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.     

Leviticus 20.7-9 commands, consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the Lord your God. Keep My decrees and follow them. I am the Lord, who makes you holy. Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death. Because they have cursed their father or mother, their blood will be on their own head.

There were many sins for which Israel was to put people to death for committing. The Lord Jesus died so that none of us must die for committing these same sins today. Those who refuse Jesus, who ignore His pardon, these people, will be held accountable and will be put to eternal death in torment away from God. God is holy and His justice, the payment for rebellion against Him, must be satisfied.

We are so blessed to have the Lord Jesus willingly take our place at the judgement seat of God. Jesus faced the wrath of God we who are in Christ, will never face. We have been pardoned and therefore will be welcomed, when we see God, as those who have lived a sinless life. Through the life of Jesus appropriated to us, we have been consecrated unto God, declared holy as He is holy, blameless as He is blameless. The righteousness of Christ has been appropriated to us so that we can stand before the Father faultless.

The Son will not charge us with sins against Him for He has removed them from us and taken them upon Himself. The evidence of our sin is in the scars on His back, hands, feet, side and head. All of this being true, we are not to continue doing the things we did for which Jesus had to die. Rather, we are to live as Jesus lived, pursuing a holy life as He is holy.

We are now empowered by the Holy Spirit to live a life pleasing to God. We must be holy not to appease God but to please God and to demonstrate our love and gratefulness for God’s work on our behalf through Jesus the Savior of the world.

Our Opportunities

1. Don’t let the Coronavirus keep you from giving. Help us win and disciple business men through your donations at: https://give.idonate.com/cbmc-inc/lansing
   
2. Looking for something good to watch with the kids? Try The Chosen, free on youtube. Highly recommended. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=craeyJdrCsE
3. CBMC is open to your investment into the lives of men. Make yours 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

April 20, 2020 

Leaving Comfort, Overcoming Fear – We Start Learning

by Sergio Fortes 

In past Monday Manna’s, I have written about difficulties we face leaving “the comfort zone,” along with how to overcome what I termed “the fear zone.” Now we can enter a true oasis for people in the workplace, one we can call “the learning zone”! This learning zone offers many challenges, but also great opportunities for discovering new skills, many of them we would not find inside the comfort zone. 

The Learning Zone features engaging in a process by which new skills, abilities, knowledge, behaviors and/or values ​​can be acquired or modified through study, experience, training, reflection and observation. This aligns with each person’s individual characteristics and learning style. The best methodology includes appropriate tools, consistent with the intended objectives. 

Learning typically helps the person acquiring knowledge to become a happier, more fulfilled person. In discovering new opportunities and unraveling new worlds, the learner develops a new habit, a continuous practice of learning. There are many approaches for learning, but none is more effective than the process of one person teaching another. 

In the corporate environment, this is commonly known as mentoring. The mentor and the one who is mentored, often called the protégé or mentee, embark on a mutual learning journey, sharing experiences through a special relationship in which they both learn. I personally regret that it was not until I was 30 years old that I experienced the privilege of having a mentor. Had I been the beneficiary of mentoring earlier in my career, I would have been a better professional – and could have avoided a lot of the mistakes and wrong decisions that I made. 

Since then I have discovered successful learning involves strong commitment on the part of both the teacher (mentor) and the learner. The teacher should do so with the humility of a student, giving one’s best to those that are learning. And those being taught should display the eagerness of someone receiving a priceless treasure. 

Such teaching traces back thousands of years, even being a foundational part of the Bible. In a Christian environment, mentoring is better known as “discipleship.” This unique learning process involves at least two characters: one who becomes a follower of Jesus while learning, and the other who learns to be a follower of Jesus of Nazareth while teaching. 

This concept was so important, it dominated the last words of Jesus Christ as He was preparing to leave His earthly ministry. He said: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28.18-20).Known as His “Great Commission,” it represents what we could call today the “core business,” the true mission of an organization. He was defining the true mission for each of His followers: to make disciples. He established the scope of their action – all nations, and made clear of how the process was to be done – teaching. 

Obviously, teaching and learning are not confined to spiritual purposes. Every organization that invests in learning and training activities, developing its staff to their fullest capabilities, will reap permanent rewards. In the same way, the person who self-invests in the “learning zone” will find windows to unimaginable opportunities. Learning is a task to be shared. To withhold knowledge just for ourselves would be selfish. As the apostle Paul wrote to his protégé, Timothy, the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others” (2 Timothy 2: 2). 

Armed with expertise from our time in the learning zone, we can move to the last stage in our professional development journey: “the growing zone.” We will consider this in a future edition of “Monday Manna.” 

Sergio Fortes is a mentor and consultant in logistics and corporate strategic business. As a member of CBMC in the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil, he has coordinated the translation of Monday Manna into Portuguese for more than 20 years. He is committed to the Great Commission of Jesus Christ – to make disciples.

 MONDAY MANNA

A service to the business community

A Publication of CBMC International

April 20, 2020 

Reflection/Discussion Questions 

1. By way of review, what are your understandings of “the comfort zone” and the “fear zone”? Why is it important to progress beyond these two areas if we are to grow professionally? 

1. What is your perception of “the learning zone”? Do you find yourself there right now, or is that an area you need to explore? Explain your answer. 

1. Do you agree that one of the very best approaches for learning is one person teaching another in a mentoring relationship, which ideally results in a mutual learning experience? Why or why not?  

1. Have you been mentored – or have you mentored someone else? What are the strengths and challenges of mentoring, drawing from your own experience? 

NOTE: If you have a Bible and would like to read more, consider the following passages: 1 Corinthians 4:16, 11:1; 2 Corinthians 5:18-20; Philippians 3:17, 4:8-9; Hebrews 5:12 

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