July 30, 2025 • 30 mins
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The concept of "rebooting" isn't just for your computer—it's a vital practice for Christian businesses that have drifted from their God-given purpose. In this transformative episode, Harold Milby walks listeners through the process of spiritual and operational renewal for faith-based organizations facing challenges.
Every business experiences seasons where the flame begins to dim. Whether you're battling leadership fatigue, organizational challenges, or personal distractions, recognizing the warning signs is the first step toward meaningful revival. Harold identifies key indicators that signal it's time for a reset—from declining sales and increased turnover to that subtle disconnection from your original calling and purpose.
At the heart of any successful reboot lies a return to foundational elements. Your mission and vision statements may need refreshing to better reflect biblical values of service, integrity, and stewardship. Leadership structures might require training in servant leadership as modeled by Christ himself. The employee culture, customer relationships, and community impact all represent areas where intentional recalibration can restore alignment with godly principles.
Even personal spiritual practices deserve attention during this renewal process. Daily devotion, prayer, worship, and accountability provide the spiritual fuel necessary for authentic Christian leadership. Likewise, your thinking patterns and emotional responses might need adjustment to embrace God-sized vision rather than small, limited thinking.
Through scriptural guidance and practical wisdom, this episode offers a comprehensive framework for Christian business leaders ready to realign with divine purpose. By approaching the reboot process with humility and prayerful determination, your business can experience renewed vitality—not just as a commercial enterprise but as a powerful witness to Christ's love and truth in the marketplace. This isn't just about business success; it's about kingdom impact that glorifies God through excellence and integrity.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Christian Business Concepts with
your host, harold Milby.
Christian Business Concepts isdedicated to guiding companies
and business owners in becomingeffective, efficient and
successful through God's Wordand godly principles.
Now, here's your host, haroldMilby.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Thanks, kelly, and welcome everyone to this week's
Christian Business Conceptspodcast.
I'm your host, harold Milby,and I'm so excited that you've
decided to download and listento today's podcast.
I'm very humbled, in fact, thatyou've made CBC a part of your
personal growth plan today and,as always, I hope that today's
(00:41):
podcast will be one that willencourage you, enlighten you and
empower you by what you heartoday.
You know we work hard everyweek to bring you topics that
will be a help and a blessing toyou and ones that will bring
you really long-lasting godlysuccess Not just the world's
(01:03):
success, but godly success asyou apply the biblical
principles that we share.
And I'm just asking that youhelp us to continue to grow the
CBC community, and you can dothat by sharing this podcast
with four or five other peopleand by posting the link to this
podcast on your LinkedIn page oryour Facebook page.
(01:27):
You know I appreciate when youdo that more than you really
realize.
So, thanks to all of you,whether you're a regular
listener or whether this is yourfirst time, you know we're so
glad that you've decided todownload and listen to this
podcast glad that you've decidedto download and listen to this
(01:48):
podcast.
And this week.
I want to give a big shout outto Lambeth, england, which is a
southern district in London, forso many downloads here recently
, and we certainly do appreciateyou and the many downloads that
you have downloaded.
So thank you so much.
Thanks to all of you who helpmake Christian Business Concepts
a success and help us to reachothers with this important
(02:11):
message to help Christianbusinesses or to help you.
Maybe you're a supervisor, it'snot a Christian business, but
you are and you're reallywanting to apply biblical
principles to a department thatyou manage, or whatever your
position may be.
So we thank you for that andagain, thank you, lambeth,
(02:32):
england.
Now in the company spotlightthis week, I want to highlight a
US company called EventideAsset Management Company, a man
by the name of Finney Caruvillaand Robin John.
They were friends, they werebelievers and they felt like
(02:53):
they had more to do for thekingdom of God.
So they left a very lucrativeseven-figure job and they spent
six months praying together andreally committing this to the
Lord, and they started this newcompany called Eventide Asset
Management and they wanted tocreate a mutual fund that
(03:17):
invested exclusively in ethicalcompanies.
They wanted to be able tochannel capital towards those
that were doing things right andthey wanted to use their
backgrounds.
That was the other thing.
They wanted to use theirbackgrounds, their giftings that
God had put in them, theireducation, and they wanted to
(03:38):
utilize these things to honorGod.
You know the mission statementof the company is to honor God
and serve our clients byinvesting in companies that
create compelling value for theglobal common good.
You know they really rootedtheir company in Proverbs,
chapter 1, verses 10 through 19,which talks about not joining
(04:02):
forces with those who reapill-gotten gain, or even by
passively doing that in theirgains.
So right now they already haveover $3 billion in assets.
Their flagship fund is calledthe Gilead Fund.
Called the Gilead Fund, it hasreturned 15.5% annually
(04:28):
throughout the last few years.
It has been a number one andnumber two pick by some of the
great financial magazines.
No one on Wall Street thoughtthat they could ever be
successful in just investing inethical companies, but they have
.
It's been a God-given visionand we're excited about Eventide
(04:51):
.
Thank you people, thank youfolks there at Eventide for what
you're doing.
We thank God for you in yourbusiness and that you operate a
Christian business in thisparticular market, which is
unheard of, and so we'rethankful to God for your success
and we're thankful to God forwhat you're doing and the impact
(05:13):
.
You know, one of the greatestrevivals that ever started in
the United States happened.
It started with a person onWall Street and they just
started having some prayermeetings and started out.
There was about 26 people bythe time it was over.
Over three million people gavetheir lives to Christ through
(05:37):
this movement that started onWall Street, and so we're
thankful for Eventide AssetManagement.
We just think they're a greatcompany and so we're thankful
for Eventide Asset Management.
We just think they're a greatcompany and I encourage you to
look into it if you're lookingfor investments.
Now, you know, as a Christianbusiness, you operate really
with two purposes.
(05:58):
If you're trying to operateyour business not just as a
Christian-owned but as aChristian-led company and those
are two very different thingsand so you know when you do that
you have these two purposes andthat's to provide valuable
goods, you know, whatever it maybe, maybe it's services and
(06:21):
it's to glorify God through thatwork.
So over time, businesses candrift away.
You kind of can what we calldrift and you can get away from
your core mission.
You can face some veryoperational challenges.
You can encounter what theremay be cultural shifts.
(06:44):
We see that going on right nowin the world today there's some
big cultural shifts that aretaking place and all of these
things can have you to dosomething that I call reboot.
You know, with your computer weall have done this At times you
know it's not working right orwhatever.
(07:04):
And you talk to somebody in ITor you talk to somebody that
knows about computers andthey'll tell you, they'll say,
well, just reboot your computer.
And when you reboot it does alot of things within the
internal workings of thatcomputer.
I'm not going to dwell on thoseparticular items, but we do.
We've all had to do that.
We've all had to rebootelectronics, whether it be our
(07:26):
phone or smart tablet orwhatever it may be.
But sometimes you need to reboot.
From time to time you've got toreboot.
You know, 2 Timothy 1 and 6says Wherefore I put thee in
remembrance, that thou stir upthe gift of God which is in thee
by the putting on of my hands.
And in the Greek that word stirup it just means fan the flame,
(07:47):
and so sometimes your flamewill say kind of starts to dim
and starts to go out.
You got to fan that flame andin this case we're talking about
rebooting things.
So you have to reboot.
And so the first thing I wantto talk about is recognizing a
lot of times when you need toreboot.
(08:08):
So there's some signs.
There's some signs of when youneed to reboot.
So one sign is there'sspiritual or leadership fatigue,
so there may be a loss ofpassion.
Maybe you just feeldisconnected from what your
purpose is or what your callingis.
There may be some persistentstress that you're under.
(08:30):
You just can't find peace,despite all your efforts to
manage your workload.
You just feel burnout.
Or maybe you just don't havethat joy or that motivation.
Have that joy or thatmotivation.
You know, leadership can bevery burdensome at times and
maybe it's not fulfilling to you.
(08:51):
Or maybe you've got a lot ofdoubts or maybe some guilt.
You're questioning your motives, you know.
Maybe you feel unworthy.
I have a family member thatowns a large company and he's
talked to me many times.
He said I feel guilty for beingso blessed, and that can happen
sometimes.
And sometimes you're justneglecting your spiritual life,
(09:14):
your personal life.
You're skipping prayer, youdon't spend time worshiping, you
have no fellowship.
So that's one.
Another sign is maybe, you know,maybe you've got some
organizational or some businesschallenges.
Maybe your sales aren't whatthey should be, maybe customers
(09:34):
are not engaging, maybe there'sa productivity decrease, a very
significant one.
Maybe you have somediscontentment with your team or
your employees.
Maybe you've got a lot moreturnover than what you're used
to.
You know that could be causedbecause of a lot of increased
conflict.
Or maybe you've lost somereally key people, key team
(09:58):
members, or some actions ordecisions.
You know you kind of startdrifting away from those
Christian principles and thenmaybe there's some stagnation,
maybe this, you know this goingon.
You just kind of feel stuck.
Another sign is you know somepersonal life factors which
(10:18):
could happen through some verysignificant life things that are
going on, just normal things.
Maybe there's a loss of a lovedone, or maybe you're having
some health issues or somebodyin your family that you're
having to take care of has somehealth issues.
Maybe there's a family crisis.
It just kind of creates thisdistraction and it distracts you
(10:39):
from your faith.
It may distract you from yourmission.
So your personal prioritieskind of shift away from God's
purpose.
So these are some of the thingsyou look for when you think you
may have to reboot, and we'lltalk about that in detail,
because I want to talk aboutsome specific areas that you
(10:59):
have to look for that you mayneed to reboot.
So let's talk about these.
So one is rebooting yourmission and your vision.
So why does that matter?
Well, your mission and yourvision of a Christian business
especially.
It defines who you are.
(11:21):
It defines your purpose, yourdirection, and if these have
become unclear or outdated ormisaligned with those biblical
values, so you may lose some ofyour spiritual and operational
focus, maybe the missionstatement no longer reflects
what your business activities orvalues are.
(11:42):
You know, maybe the business isstruggling to articulate really
how to glorify God.
So in that case you need toreboot that area, reboot the
mission and vision.
So how do you do that?
Let's look at some steps thatyou need to do to do that.
Well, first of all, get your keyleaders and your key
(12:04):
stakeholders to begin to pray.
Pray for wisdom.
James 1 and 5 talks about ifany man lack wisdom, let him ask
of God, who giveth liberallyand upbraideth not.
God wants to give us wisdom.
And just begin to seek God's inredefining that mission and
vision and then assess whetheror not that mission reflects the
(12:28):
biblical values Purposely, lookat it and see if it does, does
it have service involved,integrity and stewardship?
Does it align with your currentoperations?
And then engage thosestakeholders, involve your
employees, your key people, yourcustomers, even maybe some of
(12:48):
your partners, your vendors, andjust kind of have that
discussion to ensure that yourmission resonates with those
that you want to serve.
And then what you have to do isyou have to revise your mission
statement, your vision statement.
What you have to do is you haveto revise your mission
statement, your vision statement.
So be very clear, be concisewith regards to your mission and
(13:10):
vision statement, Make surethat it integrates your faith
and your business goals.
So, for example, it may besomething as simple as to serve
our community with excellencereflecting Christ's love through
quality products and ethicalpractices, with excellence
reflecting Christ's love throughquality products and ethical
practices.
And then you want tocommunicate it.
And you want to do more thanthat.
You want to embed your visionand mission statement.
(13:32):
You want to embed it within allyour employees.
You want to integrate it intoyour training and your marketing
, your decision-making processes.
You know Colossians 3, 23, 24,you hear me quote this a lot
whatever you do, work at it withall your heart as working for
the Lord and not for humanmasters, and that's key.
(13:54):
That's key.
You know.
Proverbs 16, 3 says commit tothe Lord, whatever you do, and
he will establish your plans.
So that's important.
So sometimes you need to dothat.
A second thing is sometimes youneed to reboot your leadership.
Now, why does that matter?
Well, leadership really setsthe tone for your business, your
(14:17):
organization's culture and eventhe decisions that are made.
You know, christian leaders arecalled to model servant
leadership and humility andintegrity and reflecting
Christ's example.
You know, I worked for acompany for several years and
you know I talked about people.
(14:38):
You know, when we talked abouthiring new people and we talked
about and they were new to me atthe time, you know, when we
talked about hiring new peopleand we talked about and they
were new to me at the time, andso I kind of looked for some
things and I asked themspecifically what kind of people
do you not want in the company?
And one of them talked to mevery plainly and said well, one
thing that's an absolute turnofffor us, or an absolute that it
(15:02):
causes us not to hire somebodyis, if they're, I guess, lack of
a better word they're a bragger.
You know they brag abouteverything.
They talk about how great theyare, how great things they can
do.
They said that just doesn't fitin our company culture.
We don't feel comfortable withthose kinds of people, and so
sometimes you have to rebootyour leadership.
(15:23):
Sometimes you have to makechanges.
You know, maybe you've got someleaders that are beginning to
prioritize their own personalgain over the well-being of your
customers, your employees, yourcompany.
Maybe some of thedecision-making lacks
transparency or maybe there's nobiblical grounding, there's a
lack of accountability andthere's no spiritual growth
(15:47):
among the leaders.
Maybe there's burnout, there'sdisengagement in the event, or
that it's evident, I should say,in leadership.
So not always do these thingshappen, do you need to replace
those leaders, but that justmeans that you need to have a
good sit down with them and aplan to overcome some of those
(16:08):
issues that maybe they've letslip over time.
So maybe they can berehabilitated and you can keep
those leaders and you'll moveright on.
And there's some times whereyou can't rehabilitate them and
you need to make a change.
So sometimes you need to rebootyour leadership.
You know what can you do.
Again, train those leaders.
That's important.
(16:28):
Make sure that there's somespiritual renewal that goes on,
you know.
Encourage your leaders to engagein personal prayer and in Bible
study, accountability groups tohelp strengthen, you know,
their faith.
I'd encourage you to readPsalms 119, 105.
It kind of goes into that, butsometimes you need to do that
(16:49):
and in the United States a lotof people would say, well, you
can't do that in a business, canyou?
Well, yes, you can.
You have rights and you can askpeople.
You can't make them.
You can't say, well, if you dothis, I'll give you a raise, or
if you do this, I'll promote you, or if you don't do it, I won't
promote you.
No, that's against the law, youcannot do that.
But you can ask and you candiscuss it.
(17:11):
Those rights are protectedunder the Civil Rights Act and
you can read that.
In fact, I've had a podcastabout it and so you can do that.
So ask them to do that, and soyou can do that.
So ask them to do that, andthen you can.
As I said, you can do someadditional training.
You know, mark, chapter 10,verses 42 through 45, says but
(17:32):
Jesus called them to him andsaid unto them you know that
they, which are accounted torule over the Gentiles, exercise
lordship over them and theirgreat ones exercise authority
upon them.
But so shall it not be amongyou.
But whosoever will be greatamong you shall be your minister
, and whosoever of you will bethe chiefest shall be the
(17:54):
servant of all.
For even the Son of man camenot to be ministered unto, but
to minister and to give his lifea ransom for many.
So this gives us an examplethat we're to be servants, even
in our businesses.
Yes, you're the leader, yes,you have to make some tough
decisions, but you do it fromthe standpoint of servant
leadership.
Then you can evaluate howthey're making their decisions.
(18:18):
Again, maybe you do sometraining there.
Maybe they need a mentor, youknow.
Create some accountabilitythere.
Maybe they need a mentor, youknow.
Create some accountabilitystructures, you know.
But the foundation biblicallyfor that is the passage I just
read, and then also even in 1Timothy 4 and 12, it says set an
example for the believers inspeech, in conduct, in love, in
(18:42):
faith and impurity.
So be that example.
Another thing that needs to berebooted from time to time is
the employee culture.
Now, why does that matter?
Well, employees are the heartof any business.
If you don't have employees,you don't have a business.
You can't operate your businesswithout employees, and a
(19:02):
Christian business should reallytry to foster this culture of
respect and unity and spiritualgrowth.
And I think that a toxic or adisengaged culture can really go
to undermine what your visionis, what your mission is.
So it may be.
(19:23):
You see high employee turnover,maybe low morale, lack of
collaboration or trust, maybethe employees are feeling
disconnected from the business'svalues, maybe there's a lot of
workplace conflicts that are notbeing resolved scripturally.
So I think that's important.
How do you?
You know, how do you do that?
(19:45):
Well, you need to assess whatyour current culture is like,
and then you want to begin to tointegrate faith into work.
You know, uh, offer someopportunities for spiritual
growth, maybe some optionalbible studies, prayer groups, or
there's some companies thathave actual chaplains that are
on staff, you know, and thenpromote a very positive
(20:08):
environment, you know, trainyour managers to be very open in
their communication andrecognize employees'
contributions, and then youaddress conflict scripturally.
You know.
Matthew 18, verses 15 through 17, says Moreover, if thy brother
shall trespass against thee, goand tell him his fault, between
(20:29):
you and him alone, and if hehears you, then you've gained a
brother.
But if he will not hear you,then take two or three more.
That in the mouth of two orthree witnesses every word may
be established.
And so it talks about how weconfront, the proper way to
confront.
So then you begin to invest inthe development of your
employees, and I think that's,you know, so critically
(20:54):
important.
You know, philippians 2, 3through 4 says do nothing out of
selfish ambition or vainconceit, but rather in humility,
value others above yourselves.
All right, next thing that youhave to look at is rebooting
your customer relations.
Now, that's important, becausea Christian business serves
customers and we do that as anact of stewardship and love,
(21:19):
reflecting the call that God'sput on our lives.
And poor customer service, poorcustomer relations, it can harm
your business.
Not only harm your business,but it hurts and harms your
witness into the world.
So that's so important.
You know, stephen Covey saidalways treat your employees
(21:39):
exactly as you want them totreat your best customers.
So it starts at the head, movesdown, you treat your employees
like they're customers, and thenthey'll treat the customers the
way you treat them.
So that's important.
So if you see a decline in yourcustomer satisfaction or loyalty
or you're getting complaints,you need to look at that and you
(22:03):
need to begin to reboot.
How do you do that?
Well, you're going to have toevaluate what your customer
experiences are, so you're goingto have to get some feedback.
You can do it through surveysor reviews, direct conversations
, if you need to Try to identifythe pain points.
What's going on?
What are they struggling with?
And then you've got to trainyour staff.
Train them in Christian service, you know.
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Equip your employees tointeract with customers.
Make sure that they havekindness and honesty and
humility when they're dealingwith those customers.
And then make sure that youalign your marketing with the
right godly values that he hasand has placed in your heart.
You know, proverbs 11 and 1says a false balance is an
(22:45):
abomination to the Lord, but ajust weight is his delight.
So make sure you align that,especially in your marketing.
Make sure you align that withGod's ethical practices and then
do your best to focus onbuilding trust, building trust
with your customers.
And then make sure that youaddress any complaints that you
(23:08):
have quickly, promptly, fairly.
You want to seek reconciliationand forgiveness when it's needed
.
But you always treat thecustomers well.
You know, matthew 5.16 says Letyour light shine before others
that they may see your gooddeeds and glorify your Father in
heaven.
Treat them right, treat yourcustomers right.
(23:30):
Another area to reboot is yourcommunity impact.
You know a Christian businessis called to be a light to the
community.
You're supposed to demonstrateGod's love through your service
and other things that you do inyour business, and so you need
at times to reboot that, yourcommunity impact.
(23:52):
So that's really important.
And there's some other areasthat you want to reboot to
Sometimes your personalspiritual practices, your daily
devotional, your fasting andprayer maybe you've just kind of
got away from that yourpersonal worship, your spiritual
accountability.
These are things that you needto reboot, get back on the track
(24:15):
, get it back where it needs tobe.
Another is your leadershipmindset and your attitude.
You know having servantleadership, you got to have the
right attitude for that.
You got to have the rightmindset for that.
So maybe revisit some of thosecore principles of leading with
humility and service that'smodeled after Christ and the way
(24:37):
he operated his ministry, andeven in your decision-making
process or the way you handleconflict.
But you've got to have a growthmindset.
So make sure you reaffirm acommitment to learning, to
humility, to adaptability.
But you need to get back on thetrack, reboot.
Get back on track and alongwith that goes your thinking.
(25:02):
That means you've got to rebootyour expectations, you know.
Think big.
I mean God is a big God, and tome, the dreams that God has
given me, the visions that Godhas given me, are things that I
can't do in and of myself, but Iknow that God can help me.
That's when it gets that big,whatever it may be.
(25:23):
So dream big, don't dream small.
Dream big and put on thoseright kinds of thinking.
You know.
It kind of reminds me of thestory of a man who went over and
met with the king of SaudiArabia and they were out playing
golf together and he, you know,was a business owner, you know,
(25:47):
and so he became friends withthe king over there, and the
king asked him.
He said what can I do for you?
What can I do for you?
What can I do for you?
And he had noticed that theking had this one particular
golf club that he really liked.
And so he looked at the king.
He said, king.
The only thing I would reallywant, I would really appreciate,
would be a golf club.
(26:08):
And so he got back home andhe's kind of expecting a package
to come in the mail.
But what happens is he gets aphone call.
So what had happened was is theking had purchased for him, and
put in his name, an actual golfclub that had several hundred
(26:28):
members.
It was a very nice golf club.
And I think about that becausekings think big, they don't
think little, they think big,and so you've got to think big.
You know your emotions.
You got to think about youremotions.
Sometimes they need to berebooted.
You know, make sure you don'thave unforgiveness in your life.
(26:49):
Make sure you've gotself-control.
You know that's a fruit of thespirit.
You know, and then sometimesyou got to in your life, make
sure you've got self-control.
That's a fruit of the spirit.
And then sometimes you got toreboot your focus, because what
you focus on determines whereyou go.
You know, in driving there'ssomething called target fixation
and that happens when you'redriving.
So when you look to the left,your car starts to drift to the
(27:12):
left.
If you look to the right, yourcar kind of drifts to the right.
That's called target fixation.
That's a real thing, and so youwant to sometimes reboot what
you're focusing on.
So where you focus is going todetermine where you go.
You know Brian Tracy, a greatleadership guy, and he's written
(27:32):
a lot of books and I've readmany of those books.
But he said one time he said,just as your car runs more
smoothly and requires lessenergy to go faster and farther
when the wheels are in perfectalignment, you perform better
when your thoughts, yourfeelings, your emotions, your
goals and your values are all inbalance.
So that's important.
(27:53):
So at times we really need toreboot, and when you reboot,
it's really an opportunity for aChristian business leader to
realign with God's given purposefor you, to renew your
commitment to biblical values,to strengthen your impact and by
(28:14):
focusing on your mission andyour leadership, your employee
culture, your customer relationsand some of these things that
we've talked about today, Ibelieve that your business can
thrive, not just as a business,but you can thrive as a witness
to Christ's love and truth.
So approach this process withhumility and prayer and a
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willingness to change, and alsotrust that God's going to bless
your efforts to honor him andkeep you on that path to true
godly success.
Heavenly Father, we seek yourwisdom.
Now, lord, we come before you.
We ask for your guidance, lord,as we reboot our businesses
(28:58):
from time to time in our lives,to reflect your love and your
glory.
Lord, help us to lead withintegrity, help us to serve with
humility and help us to stewardyour resources faithfully.
Lord and Lord, may our work bea light to those around us,
drawing other people closer toyou.
And, lord, we ask this in thename of Jesus, amen and amen.
(29:24):
Well, thanks again for being apart of today's podcast, and
don't forget to help us grow theCBC family by talking to other
people about the ChristianBusiness Concept's podcast.
And don't forget to help usgrow the CBC family by talking
to other people about theChristian Business Concepts
podcast.
We love you, we appreciate you,we're praying for you and
that's all we have time for fortoday.
So until next time, rememberthat Jesus is Lord and he wants
(29:49):
you blessed he wants you blessed.
Speaker 1 (29:56):
Thank you for tuning into this week's Christian
Business Concepts podcast.
Go toChristianBusinessConceptscom for
more information and resources.
Be sure to check out otherpodcasts that will help you take
your business and your personallife to a whole new level of
success.
Welcome to the Christian Business Concepts with
your host, harold Milby.
Christian Business Concepts isdedicated to guiding companies
and business owners in becomingeffective, efficient and
successful through God's Wordand godly principles.
Now, here's your host, haroldMilby.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Thanks, kelly, and welcome everyone to this week's
Christian Business Conceptspodcast.
I'm your host, harold Milby,and I'm so excited that you've
decided to download and listento today's podcast.
I'm very humbled, in fact, thatyou've made CBC a part of your
personal growth plan today and,as always, I hope that today's
(00:41):
podcast will be one that willencourage you, enlighten you and
empower you by what you heartoday.
You know we work hard everyweek to bring you topics that
will be a help and a blessing toyou and ones that will bring
you really long-lasting godlysuccess Not just the world's
(01:03):
success, but godly success asyou apply the biblical
principles that we share.
And I'm just asking that youhelp us to continue to grow the
CBC community, and you can dothat by sharing this podcast
with four or five other peopleand by posting the link to this
podcast on your LinkedIn page oryour Facebook page.
(01:27):
You know I appreciate when youdo that more than you really
realize.
So, thanks to all of you,whether you're a regular
listener or whether this is yourfirst time, you know we're so
glad that you've decided todownload and listen to this
podcast glad that you've decidedto download and listen to this
(01:48):
podcast.
And this week.
I want to give a big shout outto Lambeth, england, which is a
southern district in London, forso many downloads here recently
, and we certainly do appreciateyou and the many downloads that
you have downloaded.
So thank you so much.
Thanks to all of you who helpmake Christian Business Concepts
a success and help us to reachothers with this important
(02:11):
message to help Christianbusinesses or to help you.
Maybe you're a supervisor, it'snot a Christian business, but
you are and you're reallywanting to apply biblical
principles to a department thatyou manage, or whatever your
position may be.
So we thank you for that andagain, thank you, lambeth,
(02:32):
england.
Now in the company spotlightthis week, I want to highlight a
US company called EventideAsset Management Company, a man
by the name of Finney Caruvillaand Robin John.
They were friends, they werebelievers and they felt like
(02:53):
they had more to do for thekingdom of God.
So they left a very lucrativeseven-figure job and they spent
six months praying together andreally committing this to the
Lord, and they started this newcompany called Eventide Asset
Management and they wanted tocreate a mutual fund that
(03:17):
invested exclusively in ethicalcompanies.
They wanted to be able tochannel capital towards those
that were doing things right andthey wanted to use their
backgrounds.
That was the other thing.
They wanted to use theirbackgrounds, their giftings that
God had put in them, theireducation, and they wanted to
(03:38):
utilize these things to honorGod.
You know the mission statementof the company is to honor God
and serve our clients byinvesting in companies that
create compelling value for theglobal common good.
You know they really rootedtheir company in Proverbs,
chapter 1, verses 10 through 19,which talks about not joining
(04:02):
forces with those who reapill-gotten gain, or even by
passively doing that in theirgains.
So right now they already haveover $3 billion in assets.
Their flagship fund is calledthe Gilead Fund.
Called the Gilead Fund, it hasreturned 15.5% annually
(04:28):
throughout the last few years.
It has been a number one andnumber two pick by some of the
great financial magazines.
No one on Wall Street thoughtthat they could ever be
successful in just investing inethical companies, but they have
.
It's been a God-given visionand we're excited about Eventide
(04:51):
.
Thank you people, thank youfolks there at Eventide for what
you're doing.
We thank God for you in yourbusiness and that you operate a
Christian business in thisparticular market, which is
unheard of, and so we'rethankful to God for your success
and we're thankful to God forwhat you're doing and the impact
(05:13):
.
You know, one of the greatestrevivals that ever started in
the United States happened.
It started with a person onWall Street and they just
started having some prayermeetings and started out.
There was about 26 people bythe time it was over.
Over three million people gavetheir lives to Christ through
(05:37):
this movement that started onWall Street, and so we're
thankful for Eventide AssetManagement.
We just think they're a greatcompany and so we're thankful
for Eventide Asset Management.
We just think they're a greatcompany and I encourage you to
look into it if you're lookingfor investments.
Now, you know, as a Christianbusiness, you operate really
with two purposes.
(05:58):
If you're trying to operateyour business not just as a
Christian-owned but as aChristian-led company and those
are two very different thingsand so you know when you do that
you have these two purposes andthat's to provide valuable
goods, you know, whatever it maybe, maybe it's services and
(06:21):
it's to glorify God through thatwork.
So over time, businesses candrift away.
You kind of can what we calldrift and you can get away from
your core mission.
You can face some veryoperational challenges.
You can encounter what theremay be cultural shifts.
(06:44):
We see that going on right nowin the world today there's some
big cultural shifts that aretaking place and all of these
things can have you to dosomething that I call reboot.
You know, with your computer weall have done this At times you
know it's not working right orwhatever.
(07:04):
And you talk to somebody in ITor you talk to somebody that
knows about computers andthey'll tell you, they'll say,
well, just reboot your computer.
And when you reboot it does alot of things within the
internal workings of thatcomputer.
I'm not going to dwell on thoseparticular items, but we do.
We've all had to do that.
We've all had to rebootelectronics, whether it be our
(07:26):
phone or smart tablet orwhatever it may be.
But sometimes you need to reboot.
From time to time you've got toreboot.
You know, 2 Timothy 1 and 6says Wherefore I put thee in
remembrance, that thou stir upthe gift of God which is in thee
by the putting on of my hands.
And in the Greek that word stirup it just means fan the flame,
(07:47):
and so sometimes your flamewill say kind of starts to dim
and starts to go out.
You got to fan that flame andin this case we're talking about
rebooting things.
So you have to reboot.
And so the first thing I wantto talk about is recognizing a
lot of times when you need toreboot.
(08:08):
So there's some signs.
There's some signs of when youneed to reboot.
So one sign is there'sspiritual or leadership fatigue,
so there may be a loss ofpassion.
Maybe you just feeldisconnected from what your
purpose is or what your callingis.
There may be some persistentstress that you're under.
(08:30):
You just can't find peace,despite all your efforts to
manage your workload.
You just feel burnout.
Or maybe you just don't havethat joy or that motivation.
Have that joy or thatmotivation.
You know, leadership can bevery burdensome at times and
maybe it's not fulfilling to you.
(08:51):
Or maybe you've got a lot ofdoubts or maybe some guilt.
You're questioning your motives, you know.
Maybe you feel unworthy.
I have a family member thatowns a large company and he's
talked to me many times.
He said I feel guilty for beingso blessed, and that can happen
sometimes.
And sometimes you're justneglecting your spiritual life,
(09:14):
your personal life.
You're skipping prayer, youdon't spend time worshiping, you
have no fellowship.
So that's one.
Another sign is maybe, you know,maybe you've got some
organizational or some businesschallenges.
Maybe your sales aren't whatthey should be, maybe customers
(09:34):
are not engaging, maybe there'sa productivity decrease, a very
significant one.
Maybe you have somediscontentment with your team or
your employees.
Maybe you've got a lot moreturnover than what you're used
to.
You know that could be causedbecause of a lot of increased
conflict.
Or maybe you've lost somereally key people, key team
(09:58):
members, or some actions ordecisions.
You know you kind of startdrifting away from those
Christian principles and thenmaybe there's some stagnation,
maybe this, you know this goingon.
You just kind of feel stuck.
Another sign is you know somepersonal life factors which
(10:18):
could happen through some verysignificant life things that are
going on, just normal things.
Maybe there's a loss of a lovedone, or maybe you're having
some health issues or somebodyin your family that you're
having to take care of has somehealth issues.
Maybe there's a family crisis.
It just kind of creates thisdistraction and it distracts you
(10:39):
from your faith.
It may distract you from yourmission.
So your personal prioritieskind of shift away from God's
purpose.
So these are some of the thingsyou look for when you think you
may have to reboot, and we'lltalk about that in detail,
because I want to talk aboutsome specific areas that you
(10:59):
have to look for that you mayneed to reboot.
So let's talk about these.
So one is rebooting yourmission and your vision.
So why does that matter?
Well, your mission and yourvision of a Christian business
especially.
It defines who you are.
(11:21):
It defines your purpose, yourdirection, and if these have
become unclear or outdated ormisaligned with those biblical
values, so you may lose some ofyour spiritual and operational
focus, maybe the missionstatement no longer reflects
what your business activities orvalues are.
(11:42):
You know, maybe the business isstruggling to articulate really
how to glorify God.
So in that case you need toreboot that area, reboot the
mission and vision.
So how do you do that?
Let's look at some steps thatyou need to do to do that.
Well, first of all, get your keyleaders and your key
(12:04):
stakeholders to begin to pray.
Pray for wisdom.
James 1 and 5 talks about ifany man lack wisdom, let him ask
of God, who giveth liberallyand upbraideth not.
God wants to give us wisdom.
And just begin to seek God's inredefining that mission and
vision and then assess whetheror not that mission reflects the
(12:28):
biblical values Purposely, lookat it and see if it does, does
it have service involved,integrity and stewardship?
Does it align with your currentoperations?
And then engage thosestakeholders, involve your
employees, your key people, yourcustomers, even maybe some of
(12:48):
your partners, your vendors, andjust kind of have that
discussion to ensure that yourmission resonates with those
that you want to serve.
And then what you have to do isyou have to revise your mission
statement, your vision statement.
What you have to do is you haveto revise your mission
statement, your vision statement.
So be very clear, be concisewith regards to your mission and
(13:10):
vision statement, Make surethat it integrates your faith
and your business goals.
So, for example, it may besomething as simple as to serve
our community with excellencereflecting Christ's love through
quality products and ethicalpractices, with excellence
reflecting Christ's love throughquality products and ethical
practices.
And then you want tocommunicate it.
And you want to do more thanthat.
You want to embed your visionand mission statement.
(13:32):
You want to embed it within allyour employees.
You want to integrate it intoyour training and your marketing
, your decision-making processes.
You know Colossians 3, 23, 24,you hear me quote this a lot
whatever you do, work at it withall your heart as working for
the Lord and not for humanmasters, and that's key.
(13:54):
That's key.
You know.
Proverbs 16, 3 says commit tothe Lord, whatever you do, and
he will establish your plans.
So that's important.
So sometimes you need to dothat.
A second thing is sometimes youneed to reboot your leadership.
Now, why does that matter?
Well, leadership really setsthe tone for your business, your
(14:17):
organization's culture and eventhe decisions that are made.
You know, christian leaders arecalled to model servant
leadership and humility andintegrity and reflecting
Christ's example.
You know, I worked for acompany for several years and
you know I talked about people.
(14:38):
You know, when we talked abouthiring new people and we talked
about and they were new to me atthe time, you know, when we
talked about hiring new peopleand we talked about and they
were new to me at the time, andso I kind of looked for some
things and I asked themspecifically what kind of people
do you not want in the company?
And one of them talked to mevery plainly and said well, one
thing that's an absolute turnofffor us, or an absolute that it
(15:02):
causes us not to hire somebodyis, if they're, I guess, lack of
a better word they're a bragger.
You know they brag abouteverything.
They talk about how great theyare, how great things they can
do.
They said that just doesn't fitin our company culture.
We don't feel comfortable withthose kinds of people, and so
sometimes you have to rebootyour leadership.
(15:23):
Sometimes you have to makechanges.
You know, maybe you've got someleaders that are beginning to
prioritize their own personalgain over the well-being of your
customers, your employees, yourcompany.
Maybe some of thedecision-making lacks
transparency or maybe there's nobiblical grounding, there's a
lack of accountability andthere's no spiritual growth
(15:47):
among the leaders.
Maybe there's burnout, there'sdisengagement in the event, or
that it's evident, I should say,in leadership.
So not always do these thingshappen, do you need to replace
those leaders, but that justmeans that you need to have a
good sit down with them and aplan to overcome some of those
(16:08):
issues that maybe they've letslip over time.
So maybe they can berehabilitated and you can keep
those leaders and you'll moveright on.
And there's some times whereyou can't rehabilitate them and
you need to make a change.
So sometimes you need to rebootyour leadership.
You know what can you do.
Again, train those leaders.
That's important.
(16:28):
Make sure that there's somespiritual renewal that goes on,
you know.
Encourage your leaders to engagein personal prayer and in Bible
study, accountability groups tohelp strengthen, you know,
their faith.
I'd encourage you to readPsalms 119, 105.
It kind of goes into that, butsometimes you need to do that
(16:49):
and in the United States a lotof people would say, well, you
can't do that in a business, canyou?
Well, yes, you can.
You have rights and you can askpeople.
You can't make them.
You can't say, well, if you dothis, I'll give you a raise, or
if you do this, I'll promote you, or if you don't do it, I won't
promote you.
No, that's against the law, youcannot do that.
But you can ask and you candiscuss it.
(17:11):
Those rights are protectedunder the Civil Rights Act and
you can read that.
In fact, I've had a podcastabout it and so you can do that.
So ask them to do that, and soyou can do that.
So ask them to do that, andthen you can.
As I said, you can do someadditional training.
You know, mark, chapter 10,verses 42 through 45, says but
(17:32):
Jesus called them to him andsaid unto them you know that
they, which are accounted torule over the Gentiles, exercise
lordship over them and theirgreat ones exercise authority
upon them.
But so shall it not be amongyou.
But whosoever will be greatamong you shall be your minister
, and whosoever of you will bethe chiefest shall be the
(17:54):
servant of all.
For even the Son of man camenot to be ministered unto, but
to minister and to give his lifea ransom for many.
So this gives us an examplethat we're to be servants, even
in our businesses.
Yes, you're the leader, yes,you have to make some tough
decisions, but you do it fromthe standpoint of servant
leadership.
Then you can evaluate howthey're making their decisions.
(18:18):
Again, maybe you do sometraining there.
Maybe they need a mentor, youknow.
Create some accountabilitythere.
Maybe they need a mentor, youknow.
Create some accountabilitystructures, you know.
But the foundation biblicallyfor that is the passage I just
read, and then also even in 1Timothy 4 and 12, it says set an
example for the believers inspeech, in conduct, in love, in
(18:42):
faith and impurity.
So be that example.
Another thing that needs to berebooted from time to time is
the employee culture.
Now, why does that matter?
Well, employees are the heartof any business.
If you don't have employees,you don't have a business.
You can't operate your businesswithout employees, and a
(19:02):
Christian business should reallytry to foster this culture of
respect and unity and spiritualgrowth.
And I think that a toxic or adisengaged culture can really go
to undermine what your visionis, what your mission is.
So it may be.
(19:23):
You see high employee turnover,maybe low morale, lack of
collaboration or trust, maybethe employees are feeling
disconnected from the business'svalues, maybe there's a lot of
workplace conflicts that are notbeing resolved scripturally.
So I think that's important.
How do you?
You know, how do you do that?
(19:45):
Well, you need to assess whatyour current culture is like,
and then you want to begin to tointegrate faith into work.
You know, uh, offer someopportunities for spiritual
growth, maybe some optionalbible studies, prayer groups, or
there's some companies thathave actual chaplains that are
on staff, you know, and thenpromote a very positive
(20:08):
environment, you know, trainyour managers to be very open in
their communication andrecognize employees'
contributions, and then youaddress conflict scripturally.
You know.
Matthew 18, verses 15 through 17, says Moreover, if thy brother
shall trespass against thee, goand tell him his fault, between
(20:29):
you and him alone, and if hehears you, then you've gained a
brother.
But if he will not hear you,then take two or three more.
That in the mouth of two orthree witnesses every word may
be established.
And so it talks about how weconfront, the proper way to
confront.
So then you begin to invest inthe development of your
employees, and I think that's,you know, so critically
(20:54):
important.
You know, philippians 2, 3through 4 says do nothing out of
selfish ambition or vainconceit, but rather in humility,
value others above yourselves.
All right, next thing that youhave to look at is rebooting
your customer relations.
Now, that's important, becausea Christian business serves
customers and we do that as anact of stewardship and love,
(21:19):
reflecting the call that God'sput on our lives.
And poor customer service, poorcustomer relations, it can harm
your business.
Not only harm your business,but it hurts and harms your
witness into the world.
So that's so important.
You know, stephen Covey saidalways treat your employees
(21:39):
exactly as you want them totreat your best customers.
So it starts at the head, movesdown, you treat your employees
like they're customers, and thenthey'll treat the customers the
way you treat them.
So that's important.
So if you see a decline in yourcustomer satisfaction or loyalty
or you're getting complaints,you need to look at that and you
(22:03):
need to begin to reboot.
How do you do that?
Well, you're going to have toevaluate what your customer
experiences are, so you're goingto have to get some feedback.
You can do it through surveysor reviews, direct conversations
, if you need to Try to identifythe pain points.
What's going on?
What are they struggling with?
And then you've got to trainyour staff.
Train them in Christian service, you know.
(22:25):
Equip your employees tointeract with customers.
Make sure that they havekindness and honesty and
humility when they're dealingwith those customers.
And then make sure that youalign your marketing with the
right godly values that he hasand has placed in your heart.
You know, proverbs 11 and 1says a false balance is an
(22:45):
abomination to the Lord, but ajust weight is his delight.
So make sure you align that,especially in your marketing.
Make sure you align that withGod's ethical practices and then
do your best to focus onbuilding trust, building trust
with your customers.
And then make sure that youaddress any complaints that you
(23:08):
have quickly, promptly, fairly.
You want to seek reconciliationand forgiveness when it's needed
.
But you always treat thecustomers well.
You know, matthew 5.16 says Letyour light shine before others
that they may see your gooddeeds and glorify your Father in
heaven.
Treat them right, treat yourcustomers right.
(23:30):
Another area to reboot is yourcommunity impact.
You know a Christian businessis called to be a light to the
community.
You're supposed to demonstrateGod's love through your service
and other things that you do inyour business, and so you need
at times to reboot that, yourcommunity impact.
(23:52):
So that's really important.
And there's some other areasthat you want to reboot to
Sometimes your personalspiritual practices, your daily
devotional, your fasting andprayer maybe you've just kind of
got away from that yourpersonal worship, your spiritual
accountability.
These are things that you needto reboot, get back on the track
(24:15):
, get it back where it needs tobe.
Another is your leadershipmindset and your attitude.
You know having servantleadership, you got to have the
right attitude for that.
You got to have the rightmindset for that.
So maybe revisit some of thosecore principles of leading with
humility and service that'smodeled after Christ and the way
(24:37):
he operated his ministry, andeven in your decision-making
process or the way you handleconflict.
But you've got to have a growthmindset.
So make sure you reaffirm acommitment to learning, to
humility, to adaptability.
But you need to get back on thetrack, reboot.
Get back on track and alongwith that goes your thinking.
(25:02):
That means you've got to rebootyour expectations, you know.
Think big.
I mean God is a big God, and tome, the dreams that God has
given me, the visions that Godhas given me, are things that I
can't do in and of myself, but Iknow that God can help me.
That's when it gets that big,whatever it may be.
(25:23):
So dream big, don't dream small.
Dream big and put on thoseright kinds of thinking.
You know.
It kind of reminds me of thestory of a man who went over and
met with the king of SaudiArabia and they were out playing
golf together and he, you know,was a business owner, you know,
(25:47):
and so he became friends withthe king over there, and the
king asked him.
He said what can I do for you?
What can I do for you?
What can I do for you?
And he had noticed that theking had this one particular
golf club that he really liked.
And so he looked at the king.
He said, king.
The only thing I would reallywant, I would really appreciate,
would be a golf club.
(26:08):
And so he got back home andhe's kind of expecting a package
to come in the mail.
But what happens is he gets aphone call.
So what had happened was is theking had purchased for him, and
put in his name, an actual golfclub that had several hundred
(26:28):
members.
It was a very nice golf club.
And I think about that becausekings think big, they don't
think little, they think big,and so you've got to think big.
You know your emotions.
You got to think about youremotions.
Sometimes they need to berebooted.
You know, make sure you don'thave unforgiveness in your life.
(26:49):
Make sure you've gotself-control.
You know that's a fruit of thespirit.
You know, and then sometimesyou got to in your life, make
sure you've got self-control.
That's a fruit of the spirit.
And then sometimes you got toreboot your focus, because what
you focus on determines whereyou go.
You know, in driving there'ssomething called target fixation
and that happens when you'redriving.
So when you look to the left,your car starts to drift to the
(27:12):
left.
If you look to the right, yourcar kind of drifts to the right.
That's called target fixation.
That's a real thing, and so youwant to sometimes reboot what
you're focusing on.
So where you focus is going todetermine where you go.
You know Brian Tracy, a greatleadership guy, and he's written
(27:32):
a lot of books and I've readmany of those books.
But he said one time he said,just as your car runs more
smoothly and requires lessenergy to go faster and farther
when the wheels are in perfectalignment, you perform better
when your thoughts, yourfeelings, your emotions, your
goals and your values are all inbalance.
So that's important.
(27:53):
So at times we really need toreboot, and when you reboot,
it's really an opportunity for aChristian business leader to
realign with God's given purposefor you, to renew your
commitment to biblical values,to strengthen your impact and by
(28:14):
focusing on your mission andyour leadership, your employee
culture, your customer relationsand some of these things that
we've talked about today, Ibelieve that your business can
thrive, not just as a business,but you can thrive as a witness
to Christ's love and truth.
So approach this process withhumility and prayer and a
(28:37):
willingness to change, and alsotrust that God's going to bless
your efforts to honor him andkeep you on that path to true
godly success.
Heavenly Father, we seek yourwisdom.
Now, lord, we come before you.
We ask for your guidance, lord,as we reboot our businesses
(28:58):
from time to time in our lives,to reflect your love and your
glory.
Lord, help us to lead withintegrity, help us to serve with
humility and help us to stewardyour resources faithfully.
Lord and Lord, may our work bea light to those around us,
drawing other people closer toyou.
And, lord, we ask this in thename of Jesus, amen and amen.
(29:24):
Well, thanks again for being apart of today's podcast, and
don't forget to help us grow theCBC family by talking to other
people about the ChristianBusiness Concept's podcast.
And don't forget to help usgrow the CBC family by talking
to other people about theChristian Business Concepts
podcast.
We love you, we appreciate you,we're praying for you and
that's all we have time for fortoday.
So until next time, rememberthat Jesus is Lord and he wants
(29:49):
you blessed he wants you blessed.
Speaker 1 (29:56):
Thank you for tuning into this week's Christian
Business Concepts podcast.
Go toChristianBusinessConceptscom for
more information and resources.
Be sure to check out otherpodcasts that will help you take
your business and your personallife to a whole new level of
success.
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