Very soon it will be a year that I’ve been “wearing 60” and, in retrospect, it’s been like another adolescence. I’m amazed that it’s taken me this long to “come of age” and thankful for the people and experiences that have brought me to this place.
Letting Go Is A Process
Funerals are always times I reflect on life, particularly the time that has flown by. Eulogies are told and memories of days-gone-by with lifelong family and friends run through my mind. It’s a time when I realize the inescapable finiteness of my human existence. I’m in one of those “seasons of funerals” that tend to come, more often, as I grow older. Besides the corpus in the casket, many of the mourners are aging and/or terminally ill or have someone dear to them in those situations. The reality of mortality weighs heavy in the church. I believe it’s how God prepares us for our own ending—through the experience of the death of others.
Those are moments when everyone in the room deals with the question: “Do I really believe what I say I believe—that I will be swept into the arms of the Lord when I, too, face that threshold?” It’s difficult to let go of who we know and love even though we believe in the eternal presence of God. The pastor’s role as spiritual leader is to remind us of that truth.
If you pause to think, our lives are filled with moments of dying and grieving, and those experiences train our spirit to accept death and move through it to resurrection. It’s the letting go of the familiar--what we know and love—what we can see and touch—with the assurance of a better outcome.
So, it is with our businesses. What we know and love can be projects, employees, processes, assets, or clients that we well know are beyond their useful life. Yet we protest, we cling to memories of vitality, and refuse to let things go.
In his excellent book, “Necessary Endings,” Dr. Henry Cloud explains that endings are necessary for growth—some things die and some must be “killed.” He distinguishes between real and false hope; false hope is when more effort will not bring about different results.
As a Christian business owner, you are the spiritual leader and steward of the company whose role is to navigate through these decisions of life and death to ensure the legacy of the organization.
At Convene, we help by bringing perspective, wise counsel, and encouragement around those decisions—the decisions that can be so hard to let go, even though we know there’s a better place on the other side.
Lessons From My Father
Some days, my dad and I had a rocky relationship. I remember a conversation he and I had while he was at the top of the stairs in my new home. I was 26, married, good job, college degree in hand and convinced I was a pretty wise young man. We’d just had a major disagreement about how I was not happy with his involvement in writing about whether UFOs existed or not. He loved writing about it. I thought he was wasting his life in useless pursuits. With tears welling up in his eyes, he softly said, “I’ve lost my son! I’ve lost my best friend!” The next morning, driving him to the airport for his trip home, he was still teary. He knew that I was not connected to him deeply and that the issue of his writing had created a giant wall between us.
Giving It All Away…And Getting It All Back Again
Listed among Forbes 100 richest people in America, David Green, founder & CEO of Hobby Lobby, could cling to his money, but he doesn’t. Every year, his company gives 50% of their earnings to charity. That's right: 50 percent! Yet talk to Green today, and you’ll meet a man marked by peace, humility and joy. Green understands that true wealth doesn’t come from what we get, but what we give.
“We are put on this earth to give, to devote ourselves to a radical brand of generosity that changes lives and leaves a legacy.”
– David Green
In his new book, Giving It All Away … And Getting It All Back Again: The Way of Living Generously, Green joins with Bill High in sharing how to leave a lasting legacy. As he began investing in eternal wealth instead of temporary wealth, he found himself giving away more and more of his company’s profits—and being filled with joy in the process. As he gave control over to God, he found peace. This peace sheltered him and his family as they nearly lost their business in the 1980’s and later weathered a 2014 Supreme Court case.
Green also writes about how living generously means leaving a family legacy. Surprisingly, Green’s legacy to his family does not include Hobby Lobby. Find out how Green created a unique legacy plan that included not just financial wealth but also guaranteed passing on to his family what true wealth is made of—a right relationship with God and a rich and lasting heritage.
"This book lays out tested biblical principles for family legacy and wealth management based on real life examples from the Green family. Your business and your family will be the beneficiaries of their strong thinking."
- Greg Leith, CEO of Convene
At Convene, we love cultivating CEOs who model this kind of generosity. Because we have found it to be true that the more you give, the more you become the Christ-like leader God calls you to be. Being a CEO is not about accumulating wealth for oneself, but about giving it to others and showing them where true wealth lies.
You can read a chapter of the book for free by clicking here. David Green's book will surely prepare you to build your own legacy and pass on to your family the things that will last for eternity. Buy your copy today at givingitallawaybook.com.
The Divine Exit Strategy
However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.
Acts 20:24 (NIV)
Where do you plan to take your business? What’s your exit plan? What will be your legacy as a business leader? In other words, how are you going out?
Some of us start businesses with a goal of maintaining an enterprise that can be operated for years to come and passed on to future generations in the family. Others start companies with the ultimate goal of attaining an IPO, selling the business, and moving on to another exciting venture.
A comprehensive exit strategy benefits you as well as your employees, investors, and constituents. It encourages you to give careful consideration to how your business will evolve and grow, and it forces you to establish succession strategies and a timetable for key targets and milestones. The section of your business plan, in which these strategies are outlined, is called the Exit Plan.
I recently had the honor of serving as a keynote speaker for Harvard Business School and one of the principles that I reinforced with their leaders is that it is important to realize that the legacy of your business and your legacy as an individual are inextricably connected.
You may already have an exit strategy for your business, or you might not have given much thought to one - - let alone considered its importance within a spiritual context. Don’t worry. Now is your opportunity to transcend beyond conventional perspectives of simply having an “exit plan” or “exit strategy” to actually establishing a divine exit plan for your life’s work that honors God.
Before we proceed, it’s important that we make the distinction between two commonly intertwined concepts: legacy and inheritance.
Legacy versus Inheritance
I like the way John Maxwell compares and contrasts the concepts of legacy and inheritance in The Maxwell Leadership Bible. He states that anyone can leave an inheritance. An inheritance is something, such as money or material possessions, you leave for your family or loved ones that may bring temporary happiness but fades as it is spent or used. On the contrary, he defines a legacy as something that you leave in your family, such as spiritual values, that permanently transforms them and lives on long after you die.
As Christians, we are called to manifest God’s glory on the earth so that His will is done “on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10; Luke 11:2). We are chosen by God for the High calling of priestly work
(1 Peter 2:9) and called to radically transform the world. For those of us who are planted in the business arena, the commercial marketplace is one of our target domains.
God is not only concerned about you getting into heaven, but He’s also concerned about you getting heaven into the business world. As Christian business leaders, we are to bring heaven to the earth in general and to the business world in particular. So, how do we, as His ambassadors in the workplace and the marketplace, accomplish this?
Following are three (3) principles to support you on your journey of leaving a positive, lasting legacy.
Be a Business World Changer.
Leave a Spiritual Legacy in the Commercial Arena
Realize that your history is actually a part of His Story.
Be a Business World Changer
As business leaders, we often think about the challenging and changing business environment we face, but we seldom think about how we should be challenging and changing the business environment we face in profound ways. Commit to challenging and changing the business world. Don’t let the business world change you in a negative way. Apply your Biblically based convictions to the commercial arena and become a true business world changer.
Don’t just seek to be successful in your profession just to benefit yourself or your family. Seek to benefit and be significant to future generations for the glory and kingdom of God. God told Abraham: “I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing” (Genesis 12:2, NIV). In this way, God’s plan wasn’t just to bless Abraham as an individual, but it was to bless him so that he could also be a blessing to others. Likewise, our blessings are not just for us and our families; they are also for others—our colleagues, employees, customers, clients, suppliers, and other associates.
Leave a Spiritual Legacy in the Commercial Arena
Make sure your pursuit of professional success reflects your spiritual obedience to God and not just your own egocentric desires. We’re not in business just to make money, be happy, and die. Make your business and ultimately your life count. Let them serve as blessings to generations of people who come after you so that they too may know God and walk in purpose. Vow to leave a spiritual legacy in the commercial arena.
The Bible says that David served God’s purpose for his generation and died (Acts 13:36). How are you using your God-given abilities and talents to serve your generation? In what ways are you storing up blessings for future generations? As God’s sons and daughters, we must be committed to leaving positive testimonies and life-enhancing legacies.
Your History is a Part of His Story
Jesus says that just as God sends Him, He, in turn, sends us (John 20:21). This means that our stories become joined with God’s bigger story as we serve as His ambassadors. So, your history is a part of His Story.
The greatest legacy of all is the knowledge of God (Philippians 3:8; Psalm 78:1-8; 3 John 1:4). This knowledge of God blesses others while they are on earth and once they transition from this life. While they are on earth, their relationship with God gives them innate joy! Joy irrelevant of a spouse, house, career, car, tax bracket, and social status. And, their relationship with God offers ultimate salvation and eternal life.
The Bible says that a wise man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children, or his grandchildren (Proverbs 13:22). But, let’s go deeper. I challenge you to think beyond your own family lineage and bloodline. One of the greatest gifts that we as Christian business leaders can give God is a generation of future business leaders who know Him and who understand the importance of connecting their business plans with God’s purpose and plan for their lives. Because, ultimately, we want to hear God declare: “Well done, my good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21-23, NLT).