I often get greeted with the usual, “How are you doing?” and I confess, I still love to answer with that odd little line from Ecclesiastes 9:4: “It is better to be a live dog than a dead lion.” People usually stare at me as if I’ve just quoted a fortune cookie written by a crazy uncle, and then they move on to their real conversation.

When you scroll through LinkedIn’s news feed, you see success stories, happy people, and (supposedly) sage advice that will propel your career and business into the stratosphere of success. However, business ownership has a dark side that few talk about.

Recently, our national debt topped $40 trillion dollars. And nobody seems to care. President Trump wants to make America great again. But he's doing it on the backs of our future generations by handing them a mountain of debt they can never repay. Anyone interested in making America truly great would make the hard decisions to balance our revenue and spending and keep them under control. But Trump won't do this. Neither will anyone else.

Yogi Berra once said that if the world were perfect, it wouldn’t be. When a business is running at full capacity, it feels perfect, and it is an exhilarating experience. When things go wrong, it reminds us, Christian business owners, that perfection isn’t the norm in life or business. Berra’s line captures the inevitable unpredictability that every owner lives with.

Bible and Business is pleased to announce that Dr. Dale Hutchcraft is joining Bible and Business as a shareholder, writer, and thought leader. Dr. Dale Hutchcraft is a pastor, educator, business owner, and leadership practitioner with more than three decades of pastoral ministry, twenty-six years of university teaching and administration, and 40-plus years as a business owner. He holds a PhD in Global Leadership and Entrepreneurship from Regent University and has devoted his work to helping individuals and organizations pursue faithful, purposeful, and sustainable leadership.

Bible and Business is pleased to announce that Dr. Paul Miantona has become a shareholder in Bible and Business! Dr. Miantona is a seasoned business professional, real estate agent, and investor based in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Information Systems, a Master of Business Administration (MBA), a Master’s degree in Accounting and Financial Management (MAFM), and a Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) with an emphasis in Strategic Management.

When I was a little guy, I helped my grandmother plant an apricot sapling, more stick than a tree at first, but year after year it thickened, stretched, and sent roots deeper until I was eating apricots from its branches. Fruitfulness did not arrive in a single dramatic moment. Four years of steady growth passed before we enjoyed the fruit. In the same way, healthy companies do not “order” leaders from the outside when they suddenly need them. They cultivate them from the inside as a normal part of life together. 

In this deep dive post, I discuss how covenants affect key decisions for a Christian business owner. These key decisions affect the governance model and one’s perspective on a host of key issues in any business.

One way the forces who oppose God can neutralize us as Christian business owners is by getting us off-balance. For example, you become overly focused on following God’s laws at the expense of loving others, or you become too cavalier in following his laws and nearly all sin becomes acceptable. You become overly focused on truth and justice, or you become too careless in guarding truth and justice. Both lead to destruction and should be considered a spiritual warfare issue. Balance is required if you’re going to blaze for Christ.