Posts in Ministry in Word
Founder’s Manifesto

This post is an example of a process you might want to go through as you’re developing in your entrepreneurship idea or project.

Patrick Lowndes’ Founder’s Manifesto serves as a great example of being rooted in scripture and purpose in beginning a new business venture. We hope you’ll take a look at his Founder’s Manifesto: the company Values and how Patrick & his co-founder intended to use them as we operated their company, VendorHawk, and be inspired to write your own.

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A Grander Vision - Betenbough Homes

Even after experiencing West Texas-like storms of life, Ron Betenbough of Betenbough Homes, was able to rebuild his life thanks to God’s provision in his business. After committing the business to God, Ron and his son Rick Betenbough, experienced God’s blessings in business and in the lives of their employees. Take a listen to this inspiring Monday video.

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Systemic Surprises

A discussion with an entrepreneur who had begun to think about how to deliver “systematic surprises” led Rusty Rueff to think about it’s implication beyond product management. Systemic surprises are things that keep an offering fresh and exciting, without extra strain on the “system” so that these moments of surprise can be delivered flawlessly and with excellence. Rusty steps us through what systemic surprises could look like as part of our daily witness in the marketplace.

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C.S. Lewis and the Call to Create

As Genesis 1 shows us, the first thing God revealed about Himself in Scripture is not that He is loving, holy, omnipotent, gracious, or just. No, the first thing God showed us is that He is creative! For the first six days, God revealed His creative spirit by speaking stars, animals, and oceans into existence. Then, on the sixth day, He created man “in His own image” and called Adam to create, thus reflecting God’s image to the world.

To call a human being “creative” is redundant. We are all made in the image of the Creator God. But as Romans 12 makes clear, each of us has “different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us.” Some of us have clearly been granted more creative talents than others. Perhaps no Christian in the 20th Century provides a better example of this than C.S. Lewis, the acclaimed scholar, theologian, and author of masterpieces such as Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, and of course, The Chronicles of Narnia.

Growing up in Ireland, Lewis appeared to be most comfortable when buried in a novel. But not only did Lewis consume literature; at a very early age, Lewis had begun writing and illustrating his own stories. Lewis obviously had a passion for writing, and it didn’t take long for others to validate his giftedness at the craft.

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Do You Know Why Switzerland is Beautiful? The Swiss Do.

I have the great honor and blessing of being able to attend the Christian Economic Forum this week in St. Moritz.  It's a time to gather with friends and colleagues from around the world to endeavor to understand how we as followers of Jesus might participate, and even innovate, in the world's financial markets. 

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Podcast Episode 16 - Keeping a Christ Centered Attitude While Growing a Business

This week’s episode finds the team fielding questions. Marty asks, "how do we keep a Christ-centered attitude while growing a business?" For Henry, It’s about identity. It’s almost impossible when the goal is solely financial success. We should seek God first. If there’s frustration at work, it’s an opportunity to pray to God. Rusty brings a tactical point of view, and recommends starting the day prepared. Spending time with God is top priority. We should boot up with God first in order to avoid crashes, or at least minimize them. William reminds us that we can’t forget our first vocation; we are beloved children of God.

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How My Daughter Changed My View of Entrepreneurship

Nothing has changed me quite like having a daughter. Sure, there are all the cliches about having a gun sitting in your lap when boys come over. That’s the easy stuff. The hard stuff is instilling beliefs in your daughter that will serve her well in the face of what at times feels like overwhelming forces.

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Pete Ochs....One of my Heroes

Last week, I talked a bit about who our heroes might be, and how that might be contrarian to the way that the rest of society saw things.  Success in faith and success in business don’t always go hand in hand, and we need to make sure that those we seek to emulate are those who know God first and success in business second.

There are, of course, many folks that hit that role together and I can’t think of a better example of Pete Ochs.

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