Families are in crisis all over this country. Youth have a deep sense of hopelessness. Schools in inner cities and are failing. It seems like there are a lot of giant issues taunting people everywhere. This is not much difference between these giants and the giants who taunted a group community thousands of years ago. A young shepherd boy named David showed up on the front lines of a war wondering why nobody was fighting the giant that was taunting his people. The question he asked those around him who should have been fighting was, "Is there not a cause?" He was angry and frustrated that no one was addressing an obvious situation that was negatively impacting a lot of people. Is There Not a Cause? The Gospel has the power to transform lives, but if we never take it outside of our church services and to the people in our communities who need it the most, they may never have the opportunity to experience God’s power. Christian CEOs are problem-solvers that use their businesses as platforms to bring positive changes to the places where God positions them to serve (see You Are a C.E.O.). Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said it best as he described the practical role that the Gospel is to play to combat the challenges that are faced everyday in our cities and communities: “The gospel at its best deals with the whole man, not only with his soul but also his body, not only his spiritual well-being but also his material well-being. A religion that professes a concern for the souls of men and is not equally concerned about the slums that damn them, the economic conditions that strangle them and the social conditions that cripple them is a dry-as-dust religion.” Christian CEOs have the potential to decrease the potency of the kingdom of darkness in our neighborhoods, communities, and cities, which will result in a higher quality of life, naturally and spiritually. Specific areas where we should see direct results from our efforts include:
You have the opportunity as a Christian CEO to be a transformational agent in people’s lives in one or more of these areas. The question is are you willing to take the challenge of not just being a financially successful entrepreneur, but to be an empowered community leader who helps deliver people out of spiritual slavery?
I look forward to your comments below... I recently had the opportunity to have a repeat appearance on the Success Edge Podcast hosted by Tyler McCart. This is a great resource for young or new Christian entrepreneurs.
In a recent blog post, Fearlessly All In for Our Youth, I discussed how God was moving me in a new business and ministry direction related to dealing with millennial leaders. In this podcast you will hear about how God has taken me on a whole new adventure in the marketplace that I never thought or dreamed would be a full-time assignment. Hopefully this will inspire and motivate you to be willing to take that new direction that God is calling you toward. Enjoy!
"Where there is no vision the people cast off restraint." Proverbs 29:18
"Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life." Proverbs 13:12
Like many I was heartbroken when I heard about the shooting at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, SC. This tragedy highlights a spiritual epidemic that seems to be going unchecked in our communities - hopelessness. Watch the video below as I share my thoughts on how to stop the devastating cycle of hopelessness that is literally robbing people of their lives…
As you pray for the victims of this shooting, please remember to also pray for the youth of this generation.
"Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." ~ Proverbs 22:6
Children model what they see and one of the best places for them to see marketplace influence and impact is from a parent. That's why I love the following video...
We have to get better at equipping our youth to learn about business at an earlier age even if they don't become entrepreneurs. The transferable skills they receive will be invaluable to them no matter what career path they eventually decided to pursue.
Please consider sponsoring a child to attend Inc My Dream Young Boss Camp in Atlanta where we are teaching middle and high school students personal development, leadership, problem-solving, business planning, and marketing skills, among many other things. Learn more at www.mykinsman.org/youth A few weeks ago I had a chance to preach at Redeemed Life Community Church in Atlanta, pastored by my friend Thomas Cotton. They were in a series entitled "ALL IN." In keeping with that theme, God gave me to preach from the topic of "FEARLESS." At that time I didn't fully realize just how quickly I would need to embrace my own message. I'm going to share with you the four key points from my message and then below that let you know how this applies to the ministry transition God is taking me through. This message comes from Joshua 1:1-9, when God was preparing Joshua to lead the Hebrews into their promised land.
Thank God for His grace and second chances to get it right. I recently made a major shift in my business/ministry endeavors. I'm now focusing on the target audience that God has ordained me to reach in this season of my life. That would be youth and young adults, ages 17 to 25. That doesn't mean I'm going to completely ignore older adults but it does mean my priority focus is within this particular age bracket. I believe the main reason is because their struggles are so acute and they become the lead story on the news almost every day. Many youth in this age group in our inner cities and rural communities have a deep sense of hopelessness that God has called, equipped, and prepared me to reach with the love of Christ. This is not a foreign audience to me, but it's definitely a significant shift from what I've been focusing on for very long time. I ask for your prayers and support as I make this necessary transition. I'm excited but like Joshua when God had to encourage him in advance to be FEARLESS as he went ALL IN to fulfill the assignment God ordained for him. What has God asked you to do that may be causing you some anxiety? Don't let fear stop you! Be FEARLESS as you go ALL IN!
An architect of what has been dubbed the "Boston Miracle," Rev. Jeffrey Brown started out as a bewildered young pastor watching his Boston neighborhood fall apart around him, as drugs and gang violence took hold of the kids on the streets. It's a powerful talk about listening to make change.
Help Us Create an "Atlanta Miracle"
One of the key things he says in the video is how the clergy in the church stepped out of their comfort zones and into a world they didn't know anything about, but one that was easy to judge (inaccurately) from a distance. As Rev. Brown mentioned, and we believe also, we need to empower young people to be the solution in their own neighborhoods to reduce crime and create opportunities. That's why it's so critically important that programs like Inc. My Dream Young Boss Camp are well funded so that we can reach these youth and equip them with spiritual, business, and life skills to leverage their potential and launch their future. The benefit is not just for them, but for everyone in the communities they live in.
Learn more about Inc. My Dream Young Boss Camp and how you can get your child involved or become one of our sponsors at www.mykinsman.org/youth.
In the lifespan of every business, the CEO must periodically ask four hard questions that at times may provide some unpleasant or surprising answers. Those questions include:
Continually asking yourself these questions - and then being willing to answer them honestly - will keep your organization from becoming stagnant and left behind in the marketplace. So it is that I have come to a crossroads in my business/ministry. I have had to ask myself these hard questions and some of the answers that came back were not what I expected. Further, through the process of prayer and being willing to listen to God's answers to these questions for me, it has helped me get very clear about the next season of my life and what I'm going to commit my time to. He has been turning my heart in another direction for some time and I'm finally ready to fully respond. In a very short amount of time I will be revamping this web site in order to connect with and serve a different audience than the one I've been creating resources for over the past several years. Of course one thing that's not going to change is my passionate focus on equipping people to maximize their potential in business. This includes our youth, which I'm very excited about our upcoming Inc. My Dream Youth Social Entrepreneurship Camp in July. I'm also excited about the partnership I have with Greater Works Vocational Discipleship Program where we are helping at-risk youth and ex-offenders gain employment through a pre-employment job training process. Change is a good thing and I'm very much looking forward to this next season. Just remember the wisdom of this quote when it's time for you to change something significant: "Change is inevitable, but growth is optional." |
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