How Christian Businessmen Use Faith to Win in Business

When you encounter a setback never personalize your failure. Christian Business men always ask themselves, what can I do better the next time. They seize the moment by rallying their forces and doubling their efforts.

A winning attitude in business is developed by aligning your faith, the facts and the Father.

Using Faith

I recently had the pleasure of listening to author and success guru Dr. Dennis Kimbro talk about the importance of maintaining your faith in any difficult situation. His moving and straightforward speech stressed, that his research into the lives of hundreds of successful businessmen has shown that

“failure is never failure until it’s accepted as such.”

Christians Always Win in the End


A story from the Bible in I Samuel 30th chapter highlights this point. When the young battle weary David and his men returned to Ziklag, their city of refugee, to find that their encampment had been burned and everything they owned had been taken, including their families. His men became bitter and talked about stoning him.

David on the other hand, remained positive despite the dire situation by relying on his faith in the Lord. He sought God through prayer. The Lord guided him to the camp of his enemies where they fought from dusk until dawn until they defeated them and reclaimed everything that had been taken away.

Prayer was the currency that moved the hand of God on behalf of David and since God is no respecter of persons he’ll do the same for me, you and every Christian businessmen who will call on his name.


Faith
is needed to stay focused and in-touch with things seen and unseen. What’s happening in the spiritual realm around you is just as important as the physical aspects. Knowing how to use the seven principles of faith will ensure your victory.

Facts

show a realistic picture of every decision. You should review each step of every process and constantly ask questions so that you can learn everything you need to know about your business or service.

The Father

our daily source of divine power to help any Christian in troubling times, he’ll lead us through temptations and deliver us from the evil one.

Business owners who are prepared to win won’t listen to the jeers of the opposing team shouting gloom and doom, instead they feed off the familiar voices of those who support them, and are cheering them on.

Why Christian Men Avoid Going to Church

How many times have you heard a man say “I want to get myself together before I go to church. This statement is typical of men who are trying to avoid the commitment of going to church.

They seem to feel that the scripture that states “come as you are” is only talking about their physical appearance. It probably never occurs to most Christian men that since they didn’t make themselves, how in the world do the think they’re going to get themselves together.

The church is a hospital for the spiritually sick. No one in the building as attained any level of sainthood or are anywhere close to being together. Believers come together to worship God, be strengthen and encourage each other.

If a Christian isn’t trying to avoid church then he would make sure every time the door is open he is there to be strengthened by humbling himself before the Lord and let God get him together.

Maybe they have never heard the National Baptist Brotherhood Union’s motto taken from 2 Timothy 2:20 “In a large house there are not only gold and silver bowls but also those of wood and earthenware.” Christian men he is talking about us.

The Apostle Paul’s analogy is to remind us that it’s only after men have become part of the Lord’s house that their true value can be appreciated and fully recognized. Thinking we can do anything apart from God is a message from a person who is not only lost but, don’t want to be led home.

Matthew, Paul and Peter were all sinners, who were unable to get themselves together until Christ picked them up and dusted them off. That’s the only way any man can ever get a new beginning. Having a better job, a better suit of clothes or even a better attitude won’t make you ready to attend church or enter God’s kingdom.

After all would you lose out on anything if you attended worship services for a couple of hours?

You could possibly leave there without guilt, worry, hatred and few more things that have been keeping you bond and lost in sin.

Christ states in the Holy Bible “no man can come to the father except by me”. This fact alone should clear-up the confusion that any Christian man may have about getting into heaven without having to attend church.

Christian men have to begin to recognize that avoiding church prevents them from humbling themselves under the mighty hands of God so that the Lord can complete the work he has started in him.

Christian Men and Fathers in the Bible

Father’s Day is a great time to revisit some of the fathers from The Holy Bible. One of the Bibles most acknowledge fathers has to be Abraham. Father of Isaac and Jacob, who bequeathed to his son Jacob, more than just a financial inheritance, he imparted his love, devotion and worship of the one true God.


There is Job. As a father he showed an infallible love for his family and tried to protect them every way possible, even to the point of offering prayer and sacrifices on their behalf each day. Still they were all lost in one fatal swoop, by the hand of God.

David fathered numerous children but most notably Solomon who was described as the wisest king to ever live. Unfortunately he acquired his fathers appetite for a multiplicity of wives and in the end he was lured into worshiping their gods.

The Bible describes another father in 2 Kings 18:3, Hezekiah, who trusted in the Lord and it states “ not one of the kings of Judah was like him, either before him or after him. His son chose not to follow in his fathers footsteps and did great evil in the sight of the Lord.

It goes without saying that fathers can be fallible. It doesn’t matter how great a father you think you are, your children can still become entangled in the troubles of this world.

Fathers don’t just mold and shape our lives they are trusted to be our providers and protectors. However, many human fathers will fall short if you use them as a benchmark of good father.

Our fatherly role model should be God. The patience, longsuffering and joyfulness that he imparts to us each day is a testimony to how you should care for the family that God has placed in your care here on earth.

There is but one who is our constant help in time of trouble and need. Only one father who is always concerned and able to care for you. Jesus called him our heavenly father.

What Christian Businessmen Can Learn From The Obama Campaign

The success of Obama’s bid for the Democratic presidential nominee is something that Christian Businessmen can learn from. One of his strategies deals with being transparent. His openness about his position on just about any issue is posted on his campaign website for the world to see.

The other awe inspiring detail from this campaign has been the teams of prayer warriors that are praying for the presidential candidate. Members of these groups are praying daily for Obama’s: health, protection, wisdom and spiritual guidance.


The formation of these groups began as far back as February 2007, when Obama began his run for the Democratic nomination. Some of these members of these prayer groups are everyday Christians who feel compelled and driven to intercede for his family, and for the Obama campaign, during their prayer time each day.

Christians and the Primaries





Most of the candidates in the presidential primaries are Christians, but they have down played their religious affiliation. However it is one of the areas where Senator Barack Obama has been raked through the coals. That may be because faith is playing a larger part in his campaign, than it has in any of the other candidates.

One of the most notable groups that prays and lifts up Obama, is led by some the countries most respected pastors. They hold a weekly conference call and share the duties of praying for the presidential candidate.


What Christian Businesses Should Learn


What every Christian businessmen should have realized by now, is openness is a good thing. In addition, their business can benefit from prayer teams.

By soliciting prayer from friends, family and especially your employees, whose job depends on your ability to successfully guide your organization, you’ll harness the power of God through prayer, to aid you in your decisions and future.

So far their have been some minor setbacks on the way to the democratic nomination, but faith and prayer obviously are giving Obama the winning edge that he needs.

Now that he will be going head to head against John McCain for president of the United States, prayer may still be the most valuable tool he has, to defeat the Republican candidate.

How Christian Businessmen Can Turn Problems into Opportunities

Christian businessmen should take their advice from the Apostle Paul when it come to handling problems in their business. When he was brought before King Agrippa (Acts 26:1-32) on bogus charges of being an agitator, he didn’t hesitate to turn his problem into an opportunity.

Slow sales hamper many companies. During recessions, Christian Businessmen should view these cycles as opportunities to focus on improving their sales process.

I recently read how the people over at House of Jerky overcame challenges with their brick and mortar sales by enhancing their online business. This strategy enabled them to beat the current recession.

Referrals helped their store sales to grow 15-percent. Their biggest results came by focusing on the amount of business they were doing online. They managed to double their online sales by taking advantage of some search engine optimization techniques.

Embracing technology and focusing on SEO, the front end of your online sales is something every Christian business owners should take the opportunity to investigate, to augment their traditional sales.

Slow sales cycles will always come and go. It’s what you do during that time that will matter the most when sales do start to pick up, if you plan for your business to still be around when it’s over.

How Christian Businessmen can Repurpose Key Resources.

To help you convert more of your prospects into customers, I’ve packaged some timeless information into a short slide show to help Christian businessmen maximize 5 key resources.

Don’t try impressing customers with your knowledge about marketing, but with your knowledge about their needs. How are you supposed to get this information? Through research.

You're probably asking, once a Christian business owner obtains all that useful information how do they use it? Well, there are a variety of ways to repurpose these resources to reach prospects and customers with your message.




Direct mail
This cost effective tool can reach more of your customers cheaper than most channels.

EZines or eNewsletters
This is a great way for Christian Businessmen to tell customers about the latest product offerings and give them a chance to know more about you and your business.

Referrals
It’s smart to take advantage of any low cost technique that can leverage your supply of customers to stimulate word of mouth sales.

Voice Mail
The mobile web is destined to become the next frontier. You can get a leg up today by perfecting your voice mail messages to interest customers into calling you back.

Sales Pitch
How you handle objections will determine the success of your sales presentations. Use online training sources from the experts to keep your skills fresh.

Marketing to any niche should begin with doing research. Being knowledgeable about their market will make you indispensable to your customers.

Key Resources for Every Christian Businessman’s Tool Box

(image credits:baskets by Karon.com)


Every Christian businessman needs ways to cut through the fog to keep their marketing on target, take a look at some of these techniques that will increase your profits.

Wrenches with shiny handles and well worn screwdrivers are staples in every man’s tool box. If you’re like me, you keep an assortment of helpful things to fix and repair the equipment used in your home and business. What do you use to fix the ROI when your company starts puttering?

Why You Need A Business Tool Box?

Top performing organizations know the importance of having an assortment of resources to aid its success. To rise above the survival mode and reach higher profits Christian businesses should have a few key techniques to drive sales and improve their marketing efforts.


If you don't have any tools, you need to think about getting an experienced marketer to assist you. For businessmen who already have some basic knowledge about marketing, these are just a few of the valuable pieces you need in your business tool box to provide cost-effective ways to increase your profits.

Key Business Tools


Sales Letters

These are the doors of opportunity that savvy entrepreneurs use to reach new customers and keep existing clients informed about the latest products and offers. Good sales letters should explain your competitive advantage, the benefits of doing business with you.

Post Cards

This is a tried and well tested channel to get customers to use your product or service. Post cards should be short and to the point with your key benefit as a headline. You can target a large or small group of customers with this handy tool.

Flyers

Effectively designed flyers are strategically focused on a specific area of service or product. There are a lot of different formats that work on flyers, constantly test and redesign them to see what works best for your particular customers.

Signage

You need to use signs that speak to more than one group of customers. Take all of your customers into consideration when you make a sign. Consider using graphics instead of words, because they speak to your customers effectively in any language.

These are by no means the only tools that your business need. These are the ones that every business can use to leverage their traditional marketing efforts effectively. Follow the links below to resources that can help you build a better business tool box.

Supplies For Your Tool Kit


Sales Letters
Postcards
Flyers
Signage

Resources for Christain Businessmen

The reminder to “never criticize anyone” has turned out to be wise parental advice, according to Richard Branson of Virgin Group. An article in Businessweek, mentions this pearl and a few others from moms that are credited with influencing several successful businesspeople.

There are other resources Christian Businessmen can use when they are running short of motherly advice and need some hard facts to guide their business.

Good research is essential for entrepreneurs that need to gather specific data about their marketing niche.

There are plenty of resources on the Internet that offer outstanding information for getting started in business. However, most of them only cover some of the issues that Christian’s in business encounter. Let me tell you about some of the websites I’ve found that cover more than, just the tip of the iceberg of information, useful in targeting the Christian market.


Statistics on Religion & Public Life



The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life provides a full report on the religious composition of the United States. They collect demographic data on Christians and various other religious group, documenting their ethnicity, education and income levels.

Faith Communities Today (FACT) is another place where you can access information on the heart and soul of religion in America. This site is a joint effort from researchers who’re trying to paint a statistical picture of local congregations at the beginning of a new millennium and offer ways to strengthen and enhance the mission of these congregations.

Their data is slightly dated but much of what you’ll find is still useful and relevant on the Christian market. You can also get a complimentary copy of their July 2005 inaugural issue free.

I have gone through the sites that I frequent and added a few new resources that are helpful for anyone starting a Christian oriented business or for Christian’s who own their own business.


Check the sidebar on the right and visit my religious research saves on del.icio.us for more resources for Christian businessmen.

What Christian Men Can Do If They Have Low Self Esteem

Having a good self image is crucial when you’re trying to weather the storms of life. The foundation of your behavior, beliefs and how you bond with others is affected by your self view and how you value yourself. It’s says in The Holy Bible that we should choose to live wisely (Eph5:15).

When their self esteem is under attack, wise Christians men, learn how to shake off those feelings that are trying to weigh down their positive self image. They begin by recognize that by continuing to drag issues of shame, past mistakes and a negative attitude from one situation to the next it'll keep them from feeling good about themselves and trapped in a negative loop.

Overcoming Low Self Esteem

A negative attitude will damage the relationships you value with those around you, and you’ll find that other Christians are starting to avoid you like they do a bad habit.

The first step to overcoming low self-esteem for males is to abandon the old idea that your performance and position determines your self worth. Your income or the lack of one, your car or where you live, is not the criteria Christians should use to determine their self image.

Steps to Better Self Esteem

What you’re saying to yourself, has a greater impact on your self esteem than what other people are saying about you. Reconnecting can help men get a grip on their self-talk.


I. Reconnect with yourself.

Do a self check-up.
Write down some obtainable goals.
Document past personal success.

Any relationships that are toxic need to be eliminated. We have a plethora of relationships, from those with our family members to the ones with the team members at work, evaluate each one.

II. Reconnect with relationships

Evaluate your commitment to each relationship.
Make a daily commitment to work on important relationships.
Stop using the word can't and develop a "can do" attitude.





Improving your Self Esteem

The ability to build yourself up lies within you (Eph4:22-32). Every Christian man has to make a conscious decision about every thought they allow to dwell in their mind. To escape from a cycle of negativity, rid your mind of bitter, bad and bothersome feelings by replacing them with new thoughts of good health, good strength and a better life. They will generate a positive and confident picture of your self-worth.

Be sure to check out the self esteem video, as millionaire Stephen Pierce who was once homeless, shares how to change your self-talk and breakout of a negative loop.

How Christian Men Can Repair Their Self-esteem

I wonder how many African American Christian men, and men in general, with type A personalities, have come to grips with those deep seated issues that can create internal conflict and lower their self-esteem, if left unchecked.

One of the best ways men can increase their self-confidence is by taking an introspective look at how some of their core values where established. This allows you to get in touch with any unresolved abandonment issues, you may have never properly addressed.

Unresolved what you’re probably asking? That’s because unresolved abandonment, isn’t a fashionable term, that’s high on the media’s radar and as of yet, hasn’t been given top billing in major discussion forums.

According to Rice and McNair of itsallaboutabandonment.com everyone has abandonment issues that can have an everlasting effect on their lives.

Simply put “abandonment is about loss of love itself, that crucial loss of connectedness. Abandonment can also be about the events that caused the crucial loss of connectedness to others, as well as to reality. ” It shapes and molds who you are and how you deal with the world, and those closes to us.

These guys who are both trained in helping people get in touch with this and other issues critical to personal development, so I recommend that if you’re a Christian, African American or no matter how you view you self, visit itsallaboutabandonment.com and take their short quiz, to see what issues of unresolved abandonment may be playing havoc with your self esteem, self-confidence and your ability to improve your quality of life.