Martin Upton on Building a Faith-Based Business
Martin Upton was one of my favorite speakers since he discussed about business and God. For a long time, I have wanted to start my own business but the nature of today’s business world encourages one to be deceptive and manipulative in order to make a profit. Upton negated all this by explaining that it is possible to build a profitable business while still holding your faith in God.
The solution lies in staying true to God and building your business accordingly (Martin Upton). Your business should incorporate God’s love and should offer it to your clients. It should be a reflection of you and your belief in God’s love. Besides being Christian oriented, your business should give value to your clients.
Next was Peter King, his teaching was more about your role as an individual in fulfilling your personal vision while being beneficial to the community (Peter King). I truly believe that I am a better person now after understanding how I can change my reality now and achieve the vision that I want for myself.
Michael Oon’s presentation was inspiring. His change of lifestyle and how he met God was a real testimony on facing fears. He clearly indicated that God is found in the wilderness. Our lifestyle of comfort ability may make us forget that we need God. His explanation as to why the Israelites wandered the wilderness for 40 years clearly elaborates that we need to be patient for the will of God to manifest in our lives (Michael Oon). He was a good speaker full of emotions.
Phil Cave was all about business and how to succeed. He reiterated why in business the people are the key assets (Phil Cave). They are the engine block that make the car run. Persistence was one of the pillars that differentiate successful business people and failures. Persistence to pursue customer’s needs and wants to the fullest would enable your business thrive. Communication was also a key part of a successful business creation. Ability to converse with your client may allow you to fulfil their need.
Last but not least was Kara Martin’s presentation. She was all about establishing a business that was in line with Christian perspectives. She was strong and confident which was inspiring (Kara Martin). I resonated with her teachings and understood her perspective on trusting God.
Martin discussed about adversity and how to deal with it. In our day to day lives, we will always encounter situations that my make us question God’s plan for us. Just like Job, we should understand that God’s plan for us is greater and God always has good plans for us despite the shortcomings we encounter. And so we should face adversity with courage and belief that God will get us through it and understand that it is through adversity that our strength is renewed in our Father who is in heaven.
Martin’s teachings was about living life to the fullest in Christ. The end goal is not to achieve worldly goals but to live a fulfilling life which would be a testament to other people that God is working in you. Your life should be a reflection of God’s work and it should count in the ages of time.
Peter King on Pursuing Personal Vision
Peter discussed about achieving vision. The steps I need to take are pretty simple and straightforward but I need discipline to achieve my vision. First, I have to clearly determine what my vision is. This will incorporate what I want for my future, what are my strengths and how my vision can be helpful to my community and the general world.
Second, I need to truthfully examine my current reality. Why I am in the current situation that I am in. What is hindering me from achieving my vision and making it my reality (Peter King). The steps that I can take to get from my current reality and live my vision. What I am doing wrong and what I am doing right. This step involves me being realistic about my current situation and how I can change it and start working towards my goal.
Third, I need to formulate a plan on how I am going to get from my current reality to my vision. I need to establish what needs to be done to start achieving my vision. I must clearly differentiate my short term goals and my long term goals and see how the short term ones fit into the bigger picture (Seelos and Mair 2005). Then, I have to formulate a strategy that will enable me achieve my vision. Following the plan would enable me from deviating and taking the easier route.
All planning would be a chase of the wind if I do not implement the formulated strategy. Implementation would be a step by step process which would convert my vision from a concept to a reality. The process would be difficult and cumbersome but following the plan would be the shortest path for me to achieve my vision.
Finally, reviewing of my progress would a crucial part in achieving my vision. A perfect plan never exists hence deviation of the plan with the vision may occur. Reviewing will enable me adjust my plan accordingly to keep it in track to achieve my vision. Review of my implementation will also make me account for internal and external factors that were unprecedented when formulating the plan (Leyh 2012). Necessary adjustments of the plan would incorporate the uncontrollable factors.
Peter King also highlighted on pillars that were prerequisites for growth in a country. The pillars are education, economic development and community values (Peter King). Education is clearly a prerequisite for national growth as Nelson Mandela said, “education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” An educated population is an enlightened population. From fighting corruption to being less manipulated, education plays a key role in growth of a country.
Economic development is another prerequisite for country growth. Economic development empowers the population to be financially independent and avoid reliance on government funding or aid. This would make the population less vulnerable to manipulation from the government and enable them speak up against corruption. Economical development also improves living standards of the population which may enable them pursue other goals rather than self-sustainability (Bay, McKeage, and McKeage 2010).
Cultural value is the other prerequisite for country growth. The strength of the country is dependent on application of morality by its people. Blurriness of the line between good and wrong may leave a nation vulnerable to anarchy. Cultural values stimulate greater responsibility in individuals and their role in keeping the society rational. Good cultural values can be the cornerstone of a mature democracy.
Attending the missional conference was a great eye opener for me. Apart from understanding myself, I understood the role that I needed to play as an individual in creating a better world. The greatest lesson that I learned during the conference was that as an individual, I was the greatest hindrance in achieving my vision.
All in all, the speaker’s had good lessons on how to run a successful business while remaining true to God. They all explained why it is possible to run a successful business by adhering to simple principles that would make you disciplined. The event was an eye opener and I am confident that I can successfully establish a thriving business.
References
Bay, D., McKeage, K. and McKeage, J., 2010. An historical perspective on the interplay of Christian thought and business ethics. Business & Society, 49(4), pp.652-676.
Franke, N. and Lüthje, C., 2004. Entrepreneurial intentions of business students—A benchmarking study. International Journal of Innovation and Technology Management, 1(03), pp.269-288.
Kara Martin. Missional Conference, Christian Heritage College.
Leyh, C., 2012. Critical success factors for ERP system implementation projects: A literature review. Advances in Enterprise Information Systems II, pp.45-56.
Martin Upton “Can I live a Christ calling in business” Missional Conference. Christian Heritage College.
Peter King “Three Pillars of Transformational Development that is a prerequisite for growth in a country/society.” Missional Conference. Rwandan Community and Christian Heritage College.
Peter King “Turning your vision into reality.” Missional Conference. Rwandan Community and Christian Heritage College.
Peter King “Vision Made Practical File.” Missional Conference. Rwandan Community and Christian Heritage College.
Phil Cave. “Business and Life” Missional Conference, Christian Heritage College.
Seelos, C. and Mair, J., 2005. Social entrepreneurship: Creating new business models to serve the poor. Business horizons, 48(3), pp.241-246.
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