“The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature.”
Luke 8:14
Many of you are familiar with the parable that Jesus told about the farmer sowing his seed. The seed represents the word of God and the soil condition (along the path, on rock, among thorns) represents the various barriers in life that keep us from truly receiving it. Communication is a two way process. When we speak the other person has to hear in order for communication to take place. Jesus teaches us in this parable that we can become “choked by life’s worries” and this will keep us from receiving the spiritual nourishment that is abundant in the word of God.
Unfortunately I have often found myself among the thorns being choked by life’s worries. I’m a bit of a worry wart. Being an entrepreneur and business owner necessarily means being a “doer”. When I encounter a problem, I immediately set out to fix it. If the issue isn’t immediately resolved, I try another path but often begin worrying about the outcome. The state of the current economy and the challenges that it has created has ensured that I haven’t had a shortage of things to worry about…that’s for sure!
Worrying can become all consuming if you let it. This parable reminded me that it can also be an impediment to learning what God is trying to teach me through His word. I spend 15-30 minutes every morning praying and reading the Bible. This is one of the ways that I stay connected to God during the hectic work week. I am now also focused on removing the thorns of worry from this time to ensure that the seed falls on “good soil”.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Friday, September 24, 2010
For Such a Time as This
“And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this.”
Esther 4:12
You might not be feeling it yet but the “great recession” technically ended back in June 2009. While it is true that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has been growing since that time, unfortunately this growth has been at a slowing rate. The second quarter growth rate was a measly +1.6%. On the jobs front, initial claims for state unemployment benefits were up 12,000 last week to 465,000. In total, 9.6% of Americans are now out of work. Over half of the individual states in the U.S. had higher unemployment in August ’10 compared to the month earlier. An astounding 4.49 million Americans are currently receiving unemployment benefits.[1]
The good news is that this isn’t Obama’s economy or Bush’s economy…it is God’s economy. He is in control. One positive outcome of our current economic situation is that there appears to be a spiritual awakening taking place in the good ole USA. Unemployed people are out looking for jobs as aggressively as ever. Small business owners are putting in the extra effort to get their businesses growing again. Corporate leaders are trying to figure out how to get more done with less. All of this is the same as in the past. But the difference this time is that the extended economic downturn has humbled many people and caused us to realize once again that God is in control.
Esther was an orphan Jewish girl who was adopted by her cousin. King Xerxes was a powerful ruler over 127 provinces and, not knowing she was a Jew, chose the beautiful Esther to be his Queen. Haman, a senior leader in the kingdom, tricked the King into ordering the complete annihilation of the Jewish people on a single day. But God was in control. He had prepared and placed Esther in her position “for such a time as this”. The only people that were annihilated were Haman and his wicked family.
I truly believe that God is preparing us now for the wonderful blessings that he has planned for us in the future. While we are all out working hard to do our part to bolster the economic GDP let’s make sure that we also stay focused on the spiritual GDP (God’s Divine Purpose for our life) and be prepared “for such a time as this”.
[1] FoxBusiness.com 9/23/2010
Esther 4:12
You might not be feeling it yet but the “great recession” technically ended back in June 2009. While it is true that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has been growing since that time, unfortunately this growth has been at a slowing rate. The second quarter growth rate was a measly +1.6%. On the jobs front, initial claims for state unemployment benefits were up 12,000 last week to 465,000. In total, 9.6% of Americans are now out of work. Over half of the individual states in the U.S. had higher unemployment in August ’10 compared to the month earlier. An astounding 4.49 million Americans are currently receiving unemployment benefits.[1]
The good news is that this isn’t Obama’s economy or Bush’s economy…it is God’s economy. He is in control. One positive outcome of our current economic situation is that there appears to be a spiritual awakening taking place in the good ole USA. Unemployed people are out looking for jobs as aggressively as ever. Small business owners are putting in the extra effort to get their businesses growing again. Corporate leaders are trying to figure out how to get more done with less. All of this is the same as in the past. But the difference this time is that the extended economic downturn has humbled many people and caused us to realize once again that God is in control.
Esther was an orphan Jewish girl who was adopted by her cousin. King Xerxes was a powerful ruler over 127 provinces and, not knowing she was a Jew, chose the beautiful Esther to be his Queen. Haman, a senior leader in the kingdom, tricked the King into ordering the complete annihilation of the Jewish people on a single day. But God was in control. He had prepared and placed Esther in her position “for such a time as this”. The only people that were annihilated were Haman and his wicked family.
I truly believe that God is preparing us now for the wonderful blessings that he has planned for us in the future. While we are all out working hard to do our part to bolster the economic GDP let’s make sure that we also stay focused on the spiritual GDP (God’s Divine Purpose for our life) and be prepared “for such a time as this”.
[1] FoxBusiness.com 9/23/2010
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Make a Difference, Don't Simply Make a Living
I had the honor on August 8th to deliver the keynote address at the Gardner-Webb University MBA Graduation Ceremony. The following is the challenge that I gave the graduates:
I am honored to have the opportunity to speak with you on this very special occasion, your graduation from Gardner-Webb University’s Graduate School of Business. This is a wonderful accomplishment and I would like to congratulate each of you and also commend you for all of the effort that it took to achieve this prestigious degree. It was only ten short years ago that I completed my MBA and the excitement that I felt then is still very fresh in my mind.
While this might represent the end of your academic journey, it is still early in your professional journey and your Gardner-Webb MBA is certainly an important stepping stone. The question is what will you do with it? As future leaders of our global economy, will you take the practical training that you have received here at GWU and make a difference or simply make a living?
I have to share a little secret with you…I am a big fan of Gardner-Webb University. Our family was first introduced to this fine institution when my daughter Cassidy decided to attend GWU for her undergraduate studies back in the fall of 2008. She is now starting her junior year. So while I haven’t technically attended Gardner-Webb as a student, I have been able to view the university through the eyes of a student. I have had the opportunity to listen to Dr. Bonner speak on multiple occasions about his vision for combining Academic Excellence along with a strong Christian Heritage. Your University mission statement puts it this way:
“…By embracing faith and intellectual freedom, balancing conviction with compassion, and inspiring a love of learning, service, and leadership, Gardner-Webb prepares its graduates to make significant contributions for God and humanity in an ever-changing global community.”
What a joy it must have been for you to study the latest business concepts from a faculty and with fellow students who acknowledge God as Creator & Sustainer of life and Jesus Christ as Savior. Within the confines of this campus and its satellite locations, the Christian faith was always seamlessly integrated into your course work. You have had the unique benefit of expanding your mind intellectually within the context of a Christian eternal perspective. This is an unbeatable combination!
But, tomorrow morning when the alarm clock rings and you step out into the business world…will you make a difference or simply make a living? I would like to propose to you that a well trained business leader with a strong Christian foundation is like the fictional character Superman. All of you are now well equipped to climb tall buildings with a single bound and stand toe to toe with the greedy bad guys in the marketplace. And believe me there are many of those! Unfortunately many Christian business men and women wake up on Monday morning and choose to be Clark Kent. You remember Clark Kent don’t you? He was the bumbling, stumbling undercover Superman, going through his work week in disguise in order to hide who he really was. He chose to keep his power a secret from those that he worked with at the newspaper. When we head off to work on Monday morning with a different perspective than our eternal perspective, we are more pitiful than Clark Kent ever was. As Christian business leaders, of course, we have access to a power much greater than the fictional Superman. So why do so many Christians in the business community wake up on Monday morning and put on their Clark Kent disguise, hiding who they really are and what they truly believe?
You do not have to compromise your Christian values in order to be successful in the business world. I think John Maxwell said it best in his book Life @ Work, Marketplace Success for People of Faith:
“God wants you to learn to come to work wearing the shoes of your faith as well as the best business suit you have. They match. They were made to go together. You need them both on, all the time, to be all that God intended you to be.”
There are certainly numerous Biblical examples of people that embraced their faith at work despite potentially life threatening consequences. During my quiet time this week I was reading in the book of Daniel. Daniel was one of the young Israelites that were selected to compete for the opportunity to serve Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon. In Daniel 1:4 we’re told that all the young men that were selected to compete were “without physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand and qualified to serve in the King’s palace”. All job candidates were well qualified and I am sure there was tremendous pressure to conform in order to get the job. Daniel didn’t conform. Instead he refused to defile himself with the royal food that they were commanded to eat. On a diet of vegetables and water, Daniel outperformed them all and entered the King’s service. God later blessed Daniel for his faith by giving him the interpretation of the King’s dream which led to Daniel, an Israelite, being appointed leader over all of Babylon.
There are also many examples today of companies that integrate a strong Christian foundation into a successful business plan and as a result are winning in the marketplace. The success of the Chick-Fil-A business under the leadership of its founder Truett Cathy is well publicized. Chick-Fil-A is one of the most successful restaurant chains ever with over 1500 locations, $3.2 billion in revenue and 42 straight years of positive sales growth. The Christian foundation of this company permeates all aspects of its business. In a very competitive industry, they have achieved all of this marketplace success while holding true to their Christian beliefs. Chick-Fil-A locations are closed on Sundays. Corporately they have made the decision to forgo ½ of potential weekend sales because it is more valuable to them to allow their employees to worship Jesus Christ on Sunday. If their leaders were only looking at this decision from a secular perspective, they might be tempted to change the policy to take advantage of the upside revenue potential. However, it is more important to them to positively impact the generation of young people that they employee. In this way, business leaders at Chick-Fil-A are making a difference, not simply making a living.
Some of you might not be as familiar with the “home town” success story of Coca-Cola Consolidated located here in North Carolina. They are the second largest bottler in the United States with 5,200 employees, $1.4 billion in annual revenue and $38 million in net income. Their Corporate Purpose is “To honor God in all we do, to serve others, to pursue excellence & to grow profitably”. These are more than words on a sheet of paper to the Christian business leaders at Coke Consolidated. They have numerous programs to ensure that they are positively impacting the community for Christ, in addition to growing the bottom line. One such program gives employees one day off a month, with pay, to participate in charitable work in the community. In this way, the business leaders at Coca-Cola Consolidated are making a difference, not simply making a living.
I personally have over 25 years experience in the consumer products industry and I understand that it is not always easy to live out your Christian faith at work. I spent the first 16 years of my career at the $10 billion CPG giant Nabisco. I can personally relate to the story that I conveyed earlier about Daniel. Nabisco was a highly competitive “dog eat dog” work environment. There was tremendous pressure to conform to the workplace myth that the Christian life should be separated into the secular (Monday-Saturday) and the sacred (on Sunday). Thankfully, I had two great mentors, Doug Conant and Daryl Brewster, who embraced their Christian faith within the realm of the Nabisco corporate culture. They inspired me to throw away those Clark Kent glasses and embrace the world with my Eternal Perspective. By the way, both Doug and Daryl have been quite successful in corporate America as well. Doug is the President & CEO of the Campbell’s Soup Company and Daryl was President of the Nabisco Biscuit Company before being brought in to turnaround Krispy Kreme as their CEO.
During my time at Nabisco, I came to the same realization that A.W. Tozer highlights in his book The Pursuit of God when he says that:
“One of the greatest hindrances to the Christian’s internal peace is the common habit of dividing our lives into two areas – the sacred and the secular. But this state of affairs is wholly unnecessary. The sacred – secular antithesis has no foundation in the New Testament.”
According to a 2008 survey of over 50,000 American adults, 76% identified themselves as Christians. In other words, over three quarters of the adults that you come in contact with at work have the same faith in Jesus Christ as you do. When you think about it, it is pretty ridiculous that many believers will defend their favorite sports team vigorously when a co-worker says something derogatory but won’t speak openly about their Savior with others who most likely share their same beliefs. Unfortunately there are a lot of “Clark Kent Christians” out in the workforce today.
You don’t have to be a part of a large multi-billion dollar company to make a difference. I founded The Bellota Group a little over four years ago with the vision to create a successful consumer products portfolio company. Our Statement of Purpose is:
“To be a Christ-centered organization that unlocks the potential of innovative consumer product businesses for the good of its stakeholders and the glory of God.”
This Statement of Purpose and our Core Ideology is posted on our website, hung on the wall in the office lobby and a part of all presentations that we make. We try very hard to live it out. When evaluating a new acquisition or business partnership our Statement of Purpose enables us to communicate up front what we are all about at Bellota. If someone isn’t comfortable with our approach then we don’t proceed with the business relationship. The people that we come in contact with know that we are smart, tough business people and that we will always deal with them honestly and with a high degree of integrity.
At Bellota, we also pray before meetings for our business and for one another. I can confidently say that we would not have made it through this last economic recession if we had not actively sought God’s direction and wisdom for our business. In addition to the success that God has blessed us with on the business front, the eternal perspective that is incorporated into the Bellota philosophy has given me personally the opportunity to have meaningful spiritual discussions with our largest customer and, believe it or not, our corporate banker. Our goal at the Bellota Group is to make a difference and not simply make a living.
In conclusion, I would like to congratulate you again on this wonderful academic achievement. As the economy continues to recover in 2010 and beyond, your Gardner-Webb graduate degree and all of the practical concepts that you learned while you were here, have you well positioned to maximize the personal impact that you can have in the business environment. I leave you with this simple challenge; leverage the superior training that you have received at Gardner-Webb, embrace the eternal perspective of your Christian faith everyday at work and truly make a difference in this world.
Thank you very much!
I am honored to have the opportunity to speak with you on this very special occasion, your graduation from Gardner-Webb University’s Graduate School of Business. This is a wonderful accomplishment and I would like to congratulate each of you and also commend you for all of the effort that it took to achieve this prestigious degree. It was only ten short years ago that I completed my MBA and the excitement that I felt then is still very fresh in my mind.
While this might represent the end of your academic journey, it is still early in your professional journey and your Gardner-Webb MBA is certainly an important stepping stone. The question is what will you do with it? As future leaders of our global economy, will you take the practical training that you have received here at GWU and make a difference or simply make a living?
I have to share a little secret with you…I am a big fan of Gardner-Webb University. Our family was first introduced to this fine institution when my daughter Cassidy decided to attend GWU for her undergraduate studies back in the fall of 2008. She is now starting her junior year. So while I haven’t technically attended Gardner-Webb as a student, I have been able to view the university through the eyes of a student. I have had the opportunity to listen to Dr. Bonner speak on multiple occasions about his vision for combining Academic Excellence along with a strong Christian Heritage. Your University mission statement puts it this way:
“…By embracing faith and intellectual freedom, balancing conviction with compassion, and inspiring a love of learning, service, and leadership, Gardner-Webb prepares its graduates to make significant contributions for God and humanity in an ever-changing global community.”
What a joy it must have been for you to study the latest business concepts from a faculty and with fellow students who acknowledge God as Creator & Sustainer of life and Jesus Christ as Savior. Within the confines of this campus and its satellite locations, the Christian faith was always seamlessly integrated into your course work. You have had the unique benefit of expanding your mind intellectually within the context of a Christian eternal perspective. This is an unbeatable combination!
But, tomorrow morning when the alarm clock rings and you step out into the business world…will you make a difference or simply make a living? I would like to propose to you that a well trained business leader with a strong Christian foundation is like the fictional character Superman. All of you are now well equipped to climb tall buildings with a single bound and stand toe to toe with the greedy bad guys in the marketplace. And believe me there are many of those! Unfortunately many Christian business men and women wake up on Monday morning and choose to be Clark Kent. You remember Clark Kent don’t you? He was the bumbling, stumbling undercover Superman, going through his work week in disguise in order to hide who he really was. He chose to keep his power a secret from those that he worked with at the newspaper. When we head off to work on Monday morning with a different perspective than our eternal perspective, we are more pitiful than Clark Kent ever was. As Christian business leaders, of course, we have access to a power much greater than the fictional Superman. So why do so many Christians in the business community wake up on Monday morning and put on their Clark Kent disguise, hiding who they really are and what they truly believe?
You do not have to compromise your Christian values in order to be successful in the business world. I think John Maxwell said it best in his book Life @ Work, Marketplace Success for People of Faith:
“God wants you to learn to come to work wearing the shoes of your faith as well as the best business suit you have. They match. They were made to go together. You need them both on, all the time, to be all that God intended you to be.”
There are certainly numerous Biblical examples of people that embraced their faith at work despite potentially life threatening consequences. During my quiet time this week I was reading in the book of Daniel. Daniel was one of the young Israelites that were selected to compete for the opportunity to serve Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon. In Daniel 1:4 we’re told that all the young men that were selected to compete were “without physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand and qualified to serve in the King’s palace”. All job candidates were well qualified and I am sure there was tremendous pressure to conform in order to get the job. Daniel didn’t conform. Instead he refused to defile himself with the royal food that they were commanded to eat. On a diet of vegetables and water, Daniel outperformed them all and entered the King’s service. God later blessed Daniel for his faith by giving him the interpretation of the King’s dream which led to Daniel, an Israelite, being appointed leader over all of Babylon.
There are also many examples today of companies that integrate a strong Christian foundation into a successful business plan and as a result are winning in the marketplace. The success of the Chick-Fil-A business under the leadership of its founder Truett Cathy is well publicized. Chick-Fil-A is one of the most successful restaurant chains ever with over 1500 locations, $3.2 billion in revenue and 42 straight years of positive sales growth. The Christian foundation of this company permeates all aspects of its business. In a very competitive industry, they have achieved all of this marketplace success while holding true to their Christian beliefs. Chick-Fil-A locations are closed on Sundays. Corporately they have made the decision to forgo ½ of potential weekend sales because it is more valuable to them to allow their employees to worship Jesus Christ on Sunday. If their leaders were only looking at this decision from a secular perspective, they might be tempted to change the policy to take advantage of the upside revenue potential. However, it is more important to them to positively impact the generation of young people that they employee. In this way, business leaders at Chick-Fil-A are making a difference, not simply making a living.
Some of you might not be as familiar with the “home town” success story of Coca-Cola Consolidated located here in North Carolina. They are the second largest bottler in the United States with 5,200 employees, $1.4 billion in annual revenue and $38 million in net income. Their Corporate Purpose is “To honor God in all we do, to serve others, to pursue excellence & to grow profitably”. These are more than words on a sheet of paper to the Christian business leaders at Coke Consolidated. They have numerous programs to ensure that they are positively impacting the community for Christ, in addition to growing the bottom line. One such program gives employees one day off a month, with pay, to participate in charitable work in the community. In this way, the business leaders at Coca-Cola Consolidated are making a difference, not simply making a living.
I personally have over 25 years experience in the consumer products industry and I understand that it is not always easy to live out your Christian faith at work. I spent the first 16 years of my career at the $10 billion CPG giant Nabisco. I can personally relate to the story that I conveyed earlier about Daniel. Nabisco was a highly competitive “dog eat dog” work environment. There was tremendous pressure to conform to the workplace myth that the Christian life should be separated into the secular (Monday-Saturday) and the sacred (on Sunday). Thankfully, I had two great mentors, Doug Conant and Daryl Brewster, who embraced their Christian faith within the realm of the Nabisco corporate culture. They inspired me to throw away those Clark Kent glasses and embrace the world with my Eternal Perspective. By the way, both Doug and Daryl have been quite successful in corporate America as well. Doug is the President & CEO of the Campbell’s Soup Company and Daryl was President of the Nabisco Biscuit Company before being brought in to turnaround Krispy Kreme as their CEO.
During my time at Nabisco, I came to the same realization that A.W. Tozer highlights in his book The Pursuit of God when he says that:
“One of the greatest hindrances to the Christian’s internal peace is the common habit of dividing our lives into two areas – the sacred and the secular. But this state of affairs is wholly unnecessary. The sacred – secular antithesis has no foundation in the New Testament.”
According to a 2008 survey of over 50,000 American adults, 76% identified themselves as Christians. In other words, over three quarters of the adults that you come in contact with at work have the same faith in Jesus Christ as you do. When you think about it, it is pretty ridiculous that many believers will defend their favorite sports team vigorously when a co-worker says something derogatory but won’t speak openly about their Savior with others who most likely share their same beliefs. Unfortunately there are a lot of “Clark Kent Christians” out in the workforce today.
You don’t have to be a part of a large multi-billion dollar company to make a difference. I founded The Bellota Group a little over four years ago with the vision to create a successful consumer products portfolio company. Our Statement of Purpose is:
“To be a Christ-centered organization that unlocks the potential of innovative consumer product businesses for the good of its stakeholders and the glory of God.”
This Statement of Purpose and our Core Ideology is posted on our website, hung on the wall in the office lobby and a part of all presentations that we make. We try very hard to live it out. When evaluating a new acquisition or business partnership our Statement of Purpose enables us to communicate up front what we are all about at Bellota. If someone isn’t comfortable with our approach then we don’t proceed with the business relationship. The people that we come in contact with know that we are smart, tough business people and that we will always deal with them honestly and with a high degree of integrity.
At Bellota, we also pray before meetings for our business and for one another. I can confidently say that we would not have made it through this last economic recession if we had not actively sought God’s direction and wisdom for our business. In addition to the success that God has blessed us with on the business front, the eternal perspective that is incorporated into the Bellota philosophy has given me personally the opportunity to have meaningful spiritual discussions with our largest customer and, believe it or not, our corporate banker. Our goal at the Bellota Group is to make a difference and not simply make a living.
In conclusion, I would like to congratulate you again on this wonderful academic achievement. As the economy continues to recover in 2010 and beyond, your Gardner-Webb graduate degree and all of the practical concepts that you learned while you were here, have you well positioned to maximize the personal impact that you can have in the business environment. I leave you with this simple challenge; leverage the superior training that you have received at Gardner-Webb, embrace the eternal perspective of your Christian faith everyday at work and truly make a difference in this world.
Thank you very much!
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Tough Times
“The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.”
Job 1:21
I am very excited about the potential of this New Year. For me personally, 2008 & 2009 were very difficult. Okay, 2007 wasn’t so great either. Starting a business from the ground up and then having to launch it during the greatest economic downturn since the great depression has been challenging. Thankfully I have some great partners that are making this journey with me. On the personal front, my Mom’s breast cancer reappeared after being dormant for two years. She fearlessly battled the disease for a year before going to be with the Lord on April 3, 2009.
I know that many of you have been enduring tough times as well. You might have lost your job and had to start a new chapter in your life at a time when unemployment is above 10%. You might have lost a loved one and wondered why their life had been cut short. If anyone had a reason to get down or give up during tough times it was Job. Job was very wealthy and seen as the greatest man of his time. He had a great family including a wife, seven sons and three daughters. Life was good. Then Satan brought everything crashing down around Job. In one day he lost all of his livestock (7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 oxen and 500 donkeys) and had all ten of his children killed when their house collapsed on them. Even in the midst of this personal tragedy, Job was able to proclaim “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” Job continued to go through tremendous suffering for a time but was ultimately blessed greatly for his continued faith in God. His previous wealth was restored twofold and he had seven more sons and three more daughters.
While the last three years have been challenging for me personally, I am able to look back and see God’s hand in the midst of the storm. The economy has forced us at the Bellota Group to get very good at accomplishing much with very little. This has positioned us well for quick, profitable growth as the economy recovers and consumer spending increases. I have also crossed paths with many talented, Godly individuals who could one day become apart of the Bellota Group in some form or fashion. While my Mom’s passing was incredibly difficult, my Dad, Sister and I and our families had the opportunity to come together and battle the disease with her. This process re-established a family closeness that had declined a bit as we were all out living our separate lives.
If you are experiencing tough times today, keep the faith! God is at work and He is in control.
Job 1:21
I am very excited about the potential of this New Year. For me personally, 2008 & 2009 were very difficult. Okay, 2007 wasn’t so great either. Starting a business from the ground up and then having to launch it during the greatest economic downturn since the great depression has been challenging. Thankfully I have some great partners that are making this journey with me. On the personal front, my Mom’s breast cancer reappeared after being dormant for two years. She fearlessly battled the disease for a year before going to be with the Lord on April 3, 2009.
I know that many of you have been enduring tough times as well. You might have lost your job and had to start a new chapter in your life at a time when unemployment is above 10%. You might have lost a loved one and wondered why their life had been cut short. If anyone had a reason to get down or give up during tough times it was Job. Job was very wealthy and seen as the greatest man of his time. He had a great family including a wife, seven sons and three daughters. Life was good. Then Satan brought everything crashing down around Job. In one day he lost all of his livestock (7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 oxen and 500 donkeys) and had all ten of his children killed when their house collapsed on them. Even in the midst of this personal tragedy, Job was able to proclaim “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” Job continued to go through tremendous suffering for a time but was ultimately blessed greatly for his continued faith in God. His previous wealth was restored twofold and he had seven more sons and three more daughters.
While the last three years have been challenging for me personally, I am able to look back and see God’s hand in the midst of the storm. The economy has forced us at the Bellota Group to get very good at accomplishing much with very little. This has positioned us well for quick, profitable growth as the economy recovers and consumer spending increases. I have also crossed paths with many talented, Godly individuals who could one day become apart of the Bellota Group in some form or fashion. While my Mom’s passing was incredibly difficult, my Dad, Sister and I and our families had the opportunity to come together and battle the disease with her. This process re-established a family closeness that had declined a bit as we were all out living our separate lives.
If you are experiencing tough times today, keep the faith! God is at work and He is in control.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Be Still
"Be still and know that I am God.”
Psalm 46:10
I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not a very patient person. Let’s face it…we live in an instant world. The rapid growth of technology has made us accustomed to getting everything in an instant. When I started in business (circa 1985) you typed letters on a typewriter and mailed them at the post office. If you were a field sales manager like I was in the late 80’s, it took you all day to physically complete the mailing of materials to your sales team. Snail mail definitely wasn’t fast enough, so we got email. This was great, but if you weren’t in the office with access to your PC you couldn’t always get your email messages in a timely manner. That led to the invention of the laptop computer and ultimately the Blackberry and PDA. Today, it still blows me away to know that I can run my business from the palm of my hand from anywhere in the world. I can only imagine what tomorrow will bring!
The downside of having all of this technology at our fingertips is that it conditions us to expect instant replies to our messages and immediate results. In the process we can become very task oriented and develop what has been called “can’t see the forest for the trees” syndrome. The Christmas season is a wonderful time to force you to slow down. Everyone takes vacation and you probably find it is difficult to get anything done. So, turn off your Blackberry and take time to think and pray about your businesses.
Through the psalmist God tells us to “Be still and know that I am God”. Jesus Christ was born on Christmas Day, lived among us, died on the cross and was resurrected for the forgiveness of our human sin and through His sacrifice gave us the opportunity to accept the gift of salvation and have a relationship with the living God. God is in control. Take the time over the Christmas holiday to be still, pray about your business and listen to what God has to say to you.
I wish all of you and your families a blessed Merry CHRISTmas!!
Psalm 46:10
I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not a very patient person. Let’s face it…we live in an instant world. The rapid growth of technology has made us accustomed to getting everything in an instant. When I started in business (circa 1985) you typed letters on a typewriter and mailed them at the post office. If you were a field sales manager like I was in the late 80’s, it took you all day to physically complete the mailing of materials to your sales team. Snail mail definitely wasn’t fast enough, so we got email. This was great, but if you weren’t in the office with access to your PC you couldn’t always get your email messages in a timely manner. That led to the invention of the laptop computer and ultimately the Blackberry and PDA. Today, it still blows me away to know that I can run my business from the palm of my hand from anywhere in the world. I can only imagine what tomorrow will bring!
The downside of having all of this technology at our fingertips is that it conditions us to expect instant replies to our messages and immediate results. In the process we can become very task oriented and develop what has been called “can’t see the forest for the trees” syndrome. The Christmas season is a wonderful time to force you to slow down. Everyone takes vacation and you probably find it is difficult to get anything done. So, turn off your Blackberry and take time to think and pray about your businesses.
Through the psalmist God tells us to “Be still and know that I am God”. Jesus Christ was born on Christmas Day, lived among us, died on the cross and was resurrected for the forgiveness of our human sin and through His sacrifice gave us the opportunity to accept the gift of salvation and have a relationship with the living God. God is in control. Take the time over the Christmas holiday to be still, pray about your business and listen to what God has to say to you.
I wish all of you and your families a blessed Merry CHRISTmas!!
Monday, December 14, 2009
Iron Sharpens Iron
“As iron sharpens iron, So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.”
Proverbs 27:17
It was a beautiful fall afternoon. Traffic was bad, but it didn’t matter, I was enjoying listening to the radio and preparing mentally for what was to come that day. As I approached my destination, I felt the cold stares of those around me. I parked the car, grabbed my things and began the long walk. People started to realize what I stood for and entire groups began to point and jeer at me. Soon the glares turned into verbal assaults. My pulse quickened and I began to walk faster hoping to arrive safely. An angry mob began to yell & scream, questioning my intelligence for the allegiance that I was showing.
Even with all of this persecution…I was still proud to be a Washington Redskins fan walking into Carolina Panther Stadium.
Some Christians might believe that this is the reaction they will receive if they were to allow those at work to see their spiritual side. They’re afraid that their faith puts them in the minority and they’re afraid that others will talk negatively about them. The truth is that being a Christian in the American workplace is like being a fan of the home, not visiting team.
According to a survey of over 50,000 American adults, 76% identified themselves as Christians.[1] Over three quarters of the adults that you come into contact with have the same faith in Jesus Christ as you do. The problem is that many believers enter the workplace not wearing the home team colors and unwilling to make their faith known to co-workers. When you think about it, it is pretty ridiculous that we’ll “high-five” someone that we don’t even know at the stadium when our team scores but refuse to speak openly about our Christian faith at work with others who most likely share the same beliefs.
Proverbs 27:17 instructs us on the value of fellow Christian believers sharing, supporting and helping one another. Through this interaction our faith is strengthened. Since we’re human, without this interaction our Christian faith is weakened. I challenge you to openly share your faith this week at work and help strengthen fellow fans of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
[1] American Religious Identification Survey 2008, Barry Kosmin and Ariela Keysar
Proverbs 27:17
It was a beautiful fall afternoon. Traffic was bad, but it didn’t matter, I was enjoying listening to the radio and preparing mentally for what was to come that day. As I approached my destination, I felt the cold stares of those around me. I parked the car, grabbed my things and began the long walk. People started to realize what I stood for and entire groups began to point and jeer at me. Soon the glares turned into verbal assaults. My pulse quickened and I began to walk faster hoping to arrive safely. An angry mob began to yell & scream, questioning my intelligence for the allegiance that I was showing.
Even with all of this persecution…I was still proud to be a Washington Redskins fan walking into Carolina Panther Stadium.
Some Christians might believe that this is the reaction they will receive if they were to allow those at work to see their spiritual side. They’re afraid that their faith puts them in the minority and they’re afraid that others will talk negatively about them. The truth is that being a Christian in the American workplace is like being a fan of the home, not visiting team.
According to a survey of over 50,000 American adults, 76% identified themselves as Christians.[1] Over three quarters of the adults that you come into contact with have the same faith in Jesus Christ as you do. The problem is that many believers enter the workplace not wearing the home team colors and unwilling to make their faith known to co-workers. When you think about it, it is pretty ridiculous that we’ll “high-five” someone that we don’t even know at the stadium when our team scores but refuse to speak openly about our Christian faith at work with others who most likely share the same beliefs.
Proverbs 27:17 instructs us on the value of fellow Christian believers sharing, supporting and helping one another. Through this interaction our faith is strengthened. Since we’re human, without this interaction our Christian faith is weakened. I challenge you to openly share your faith this week at work and help strengthen fellow fans of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
[1] American Religious Identification Survey 2008, Barry Kosmin and Ariela Keysar
Monday, November 30, 2009
An Unapologetic Christian
“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Hebrews 12:1-2
Arguably one of the greatest college football players of all time played his last home game on Saturday. Tim Tebow is the record setting senior quarterback for the #1 ranked University of Florida Gators. He has amassed 84 passing and 56 rushing touchdowns in his storied four year career. He won the Heisman Trophy as the nation’s best player in 2007 and led the Gators to the national championship in 2008. He is on track to possibly accomplish both of these feats again in 2009. Tim Tebow also just won his unprecedented second straight Academic All-American of the Year Award (2008 & 2009) and has a 3.66 GPA.
Tim Tebow has accomplished all of his gridiron success with modesty and class not often seen in big time college football. “I’ve never seen anything like it” Coach Urban Meyer said “He’s made unselfish kind of a cool thing.” Rather than bolt early to the NFL for the big bucks he has instead stayed all four years at UF and as a result has made a tremendous impact on the college football community.
Tim Tebow is a committed Christian who lives out his faith everyday on and off the football field. Pat Forde of ESPN.com calls him “the most impactful player in college football history” and states that “Some roll their eyes at his unapologetically public Christianity - worn on his sleeve and under his eyes - despite the authenticity that underlies it in word and deed.” Last season Tim started putting a bible verse on the black stickers that he wears under his eyes during the game because as you might guess he receives a lot of TV coverage. These stickers have become his trademark. To celebrate his final home game fans, coaches and announcers all wore “eye black” stickers. Tim chose to highlight Hebrews 12:1-2 on the stickers for Saturday’s game. Amazingly CBS announcers referenced this scripture verse numerous times during the telecast and thus presented the Gospel to hundreds of thousands of viewers.
I am looking forward to watching next year as Tim Tebow brings Jesus Christ with him to his new job in the NFL. Imagine the impact that we all could make in the business community if our Christian faith was as “unapologetically” linked to us as Tim’s is to him. I challenge you to allow your belief in Jesus Christ to be more completely revealed to your fellow workers this week. While eye black stickers might not be a part of your dress code on the job, there are numerous other ways for you to express your faith at work. Go ahead…spread the good news!!
Sources: gatorzone.com, espn.com
Hebrews 12:1-2
Arguably one of the greatest college football players of all time played his last home game on Saturday. Tim Tebow is the record setting senior quarterback for the #1 ranked University of Florida Gators. He has amassed 84 passing and 56 rushing touchdowns in his storied four year career. He won the Heisman Trophy as the nation’s best player in 2007 and led the Gators to the national championship in 2008. He is on track to possibly accomplish both of these feats again in 2009. Tim Tebow also just won his unprecedented second straight Academic All-American of the Year Award (2008 & 2009) and has a 3.66 GPA.
Tim Tebow has accomplished all of his gridiron success with modesty and class not often seen in big time college football. “I’ve never seen anything like it” Coach Urban Meyer said “He’s made unselfish kind of a cool thing.” Rather than bolt early to the NFL for the big bucks he has instead stayed all four years at UF and as a result has made a tremendous impact on the college football community.
Tim Tebow is a committed Christian who lives out his faith everyday on and off the football field. Pat Forde of ESPN.com calls him “the most impactful player in college football history” and states that “Some roll their eyes at his unapologetically public Christianity - worn on his sleeve and under his eyes - despite the authenticity that underlies it in word and deed.” Last season Tim started putting a bible verse on the black stickers that he wears under his eyes during the game because as you might guess he receives a lot of TV coverage. These stickers have become his trademark. To celebrate his final home game fans, coaches and announcers all wore “eye black” stickers. Tim chose to highlight Hebrews 12:1-2 on the stickers for Saturday’s game. Amazingly CBS announcers referenced this scripture verse numerous times during the telecast and thus presented the Gospel to hundreds of thousands of viewers.
I am looking forward to watching next year as Tim Tebow brings Jesus Christ with him to his new job in the NFL. Imagine the impact that we all could make in the business community if our Christian faith was as “unapologetically” linked to us as Tim’s is to him. I challenge you to allow your belief in Jesus Christ to be more completely revealed to your fellow workers this week. While eye black stickers might not be a part of your dress code on the job, there are numerous other ways for you to express your faith at work. Go ahead…spread the good news!!
Sources: gatorzone.com, espn.com
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