All Business

There's an image some people get when they hear the word "businessman."

For some it's negative. That they put profits ahead of people. They're "all business." It's all they think about, talk about, breathe.

Or when a particularly tough deal is made, with not all parties pleased with the end result, there's the worn expression, "business is business." And finally there's the cliché that goes "business as usual," and everyone knows what is meant.

Then there's the Christian Business Men's Connection. For the past two years I've been a part of this group in the Capital Region of New York. As a former business editor and reporter for a local business paper, I am very familiar with the movers and shakers in the region. After attending the first breakfast, a few things struck me: These were some of the most well-respected, well-regarded and well-known businessmen in the region.

They led tech companies, construction companies, service companies and the like. They were certainly "all business," in the sense that they were serious businessmen who knew how to grow and sustain companies. But with a twist. People mattered to them because people are made in the image of God. During table conversations or from the podium, they made more references to prophets rather than profits. See, there was nothing "usual" about these businessmen.

I've been to many of these events since. I've seen men share openly about their faith journeys. Some heart-wrenching stuff. Terrible upbringings that God has redeemed. Hard lessons learned from poor choices. They've shared how they've laid things on the line only to see God work wonders. They've shared how they have not "arrived" yet, with God still working through them to be better husbands, fathers and businessmen. These men have shed tears. They've poked fun at themselves and maybe a few in the audience, 'cause that's what guys do.

But at the heart of it all is this very real sense that God can change hearts, because he did it with each of our speakers. And if He could do it for them, He can do it for anyone. It's why it is easy to bring non-Christians to these quarterly events. It isn't preachy. But every story will be about Jesus. A testimony is a powerful thing that no one can take from you. No one.

At the end of the day, perhaps the best expression to describe these men are the words

Jesus said when His parents were looking for Him as a boy and He was located in His

Father's house: "Knew you not that I must be about my Father's business?" And so it is with the men at CBMC: they feel an immense urgency to be about their Father's business.

Rick D'Errico
Transfinder, PR Director
April 2016

Click here for the PDF: