Recently, a pastor asked me a sincere and powerful question:
“What can I do to launch the business men and women in our church into their full potential?”
Although I’ve spent the last ten years deeply invested in this question—as an entrepreneur, investor, consultant, and pastor—I was still struck by the weight of it. Maybe there really are pastors who want to know, I thought. I promised him I would answer. And this blog is the beginning of that promise.
A Calling I Didn’t Choose
Let me give you a bit of backstory.
During my university years, while studying at several institutions across different countries, I had a radical encounter with Jesus. I was ready to quit everything and go to Bible school, but every door I knocked on stayed shut. So I kept moving forward in my career. I enjoyed success in the corporate world and as an entrepreneur.
Then, one day, my pastor told me he was returning to the U.S. and believed God wanted me to lead the church.
This man had poured years of his life into serving our nation. He had mentored me, discipled me, married my wife and me, and modeled integrity and love. How could I say no? If I declined, would all his labor have been in vain? So I didn’t say no… but I never really said yes either. To be honest, of course my ego was flattered, so that must have contributed to the decision as well.
Looking back, I can see a pattern. My father, with the best of intentions, had made nearly every major life decision for me. He decided what I would study and even enrolled me at a different university than the one I had chosen—without telling me. His control became my subconscious template. So when my pastor made that life-defining suggestion, I surrendered to it. I assumed it must be God’s will.
Out of Alignment
For years, I never questioned the path I was on. But over time, I began to notice something: whenever I did anything entrepreneurial, life came back into my soul. I felt flow, energy, creativity.
Still, I stayed in ministry—because that’s what I believed obedience looked like.
Eventually, the cracks became impossible to ignore. I was burnt out, emotionally exhausted, financially strained, and deeply misaligned with how I was created. My body and mind finally forced a reset. We handed over the church to another ministry and walked away from the role I was never supposed to carry.
Please hear me: I am grateful for every one of those years. I learned to love the local church, and I built relationships that I wouldn’t trade for anything. But I also discovered something critical:
I wasn’t trapped in sin or rebellion—I was trapped in a mold I didn’t even know existed.
Not the mold of the world.
Not the mold of religion.
But the mold of church tradition.
Back to Business — And Back to Life
After seven years in full-time ministry and a dramatic shift from abundance to scarcity, I felt God tell me: “It’s time to go back to the business world.”
At first, I carried shame. I felt like I had failed in ministry. But as I began using my neglected gifts again, something in me began to heal. I was functioning in the grace God had actually given me. It wasn’t instant. It took another 17 years—filled with setbacks, painful lessons, and broken dreams—before I truly broke free from the mold.
This story isn’t about being anti-church or pro-business. It’s about discovering the courage to align your life with how God actually wired you, not how tradition expects you to behave.
So, What’s the Key to Releasing Potential?
If we want to launch the people in our churches into their full potential—whether in the marketplace, politics, the arts, or beyond—we must confront and break the mold that has kept them restrained.
Here’s the mold:
The belief that God’s purposes are fulfilled through the local church, and everything else exists to support it.
Wait—don’t check out. I know that’s provocative. But Jesus never said, “I will build my nonprofit religious organization.” He said, “I will build my ekklesia.” And the word “ekklesia” referred to a gathering of people called to influence society—not just a church service.
We have to stop ranking “ministry” as more spiritual or more important than business.
What the Survey Revealed
Let me share a sobering insight.
I once surveyed over 100 Christian business owners who were part of a Kingdom-focused business school. I asked:
“How does your business serve the Kingdom?”
They had three choices:
A. My business is a ministry
B. My business is a platform for ministry
C. My business generates funds for ministry
Over 90% chose option C.
Only a few selected B.
Just one or two believed their business was a ministry.
To check the consistency of their beliefs, I asked another question:
“Why do you believe God wants to bless your business?”
The answers were nearly identical:
- Over 90% answered: So I can fund ministry
- A few said: So I can bless others
- Only one or two answered: Because God loves me
What does this reveal?
Even in Kingdom-minded circles, most believers still see business as less than. Less spiritual. Less sacred. Less significant. Business is tolerated—if it funds “real” ministry.
And that mindset affects how people show up in their companies, how they pray for provision, and how they value their work.
It’s time we break this false hierarchy.
Business Is Not Second-Class
When I was pastoring the church and needed help, I had faith that God would provide. After all, He builds His church.
But in business, when I needed to hire someone, I stressed and strategized as if I were on my own.
Why?
Because deep down, I believed God cared more about the church than the company.
But that’s not biblical.
Jesus said, “Where two or three gather in My name, I am there.” The word He used for church—ekklesia—doesn’t refer to a building or even a Sunday gathering. It means a called-out group of people with influence in society. That could be a house church, a startup, or a global brand led by believers on mission.
So What Should Pastors Do?
We need to rethink our metrics.
Not everyone’s gifts are meant to serve the local church.
Not everyone’s calling fits inside a Sunday service.
We don’t need more control. We need more clarity.
Let’s not create new rules that replace old ones.
The Greek word for law—nomos—literally means “structure or system.”
And systems that don’t serve people will eventually suffocate the very authenticity and creativity that could transform the world.
Final Thought
Here’s one line from my answer to the pastor who asked that powerful question:
“Serving the vision of the local church is beautiful and important—but it should never replace or interfere with someone’s calling to impact the world with their unique gifts.”
Let’s break the mold together.
Let’s raise a generation who know that wherever they are planted—in business, media, government, education, or the arts—they are just as called, just as anointed, and just as vital to God’s Kingdom. The local church can be their home base, a place that will empower, support, refuel, and pray for them. Not a place that uses them to the point that they don’t have anything to give to their first calling, their business.
Such a great inspiring blog!
Now is the time for unlimited.