Taking Care of Business E-Book

Gene Allen

• Herausgeber: BroadStreet Publishing Group, LLC
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Seitenzahl: 225

Beschreibung

Make God your business partner. When it comes to making big decisions in both our personal and professional lives, many of us experience anxiety, fear, and confusion. But there is only one way to forge ahead with courage and confidence: God's guidance. In Taking Care of Business, Dr. Gene Allen shares his story of astonishing success and demonstrates how leaps of faith can change your life and livelihood. Featuring practical applications and indispensable insight, Taking Care of Business will empower you to - tackle business ventures and career changes with boldness, - cultivate resilience, - transform failures into triumphs, - recognize signs of God's intervention, and - produce earthly and eternal fruits beyond your wildest dreams. You can face any detour or fork in the road with peace when you trust God's perfect plans. Ignite your ambitious heart and experience all the blessings he has for you.  

Leseprobe

Endorsements

Taking Care of Business is a fire-starter for those who want to ignite their financial world. Thought-provoking and energetic, this book is a bold approach to faith and financial mastery. Captivating…truthful…empowering, this is a must-read for business owners, entrepreneurs, and leaders—a field guide of information perfect for individual study, conferences, leadership training, or group study.

Tracey Mitchell, International Speaker, Award-Winning Author

I have known Gene Allen for around a quarter of a century, first as my small group leader then as a member of our discipleship group, as a discipleship group leader of multiple long-term groups, as a teacher and mentor of many, and, perhaps most importantly, as a close friend. Taking Care of Business is not just theology (although it contains theology) and is not just researched beliefs from other people’s experiences (although it is well-researched). More importantly, it is rooted and grounded in Gene’s transparent and honest account of his life, with all the peaks and valleys. The reader will not just learn about Gene’s life story but will also find a wealth of hard-earned wisdom that leads to a richer life at the place where faith and occupation intersect.

Dennis Powell, Senior Texas District Judge

The greatest leader of all time, Jesus of Nazareth, told his followers to “occupy until I come.” Occupy means to do business. All of us have a purpose, an assignment, and business to conduct. Dr. Gene Allen has unique experiences as a great leader in the business world. Taking Care of Business will inform, instruct, and inspire you to reach new heights of success in fulfilling your assignment and reaching your dreams. The book is an adventure of experiences and expertise that combine to catapult you into your next dimension.

Dr. Mike Brown, Pastor of Faith and Wisdom Church, Founder and CEO of Strength and Wisdom Ministries

What happens when a dream is mixed with tenacious faith? Vision manifests! This account is proof that God’s economy trumps the end time schemes trying to lock you in the servitude of the fickle whims of politics and market manipulations. This is a kingdom handbook revealing the explosive dynamics that prove, in real time, that Christ can bless you in every way with a greater acceleration of increase than Satan can steal through inflation. I’ve personally known Gene Allen as his pastor, co-minister, and friend for over thirty years. Gene is not only a superb businessman but also a tremendous evangelist, teacher, and disciple, and one of the greatest spontaneous sowers I have ever known. I can attest to his superior acumen in moving with the Holy Spirit to sow timely kingdom missions, evangelism, and seed to produce phenomenal one-hundred-fold kingdom harvests. Get ready to ignite your vision through the launch codes revealed in this journal account of God’s elite special forces… strategic kingdom sowers!

Dr. James David Brown, President of Kingsway Bible College

Gene Allen is a kingdom giant anointed for business. His thirty-plus years of experience, scriptural research, and record-setting industry achievements need to be heard. His passion for helping others prosper is contagious. He and his wife, Kim, have documented how God honors the loyal, the faithful, and the obedient. Every seeker of uncommon business wisdom and a passion to prosper should read this book!

Dr. Mike Smalley, Evangelist, Author, and International Speaker

Trusting God with money is an easy concept; however, Gene Allen explains the faith required and the favor received. Taking Care of Business is a must-read for not only the business-minded but also those who are God-minded to understand and rethink our false control of managing what already belongs to God. This book balances the personal experiences of the author with lessons from Scripture. Be prepared to be enlightened and entertained.

Pastor Kaye Sims, Crystal Beach Community Church

I have been waiting for Gene’s book for many years, as his lifetime of obedience reveals the true favor of God and points out key elements of kingdom living. Gene’s experiences allowed him to conquer all the challenges he faced in Taking Care of Business. This book is a must-read.

Jimmy Sims, Mayor, CEO, and Owner of Sabine Packaging, Inc.

BroadStreet Publishing® Group, LLC

Savage, Minnesota, USA

BroadStreetPublishing.com

Taking Care of Business: Live by Faith, Lead with Courage

Copyright © 2023 Dr. Gene Allen

9781424566792 (hardcover)

9781424566808 (ebook)

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB). Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org. Scripture marked KJV is taken from the King James Version of the Bible, public domain. Scripture quotations marked AMP are taken from the Amplified® Bible (AMP). Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation Used by permission. www.Lockman.org. Scripture quotations marked MEV are taken from the Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Stock or custom editions of BroadStreet Publishing titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, ministry, fundraising, or sales promotional use. For information, please email [email protected].

Cover and interior by Garborg Design Works | garborgdesign.com

Printed in China

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This book is dedicated to my familyfor their love and support every day.

Table of Contents

Foreword

Chapter 1: The Dream

Chapter 2: Follow Your Destiny

Chapter 3: Seizing Opportunities

Chapter 4: The Joy of Giving

Chapter 5: The Reward of Expectations

Chapter 6: The Payoff of Perseverance

Chapter 7: The Brilliance of Resilience

Chapter 8: The Mindset of Optimism

Chapter 9: The Power of Wisdom, Synergy, and Collaboration

Chapter 10: Following His Lead

Chapter 11: Overcoming Life’s Challenges

Chapter 12: Walking in Miracles

Endnotes

About the Author

Foreword

It is my great honor to highly recommend Gene Allen’s book Taking Care of Business. Gene has been my friend for over twenty-five years. I have witnessed firsthand his great ability and skill in managing a multi-million-dollar business. The principles, examples, and testimonies in this book will inform, inspire, and equip you with the necessary wisdom you need to move to the next level of prosperity.

Gene’s writing style and ability to tell a story will capture your attention and keep you reading page after page to find out what happens next. Gene’s life is an exciting story I have observed in person as each event came to pass.

Once, Gene shared with me over breakfast how he built his business on biblical principles. He believed and practiced Matthew 6:33, which says, “Seek first the kingdom of God” (NKJV). His greatest desire was to conduct his business in a way that would be pleasing to God, and Gene was faithful to share his faith with clients and partners when the door was open.

For the past forty-six years, I have traveled around the world with my focus on God’s ability to supply every financial need that a person may have. This book could help that happen in your life. This book is not hype, but it is solid guidelines that will teach you how to start and manage your own business. Instead of working for a boss who is breathing down your neck and limiting your income, you can control your own financial destiny. The successful do not succeed by accident. They master the ability to focus, plan, set goals, and follow through—and that is what Gene Allen does! He knows what it takes to manage two hundred people and ensure that deadlines on million-dollar projects are met. As you read this book, remember it was written by a man who possesses those attributes that cause a company to grow, increase, and prosper. Gene has a proven track record. He is not trying to be successful; he is successful.

Gene Allen has blessed ministries and ministers around the world. His generosity is legendary. He believes, as do I, that what you sow you will reap. He is quick to sow when a need presents itself. His purpose in writing this book was to sow his knowledge, wisdom, and business skills with you, the reader. From the time you begin this book until you finish it, you will gain insight that will ensure you live a life of abundance and fulfillment.

Dr. James PayneAuthor of bestselling book Seedenomics, mentor, songwriter, bishop, and overseer of the City Harvest Network of Ministers and Churches under the leadership of Dr. Rod Parsley and the World Harvest Church

1

The Dream

I stood at the Eiffel Tower and slowly scanned the 750-foot structure that ascended into the clouds. For a man who had traveled far from home, Paris was a dream come true. All of my life, I longed to experience the rich culture that northern Europe offered its visitors. As I stood, open-mouthed and staring, it was hard to imagine my feet were trekking across the tables of history. I lingered, lost in the moment, until a stranger interrupted my thoughts and nudged me to move along. Without taking my eyes off the tower, I shuffled forward, taking in the irony of the moment. That day the Eiffel Tower was being painted, and that fact loomed large in my mind. I was the president of an industrial painting company and knew what a job of that size entailed.

As we loaded the tour bus and the doors swung shut, the guide rambled off bits of information. “The tower has changed colors many times…Fifteen hundred brushes and five thousand sanding disks are used in the process… It will take sixty tons of paint to complete the project.”

Once the tour guide finished and replaced the mic on its hook, my pastor looked at me and, in a serious tone, said, “One day, Gene, you will paint structures like the Tower. They will be some of the largest infrastructures on the planet.”

Several weeks passed before my mind could fully take in what he had said. Although I felt the weight of those words, it would be a while before my faith would catch up to my feelings. I knew it was more than a coincidence that the Eiffel Tower was being painted during my short stay in Paris. Although I didn’t know what step to take next, I knew prophecies are pointless if we don’t turn our feet and begin to walk in faith. In a way that is hard to explain, I realized that it took the backdrop of Paris to prepare my heart to embrace the prophecies that would unfold.

In the months to come, I forced my way through mounds of books and stacks of commentaries. I analyzed antiquity, waded through war stories, studied religious works, and even glanced at the gladiators. I read the works of those considered giants in the faith and scanned sacred texts to draw my faith into focus. Each entry showcased men who defied the odds and carved out their chapter of history. In my faith quest, I found my faith consistently returning to the story of Noah.

During this time, I had an opportunity to view a dramatic production of Noah. The producers used rich cinematography and reverberating sound effects to bring the ancient tale to life. As a man who has great appreciation for contractors who create supersized structures, I felt emotionally tied to what Noah had agreed to take on. As the scenes unfolded, I scooted closer to the edge of my seat. Oddly, I felt encouraged when God gave Noah an assignment he couldn’t fully comprehend. My hands squeezed the sides of the chair when the animals worked their way out of the woods and ambled up the ramp. I squirmed around in frustration when critics did their best to dissuade him from driving another nail into a project that would surely sink. For the first time, I could see the flash of uncertainty in Noah’s eyes as detractors labeled him a lunatic. It wasn’t just Noah whom they threw verbal jabs at; they tossed a few rocks his sons’ way too.

If you have had rivals who have tried to censure your creativity or discount your dreams, then you understand the kind of chaos that Noah was working around. As the script moved forward, the cinema cut to scenes of tsunami-sized waves splashing against the boat. This time, Noah’s critics weren’t trying to cut off what he was doing; they were trying to claw their way onto it.

What happens when God snatches our life jackets away and throws us into the deep end? How do we respond when he asks us to do something that may leave us looking more like a heretic than a hero? God’s requests don’t always arrive neatly packaged. Sometimes they get torn and shredded as they make their way to us. If there is any theological doubt to that statement, then consider how Daniel’s prayers got entangled in the heavenly realm. Daniel 10:2–3 tells us that for twenty-one days, a prophecy was locked outside of the earth. Maybe you’ve felt like your prayers have gone unanswered or your petitions have fallen short of their intended mark. Daniel understood what that felt like, and so did David. If we are honest, at times, divine instructions can feel more heavy than heavenly.

Sometimes the hardest situations in life set us up for the greatest miracles. Before I darted off to Paris, I felt like my future was held up by something I could not explain. The company I was working for offered me a promotion that would double my salary. It was a proposal that would push my earnings into the six-figure range and would bring my family financial security. Even with the lure of a lucrative signing bonus, I knew in my heart that God hadn’t released me from the small church in Texas where I was pastoring. What made the decision harder to make was that I was not taking a salary from the church. Pastoring was our gift to the congregation and our seed planted for God’s kingdom. To walk away from the deal meant walking away from anything that would anchor our finances.

It wasn’t a decision we made quickly. My wife and I devoted ourselves to prayer and fasting and felt confident that God wanted us to remain in Texas. We quickly learned that sometimes making the right decision does not always guarantee instant blessings or increases. Sometimes we have to sacrifice our way through a season to get to the supernatural side of things.

The next twelve months were not as easy as we imagined they would be. During that time, we were forced to return our industrial painting company’s vehicle, and our owner-financed house was reclaimed and sold when we were no longer able to afford the payments. The interesting thing about walking by faith is that it empties our resources so that we can make room for God’s. Although I can’t share everything that God did in that season, I can tell you miracles came into our lives—small at first, then like an avalanche giving way. When the company car went back, a man stepped forward and handed us the keys to a debt-free vehicle. As we packed up our house, another property owner offered us a house to rent for half the price of the one we were walking away from. Everywhere we turned, we saw that our obedience brought us something better. Over the decades, I’ve learned that God will never have us walk away from one opportunity if there isn’t a greater one looming in our future.

When I think of all the men who did great exploits for God, my mind doesn’t rush to remember the one who brought down a giant or the one who declawed a lion or even the one who conquered a kingdom. Instead, my mind races toward a man who followed his faith and ended up in God’s hall of fame. If we retraced Abraham’s journey, we would discover his story wasn’t marked by a major epic moment but rather a series of serious surrenders. Maybe that’s where the majority of us live, and maybe that is where we best live out our faith, in the space between epic and ordinary.

If you remember the story, Abraham left his native land in quest of establishing a new nation. While that may seem like an exciting opportunity, it required extraordinary faith and emotional fortitude. We don’t achieve assignments of that magnitude every day—sometimes ever. Forging a nation came with risk and occasional regret. The quest to walk out God’s promises involves conquering situations and sometimes conquering ourselves if we get in the way. God didn’t just call Abraham to walk into prophetic promises. He also called him to walk away from kindred and country. That may be the hardest part of faith: letting go of something familiar so that we can find our future. Maybe, like Abraham, you long to do something that lands you outside of what is familiar or holds family ties. Although I cannot promise that your journey will be easy or without effort, I can assure you that receiving the promises of God will be worth more than anything you leave behind.

Sitting at my desk, I received a phone call from a coal-mining facility in northeast Texas. The project manager invited me to attend a bid meeting to price the cost of painting a crane boom. He explained that the boom was the largest of its kind, measuring 338 feet. Those words, largest of its kind, rang loud in my mind. As he rambled through the process, I silently whispered, According to your word. Over the next few days, I repeated that phrase again and again until hesitation turned into conviction. There was a point when I quit trying to talk myself into faith and started speaking faith aloud.

The following week I arrived at the meeting and took a seat in the boardroom. Other contractors were there for the same purpose. In a way that seems nothing short of miraculous, competitive contractors insinuated their bid would be unusually high. Their firms were short-staffed, and a project of this size was more than they needed.

As I drove home from the meeting, my mind went to the image of the Eiffel Tower, and my thoughts lingered on the prophecy, “One day, Gene, you will paint…some of the largest infrastructures on the planet.” I grinned at the memory and waited for the call that would confirm the project was awarded to my company.

As I reminisced, I thanked God for trusting me with that initial project. Somehow, I knew more contracts were to come. And according to the promise I received in Paris, some of the largest structures in the world became a part of my portfolio. The contracts included a five-billion-dollar refinery expansion, work on the largest drillship in the world, a contract for a Harrier jet aircraft carrier, and some of the largest fuel tanks and piping terminals in the US. I couldn’t piece it all together at that moment, but I knew that God wasn’t a one-hit wonder. If God could make the miraculous happen once, he could do it again. As I whispered words of gratitude, I felt the Lord whisper back, Gene, if you take care of my business, I will take care of yours. Looking back, it is hard to imagine all of the miracles I would have missed if I had run from my fears.

Being bi-vocational isn’t for the faint-hearted. Pastoring a church and starting a business in Port Arthur, Texas, from ground zero was hard. I spent countless hours trying to find a way to balance out taking care of our church members while trusting God to grow our business. During that season, I dug into a passage that dared my faith to go deeper: “Without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6 KJV).

The first time I read through those words, my faith seemed shallow. I read them again…and again. The word “impossible” kept clawing at my consciousness. I had to answer the hard question: Would my lack of faith disqualify the blessings God was trying to bring to my business? I knew from experience that favor follows faith. If God was going to use me in a way he never had, I would have to reach for him in a way I never had. Each day, my number one priority became pleasing God with my faith. While my competitors calculated their profits, I counted God’s promises. It was nothing short of supernatural that in twelve months, our company grew from one employee to four hundred employees and turned over $20 million in sales. When asked how our success seemed to materialize out of thin air, I gave credit to God, the scriptwriter and producer of our dreams. Today, I still pull strength from the passage in Hebrews, and the words “without faith” leap off the page every time.

Like most middle-aged men, playing pickup sports on the weekends was a way to keep me busy and out of trouble. My friend Marc enjoyed battling it out on the baseball diamond almost as much as I did. Competitive sports were something we both enjoyed, and dinner dates with our wives kept us connected. Over time, we bonded like brothers and knew the ins and outs of each other’s jobs, families, and history.

One day, Marc called my work and asked if I could meet him at the corner café for coffee. His voice was rough and ragged, and he didn’t sound like himself. When I pushed open the door to the café and saw his face, I realized that whatever the story was, it was nothing short of tragic. With his cap pulled down tight, he spit out the words, “She’s been sleeping with a coworker.” My face went pale, and I fought for the right response. He went on, “It’s been going on for six months. The late hours make sense now.” Grief etched his face, and he flung his fork on the plate.

The day before, the truth had slipped out during a fight. His wife wept and begged for forgiveness. That wasn’t the only grenade that had exploded in Marc’s world. The week before his boss called him into the office and explained that his position was being eliminated. Slow sales and low-profit margins had forced the company to make major cuts. Although Marc had been with the company for ten years, others had more tenure than he did.

Like he was in the middle of a violent storm that formed without warning, Marc struggled to hold the pieces of his world together. Just when he thought he had everything securely fastened down, another piece would blow apart. It took a series of mountain-moving miracles to get his feet on solid ground and restore his marriage. During the roughest part of the storm, Marc anchored his heart to God’s Word. When he asked me for advice, I directed him to words written by King David. If anyone understood storms and how to survive them, it was David. My favorite words come from David: “The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles” (Psalms 34:17 NIV). If we are not mindful, our thoughts will stop and shut down on the first few words of that statement, “The righteous cry out,” and never allow our faith to get to the best part of that phrase, the prophetic part, that declares “he delivers us from all our troubles.” Maybe like Marc, you have experienced unexpected crises. If we are honest, each of us has experienced F5 storms that test our faith and define our destinies.

Pouring over the ancient book of Samuel, my fingers fell to the section that shadowed the life of David. If there was a way to describe it without referencing blood and the breaking of bones, I would, but history holds David as one of the greatest warriors of the old world. I admit, it is easy for us to skim through stories we’ve read since childhood. Sometimes the familiarity of a story pulls the backdrop of faith right out of the scene. Long before David rushed toward Goliath, he had the opportunity to run toward smaller giants. They weren’t Philistines nor even human, but they were predators that outsized him nonetheless. God is good at letting us try out our faith in small things so that we don’t faint at the sight of big ones.

Even though we don’t have a record of all David did before the epic battle, we know that he had to use his faith to frighten away enemies. On one occasion, David decided to take on a lion to protect a few lambs. In a graphic warrior kind of way, David forced the lion to move away from the flock. I wasn’t there, but I imagine he spit out a few prayers before lunging for the lion’s mane. I am sure that what happened next was a blur. Maybe at the end of the tussle, he didn’t know whether the blood on his hands belonged to him or the lion. Although we don’t wrestle with lions in today’s world, most of us understand what it feels like to be swiped at when exercising our faith.

The brawl with the lion wasn’t David’s last scrap with something wild. On another occasion, a bear charged after David’s sheep. Responding quickly, David slipped a stone in his slingshot and watched the bear fall at his feet. Near-death encounters were normal for David. By the time he showed up and stared down Goliath, his faith was proportional to the giant’s. God is faithful to take us through seasons of training so that we are well-equipped to deal blows that bring down our enemies and not the other way around.

Before we close out talking about David, I want you to imagine the pure pluck it took for a boy to rush toward a man of war. It wasn’t just David’s actions that carved him a place in history but also the words that backed up those actions. Standing between two armies, David let out a war cry that would echo through the ages: “This day the LORD will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head” (1 Samuel 17:46 NIV). Although most of us will never hurl stones at a physical giant, we face giant-sized circumstances that require God-sized courage and confidence.