— by Peter Demos
Last month, we watched the Asbury revival go viral and the “Jesus Revolution” film hit the silver screen. Both events are an awesome reminder of the creative and powerful ways that God moves. He’s moving across university campuses, in hurting nations like Iran, and even in Hollywood, California.
Personally, I am waiting for the next great move of God that will take place in cubicles and boardrooms instead of church pews and sanctuaries. Consider this — most Christians across the world are not called to work in full-time vocational ministry. They’re not preaching on Sundays or hosting evangelistic outreach events. Most Christ-followers are called to the marketplace. And so many people are seeking answers on how to put God at the center of their businesses.
The late evangelist Billy Graham said, “I believe one of the next great moves of God will happen through the believers in the workplace.” For years, Christians have sought to evangelize a largely unreached people in “the 10/40 Window” – the area of land between the 10th and 40th parallel north of the Equator, spanning from Africa through east Asia. But there’s another window sitting wide open for Christians to introduce people to Jesus, referred to by some as “the 9 to 5 window.”
It took me a long time to surrender my life to God and discover my purpose within this window. Now that I see my restaurant business through His eyes, I approach it differently. I’ve learned a lot since God transformed my life, the bulk of which falls into three key truths.
1. Surrendering control is everything
I’ve been in the restaurant industry for most of my life, engaging with people of all backgrounds, managing teams and casting vision. Fully due to God’s grace, I oversee multiple, successful dining concepts, I have a wonderful wife and two amazing kids. For many years, on the outside, my life looked perfect. But what the pictures in social media and in the pages of lifestyle magazines did not reveal is that I wasn’t operating from a place of confidence and security. God wasn’t at the center of my business, but rather, I was driven by fear, anger and emptiness.
Food service is in my veins. I entered the industry at age 12, washing dishes at my dad’s Western Sizzlin’ restaurant. As the family business expanded, it afforded me the opportunity to learn every possible aspect of the organization. By the time I was a young adult, I had absorbed a lot of restaurant industry know-how and even obtained a law degree, yet there was another area of my life in which I was too stubborn to learn anything at all.
My parents took me to church every Sunday. When I say they “took me,” what I really mean is they “made me go.” It wasn’t until I became a husband and father that I truly surrendered my life to Christ and sought to put God at the center of my business. Before then, I was desperate to control every area of my life. If I couldn’t effectively control a person or circumstance to my satisfaction, no one in my path would be safe from the wrath of my emotions.
I’ve since learned the root of my need to control was fear. I was afraid to trust anything other than my own two hands. So afraid that my wife would leave me, I nearly suffocated her with jealousy and controlling behavior. So afraid that my business would fail, I worked around the clock until it became my idol. I was a walking ball of fear, which manifested as uncontrollable anger. But the minute I relinquished control, I finally felt a peace I never knew was possible and it changed everything.
2. God’s plans are the best plans
When we launched a new restaurant a few years ago, running it was incredibly challenging and the source of some of my biggest business failures. When you open a new dining concept, you budget for a loss in the first year. Our venture had so many unforeseen obstacles that we met that budget two months into it.
Dedicating my life to God didn’t take away my problems, but it taught me how to handle them. My earliest prayers were along the lines of, “Here’s my agenda, God. Bless it.” I’ve since learned that it should be the opposite. “What’s your agenda, God? Use me.”
Learning to trust God to lead me through significant difficulties has turned out to be the greatest source of growth and blessing in my life. While I’m a work-in-progress and always will be, I finally understand that submitting my goals and dreams to Him and inviting Him to take control is the best way to enjoy peace and be a witness to others.
3. The anointing of God isn’t reserved for the pulpit
We tend to elevate those who serve in full-time ministry, believing they’re the ones who will change this world. But the next great revival may pour out of the anointed men and women who are making a difference in the marketplace.