Buck’s Blog

How great is Our God?

At the C12 Chairs training in Clayton, Georgia last March I received a book from Ralph Miller called “The God Who Hung on The Cross.” Little did I know that God was to use this book in such a special way in Bonnie and my lives.

The book is the story of ICM ministry and the life of Dois Roesser Some 20 years ago the Lord led Dois to begin to build churches in the developing nations of the world and in the process gave him the concept of building buildings that were a combination of Church/Orphanages at a very reasonable cost. For some reason, as I read of the way He used these buildings in the local communities, I felt the Lord say to me, “You could do that.” I have never had any sort of vision for building churches anywhere let alone a third-world country. Not that I’m not all for it, it just never occurred to me that it would be a part of God’s plan for me.

I shared the book with Bonnie without much comment and as she read the part about the Church/Orphanages I asked her what she thought. She said “We could do that.” We quickly agreed to pray and ask God if and how we might.

It “happened” that I was scheduled to attend a conference in Virginia Beach the next week and inquired of Ralph if I could visit ICM and learn more. (Ralph Miller is a board member of ICM and C12 Chair in Virginia Beach). Not only was I able to visit, but also privileged to meet Dois. I told him that we were interested in building a Church/Orphanage and he asked me where we were thinking about. When I told him India he teared up and told me that just that day he and the staff had prayed for a donor to do the first C/O in India. When he told me that I was confident that we were on the right track with God and when he told me that they could build the C/Os in India for just $15,000 each I thought “Let’s build two!” but I didn’t say so because I wanted to check with Bonnie. She readily agreed. All we needed was the money!

For those of you who know me you know we have never been about money. Starting C12 risked all we had and we have been well cared for by our Father but not in a position to accumulate much. However, about 8 years ago we had been advised to start a 401-K simply to take advantage of the tax deduction, and we had done so. I bought stock in Kforce, Inc. because the CEO, Dave Dunkel is a dear friend and member of my original group in Tampa and member of the C12 BOD. I was excited to walk with him in this way. Each year I added what the allowable amount was and when I checked last April it was over $50,000! I called my broker and asked him to sell $30,000 worth of stock and incidentally asked him to check what percentage of the total value was profit. We both laughed when he came back and said, “You won’t believe this but your profit is $30,400! I said “Great, enough for two C/Os and a down payment on a trip to visit them!”

Well, we just got back from Ongole, India and being privileged to share in the dedication of two C/Os. So much has happened that there isn’t space here to share it all. But I tried to sum it all up in the following note that I sent to our Chairs, board members, and C12 Heroes…

“As all of you know I journal daily and review my notes weekly and at the end of each year in December and January. Today I was rereading my writing from February 13 and this is what I read “Father, You have given Bonnie and I abundance. I don’t want to hoard. I don’t care about investment plans or savings accounts. We have the 401-K just to save on taxes but I don’t want the money there. Show me what to do Father. I long to be rich toward You as You are rich toward me. It’s not an accounting measure it is a heart measure. You gave to me first and far beyond anything I could give to you. I want to give like You Abba! I want Your heart to beat in me and Your resources to flow through me. Help me to hear you. When I wrote this to my Father I had no idea that Ralph Miller would bring the book “The God Who hung on The Cross” to our Chairs Meeting in late March and give me a copy. I had no clue that in reading it that God would answer this prayer by leading Bonnie and I to build two churches in India and to reorganize our estate. BUT HE DID! He led us to start the 401-K years before. He grew it in Kforce stock to be worth over $50,000. He brought me to want to use it in His Kingdom and led me to the place He prepared for some of it to be used. He even allowed me to share in the joy of those He prepared to receive the answer to my prayer. “How great is our God? O sing with me how great is our God!” Of course it won’t end here, I just don’t know yet what the next steps will be. He began a good work in my long before I knew Him and there is much more to be done. It isn’t ended, in fact in many ways I feel that “I ain’t seen nothin’ yet!” I write this to you to encourage you and certainly not to bring attention to me or anything that I have done. It’s not about me it’s all about Him! And it’s all about His progressive work in our lives and answers to prayer we prayed long ago and haven’t seen answers to - yet. I also hope that its an encouragement to journal and review. Had I not I would sure have missed a blessing! I am grateful that each one of you is part of my life and His work in and through me! Press on!”I am attaching a few pictures, and hope that you not only enjoy them, but that you might be encouraged to trust Him more. He is our Rock and our Source! Before all this my 401-K was just numbers on paper, nothing of real value to me or to anyone else. Interesting to glance at once in a while but that’s about it. Breaking off a piece to share with brothers and sisters, and leveraging it into God’s Kingdom is worth so much more, a much better investment!

My wife Bonnie and I hust returned from a trip to Ongole, India, where the Lord provided for us to be used to build two Church/Orpahanage buildings for two growing Indian congregations. It was a short visit but I came away with an insight that made very real to me something that had been shared with me by my friend Dennis Peacocke years ago. It has to do with the difference between “wealth” and “riches.”

In the villages that we visited the people were extremely poor in terms of “riches” but very “wealthy” in terms of Kingdom values. If we think of “riches” as money, property, possessions, and pleasure, and “wealth” as love, character, contentment, joy, and the fruit of the Spirit we gain an insight into God’s level playing field. All Christians don’t have equal access to “riches” but all have equal access to “wealth.” Those we met and prayed with in the villages of India were very wealthy indeed, but very poor!

This can contrast with the lack of “wealth” that we see in so many “rich” American business owners and leaders. While there is equal access to “wealth” for all Christians, the distractions of “riches” can erode or steal it entirely. “Things” can be a curse or a blessing depending on how we perceive them and use them. Hoarding them brings a curse, sharing them with others a blessing.

I know this is short and perhaps even simplistic but my intention is to cause thought, not to teach at a deep level, I will trust God to do the deep teaching, just think on this idea a bit and ask Him.

Let me give you an example. Before the opportunity to fund the buildings buildings came to us I had an IRA. In reality it was just a bunch of numbers on paper that I received regularly from my broker. It was a bit interesting to watch the numbers go up and down with the value of the stocks but it had no real value to me or to anyone else. I exchanged some of the numbers on paper for two buildings in India that will serve Christian believers and orphans for years to come and was privileged to see and share in the joy and hope in the lives of others that I had never met and who could never repay me (nor should they have to). As we celebrated God’s goodness together in dedicating the buildings to His glory and purpose we shared in His wealth, even though there were no riches to be seen. Riches can be exchanged for wealth, wealth never can be exchanged for riches.

The numbers on the paper meant so very little to me, or to anyone else, but the exchange we made this past week couldn’t be compared and the wealth created is eternal.

The Scriptures say, “Without revelation (or vision) people cast off restraint.” (Proverbs 29:18.) Vision may be defined as “a perceived worthy reslult.” It is something far off or future in nature that draws us on toward it, an “end game.”

For Christians, our end game is, or should be, to hear Jesus say, “Well done good and faithful servant!” Truly there can be no higher or better result of our lives than to hear those words. When our eye is clear, and our “end game” clearly in mind, it, in and of itself “restrains” us. It helps us focus on what Stephen Covey calls “First Things” as in “Keep First Things First.” First things are those that feed those things most important to us and help us accomplish our vision. They are strategies and tactics that support us and help us remain focused amid the noise and distractions that the world, the flesh, and the devil throw in our path.

Our end game is eternal, not to be realized in this life, but in eternal life with our Lord Jesus. He will be our judge and our effectiveness will be judged by His standards alone. Without “restraint” or focus distraction will cause diffusion of our efforts and diminution of our fruitfulness. Loss of focus will ultimately result in our eternal loss. So, what’s your vision? Is your business a means to an end, and is that end eternal? What “restrains” you?

There are at least two dimensions to this question. First, if you are the only one in your business that sees the business as the platform for ministry and stewardship responsibility that it truly is, and are using it as such, and you leave, sell, or die - the ministry, your ministry, ends with a period. It would be described as personal, singular, and single generation in scope.

If you are engaging others in the ministry, and they are actively and strategically seeking to do ministry in and through the business, your ministry, at least for a season, ends with a comma.

Yet, even if you have a fantastic ministry team of co-laborers ministering with you and are experiencing outstanding ministry fruitfulness and business success, and you sell the business to unbelievers, your ministry ends with a period. Don’t be deceived, unbelievers can’t and won’t continue ministry. It would be multi-dimensional but single generational.

The choice will be yours. The consequences of your choice can be eternally significant.

We are talking about a type of succession planning here that is rarely discussed but should be considered in great depth. It is all related to the answer to the fundamental question, “Who owns the business?” If God owns it, and we are merely stewards, and if we rightly see it as our platform for ministry, and are using as such, do you imagine that God would want it to end with a period? Can you imaging God wanting the ministry in a successful church to end with a period when the pastor leaves or dies? It is possible but I think much more likely that God is into multi-generational creation, investing in us so that our ministry always ends with a comma. What do you think?

Words have meaning and the use of words is important. For instance, it troubles me to hear people say that there can be no such thing as a “Christian” business. These same people have no trouble describing a school as a “Christian” school or music as “Christian” music. They say that a business can’t be “Christian” because it can’t go to heaven! As if a school or “music” can. Christian can be, and is, used very appropriately as an adjective, a word that brings greater meaning or clarity to a noun or pronoun. Think about it; does a different picture come to your mind if I were to describe someone as a businessman Christian or a Christian business man (or woman)? When used as an adjective Christian means that the noun is Christian in character, purpose, and acts in ways that are consistent with the teachings of Jesus Christ. Can a school be so described? Of course it can, and so can a business.A business that is consecrated, committed, or set apart, to adhere to and promote the values and message of Jesus is appropriately called “Christian” in the same way that a school so established and committed. It is simply an evasion of responsibility to assert that a business is exempt from the claims of Christ. Sin is sin at work, in the church, or in the home, there are no exemptions! If anything Jesus calls His people to a higher standard in the world of trade, never compromising there or anywhere else. So, how would you describe yourself? Your business? More importantly, how would Jesus?

Jesus said in John 15:8 “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourseives to be my disciples.” (NIV) In our last post we said that what God cares most about is what He paid the highest price to obtain, and that the salvation of His children is His focus. But what does that mean to us, in our modern expression of life? How can we contribute and what can we do to participate with Him? And how does that relate to bearinf fruit>

I would like to offer this; the fruit that God seeks to bear through His children is what might be called “eternal fruit.” Eternal fruit means “lives turned topward God.” In other words, if, as we live in the world that surrounds us day by day, others are influenced toward God, eternal fruit is produced. Some of those we meet and interact with will come to salvation because of the relationship, some who are already saved will be encouraged because we encountered them, and some will just have the precious ointment of God’s love lavished on them in His Name through our work to clothe the naked, feed the hungry, and visit those in “prison.” (There are more than one kind of prison.)

We can do all these things at work as well as anywhere else, in fact, maybe to an even greater degree if we choose to. The question isn’t “Is there an opportunity?” It is “What will we do with the opportunities we have?” And “How do we do it?”

If God paid the highest price that could be paid to provide for the salvation of His children, how does, or should, that fact interdict the way we view and operate the businesses that we manage for Him? If it’s His property how do we use it in alignment with His ultimate ourpose, recociliation with His children?

I see it this way. The business brings us into contact with countless people who will never likely darken the door of a church. (Estimates vary between 70-75% of Americans are unchurched) Every time we have contact with the customer, employee, competitor, or supplier who make up the daily relational interaction of business, we have the opportunity to give them an impression about God. This happens as a result of how we interact with them in the various roles that we play with one another as we “do business.” We have the same opportunity as we relate to them as neighbors, relatives, friends, or others that we rub shoulders with simply by living in the world.

By what we say and what we do (both/and) we give them an impression. If that impression is positive it earns us credibility with them. Over time the relationships that we have with them may earn us the right to discuss our values with them. If we are Christians, our ultimate value is our relationship with God in Christ and we will have the opportunity to express that with them in countless ways.

Last night Bonnie and I had dinner in the home of a friend that is an atheist. I have been playing golf with him and sharing life with him for over 10 years. Last night he invited me to say grace before our meal. That would never have happened 10 years ago. I have had some very direct discussions and even arguements with him over the years. Once we even got so upset with each other that we quit speaking for a couple of months. Then God convicted me of my sin and pride and I called my friend and asked for his forgiveness and told him I valued our friendship and knew that I was wrong to treat it and him as I had. We resumed our friendship and he told me that no one had ever asked his forgivenness for anything in his life. He’s not there yet but the relationship deepens and my love for him grows and I pray that its not too late.

We have the same kind of opportunities in our businesses. People come into our lives for different reasons, not to play golf, but to buy or sell or work with us. Most of them are lost and need to know our Saviour. God brings them across our paths and plants us in their way as His Ambassador. When we understand that as our primary purpose we can respond to the opportunity appropriately and in obedience to His Spirit. When we do God’s purpose is fulfilled and “eternal fruit” is produced. What is “eternal fruit?” Stay tuned, we will talk abot that subject next.

If God owns the business, and our performance as managers and/or stewards will be evaluated by Him, what will be the criteria? Will it be the size we grow the business to, or the gross profit margins? How many we employ or the evaluation of our peers? In the final analysis, will the measures that the world uses have any relevance at all? I don’t think so, at least not as we normally perceive them.

We may not be able to be totally definitive regarding His values, but we can pretty well see what He cares for most by looking at the price He was willing to pay to achieve it. Nothing that God has said or done compares to the price He paid for peace and fellowship with His children. The price of the death of His Son in our place. The story of creation doesn’t seem to allude to it causing God to sweat or strain, He just spoke and it was done. It was work, but not difficult for Him. He is The Creator, He creates.

But, as we know, a problem arose. Our ancestors couldn’t keep even the one commandment of the garden, and sinned. Fellowship and peace with God were broken and the only satsfactory remedy was the sacrifice of His perfect Son. There is no higher cost, there is nothing that God values nearly as much as the salvation of His children.

So, how does that relate to our role as leading His business for Him? And, how can we succeed in those terms while being in the world? The C12 Group, LLC exists to help those so called to the role of CEO/Steward, President/Ambassador, Legal Owner/Manager to fulfill the destiny that the role offers, no, more accurately, demands. For more information visit www.c12group.com or drop me a line. We will keep talking about it with you.

Owners? No, stewards, and then as such, what should be our metrics? We have a saying in C12, “What can’t be measured can’t be managed, taught, or rewarded.” When we consider that God will judge even every careless word we speak and every act that we take, what will be His measure? What is His purpose in giving us a property to run for Him? And how will our performance be measured? I have some ideas but I’d love to hear yours.

You know, after our salvation, this whole topic becomes the most important issue that we can grapple with. What do you think?

I was recently asked to identify the 12 greatest difficulties that a Christian business owner has in leading his/her company in a way that would be Biblically consistent and pleasing to God. Let’s talk about the first and perhaps the first two as they are so interrelated.

The first difficulty is to answer correctly the question, “Who owns the business?” The correct answer is that God owns it, He owns it all, “The Earth is the Lord’s and all it contains.” (Psalm 24:1) If God owns it, then I am simply a steward, not an owner, and as such, must lead it as the owner requires.

To do so requires that I deal with the second most difficult item, some might believe it to be the first, that is to develop and maintain what I call the eternal perspective of life. That is to truly dwell in the truth that was so well stated by Tielhard DeChardain “We are not physical beings who have occasional spiritual experiences, but spirit beings who are having a temporary physical experience.” The reality is that we are living out our time as Christians on Earth as Ambassadors for Christ, and our eternal success will be judged on that basis. This truth is not only counter-cultural, it is essential to our understanding the true purpose and significance of our lives. If we are ever to live in harmony with God’s plan and will it must begin with an accurate understanding of our roles.

So, let’s start here. “Who owns the business that you lead?”

(Here’s a help. If you are struggling with your answer, or question the concept, you can settle the matter easily. Just pray a simple prayer like this, “God, I don’t beleive that you own my business, it is mine, I created it, have worked hard to build it, and its mine. So to prove that Buck is wrong God, You take away all of the business that is Yours and just leave me what is mine.” If you pray that prayer ket me know and let’s watch the results together!)