The business people in your church should have a competitive advantage in their industry because they attend your church. Let me explain.
Who makes up the audience in your church each Sunday? It is business people. They either run businesses, work for people who do, are in transition to rejoin the workforce, or are married to people who are. Your church is made up of business people and their families.
If the Bible is truth, and we know it is, we should have the finest framework for decision-making. And if we serve the God of all creation, and we do, then we should be the most creative people in our industry. If we are being discipled well, we should have the best people skills, be the best at conflict resolution, be the best team builders, and model effective servant leadership.
Once again, the business people who attend your church should have a competitive advantage in their industry.
Tomorrow, I will be discussing the following 14 Things Your Church Can Teach You To Have A Competitive Advantage As A Business Person from the story of Zacchaeus as told in Luke 19:1-10:
- Your Church Can Teach You To Realize Your Need For Jesus – v.2 “a man named Zacchaeus who was a a chief tax collector, and he was rich”. You can have both positional and financial success but without Jesus there is a significant void in my life. Position plus Money minus Jesus = an empty life.
- Your Church Can Teach You To Provide Solutions To Your Team And Customers – v. 3 “And he sought to see who Jesus was”. Jesus offered solutions.
- Your Church Can Teach You How To Get Your Products To Your Customers Easier – v. 3 “but he could not because of the crowd”. The “product” if you will the church delivering is a changed life through the person of Jesus Christ. Is your church making it easy for single moms, high school and college students, those struggling with addiction, and all others who are broken come to Jesus? Or is your church creating barriers for people to hear a life-changing message?
- Your Church Can Teach You To Play To Your Strengths – v. 3 “for he was of short stature”. Do you focus on your strengths or weaknesses? What skills, abilities or resources has God equipped you with to use for His glory as a business person?
- Your Church Can Teach You Good Planning – v. 4 “so he ran ahead”. You either prepare or repair.
- Your Church Can Teach You To Pay Price Necessary For Success – v. 4 “climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him”. You must do the lonely work no one else is willing to do.
- Your Church Can Teach You To Prioritize Accomplishment Over Activity – v. 5 “He looked and saw him”. Zacchaeus accomplished the task he set out to do.
- Your Church Can Teach You To Value People – v. 5 “Zacchaeus”. Experts say the favorite sound of human beings is the sound of their own name. Also, people are the only thing which appreciates in your organization. Everything else depreciates.
- Your Church Can Teach You The Difference Between Sensing Opportunity And Seizing It – v. 5 “make haste and come down, for today”. Great opportunities rarely present themselves a second time.
- Your Church Can Teach You To Take Risks – v. 7 “He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner.” Zacchaeus took three risks during this passage. He risked his reputation, relationships and resources.
- Your Church Can Teach You To Be A Bridge Builder – v. 8 “Then Zacchaeus stood” meaning he and Jesus were reclining and enjoying each other’s company. Because Jesus reached out, he had influence with Zacchaeus. It is also important to remember you can only reach your friends for Jesus. You can never reach your enemies.
- Your Church Can Teach You To Serve The Poor and Under-Resourced In Your Community – v. 8 “I give half of my goods to the poor.” What flows to you must then flow through you to others.
- Your Church Can Teach You To Be Generous – v. 8 “if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.” Zacchaeus moved from being a greedy person to a generous person in this passage.
- Your Church Can Teach You To Be Transformational, Not Just Transactional – v. 9 “And Jesus said to him, ‘Today, salvation has come to this house.” It is natural for business people to default to a transactional mindset because all they do is buy and sell goods and services. A good church can help you discover a higher purpose.
What are other ways your church can teach you to gave a competitive advantage as a business person?
Subscribe to this site and get my latest FREE eBook Skinny Jeans And A Tattoo Does Not Make You A Leader. Featuring leaders like Andy Stanley, Bill Hybels and Perry Noble, this resource includes 999 additional leadership quotes from the 2014 Double, Global Leadership Summit, and Catalyst Conferences. Click HERE or on the image to the left to sign up and get your FREE resource.