Proverbs 16:7 “When the LORD takes pleasure in anyone’s way, he causes their enemies to make peace with them.”
One biblical example of a good reputation is Isaac and a hostile nation that booted him out. Isaac and his family left, and God provided another place to settle. Later, the hostile king came back with a peace treaty based on Isaac’s walk with God.
Principle: If a businessman walks with God, outsiders will recognize and respect him.
Ike Reighard runs HomeBanc Mortgage of Atlanta. Fortune Magazine recognized the company as one the best companies in the U.S. to work for. The employees agree. Reighard opens company meetings with prayer. His company title is the Chief People Officer which is a pretty good indicator of his leadership style. He says he reports to the CEO and Chief Shepherd – God.
The 1300 employees are loyal and stable. Twenty-four percent of them are minorities and fifty three percent are women. The wages at HomeBanc are fair, better than industry averages, and there are 24,000 applicants who would like to work there.
Affiliated organizations and even competitors agree that Reighard is a good man, a Godly man, and the company is a high-integrity business. Clients of all faiths and no-faith give HomeBanc high marks for customer satisfaction and shareholders like their performance as well.
You can integrate your faith into your business leadership role. You can offer prayer and do it with acceptance in a private or a public company. It is best if you do it from the beginning, and start gradually with an attitude of grace and clear communication.
Discussion:
1. Are you comfortable opening a business meeting with prayer?
2. Are you comfortable opening a business meeting with Scripture reading?
3. Why or why not? Is it a legal question, time available, fear of retribution, reluctance to impose your faith, uncertainty of how to do that, other?
