Our Mission

To present Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord to business and professional men and to develop Christian business and professional men to carry out the Great Commission.

2 Kings 20.1,5-6 records, In those days Hezekiah became ill to the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, “Thus says Yahweh, ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.’……… “Return and say to Hezekiah the ruler of My people, ‘Thus says Yahweh, the God of your father David, “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of Yahweh. “And I will add fifteen years to your life, and I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for My own sake and for My servant David’s sake.” LSB 

Hezekiah was told that he would die his days on earth were over. His response? He wept. He was not ready to die but wanted more time on earth. God’s response to Hezekiah’s response to Him? Mercy was demonstrated by fifteen more years of life. How would I respond if I knew I was to die today? I too would weep.

I am not ready to die. I have daughters to marry off and grandchildren to see who have yet to be born or even conceived. I have sons to invest into so that they become men of God, and more fruit I pray to bear so that I do not enter heaven empty-handed, without an eternal gift for my King. If God were to guarantee me fifteen more years, then what? I want to think I would get to work. The work of ensuring my family’s salvation.

The work of emphatically preaching Jesus as Savior so that all those I know come to Jesus before I die lest they never hear from anyone else God’s requirement for all people to be born again to enter the kingdom of heaven. Why do I wait now? Must I have a deadline before passionately obeying Jesus’ command to go and make disciples? Obedience needs no more motivation than love for the One to be obeyed. I should not need the fear of death before I obey God. None of us know for sure the length of our days.

We are told to be faithful to God’s work by living in obedience to God all of our days so that when our day does come, we will be welcomed into the presence of God.

Our Opportunities

1. Meet other Christian businessmen in Lansing on December 13th to be encouraged in living out our faith in the marketplace. CBMC’s Coffee Connections meets from 7.30-8.30am at Alaiedon Collective. Register here, the event is FREE. 

You can partner with us here: https://give.idonate.com/cbmc-inc/lansing 

CBMC Central Michigan 4407 W. St. Joe Hwy. Lansing 48917 / 517 481 5996 www.lansing.cbmc.com

MONDAY MANNA

A service to the business community

A Publication of CBMC International

November 14, 2022

The Advantages Of A Small Business

by Rick Boxx 

Over the course of my career, I have worked with large corporations and small businesses. I have personally preferred working in small businesses because of several advantages they can offer. The first is local decision-making authority. When I worked in banking, nothing frustrated customers more than being told their loan request had been denied by a committee in another city. Many customers prefer doing business with a small business or bank where they can reach the CEO who can make decisions. 

As King Solomon observed in Ecclesiastes 8:4, “Since a king’s word is supreme, who can say to him, “‘What are you doing?’” When you are a small business owner with the authority to make customer decisions, you essentially are serving as “the king.” It would be wise to promote that advantage to prospective customers. 

A surprising second advantage for small businesses can be limited resources. This “limitation” can for you to find cost-effective solutions that can allow you to charge lower prices. My brother once was asked by his boss to obtain bids for a large database project. He received bids for $9 million, $7 million, and $950,000. The first two bids were from large companies; the last one was from a small business. How could they account for such a great difference? 

The small business owner explained to my brother, “My competitors could do it for the price I have given you, but they have huge overhead and know you can afford to pay millions.” My brother chose to go with the lowest bidder – and they finished the job on time and under budget! As Proverbs 28:11 teaches, “The rich are wise in their own eyes; one who is poor and discerning sees how deluded they are.” 

A third advantage available to small businesses is rapid response to customer desires. Until the COVID pandemic began, Unconventional Business Network had primarily hosted live events. We had little experience in hosting virtual events. However, when one of our live events had to be cancelled due to pandemic-related regulations, we prayed about how to continue meeting our constituents’ needs. 

Within days we had developed and promoted a virtual event that resulted in reaching people from all over the world, many that never could have attended in person. This solution reminded me of Psalm 40:13, in which the psalm writer pleaded to God, “Be pleased to save me, Lord; come quickly, Lord, to help me.” When your customers have urgent needs, a selling feature for small business is being able to respond promptly without being encumbered by the bureaucratic red tape of a large corporation. 

The fourth advantage small businesses can utilize is personalized service. As businesses grow larger, they typically build systems and processes for standardizing products and making them more profitable. This also results in decisions and loans being made by people who never meet the customers. By comparison, smaller businesses can tailor their services to the unique requirements of their customers. 

This leads to a fifth advantage: Offering local products and services. Jesus emphasized caring for individual needs with a parable about helping people with limited influence. He concluded by saying, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40). If potential customers know you care and that you are part of their community, not an outsider merely trying to expand business, you have an edge in gaining customer loyalty. 

Copyright 2022, Unconventional Business Network. Adapted with permission from “UBN Integrity Moments”, a commentary on faith at work issues. Visit www.unconventionalbusiness.org UBN is a faith at work ministry serving the international small business community. 

CBMC Central Michigan 4407 W. St. Joe Hwy. Lansing 48917 / 517 481 5996  lansing.cbmc.com

MONDAY MANNA

A service to the business community

A Publication of CBMC International

November 14, 2022 

Reflection/Discussion Questions 

1. If you have worked in both large corporations and small businesses, which have you preferred – and why? 

1. We often think of large business enterprises as having the advantages of greater financial resources, more people engaged in different aspects of the work, and the leverage of being able to purchase products in larger quantities. However, we do not often hear about the advantages a small business can offer. Why do you think that is? 

1. Which of the small business advantages cited seems most significant to you? 

1. Do you think that even if you work in a larger corporation, efforts could be made to incorporate some of the advantages that a small business can offer? Explain your answer. 

NOTE: If you have a Bible and would like to read more, consider the following passages: Proverbs 2:6, 19:20, 27:23; Matthew 7:12; Luke 6:31; 1 Thessalonians 2:7-12 

CBMC Central Michigan 4407 W. St. Joe Hwy. Lansing 48917 / 517 481 5996  lansing.cbmc.com