What on earth is Heaven in Business?

I wrote this on my way to speak at a marketing and copywriting conference in Franklin, TN. There was a few hundred delegates from across the country, all wanting to grow their business. It’s not a Christian event; there will be people from a wide range of faith and values. But I was asked to do a session on God and work. What do I say? How do I not screw it up?!

I was given some pre-conference research that highlighted three questions people wanted to hear from me so that’s where I’ll start. Then I’ve got a message to deliver about the importance of the stories (or testimonies) you are choosing to listen to and repeat in your daily life. What you feed on will repeat on you. So be careful to intentionally protect and prioritize the stories you want repeated.

First the questions:

1.    What do you mean by Heaven in Business?

Heaven in Business is the biggest entrepreneurial experiment I have ever undertaken. It’s entrepreneurial in that, ten years ago, we started with an idea (or question) and a potential customer base (group of people the idea/question resonates with) that are willing to pay for the solution (business). It’s experimental in that we don’t entirely know the answer to the questions we come up with…. so we keep experimenting and then letting people in on what we are learning. And people (customers) love it. So we continue.

The question(s) we were asking:

-      Is God real? If so, where is the evidence of God with me in my daily life?

-      Is He interested in my daily work – does my business have spiritual meaning and significance? If so, He obviously knows more than I do, so how do I access what He knows (wisdom) and Heaven’s resources (peace… provision… power…) in my daily work?

-      Are miracles exclusive to a church meeting or for everyday life? How do I partner WITH God in my work?

-      How do I deal with challenges, delays, disappointments and failures in my work or business?

Heaven in Business is a growing global movement of people experiencing God at work, building great business and doing good in the cities and communities they serve.

We help people see and experience how much God values their everyday work, then equip them to partner with God to build excellent business that in turn positively shapes the values of their cites and nation.

-      That looks like Gary who runs a highly successful private equity fund and also is becoming a trusted mentor and advisor to his city’s government because he hears from God.

-      That looks like Jenna who is building a million dollar business out of her home, that is creating jobs for locals, even as she is growing her family and living generously.

-      That looks like Brian who is building a legacy business for his son and turning an unsafe area of his city into a beautiful and thriving location that is now attracting investment.

-      That looks like Jared who is a maintenance manager who operates with excellence while also hearing God and healing other employees and visitors.

-      That looks like a copywriter who read some of our story and suddenly noticed His Parkinson’s symptoms reduced to zero.

I think our entrepreneurial experiment is working… Heaven truly is interested and wants to be part of our business. So who wants in?

2.    Approaching people with a servant attitude works well. What are other strategies to keep focus in the right place?

Business by nature involves risk. I invest time, money, security, emotional and physical effort, all intending for a payback that I cannot control. When my lack of control is triggered, I start to fear that tends to pollute my original good intentions with the business. I turn a service into a transaction. My focus switches from doing good to making profit. My people become widgets rather than team members. I lose my peace. I can’t sleep…

Strategies to keep the people the focus:

-      A statement or declaration of your focus in a conspicuous place you read daily – “Business comes and goes but people are forever.”

-      Intentional reviews with yourself to check progress in line with priorities.

-      Advisors/mentors that you regularly ask to help you keep the main thing the main thing

-      Inviting your spouse/team to be part of protecting the focus – see it/say it

-      Be kind to yourself – the drive you have to do well in business is the same drive that can cause you to burn out

-      Regularly and consistently talk about vision and values with team/staff and reward behaviors that reinforce what you want

3.    How do you know when God says YES, NO or NOT NOW in a business decision?

Hearing God is the greatest ability we need to learn. It’s like getting to know the voice of your favorite person. When you first met you would not have recognized their voice from anyone else in the crowd. Over time however, regular and consistent communication with them makes their voice so familiar that you can recognize their voice in a crowded room even if you were blindfolded.

It’s the same with God. Spending regular and consistent time in His word and listening for His voice will build a familiarity and confidence that you know you are hearing Him.

So then, how do you know a YES a NO or a NOT NOW?

-      First, make it a priority to ask – involve God in your decision making. That looks like asking Him the question you want answered. Perhaps speak it out loud or write it down in a journal.

-      Do you have peace or a hesitation regardless of the data? Go with peace. A sense of hesitation in your spirit, is likely to be a NO or NOT NOW. It could also be that more information is needed.

-      Do you have a conviction to move forward? It might not be best practice but you have an internal compass that is pointing you in this direction regardless. THEN LISTEN.

-      I move forward with a yes unless I hear a NO or WAIT. The Kingdom is advancing. Hope takes risk. Increase is the expectation. So I start with a green light and I am listening for something else, rather than starting with a red light and waiting until everything lines up for a green.

-      Do you have a sense of life being released or positive energy when you consider the decision? That’s a YES. Jesus said His words are Spirit and they are life (John 6:33).

I am learning to hear His voice more and more. I am also realizing He is trusting me more and more with decisions and I only hear Him AFTERWARDS confirming my decision. That is part of the process of growing children so it is ok.

Another lesson is being ok with failure. If I am actively listening and make a decision and afterward find it was wrong that is ok. Failure is not fatal. Failure is part of the learning process. God doesn’t keep us from mistakes. He is with us in the middle of them helping us clean up and move forward.

Examples of business decisions I got wrong:

-      Sensed needed to do more locally. Put on Best of Business Series monthly. Turnout was poor and not meeting budget. Kept asking the question “Is this what we need to be doing?” Over time realized this is not actually our lane. So killed it and God provided another way to meet budget.

-      Dream Culture Global online course. Two years in the making. Beautiful. Getting results. Listened to Dr Henry Cloud on Necessary Endings and the thought came to mind I need to kill it and refocus. The more I looked at it the LESS confident I felt about killing it. Spinning in circles. What about all the investment and time? I kept holding the question out to God. Went to bed two nights ago after looking at how I could maneuver it around to do it a different way. My wife commented “Are you now going back on what you initially heard?” I was jacked up with anxiety for an hour realizing she was right. Killed it the next day. Still really hard to do but I know it’s right. As I killed it I had other ideas of how to provide that content in a way that aligned with our priorities and what we had heard God say.

-      Had idea to do a big event in NYC on back of very successful visit. Reached out to famous speaker and received instant highly favorable response. Then as I considered it before God I had a growing hesitation it was the wrong approach. Had to apologize and back out of deal.

-      Presented offer to be part of an e-banking startup venture with considerable upside. Presentation moved me to tears. It’s aligned with my background and training. I like the people. I said YES. Then when I went to sign the contract I had a hesitation I couldn’t explain. Learned to listen and pulled out of the deal without knowing why. Hindset – could be a distraction? Could simply be not for me.

If any of this resonates with you and you want to find out more listen to Andy on his weekly podcast Authentic Conversations around the messy intersection of faith, family and business and jump on a Free Trial to access the online learning community.

If you have questions or comments, don't hesitate to message me or reach out [email protected]