How To Conquer, In Love
September 2, 2010 by Matthew Gillogly
As I suspected, my article “Priests Pray, Kings Conquer” has lent itself to a number of comments. Some encouraging, others not so encouraging.
The great thing about this blog is it’s not written for public approval or for theological correctness. Frankly, I could care less. (Bob cares more than I do, for the record.) My goal is get you all to think, by sharing my personal journey of being a believer and running/owning a business.
Over the years, many have asked for principles or step by step to implement running a Christian business. Instead of principles, I find it better to share examples, allowing you to form your own processes. Let me explain what I mean.
In case you didn’t know this, our special forces in the US Military are the tip of the spear. The Navy SEALS, US Rangers, Green Beret, etc are on the front lines of the battle for our countries freedom.
If you’ve ever read any of the books (Chosen Solider, Lone Survivor) you would realize the overwhelming majority of our Special Forces soliders are believers. They are highly trained in numerous different skills. They can fire any gun, create bombs, survive the in the wilderness and are very smart. In many cases these young men are highly intelligent, many attending some of our best Universities.
When we insert special forces into say.. Afghanistan, it’s not how you would think. The members of the special forces grow beards like the locals, dress in the garb of the locals, eat their foods, speak their language, observe their customs. 
They do not come in like in the movies and blow the crap out of everything. They assimilate into the society and become one of the locals. Building trust, helping out the locals and being of value to the community. All with a gun by their side just in case.
They conquer in love.
Occasionally they will get into fire fights. They will be attacked. Guess what they do… they fight back. If shot at, they fire back, they kill their enemy. And if the enemy is wounded and when the fire fight is done, they offer medical services to the wounded enemy.
In WW II in the European theater, this was a common approach. The US Military would engage the enemy and after we won, we would then start helping their wounded survive, by offering medical treatment. One minute the solider was trying to kill the man, then next minute trying to save their life.
You see, we all want a set of principles and list of things to do as business owners. How much debt, if any should I have. What kind of compensation, what to do if a fellow believer does wrong, should we go public or not go public, how to handle unruly customers, blah, blah, blah.
Here’s my advice. If you are doing business with a company that doesn’t even remotely know God. Maybe they have orgies in the office. Instead of not doing business with them, why not engage them in business. Why not come in and become special forces for the Kingdom of God. It’s what Paul, John, Peter and others did. Just don’t engage in the orgies.
Don’t invite them to a Bible study. Just love them in the process they are in. Win their trust, do business with the company. Get to know the people you are in contact with at the company. Don’t have an agenda, just engage them in a conversation. Bring the Kingdom in that fashion.
If you are buying out an evil company, just take dominion. Do the deal, then gently over time, expose them to the teachings. Don’t use “Jesus said… or in John 12:3 -10… Just love them well.”
Some of you may say, I’m denying Christ. I’m not. I just have found it’s a whole lot easier to make in roads with people when you have their trust and aren’t playing the Jesus card.
Think of the special forces. Love these people. That’s Jesus called us to do. Love our neighbor as ourselves. Your neighbor can be the guy who is cheating on his wife, surfing porn and cheating the company finances. He may be your contact and direct person. Just love him well.
That’s just one way to conquer.
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Matt – very good article.
God bless you,
Tim
Why do you swear and use the terms you do if you are a christian, i dont think a christian says pi££ or cr££ why would you?
I love when people can work ridiculous examples into their work slyly and yet still make unmistakably true points that are at the heart of the Kingdom.
” If you are doing business with a company that doesn’t even remotely know God. Maybe they have orgies in the office. Instead of not doing business with them, why not engage them in business. ”
I will use this quote for years to come my friend…thank you
Powerful enough to give me the God bumps….I know enough to know when the Truth is being revealed….Matt, you are not that good on your own to write this….this was Spirit led. Thank you. Amen.
Rob, that’s a good question. I guess, I’m just being who I am. A messed up guy on a journey of life. You know sometimes I swear, sometimes I get hacked off when my flight runs late. I get mad at my kids, sometimes my words aren’t filled with grace. I laugh at times to distasteful jokes. I admit it. There… When I write, I don’t edit. I am what you see and … well… it just is. …
Love you,
Matt
PS. I’ll work on not swearing so da** much. I admit it’s a real pi##er…
Thanks Matt!
There is no greater power in the universe than unconditional love. Jesus himself practiced it. When we talk about “the power of the cross” that is what we are really talking about – though we rarely think of it that way!!
Matt,
Your examples are right to the point. You don’t beat around the bush on how a Christian Business owner should run a business.
Thanks
Just this week I was speaking with Dave Brown with Answers in Genesis, http://www.answersingenesis.org/. We were discussing the curriculum they have for schools and how to implement it because my wife is the Principal of a Christian school. I recently connected with Dave at the factory I just started working at which of course is not a Christian business. When I got back to my line I was speaking with a fellow believer about my talk with Dave and mentioned the curriculum. His immediate response was, “well, the schools will never except it.” This defeatist mentality is so disturbing among the Christian population, especially in a free society. My response back was, “our school will, in fact our school is growing exponentially because parents are getting tired of how public schools are being run.” In my opinion it is more effective to develop, launch, and establish Christian based business, organization, and associations than it is to try and revamp a non-Christian one. Why does the church always look to the world for the standard of quality rather than designing that quality themselves. If the world will not accept it then the church should design it bigger, better, and greater. The world should want to mimic the church. Quit thinking small and think like the one who owns the cattle on a thousand hills.
I do not say these things to take away from your article, which is awesome by the way. Not all of us will have the opportunity to build things from scratch. Many of the greatest and most powerful things that have happened in the kingdom was from men and women of God establishing a presence in a pagan situation. I will never forget the talk I had with Evan who commented in this discussion board, he told me that Daniel was a bureaucrat. Daniel had no authority as a prophet of God in the Babylonian empire. The King surrounded himself with wise men of all nations and would listen to whoever he wanted to at the time. When the King agreed with Daniel he would decree that the whole kingdom would worship Daniels God. May we begin, as a church, to establish and influence as God gives us the opportunity.
well said thanks for the balance and clarity on this issue.
Wow, what a good discussion is going on here. I agree with what you have said, Matt about conquering in love. It is much more effective to love others than to talk them to death.
I also like what Luke said. We need to be careful to not compromise Who we represent. While we are loving them and meeting them on their level, let’s be careful to hold fast to our principles and what God says. Remember we are meant to be a “peculiar people.”
Matt, I am reading this on the 15th Sept but with a smile I say “I love this Guy”! I read you from the heart and I appreciate. Yours is one e-mail I must read and have been sharing the principles laid out -”Daily Bread, “Pray and act”…….and now ‘How to conquer. Mingle indeed and as Michael Pink would say- “without joining the pack” for as the scriptures say, the wheat and tares grow together till the day of harvest. There are many benefits. Only God can change the heart (Nature) of the tare so he can become wheat. Keep on doing a good job in helping us do our part to change hearts for the Kingdom.