— Gary Hoag

We are excited to share with you a FREE resource compiled by Gary Hoag, Generosity Monk and Christian Super during the summer of 2018.

GO HERE to download your FREE copy of “Purposeful Living: Financial Wisdom for All of Life” eBook!

Please also read below Gary’s original blog post where he shared an article I wrote for the eBook. I’m honored he was compelled to share the article and appreciate his comments at the end of the post below.

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Henry Kaestner: Identity

Now I commit you to God and to the word of His grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. Acts 20:32

“Successful entrepreneurs who just happen to be Christians (entrepreneur Christians) are often praised, celebrated, and asked to serve on ministry boards either because of their business prowess or their deep pockets and ability to give funding. These people are sought after as mentors to the next generation. Unfortunately, the entrepreneur Christian’s values are passed down through the gene pool of the church.

What is far better, of course, is to find great Christians who just happen to be entrepreneurs — then and only then can we really get somewhere. I see this pattern of equating business success with Christian character frequently unfold among the folks that I know in Silicon Valley or Silicon Alley, Silicon Prairie or Silicon Anywhere.

Why am I on my soapbox about this? In my organization, we meet hundreds of Christian entrepreneurs who struggle with anxiety. Why? It relates to identity. They think of themselves as entrepreneurs first and Christians second. They’d never admit this out loud, but that’s how they operate. They’ve bought the world’s narrative and here’s how it goes: Society gives them kudos for being the next big thing who’s growing a company at 20% each month, or who just secured a $15m investment, or just inked a deal with Google. They hear this message from their friends, their parents, their investors. They believe it without ever knowing when they crossed over from being a Christian first to an entrepreneur first. It becomes a feedback loop that most assuredly doesn’t come from their time in Scripture, but from society at large.

They have mistakenly located their identity in their role as entrepreneurs, oftentimes successful ones, and this only becomes evident when their growth slows or they can’t find funding. Then, the “Protestant Work Ethic” they celebrated as a noble virtue appears as the ugly idol it has been all along. They act like they can earn their salvation and deliverance. Lest circumstances beat them with many blows, they redouble their efforts, only to find the predictable outcome of ever-increasing anxiety and the near total absence of joy.

What’s the solution? Acknowledge the problem for what it is — an identity crisis. Every entrepreneur or worker in business needs to understand that their identity comes from being a beloved child of God with full inheritance rights to His kingdom. They must take hold of the gift of life for now and forever. They need to reflect on that, stew on that. For how long? Well, for as long as it takes for them to have their minds blown by this awesome and indescribable gift. It’s not enough to get this intellectually. It must permeate every aspect of life.

If it takes time in Scripture to get there, then they need to take that time. Once they get there, they realize that they’ve been given the greatest and most meaningful gift and reality imaginable. The Work (capital W) has already been done by Christ, so the most logical thing to do is to bring all we are and all we have to the altar before God, not because He needs it, but because we can’t help but be overcome by gratitude; it consumes us.”

— quoting Henry Kaestner in his three-page essay “What does it mean to be a Christian entrepreneur?” in Purposeful Living: Financial Wisdom for All of Life compiled and edited by Gary G. Hoag and Tim Macready (Rhodes, NSW: Christian Super, 2018) 19-21. Click on the title to download this free ebook today.

Coming off Labor Day in America, it’s important to remind ourselves that our work must not be the basis for our identity. Our identity must be located only in who we are in Jesus Christ. The same is true with our generosity. It flows not from wealth we make but from an abundant God who supplies all things for us to enjoy and share.

So, as you head to work today, remember this: base your identity and your generosity not in your work but in Jesus Christ alone. Then, like Paul shared in his farewell to the Ephesian elders, by His grace our Lord will “build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.”

In plain terms, everything else fits abundantly into place when our identity is fixed on who we are as sanctified or set apart for Jesus Christ. May your identity in Christ also permeate your giving so that you are a joyful giver for God, a conduit of His rich generosity.

Article originally hosted and shared with permission by The Christian Economic Forum, a global network of leaders who join together to collaborate and introduce strategic ideas for the spread of God’s economic principles and the goodness of Jesus Christ. This article was from a collection of whitepapers compiled for attendees of the CEF’s 2018 Global Event.

— by Kenneth Ewell

The foundation of Christian entrepreneurship is, paradoxically, weakness. This is not weakness of product, service, or business, but of the entrepreneur himself as a Christian. This is true because Christ said His power is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). If the goal of the Christian entrepreneur is to advance the Kingdom of God by the power of God, in some sense, weakness must be the way. In a culture that continually tries to conform us to its patterns, idolizing strength and worldly power, Christian entrepreneurs must go into the world aware of, or even embracing, their own weakness. In this way, they advance the Kingdom of God, relying on His power rather than their own.

In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul began one of his famous boasts, this time not directly in the cross, but in his own weakness. It is important for the Christian entrepreneur to note that Paul was not referring to any weakness in his work ethic, or the impact his work would have on the people he served. Rather, he was referring to his own personal weakness. It is also of note that Paul was not merely aware of his own weakness; rather, he boasted in it. This boasting enabled Christ’s power to rest on him (v. 9). In his first letter to the Corinthian church, Paul urged the church to imitate him (1 Corinthians 11:1). If the Christian entrepreneur wishes to have Christ’s power rest on him, he too, should imitate Paul—in all ways, but especially in his boasting in weakness.

What does it mean for the Christian entrepreneur to boast in his weakness? While these apply generally to all Christians in business, I have the entrepreneur in mind. First, it means to be honest with ourselves about our shortcomings and character flaws. Pride and vanity, often nurtured by a social media culture that requires us to present the best version of ourselves at all times, can lead to the deception of others and self about who we really are. This does not mean we should go around advertising our failures or speaking poorly of ourselves. Rather, we should first be honest with God and ourselves about our weaknesses, and therefore act in humility towards others (colleagues, customers, suppliers, investors, and competitors). For example, if a young Christian CEO struggles with fear of man, he should take stock of how this distorts his relationship with God and affects the people who work with and for him. Then he should repent and reflect on his tendency to make decisions based on the opinions of others rather than a holy fear of God.

Second, this honesty should extend to a circle of trusted advisors. Ideally, these would be Christians who are members of the entrepreneurial community. This circle of advisors can respectfully inquire about our day-to-day awareness of these weaknesses, help us to see “blind spots,” and encourage us to continue taking stock of our character, bringing our weaknesses to God, and praising God when His power clearly does work in and through us at work.

Finally, boasting in weakness means recognizing that God’s power works in and through Christian entrepreneurs not despite their weaknesses, but often because of them. The occasion for Paul’s boasting was a “thorn” in his flesh, which God gave him to keep him from becoming conceited (2 Corinthians 12:7). When Paul pleaded with God to remove the thorn, the Lord replied, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (v. 9). As a result, Paul decided to “boast in his weakness” so that Christ’s power might rest on him. For Paul, God’s power was able to work through him precisely because of his weakness. This is also true for the Christian entrepreneur, whose goal is to advance the Kingdom of God through his ventures. When the entrepreneur responds appropriately to his own weaknesses, paradoxically this enables God to accomplish the goal through him.

In closing, let me offer four thoughts I hope will help Christian entrepreneurs to boast in their weakness.

1. Begin each day by reminding yourself of the big story of your salvation by God’s sheer grace, which highlights both your weakness and Christ’s power.

2. Reflect on your own weaknesses and shortcomings, not morbidly, but so you may see this truth more clearly: every day you must rely on God rather than yourself.

3. In moments of success, boast in your weaknesses, knowing that success despite those weaknesses is due to God’s grace and power.

4. In moments of failure, continue to boast in your weaknesses, remembering that God has chosen to use entrepreneurship, above all, to conform you to the image of Jesus, not for your material gain or glory.

I am still exploring these ideas. I welcome any discussion, feedback, and suggestions on how to develop them further.

…

Special thanks for the cover photo to Ian Chen on Unsplash

This week we get into Part Two of the Lightning Round episode, fielding your questions.  Henry, Rusty, and William tackle two really important questions for the faith driven entrepreneur: how we handle our resource of money and time. Neither may come up on our radar readily given the entrepreneur’s everyday grind and hustle.  Henry shared that it’s important that we identify firstly why we give, and also pray over where and how. Rusty recognized that some entrepreneurs have other ways of giving and gets us thinking about planning for giving.

The team moves on to tackle the issue of traveling for work and how to balance personal time with traveling, as well as the potential for excessive or unnecessary travel to become an idol for too many entrepreneurs.  Some may even see it as a badge of honor. What is model behavior for leaders to communicate a healthy view of travel to their subordinates?  Rusty says we should be judicious about our time and William reminds us all that with so much technology we can think about using other tools to achieve the same business goals.

Tell us in the comments section below about your most rewarding generosity experience.  Drop a line also on how you’ve maintained healthy boundaries on work travel. And one final note: spicy chicken sandwich. That’s all we’re going to say about that…

This week we get into part two of the Lightning Round episode, fielding your questions.  Henry, Rusty, and William tackle two really important questions for the faith driven entrepreneur: how we handle our resource of money and time. Neither may come up on our radar readily given the entrepreneur’s everyday grind and hustle.  Henry shared that it’s important that we identify firstly why we give, and also pray over where and how. Rusty recognized that some entrepreneurs have other ways of giving and gets us thinking about planning for giving.

The team moves on to tackle the issue of traveling for work and how to balance personal time with traveling, as well as the potential for excessive or unnecessary travel to become an idol for too many entrepreneurs.  Some may even see it as a badge of honor. What is model behavior for leaders to communicate a healthy view of travel to their subordinates?  Rusty says we should be judicious about our time and William reminds us all that with so much technology we can think about using other tools to achieve the same business goals. 

Tell us in the comment section below about your most rewarding generosity experience.  Drop a line also on how you’ve maintained healthy boundaries on work travel. And one final note: spicy chicken sandwich. That’s all we’re going to say about that…

Photo by freestocks.org on Unsplash

Happy Monday, all!

The Lion’s Den, with their conferences in Dallas and Birmingham, have been partners in the Faith Driven Entrepreneur movement for more than 5 years.  Think “Shark Tank” meets the Kingdom of God and you have a sense as to what happens at these events.  This is installment #1 of 4 highlighting their work.  In this video, the TLD team asked some experts about helping entrepreneurs make a plan to take the leap and invest their talent in startups. 

Take a look at this short video below about being transformed and allowing God to work through you as a entrepreneur.

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If TLD is something that you think you’d be interested in presenting at, or going to, please go to: https://www.thelionsdendfw.com/pitch-application  — Applications are open until 12/31/18.

Rusty Rueff is one of the co-hosts of Faith Driven Entrepreneur’s weekly podcast. This post was originally published on Rusty’s blog, Purposed WorKING.

Coco Chanel was an entrepreneur and the way that she personally owned her marketing is an inspiration. — Henry Kaestner

by Rusty Rueff

“Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 28:19

Fast Company Magazine recently ran an article about 10 CEO moves that changed business. We can learn from each of them.

Coco Chanel in 1910 couldn’t figure out how to get people to recognize the fashion she was designing, so she did something others hadn’t done.  She started personally wearing her designs in the streets of Paris. First was a hat that others begin to see and ask, “Where did you get that hat?”.  Then later she did the same with perfume. Ever wonder why in the mall or on the street someone wants to spray you with their perfume? We can thank Coco Chanel for being the first to take it to the streets. If it worked for Coco, it can work for us.  What do we have that we need to be taking to the streets instead of waiting for the street to come to us?

Jesus was very clear.  Our faith belongs in the street, not hidden in a church. Our streets can be our workplaces and when we live out our faith and are ready to share what God has done for us, then we are following what Jesus commissions us to do.  God has given us each our own “streets” to take to for Him.

Reference: Matthew 28:19 (New Living Translation)

The post day 2532: Bold Moves – Part 2: Taking It To The Streets appeared first on purposed worKING.

Special thanks to Jeff Frenette on Unsplash for the cover image.