Search this site

Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much. — Luke 16:10 In a few days, I'll be walking the Camino de Santiago with my father. I walked it last year, but this time I'm doing something differently: I'm carrying my full 30-pound backpack with me for the entire 200-mile journey. That decision has become a metaphor for something God has been putting on my heart in this season of my life. I genuinely believe there may be “more” ahead for me… more growth in my company, more people to lead, more money to steward, more opportunities, and ultimately more responsibility to carry. So leading up to the Camino, I've been writing about one question I'm taking with me: Who do I need to become to faithfully carry whatever God may entrust to me next? Notice the question isn't, “How do I get more?” That's the question entrepreneurs are usually trained to ask. How do I get more clients? How do I increase revenue? How do I grow the team? How do I scale the company? Those aren't bad questions. We're asking plenty of them in the business. But I've become more interested in another question: What if the opportunity grows faster than I do? That's a possibility we don't talk about very much in entrepreneurship. We tend to assume growth is good. More revenue is good. More clients are good. More employees are good. More influence is good. But growth doesn't only multiply what's happening around us. It can magnify what's happening inside us. Growth puts more weight on whatever foundation is already there. It can expose weaknesses, magnify habits, test relationships, increase temptations, and amplify the consequences of our character. Which means that if I'm praying for God to entrust me with more, perhaps one of the most important things He can do is strengthen the man who will have to steward it. Jesus said: Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much. — Luke 16:10 I've often thought about that verse primarily in terms of money, but Jesus' teaching in Luke 16 pushes deeper into faithfulness and stewardship. WHAT AM I DOING WITH WHAT HAS ALREADY BEEN ENTRUSTED TO ME? Before I start imagining what I would do with more, maybe I need to examine how I'm carrying what I already have. I think about this with Virtrify. We're doing around $5 million a year today, and I genuinely believe this company could become two, three, five, maybe even ten times larger than it is now. I love thinking about that possibility. But lately I've been asking myself a harder question: If Virtrify became 10x larger tomorrow, what would that multiplication expose in me? Take money. If God allows me to steward significantly more wealth, I don't simply need a bigger bank account. I need greater wisdom, discipline, generosity, and restraint. More money doesn't automatically create better stewardship. It simply gives me more to steward. The same thing is true of leadership. More employees won't automatically make me a better leader. They'll magnify the consequences of the leader I already am. If I'm controlling today, growth gives me more to control. If I struggle to delegate today, growth gives me more things to hold onto. If I need to be needed today, a larger organization gives my ego an even bigger stage. If I haven't learned to trust other leaders today, another hundred employees won't magically teach me. Multiplication doesn't necessarily fix what's inside us. Sometimes it exposes it. Then there's my family. I can tell myself that I'm working this hard because I'm building something for them, and there is truth in that. But I also have to confront the possibility that I could build an incredible company while failing to become the husband and father God is calling me to be. A ten-times-larger company won't create ten times more of me. I still get one life, one marriage, and one opportunity to father my children through each season of their lives. Success can't replace what I failed to steward while I was pursuing it. And the same examination has to happen spiritually. I've learned that I can operate at a very high level. I can work long hours, solve problems, create, sell, lead, and push through exhaustion. But none of those abilities tell me whether I'm becoming more like Christ. That's a completely different scoreboard. Am I becoming more patient, loving, disciplined, generous, humble, peaceful, obedient, and dependent on God? Because what would it profit me to build a company ten times larger while becoming spiritually smaller? That's not the “more” I want. My physical training has actually helped me understand this. I've done CrossFit for years, and one thing you learn quickly is that you don't prepare for heavier weight by simply wishing someone would put more weight on the bar. You train for it. You strengthen weak areas. You practice movements. You work on technique. You recover. Over time, your body develops the capacity to carry something it couldn't carry before. I'm starting to wonder whether some of what God is doing in my life right now is similar. Maybe the challenges I'm experiencing aren't interruptions on the way to the next season. Maybe they're part of the preparation for it. Learning to lead without having all the answers. Learning to delegate and trust other people. Learning to manage money wisely. Learning to forgive. Learning to become a better husband and father. Learning to confront sin instead of hiding it. Learning to ask for help. Learning to stay connected to God while the business is succeeding, not only when everything is falling apart. Maybe this season isn't simply about growing Virtrify. MAYBE GOD IS GROWING ME WHILE I GROW VIRTRIFY. That changes how I think about preparing for more. I've spent years asking questions about how to get more clients, increase revenue, build a sales organization, improve margins, create new services, and scale the company. Those questions matter. They're part of my responsibility as an entrepreneur. But this season is causing me to ask a different set of questions. What would more expose in me? Where would more money expose poor stewardship? Where would more authority expose ego? Where would more employees expose weaknesses in my leadership? Where would more opportunity expose my inability to say no? Where would more responsibility expose a lack of boundaries? Where would more success tempt me to depend less on God? Where would more business expose neglect at home? Those questions aren't nearly as exciting as dreaming about growth, but they may be more important. Because perhaps God's preparation for more isn't primarily about preparing the opportunity… maybe He's preparing the steward. That's becoming one of the biggest ideas I'm taking with me onto the Camino. When I started asking God to prepare me for more, I don't think I fully understood the weight of that prayer. I'm not simply asking Him to make me more successful. I'm inviting Him to expose me, correct me, discipline me, strengthen me, prune me, teach me, and change me. SO AS I PREPARE TO PUT THAT BACKPACK ON MY SHOULDERS AND START WALKING, THIS IS MY PRAYER: Father, strengthen the man before You expand the mission. Show me the weaknesses that more would magnify and the habits that cannot come with me into the next season. Show me where my character needs to catch up with my ambition. Teach me to steward today's money before asking for tomorrow's. Teach me to lead today's people before asking for more. Teach me to love my family well while building what You've placed in front of me. Teach me to remain dependent on You when things are going well. And if there's something in me that wouldn't faithfully carry the weight of what I'm asking You for, strengthen it now. Because I don't just want the capacity to receive more, I want the character to remain faithful when more arrives. Before You expand what's around me, expand what's happening within me. Before You increase the mission, strengthen the man carrying it. Amen! #PreparingForTheMore

Apart from me you can do nothing. — John 15:5 I'm preparing to walk the Camino de Santiago again, and this year, I'm carrying my backpack. I've been thinking a lot about what it means to become strong enough to carry more, which led me to want to write an entire series, Preparing for the More God Has for Me. Catch Parts 1–3 on the Daily Godpreneur homepage.. As I continue to go deeper, another question has been bothering me: What if my strength is actually part of the problem? I don't mean strength is bad… I mean I've become pretty good at carrying things. Physically, CrossFit has strengthened me since 2010. And owning a business since 2005 has strengthened me entrepreneurially. When there's a problem, I solve it. When revenue needs to come in, I sell. When something needs to be created, I build it. When the company needs direction, I provide it. When there's uncertainty, I make a decision and move. I've been doing this long enough that I've developed a pretty high capacity for pressure…and I know that's a gift from God. HOWEVER, EVERY GIFT HAS A SHADOW SIDE. The danger of becoming really good at carrying things is that eventually you can start believing you're the one carrying everything. That's where strength quietly becomes self-reliance, and I can see places where that's happened in me. Right now, I'm CEO of my company. I'm also still responsible for most of our sales. At the same time, we're building the sales organization that should eventually make the company less dependent on me. That means I'm… ….selling while documenting how I sell. ….leading while building leaders. ….running the company while trying to redesign the company so it doesn't require me to run everything. And somehow, I keep carrying it. Long days. Late nights. Weekends. Problems. Decisions. Pressure. And when you've operated like that long enough, something dangerous can happen: you stop being surprised by how much you're carrying, and you start expecting yourself to carry it. That's why Jesus' words in John 15 hit me differently right now. He doesn't say: “Apart from me you can accomplish a little less.” He says: Apart from me you can do nothing. — John 15:5 That's a difficult verse for a high-capacity entrepreneur, because if I'm being truthful, there are plenty of days where it feels like I can do quite a lot apart from Him. I can make calls. I can close deals. I can solve problems. I can lead meetings. I can develop strategy. I can work sixteen hours. And the results might even look pretty good. SO WHAT DOES JESUS MEAN? John 15 isn't really a productivity lesson. Jesus is describing a vine and its branches. A branch can only produce lasting fruit because it remains connected to the source of its life, and I think that's the distinction I've been wrestling with. I can produce activity without abiding… I can produce revenue without abiding… I can produce ideas without abiding… I can even produce what looks like success without abiding… But I cannot produce the kind of fruit Jesus is talking about apart from Him. That's a much more uncomfortable measurement. Because entrepreneurship tends to measure what's happening around me: revenue, growth, employee count, new clients acquired, new opportunities in the pipeline. But Jesus keeps bringing the measurement back to what's happening inside me. Am I becoming more loving, patient, peaceful, generous, self-controlled, obedient…and more dependent on God? Because it's possible for the company to be getting stronger while the man leading it is becoming spiritually weaker. That's what I DON'T want, especially if there really is “more” ahead. If my company doubles, triples, or grows ten times from where it is today, my natural abilities aren't going to become less dangerous, they'll become more dangerous if they're disconnected from God. More money amplifies something. More influence amplifies something. More authority amplifies something. More opportunity amplifies something. The question is: what will it amplify in me? That's why maybe preparing for more isn't simply about increasing my capacity. Maybe God also needs to expose the places where I've confused capacity with sufficiency. There's a difference between saying: “God has made me strong.” and: “I'm strong enough without God.” The first is stewardship, the second is self-reliance. And the line between them can become surprisingly thin for entrepreneurs. We pray desperately when the business is failing. We seek God when we don't know what to do. We surrender when we've run out of options. But what happens when we're good at what we do? What happens when the business is growing? What happens when we know how to make money? What happens when people look to us for answers? What happens when experience has taught us how to solve most of the problems in front of us? Do we still abide? That's the question I'm carrying into Camino. Because carrying a 30 pound backpack for hundreds of kilometers is going to require strength. I've trained my body for that, but I don't want the lesson of this Camino to be…look how strong I've become. I want it to remind me where my strength comes from. There's a huge difference between being a strong man and being a self-sufficient man. I want to be strong physically, mentally, financially, as a leader, as a husband, as a father, and as a Godpreneur. But I never want my strength to convince me that I've outgrown dependence. In fact, maybe maturity in Christ as an entrepreneur looks like the opposite: the stronger I become, the more aware I become of the Source of that strength. SO MY PRAYER AS I PREPARE FOR CAMINO IS: Father, expose where my strength has become self-reliance. Show me where competence has replaced dependence. Show me where experience has replaced prayer. Show me where working harder has replaced trusting You. Show me where my ability to solve problems has made me forget to seek You. Thank You for making me strong enough to carry what You've entrusted to me, but never let me confuse the strength You've given me with independence from You. If You're preparing me for more, don't just increase my capacity, increase my dependence. Because I don't want the next season of my business life to become a testimony to how much I could carry, I want it to become a testimony to what became possible because I stayed connected to the One carrying me. Amen. #PreparingfortheMore

I've been thinking a lot about preparing for the “more” God has for me in my business. More responsibility. More leadership. More employees. More resources to steward. More of whatever God has for this growth season of my entrepreneurial journey. But I've realized something uncomfortable: God's preparation for more might begin by giving me less. Jesus gives us this strange picture in John 15. “He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” — John 15:2 A branch is producing fruit. It's working. It's healthy. And what does the gardener do? He cuts it. Not because it's failing. Because it's fruitful. That's different from how I naturally think as an entrepreneur. When something works, I want more of it. When I see an opportunity, I want to pursue it. When I have an idea, I want to build it. When someone approaches me about another venture, my entrepreneurial brain immediately starts figuring out how we could make it work. For years, I thought my ability to carry many things was one of my greatest strengths. Multiple businesses. Different ventures. A nonprofit. Godpreneur Academy. My staffing company. Different projects inside each of them. And technically, I could carry a lot of it. But eventually I learned a painful lesson: Just because I have the capacity to carry something doesn't mean I'm called to carry it in this season. One of the hardest examples was a nonprofit I started after my brother passed away. My brother died in 2008. He was 33. I was 28. He was my only brother. We had plans together. Suddenly those plans were gone. A couple of years later, I started a nonprofit connected to that experience. We raised money and took medical students on medical mission trips. I did it for more than a decade. It mattered to me. It meant something. And eventually... I had to let it go. Not because the mission was bad. Not because helping people was wrong. Not because honoring my brother didn't matter anymore. I had to let something good go because I was beginning to understand what season I was in. My staffing company needed me. And every hour I gave somewhere else was an hour I couldn't give to the thing God seemed to be growing right in front of me. I've experienced something similar with Daily Godpreneur. I have a vision for what this could eventually become. I believe there's a future season where I'll spend much more of my life teaching, speaking, coaching, and helping Christian entrepreneurs. I've tried pressing PLAY on that calling before. I've built things around it. And eventually I had to admit: I don't think it's time yet. That was difficult. But something changed when I stopped interpreting waiting as abandoning the calling. Maybe this current season isn't delaying the next one. Maybe it's preparing me for it. Maybe the company I'm building today is producing the stories I'll teach tomorrow. Maybe today's leadership challenges are producing tomorrow's wisdom. Maybe today's mistakes will become tomorrow's lessons. Maybe God isn't saying no. Maybe He's saying: Not yet. Carry this first. That's why I've started thinking differently about “more.” We usually imagine more as addition. More opportunities. More businesses. More revenue. More influence. More responsibility. But before my Camino this year, I'm starting to wonder whether God's pathway toward more might actually involve subtraction. Jesus says the Father prunes fruitful branches so they can become more fruitful. That's the paradox. The branch loses something... and gains capacity. Maybe that's what God is doing with me. And maybe that's what He's doing with some other entrepreneurs reading this. Perhaps the question before the next season isn't: “What else can I add?” Maybe it's: “What needs to be removed?” What responsibility am I carrying because nobody else can do it—or because I don't trust anybody else to do it? What opportunity am I pursuing because God called me to it—or because my ego likes being needed? What project belongs to my future but is stealing energy from my present? What good thing has become the enemy of the thing I'm actually assigned to right now? What am I carrying simply because... I can? As I prepare for Camino, that's becoming part of my prayer. Because this year I'll actually be carrying my backpack. And before you walk hundreds of kilometers carrying everything on your back, you become very interested in one question: Does this really need to come with me? Every unnecessary ounce eventually matters. I'm starting to think the same thing may be true spiritually. I don't just want God to strengthen my back. I want Him to examine my backpack. SO MY PRAYER TODAY IS: Father, prune me before You increase me. Show me the good things I've confused with assigned things. Give me the courage to put down what belongs to another person, another season, or another version of my life. And if You are preparing me for more, don't just increase what I can carry. Teach me what not to carry. Because maybe preparing for more doesn't begin with picking something else up. Maybe it begins with finally putting something down. #PreparingfortheMore

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” — 1 Peter 5:7 I'm preparing to walk the Camino de Santiago again, and this year I'm doing something differently. I'm carrying my backpack. Everything I need will be on my back. And when you're preparing to walk hundreds of kilometers that way, weight suddenly matters. You don't pack something simply because it might be useful. You start asking: Do I really need to carry this? I'm beginning to realize I need to ask the same question about my business life. Because I'm someone who can carry a lot. I'm an entrepreneur, carrying things is almost what we do for a living. When client problems show up, we solve them. If something breaks on the website, we fix it. When someone needs a leadership pep talk, we step in. If there's a BIG opportunity, we pursue it. When there's uncertainty in the marketplace, we make the decision. Over time, we become pretty good at carrying weight. But I've been learning that there's a dangerous assumption hidden inside that strength: If I can carry it, I should carry it. I'm not sure that's true anymore… In fact, I'm beginning to believe one of the most important skills I'll need for the "more" God may have for me is not learning how to carry more, it's learning to recognize what was never mine to carry in the first place. I'VE SEEN THIS IN MY MARRIAGE. For a long time, I've carried this idea that somehow it's my responsibility to change my wife. If I show up differently... If I work harder... If I say the right thing... If I do enough… then maybe I'll receive the response I want from her. And when I don't, I can become frustrated. I can allow her response to determine mine. I've had to learn: Her response isn't mine to carry. Mine is. My responsibility is to become the husband God is calling me to be. I can love. I can serve. I can communicate. I can pursue intimacy. I can examine myself…but I cannot carry responsibility for another person's heart. I'VE HAD TO LEARN THE SAME LESSON IN BUSINESS. When my COO went on sabbatical, there was an enormous leadership vacuum in my company. And because I'm capable of stepping into almost anything, my instinct initially was….”I'll carry that too.” CEO. Head of sales. And now COO. But I've been learning to trust another leader in my company to carry that responsibility. That hasn't merely been delegation, it's been surrender. Because every time I delegate something important, I'm admitting…I don't have to be the person through whom everything gets accomplished. That's harder for entrepreneurs than we like to admit. Sometimes being needed feels good. Sometimes being the person who saves the day becomes part of our identity. Sometimes control disguises itself as responsibility. And sometimes we call something "leadership" when what we're really saying is…I don't trust anyone else to carry this. That's becoming increasingly important for me because I genuinely believe there's more ahead. More people. More responsibility. More leadership. More resources to steward. AND HERE'S THE PARADOX I'M BEGINNING TO SEE: If God gives me more responsibility, I may actually need to personally carry less. I cannot lead a company 10X its current size by simply becoming 10X busier. I cannot respond to growth by adding more hours forever. I was working 16-hour days at one point! Eventually, carrying more requires learning how to share the load. And some things can't even be delegated, they have to be surrendered. There are employees I love whose circumstances I cannot fix. There are financial situations I got myself into that I cannot rewind. There are business decisions I've made whose consequences I can't erase. There are things happening in the businesses of entrepreneurs close to me that I desperately wish I could change. I can pray. I can show up. I can love. I can encourage. I can act where God gives me responsibility. But…eventually I reach the boundary of what belongs to me…and on the other side of that boundary is God. Peter writes: “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” — 1 Peter 5:7 I've read that verse many times, but I'm hearing something different in it right now. God never asked me to be strong enough to carry everything; there are burdens He explicitly tells me to give Him. That's important as I prepare for this Camino because I've been thinking so much about becoming a Godpreneur capable of carrying more. Maybe part of becoming that next-season Godpreneur is developing the humility to say…”this isn't mine.” Not my responsibility. Not my outcome to control. Not my problem to solve. Not my season. Not my assignment. Not my burden. It's God's. There's a big difference between: “Look how much I can carry.” and: “Look what God enables me to carry.” But I'm realizing there's a third statement I need: “Look what I've finally learned to let God carry.” Maybe that's entrepreneurial maturity. Not a stronger and stronger businessman walking around with an increasingly enormous backpack, but a God-first business leader who knows exactly what belongs inside it…and exactly what doesn't! SO THAT'S MY PRAYER AS I PREPARE FOR CAMINO: Father, show me what isn't mine to carry. Show me where responsibility has become control. Show me where leadership has become ego. Show me where concern has become anxiety. Show me where love has turned into trying to change someone. Show me where my ability to carry something has convinced me that I must. Give me the strength to carry what You've entrusted to me, give me the wisdom to share what should be shared, and give me the faith to hand back to You what was Yours all along. Because if You're preparing me for more, I don't just need a stronger back, I need a lighter backpack. #PreparingfortheMore

Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. — Psalm 139:23 I'm about to walk the Camino de Santiago with my father again…but this year I'm carrying my full 30-pound backpack for the 200-mile trek. That backpack has become a metaphor for something I've been praying about before we start. I believe there may be more ahead for me…more responsibility, more leadership, more resources to steward, and more that God may ask me to carry. So I've spent these weeks asking God to prepare me for His more. But as I get closer to leaving, my prayer is becoming simpler: God, empty my backpack. Anyone who has carried a backpack for a long distance knows that you don't pack based on what you could carry, you pack based on what is necessary. Every extra pound eventually matters. I think I've done the opposite in business sometimes. Entrepreneurs are collectors of weight. We collect opportunities, ideas, responsibilities, businesses, projects, expectations, problems, and commitments. And because we're capable of carrying a lot, we can keep adding things without stopping to ask whether they belong there. I've done that. I've carried businesses simply because I could build them. I've carried responsibilities because I knew I could do them well. I've carried things that belonged to other people because stepping in was easier than trusting them. I've even tried to carry outcomes that ultimately belonged to God. And some of those things weren't bad; that's what makes this difficult. Sometimes the heaviest things in our backpack aren't sins or obvious mistakes. They're good things that belonged to another season. Hebrews describes laying aside everything that hinders as we run the race God has marked out for us. Not everything that hinders us is necessarily evil. Sometimes it simply doesn't belong on the journey we're being called to walk now. That's what I want God to show me. I don't want to arrive at the next season carrying yesterday's assignments, someone else's responsibilities, unnecessary expectations, my need for control, or opportunities I was never called to pursue. And I don't want to decide by myself what comes out. That's why Psalm 139 has become such an important prayer: Search me, God. Not, "God, confirm that I've packed correctly." Search me and show me what I can't see. Because maybe I've spent too much of my entrepreneurial life asking God to help me carry the business backpack I've packed instead of giving Him permission to unpack it. So that's how I want to begin this Camino. Not asking God for a bigger backpack, or trying to prove how much weight I can carry, or even assuming I know what more is supposed to look like… …Just opening the bag before Him and saying Father, search me. As I bring this series to an end, all of us entrepreneurs have the opportunity to ask the Lord to search us and search our businesses. WE CAN ALL PRAY Father, show me what belongs in this next season and what doesn't. Show me what I'm carrying because of calling and what I'm carrying because of ego, fear, guilt, habit, or control. Give me the courage to put down good things when their season is over. Give me the wisdom to recognize what You've actually entrusted to me. And if my definition of "more" is different from Yours, change mine. I'm going onto this next season believing You're preparing me for more. But I'm going with open hands. Before You show me what I'm supposed to pick up next, show me what I need to put down. Amen. #PreparingForTheMore

The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone. — Exodus 18:18 I've been preparing for the Camino de Santiago by asking God to prepare me for the “more” He may have for me. Leading up to my trip, I've been writing a series titled “Preparing for the More God has for Me.” In my previous 4 posts, the preparation made me look inward: Prepare me to steward more — not merely receive more. Prune me before You increase me. Show me what isn’t mine to carry. Expose where my strength has become self-reliance. But I'm beginning to realize something. Maybe God doesn't intend to increase my capacity enough to carry everything that's coming. Maybe that's the point. THERE'S A FASCINATING MOMENT IN EXODUS 18. Moses is leading Israel, and people are coming to him from morning until evening to settle their disputes. Moses is doing important work…necessary work… Godly work. There's just one problem: he's doing too much of it himself. His father-in-law Jethro watches what's happening and asks him: “What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge?” Then he tells Moses: “What you are doing is not good.” That's a pretty strong statement. Not because Moses' work wasn't important, but because the way he was carrying it wasn't sustainable. Jethro tells him: The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone. — Exodus 18:18 Then he gives Moses another way…a formula for leaders handling too much: Teach people. Develop leaders. Give responsibility away. Let capable people handle what they can handle. And reserve the leaders’ (Moses') attention for what actually requires the leader (Moses). THAT SOUNDS A LOT LIKE WHAT GOD IS TEACHING ME RIGHT NOW! For years, I've been the rainmaker in my company. Even at the writing of this series, I generate the overwhelming majority of our sales. And that has worked…until you start imagining what happens if the company becomes two, three, five, or 10x larger. I cannot become ten versions of myself. So right now, we're doing something that actually feels heavier before it feels lighter: we're building a sales organization! I'm documenting what I do, we're developing processes, we're building training, we're interviewing, we're teaching, we're mentoring, and we're letting other sales people begin carrying pieces of something I've carried personally for years. And here's what I'm discovering: delegation isn't difficult because handing off tasks is difficult, delegation is difficult because trust is difficult. Will they do it like I do it? Will they care as much as I care? Will they make the right decision? Will they say it the way I would say it? What happens if they make a mistake? And underneath all those questions can be another one: what happens when they discover they don't need me? That's where delegation becomes spiritual. Because if I'm honest, there's a part of entrepreneurship that loves being necessary. We say we want the freedom entrepreneurship offers…but then we build companies where everything flows through us. We say we want leaders, but then we correct them every time they don't lead exactly like us. We say we want people to “take ownership”, but we don't actually give them enough authority to own anything. Then we wonder why we're exhausted, working 16 hour days and weekends! Maybe sometimes we're not overwhelmed because God has given us too much, maybe we're overwhelmed because we're carrying what God intended other people to carry with us. I've had to confront that in several areas of my company. When my COO went on sabbatical, I felt like I needed to absorb a lot of his role. Instead, I've had to trust another leader to step into the integrator role. I've delegated branding, even though I did branding for 20 years. I've delegated marketing, even though I could do it with my eyes closed. Now I'm working to delegate more of sales. Even the process of building our sales academy isn't something I'm carrying alone. And every one of those decisions requires me to release something… …control. …being needed. …having the final say on every detail. …the comfort of knowing that if I do it myself, it will probably be done the way I want it done. HOWEVER, NOW I'M BEGINNING TO SEE DELEGATION DIFFERENTLY. Delegation can be an act of faith. Because when I release something to another person, I'm acknowledging: I am not the only person God can use to accomplish this mission. That's humbling. The vision may have been given to me, but that doesn't mean every responsibility inside the vision was given to me. In fact, if the vision is truly bigger than me, I should probably expect that God will send other people to carry parts of it…people with different gifts, different strengths, different perspectives, and different capacities. Maybe the “more” God has for me isn't something He's asking me to become strong enough to carry alone, maybe He's preparing us for more. THAT'S CHANGING HOW I THINK ABOUT LEADERSHIP. The goal isn't to become the strongest person in the organization, the goal is to build an organization full of strong people…sales people I teach, operators I trust, leaders I develop, vendors I empower, and colleagues who eventually become better than me at the responsibilities I've handed them. And yes, sometimes they're going to make mistakes…but so have I. Sometimes they'll make decisions differently, and I'll have to resist jumping back in. Sometimes trusting another carrier will feel riskier than simply putting the weight back on my own shoulders, but if I take everything back every time carrying gets uncomfortable, I'll never actually develop other carriers. And I'll eventually become the limitation of the very thing I'm praying God will increase. That's the part that hits me. I don't want to pray for multiplication while insisting that everything still depends on me. If God expands what He's entrusted to me, then my leadership has to expand too. Not by doing more, but by developing more people who can carry more. THAT'S WHY MY PRAYER AS I PREPARE FOR CAMINO IS CHANGING AGAIN. Father, teach me to trust other carriers. Show me where I'm holding responsibilities You intend someone else to grow into. Show me where my standards have become control. Show me where my desire for excellence is actually fear of letting go. Give me wisdom to recognize the people You've placed around me. Give me patience to teach them. Give me grace when they make mistakes. Give me humility when they become better at something than I am. And give me enough faith to stop believing everything depends on me. If You're preparing me for more, don't just make me capable of carrying more. Make me capable of entrusting more. Because maybe one of the clearest signs that I'm ready for a bigger assignment isn't how much weight I can carry myself. It's how many other people I've prepared to carry it with me. #PreparingfortheMore

I'm preparing to walk the Camino de Santiago again. But this year feels different. Last year, I walked the Camino without carrying my full backpack. This year, I'm carrying it. And lately, I haven't been able to shake the feeling that there's something spiritual in that. I feel like God is preparing me to carry more. I have big dreams for my company. I genuinely believe we're just getting started. I can see a future where the company is two, three, maybe even ten times the size it is today. More revenue. More employees. More clients. More opportunities. More money. More influence. And for a long time, I think I would have looked at all of that and simply thought: More. Let's go. Let's grow. Let's build. But I'm starting to understand something. If God gives me more, I'll have to carry more. More employees means more people whose livelihoods are affected by the decisions I make. More revenue means more money to steward wisely. More leaders means becoming a better leader myself. More influence means greater responsibility for how I use it. More opportunity means needing greater discernment about what to say yes to—and probably even more importantly, what to say no to. More doesn't just require a bigger company. More requires a different me. That's what has been on my heart as I prepare for this Camino. My prayer isn't simply: "God, give me more." It's becoming: "God, prepare me to steward more." Because what good would it be for God to increase my territory faster than He increases my capacity to steward it? I've spent years thinking about how to grow businesses. Strategies. Sales. People. Systems. Marketing. Leadership. But maybe the most important preparation for the next level of my business isn't another business strategy. Maybe it's the preparation of the man leading it. That's why I'm dedicating this year's Camino to a question: Who must I become to faithfully steward what God may entrust to me next? I'm going to carry that question with me across Spain. And maybe there's something fitting about asking it with a backpack strapped to me. Because I'm beginning to realize that preparing to carry more isn't necessarily about becoming strong enough to pile more things onto my back. Some things probably need to come off. Maybe God needs to teach me to delegate more. Trust people more. Control less. Become wiser with money. Become a better husband and father. Strengthen my spiritual disciplines. Confront weaknesses in my character. Let go of things that belong to another season. Stop being necessary in places where my ego likes being necessary. Depend on Him more deeply. Jesus said: Apart from me you can do nothing. — John 15:5 That's very different from the message entrepreneurship often teaches us. Entrepreneurship says: Look how much I can build. Look how much I can handle. Look how hard I can work. Look how much I can carry. But I want the next season of my life to tell a different story: Look what God enables me to carry. And maybe that's what this Camino is really going to be about. I'm not walking across Spain asking God to give me a 10X company. I'm walking into this pilgrimage believing there may be more ahead and asking God to prepare me for His definition of more. Because His more may not just be more revenue. It may be more surrender. More wisdom. More discipline. More patience. More generosity. More fatherhood. More leadership. More obedience. More dependence on Him. And perhaps even less of some things so I have room to carry what actually matters. So this year, before I put the backpack on, I'm praying: God, prepare me for Your more—not merely my definition of more. And before You entrust me with more to carry, show me what needs to change in the man carrying it. That's what I'm taking with me on the Camino this year. We'll see what God does with it. #PreparingfortheMore

This is it—Phase 8 of the Kingdom Businessman Blueprint. Over the last seven phases, we’ve laid a new foundation for what it means to be a Christian entrepreneur. We’ve learned that building a God-first business isn’t just about growing revenue—it’s about raising up others, multiplying kingdom impact, and leaving behind a legacy that reflects Christ. But now we face the final and most critical question: Will what we’ve built last after we’re gone? You can’t build something that endures without also fortifying your leadership and raising up others to carry it forward. The “Bottleneck” Dilema As a business owner, I’ve had moments where I realized I was the bottleneck to my company’s growth. Everything depended on me. I was the face, the voice, the driver of every major decision. It felt powerful at first—but over time, it became exhausting. What I built wasn’t sustainable because I wasn’t developing other leaders. No one else was trained to carry the weight. And if I stepped away, everything would come crashing down. That realization pushed me to do something that didn’t come naturally: develop and release influence to others. I had to learn how to coach, mentor, and build leaders—not just systems. Because if I wanted to build something that would outlast me, I had to start thinking generationally. Many Christian businessmen are so focused on building their vision that they forget to invest in the people who will carry it forward. We obsess over results, but neglect relationships. We lead with authority, but fail to lead through example. We build platforms, but never build people. God's Formula for Building Leaders In Titus 1:7-9, Paul lays out the character traits of a spiritual leader—because the strength of any lasting structure lies in the integrity and maturity of the people leading it: " Since an overseer manages God’s household, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught ..." Key Insight: Your legacy won’t be defined by what you build, but by who you build. God’s plan for generational impact has always included raising up others. Moses had Joshua. Elijah had Elisha. Jesus had the Twelve. Paul had Timothy. The kingdom doesn’t expand through solo efforts—it expands through discipleship, mentorship, and shared leadership. Creating God-First Leaders Raising up the next generation of God-first leaders doesn’t mean handing over control—it means multiplying your influence in others so the mission continues without you. And it starts with you modeling what it means to lead with integrity, humility, and biblical conviction. If you want what you’ve built to last, you have to ask: Who am I developing right now to lead beyond me? Am I releasing responsibility or just holding tighter to control? Do I recognize and call out leadership potential in others? The real test of your leadership isn’t just what happens while you’re in charge—it’s what continues to grow when you’re not in the room anymore. Let’s stop thinking like entrepreneurs who are trying to “scale.” Let’s start thinking like kingdom leaders who are trying to multiply. The Real  ‘Success’ Blueprint Imagine if Christian businessmen across every industry became multipliers of leaders, not just managers of systems. What if we architect people-building into our Kingdom Business Blueprint—mentoring leaders who go on to lead their own businesses, ministries, families, and communities. That’s how we fortify the foundation. That’s how we secure the legacy. You weren’t called just to succeed. You were called to build something that outlasts you. And that happens when you raise up others to carry the "Gid First Business" mission forward. This may be the final phase of this series, but it's only the beginning of your legacy. The blueprint is in your hands now. What will you build that lasts? I'm praying for you to go! #kingdombusinessmanblueprint

This is it—Phase 8 of the Kingdom Businessman Blueprint . Over the last seven phases, we’ve laid a new foundation for what it means to be a Christian entrepreneur. We’ve learned that building a God-first business isn’t just about growing revenue—it’s about raising up others, multiplying kingdom impact, and leaving behind a legacy that reflects Christ. But now we face the final and most critical question: Will what we’ve built last after we’re gone? You can’t build something that endures without also fortifying your leadership and raising up others to carry it forward. The “Bottleneck” Dilema As a business owner, I’ve had moments where I realized I was the bottleneck to my company’s growth. Everything depended on me. I was the face, the voice, the driver of every major decision. It felt powerful at first—but over time, it became exhausting. What I built wasn’t sustainable because I wasn’t developing other leaders. No one else was trained to carry the weight. And if I stepped away, everything would come crashing down. That realization pushed me to do something that didn’t come naturally: develop and release influence to others. I had to learn how to coach, mentor, and build leaders—not just systems. Because if I wanted to build something that would outlast me, I had to start thinking generationally. Many Christian businessmen are so focused on building their vision that they forget to invest in the people who will carry it forward. We obsess over results, but neglect relationships. We lead with authority, but fail to lead through example. We build platforms, but never build people. God's Formula for Building Leaders In Titus 1:7-9, Paul lays out the character traits of a spiritual leader—because the strength of any lasting structure lies in the integrity and maturity of the people leading it: " Since an overseer manages God’s household, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught ..." Key Insight : Your legacy won’t be defined by what you build, but by who you build. God’s plan for generational impact has always included raising up others. Moses had Joshua. Elijah had Elisha. Jesus had the Twelve. Paul had Timothy. The kingdom doesn’t expand through solo efforts—it expands through discipleship, mentorship, and shared leadership. Creating God-First Leaders Raising up the next generation of God-first leaders doesn’t mean handing over control—it means multiplying your influence in others so the mission continues without you. And it starts with you modeling what it means to lead with integrity, humility, and biblical conviction. If you want what you’ve built to last, you have to ask: Who am I developing right now to lead beyond me? Am I releasing responsibility or just holding tighter to control? Do I recognize and call out leadership potential in others? The real test of your leadership isn’t just what happens while you’re in charge—it’s what continues to grow when you’re not in the room anymore. Let’s stop thinking like entrepreneurs who are trying to “scale.” Let’s start thinking like kingdom leaders who are trying to multiply. The Real  ‘Success’ Blueprint Imagine if Christian businessmen across every industry became multipliers of leaders, not just managers of systems. What if we architect people-building into our Kingdom Business Blueprint—mentoring leaders who go on to lead their own businesses, ministries, families, and communities. That’s how we fortify the foundation. That’s how we secure the legacy. You weren’t called just to succeed. You were called to build something that outlasts you. And that happens when you raise up others to carry the mission forward. This may be the final phase of this series, but it's only the beginning of your legacy. The blueprint is in your hands now. What will you build that lasts? Praying for your kingdom driven business! P.S. Follow me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexmiranda #kingdombusinessmanblueprint

I've been writing a series called “ Kingdom Businessman Blueprint ,” where I'm revealing how to build businesses that last and leave an impact that points back to God. Every man wants to leave a legacy, but too often we measure success by wealth, power, or status. God measures it differently. A man’s true success isn’t measured by his bank account or business title—it’s measured by what he builds that outlasts him. God didn’t just call Adam to fill the earth with achievements—he called him to fill the earth with God’s image. As Christian businessmen, we have to ask ourselves: What are we really building?  Will people remember a man of faith and integrity or just a businessman chasing profits? LEAVING A LEGACY FOR MY KIDS When I first started realizing the Bible was a big book of business, I wrote my discoveries in a journal.  But then I thought - the world needs to know the gold that I'm uncovering here!  Other entrepreneurs could benefit from the wisdom being revealed to me, so I launched my blog, DailyGodpreneur.com . I decided to publicly write what God was revealing to me because I knew the insights would be timeless.  I figured if I put it on the Internet, somehow it would be locked in time forever.  I knew that 20 years from now, my kids would be entrepreneurs and they could learn from my business experiences. Without realizing it, I was doing something even greater: I was writing and blogging to build a legacy for future generations of Godpreneurs - beyond my own kids! MORE MONEY, MORE LEGACY? We live in a culture that tells us our success in entrepreneurship is measured by profit, power, and prestige. We’re conditioned to think that the bigger the paycheck, the greater the legacy. But that’s not how God sees it. The reality is, you can build a multimillion-dollar business and still leave behind nothing that matters. If your wealth disappears, will anyone still be impacted by your life? In Genesis 1:28, God gave Adam a mission of legacy: " God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.’ " God didn’t tell Adam to amass power or wealth. He didn’t tell him to build monuments to himself. God called Adam to fill the earth with God’s image—to multiply God’s presence and values through his work and his family. The question is: Are we doing the same? GOD’S CALL TO LEGACY-BUILDERS As men of faith, we are called to build something that outlasts us—something that points back to God. When Jesus summarized the commandments, He boiled it down to this: Love God and love people  ( Matthew 22:35-40). That’s the foundation of a lasting legacy. …Adam wasn’t commissioned to build an empire—he was called to reproduce God’s image. …Abraham wasn’t just called to be blessed—he was called to be a blessing to all nations. …Paul didn’t just establish churches—he trained up leaders who would continue the mission long after he was gone. A true legacy doesn’t just show what you achieved—it shows who you discipled. It’s not about leaving behind assets; it’s about leaving behind a strong foundation of faith. WHAT'S YOUR LEGACY? Take a hard look at your life and business: What are you building? Are you pouring your energy into accumulating wealth or into multiplying God’s impact? Are you focused on being remembered as successful or being remembered as faithful? Are you mentoring others, discipling your family, and using your business to advance God’s kingdom? If your influence fades when you’re gone, it means you built on the wrong foundation. It’s time to shift from personal success to kingdom significance. I've found my way of building a legacy through my blog.  I felt God telling me back in 2014 that He wants me to find and tell all the business lessons that are in the Bible.  That's my own personal legacy building tool. What will yours be? Maybe you're not a writer like me.  Maybe yours isn't going to be so public like mine.  Yours could be focused on one-to-one discipleship of employees in your company.  Yours could be helping plant a church or start a ministry or launch a non-profit. That's what you need to keep in prayer. WE'RE ALL CALLED TO LEGACY BUILDING Imagine if Christian businessmen all over the world chose to build with legacy in mind. If they focused less on profit margins and more on discipleship. If they made kingdom values the foundation of their business. If they raised up leaders who could continue the mission. That’s how kingdom business works. That’s how you build something that points to God. But legacy doesn’t just happen by chance. You have to protect what you’ve built. That’s why in Phase 8, we’ll talk about Fortifying the Foundation—because lasting impact requires intentional protection. Are you ready for the final phase? Let’s go. #kingdombusinessmanblueprint

We’re in the Kingdom Businessman Blueprint , where we’re learning how to build businesses that last and leadership that impacts generations. Many men dream of building something big—a thriving business, a powerful legacy, a life of influence. But true success isn’t just about scaling up—it’s about multiplying kingdom impact. God didn’t give you a business just for you. He gave it to you as a platform to disciple, mentor, and influence others. But before you can expand, you have to ask: Am I building something that honors God, or just something that serves me? MY SUCCESS WAS MY FAILURE During the pandemic, my virtual staffing agency went through a rapid expansion. My company was thriving—new clients, more employees, massive revenue growth. On the surface, it looked like success. But behind the scenes, something was off. My team was disorganized. The culture was toxic. The employees were just chasing money, not a mission. Eventually, my agency started falling apart—not because the vision was too big, but because the foundation wasn’t strong enough to sustain growth. It’s easy to get caught up in expansion, thinking that success means more clients, more money, more influence. But if your faith impact shrinks while your business grows, you’ve built the wrong thing. OUR GROWTH IS AT RISK Us men are wired to think big, dream big, and build big. But before expanding outward, we have to look inward: Who are we investing in? Are we raising up the next generation of leaders? What values are we transferring? Is our business built on kingdom principles or just worldly ambition? What kind of legacy are we leaving? Will our impact outlive us, or does everything rely on us alone? BUT GOD HAS A PLAN In Ephesians 1:11, Paul reminds us that we have an inheritance in Christ, and that inheritance isn’t just for us—it’s meant to be passed on. "In Him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will." This is the model of biblical expansion: Abraham invested in Isaac. Elijah mentored Elisha. Jesus discipled the Twelve. Paul trained Timothy. None of these men built just for themselves—they expanded God’s kingdom by investing in others. True kingdom expansion in Godpreneurship happens when we multiply ourselves in others. Many business leaders focus on scaling profits, but kingdom leaders focus on scaling people. …If our business is growing, but our leadership isn’t, we're missing the point… …If our influence is expanding, but our faith isn’t, our foundation is weak… …If our company is getting bigger, but the people around us aren’t getting stronger, we're building the wrong thing… YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO TURN IT AROUND Kingdom expansion isn’t about chasing numbers—it’s about building people. Who are you discipling in your business? Who are you mentoring in your industry? What values are being passed down to your employees, clients, and partners? Jesus didn’t just do ministry alone—he trained twelve men who would continue the mission after him. If your business, leadership, or influence disappears when you step away, it means you haven’t built for expansion—you’ve built for control. If you want to prepare for real expansion, it’s time to shift your mindset: Stop building alone—start mentoring and investing in others. Stop chasing personal success—start multiplying kingdom impact. Stop holding everything together by yourself—start raising up leaders who can carry the mission forward. Ask yourself: Who am I developing as a leader in my business? What values will outlive me in my work? Am I expanding the kingdom or just expanding my own success? LET'S ALL BUILD FOR KINGDOM EXPANSION Imagine if more Christian businessmen built with Kingdom expansion in mind. If we focused less on getting ahead and more on raising others up. If we made discipleship part of our business strategy. If we used our platforms not just to profit, but to lead, mentor, and serve. That’s what kingdom business looks like. But expansion without structure leads to collapse. That’s why in Phase 7 , we’ll talk about Protecting the Framework —because the bigger you build, the stronger your foundation needs to be. Are you ready for the next phase? Let’s go. #kingdombusinessmanblueprint

We're in the middle of a series called Kingdom Businessman Blueprint , where we’re learning how to build businesses and leadership that last.   Many Christian businessmen set out with big visions, but along the way, they find themselves stuck, isolated, and frustrated. They work hard, but something is missing. No great structure is built alone. Every strong building requires a solid support system, and every great leader needs a strong team . Yet too many men try to carry the weight alone, refusing to ask for help, struggling with control, or failing to create an environment where those around them can thrive. A man who tries to build alone will always build small. THE SOLO-PRENEUR DILEMA Several years ago, I watched a documentary about the construction of the tallest skyscrapers in the world. One thing stood out to me: no matter how brilliant the architect, no matter how advanced the engineering, no building of that scale can be completed without a large, highly skilled team. It’s impossible. The project required thousands of workers ( even sometimes imported from neighboring countries ), specialized experts, and collaboration at every level.  If one part of the team failed, the entire project was at risk. The same is true in business and leadership. I own a virtual staffing agency, so I'm in the business of helping entrepreneurs build teams.  Many businessmen I speak to think that if they want something done right, they have to do it themselves. They don’t trust someone else to lead, so they don't hire employees. And I bet these same guys don’t ask their wives for wisdom. And I'd bet they don’t seek mentors for guidance. Eventually, these ‘solo-preneuers’  hit a ceiling. They can’t grow because they refuse to build with others. BY DESIGN, WE CAN'T DO IT ALONE Every entrepreneur has felt the tension between leading well and leading alone. …Some of us struggle with control—we don’t trust others to carry the weight of responsibility.  …Some of us have been burned before—we tried to build with the wrong people, and now we’re hesitant to try again.  …Some of us don’t even realize we’re isolated—we’ve surrounded ourselves with employees but lack true accountability, wise counsel, and strong relationships. God never designed us to build in isolation. GOD'S PLAN FOR BUILDING A TEAM  In 2 Chronicles 15:3-6, Israel was in total chaos. Their society was crumbling, and one of the reasons was disunity. The Bible reads, "For a long time Israel was without the true God, without a priest to teach and without the law. But in their distress they turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and sought him, and he was found by them. In those days it was not safe to travel about, for all the inhabitants of the lands were in great turmoil. One nation was being crushed by another and one city by another, because God was troubling them with every kind of distress." God allowed conflict and disorder to wake his people up. They had been trying to build their own way instead of aligning with his plan. More often than we'd admit, we do the same thing along our entrepreneurial journey. We think we can run our business without seeking godly wisdom. We think we can lead our families without listening to our wives. We think we can grow a business without hiring employees and surrounding ourselves with strong mentors or joining mastermind groups. But when we try to build alone, eventually, everything starts to shake. The Bible makes it clear: God builds through teams. Moses had Aaron. David had his mighty men. Jesus had the disciples. Paul had Timothy. In every major move of God, men didn’t build alone. They built in community, accountability, and wise counsel. WHO IS YOUR TEAM? If you’re trying to build something significant, but you feel like you’re carrying it all on your own, maybe it’s time to ask: Who has God placed around you that you’ve been ignoring? Are you trying to control everything instead of hiring a team, delegating and trusting others? Have you surrounded yourself with the right mentors and mastermind groups, or are you reinventing the wheel? In Phase 4 , you removed idols in your business to prepare you to lead.  Now, the question is: Who are you leading with? Take a hard look at your business, your leadership, and your personal life. Do you have strong, godly mentors? Are you leading your team well, or are you unknowingly causing division? Are you surrounding yourself with people who strengthen you, or people who distract you? You weren’t meant to build alone. You need a team. If your business, leadership, or faith feels stagnant, it may not be a lack of skill or effort—it may be because you’re trying to build by yourself. KINGDOM TEAM BUILDING IS FOR ALL OF US Imagine what would happen if Christian businessmen truly built together. If we humbled themselves to seek wisdom. If we built businesses that created strong teams. If we supported each other instead of competing against each other. That’s how kingdom leadership works. That’s how God builds something that lasts. But having the right people around you is only part of the equation. The team is only as strong as its structure. That’s why in Phase 6 , we’ll talk about Preparing for Expansion. Because once the right team is in place, you have to make sure your structure can handle the growth God is bringing. Are you ready for the next phase? Let’s go. #kingdombusinessmanblueprint

Christian Business Men, We’ve been on a journey of understanding what it takes to build a God-first business that lasts. Every strong structure starts with a solid foundation, and in phase 1 , we recognized that God has called us to build, lead, and create with purpose. In phase 2 , we faced the reality that sometimes our foundation has cracks, and before we can move forward, we need to let God restore what’s broken. In phase 3 , we laid the first brick, stepping out in faith instead of waiting for the perfect moment. Now comes a critical step. Before a man can build a business that is great, he has to tear down what’s weak. No matter how good the blueprint is, if a structure is built on weak materials, it won’t last. This is the moment where we have to look at what we’ve been holding onto that might be keeping us from building strong. WE ALL HAVE A WEAKNESS My friend Kevin is a real estate investor.  Have you ever seen a home renovation show where a crew comes in to transform an old, run-down house into something incredible?  That's what my friend Kevin does.  He documents the journey on Instagram for all of us to see.  Before he can paint walls, install new floors, or add beautiful fixtures, there’s always a demolition phase he takes us through. He starts by tearing down weak walls, ripping out rotting wood, and exposing hidden issues behind the surface. If he skips this step and starts building on what’s already weak, the house will eventually collapse.  His investment will be lost. The same is true in business, leadership, and life. No matter how skilled a builder is, if the structure is sitting on a weak foundation, it won’t hold up. Before God can build something great through us, he has to remove what’s keeping our businesses weak. All Christian businessmen want to build something significant. We have big dreams for our ventures, our family, and our legacy. But often, we carry things into our future that were never meant to be part of the structure. ... Pride  convinces us that we don’t need anyone’s help. … Greed  pushes us to chase success at the cost of integrity. … Compromise  allows us to justify small ethical shortcuts. … Bad habits  keep us from operating at our full potential. A house filled with hidden mold or structural damage looks fine from the outside, but it’s one storm away from falling apart. GOD WANTS TO CLEAN HOUSE Things like pride, greed, and bad habits plague success-driven entrepreneurs and weaken our ability to build something that lasts. I'm no exception. Lord knows my idols. Gideon learned this firsthand. In Judges 6:11-16, we see Gideon, a man who was called by God to lead his people and take down their enemies. But before he could take on the challenge ahead of him, God told him to start at home. Judges 6:25 says,  “That same night the Lord said to him, ‘Tear down your father’s altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole beside it.’” Gideon wanted to make an impact, but first, he had to remove the idols in his own home. God wouldn’t allow him to lead others while still holding onto things that didn’t belong in his life. The same applies to us. …A business built on dishonest dealings won’t stand.  …A leadership role filled with unchecked pride will collapse.  …A life that tolerates compromise will never reach its full potential. Gideon had to deal with what was in his house before he could lead others. God calls every businessman to do the same. YOUR TEAR-DOWN BLUEPRINT What in your life or business needs to be torn down? Is there a mindset, habit, or relationship that is weakening your foundation? Is there a cancerous employee you're overly dependent on, even though you know they don’t belong in the structure God is building? Tearing down weak structures isn’t easy, but it’s necessary if you want to build something that lasts. God is calling you to be a leader of integrity, strength, and purpose. Before he builds through you, he wants to clear out what’s keeping you weak. Will you let him? OUR CHANCE TO BUILD SOMETHING GREAT Imagine what would happen if more men committed to building their businesses and their lives on solid ground. If they stopped ignoring the things that weaken their leadership and instead focused on creating something that could truly last. That’s what this journey is about. But tearing down is just the beginning. Once the weak structures are removed, a strong framework needs to be put in place. That’s what we’ll cover in Phase 5: Strengthening the Framework. Because without the right structure, the building will never reach its full height. Are you ready for the next phase? Let’s go. #kingdombusinessmanblueprint

Have you ever met someone who talks about their big dreams all the time—but never actually does anything? Maybe it’s a friend who always has a new business idea, but never takes the first step. Or maybe it’s you—you’ve had a vision, a calling, something you know God has put on your heart, but you keep waiting for the perfect moment to start. One of my businesses is a virtual staffing agency.  I've met with hundreds of entrepreneurs (many of them my friends) who would inquire about finally hiring their first virtual assistant so it would free up time for them to grow their business.  We'd have a productive strategy session, map out the tasks, and we'd present them with candidates.  Then, they ghost me.  They go back to their old ways of doing the work themselves.  They don't take the first step of achieving entrepreneurial freedom by hiring their first employee. Here’s the truth: No building goes up without the first brick being laid. You can have the best blueprint in the world, but until you start taking action, your business, your leadership, and your calling will stay stuck in the planning phase. WE ALL FACE FEARS In the last phase , we talked about restoring the broken framework—how God can rebuild what’s been lost. But here’s the problem: Too many men stay in the restoration phase forever. They spend all their time thinking, praying, and planning… but never move. They wait for the “right time”… but never actually start. They hesitate because of past failures… and stay stuck in fear. How many businesses never get started because a man is afraid of failing? How many marriages never get healed because a man won’t take the first step in reconciliation? How many callings are left unfinished because a man is waiting for a sign from God instead of acting in faith? This is exactly where the lame man in Acts 3 found himself—stuck in the same place every day, waiting for something to change. GOD IS IN THE CHAIN-BREAKING BUSINESS Acts 3:1-8 tells the story of a crippled man who sat at the temple gate every single day, begging for money. When Peter and John passed by, he expected a handout, but God had something bigger in mind. Acts reads, " Peter said, ‘Look at us!’ So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. Then Peter said, ‘Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk. ’"  ( Acts 3:4-6) At that moment, the man had a choice. He could have stayed sitting, doubting that anything would change. But instead, he got up. And as he took that first step, his legs were healed. Here’s the key: His healing came after his movement. Many of us are waiting on God to act, but God is waiting on us to move. You want a successful business? You have to take action. You want your marriage to thrive? You have to lead the way. You want to walk in your purpose? You have to get up and start building. The enemy wants to keep men stuck in passivity—always waiting, doubting, and hesitating. But Kingdom Businessmen take action. They don’t sit on their vision. They don’t wait for permission. They move in faith. YOUR TURN TO TAKE ACTION   So here’s the question: What’s the first brick you need to lay? Is it making that call to start your business? Is it taking responsibility for an area of your life you’ve been neglecting? Is it stepping up as a leader in your home or business, instead of sitting back? Stop waiting for the perfect moment. The perfect moment is now. Faith isn’t about knowing every step before you move. It’s about taking the first step and trusting that God will strengthen you as you go. Like the man at the temple gate, you may have been sitting in the same place for years, waiting for change. But today, God is saying: Get up. Start building. Lay the first brick. A DIFFERENT KIND OF CTA (CALL TO ACTION) Imagine what would happen if men everywhere stopped talking about their dreams and actually started building them. What if we stopped sitting on our calling and stepped into what God has already equipped us to do? This is where the momentum shifts. But now comes the next challenge: Keeping the momentum going. Because even after you start, fear and doubt will creep in. You’ll second-guess yourself. You’ll wonder if you really have what it takes. That’s why in Phase 4, we’re going to talk about Tearing Down Weak Structures —removing the things in your life that are holding you back from building strong and finishing well. Are you ready to take the next step? Let’s go. #kingdombusinessmanblueprint

Welcome back to my series of posts titled " The Kingdom Businessman Blueprint. " In Phase 1 (click to read previous post) , we laid the foundation by recognizing that God has called us to build, lead, and create with purpose. But what happens when we look at our business, leadership, or life and realize that things have already started to crumble? What if the foundation we’ve been building on is cracked? Before we can move forward, we need to address what’s broken—because God doesn’t just build, He restores. A few years ago, I drove past a construction site in downtown Miami where a brand-new residential building was supposed to go up. The project had started strong—blueprints were approved, steel beams were raised—but then something went wrong. A flaw in the foundation was discovered, forcing the entire project to halt. Months passed, and instead of a towering structure, all that remained was an abandoned, unfinished framework. I later found out that the foundation had cracks that made the entire structure unsafe. The only solution? Tear it down and start again. This is where many Christian businessmen find themselves in life and business. We start with big dreams, but somewhere along the way, things start to fall apart. Maybe it’s a failed business, a broken marriage, or a spiritual disconnect that’s left you feeling like your foundation isn’t strong enough to keep building. But here’s the truth: God specializes in restoring broken frameworks. WE'VE ALL GIVEN UP SOMETIMES Too many businessmen feel like they’ve already failed beyond repair. We've all made bad financial decisions that wrecked our business plans in one way or another. We've all made mistakes in leadership, in marriage, or in fatherhood that we don’t know how to fix. We've all lost confidence—in ourselves, in our calling, and even in God’s plan for our life. When a man loses hope along his entrepreneurial journey, he stops building. He checks out. He stops running the race. We see this all the time. Men give up on their dreams. They give up on their families. They check out of church. They stop believing that what they’re building even matters. This isn’t new. In Ezekiel’s time, Israel had completely abandoned God. Their land was ruined, their leadership was corrupt, and their entire culture was built on the wrong foundation. They had allowed idols—false gods, false priorities—to replace their devotion to God. And what did God do? He let everything collapse. GOD WANTS TO LIFT US BACK UP Ezekiel 36:16-18 says: " The word of the Lord came to me: 'Son of man, when the people of Israel were living in their own land, they defiled it by their conduct and their actions. Their conduct was like a woman’s monthly uncleanness in my sight. So I poured out my wrath on them because they had shed blood in the land and because they had defiled it with their idols.'" God didn’t destroy Israel out of anger—He allowed their failures to expose their broken foundation. Sometimes, God allows businesses, business deals, and business partnerships to fall apart to reveal what was wrong with the structure to begin with. A business built on greed will eventually collapse. A marriage built on selfishness will start to crack. A life built on chasing success instead of God’s purpose will eventually leave a man empty and frustrated. The good news? God doesn’t just tear down—He rebuilds! Later in Ezekiel 36, God promises to restore His people—but first, they have to remove the idols that weakened their foundation. An idol isn’t just a golden statue. An idol is anything that takes priority over God in business and life. For some men, their idol is success. They build their identity around their business, and when it fails, they feel like they’ve failed as a man. For others, their idol is control. They try to hold everything together in the company on their own strength, refusing to let God take the lead. For some, their idol is comfort. They don’t want to make the hard choices as a leader, so they stay in cycles of mediocrity. If you want God to restore what’s broken, you have to clear out what’s been weakening your structure. TEAR DOWN WHAT'S BROKEN Take a hard look at your life and business: What’s been holding you back? Is there a failure you haven’t recovered from? Are you stuck in a cycle of disappointment, afraid to build again? Are there priorities in your life that have taken the place of God? The first step to rebuilding your framework is surrender. God won’t force you to change. But if you hand Him the broken pieces, He will restore what was lost. He will rebuild you stronger. He will make your business, your leadership, and your life stand on solid ground. But you have to let go of what’s weakening your foundation. WE'RE CALLED TO REBUILD Imagine what would happen if men stopped giving up and started rebuilding. Imagine if we refused to let failure define us and instead let God reshape us into stronger leaders, husbands, and business owners. That’s what Kingdom Businessmen do. We don’t quit. We don’t settle. We build again. But before we move forward, there’s one more critical step: Taking action . It’s not enough to hope for a better foundation. You have to lay the first brick. And that’s exactly what we’ll cover next in Phase 3: Laying the First Brick - because a blueprint means nothing if you don’t start building. See you in the next phase . #kingdombusinessmanblueprint