David:

[0:00] Greetings. I am excited to have here on the show Bruce Zollar, and he's from Louisville, Kentucky, and he runs the Christian Advantage. He's been doing this for over 20 years, and he does coaching and roundtable discussions, and he has events, and he helps business leaders take their personal faith and use it in the business to run their business to the glory of God. So, I'm excited to have him here because he has been doing something in his business, that I want to do in my coaching practice. And that is basically helping people seek for God's kingdom in their business and watching it thrive. So how are you doing today there, Bruce?

Bruce:

[1:06] Well, I'm doing well, and I'm excited to be here, David, and be on this premier broadcast for you.

David:

[1:12] Excited to have you here. So, as you have coached over the years and led roundtable discussions, what is one or two of the things that you have found most important that business owners must prioritize to have a healthy business?

Bruce:

[1:26] Well, because I work from a biblical worldview, I believe the first and foremost, most important criteria is that the person is seeking God in every decision. And when you're seeking God in every decision, as you gain more and more awareness of what the Bible says about HR, about sales, about any topic related to business, it draws you in closer. Another aspect of that is that as a Christian, when we start listening to God to direct our decisions, we start the decisions take an exponential positive turn. And so, the more we include God in our decision making, it makes a world of difference in that.

David:

[2:28] Are you saying that as you try to see life in your business and make decisions like he would have you to, things go better?

Bruce:

[2:37] Well, they tend to. It's not a guarantee. I mean, there are plenty of examples in Scripture of good people not doing well or suffering or being persecuted. And those things happen. The question is, how do we deal with those issues? And so, one of the most frequent Bible verses that I use is in James 1:2-4. Count it all joy when you suffer trials and tribulations because, and it goes on basically because it helps develop our character. But the part that I like to focus on is count it all joy. We wouldn't be told to count it all joy if it wasn't possible. But it doesn't come naturally. And you talk to anybody about having joy in the midst of a struggle, that's a strange concept. And I don't know anybody else that really talks about that as a primary focus, but it's an example of how do you have peace in your life? How do we have joy? How do we make decisions with God as the primary God? It's a way different paradigm switch if you buy into that process.

David:

[4:03] Sure. Yep, I can see that. Because when bad things happen, and you count them and say they're bad, if God's going to take them for good, you don't know. It can turn out for good, can't it?

Bruce:

[4:15] It can. Yeah. And so, like recently, four weeks ago, I came down with a case of shingles. And I could look at that and say, oh, woe is me. I've lost half my productivity over the last four weeks. So, I was this, I was that, and inconvenienced and whatever I want. Or I could flip the script a little bit and say, well, God, thank you for interrupting my day and making me focus on the most important things because I only had time to do the most important thing. And have joy in what I'm able to accomplish rather than disappointed about all that didn't get done. But it's an example of the advantage bringing God. Most of the coaching and roundtable and teaching components that we create are all created in that context. Context what would life be like if God was part of every decision in a positive way.

David:

[5:26] So if I was going to come with my business to you today and say I want to work with you what would be the avenue you would take me to start off seeing things from God's perspective like that well

Bruce:

[5:39] I don't use a program I'm not a typical coach to say I'm going to take you through, this analysis or these processes, these questions. And so, it's difficult to say, yeah, these are the steps to get there. That's not how I believe God has us each in a very unique position. And so, the perspective that I bring to the table when I'm working with anyone is, where are you? Where are you with God? What's God doing in your life? What are the big questions that you're struggling with? And let's just talk out loud about those questions. And take where you're at to see what we should talk about out loud help you make a decision with to move you to make to take another step to be closer to God to be a better business person.

David:

[6:51] So how does that help

Bruce:

[6:52] Okay well the really helps you grow your business when you're aligned to do what God wants you to do. Now, we're assuming in the dialogue in one context that God wants you in business. Now, maybe he doesn't want you in business, and maybe you're jumping into business prematurely without pursuing that through God? Well, that would be an important thing to figure out on the front side rather than be three, six months into starting a business and then realizing that, oh, well, God really wanted you to go work in a different industry or for a particular company because they had special use for your skill set. And so, this alignment of doing something that's aligned with God is a foundational starting point.

Bruce:

[8:01] And then how you grow a business has to do with some of the practical components. And so, what are you doing to set your business apart from the competition? You know, what's your unique position in the industry that you're in? And so if you're a coach, what sets you apart in the industry that someone would come to you and say, oh, that's what I need. And for me, I know what it is in my case is that I'm helping people take their next step professionally, personally, spiritually to be closer to God. And I believe that as I help them do that, then they're able, God's able to work in their life to multiply that impact.

Bruce:

[9:01] And the impact doesn't always have to be financial. And I think sometimes that's where a lot of coaching and business gets hung up, that if it's all about the bottom line dollar and the profitability or the sales, then we could be missing the mark as a Christian in business. And it may steal our joy, it may steal our peace, it may interfere with us seeing all of the divine appointments God sends us each day. And if someone's not seeing the God appointments that God sends their way and pausing to press into those, they're missing a lot of the joy of living a full life for Christ. What's more important taking another hundred thousand dollars home or being able to enjoy the peace that surpasses understanding?

David:

[10:12] Okay so you would probably say from listening to you that getting in a relate right relationship with God and trying to listen to him is more important than having a big business or going and working for somebody else? That would be the first priority.

Bruce:

[10:26] It certainly is a big priority. And it is a foundational component.

Bruce:

[10:36] Now, another one of the topics that we process a lot is why. Why do we do what we do? Why are you in business? Why are you doing what you're doing? And if we know the why, then we'll have a lot more persistence to continue on when things get tough. We'll have more determination to work through the difficulties or look at things to discover what are we missing in the mark type of thing.

David:

[11:13] Okay.

Bruce:

[11:14] And so knowing why we're doing something is critical in business. A lot of other coaches and people talk about that as well. But the foundational component, why do you do what you do?

David:

[11:33] Absolutely.

Bruce:

[11:33] And can you say it and explain it to someone in 30 seconds?

David:

[11:40] Do you have any stories, short stories of somebody who has come to work with you and has basically transformed their business because they got in a right relationship with God?

Bruce:

[11:52] Well, let me relate two short stories. One is more that someone came and got into one of our roundtable groups. It was in November. He visited the group to see if he would want to join. He decided he did. The second month, our first month, he was officially a member. We had an opportunity for him to give an annual presentation to the group, which is to say, here's where I'm at. Here's what I'm doing. And he agreed to do that, take advantage of that. And at that meeting, the group was kind enough to explain to him that he was losing $30,000 a year digging a hole for the last 30 years. And so, he had dug a significant hole in business. And he was totally unaware of it. But they also gave him some counsel how to fix the problem.

Bruce:

[12:52] And as a good student, he made some changes in January, and he's been profitable since then. And so, I share that in a context that it's not all about having a relationship with God.

Bruce:

[13:09] There's some very practical things. And we are very conscious of if you're in business, you need to be a positive cash flow. You need to be profitable. And it's good to be profitable. And we celebrate when people are wildly profitable, hundredfold or whatever the multiplication is. But God wants us to be profitable. And so that's a good thing.

Bruce:

[13:37] There's another individual I've worked with for seven, eight years now, helped him leave a business, start a new business, and he put a lot of foundational components in place for it to be a very God-honoring business. And we meet more months than not, but we try to meet once a month as much as he'll allocate time to. But each time we meet, we're talking about a significant topic in his business that he's struggling with. And at the end of each of our sessions, he has some homework to do, some takeaways of significance. And as he goes, takes actions on those items, his business has grown tenfold and has become a witness in an industry that it's very strange for someone to bring Christian faith in. Very good. And he has more peace now than he did before because he's bringing God into the decision-making.

David:

[15:01] Very good. That's exciting to hear. That's neat. So, if you could only pass one piece of wisdom on to our listeners as a result of today's episode, what would you want to tell them?

Bruce:

[15:14] Keep God in every decision. And if you don't believe God's in the next decision you have to make, think about it again.

Bruce:

[15:26] Because every decision is a God decision. God wants us to surrender our whole life to him. And that includes whether I come on a podcast with you, for example, that why would I take time to do that? Well, there's a God component in that decision that is the catalyst for me to take the time, protect the time to do that. What time do you get up? What time do you go to bed? Are you doing things strategically and intentionally with God at the core?

Bruce:

[16:07] And the more we do that, the more peace we have in our daily life. The context when I live totally for God and as God is my number one person that I’m living for my joy goes off the charts because anytime I bring God into the present, it's a good day and you can't spoil it for me and because that's a choice that I have to surrender if I'm going to let somebody take my joy in Christ because he's part of everything I do. And so, keep God's center.

David:

[16:54] Oh, yeah. I like that. I like that very much. So, if somebody wanted to learn more about the Christian Advantage or work with you, how would they go about doing that?

Bruce:

[17:05] Well, they could give me a call. I still answer my own phone. I'm not hard to reach. I’m like Henry Blackaby. I heard once that he does not have anybody screen his calls because he doesn't want to lose a God appointment. And so just give me a call. 502-419-8248. That's my number. You can email me if you prefer. I do better with email than text messages. So don't text me, please. But email me at bzoller, B-Z-O-E-L-L-E-R, at thechristianadvantage.com. It's a long one. I'm sorry about that. But that's what I chose when I started.

Bruce:

[17:53] And I haven't pursued shortening it at this point. So, yeah.

David:

[17:59] No, actually, I like that. The Christian Advantage. I really like that name. Well, thank you, Bruce, for coming on our podcast today. I really appreciate all your wisdom and experience you've brought to the table. Thank you very much. Well, there you have it. Our conversation with Bruce Zolar from The Christian Advantage. One of the things I've taken away is the importance of our relationship with God and asking the question no one wants to ask. Am I in the right position? Am I in the right business? Gaining clarity on God's purpose for your life is a prerequisite to an effective and profitable business that you will grow to love and enjoy. And remember, time has limits. Only one thing is needful. Do that one thing.