Working ‘Under New Management’
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.
Romans 2.7 promises, He will give eternal life to those who keep on doing good, seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that God offers. Believing isn’t enough. The regrettable consequence of the Church’s message these past 50 years is a culture mostly uncommitted to the ways and work of God. Since its founding by God, the Church has always had the responsibility to communicate who God is and what God requires of humanity.
Christianity has as its founder the Christ, God in human flesh, Who has commanded His people to go into all the world and make disciples by teaching people to obey His commands. No other religion claims God as its founder. All religions claim a man as its founder, a man who supposedly heard from God, but none claim to have God come to earth to live as one of us in order to communicate clearly to us Who He is and what He requires. This is in part why Christianity has always insisted upon it being the only religion by which humanity can get to heaven.
There is an inherent intolerance of other religions because no other religion has God so clearly communicating His will for His people as Jesus did to His Church. This intolerant message led to the persecution of its proponents until it so saturated the culture with its truth that it became the religion of the state. The message however has been increasingly compromised from we must keep on doing good, seeking after the glory and immortality that God offers, to we must only believe that God loves us and offers to forgive us if we will but ask Him to do so through Jesus the Savior.
While belief is necessary for doing, doing requires more than believing. Until I treat my neighbor with respect, believing I should respect my neighbor does not respect my neighbor. Believing in God without subsequently working for God is to behave as though I don’t believe in God.
This is the very situation so much of the Church currently finds itself and which explains the decadence of this age. The Church changes the culture through its message of obedience to every command of Jesus. This has not been our loudest nor most consistent message for these past 50 years. The enemy of God believes in God but does nothing to help the cause of God. Jesus said the one who is not with Him is against Him (Matthew 12.30).
Christianity is not believing in Jesus the Savior and then living as we please. Christianity is pledging allegiance to Jesus as Lord, believing He is God incarnate. Christianity is receiving the free gift of eternal life from God made possible through the work of Jesus then working passionately, diligently and intentionally to share that gift with the rest of humanity until Jesus returns or we go home.
His Opportunities
Tomorrow, Tuesday, August 16th at the City Rescue Mission from noon until 1pm is your next CBMC Rescue Luncheon. This is your opportunity to serve lunch to the men and women who depend upon the Mission for their meal. Commit Here
Next Special Luncheon will be on September 13th with 9/11 survivor Patrick Anderson. Buy a table and bring some friends, you wont want to miss this event. More information HERE
CBMC needs your help to continue its ministry to men in the marketplace. Please support CBMC today. DONATE
CBMC Central Michigan 6011 W. St. Joseph Ste. 401 Lansing 48917 / 517 481 5996 www.lansing.cbmc.com
MONDAY MANNA
A service to the business community
A Publication of CBMC International
August 15, 2016
Working ‘Under New Management’
by Robert J. Tamasy
Have you ever driven past a business and noticed the sign, “Under New Management,” prominently displayed on the exterior? It makes you wonder if that will prove to be a good thing or not, right?
I can think of a restaurant or two that I enjoyed going to until their quality and/or service declined, making it less appealing to continue patronizing them. When I saw “Under New Management” across the front window or marquee, I wondered, “Should I visit them again and see what has changed?”
The same applies to large corporations, where old leadership is removed and a new CEO is appointed with promises of bigger and better things to come. When an organization is struggling or falls on hard times, whether it is a for-profit auto manufacturer, an educational institution, or a well-known retail chain, the promise of being Under New Management often serves to calm stakeholders, at least temporarily, and placate disillusioned customers or supporters.
But taking this idea to a more personal level, have you ever felt the need in your life to be “under new management”? Maybe there are some behavioral traits you are not proud of. A hair-trigger temper that sometimes causes you trouble in your interactions with employees, colleagues or even customers? Perhaps underlying feelings of anger you find difficult to repress – even when you cannot identify exactly why you are angry? Or other temptations that plague you every day, whether at work or in your personal life? You would like to change, to feel or act differently, but feel helpless in being able to do so.
What would you say if presented the opportunity to make desired changes, and it would not take much effort on your part to experience it? Years ago someone came into my life and helped me to understand and apply some biblical truths that I found to be transformative – truly life-changing. Here are some of them, for your consideration:
We are offered the opportunity to become “new.” Becoming a follower of Jesus Christ means a lot more than receiving forgiveness for sins and assurance of life after death. It also means we truly receive new life spiritually. With this comes the capacity to overcome old habits and destructive behaviors, not through our own initiative but through the power of Jesus living in us. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me…” (Galatians 2:20). “…just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life” (Romans 6:4).
We are freed from the power of our old ways. Some view the so-called “Christian life” as attempting to conform to a new set of rules, rituals and regulations. However, the Bible teaches we become freed from the power of sin – defined as “missing the mark” of God’s perfect standards – and instead are enabled to live as God always intended. “In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Romans 6:11). “You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness”
Perhaps you need to turn your life over to Jesus Christ for the first time. Or maybe, even as one of His followers, you have failed to recognize and appropriate His power to become “under new management.” Today might be a good day to start, by praying and enlisting the support of trusted friends.
© 2016. Robert J. Tamasy is vice president of communications for Leaders Legacy, Inc., a non-profit based in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A. Bob has written Business At Its Best: Timeless Wisdom from Proverbs for Today’s Workplace; Tufting Legacies; and coauthored with David A. Stoddard, The Heart of Mentoring, as well as other books. His biweekly blog is: www.bobtamasy.blogspot.com.
Click here for the PDF:
