Backdrop of Success

What if an entrepreneur could guarantee success when they launch a new business? That is the God sized dream we are working toward, the guarantee of success. Unedited Life is seeking to tear open the veil that fictitiously exists between business and ministry. In so doing we have set goals for the first six months of our ministry to prove that when God is in control even the cities that are hit the hardest can thrive. We want to see the downtown area flush with business. We want to see poverty and crime rates lower. All of these goals feed our dream of a flourishing city.

Is it even safe to dream this big? Through the eyes of the natural mind it is almost laughable for a group of people to come to a city and expect to have influence over things that have for so long been a struggle. Businesses struggle to gain traction in our city for various reasons. We are beginning to see that not every unsuccessful business is the fault of city laws and regulations. I hear that taxes are too high, and the city is not welcoming to small business owners. While yes, taxes are high, the city is not out to crush the entrepreneurial spirit. There are more officials from the city with an eye on revitalization that at any point in recent history. There is equal backing from private citizens and banks in the dream of seeing a prospering people. Unedited Life sees our city through the kingdom of heaven and the economy that exists there. There is no mindset of scarcity, it is abundance. There are no thoughts of poverty, only a mentality of wealth. This abundant life has nothing to do with money, but understanding your identity of inclusion as a child of God that carries both responsibility and provision. Again I’ll ask, is it safe to dream this big? Of course it is! We see the identity that God has spoken over everyone and every place, and we refuse to have our eyes tainted with any specks that would distort that view.

What is the first thought that pops into your head when you think about the relationship between business and ministry? There so often seems to be an us and them mentality when looking at the relationship between ministry and marketplace. This is counterproductive to both, and not how the economy of heaven works. Ministry and marketplace should be looked at as mutually supporting entities that must never be allowed to exist without one another. Ministries cannot function without support from individual donors. However, it is businesses that have the capacity to give even more. In turn, ministries that are operating in a heaven to earth capacity are able to bless and see blessings. The economy of heaven will be released wherever Unedited Life goes. We have set our minds to reject division, and in turn look to what heaven has which is inclusion. Inclusion is something we often have to fight for, because division is a great destroyer. Ministry and business should be in relationship, not tearing at each other.

What happens when these two are at war? Ministries will denounce certain businesses and industries as evil, or controlled by evil forces. In kind, businesses will reject God and His people as judgmental. Looking at Christians as hypocrites who are incapable of stepping out of history. These viewpoints are damaging to all, and put both operating at a disadvantage. When we awaken to the reality of new creation and what that really means, we can see that disunity of ministry and business is not how we were meant to function. We are individually destined for unity with God, and meant to be in relationship with each other. Why then would we push God out of business.

The backdrop of success in any area of life is living in relational unity with Father God. When we embrace our identity as sons and daughters of God, there is nothing that can stop us. I cannot begin to fathom why anyone would resist bringing the Mastermind behind success into their entrepreneurial endeavor. If you aspire at anytime to launch into something new, the first place you should turn is to God. This is another point of engagement for the church to declare the goodness and blessings of God.

Success can be interpreted differently when your trust is in your God given identity. Then accomplishment begins to take on a triumph that before was deemed impossible. Intentionally placing assurance of wealth in the hands of God for some is more than difficult. These are the people that operate under the notion of lack that is entrenched in the mindset of poverty. In addition to the mindset of poverty is the misunderstanding of wisdom. Education and understanding of a particular field does not take you down the road to wisdom. In and of themselves, education and experience lead you down the wide thoroughfare of pride. True wisdom will weld education and experience with wisdom from the Spirit of God.

It is vitally important for entrepreneurs to have a firm grasp of identity. When they see themselves as they were truly created to be there is no stopping them. They will live out of the wealth available to them from the economy of heaven. They will see clearly the decisions that lead to growth and profit. For Unedited Life victory is in changing the conception identity. That means the people and the city live out who they have been called by God. That conception of identity will be evident in our city by the people and businesses that are soaring to new heights, crime and poverty are reduced, and heaven’s sphere of influence expands. There will be ministry that overflows into the marketplace, and the two will walk in unity. Unedited Life seeks with every breath to stand in the victory of the whole world stepping into oneness with Christ. In that oneness, we can guarantee success.