For a Christian executive, effective, biblical performance reviews must treat accountability as standing alongside stewardship. Jesus’ parable of the talents assumes a day when the master “came and settled accounts” with his servants (Matthew 25:19, ESV). Settling accounts is not optional; it is woven into faithful stewardship.

Isaiah 40:31 took on a new meaning for me when one of my friends shared a humorous story from his days in theological school. During one of his classes, a professor asked a student to define evangelism. Confidently, the student replied, "Preaching to the crow." Of course, he meant to say, “preaching to the crowd,” but accidentally left off the letter D. The professor jokingly responded, “No wonder you don’t win souls for Christ—you are preaching to the birds!” While the class laughed, the story carries an important lesson for Christian business owners (CBOs).  

When your business is in crisis, who do you call first—your advisor or your savior? 

An emotionally unhealthy leader operates in a continuous state of emotional deficit, lacking sufficient internal resources to support the effective execution of their daily tasks and leadership decisions. This definition, though concise, opens a window onto a complex and often overlooked dynamic within organizations, teams, and communities. The implications of emotionally unhealthy leadership ripple outward, influencing not only the leader’s personal well-being but also the culture, productivity, and morale of those they lead.

In business, owners focus on marketing, branding, and growth. But as Christian business owners (CBOs), we should also ask a deeper question: How is our character? Who are we becoming? Can we grow a brand outwardly while losing character inwardly? 

In our society, images and stories of success, innovation, and resilience often dominate the public narrative. The humble Christian business owner is typically seen as a figure of tireless energy, endless grit, deep passion, and an uncanny knack for ‘getting it right’ when most others ‘get it wrong.’ Business owners are often seen as those who can weather storms, pivot on a dime, and inspire teams toward new heights.

I grew up in Kansas. I loved riding in the combine with my grandfather during harvest. As we harvested the wheat, we would take it to the elevator, which rose like a concrete cathedral from the Kansas plains. I remember watching trucks line up, each driver trusting that someone inside those tall silos was tracking quantities, quality, and timing with care. If the elevator manager was careless or corrupt, he could lose an entire season’s labor.

Most of us in business do not wake up intending to ‘amuse ourselves to death.’ We wake up thinking about payroll, customers, margins, and the decisions waiting on our desks. Yet an old book, Amusing Ourselves to Death, presses an uncomfortable question on Christian professionals: What if the very media environment in which we work is quietly training us to prefer diversion over depth, optics over truth, and performance over faithfulness?

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.