businness and christian

I have 2 businesses and make it known that they are owned and run by Christians. I even have a Bible verse on my business cards.
I think God has blessed and prospered my businesses because I don't hide the fact nor am ashamed of it.
Have I lost business because of it? Yes and good riddance. Have I lost money because of it? Yes because the customer is always right even when they're wrong.
There are many Christian businesses in my area that are truly that.

 

Interesting...there's a similar question that I was going to ask tonight.

What's your first job?

 

I'm a landscape architect principally. I also do some editing for various magazine publishers.

 

Sorry; didn't make myself clear. The question I'm going to ask is, what's your first job?

See, I work with a guy who's the Command Chief Master Sergeant for the base, and he pastors a church in a little town west of here, too.

But the impression he gives everyone is that he's a Command Chief, who also happens to be a pastor.

Seems to me like that's backwards....

 

I think I get your drift. I go into every business meeting with the thought to be the best representative of Christ I can be. Clients already know I'm a Christian by the time we have a sit down as my cards and letterheads have Bible verses on them. Oft times this comes up that I was considered because either they are themselves Christians or they are curious in some way. (I'm sure I was never considered at times for the same reasons). I've had a chance to witness on many occasions.
Do I come in saying, "Hi, I'm here to witness to you about Jesus and win your business" ? No. I try to be the best witness and example I can be.

One funny thing. My longest client I thought I lost right off the bat. I was sort of new in business and we were standing around one of his job sites. He yelled that G--D word at someone. I told him if I heard him say that again in my presence, he'd be finding another architect. He looked me straight in the eye and told me to hit the road. Then he called me up the next day and apologized and we signed a deal. About 2 years after that, he started coming to church. Hardly missed a day since in over 20 years.

 

I manage my own insurance agency and my wife also owns her own photography business. We take the same approach as Optional does. I have a great opportunity to witness to a lot of people in my profession. Often I wear a Christian tie, or tie clip and that can get the conversation rolling. Especially when I wear a Creation tie . I too have gained business and have certainly lost some because of my belief’s. I made an atheists really upset when he read that I enjoy studying the Bible. One sale down the tubes.

Ethics are very hard to follow when you are commissioned based. By God’s wonderful grace I have never done anything that would hurt a client for my gain. I praise the Sprit living within me for that. As Christians we should be extremely up-front, honest and disclose all information in regards to any of the clients best interest. We should not be influenced by the dollar. As far as that goes, anytime anyone ever reveals that they are a Christian they should act like one, showing kindness, respect and integrity at all cost.

As Christian business people, we also find that some people try to take advantage of our generosity, and often think that they should receive something they don’t want to pay for. As a wise steward, we should not allow that to happen either.

[ April 10, 2002, 09:46 PM: Message edited by: Chet ]

 

I firmly believe that moral authority provided through christ is the ideal framework for business dealings.

Here in Australia there are many christian business groups that get together regularly to discuss their approaches to business and faith.

However, as in anything this can go to extreme as well. Not too long ago I worked for a CEO who was also a Pastor of a (non-Baptist)church. He firmly belived that the business was "god ordained" but would regularly let the drive for profit over-ride the teaching of our faith in christ (at the cost of both).

One lesson I did learn from this experience is this:

Math 6:24 "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon."

 

Sure, apart from many personal family examples I could give you, a recent issue of the OK Baptist Messenger talked about R.A.Young, who passed away in March at 98. He was a founder of TG&Y, a variety store chain which employed as many as 30,000 people. As the Messenger stated, he touched "virtually every facet of Southern Baptist life in Oklahoma". He was a major contributor to OK Baptist University, Baptist Medical Center, Baptist Homes for Children, and many other causes. His estate just gave $5 million to Falls Creek (enormous Baptist camp) for updating.
TG&Y itself had a reputation for being run with the highest ethics.

Karen

 

Here's a question that runs along this thread, not trying to change the subject, but something I've always wondered about...

Is it possible to be a DEFENSE attorney, or Public Defender (plea bargain, too), and still be a Christian? (I've never known one personally, have you? Just attorneys who do wills and such.)

 

Sure, it's possible...you're assuming that defense attorneys defend only the guilty. Sometimes, they actually get to defend the innocent....

 

Isn't Christian attorney* an oxymoron...sort of like Bank & Trust?

*This was a joke. Do not sue me. I realize attorney and sense of humor is ...well never mind.

[ April 12, 2002, 12:22 AM: Message edited by: Optional ]

 

Boy howdy, do I!

I'm in the military; I think I can see your problem.

It's funny how many people will respect you that much more if you make it clear from the get-go what your personal convictions are, and then stick to them (the "stick to them" part being the crucial part).

People come up to me and say, "Wanna hear a joke?" and I always reply, "Will it offend me?" They usually think about it for a minute, and if it will, they turn around and leave. Or they'll tell the joke, I'll refuse to laugh and tell them it offended me, and they never tell a joke like that again.

Or, just yesterday, I caught one of my subordinates blatantly lying about something. It was a small thing, but it was an outright lie nonetheless. I made it clear that we will NOT lie about anything. We may withhold certain information, because people don't need to know about it; but if we're in the wrong, we'll fess up, fix the situation, and continue on.

It was a culture shock for him, especially because it was such a little thing in his mind.

Stick to your guns. You'll either get fired, or promoted!

 

Awesome advice, Don.

 

Question for you Don..

Do you feel that your conviction has hindered your military career at all?

I enormously admire "straight shooters" (sorry about the pun)I feel its the only way to earn respect in the workplace!

 

In some regards...yes, it has. You've always got that one commander who looks at the fact that I don't hang out at the bar getting sloppy drunk with him and all the other members of the squadron.

But in the big picture? Hasn't hindered my career one whit. As it says in Psalms, promotion is of God. As long as God keeps promoting me, I know I'm right where He wants me, and those particular commanders just don't realize that God is using them just as He's using me.

As I mentioned previously, it's a matter of what my first job is: Am I a Christian who just happens to be in the military, or am I a military man who just happens to be a Christian?

I'm working hard on making sure people know it's the first one....