We continue to count down the Top 100 Books for Faith Driven Entrepreneurs with…

Culture Making

by Andy Crouch

It is not enough to condemn culture. Nor is it sufficient merely to critique culture or to copy culture. Most of the time, we just consume culture. But the only way to change culture is to create culture.

Andy Crouch unleashes a stirring manifesto calling Christians to be culture makers. For too long, Christians have had an insufficient view of culture and have waged misguided “culture wars.” But we must reclaim the cultural mandate to be the creative cultivators that God designed us to be. Culture is what we make of the world, both in creating cultural artifacts as well as in making sense of the world around us. By making chairs and omelets, languages and laws, we participate in the good work of culture making.

A model of his premise, this landmark book is sure to be a rallying cry for a new generation of culturally creative Christians. Discover your calling and join the culture makers.

Click on the book cover to check out the Reviews and Purchase at Amazon

Big thanks to Andre Mann for letting us share his thoughts and helpful tips on working from home during the Covid-19 pandemic.

— by Andre Mann

As the Bay Area wakes up to life under lockdown, and companies across the country are encouraging people to work from home encouraging “social distancing,” my thoughts flash back to lessons I learned from running a business under lockdown a decade ago.  My family and I lived in Afghanistan where I helped run a media company with a Department of Defense contract, and a travel and logistics company. We lived in a shared compound of our home and the office, so we effectively “worked from home.” Kabul, being Kabul a decade ago, was a place where lockdowns were not uncommon, and where the threat of violence kept us evaluating every trip outside against the risk of an attack.  The situation was completely different from the coronavirus, yet there is so much that makes me flash back to those days. The threat was invisible, just like a virus, and every measure taken seemed like an overreaction. And yet it was all necessary. Here are some lessons we learned in running a business (and family), and staying healthy under lockdown.

1. Don’t let fear overpower you.  The only way to truly overcome fear is to turn to God, and commit our will to trust in Him.  God is sovereign. The only reason we can take our very next breath is because God sustains us—he is in control of everything.  And we can trust Him. He is a good God. He loves us. He will never abandon us. He does not want us to live in fear.

2. Seek to serve the more vulnerable.  How can I love my neighbors well?  Is there an elderly person who needs groceries ordered online and doesn’t know how to?  Keep your 6-foot distance, but help them out with that. How else can you help? Just reaching out and asking can be a significant gesture.

3. How can we give generously?  From figuring out how to support small businesses with online orders, to giving to non-profits who depend on donations, to supporting your church, don’t allow fear to paralyze your giving.  If you have funds in a donor-advised fund, now may be the time to deploy those funds to make up the funding gap so many non-profits are experiencing.

4. Practical tips for everyday living under lockdown:

   1. It’s important for everyone to have a routine.  When working from home, with young kids, spouses, and pets all in one space, before you know it, every day begins to feel like a Saturday.  That may sound like fun for the kids on Day 1. But by Day 7 everyone will be bored out of their wits and the working parent is about to blow their top at the chaos at home.  

   2. Get up early, like you did when you went away to work.  Get the kids up early like they were going to school, and have them keep a schedule of learning.  This will require some planning.

   3. Get dressed.  This will signal to yourself, and everyone else in your household that you are ready to work.  Don’t work in your pajamas.

   4. Define spaces and time schedules.  Especially with young children, it can be difficult to understand why mom or dad are not available to play.  However, you can help signal to them what is work time and what is play time by working from a specific spot, and keeping work to specific parts of the day.  And then protect your family time by not allowing work to bleed into the evening. Set limits for yourself. Keep your family time your family time, and work time your work time.

   5. Taking a Sabbath is important even when you are working from home.  Let the weekend be different than the work week.  On the weekend, break up the routine. Sleep in. Fix a meal together, take a nap.  

   6. Get some exercise.  Becoming sedentary will become the easiest thing to do when you are living in lockdown.  You will need to be creative if you don’t have a lot of gym equipment at home. Lots of gyms are taking their classes online to help people stay fit.  In some cases, you can still go for a run as long as you stay away from others. Don’t let this slide.

   7. Double down on time with the Lord.  You will need to nurture your soul, even more during uncertain times.  Be protective of your prayer life. Rather than having just one “quiet time”, why not also add a family devotional at a different point in the day?

   8. Social distancing does not equal relational distancing.  Pick up the phone and reach out to friends and relatives.  Stay connected. Use Skype or FaceTime so you can see each other.

   9. Remember that this will pass.  Trust in the Lord.  We don’t know what things will look like on the other end of this, but no matter what happens, the Lord will not abandon us.    

If you’d like more advice on dealing with isolation and/or a lockdown from a mother’s perspective, Andre’s wife wrote a helpful article on their personal blog here.

For more information on COVID-19, please see our page highlighting some of the best resources out there for Faith Driven Entrepreneurs in this season.

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[Thanks to Daria Nepriakhina for the cover photo]

This article was originally published here by our friend and FDE and FDI podcast guest Peter Greer. Check out his blog here for more great content!

— by Peter Greer

It’s on all of our minds. It’s the first topic of conversation and the first headline on the news. The COVID-19 coronavirus is an escalating health concern across the globe and has been officially categorized as a pandemic.

We are inundated with information. Daily, I’ve been checking the statistics and have watched as the red dots on the map have grown and spread: first in Asia, then in Europe, and now in my home community.

We’ve grieved as the death toll continues to rise. We’ve seen the impact on the global economy and stock markets. We’ve heard about the travel bans, necessary precautions, preventative measures, symptoms, and supply shortages.

As fear and anxiety increase, our world becomes smaller. We naturally focus inward. How are we going to be impacted? How safe is my family? What will this mean for my travel plans? How much risk do I face? What will happen to my investments?

We seek to protect ourselves and our interests. Yet, Jesus invites us into a bigger world and a drastically different posture. A posture that constantly looks outward. Jesus called His followers to show deep love and concern for the most vulnerable. “Truly I tell you,” He said, “whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of Mine, you did for Me.”

As we consider the impact of COVID-19, we’re invited to look not only “to [our] own interests but … to the interests of the others” and to pay particular attention to the vulnerable, the elderly, the sick, and those impacted by poverty.

How does COVID-19 impact people living in poverty?

Amid all of the news, we haven’t heard much about the way the coronavirus is particularly damaging to those living in poverty, and not just the health infrastructure and challenges of testing and treating. For many, it’s about so much more than a declining retirement portfolio; it’s about survival this week.

Consider an entrepreneur in Asia who has spent her entire life trying to get a small restaurant up and running when coronavirus hits her community. With fewer and fewer customers visiting her restaurant, income dwindles. And with little savings, her ability to withstand that shock plummets. As days turn into weeks, the impact deepens. The concern is not just about health; it’s about survival.

For many living on the margins, the economic concerns outweigh the health concerns. Questions like How can I get medical attention? may be overshadowed by questions like Will I eat? This is the story for many families—around the world, as well as in the U.S.—who are reliant on cash flow and income for their livelihood.

In Galatians 2, as Paul prepares to travel, Peter gives him an important instruction. “All they asked,” Paul says, “was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along.”

And two thousand years later, this is the call for us, too. To remember our brothers and sisters living on the margins, especially during a moment of global crisis. To think beyond our concerns and explore ways to live out uncommon generosity. To respond and invest in ways that build future resilience. To turn compassion into courageous action. To show love in the ways we pray, in the ways we give, and yes, even in the ways we cancel or postpone events (to do everything in our power to slow the spread of the disease).

Right now, the Church has an opportunity that it has not had in years. In a time when the world is growing more anxious by the day, we have the unique opportunity to share a different message—one of hope in Jesus Christ, of trust in a Kingdom economy, and of generosity in sharing with those in need. Years ago, Jesus invited His followers to share a tunic if they had two. Today, we might be invited to share an extra roll of toilet paper if we have more than we need. Let’s not miss this moment to creatively love our neighbors, the ones right next door and those much further away.

As the Church, may we embrace our mission to respond to the anxious, the hurting, and the vulnerable. To be known as a people who respond with courageous compassion and radical love.

“In a time like now, Christian neighboring looks less like fearful self-preservation and more like servanthood toward the elderly; those with HIV, autoimmune disease, or no healthcare; fatigued and under-resourced healthcare workers.

 Wash hands, for sure. Then, wash feet.”

– Scott Sauls

For more information on COVID-19, please see our page highlighting some of the best resources out there for Faith Driven Entrepreneurs in this season.

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[Thanks to Peter Greer for the cover photo]

Big thanks to Charlie for letting us highlight this article originally sent through email newsletter! Check out his blog here for more great content!

— by Charlie Paparelli

None of us, including experienced business people, have led a company in such a time as this. Whole industries like transportation, entertainment, and sports are voluntarily shutting down. Government, education, and churches are halting, while healthcare, food, and household supply businesses are booming. 

Your customer problem stack was just reshuffled. The market demand for your product has likely changed. 

It all starts with consumers like you and me. 

I am interested in learning about how to not get sick. I am not thinking about startup investments. I am thinking about the health of my family. I want to know what my new “normal” will be. 

How will I conduct my business in this environment? 

What about my passive investments? 

How do I interact with my children and grandchildren to ensure all remain healthy? 

We have travel plans? What do we do?

These are some of the questions I am asking myself. But they are questions for which I have no answers. It is like I’ve been thrust headlong into the bottom three segments of the Maslow hierarchy of needs. 

I jumped from thinking about my self-fulfillment needs to my psychological and basic needs. 

That’s a big change in thinking.

So what happened? My problem stack was just reprioritized. 

This is happening in your household and your business. As a leader in your company, you must recognize your entire employee base is doing precisely this, too. 

What about your employees?

You can address the concerns of your employees. All businesses are doing this. There are announcements like:

• Work at home

• Have more video meetings

• Hold only small group, in-person meetings if absolutely necessary

All of these solutions are contagion control strategies. All of these solutions are in place to address employee fears. 

You now need to start thinking about your customers.

Every business has a problem stack. This means your customer has a problem stack. Has this stack been reshuffled? Is the problem your company solves at the top of its stack? 

If the problem you solve is no longer at the top of the customer’s newly reshuffled problem stack, you’ve got a problem. Your sales will fall precipitously. You’ll hear your prospects say, “That’s not important to me right now. Call me when all this settles down.”

If your prospects are no longer buying because they have bigger fish to fry, admit it. Don’t rationalize it away. It won’t go away. Face the problem head-on. 

You have three options as an early-stage company.

1. Stay the course

2. Pivot and hope to grow

3. Cut expenses and survive

Stay the course

Staying the course is the lowest risk option. You do this because the problem you solve actually became your prospect’s most pressing problem. You discovered these dramatic market changes are playing right into your hand. Thank the Lord for this if you are in this position. 

The remaining two options are very big bets. Each of these bets is the equivalent of going all-in with your early-stage company.

Pivot and Hope to Grow

Pivoting might just be the best solution if it is available to you. Your pivot is to change your product to point to a problem higher in the customer’s stack. It addresses a problem your customer has right now. The problem the customer must solve because it was placed right in the middle of his lap in this crazy environment.

If you can make this move, then do it. Make sure you also change all the market and sales material to support it. This is your new market position. Hopefully, you don’t need to change your market and buyer. The more changes you have to make, the riskier the pivot. Repositioning the product to the same market is best. This will hopefully lead to continued sales growth and the ever-important cashflow.

Cut Expenses and Survive

This is the dig in, hunker down strategy. Sell what you can. Conserve cash. Live another day.

If the problem you solve moves so far down the customer problem stack, then a repositioning pivot may not be possible. If this is the case, you have to live another day until normalcy returns to your market. Your goal in choosing this strategy is to still be there when the customer problem stack rights itself.

I’m sure you and I both had an initial emotional reaction to these market changes. But then you realized you are a leader. People are looking to you for answers. To set the tone. To give them hope. They want you to lead. 

There is a favorite verse I quote often to myself during times such as this.

“God did not give me a spirit of fear, but of power, love and self-discipline.”

Define the problem. Make a decision. Go!

…

For more information on COVID-19, please see our page highlighting some of the best resources out there for Faith Driven Entrepreneurs in this season.

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[Special thanks to Ryan Yao on Unsplash for the photo]

Big thanks to Charlie for letting us highlight this article originally sent through email newsletter! Check out his blog here for more great content!

— by Charlie Paparelli

Mike, a table host for the High Tech Prayer Breakfast, asked this question over lunch, “What am I to do as a Christian in business during this time of coronavirus? It seems like such a great time to talk about Jesus.”

Another of my guests said without a moment’s pause, “People are thinking they will either get sick or go broke.” 

He defined the problem really quickly and succinctly.

What are we as Christians in business supposed to do? 

Mike went on to explain a bit more of his thinking that was driving his question.

“We are called to be the light of Christ wherever we are. This unprecedented market shift is giving us the opportunity to start and build relationships. Relationships we might never have had without this coronavirus. People are afraid. They want to do something, but there is nothing to do. The advice is don’t meet in large groups and wash your hands frequently. All the tactics to fight this thing are defensive.”

Mark, another table host, then said, “This virus really gripped me with fear at first. So I prayed to God. I asked him to remove this fear from me. What I heard him say during my time of prayer was ‘Surrender.’ I realized this was a crisis of faith. I needed to trust God not only with my life after death but also with my life right now. I left that prayer time in peace about all that is going on.”

I realized this was step one of how to be on purpose for Jesus Christ during the coronavirus. Here are some of the other steps, including this first step, we eventually agreed to.

1. Surrender yourself to Jesus Christ

Mike, the guy who initially asked the question, said, “Surrender is always the first step in our faith in Jesus Christ. It starts there and continues there. Fear should trigger surrender not more fear. We need to trust Jesus.”

If we are going to help people in this condition, we need to not be suffering from the same condition. We can’t give what we don’t have. As a Christian, I must pass on the peace I have in these times of chaos. I must keep my head when everyone else is losing theirs.

2. Build relationships by seeking to understand before being understood

This is all about caring for others with sincerity. We love by listening and not by talking. Ask people how they are doing. Listen. Don’t try to one-up them by expressing your concerns and problems. These conversations are not about you. They are about the person Jesus put in front of you. Love them by listening to them.

We were about to pray thanksgiving for the food just delivered. We asked the waitress, “How can we pray for you?” 

Our waitress said, “Pray for our business to come back. Business is way off. They already sent three servers home.”

3. Take the conversation to God

The person you are talking to knows there is no real answer to these fears. They are real, no denying it. People are getting sick, and people’s livelihoods are being threatened. 

As you pray for this person, be asking God how you might help them. God has given you resources. You have a network, skills, experience, and money. 

4. Help them

Now that you know what the person needs, help them if you can. If they are most afraid of getting sick, share your story of surrender just like Mark shared his with us at lunch.

When Mark told of praying to remove fear, it really had an impact on me. After hearing his story, I said to myself, “What he did was right. He asked God to take this fear. He gave his fear to God, and God took it from him. Look at him and how at peace he is with all this. I need to do the same.”

The waitress was clearly concerned about her livelihood. She needed help. There were not many guests in the restaurant for her to care for. This meant tips were going to be way off. 

When the check came, we looked at each other and knew what we needed to do. We were each going to leave this young lady an outsized tip. We talked for a minute and came to an agreement. Then someone upped the amount. And we agreed again.

Lunch went on. We got caught up in the business we were there to discuss. I didn’t even realize the waitress picked up the signed credit card receipts.

Out of nowhere, the waitress was standing next to our table. She said, “I want to thank you all. Thank you.”

5. Stay in touch

If appropriate, stay in touch with the person you helped. You just started a new relationship. You loved this person by listening to them. You prayed for them. You helped them. You provided something they needed. You showed them a glimpse of Jesus. You were a light during their dark time.

Continue to show your love by staying in touch. 

These are the steps we came to in answering Mike’s question. 

Jesus wants us to talk about him and the impact he had on our life. To this end, we must have a meaningful connecting point. In good times, it is hard to find this connection with people. But now we know the connection. 

Everyone is fearful of getting sick or going broke. They’ll bring it up. All you have to do is listen and help.

That’s what it means to be the light of Christ in the marketplace.

…

For more information on COVID-19, please see our page highlighting some of the best resources out there for Faith Driven Entrepreneurs in this season.

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[Special thanks to Free to Use Sounds on Unsplash for the photo]

This message was originally sent from The C12 Group Founder Buck Jacobs to C12 Group members. The C12 team hopes his words offer peace, calm and hope while being extremely timely and profound.

— by Buck Jacobs (Founder, The C12 Group)

“See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.” Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.”

Hebrews 12:25-28 NKJV

                                                           

“For we walk by faith, not by sight.”

II Corinthians 5:7 NKJV                                                         

So, there is a shaking going on. A shaking called a coronavirus pandemic. I don’t really know what to make of it. How long will it last? How far will it spread? How many will die? What about the economy? What can I do? These and other questions flow through our minds in a loop without clear answers. And here we are, Kingdom Leaders right in the middle of it all; called to lead our families, associate leaders, employees, and customers. What are we being asked to do?

The scripture speaks of God “shaking things that can be shaken that the things that cannot be shaken may remain.” He has a way of doing that in big and little ways. He shakes things. He is not a God of the status quo. And why is that true? It is true because in a static world we would never grow or be conformed to the image of Christ and there would be no need for faith. We could simply live “by sight.” That’s not His plan.

I heard someone say that we are like tubes of toothpaste; you don’t get to see what’s inside until they’re squeezed. Shaking squeezes us, forces us out of our comfort zone, makes us uneasy, even fearful. In many ways shaking shows what’s inside and in Whom and in what do we trust?

Since the beginning of C12 we have had several shakings; the savings and loan scandal and consequent market record drop, 9/11, the dot-com crash, the financial collapse of 2008 to name some. We could discuss the unique political culture of this time and the advent of the voracious 24-hour news cycle and an adversarial media but the result is simply a shaking. God is still in control. This shaking will end. Unless Jesus comes back, life will go on. 

As Christian leaders, what are our associates looking for from us while the shaking goes on? What do they need most? They need examples of faith and confidence in the God we cannot see, and wise counsel that is grounded in His wisdom. They need us to be us! Some of them will be challenged as they have never been. Some of us may be as well. We will need to be like our Leader who naps in storms and when He speaks the winds cease. He will not be moved in this shaking or any other in the future. This will pass. He is our Rock and He will stand.

Don’t be distracted by this shaking. Stand in your faith in Jesus and in His calling on your life to be a leader. And one small word of warning as we go through this shaking. Some will give in to fear and doubt. They will become negative naysayers and their attitudes can become very toxic. They will look for commiseration and reject optimism based on faith. Guard your heart. Don’t buy into it. In past shakings, some Christian leaders have bought in, commiserated with them, adopted their fearful attitude, and paid dearly for listening to them. Be like the man quoted in Habakkuk 3:17-19:

“Though the fig tree may not blossom nor fruit be on the vines; though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; though the flock be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls – yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer’s feet, and He will make me walk on my high hills.”

Remember, anyone can praise the Lord and profess faith in Him when everything is going great, their bellies are full and their pockets are stuffed with cash.  C12 members have a choice… to lead by example and to be those men and women whose faith is real when our world is shaking. We need to be leaders who stand against the wind and act like the buffaloes who run toward the storm. These are the very days God had in mind for us when He created us in Christ Jesus and it is no accident and no surprise to Him that “there’s a whole lot of shakin’ goin’ on.”  

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[Special thanks to Giancarlo Revolledo for the cover photo]