03

Apr 2018

The Hidden Red Eggs

Posted by / in Albania, Blog, issues of the day / No comments yet

Photo courtesy of: ΙΣΧΣΝΙΚΑ-888 – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26070591

The Hidden Red Eggs

The little girl followed her grandmother into the hidden room. It was like a dungeon concealed in the rocks – a secret room – grandma’s prayer room. The little girl knew she was special – grandma’s favorite. She knew that grandma trusted her to keep the secret. The Secret? That grandma was a Christian who practiced her faith with the risk of being sent to prison or put to death. That was how it was during communism in Albania. Religion wasn’t tolerated.

The communists in the village would look for anyone practicing Christianity and tell the authorities. No one could be trusted. But in the hidden room, Grandma Kaliopi could pray and keep her faith. Most children were not told about the parents or grandparents’ practice of Christianity because they might accidentally slip and tell someone. But grandma trusted Majlinda, her favorite.

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14

Mar 2018

Is Marketing Biblical?

Posted by / in Blog, Business Principles, History, issues of the day, Marketing, Strategies That Bless / No comments yet

Excerpts From our Marketing Workbook

Build it and they will come 

Field of Dreams is a 1989 movie in which a farmer hears a voice saying, “Build it and they will come”. So he plows up his field of corn and builds a baseball diamond. Because this is a movie and not reality, a long-dead baseball hero, Shoeless Joe, turns up and everyone comes to play baseball.

That’s how we often look at building a business. If we have a product, surely everyone will see the need for that product. If I build it, they will come and buy it. So we fire off our baseballs assuming we have a hit but find we aren’t even in the ballpark. We are disappointed.

Christians sometimes have a fundamental biblical issue with marketing because much of the marketing in the world’s business system is pure puffery and lies. Will that diet drink really allow me to lose 15 pounds or KGs in 2 weeks? Will that new car really make me so happy that I will never worry about the payments? Marketing often seems like the devil’s lie, but when I build it, they don’t come. So what do I do?

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25

Feb 2018

From Ordinary Business to Extraordinary Purpose

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From Ordinary Business to Extraordinary Purpose

Our small band of fourteen Singapore business people made their way to the Philippines, not sure what God would do with them, but excited to find out. Having breakfast together at the Singapore Airport we were all a bit nervous. This was the first time for many to speak to other business people about doing business biblically.

I was one of the 14, even though I have moved back to the US. (I love being an honorary Singaporean.) We were all part of Covenant Church in Singapore, moving in faith to see what God could do with ordinary business people sharing His love and the ways of biblical business. Only about 15% of Singaporeans are Christian, but they “punch above their weight” in their influence in the surrounding countries. Much like Antioch in the Bible.

Our Fearless Leader was Matthew Kok, a banker. He’s led this process in Covenant for several years and is gifted in his ability both to organize and to speak clearly about business.

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17

Jan 2018

Mother’s Soup

Posted by / in B4Blessing News, Business Principles, issues of the day, Strategies That Bless, Women in Business / No comments yet

I struggled through the crowds and got off the Hong Kong MTR at Prince Edward Station as instructed. Finding exit C2, I came out to the street and walked the prescribed 50 meters down Prince Edward Street to number 100. There it was! My destination: Mother’s Soup. The automatic door opened and I saw the restaurant was full. No tables available, but my host, Ron Yu, waved me over to the table he had snagged for us. Ron had insisted that I meet him here for lunch. He wanted me to see for myself this special place.

As I sat down, Ron ordered lunch for us. The Mother’s Soup, for which the restaurant was named, turned out to be a good soup without any MSG. Additionally there was a full Chinese menu with great Chinese food. Ron began to tell me what was so special about this place that he wanted me to see it for myself. You see, Monday through Saturday it is a busy restaurant, but on Sunday the restaurant space turns into a church – a church for poor people called “Christ Transcending Poverty Church.”

With a break in the lunch rush, Carmen, the

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23

Dec 2017

Finding Jesus at Christmas!

Posted by / in B4Blessing News, issues of the day / No comments yet

Have you ever found yourself looking for Jesus in the things going on around you? I’ve felt that way several times over the last few weeks. Its Christmas and we should be able to see Jesus in Christmas, right? That’s not so anymore.

I looked for Him in the movie specials that were presented on TV. But they were about getting a dog (Charlie Brown) escaping from Hitler (Sound of Music), being Frozen (Disney), even Grandma getting Run Over by a Reindeer and many more too numerous to mention. Hmmm, how has Christmas become fun family movies, but no mention of Jesus.

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