And even if you are “independent,” wouldn’t it be great to be sure of what God has called you to do?

These are some of the reasons I wrote “Your Eden Work: Finding Your God-Given Entrepreneurial Purpose.”  It’s not only a manifesto for Christian entrepreneurship; it’s a guide for getting you in the right direction for finding out how God has “equipped” you to do His purpose here on earth: His “assignment.” 

You should know this first before you start planning a business or ministry; otherwise how do you know what you’re about to do is in His will?

Rather than give you a long “sales pitch,” like one of those landing pages that goes on forever and ever and finally tells you some ridiculous price, let me just tell you that it’s only $14.99, and it’s an e-book so you can have it right away!  Just click here.

Once you’ve read it, drop me a comment or an e-mail and let me know your thoughts.

Most of us are tied down to jobs and bosses we don’t want, but we should ask ourselves, “What do we want?”

We here in America and in many other countries have the freedom to participate in free enterprise: the right to be entrepreneurs.

Many of America’s founding fathers were entrepreneurs, land speculators and securities speculators, including Benjamin Franklin and Robert Morris.

We also know that the majority of them, if not most, were Christians.  They probably got a lot of their inspiration about freedom from the Bible.

There are a lot of scripture verses that talk about liberty and freedom, but two of them inspire me particularly in these difficult economic times, and is why I believe most Christians should at least have or be in the process of starting a part-time business:

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. - Galatians 5:1 (NIV-emphasis mine)

Were you a slave when you were called? Don’t let it trouble you–although if you can gain your freedom, do so. - 1 Cor. 7:21 (NIV-emphasis mine)

Ahh…Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness…

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I heard a guy say once from the stage at my church, in the beginning of a year, that in the past he had set goals and didn’t achieve them, so that for that coming year he was not going to set goals and just depend on the Holy Spirit to direct him.

So should a Christian entrepreneur have a business plan (or ministry plan, for a ministry)?

“…don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first getting estimates and then checking to see if there is enough money to pay the bills? Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of funds. And then how everyone would laugh at you! They would say, `There’s the person who started that building and ran out of money before it was finished!’” - Luke 14:28-30 (NLT)

This is what Jesus said!  Yes, in the context He was talking about the cost of following Him, but He is using an illustration that also speaks to the principle of the necessity of planning!

Yet I’ve met some Christian entrepreneurs that are going to start businesses without business plans or who have businesses and never had them!  Go figure!(???)

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Most Christians don’t give as they should.

The Bible constantly talks about the necessity of giving, and the blessings that accompany it; yet most of us, especially those of us who live in the so-called developed countries, are hung up on what we can get; not what we can give.

We shouldn’t, of course, give to get; but we can’t deny that God through his word does connect receiving blessings (including material things) with giving:

If you give, you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full measure, pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, and running over. Whatever measure you use in giving-large or small-it will be used to measure what is given back to you. - Luke 6:38 (NLT)

It doesn’t matter whether you believe in tithing or not; the point is that we should give:

On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made. - 1 Cor. 16:2 (NIV)

One of the qualities of Godly wealthy people is that they give:

He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor,his righteousness endures forever… - Psalm 112:9 (NIV)

so shouldn’t those of us who seek to be blessed spiritually and financially emulate them?

The point is that we shouldn’t seek to get because we give, but look at God’s blessings as a result of our giving as a by-product of our love and obedience!

It is possible to give freely and become more wealthy, but those who are stingy will lose everything. The generous prosper and are satisfied; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed. - Proverbs 11:24-25 (NIV)

 

 

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There are two things the Lord put on my heart regarding this matter.  The first is the same as what we read in Scripture about evangelism.  We are to be the light of the world (Matthew 5:14), and perhaps we can win some to Christ by our interactions with unbelievers, or non-christians.  I once heard a minister say, “We should be fishers of men; not keepers of the aquarium!”  That is to say, we weren’t called as Christians to be insulated from the world and all to ourselves.

The other revelation He gave me is that in doing business, God wants to transfer wealth to the righteous to establish His covenant (Deuteronomy 8:18) and to bless us:

A good [man] leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children: and the wealth of the sinner [is] laid up for the just. - Proverbs 13:22 (KJV)

So the good person leaves the inheritance to their children’s children (grandchildren), but the non-Christian’s wealth is stored up to be given to the righteous, the Christian.  But I believe it also means that the wealth of the non-Christian is stored up to be given to the Christian!  This is the verse I believe that supports this:

For [God] giveth to a man that [is] good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to [him that is] good before God. This also [is] vanity and vexation of spirit. - Ecclesiastes 2:26 (KJV)(emphasis mine)

So it’s okay for Christian entrepreneurs to do business with non-Christians, as long as we’re not involved in industries contrary to Scripture, like liquor, pornography, etc., and we are encouraged to deal with them, to evangelize them and transfer wealth for the Kingdom of God.

What’s your “take” on this?

Most Christians don’t know their purpose.

Or, should, I say, His purpose for them (This is what I mean by “your” purpose.), and knowing this makes it easier to be an entrepreneur, because you’re doing what you were called to do.

Jesus knew His purpose:

“And I, the Son of Man, have come to seek and save those like him who are lost.” - Luke 19:10 (NLT)

Paul knew his purpose:

“Then he revealed his Son to me so that I could proclaim the Good News about Jesus to the Gentiles…” - Galatians 1:16 (NLT)

Do you know your purpose?  What God called you to do while you’re on this earth? 

It took me a long time to find it, but I finally did.

I’ve written a book which will be out soon (Of course I’ll tell you about it here when it comes out; that’s one more reason you need to subscribe, if you haven’t done so.) , and hopefully it’ll help you to find your purpose, if you don’t know it.

If you do, what was the “process” you used to find it, or was it just a “revelation?”

My wife and I talked about all the possible ways in which Morey’s makes money…from the fees for the rides, all the discount packaged fees, the concession stands for food and drink that they run, the arcade games, and I’m sure there are others we didn’t notice…and now they have three piers!

This is an example of the importance of diversification; of developing streams of income.  Most individuals, businesses, existing or startups, and sometimes even not-for-profits/ministries don’t think about the different things they can do to bring in income.

This doesn’t mean to lose focus, but focus on how to not “lose!”

What are or have been your ideas for diversification?

Nextville 

In speaking with Christian Seniors, I am finding that many are interested in just that: finding their purpose or passion.  A lot of them feel that either they have missed out on finding and/or acting on it when they were younger, or that they are just ready for a new challenge.

They are not only hungry for information on how as a Christian senior to find your purpose/passion, but how also to turn it into an entrepreneurial endeavor, whether as a business or a not-for-profit (”ministry”).  Sometimes dreams are deferred, but as one of my mentors, Bishop David Evans, has said many times, “God knows how old you are.” 

Wow!  Think about that.  That means that God has allowed you to experience the things you have in life just to get to these times when he wants you to get to the promise and destiny he has for you:

So that day Moses promised me, `The land of Canaan on which you were just walking will be your special possession and that of your descendants forever, because you wholeheartedly followed the Lord my God.’

Now, as you can see, the Lord has kept me alive and well as he promised for all these forty-five years since Moses made this promise-even while Israel wandered in the wilderness. Today I am eighty-five years old.

I am as strong now as I was when Moses sent me on that journey, and I can still travel and fight as well as I could then.

So I’m asking you to give me the hill country that the Lord promised me. You will remember that as scouts we found the Anakites living there in great, walled cities. But if the Lord is with me, I will drive them out of the land, just as the Lord said.”

So Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave Hebron to him as an inheritance. - Joshua 14:9-13 (NLT)(emphasis mine)

Christian senior entrepreneurs, there’s still a lot more to do!

But with help from Pastor Sheryl Brady, who spoke at my church a couple of Sundays ago, I’ve come to realize that the most important “stuff” - the right stuff - is what you produce from your efforts.

She pointed out that we need to find out what our purpose and assignment(s) are:  Why are you here and what are you supposed to do while you’re here?  Like if I’m doing one thing but I’m supposed to do another, the product of my work I’m not supposed to do could be hay or something that easily burns in the fire:

“Because of God’s special favor to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful. For no one can lay any other foundation than the one we already have-Jesus Christ.  Now anyone who builds on that foundation may use gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. But there is going to come a time of testing at the judgment day to see what kind of work each builder has done. Everyone’s work will be put through the fire to see whether or not it keeps its value. If the work survives the fire, that builder will receive a reward. But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builders themselves will be saved, but like someone escaping through a wall of flames.” 1 Cor. 3:10-15 (NLT)

So if I do what I’m called to do; that which is in line with my purpose, then my product is something like gold: something that can’t be destroyed in the fire.

Do you agree?

I’ve been working on some new posts, and also working on a new blog (somewhat related to this one), which I’ll tell you about in a week or two.

I’ve been thinking about Your Eden Work and how I can serve your needs better.

I think I need to try to be less pedantic and more “personal”, though I’ll continue to use words and talk about concepts and ideas that a lot of people don’t or won’t talk about.  I feel that too many of us Christians don’t stretch our minds by learning new things.

I’m very excited about the response and readership this blog is getting from all over the world!

So look for new posts real soon, and for more info. about my new blog, and leave me a comment or send me an e-mail about what you’d like to see in Your Eden Work.