Regi Campbell heads Seedsower Investments, a private fund which invests in start up service businesses. Over the past 23 years, Regi Campbell has been involved in founding 15 companies, 14 of which still operate today. He has served as CEO four times, in companies from start up to $100m in sales. He has led 8 successful acquisitions and been involved in the successful sale of 5 companies.

Campbell’s experience has been leveraged in the non-profit arena as well, having assisted in the launch of of Camp Highland, Good Samaritan Health Center of Cobb, High Tech Ministries and Bravehearts, a ministry aimed at helping college students avoid and/or break out of sexual addiction. Regi has also released a book that describes how he has found meaning and purpose by integrating his faith into his work: About My Father’s Business: Taking Your Faith to Work.  

Regi is an elder at North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, GA, and has been married to his wife for 38 years.  They have two married children and three grandchildren.   

“THE FEAR OF THE LORD IS THE BEGINNING OF WISDOM, AND THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE HOLY ONE IS UNDERSTANDING”—PROVERBS 9:10 

Decision, n.  1) A making up of one’s mind; Resolution.  2) A settling of a question; A giving of judgment.  3) Verdict.  4) Firmness and determination. 

Good, adj.    1) Having high quality, superior.  2) As it ought to be; Right; Proper. 3) Desirable.  4) Honorable; Worthy.  5) Beneficial.  

WHAT KINDS OF DECISIONS DO WE FACE?

•  Decisions of Defined Morality
  • Assertion:  These decisions generally involve clear right and wrong choices as defined by God.  The issue is whether God’s directive will be followed.  
• Decisions of Implied Morality
  • Assertion:  These decisions generally involve an area not specifically spoken to God, but related in principle, such as questions of ethics.  They usually require discernment in the end. 
• Decisions of Simple Direction
  • Assertion:  Sometimes God doesn’t really care one way or the other.  The process is His concern.  God will honor our seeking the right thing regardless of the choice.

 RESOURCES FOR DECISION MAKING 

• Seek The Wisdom of God
  • Proverbs 9:10A
  • Deuteronomy 4:5-6
  • Proverbs 3:13
  • Proverbs 4:7
  • Proverbs 16:16
  • 1 Kings 3:1-15 
• Acquire The Knowledge of God
  • 1 Samuel 2:3
  • Proverbs 9:10B
  • Deuteronomy 8:1-3
  • Psalm 119:11
  • Psalm 119:105
  • Hebrews 4:12 
• Seek The Wise Counsel of Others
  • Proverbs 11:14
  • Proverbs 15:22
  • Proverbs 12:5
• Hear The Holy Spirit
  • John 16:13
  • 1 Cor. 2:10-16 

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE MAJOR OBSTACLES TO GOOD DECISION MAKING?   

OBSERVATIONS 

• Decisions defined by the word “good” inherently require the acknowledgment of the authority behind the word “good”.  If left to ourselves, we will, at best, be inconsistent in the quest for good decision-making. 
• God, as the authority, has spoken.  The knowledge of what he has spoken must be pursed and acquired. 
• The perspective of other believers can play a great role in the decision process. 
• The Holy Spirit can define where wisdom, knowledge, and people fall short.

 “IF ANY OF YOU LACKS WISDOM, LET HIM ASK OF GOD, WHO GIVES TO ALL LIBERALLY AND WITHOUT REPROACH, AND IT WILL BE GIVEN TO HIM.”  JAMES 1:15 

Greg Stipe is a new friend of the past 2-3 years. He is an entrepreneur who sold his sales training business several years ago. Since then Greg has led businessmen’s roundtables (Trac 3) and done consulting. I love the heart he and his wife Deborah have for Christ. Enjoy this teaching he researched from C.S. Lewis on questions to ask about money.

In Christ,

Boyd

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Questions About Money:

1. What are the risks of making a windfall of money?

2. What has been your experience with people who have come into a lot of money?

3. Are there any verses in the Bible that apply to this situation?

C.S. Lewis made a decision to give away all of the proceeds of his books before he sold the first one. Why? Because he was deathly afraid of what money could/would do to him. Are we afraid of money like him? How would you describe our attitude toward money?

Hebrews 11:6…without faith it is impossible to please God. Where are we tempted to “trust” if we have a great deal of money? How can we fight this?
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“What is your attitude toward giving your money to the work of God and to the needs of others? Like many of us, C.S. Lewis experienced some struggles in this area: “I’m a panic-y person about money myself (which is a most shameful confession and a thing dead against our Lord’s words) and poverty frightens me more than anything else, except large spiders and the tops of cliffs…”

1. Yet Lewis also realized that his fears were a hindrance to faith. “For many of us the great obstacle to charity lies not in our luxurious living or desire for more money; but in our fear—fear of insecurity. This must often be recognized as a temptation.”

2. The temptation to which Lewis refers is that of trusting in ourselves and our material resources for security in life, instead of trusting God. This is a perennial temptation for our human nature. The problem, of course, is not what we have, but what has us. And, our attitude toward giving is a very good barometer of what has us—where our trust really lies. Thus, for the sake of our souls we need to give. Not only for the advancement of God’s work and the good of needy people, but also for our own spiritual health.

This is exactly how C.S. Lewis dealt with the matter in his life. Though few people know it, Lewis lived a very modest life and spent very little on himself. He gave away the royalties from his books to a foundation set up for this purpose. Again and again, needy students at Oxford would find anonymous gifts of money slipped under their doors.

How much should we give? Lewis suggested it is better to consider the manner in which we should give: “I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. In other words, if our expenditure on comforts, luxuries, amusements, etc., is up to the standard common among those with the same income as our own, we are probably giving away too little. If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say they are too small. There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot do because our charitable expenditure excludes them. I am speaking now of ‘charities’ in the common way.”

3. Giving can be a great joy and an exciting adventure if we will follow the teaching of Jesus and the example of C.S. Lewis. And, it will help us grow deeper in a living faith in God.

Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. Luke 6:38 NIV

Larry Green is a friend with a passion to connect life purpose through the lens of the Lord’s purpose. Transitioning from the business world he has developed Cloud Walk as a platform for coaching leaders in spiritual disciplines. You will love his “Life Compass” we have laid out below along with a description of how to implement.

In Christ,
Boyd

It has been said that to know God you must know who God has made you to be… to know who you are… to understand whose you are.

We discover that in coming to know our innermost self we come to know God. (Psalm 51:6)

The journey of discovery we will take together can be summed up with two simple questions or prayers…

Who am I?
Who is God?

In seeking the answers to these questions something very powerful occurs… we discover over time that God will reveal the highest purpose for our lives. In seeking truth, God gives us the clarity and the vision to understand the unique call placed deep within our hearts and our souls.

It is from this place of knowing that we can begin to truly live out God’s purpose and our passion for this life.

If you want to know the status of your automobile you will look to the dashboard indicators. These instruments and gauges will reveal a great deal about the inner workings of your car.

If you want to know God’s purpose for your life where do you look?

The idea of an instrument, a tool, a process that would help us understand who we are and give us insight into what our true purpose looks like became our goal. We asked if we were able to put this process on a single piece of paper, what would it look like? What would this “tool” look like that will assist us in intentionally opening up a space in our lives through which God can begin to reveal who we are and who God is?

The answer became this…

Can you imagine what your life would be like if you had greater clarity on the answers to these questions? God can… and God wants you to know.

During the Life Compass program, we meet as a group for 7 two hour sessions over a 6 month period. In each session we cover one or more of the 9 Life Compass “Life Indicators” (see below) through a series of exercises, discussions, and prayer.

Life Indicators
1. God’s purpose for my life
2. My Passions
3. My most authentic Christ-like self
4. My Belief
5. My Gifts
6. My Fears
7. My Weaknesses
8. My Core Values
9. My Key Relationships

We trust there will be much to celebrate and give thanks for as we experience as deeper sense of connection and a truer sense of who we are. To learn more about Cloud Walk, visit cloudwalk.org.