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.    

John 7.7 comments, the world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify that its works are evil.

We don’t often think of Jesus telling the world that its works are evil. What does it even mean that God testified that the world’s works were evil? Jesus, God incarnate, is saying He is hated because He is telling people their works are evil.

Everyone wants to believe they are good. Everyone thinks they are good. But what is good? It is not the absence of evil. Being good is not doing bad. Being good is doing good. A good athlete is someone who plays their sport well. A good employee is someone who does their job well. A good person is someone who does good well! Who defines what is good? Only He Who measures men for their goodness can define what is good. God alone, Who alone IS good, can define true goodness.

The good person is the obedient follower of God in Jesus the Savior of the world. It is obedience to the will of God that He will reward as good This is the definition we need to apply to ourselves then measure ourselves by this definition to determine if we are truly good.

We are to pursue doing good not to earn our spot in heaven but to demonstrate our spot has been earned by Him Who is always good and Whose good works are appropriated to all men by faith in Him. We do good because we are fellow laborers with God in the building of His kingdom upon earth as it is in heaven. We do good so that all men will experience the blessing of God and be drawn to Him in praise and worship.

The evil works of the world are the attempts by men to do good to get to heaven. The evil works of the world are the choices men make to ignore God’s will and instead do their own will. Men cannot do enough good to get to heaven but they should do all the good they can to show they have been given heaven by the grace and mercy of God Who is good and commands all men everywhere to do good.

Our Opportunities

  1. YOU MUST REGISTER TODAY. CBMC wants to help you know God better in 2021. Join us for lunch on December 22nd as we explain how you can consistently meet with Jesus and grow in your faith. This luncheon seminar will equip you with an effective strategy for meeting consistently and meaningfully with God. It will also help you develop your spiritual leadership practice at home and in your business. Join us December 22nd at the CBMC office, 4407 W. St. Joe Hwy. Lansing 48917,  from 11.45am - 1pm. Lunch is included so bring $15 to cover the cost. Register HERE 
  1. Its that time of year when CBMC sprints to the financial finish line. We invite your end of year investment in our work of creating prayer teams, evangelizing businessmen and discipling men in their faith. Please help us reach our goal of $40,000 this month. We are currently at $13,103. You can make your gift now, HERE 

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

December 21, 2020 

All Good Leaders Have A Limp

by Dr. Stephen Graves 

Maybe you are familiar with the story in Genesis 32 in the Bible’s Old Testament. Alone for the night, Jacob, who would become the patriarch for the nation of Israel, was confronted by “a mysterious man,” and the two wrestled for hours. Toward the end of the night, the God-man touched Jacob’s hip, and Jacob was defeated. Nevertheless, the God-man blessed Jacob, and from that day on Jacob walked with a limp. Until this point, Jacob had always found a way to come out on top. But now he had come up against an opponent he could not beat. Jacob was broken – yet he was better because of it. 

What is a limp? Over three decades of coaching executives, I have spent time with a lot of people who, like Jacob, keep coming out on top. But constantly winning can result in placing our confidence and certainty on the wrong person: ourselves. I have noticed another trait among the most remarkable leaders I have met. They carry a limp, a scar from getting in the ring with God – and losing. 

A limp is the spiritual, emotional, mental, and even physical (at times) recognition that we are not the supreme agent of life. The faster I can learn that I do not know all, cannot do all, and am not completely the person I need to be, the better. A friend of mine says the key issue for every person is, “Who has the right to rule?” Jacob was wrestling with God over who was in charge. He had spent years ruling his own life, and it seemed to be working. He did most people will not admit about themselves – he acted as if he did not need God. 

Wrestling with God. Perhaps you, too, spent years winning at everything in life and then, all of a sudden, it was gone: Maybe, as happened to me a couple years ago, you suffered an illness that reminded you of your mortality. Or the corporate strategy you spent months designing failed. The corner office you spent coveting was given to someone else. You did not make the team after working harder than anyone else. Your marriage or your kids did not turn out the way you planned. In other words, something broke your forward momentum. When the issue is who has the right to rule, it always involves a wrestling match going up against the Almighty. A limp comes when you battle God, and God decides to win. As He always does. 

Why do we need a limp? Two things are the results of a limp: humanity and humility. These two things are tied together, and bad things happen when we lose a grip on either one. We all know people who have lost touch with their humanity, who act as if they are superhuman. Athletes, movie stars, preachers, business owners, and CEOs come to mind, but it could happen to any one of us. 

The second by-product of a limp is humility. You can always spot it in people who have wrestled with God and lost. This is actually a good thing, because until we wrestle with God, we can avoid having to confront our humanity. There is no substitute for wrestling with God and going the experience of being broken. 

“Brokenness” sounds bad, as if something is wrong with us. But what if brokenness is a good thing? The Bible, after all, often talks about brokenness and weakness being the places where God shines through. 

As Psalm 51:17 says, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” The greatest leaders I know have a limp. They have realized their humanity and walk in humility. Through defeat, disappointment, or any number of things, they have discovered who has the right to rule. 

Dr. Stephen R. Graves is an organizational strategist, pragmatic theologian, and social capitalist. He advises executives and business owners, as well as young entrepreneurs. He is the author of numerous books and many articles, and a public speaker. His website is www.stephenrgraves.com. 

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

December 21, 2020 

Reflection/Discussion Questions 

  1. Do you know someone who has a physical limp? How does that affect that individual? 
  1. What about the type of “limp” Mr. Graves describes? Do you have one of those – or know of someone who does? What has been the effect of that? 
  1. Have you ever experienced wrestling with God? Perhaps that is something you are doing right now. What has that been like? 
  1. How can a limp, resulting from wrestling with God, serve a positive benefit in our lives? 

NOTE: If you have a Bible and would like to read more, consider the following passages: Psalm 6:1-3; Isaiah 40:29-31; 1 Corinthians 1:27-31, 9:24-27; 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 

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

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