FAITH AND BUSINESS:
The Pebble Plan system/software is equally useful and relevant for people of all, or no, faith(s). It has no faith component assumed, built in, or required to be successful with.
Over the course of working with, and learning from hundreds of entrepreneurs I have encountered many people who have shared their experiences and struggles with reconciling their business activities or motivations and their personal faith or beliefs. The inner conflict and turmoil they experienced was detrimental to both their business and their personal life. If you are experiencing similar inner conflict I encourage you to take time to think, read, pray, reflect, and make changes if necessary to reconcile your deeply held convictions with your businesses practices and your motivations behind them. In my experience, and almost all of the experiences shared with me, lasting peace as a business owner and a person of faith is illusive and fleeting until you do.
If you are someone who is able to consistently and effectively separate their business activities and motivations from their faith practice & perspective while maintaining peace in their heart & mind; the discussion topics below may not feel as relevant to you as others, but hopefully you will find them encouraging nonetheless.
The topics addressed below deal with the motivations, perspectives, and sense of purpose / direction that some Christian entrepreneurs tap into as they grow their business. If you are a Christian who is curious about the intersection of faith & business, you are not alone; hopefully you will be encouraged by the writings and resources shared below.
If you are not a Christian I hope you have a deep well to draw from that fills you with peace and empowers you to grow your business and serve your community with all you have in you.
As with any discussion of deeply personal and deeply held beliefs, there is the potential for disagreement, even among well intentioned people. Nothing shared below is designed to create offense; if you disagree with a viewpoint or interpretation please keep this in mind.
YOU ARE NOT AN ENTREPRENEUR
YOU ARE A PERSON WHO DOES ENTREPRENEURIAL STUFF.
IN ADDITION TO THE OTHER THINGS IN YOUR LIFE
There is no harm in calling yourself an entrepreneur, but because working for yourself can become an all consuming lifestyle, it's also good to remind ourselves from time to time that our work does not define who and what we are. Even if our work makes the world a better place, and even if lots of people tell us how our work has helped them.
If you got a little defensive in your heart when you read the statement 'You are not an entrepreneur' then I encourage you to dig into that and ask yourself why. Maybe you, like a lot of us, have let something other than the love of God be the first thing that defines who we are. That slight frustration or defensiveness you felt may be the beginning of a false identity trying to take hold in your heart and mind. If you felt a lot of frustration or were offended, then you may have already unknowingly started to agree with an identity or self-image that is different from who God says you are; and that feeling could be God pushing your button to get your attention.
This is a very common thing among Christian business owners. We live in a world that glorifies the 'self', and it can be very easy to slowly, subtly, shift our thinking so we focus on ourselves; and in dong so begin to take on what we see around us all the time. Because this is an internal shift it is invisible to the world, and can be hard to notice internally if we are not regularly examining ourselves in the light of scripture. The writings and resources below may help you realign how you see yourself with how God see's you.
If you have placed faith in Jesus, and accepted him as your Lord & savior: Scripture says that God has adopted you and brought you into His family; so you are now His child. He says that He chose you and that out of His overwhelming love for you He gave you a new spirit; the same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead, and lead Jesus in the Father's will while he walked on the earth. He says He bought you with a tremendous price because you are amazingly valuable to Him and He wants you to be near to Him. He says that because you have placed faith in Jesus there is no condemnation on you and that He has washed away your sins so you can spend eternity with Him.
This isn't just warm fuzzy stuff to make us feel good; it is a key part of our preparation to walk the path God has called us to walk; whether that path takes us to missions or to the marketplace. This is the basis for our new identity, and the source of strength we draw from to do the work we are called to do. As believers, we have an identity that is built on the foundation of being a son or daughter of God and being restored into the relationship He wanted to have with us from the beginning. All of the things that make us sons & daughters of God were initiated and completed by God because we couldn't do them for ourselves. Yet ironically, many times we slip into a thought process that moves us more and more towards the idea that what we do, not who we are, is the basis for our value; to God, to others, and to ourselves.
This is what we must watch out for, and when we see it in our thinking, get rid of it. Our wrong thinking doesn't change who we are, it just temporarily disconnects us from the peace & provision that comes with walking in the truth. Being self-employed is often lonely work, and the opportunity to slip into wrong thinking is always close by; to guard against that it is a good idea to get involved with a group of other Christians who also do entrepreneurial stuff so you can support and encourage each other as you grow your businesses.
FAITH & BUSINESS RESOURCES:
Selected topics & passages that have been shared with us or we found helpful
Organizations we have had some contact with or have heard good things about
Resources we have used and liked or have heard good things about
Please tell us what groups, resources or passages of scripture have helped you
What does the Bible say about money, success, and business?
A lot actually; some is encouraging, some can be challenging, but all of it is true. As Christians, our objective is to work in cooperation with the principals that God has recorded for us in the scripture and honor Him with our work in the marketplace just like we honor Him with our work in other parts of our lives. As you read the passages below, please get out your Bible and double check the references provided and make sure that the thoughts offered ring true with how the Holy Spirit is guiding you. He leads people in different ways depending on His purposes for their life and the season they are in. Don't change what you are doing based on anything you read here, submit this to the Lord in prayer and follow your peace as He leads you.
This is not an complete list of everything the Bible says about money, success, and business. Rather it is a list of scriptures that have been shared with us and/or we have found to be helpful in keeping our perspective right; especially when situations and circumstances make life more difficult.
Mathew 25:14-30
The gifts and callings of God are irrevocable
Passage:
Encouraging things in this passage:
• God has gifted us and entrusted us with valuable and powerful resources
• As we use those resources for His purposes and steward them, we can benefit from the growth
Challenging things in this passage:
• Ignoring or misusing the gifts entrusted to us comes at a cost. It's not a good idea and the cost can be high.
What's the takeaway? / How do we walk this out?
We each have the gifts, talents, and abilities that God has given us, and we each have a certain number of days to use them; we should use each day and each resource to get the best return on His investment in us.
Groups & Organizations:
Their mission / purpose:
To help Entrepreneurs step into their purpose and pursue their God-given call to create.
Faith Driven Entrepreneur exists to help shape the entrepreneurs who are shaping our culture to know God and look more like Him. In our pursuit, we adhere to the Lausanne Covenant which serves as a rallying cry for us to work together to make Jesus Christ known throughout the world.
Scope: International
What they do: Serve as a connection point and central hub for an international network of monthly meetings. They provide content to groups that meet monthly, either in person or virtually.
Website:
Tools & Resources
Description soon:
We would love to hear from you! Please let us know what's working for you.