersink

In the last two posts, we uncovered the reason for prayer and what to pray for. But how do you pray? And how can you do that every day without falling into a rut?

God wants a relationship with you, so it’s not just about solving problems! And, as you deepen your relationship with God through prayer, it becomes easier and easier to know His will for your life and your life and your entrepreneurship.

So how do you pray? In the spirit of practical guidance—and definitely not as the only way—I’ll offer the following structure, which has been used by many leaders and saints through the ages: A-C-T-S. This is, of course, not the only way to pray and no formula guaranteeing success, but it gives a good structure which you might use each and every day.

A: Adoration

Entering your prayer time resembles entering a holy place, so it makes sense to first assume a posture of reverence and humility. After all, you are the created one and God is your Creator. You are mortal, finite, and limited; God is immortal, infinite, and unlimited.

So it makes sense to humble yourself, to place your time and talents at God’s disposal—from both your personal and work life. Start by giving everything over to Him, in worship and thanksgiving.

For some help getting started, read and reread how David led his people in prayer—a small portion of which is given here:

“Praise be to you, Lord, the God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. … Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.” — 1 Chronicles 29:10…13

If you need some inspiration, I find this video helpful.

C: Confession

Once you’ve completed a period of adoration for your great God, examine yourself and consider how you may have fallen short of God’s plan.

Confession is your way of saying sorry, a way of healing the brokenness that you’ve introduced into the relationship.  

Not sure about that?  Then look at what the Bible says about the importance of confessing your sins:

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us … If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us. — 1 John 1:9-10

T: Thankfulness

After reflecting on how great God is, and how much God has given you—family, health, work, and so much more—it’s hard not to be thankful.

Even so, the Devil wants you to think that you are missing out, how it’s not fair, and how you deserve more. Flee from that! Focus instead on what God has already given; stay close to Him and do not follow the ways of the world.

Instead, list the blessings you already have, and then, when you run out, ask God to come into your heart and show you more.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. — Philippians 4:6

S: Supplication

After preparing with the first three steps, it is time to pour out your heart and seek God’s help. Even if you don’t what to say, you may just groan before Him; He already knows your need and is glad to hear from you in whatever form it takes:

We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. — Romans 8:26b

During this time, be still before God. Let your thoughts roll around in your head; don’t try to solve any problems, but just enjoy the ideas and peace that God will give.

Afterwards, thank God again and slowly return to your awakened and refreshed self. You may not have all the answers or have even heard anything, but as you repeatedly come back to God in a time of prayer, He will eventually show you His will, His way, and His plan for your life and leadership.

The above A-C-T-S structure has been found helpful by many Faith-Driven Entrepreneurs, and hopefully you find it helpful also. Next to this, the other go-to structure for praying is the example that Jesus himself gave us: The Lord’s Prayer.

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,

[adoration]

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

[supplication – give us what we need so that we might help build your Kingdom]

And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

[confession]

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”

[supplication – keep us pure so that we might be examples to others]

Again, there is no one formula for your prayers as a Faith-Driven Entrepreneur. God values all prayer, but, as Jesus and the Bible teach, do remember that prayer is so much more than just asking for help!

Prayer: the Faith-Driven Entrepreneur’s most powerful tool

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