I was baptized and became a church member when I was thirteen years old, after attending the typical confirmation class at my church.  Jesus saved me on October 3, 1986, at a particularly dark time in my business life, when I was struggling to be the department manager people expected me to be.  As undeserving as I am, Jesus continues to save me every day, and for that I give Him all the praise and glory.

I know I was saved because God has a purpose for me, and He has prepared me for many years to live out that purpose.  He saw to it that I had a wide variety of business experiences over thirty-five years, that I was exposed to the good, the bad, and the ugliness of the business world, that I would make and learn from my own business mistakes, and that I would finally come to understand that faith is an inextricable part of all facets of life, including work.

I was exposed to workplace ministry through my employer who provided Christian pastors and lay people to minister to the needs of its employees in the interests of helping them address personal issues so they could be better employees.  It seemed like a very enlightened approach to employee relations, and the essence of servant leadership.

About that same time I was getting better acquainted with a fellow board member of our local chamber of commerce, a strong Christian man called to minister through his work on the board.  My friend Tom was called ultimately to form and build a Christian Business Fellowship of like minded people who felt their businesses should be, in fact, “more than a business”.  He now faces the challenge of preparing and equipping people for all nature of workplace ministry, a daunting call, but one that he is better equipped to answer than anyone I know.

Through a couple of changes in my work life I felt the call that now was the time to begin writing, to follow through on the purpose God had in store for me.  My perception was validated by my friends in the fellowship, and through prophecy and prayer of others who felt compelled to tell me what God was telling them about His plan for me.

So here I am, blogging about Better Business Basics, and More Than a Business, with the task laid on my heart to write about making business a positive influence in cultures, and using businesses to reclaim people, communities and nations for Christ.  For a guy who used to write audit reports it’s a strange call, but a compelling one.  I trust that you who read these posts will serve as my sounding board, and help to validate His words as I capture and offer them to you.

As always, peace my friends…