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.

Luke 6.22-26 encourages, Blessed are you when men hate you, and exclude you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man. “Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For their fathers were doing the same things to the prophets. “But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full. Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and cry. Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers were doing the same things to the false prophets. LSB

The American Christian is in a tough place today, perhaps more so than in any other time in our history. What was once a nation of mostly Christians, at least people who adhered to the moral teachings of the Christian Bible, has now become a nation whose god is themselves, their appetites, their pleasures and personal pursuits to their utter demise.

The current American Christian stands at a crossroads, a choice between life and death, between identifying publicly with Jesus or remaining silent and being accepted by society. All of us in this country are among the rich, comfortable, well fed, having days of laughter, and men speaking well of us. The group Jesus warns will most likely not dwell in eternal places with Him when He judges each of us by His standard described by His teaching recorded in His word.

While the American Christian is in this camp, they can choose to publicly identify with Jesus incurring the condemnation of our current society and move into the camp that will live forever with Jesus. Jesus and Christianity are currently maligned as racist, homophobic, oppressive, and thus unwanted in the mainstream of ideas and lifestyle. God calls His people His witness, His ambassadors, for making Him known in the world.

 Therefore, the American Christian who would receive life eternal with God in Christ must identify with Jesus by speaking of His ways, convincing the world of His goodness, His love, and His truth. The American Christian must show God’s unconditional love for all while insisting that all who come before Him must repent from their godless ways and turn toward obedience to everything Jesus has commanded us.

The American Christian is at a crossroads between life and death, we must choose to live and love like Jesus if we will live forever with Jesus.

Our Opportunities

New Monthly Meeting beginning September 13. CBMC Central Michigan presents Coffee Connections. Meet other Christian businessmen in Lansing to be encouraged in living out our faith in the marketplace. September 13th will be our first meeting from 7.30-8.30am at Alaiedon Collective. Our speaker will be Mr. Terry Hart, a local businessman of more than 30 years who recently published the book Your Business Matters to God: Kingdom Principles for Aligning Your Firm with the Great Commission. Register here so we have enough coffee, the event is FREE. 

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

August 15, 2022

The Pitfalls of Perfectionism

By Robert J. Tamasy 

Engaging in work, parenting, personal hobbies or some other activity, there are two extremes for how we do what we do. We can adopt the “good enough is…good enough” mindset, trying to get by with a relative minimum of effort. Or we can choose a very different approach, that of perfectionism, a fixation on attempting to do things exactly right. 

Many of us probably fall somewhere in between, but recently I heard about a famous golfer who realized that the best way to master his skills was to adopt a simple approach. The late Ben Hogan is regarded as one of the greatest golfers of all-time, competing from the 1930s through the mid-1950s. In his book, Ben Hogan’s Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf, he explained one “secret” to his success: 

He said, “…I had stopped trying to do a great many things perfectly because it had become clear in my mind that this ambitious over-thoroughness was neither possible or advisable, nor even necessary. All that is really required to play good golf is to execute properly a relatively small number of true fundamental movements.” 

Consider that: Recognizing that as Hogan had discovered, that perfection is “neither possible or advisable or even necessary,” we can free ourselves from a lot of unnecessary stress. Instead, we can achieve success in our chosen pursuits simply by determining to “execute properly a relatively small number of true fundamental movements.” 

In a broader sense, this principle relates well to a desire to be as 2 Corinthians 5:20 describes it, “Christ’s ambassadors.” When we make a commitment to follow Jesus Christ, that means representing Him not only in our homes and churches, but also in our communities and especially, where we work. What are the relatively small number of true fundamental movements necessary for doing that? Let me suggest just several that the Bible provides for us: 

Put God first. Typically, people work for themselves, or for their company, or their customers. However, in the Scriptures we are admonished, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men…. It is the Lord Christ you are serving” (Colossians 3:23). 

Pursue excellence. When we realize we are serving God first, and then our clients and customers, we understand this requires our very best. “Not bad” is not good enough. “Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will serve before kings; he will not serve before obscure men” (Proverbs 22:29). 

Work with integrity. Business is often transacted with legally binding documents, but we should be known as people who commit to do what we promise, even when it is not convenient. “It is a trap for a man to dedicate something rashly and only later to consider his vows” (Proverbs 20:25). 

Serve in humility. We are certain to stand out in the workplace when other people see we are willing to put their needs ahead of even our own. “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:3-4) 

© 2022. Robert J. Tamasy has written Marketplace Ambassadors: CBMC’s Continuing Legacy of Evangelism and Discipleship; Business at Its Best: Timeless Wisdom from Proverbs for Today’s Workplace; Pursuing Life With a Shepherd’s Heart, coauthored with Ken Johnson; and The Heart of Mentoring, coauthored with David A. Stoddard. Bob’s biweekly blog is: www.bobtamasy.blogspot.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

August 15, 2022

Reflection/Discussion Questions 

1. How would you describe your typical approach? Do you choose to do just enough to get by, the basic requirements, or do you strive to perform everything perfectly, or somewhere in between? 

1. What do you think of golfer Hogan’s idea to “execute properly a relatively small number of true fundamental movements?” How might this philosophy change the way you approach the way you work, or other aspects of your life? 

1. In what ways could the pursuit of perfectionism result in our failure or inability to perform at our best? 

1. When viewed from a spiritual perspective, which of the biblical principles cited – if any – seem most significant for you? Are there any others that you can think of? 

NOTE: If you have a Bible and would like to read more, consider the following passages: Psalm 37:3-6; Proverbs 16:3,9; Ecclesiastes 9:10; Acts 17:28; 1 Corinthians 3:9 

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