Jean Vanier
Jean Vanier is one of my heroes and has become one of the most influential people in my life. Here’s the crazy part. Eight months ago, I didn’t even know who he was. He was just starting to reach me with his radical message of love and discipleship. I had already determined that I was […]
Multiple Income Streams (Part 2)
As a business owner, I have learned that there are circles of life in business that, try as you may, cannot be thwarted. Just as we discover that we are not going to live on earth forever, business leaders discover that their business model cannot live forever. The same is true of our local church. […]
Multiple Income Streams
Today in America, most middle-class families have more than one income stream in order to make ends meet. This could include one person working two jobs, or both parents working. It could include someone having a job and then having a second income stream from a small business on the side. It would seem that […]
The Embedded Church – The Building Part II
In his book, 10 Tsunamis Impacting Ministries: How Do We Survive What’s Coming?, Daniel Cook asks a couple provocative questions. “What would happen to our ministries if we cut out the mortgages, reduce the overhead expenses of our buildings by two-thirds or more, and use our buildings seven days a week? What would happen if we […]
The Embedded Church – The Building
Tim Keller once tweeted, “If you & your church were to disappear off the face of the earth tomorrow, would anyone in the community around you notice you were gone?” I am sure every pastor would want to say, “Of course people would notice.” And there is some truth in that for every church. Of […]
Co-vocation…It’s Happening
Earlier this week I had the privilege of leading one of my favorite groups of people. These are the men and women who make up our local center of Liberty Church Network. Each month I meet with this group, many of whom are pastors and church leaders. We are a highly relational network focused on […]
Seven Mountains
Recently, author and speaker Lance Wallnau said something that really challenged me. I quote, “Wall Street does not control the US economy. Small business controls the economy. There are thirty million small businesses in America employing one hundred and fifty million people.” That is more than half of the adult population in our country. He […]
The Church…Money, Buildings, Leadership…Where Are We Going?
Because of my involvement in business and church leadership, I have a unique vantage point from which to observe the operations of church ministry and trends. Don’t get me wrong. I am not a futurist, nor am I related to George Barna. These are simply my observations and expectations concerning the local church. And because […]
Cuba Para Cristo!
Business Question What if you were approached with a business proposition that had a guaranteed ROI of 500% over sixty months, would you take it? Let me ask this another way. If you could invest $1million and get a 5-year return of $18million, would you try to find the million-dollar investment? Next thought…what if you […]
Lunacy or Legacy
Pam and I were attending a pastors’ conference a few years ago when one of the speakers invited all of the pastors and spouses to come to the front of the auditorium for prayer. It was at that moment that God spoke to me in a way that I will never forget. Ironically it was […]
An Unsung Hero
I want to tell you about my friend Steve Baldwin. In my opinion, he is the poster child for Better Business/Better Ministry. Steve is a Christ follower who possesses an amazing gift for financial management and organizational growth. As CFO for one of the largest food distribution companies in the US, Steve built a great […]
Out Of The Box
For the next several blogs, I want to highlight some business/ministry ideas that are focused on reaching people who will never attend our churches. If the pundits are correct, somewhere between 53% – 60% of people in our community have no intention of ever attending anyone’s church…even yours! So the church must go to the […]
Gospel Patrons
gos · pel pa · trons. Noun. 1. People who resource and come alongside others to help them proclaim the gospel. I just finished a great book recommended by a business owner friend. The book is Gospel Patrons by John Rinehart. Written in 2013, Rinehart tells three stories…the stories of William Tyndale, George Whitefield and […]
It’s None of Your Business!
Two Ways to Look at This On a very cold January 1, 1984, I started my business in the house pictured above. I had the entire upper floor of the building. The heat worked some, the one bathroom was accessible by walking outside on the porch, and I had a single line telephone…and a bunch […]
Co-vocational vs. Bi-vocational
Called To Business I’m a little slow in picking up on things. I have been a businessman for over thirty years, but it is only within the last two years that I have considered this a calling, not a job. I have loved every year of my business life…some more than others, and I seem […]
In Business, This Is A Huge Number!
Market Share… There is not a business owner alive who wouldn’t love to have this kind of market share. In my own business, there are geographic locations where we actually hit 32% market share, and that is simply amazing. But 60%?? The Bad News…The folks from Exponential gave us this number. This is not a […]
