When I found the Lord so many missing pieces of the puzzle came together. Much of my value system was already in place, but I didn’t know why or where it came from. I always wanted to help, take care of things and people. Being ethical and moral was always important. I would dive on a sword for the principle of the thing in my work life, sometimes to my detriment. And doing deep work, exceeding expectations of management, team and customers was a mantra that I later refocused to try to glorify God in my work.
Once I found the Lord (or He found me) I saw the lack around me. I saw so many Christians check their faith at the work doorstep. And once I left the corporate world, I found fellow Christians struggling to live out their faith in their work- especially business owners who didn’t have the excuse of someone else’s vision or values. They were studying God’s word, going to accountability groups and then heading to work the next day without the strength and foundation of following the Lord in all that we do- even our business.
Then came the misconceptions. What does it mean to live out Christian values in our business? Some owners felt they had to always give stuff away for free or let an employee keep working for them even if they weren’t doing a particularly good job. Those are not biblical concepts. Charging fair prices, paying fair wages are biblical. Holding people you care about accountable is also biblical – God does.
I know as Christians in business we must show grace, and in these examples that may mean pro bono work for someone in need, or a second chance for an employee. These are important to bring to the Lord. But I found that many Christians in business had trouble applying discernment… so they instead would give up trying to follow God in their business altogether.
God’s Vision for Crossroads
This birthed the Crossroads vision:
To help Christian business owners build successful businesses on a foundation of their Christian values
which would lead to more Christians following the Lord in their businesses
… thus creating a “city on a hill” for other Christians in business to find their way.
As a business coach I didn’t want to just lean on faith and rest on marketing God to sell our services. That is not my definition of creating a successful business on foundation of Christian values.
Walking the Walk
I break it down like this:
Whatever your business does:
- Excel at the work.
- Know it; keep learning; dig deep.
At Crossroads, we do business coaching and business-building support services.
In order to excel at our work:
- We need depth of business skills and experience.
- We need business talent in the areas we have services.
- We are committed to continuous learning.
- We know our craft.
- And we have to walk the walk.
Our niche is Christian business owners. We help them build their business on a foundation of Christian values. To do this we need the same things.
- We need to strive for biblical knowledge and a relationship with our Savior.
- We need to wrestle with what God would have us do in our own business.
- We need to bring our work to the Lord through prayer and study.
Magic Happens At The Crossroads
This intersection at the crossroads of strong business acumen and chasing God’s plan is where our vision comes alive. It is where we excel.
The everyday life of our work is:
- Being good business partners; consultants and service providers.
- It is living out our faith in our work life.
On occasion the magic intersects where God uses us to:
- Help a business owner push through fear and trust God with a decision he knows is the right thing to do.
- Reduce the stress of a business owner by pointing them to Christ and seeing them transform their life and business.
- Show others how to follow Christ in their business and then watch them flourish.
And then ultimately- we see the outline of the city on a hill form. We see our clients sharing their faith or living their faith in their business. We get an opportunity to see God work through His people to reach more people, who will one day live out their faith in their business, as in the rest of their lives.
We struggle with it at times. We mess up too. But we are called to this work and this life.
What is God’s will for your business? What is your vision? What are the crossroads where the magic happens?
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