How Does Your Business Plan Change if Your Mission Becomes "To Serve God"?

Become a Member of a CBMC Trusted Advisor Forum

New forum starting soon - stay tuned!

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About the Forums

A Trusted Advisor Forum is a monthly gathering of 12 business leaders who desire to lead their businesses according to Biblical principles and become part of a community with other like-minded leaders in their geographic area. The long-term objective is to help businesses lead their business according to Biblical principles, build a business of excellence and become engaged in the Great Commission. More specifically, we want to:

  1. Develop Christian enterprise leaders who are proactive and forward-thinking.
  2. Share the Word of God with employees, customers, vendors, and suppliers in a convincing manner.
  3. Create a strong mutual support network.
  4. Build a profitable network of Christian-led enterprises.

Our first Trusted Advisor Forum is commencing Friday, September 29, at 1:00 pm. We will be meeting at the St. Francis Retreat Center (https://www.stfrancis.ws/) in DeWitt, and we are now accepting membership applications for the first 12 members.

Typical Agenda

  1. Devotional – Setting the stage for the day – dedicating my business to God by starting with a devotion focused on a business subject or issue
  2. Discovering the latest in business thinking– An interactive discussion on best-in-business principles using a variety of resources
  3. Developing my leadership – How does a “Christian workview” fit with the business principle discussed? Using prewritten faith-based work responses, engage in an interactive discussion as a direct application of the Bible to the business
  4. Delving into one member’s issue – this is the main event of the time together as we take a key business issue one of the members is facing and build a framework for a path to long-term resolution
  5. Round Table – Prayer items – updates from each attendee, including disciple-making – in my sphere of influence and praying for one another


Forum Format

  1. Dates: Last Friday of each month
  2. Time: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm
  3. Location: St. Francis Conference Center - DeWitt
  4. Cost : $150 per month + $25 per month facilities charge - 12-month commitment


Application Process

  1. Read the Member Covenant
  2. Read the Statement of Faith
  3. Schedule Zoom introduction call. Email: smock@defend.center

Meet the Facilitator

Mike Smock is both the Trusted Advisor Forum State coordinator and Forum facilitator. He was born and raised in Ann Arbor, went to MSU, then moved across the country with stops in Chicago, Salt Lake, and San Francisco before recently resettling in DeWitt, Michigan. Mike has been married for 44 years to his high school sweetheart and is the proud father of two and grandfather of three. He is a "Michigander" at heart, conflicted about UM/MSU football, and blessed to have his immediate family living within 20 minutes of each other.

As a facilitator, Mike brings a career split between owning and operating enterprises and advising and consulting enterprise leaders. As an advisor working with start-ups and turnarounds, he has walked alongside CEOs on the best and worst days of their lives. Critically, as an entrepreneurial CEO, he knows what it's like to "sign on the dotted line," raise millions, miss payrolls, be in the Wall Street Journal, battle creditor committees, manage adverse boards, and negotiate with hostile union activists. For the past 14 years, he has been CEO of Distributed Security, Inc. and, most recently, founder of Kingdom Defense.