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.     

1 Peter 2.13-17 commands, submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by Him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.

2020 has raised more questions about obedience to the government within the Christian community than any other time in my life. Wearing masks and meeting publicly, including within the church, have been the primary questions. The issue for some is whether the government is being honest in its assessment of our situation and so whether we need to obey them if they are not. Peter makes no such concession.

We silence pagans when we obey the law. This has been the perspective of many churches, which is why they have chosen not to meet or to meet while requiring masks. We create the least animas toward the gospel by people who don’t believe the gospel when we comply with the government’s orders. The freedom we have in Christ is the freedom to obey the law, not because we must for obtaining heaven but because we already have heaven so can comply without concern for our salvation.

Some in the church wish for us to comply with the government because they believe what the government is saying, and so are concerned themselves with their own health and welfare. Failure to obey the government causes them to question their brother’s salvation and commitment to the Lord Jesus. This should not be.

I confess I have been disobedient much and have spoken much of rebellion against our government whose rules I find obtrusive and irrational. I must admit those rules are only minimally affecting my ability to worship and serve my God, that is personally. In the ministry of CBMC the government rules have caused us to not hold any outreaches this year and that is a grievous evil I haven’t yet figured out how to rectify.

I am still in process, wanting to obey God, wanting to be a faithful and true witness, wanting to do what is right biblically and socially. I hope you too will join me in seeking God and being willing to allow His Holy Spirit to chasten us and lead us as He directs for He is our Lord and King.

Our Opportunities

1. A mission opportunity is available to you every third Wednesday of the month at the Rescue Mission Drop-in center. We are looking for one or two men a month to share their story of God’s work in their lives for about 20 minutes from 10-10.20ish. Practice sharing your faith by sharing what God has done in your life. Next opening, December 16th. Email Mike to sign up

1. Business Owners, are you looking for a private group of fellow business owners for encouragement, support, and advice? CBMC offers such a group. CBMC Business Forums connect Christian business leaders by providing a confidential environment of accountability and mutual support where prayer and godly counsel result in business and personal growth. Contact Mike for more information

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

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

November 30, 2020 

Seven Qualities of a Disciplined Investor

by Austin Pryor 

When it comes to investing, learning what to do is relatively easy. But doing what we are supposed to do is surprisingly hard. We can be our own worst enemies, especially when the market becomes unusually volatile, as it has been this year.

One quality that separates top professional investors from the rest of us can take years to develop: emotional self-control. Our emotions interact with news and market events in ways that incline us to act at the wrong times. We all want to “buy low and sell high,” but emotionally, it is very difficult to do either. 

For example, few investors are willing to “sell high,” when valuations are increasing. Our natural greed tends to kick in, causing investors to want even more. Nor is it easy to “buy low.” Prices drop because the economy is weak, news is bad, and people are pessimistic or uncertain. Under pressure, emotions tend to dictate our actions. Rather than buy, we tend to wait until information seems more positive. 

Even following a sound, rules-based strategy for investing requires self-discipline to overcome emotions and trust the system. Here are seven biblically based suggestions for how to grow in that area: 

Be Humble. Accept that “there is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9), so instructions God has given us in the Scriptures have proven to be practical and effective. The priorities and guidelines He has provided are for our protection. Abandoning them means we trust our own thinking more than in His. 

Be Conscientious. See yourself as a caretaker of what God has given you. Acknowledge taking undue risks jeopardizes His wealth. You are investing not just in this for yourself, but to responsibly increase assets to provide for your family, and give more generously to help spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Be Prepared. Develop a written plan that lays out your investment strategy, reflecting your personal goals and desired level of risk. Understand how your investments fit together and the role each part plays. Then let your buying and selling be dictated solely by your plan. Be an initiator, not a responder. 

Be Content. A preoccupation with large profits can be dangerous. “People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap…. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil…” (1 Timothy 6:9-10). So in drawing up your plan, have reasonable ambitions. More money is lost due to greed than any other factor. 

Be Diversified. Make sure your plan divides “your portion to seven, or even to eight, for you do not know what misfortune may occur on the earth” (Ecclesiastes 11:2). Higher profits might be made concentrating your money in one or two opportunities, but staggering losses can be incurred as well. 

Be Patient. Take a cue from the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-29), where the master was away for “a long time”: Make your strategy a long-term one that aspires to build wealth slowly, taking up-and-down market cycles in stride. Time is the speculator’s enemy, but the investor’s friend. 

Be Accountable. Show your plan to your spouse or a trusted Christian friend and review it with them quarterly to show how you are being faithful in following it. Any thoughts of taking steps outside your strategy will be tempered by the realization you will have to give an honest accounting to your friend. 

Austin Pryor has 40 years of experience advising investors and is the founder of the Sound Mind Investing newsletter and website. He is the author of The Sound Mind Investing Handbook, which enjoys the endorsements of respected Christian teachers with more than 100,000 copies sold. Austin lives in Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.A. 

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

November 30, 2020 

Reflection/Discussion Questions 

1. To the extent you are able, what is your investment strategy? Do you have a formalized plan, do you rely on an adviser, or do you tend to make any investment decisions based on emotions?

1. What is your reaction to the investment suggestion to “be content”? Do you find it easy to be contented with your circumstances and what you have, or are you usually striving for more – or something different? Explain your answer. 

1. From an investing standpoint, what do you think it means to “be humble”? 

1. Which of the other suggestions makes the most sense to you – and why?

NOTE: If you have a Bible and would like to read more, consider the following passages: Proverbs 11:25, 13:11, 15:16, 22:9; Matthew 6:19-24,33-34; 2 Corinthians 9:6-11

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