Starting a Kingdom Business // Living Generously, Part 10

A Different Perspective Official Podcast

So, when Jesus was choosing his disciples, he called them out of their businesses. Fisherman, tax collectors, and the like. He called them away from business into ministry. But could it be that these days Jesus actually calls people into business as well?

Berni: I had an interesting guy on the program quite a few years ago now who ran a big coffee franchise business and it was fascinating that neither he nor his business partner needed the money. They didn’t need the hassle; they didn’t need to be in business. They were doing it with one purpose and one purpose alone and that was to fund Christian ministry around the world.

Alex: Fantastic. And that’s one of the defining features I think of a kingdom business. Is that it has a purpose beyond profit. Profit is essential by a long way. Absolutely.

Alex: You need to make a profit or you won’t have a business for very long.

Berni: Profit’s not a dirty word.

Alex: No, it’s a good thing.

Berni: It’s a good thing. What’s a kingdom business look like? Someone’s sitting there thinking I’d love to run my own web design business or my own digital marketing business. And when it ... I want to be a builder or a plumber. What does a kingdom business look like?

Alex: Yeah, well let’s think about the word kingdom for a moment. So a kingdom implies that there’s a king. And for Christians the king is Jesus. So when it comes to your business the king of your business and the CEO of your business is in fact Jesus. And we are his servants of that kingdom. So it’s having a very different way of looking at that business. Because the thing about business I think in the church in the past is we’ve seen business as a secular activity.

Berni: Yeah.

Alex: You go along to work. OK if you’re a Christian you should be a person that operates according to integrity but you use the money to fund ministry. But the reality is that a kingdom business is a ministry.

And so the perspective that Christians who have their own business or who are in business in general, they need to come to realisation that they in fact are in ministry. That is what a kingdom business is about; it’s an actual ministry.

Because if you’re a Christian you are in ministry, it just depends on where you’re at. We all may have different jobs but the clergy’s not the only ministry. A kingdom business is in fact a ministry.

Berni: We have this sort of dualistic view of the world that over here we do prayer and church and singing and Bible reading and stuff, that’s all the holy stuff. And over here we do work and taking the kids to soccer, and that’s all the profane stuff. And we separate those two, particularly in Western culture but you don’t find that in the Bible, do you?

Alex: No, exactly right. I mean, everything is spiritual.

Berni: Yeah.

Alex: I think we’ve somehow compartmentalised our life and we need to change that. You know, God should be through every aspect of your life ...

Berni: So ...

Alex: Business included.

Berni: Everyone who’s listening today who has a business, a Christian business, you’re actually in ministry. That’s a pretty exciting perspective. So if they‘re in ministry, does God move supernaturally in business? I mean can you do business supernaturally?

Alex: Absolutely, and look the thing about the word supernatural. Break it into two. We have a responsibility to do the things in the natural, we actually have to do something, actually have to turn up to things in order for your business to actually function and to perform.

Berni: Yeah.

Alex: God does the super. OK, now the way I like to tell people is through an example in my own life. I was in the United States back in February this year and I was attending a conference called the National Religious Broadcasters Conference. Our intention was to try and work out how we could get on US radio.

A funny thing happened. I was standing in the men’s toilet. There washing my hands and standing beside me is a well-known talk show host in the United States. And ... who I really admire because he deals with a lot of the controversial issues going on in the US. So I got chatting to him and, you know, he started asking questions about what I did. And I told him that I was there to try and work out how I could get on US radio. And he goes to me, ‘Well do you want to go on in 30 minutes?’

So here I was thinking that I would be on US radio maybe in three or four months’ time after I’d met a few contacts, started to build relationships and so forth. And God got me on radio half an hour later. And ...

Berni: God can do some amazing stuff, hey?

Alex: Yeah and I think it came from two things. One was me turning up and actually being there.

Berni: Yeah.

Alex: And the second thing though was that every day my wife and I, because my wife was with me, we prayed that God would open the right doors and close the wrong ones. And that’s one thing I do and that’s ... that can apply to your business in many ways. Ask God, ‘God can you open the right doors to the right customers, to the right people? And close the wrong ones.’

Berni: Now can I ask you, what’s been your greatest challenge being a Christian businessperson?

Alex: I think the greatest challenge for me would be relying on my own strength. I’m by nature a hardworking person. I’ve always loved work and loved most of the jobs that I’ve had. I find that my natural tendency is to do things by my own strength and work hard. And when there’s a problem just push harder.

Berni: I’m nodding here, by the way, I’m relating a lot to this.

Alex: For me the biggest challenge has been to get myself back to depending on God.

Berni: How do you do that? What does that mean actually?

Alex: For me it’s been about focussing on my relationship with God. So probably when I first went in to the business world what I would do is I would read the Bible on the way to work in the morning. I’d read it on the bus and maybe ...

Berni: I’m happy you weren’t driving here, right?

Alex: No. And so you know I’d pray for a few minutes and I’d read the Bible on the bus. But what I’ve done now is I now get up much earlier. I get up at five. I probably spend ... and this is not about time and it’s not about bragging either by the way. But I get up, I spend ideally between half an hour to an hour in prayer, in worship, just worshipping God with Christian songs. And just praying and seeking God.

So I do that each day but then the other thing I do is half a day a week I actually go to a ... I live in Buenos Aires in Argentina so I go to a lovely coffee shop that ...

Berni: I thought you had a bit of an accent, there. I thought that. It’s Argentinian, right? OK, go on.

Alex: So I go to a place where there’s a golf course on one side, a beautiful path on river on the other.

Berni: It’s tough on the mission field isn’t it?

Alex: It’s rough, you know, I’m suffering for Christ. And I spend an hour just walking around this lake, just in prayer. And just asking God for help. And then I spend a couple of hours just reading through His word. Taking notes, jotting things down, writing things – Oh I want to know more about this and so forth. And just building that relationship with God. And asking questions and asking for His help.

Thing is, God actually care about all your affairs. And He wants to be involved in your business. He wants you to do well, He wants you to ... to guide you. So that you can use all these things He’s given you to honour Him and glorify Him. And so that radical intimacy is how you build dependency on God.

Berni: I love that term radical ... radical intimacy. So many people know about God but don’t know God.

Alex: It's a big, big problem.

Berni: It's a big, big issue. In fact, what we’re going to do in a moment is we’re going to pray for you. One piece of advice for the aspiring Christian business person: what is it?

Alex: Well, I think it sort of comes back to what we were just saying there – If you’re going into business you need God on your side. You need Him as your CEO and, if you like, your business partner. And so the only way that’s going to happen is if you spend time with Him. A lot of people think that ... that by spending that time they’re actually losing that time. It’s time they could be doing business.

Berni: Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Alex: But it’s the exact opposite. That’s when the supernatural can occur. Because if you don’t spend the time with God the supernatural won’t occur. By having that radical intimacy and complete dependency you’ll have an amazing kingdom business.

Berni: Father God, I pray for anybody who’s listening today who wants that radical intimacy with you. Lord, I just pray that you would take what Alex has spoken to us and by your Spirit you would write it on our hearts. Lord, you would fill us with a hunger, with a desire, with a thirst, to have that relationship so that we wouldn’t be put off with religious rituals.

But Lord, you would build something in us by your Spirit that desires you above all other things. Lord, your people … your people hunger for you, your people desire you. Would you bless us with your presence? In Jesus’ mighty name.

Now Alex before I let you go. wealthwithpurpose.com?

Alex: Yes, that’s right.

Berni: wealthwithpurpose.com. You want to find out some more of the great teaching that Alex has got, it’s all on that website. I’d really encourage you to go and check it out. Because God wants to do some amazing things with you and with your finances and with the call that he’s placed on your life. Amen.

Alex: Amen.

Berni: Alex it’s been great to have you on the program the last couple of weeks. God bless you, mate.

Alex: My pleasure, Berni. Thanks for having me.

Berni: Yeah that’s great stuff. Thanks mate, it’s been a real pleasure to have you on the program these last couple of weeks, really.