Should Christians Invest in Just Any Company?

What is Biblical-Moral Responsible Investing or BRI?

This is the effort of using a “Moral Screen” to screen out any company that either supports or gains from immoral activity.

Are you concerned about the moral decline In our culture? Would you allow yourself to be involved in such items? You may be funding them with your invested portfolio.

You may own stock in a fund or company that supports or gains from exactly what you stand against and/or teach others against because it is immoral. If they knew, what would your family, friends, or followers say?

Deuteronomy 23:18, Romans chapters 13-14, I Timothy 5:22

What is in your IRA, ROTH, 403b, mutual fund, variable annuity, 401k? Sadly most denominational funds are NOT clean. Stewardship involves so much more than just spending money with some discretion then giving an offering to the local church.

What is FAITH-BASED BIBLICAL RESPONSIBLE INVESTING?

God expects us to use the resources He gives us to best carry out our responsibilities. I Corinthians 4:2, “Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.”

It’s time we rethink our perspective on money and possessions. We want to use what God has to say. I have found in my own experience that many American families are within a few short weeks of bankruptcy conditions. On one end of the spectrum families do not save money. On the other end of the financial spectrum many tend to hoard assets as we see in Luke 12:18-21.

Another part to the answer is that most of us have personal convictions and morals. Often times we are outspoken about them. However, when it comes to taking the monies that we have been blessed with, we do not look to see if we are a partner with a company that either supports or gains from immoral items. We may own stock in a company that either supports or gains from exactly what we teach others against because it is immoral.

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Pastors and Workplace Ministers, Now Hear Me! Thus says the Lord!

This is a local message written by one of our ministry partners in Florida. Its message is worldwide in meaning. Pastors and business owners need to link arms and listen to each other. Great wisdom can be shared and learned, he who has ears hear! Paul

A MESSAGE TO THE “BODY OF CHRIST”

To all Christians who are working in the marketplace I ask these questions –

Whom are you aligned with? Real Christians or unbelievers?

What Marketplace Group do you meet with regularly for encouragement and inspiration?

Are you a blessing to other Christians in the marketplace by doing business with them? By praying for them? By recommending them? Do you even know what the family next to you in church does for a living?

We are so divided, it is a JOKE! The people of the world, the unbelievers and the unchurched laugh at us. Then we fight on FB about doctrines we disagree on & sometimes ignore the doctrines where we agree! And the unbelievers only remember the ridiculous disagreements & arguments we have with each other. Unity of the believer? Listen to what Jesus prayed for – John 17:20-21 – 20 “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will[e] believe in Me through their word; 21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. It’s very clear. Is it possible that the world may not believe that God the Father sent Jesus? Surely the unity of the believer is not that important? Father help us!!

We call ourselves marketplace ministers but, do you pray for your customers? And I don’t just mean when you are alone in your car, but when you are with them, to bless and minister to them? Or are you ashamed of your faith, afraid to speak the truth? Or are you afraid God won’t answer your prayers and you will be embarrassed? Have you lost your “first love”? Where is your “Holy Boldness”?

God help us, the Body of Christ, the “Church”. We have allowed unbelievers to take over “Our” culture, our cities, our counties, our state, our nation, our schools, our justice system, our courts, our seats of government, federal, state & local agencies on every level and we say “ How evil everything has become”.

“I wish God would just Beam me up”!

We are standing here at the beginning of what “I believe” is the greatest opportunity in our lives to see a real turnaround in our culture. And we can be a part of it — not if we are “Beamed Up” but if we are “Beaming” from ear to ear with the awesome things God is doing in our midst!

It’s time to bring the Body of Christ together in every way possible. We have left it up to the Pastors and they are trying; but it’s not just up to them.

We see many of our brothers and sisters working in the marketplace that we feel should be aligned with and connecting with us but just haven’t for their own reasons. Maybe they are looking for groups that provide many business leads for them so they can grow their own businesses. I understand that, but don’t join with them to the exclusion of your brothers & sisters in Christ.

I must tell you, there is nothing better than to help others meet their goals by praying for them, encouraging them, doing business with them and seeing the result —SUCCESS! And who better to do that for than another Christian!

Let’s face it, if you help a nonbeliever become financially successful, what Kingdom would they be supporting. They are either supporting the Kingdom of God or a different Kingdom, maybe even the Kingdom of darkness. Is that what you want? “Will they be praying for the customers you refer to them? You think? Will they be sharing the gospel with anyone? Will they be praying for the sick to be healed?

Let’s be real. That is not going to happen.

Some would say, well I don’t want to discriminate. I want to give my leads and my business to unbelievers as much as believers. Really? That’s NOT scriptural! God says in Galatians 6:9 -11 ; And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.” What part of “especially” do we not understand? We can still do good to all, but prefer our brothers & sisters in Christ. Or you can just consider that verse a suggestion?

Find a Christian business networking group that you can be part of if you want to be part of that unity. If you don’t know of a good group full of Bible believing, tithing believers who are members of part of a fellowship that they are accountable to and support regularly then check us out.

At Integrity Business Referrals, we are doing the little bit we can to create unity in the Body. Our group consists of business people, ministry leaders and pastors coming together from over 30 churches to help each other in every way possible to

“BRING IN THE HARVEST” MONEY AND SOULS!! We are in unity so that the world will know that the Father sent Jesus!

Call us. IBR – 863-521-3360. Go to our website www.IBR77.com , see us on FB – Integrity Business Referrals or come to one of our meetings. Find out the benefits of unity of the believer in the marketplace & get really connected to what God is doing in our midst!

2018 – ALL NEW BEGINNINGS! GOD IS ON THE MOVE!

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How to Build Your Own Blog

So, you have some experience with blogging, or else you wouldn’t be reading this post! But do you have your OWN blog? Do you realize that it’s a quick and simple process to set one up? Not to mention the benefits it will have for your church, school or nonproft organization!

Perhaps you don’t see the need to have a blog, and it might not have been a big deal a few years ago. But now, when you are looking for information, do you go to the local library and do some research, or do you plug into whatever device is near you and “Google” it?

Your website might provide the information people who need you are looking for…but it might not. Lee Gientke is the managing partner of Webmix Marketing, a marketing agency that helps small and medium-sized businesses stand out from the crowd. He is a noted online marketing speaker and lead generation specialist. Gientke comments, “Unlike the rest of your website, your blog should be continually changing and updated with new information. This creates an opportunity for you to demonstrate your expertise…and the good news is that you can do this, and you don’t need to be a ‘tech guy’ to be successful. If you commit to your blog, your business will grow.”

So here are a few tips:

1. Use a blog template site, like www.blogger.com or www.wordpress.com. You’ll be up and running in no time with hardly any out-the-door maintenance and NO cost!

2. If you’re not exciting about your writing skills, create a video blog, or a photo blog.

3. If you don’t have an actual direction to take the blog, take a moment, sit down and list all the questions people have asked you about your church, school or noprofit organization. Try to get to 26. Follow this with negative comparisons about what you’re offering. (Is X better than Y? Common complaints about Z?) Again, try to get to 26 – and you now have 52 topics for your blogs, one for each week of the year. Easy!

4. If nothing else, do make sure your blog posts are transparent and honest.

5. Be patient. You may not see lots of traffic to your blog overnight, but it will happen eventually. Don’t give up!

6. As always when working on the world wide web, make sure you use safe practices. If you want to be protected to the highest degree, don’t hesitate to contact us for information on a Cyber Liability/Data Breach insurance policy to meet your needs!

Information taken from www.propertycasualty360.com

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What Could Go Wrong?

1. Let’s say you decide to finish the evening of your Fall Festival in grand style with a lovely fireworks display…only it was a bit more windy that evening than was planned for, and some of the fireworks were inadvertently blown into some dry grass and a fire breaks out. The windy conditions fan the flame and your neighbor’s property is damaged. The call to your insurance agent to file the claim goes a little like this: “Fireworks? Real fireworks? They started a fire? Did you notify us about the fireworks? Now that’s a whole different ball game…” Uh oh.

2. Perhaps your men’s ministry plans a skeet shoot to raise money for beautification of the church grounds…and you have a LOT of grounds, so no one bothers to think anything of heading out to the back acreage with all the manpower and firepower they can muster. Only there’s one amateur in the group, who also happens to have a faulty shotgun. Bad combination. Before you know it you have three injured men, one of whom is a guest who proceeds to make a call to an attorney. You immediately think that the church insurance certainly covers this. When you call your agent, he stutters, “Three people wounded at a skeet shoot? That’s a new one…why didn’t you call me before the event? ”

3. Here’s a good one: your very active Senior Adults decide to have some fun and take a hot air balloon ride! After a wonderful time, on the downward descent, the basket bumps against a group of trees, then makes a rather rough landing, jarring those inside. Your oldest church member has trouble getting out of the basket because the hard landing has actually fractured her fragile hip. You have a sinking feeling that your property insurance can do no good in this situation. You think surely your liability coverage will pick this up since the group was away from church grounds. You call your insurance agent, who can’t believe he wasn’t informed of this risky business beforehand. Not good.

Wonderful ideas for special activities seem to be quite abundant, especially when the weather begins to turn crisp and clear! As you plan for your holiday events and fundraisers, ask yourself this question: is this function we are planning out-of-the-ordinary? If you have even the slightest inclination that it IS, take a few moments to notify your insurance agent! Here’s why…


Each of the above examples might be covered in your church insurance policy. The real issue is that you don’t want to find out they are NOT after there has been a claim. Bottom line is, it takes just a few moments to pick up the phone or send an email to your insurance agent, give a brief description of your “high adventure” plans, and ask for their insight and recommendations. You’ll feel better, knowing that all your bases are covered and those involved in your activities will be better protected.

There’s no need to shy away form adventurous activities, however, it’s a great time to develop trust and practice good communication with your agent! After all, they have your best interest at heart.

This article provided to you by Strong Tower Insurance, Inc. Strong Tower Insurance is pleased to partner with All Pro Pastors in support of pastors and their congregations by offering a variety of insurance solutions to protect the mission of the church!

 

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HOW TO INCREASE TITHES & OFFERINGS Without Passing the Plate Agaiiiiinnn?

 

Have you considered asking your congregation to support Christian businesses in your church or in your neighborhood?  And should you ???

 

Some Pastors and Christians, in general act as though doing business with other Christians is somehow not that important.  That may be why we don’t see many business directories in churches.  (Synagogues have them, wonder why?) Some think that being a “good steward” of God’s money is just getting the cheapest price.  Nothing could be further from the truth.

 

SPENDING MONEY IN GOD’S KINGDOM – As we spend God’s money (and it’s all His) it will go into a business person’s bank account to be spent as he or she sees fit.  A Christian who is a giver will, after tithes and offerings, spend this money to purchase goods and services from other Christian businesses who in turn will spend their income with even more Christian businesses, etc., etc., etc..   This activity will keep as much as possible in the Kingdom of God.  Plus the added benefit is — that true Christian businessmen/women will look for opportunities to minister & pray for their customers, even leading some to the Lord. These business people will go into places where Pastors may never be invited.  They are evangelists for the church!

 

SPENDING MONEY IN THE WORLD – The other option is to not have any knowledge or concern and just spend the money without investigating where it may go next.  An unbeliever will not be tithing or giving into your church or into the Kingdom of God. He or she will be giving into the Kingdom of Darkness and what I call the “Black Hole of Unrighteousness”.  Spending money in this way will be circulated most likely into the wrong place, thereby building & multiplying the wrong Kingdom!!

Will the unbeliever be praying for any of their customers?

Will they be proclaiming the gospel?  

Will they be inviting them to your church or any church for that matter?

I don’t think so !!!!

 

You might say – “well if I only spend money with Christian businesses wouldn’t that be discrimination against non-Christians?  Sounds wrong, doesn’t it!  But look at what the word of God says –

“So then, while we [as individual believers] have the opportunity, let us do good to all people [not only being helpful, but also doing that which promotes their spiritual well-being], and especially (be a blessing) to those of the household of faith(”born again believers”) Galatians 6:10 AMP.

If, however, God does tell you to spend His money with an unbeliever, then you are free to do so.  It may be an opportunity to witness. But in other situations, all things being equal spend it with a believer.  

 

The next question for the Pastor might be “Should I be recommending businesses to my congregation?  What if a business I recommend does something wrong?  I don’t want the blowback!”  Pastors, don’t operate out of “fear” that something will go wrong.  Fear can cripple you, your church and the Kingdom from growth.  We must do all we can to promote & build the Kingdom of God.  

 

Now I’m not saying to promote businesses where the owner doesn’t give to your church or into the Kingdom of God.  This needs to be verified. A Christian business person that doesn’t tithe or give generously needs some serious counseling. At IBR we teach & verify (when necessary) giving so that our customers can be confident that when they hire one of our businesses God’s money will go back into His Kingdom.

 

You need to know who the businesses are in your churches and in the community that are true believers and supporters of the Kingdom of God.  You know people are going to ask you to recommend someone.  They probably already have!  If you don’t know, then your congregation will be relying on the yellow pages, the internet or maybe their unsaved friends to tell them.  

There goes God’s money down that Black Hole again.  I know you don’t want that!  

 

Get to know those Christian businesses in your own church and in the community.

Visit their businesses.  Offer to pray for them.  Encourage them.  Businessmen & women need to know you care.

 

We recently asked this question in one of our “IBR” business networking meetings –  “how many of you have ever had your Pastor visit your business and pray for it”.  Out of 25 people in attendance, “One hand went up.”  Pastor, your business people need you.  We all need you.  Get out, just go love on them.  The results just might amaze you.   If they prosper, your church will prosper!  That is just the way it works.

 

“Now also we beseech you, brethren, get to know those who labor among you (recognize them for what they are, acknowledge and appreciate and respect them all –your leaders who are over you in the Lord and those who warn and kindly reprove and exhort you). (Yes these could be business people)  I Thessalonians 5:11-13 AMPC

 

If you need help in identifying the Christian businesses in your area and there is an “Integrity Business Referrals” or other good Christian Business group nearby, call them.  IBR members are already vetted.  They have to be “born again”, givers in their churches & operate a business with integrity.  If customers have a problem they can call IBR or the group that referred the business.  We are committed to excellence and making things right even if it costs us.

 

Father, I pray in the mighty name of Jesus that every Pastor that reads this, if he/she hasn’t already done so, will get out into the community especially to visit their own business people and bless them, speak into their lives and pray for them.  The results will be phenomenal!  

AMEN!

 

King David needed his pastor (prophet) for vision & instruction

His pastor(prophet) needed David for provision & protection .

 

We are in this together!       

 

Lew Frye, Founder

Integrity Business Referrals, Inc.

7922 Sioux Ln.

Lakeland, Fl 33810

863-521-3360   intbusref@gmail.com   www.ibr77.com

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Operating in Social Media Denial

Is your organization suffering from social media denial?

Despite 60 percent of Americans using some form of social media, according to the Pew Research Center, the prevailing belief by businesses is that social media is a fad, a phenomenon, just another version of the Internet.

In fact, 72 percent of businesses don’t even have a clear strategy or goals for social media activities, according to study by the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM).

Darla Moore School of Business researcher Rob Ployhart is working to change that. The management professor is conducting some of the first studies on social media and its use as a business strategy. To help executives struggling with the issue now, Ployhart provided guidance in a report released late October by SHRM.

“There is a lot of hype that goes along with technology,” Ployhart says. “After doing this review, I’m convinced that social media is radically different and that existing theories about communications can’t be applied the same way. It puts incredible power in the hands of employees and customers. One person sharing on social media is more powerful than 50 or more people saying it.”

Ployhart says one of the main reasons businesses haven’t pursued a social media strategy is the lack of data tied to return on investment.

“Usually people think about social media from the employee issue part of it – for disciplinary, firing and hiring – by establishing social media policies for what employees can and can’t do. They’re not looking at it from ‘how can I use this to drive results for my business?’” Says Ployhart, the Band of America Professor of Business Administration in the University of South Carolina’s Moore School.

He says a social media strategy for an organization must be supported by a set of company-wide policies that then are implemented as necessary throughout each department.

“In today’s world, we are all interconnected. Companies that are thinking about this proactively are the ones that are probably going to have an advantage in leveraging this technology,” Ployhart says. “I’d be surprised if the first few companies that get in there don’t have a lasting competitive advantage.”

“Many employees are reaching retirement age. So, how do we push knowledge down to younger employees?” he says.

“Social media and networking is exactly the way we should start thinking about it, and it is not even on the radar screen for most managers because they themselves are not comfortable with it or use it or see it in that kind of way. What they don’t understand is that the younger generation expects to use it and expects employers to use it, too.”

Information taken from www.insurancejournal.com

If you’d like to contact Strong Tower Insurance, we’d love to hear from you!
1.800.329.0093
www.mystrongtower.com

This blog provided to you by Strong Tower Insurance, Inc. Strong Tower Insurance is pleased to partner with All Pro Pastors in support of pastors and their congregations by offering a variety of insurance solutions to protect the mission of the church!

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Does Your Insurance Require Background Screening?

It would be nice to believe we live in Mayberry, where anyone suspicious is immediately locked up in the city jail, faithfully guarded by the ever-skeptical Barney Fife. Yes…that would be nice. However, the world we live in today is a scary place, and let’s face it – whether your non-profit insurance or church insurance “requires” all volunteers and/or workers to have a background screening or not, it’s always a good idea. Not convinced? Read on…


When it comes to your church or organization hiring a new employee or bringing on volunteers, not only are you looking for the best candidate possible, you’re also looking for someone who will properly represent your best interests. Not only does background screening convey the idea that you are serious about protecting your church or organization, but it also helps to defend your congregation against any accusations of negligence.

Douglas Kubacki, a police Sergeant out of Milwakee has dealt with a plethora of situations arising from the lack of a background screening.

“The congregation should develop a set of guidelines for volunteer screening that list the types of background checks performed for each position,” he commented. “For example, it is very important

to run a personal credit check on someone who will be handling the congregation’s finances. If a

position requires driving, request a motor vehicle record, or for a position that has exclusive

contact with children, consult the sex offender and child abuse registry. It also is wise to conduct

screenings, such as motor vehicle and credit checks on a regular basis.”

According to an article posted online at The Birmingham (AL) News, an agency that conducted 5,000 background checks for 450 churches found serious felonies in 80 cases and more than 600 people – almost 1 in 8 – that had some criminal history that may disqualify them from working at a church. (These statistics do not relate to any geographical or denominational breakdowns whatsoever.)

If your organization or church does not have a background screening process in place, now is the time to instigate one. Follow these steps to get started:

  1.  Locate a background screening company who will work side-by-side with you throughout the process. Some examples are:

www.christianbackgroundchecks.com/strongtowerinsurance.html

Note: This blog provided to you by Strong Tower Insurance, Inc. Strong Tower Insurance is pleased to partner with All Pro Pastors in support of pastors and their congregations by offering a variety of insurance solutions to protect the mission of the church!

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Christian Business Pastors – Organized Churches?

There has been a lot of talk and writings about Businessmen & women in Marketplace Ministry and exactly what it means for the organized church and the body of Christ. During the last 25 -30 years, there have been many good & some great books and articles written about this topic and what it means.  Some have received what I believe is divine revelation, some were filled with just practical information which, of course, could have also been divine revelation. Some great books that come to mind are “Kings & Priests” by David R. High, “The 9 to 5 Window” by Os Hillman, “The Seven Mountain Prophecy” by Johnny Enlow, and the one that most changed me personally – “Secrets of the Kingdom Economy” by Paul Cuny.  And there are many more too numerous to mention.

The teaching from many of these books that impacted me most is “How important Christian Business people are to the body of Christ”.  I had always up to about 10 years ago felt like I wasn’t all that important to the body of Christ.  When you think about it, without businesses making a profit and paying tithes & offerings there would be no or severely limited organized churches or ministries. Some might say, well government workers would be paying tithes & offerings. Without taxes being paid by private businesses, there would be no government workers.  Now I’m obviously talking about a free enterprise economy, which is I pray what we keep in the United States.

    I’m not implying that no other segment (Pastors in particular who we desperately need) of our culture is as important to the body of Christ as businesses, but I am implying that Christian business people are critical to the success of many ministries and as business people we have a great responsibility.  It is clear in Deut. 8:18 that God has given us the power to gain wealth for the purpose of establishing His covenant on the earth. And if He gave us the power then I believe you can conclude that He wants those to whom He has given the power (that would be us!) to be wealthy.  Let’s face it, a poor person is very limited to help anyone financially.  Look at the lives of the Green family who own “Hobby Lobby” & the Cathy family of Chick-fil-A.  These organizations and their founders have inspired Christians everywhere.
God laid it on my heart 9 years ago (in 2008) that it was time to gather together Christians in business to network, encourage each other, do business with each other, pray for each other, recommend each other and to learn what God’s word has to say about business, wealth & their effect on the Kingdom of God.

I wanted every connected Christian business person to commit to “BRING IN THE HARVEST – MONEY AND SOULS.”  Today our organization “Integrity Business Referrals” has about 40 members from 29 different churches.  We meet twice per month in Lakeland and Plant City, Florida.  All of our members have space available on our website, a listing in our printed directory and can, if possible, attend our networking meetings. Because of our website IBR77.COM and our Facebook page, we receive phone calls and emails from all over the country mostly from Christian consumers looking for believers to do business with.  We do not accept just anyone as a member, who has the money & professes to be a Christian.  We actually spend time with them & talk with their Pastors if needed.  The applicants give us written permission to do just that.

One of the great benefits of a group like ours, to Pastors, is that it relieves him or her from having to recommend a business to someone in their congregation only to find out later that there was a problem. We do the vetting for them.  We require that any member must be a born again believer in Jesus Christ and be a regular supporter of a church, home church, missionary group or other Christian fellowship that he/she is accountable to.  We ask Pastors to allow us to place copies of our directory in their church foyers or reception areas so their members would know whom to call when they needed help. If businesses in the pastor’s church are also listed, then many other churches will also have their contact information.  “This is a KINGDOM DIRECTORY”

There are many reasons why Christians should do business with other Christians. Pastors need to know this & be confident of it.  So much so that they know that their recommendation of our members or any other Christian business person will be a blessing to their congregant members and to the kingdom of God.  We are looking for Kingdom Minded Pastors & ministry leaders to partner with.  It’s time to grow the kingdom NOW!

In a future article, I will present & discuss the reasons from the Word of God and dispel the myths & excuses of Christians doing business or not doing business with each other.  Also in future articles, answer the question “ where does the ministry part come in?” And the Circle of Blessing – VERY POWERFUL!

God wants us to bless each other & to keep it in the Kingdom!

A REAL FAMILY BUSINESS!

Lew Frye, Founder

Integrity Business Referrals, Inc.

7922 Sioux Ln.

Lakeland, Fl 33810

863-521-3360   intbusref@gmail.com   IBR77.COM

 

& Kingdom principles in the marketplace.  You can find out more at www.IBR77.com or email Lew at intbusref@gmail.com

 

 

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