Mike Smock + Mike Winter
Preface—Mike Smock
Writing this book has been an illuminating experience for me. I grew up attending Bethlehem United Church of Christ in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I was baptized, attended catechism classes, and was confirmed in 1969. While I always considered myself a Christian, my faith was more of the lower-case “c” type. My wife and I took our children to Christmas and Easter services annually, but we never actively engaged with the Church, prayed, or read the Bible. Thankfully, all this changed when I was blessed to establish a genuine relationship with Jesus Christ a few years ago.
My walk with Christ began after I set aside my ego and unconditionally accepted God. Initially, I experienced a sense of vertigo where many things I had taken as “gospel” were not. I examined many aspects of my life, especially my career, where I had never considered a business decision from a Christian perspective. The idea of asking, “What would Jesus do?” never occurred to me. My priorities were profit, market share, and growth, and I was willing to do whatever it took to achieve them, legally and ethically, but not biblically.
I have worked mostly with start-ups and turnarounds, businesses that keep you awake at night worrying about challenging decisions that can devastate co-founders, investors, employees, and your own personal financial welfare. I approached these decisions with little regard for the personal impact they might have on those around me. I would have been the first to criticize Jesus for “leaving the ninety-nine to find the one.”
Now, as a Christian businessman, I often face a paradoxical situation. On one hand, my decision-making process becomes more challenging because, as a Christian, I consider whether my choices align with God’s will. On the other hand, I have God, who guides and protects me as I navigate these hazards. Most importantly, I know that when I “yoke” myself with other Christian businessmen, my potential is limitless, and that is why I want to introduce my co-author, Mike Winter.
I met Mike Winter in 2021. He is the author of “Man Up!”, the Michigan Area Director for the Christian Business Men’s Connection (CBMC), and is a great friend, colleague, and Christian mentor. Mike has had the opportunity to work with thousands of business owners, CEOs, and other enterprise leaders over his 25-year career with CBMC, bringing them to faith and helping them convert their secular businesses into platforms for the Great Commission.
The inspiration for our book came from another book I had published in 2004 called “Guru Red Manifesto”. It was written in collaboration with attorney Curt Sahakian and contained 52 rules of engagement for enterprises operating in chaotic times. Recently, we published the 20th-anniversary edition of “Guru Red”, which led me to look at those rules from my perspective as a Christian businessman. This then compelled me to ask Mike Winter to join forces with me and co-author this book.
The 52 adages, responses, questions, and corresponding scriptural references in this book were a collaborative effort between us. Our objective is to give Christian business leaders specific and actionable guidance when confronting challenging decisions in the life of their enterprise.
I hope you find this little book of value, and as in the parable of the sower, may a few of its seeds find fertile ground.
God Bless!
Mike Smock
DeWitt, Michigan
Preface—Mike Winter
I met Mike Smock in 2021. He was then, and remains so today, a man hungry to know God and obey His commands. Mike sought me out, and I thank God he did. We have met almost weekly since our first encounter, discussing the Bible, ministry, and how we can serve the Christian business community together. Mike has become a partner with me in the Christian Business Men’s Connection ministry (CBMC). Mike develops CBMC business-owner groups. In these groups, businessmen meet regularly to help each other find methods for running their businesses in a way that honors God and furthers His kingdom.
My official hire date with CBMC was April 1, 1997. I chose that day—April Fool’s Day—because I was walking away from a successful and secure corporate management position where I was well-liked, and I liked the people I worked with, to join an organization where I didn’t know anyone well and would need to raise my own support. I was leaving a ten-year career in the insurance industry that began in business sales and ended in marketing management at a large insurance company in my state. I enjoyed what I was doing immensely, but my greatest desire was to find a way to more fully serve God in the business sector, which making the move to become CBMC’s Mid-Michigan director allowed me to do.
Since joining CBMC, I have spent my days working with business and professional men to help them know God better so they can serve God more, with the hope of receiving greater rewards from Him on that day when they meet Him face to face and give an account of how they lived. We all want to receive God’s approval for how we spent the life He gave us. CBMC helps business and professional men live their lives more effectively for God within the concrete jungles of their business worlds.
I am so grateful to Mike for allowing me to join him on this project. I consider it an honor and a privilege to have been asked to participate as a partner in this book. Along with Mike, I too hope that 52 Business Adages Considered Biblically will encourage Christian businessmen to think more biblically about how they operate their businesses so that they please God, expand His kingdom, and receive His great reward. Joining with other businessmen to discuss the questions after reading the adages should provide you with an excellent opportunity for experiencing what the Bible calls “iron sharpening iron.”
God bless you as you seek Him with others for knowing Him better and doing His will more faithfully.
Mike Winter
Lansing, Michigan