Monday Manna - Great Commissions…And The Great Commission
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 7.13 observes no one had the courage to speak favorably about Him in public, for they were afraid of getting in trouble with the Jewish leaders. While watching a popular sports talk show I noticed the interviewee easily referenced his commitment to God but not to Jesus. As he was wearing a cross around his neck I am assuming he would identify with Christianity as his religion.
This comfort with God and discomfort with Jesus is age-old and helps explain why we are so broken in our current culture. Christianity is the story of God with us; God has come to us in the Man Jesus to restore us to a personal relationship with God and to prepare a place for us to live eternally with Him. Yet we are embarrassed to identify ourselves with Jesus.
We are fine talking about God because that word is more inclusive to the world but Jesus tightens everything down to one specific God and one specific way to live. Like the people in Jesus’ day who didn’t want to mention Him publicly, we too fear the opinion of the people around us more than we fear the God Who will judge us and determine our eternal destiny. Why is this?
First, it’s a spiritual thing. Jesus is the only true God and as such the spiritual enemies of God are quick to make us feel immensely uncomfortable speaking His Name. All other religions take people to the same destiny, away from the One True God ending in destruction now and forever. Jesus is the Only Name by which humanity can enter heaven so His is the Name that must be spoken by everyone who seeks reconciliation with God.
Second, we have a propensity to fear the opinion of men more than we fear the opinion of God. Since breaking our relationship with God in the garden we have consistently been more concerned by what our neighbor thinks of us than what God thinks of us. Mentioning Jesus causes us to feel like we will end the conversation, turn-off this new relationship, kill the deal, make other people uncomfortable or simply invite people to judge us as religious zealots.
All of these lies we believe in the moment while we hear His small voice inside of us asking us to make Him known to those we are with because they too need a Savior. What is the antidote to our malady of shame and silence? Let’s try to mention the Name of Jesus every day in as normal, practical, and meaningful way as possible as our day unfolds with the people around us.
We don’t need to force His Name but let’s pray and look for ways to naturally share His Name as we share how Jesus has impacted our lives with those who are still searching for a deeper relationship with God.
His Opportunities
- March 25th, Good Friday breakfast. Join CBMC for breakfast at the YMCA 79th annual Good Friday breakfast this week. 7.30am at the Crowne Plaza Hotel off Creyts Rd. Cost is $15. Only a few seats left at the CBMC table. Contact Mike if you are interested in joining us.
- April 29th, Friday, Conversational Apologetics with Andy Bannister. Andy is the lead apologist for Ravi Zacharias Ministry in Canada. 7.30-8.30am at the Crafty Palate on Washington Sq. Cost is free but you must pre-register HERE
- May 18th, Wednesday, Michigan Prayer Breakfast. 7.30am-9am at the Lansing Center. This year’s speaker is Luis Palau. Buy your table and register for this event HERE.
You can support CBMC today. https://give.cbmc.com/giving/?appealcode=winter
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
March 21, 2016
Great Commissions...And The Great Commission
by Rick Boxx
In the business world it seems normal to emphasize a company’s unique qualities and capacities. We try to define our “niche,” promote our strengths, and show how we differentiate from our competitors. It is less common, however, for business leaders to publicly acknowledge their weaknesses. They are either ignored or, even worse, disguised or concealed in hope that no one will recognize them.
That is not always the case. One stellar example was a nationally known pizza franchise that came to the unsettling realization that many of its customers disliked the taste of the primary product – pizza. Rather than overlooking the customers’ dissatisfaction by attempting slick marketing and repackaging, the company’s CEO developed a strategy that brought a remarkable turnaround in a five-year period.
This turnaround began when the company discovered through consumer focus groups what many of its customers really thought about their product, that they did not like the taste of the pizza. Understandably, this was troublesome news – especially when it is the main thing you are selling. What was unusual, however, was how the company responded. Instead of burying this information, the company ran commercials actually allowing customers to express how they thought their pizza tasted. Then, according to the esteemed business periodical, Wall Street Journal, the CEO appeared in TV commercials offering an apology along with a promise: “We hear you, America. Sometimes you know you’ve got to make a change. Please give us another try.”
In recent years we have seen and heard news reports about the problems many companies have had with products, whether in manufacturing, design, or quality. Relatively few are as forthright in admitting their failings, promising to make amends, and then taking proactive steps to follow through. In any business, mistakes happen. Sometimes deadlines are missed. We can ignore these problems, offer excuses, or address them directly by acknowledging them and taking appropriate measures to correct the issues. The Bible offers sound advice about this. Here are some examples:
Being forthright is always right. Many of us have heard the saying, “your sins will find you out.” Whether it involves building cars, handling investments for others, or manufacturing food products, this is almost always true, as we regularly see in headlines and news reports. Speaking to the nation of Israel, God assured them that obedience would be rewarded. Then they were warned, “But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the LORD, and be sure your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:23).
Honesty requires no apologies. Admitting failings accompanied by a plan to make necessary corrections is always preferable to seeking to hide problems and then having them exposed. “He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion” (Proverbs 28:13).
Sometimes, as the well-known pizza company demonstrated, the best marketing strategy is to take ownership of the problem, declare it publicly, correct it, and then ask customers for a second chance.
Copyright 2016, Integrity Resource Center, Inc. Adapted with permission from “Integrity Moments with Rick Boxx,” a commentary on issues of integrity in the workplace from a Christian perspective.
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