Different Rooms. Same Calling.

What two conferences taught me about faith, leadership, and the work God entrusts to us.

Last week, I had the opportunity to spend three days learning from two very different groups of leaders.

On Tuesday, I joined church leaders at Momentum One Day, a gathering focused on strengthening churches and equipping those who lead them.

On Wednesday and Thursday, I spent time with Christian business leaders from around the world, learning how they are integrating faith into their businesses and leadership.

Different conferences. Different audiences. Different missions.

But as I listened to the speakers, participated in conversations, and connected with leaders, something struck me.

We were talking about many of the same things.

And it reinforced something God has been teaching me through an unexpected career transition.

Different Missions. Surprisingly Similar Challenges.

At the church leadership conference, we talked about purpose, developing leaders, and building ministries that would last beyond our own tenure.

At the business conference, we talked about purpose, developing leaders, and building organizations that would last beyond their founders.

Sound familiar?

Both conferences addressed the importance of balancing work and rest. Leaders in both settings struggle with the temptation to do more, achieve more, and carry more than they were designed to carry.

Both included sessions on artificial intelligence. Churches and businesses alike are wrestling with how to use emerging technology wisely without losing the human relationships that matter most.

Both emphasized communication, navigating conflict, and having difficult conversations. Apparently, people are people whether they're sitting in a boardroom or a church conference room.

And both groups face the realities of financial pressure, limited resources, maintaining facilities, and making difficult decisions about where to invest for the future.

As someone who spent 30 years in corporate America before moving into church leadership, I found the similarities fascinating.

The language might be different. The organizational structures might be different.

The measures of success might be different.

But many of the leadership challenges are remarkably similar.

And perhaps that shouldn't surprise us.

The Assumption I Didn't Realize I Was Making

For 30 years, I worked at Nationwide. And throughout those years, I believed my work was part of God's calling on my life.

I never thought ministry was limited to pastors, missionaries, or people working for Christian organizations.

In fact, I saw leadership as one of the primary ways I could serve God.

As a manager, I understood that the way I treated people mattered far beyond the walls of our office.

Think about it.

Someone's relationship with their manager can affect their job satisfaction, their emotional well-being, and even the way they interact with their spouse and children when they get home.

A difficult day at work doesn't always stay at work.

Neither does the encouragement of a leader who genuinely cares.

I wanted the people who reported to me to experience something different because of my faith.

That meant taking time to know them as people, not just employees.

It meant giving credit where credit was due when things went well, and being willing to shoulder responsibility when things went wrong.

It meant refusing to push someone else down to help myself climb higher.

And it meant recognizing that the people I led weren't simply resources to help accomplish organizational objectives. They were individuals created in God's image, with families, struggles, aspirations, and lives that mattered.

I certainly didn't get all of that right. But I believed those things mattered because my faith was supposed to shape the way I led.

My workplace was already a place of ministry, even if my job title didn't say so.

Yet despite believing all of that, I carried a subtle assumption.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I still viewed vocational ministry as a higher calling.

When I eventually transitioned into church leadership, part of me felt that I was moving into work more directly connected to God's purposes.

And in one sense, I was. The explicit mission of a church is different from that of an insurance company.

But something I've come to appreciate more deeply is that the calling to serve God faithfully doesn't depend on the organization issuing our paycheck.

The same God who entrusted me with people, resources, and responsibilities at Nationwide has entrusted me with people, resources, and responsibilities in church leadership.

The setting changed. The mission changed. But the responsibility to steward what God had given me remained.

I didn't move from secular work into sacred work. I moved from one opportunity to serve God into another.

Sometimes the Most Powerful Ministry Doesn't Look Like Ministry

One of the most meaningful things about spending time with Christian business leaders was hearing how God is working through people and organizations in places far beyond the walls of a church.

Some are building businesses that create meaningful employment and provide for families.

Others are developing leaders, investing in communities, or creating products and services that genuinely improve people's lives.

Some are operating in environments where openly sharing their faith is difficult. Their integrity, compassion, generosity, and leadership may be among the most visible expressions of Christ their colleagues ever encounter.

Their workplace isn't a distraction from their calling.

It may be the very place God has called them to serve.

Jesus told His followers:

"You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden." — Matthew 5:14 (NLT)

Light is most visible where darkness exists.

Sometimes God calls us to serve within the church, strengthening believers and equipping them for ministry.

Other times, He places us in businesses, schools, hospitals, government, or communities where our presence and witness can make a difference.

And that witness doesn't always begin with words.

Sometimes it begins with a leader who listens when someone is struggling.

A manager who takes responsibility rather than assigning blame.

An executive who chooses integrity when compromise would be easier.

Or a business owner who sees employees as people to be cared for rather than costs to be minimized.

None of those actions is exclusive to Christians. Many people of different beliefs lead with remarkable integrity and compassion.

But for those of us who follow Christ, these aren't simply good management practices.

They're opportunities to reflect the character of the One we serve.

Jesus taught that leadership is not about exercising power over others, but about serving them (Mark 10:42–45).

The real test of Christian leadership isn't how prominently we display our faith. It's whether our faith changes how we lead.

Stewardship Is the Common Thread

There's another connection between these two worlds that has become increasingly important to me.

Stewardship.

In my years working in investments, stewardship meant making thoughtful decisions about capital, managing risk, and positioning resources to achieve long-term objectives.

In church leadership, stewardship includes many of those same responsibilities, but with an explicit focus on advancing the mission God has entrusted to the organization.

And increasingly, I'm convinced that stewardship is one of the most important responsibilities of every Christian leader.

Not just financial stewardship.

Stewardship of people. Stewardship of influence. Stewardship of opportunities. Stewardship of time. Stewardship of the gifts God has given us.

Whether we're leading a company or a church, we're making decisions every day about how to use resources that ultimately belong to God.

Are we developing people or simply extracting productivity from them?

Are we building something that will outlast us, or something that depends entirely on us?

Are we pursuing growth for its own sake, or are we multiplying the impact of what we've been entrusted to lead?

Are we working so hard to accomplish good things that we're neglecting the relationships and rest that God also calls us to protect?

Those questions matter in both environments.

And they reveal something important.

The difference between faithful leadership and unfaithful leadership isn't primarily the type of organization we lead.

It's how we respond to the responsibility we've been given.

Building Something That Lasts

One of the recurring themes at both conferences was the desire to build something that lasts.

For churches, that often means developing disciples, strengthening congregations, and preparing the next generation of leaders.

For businesses, it may mean building healthy organizations, creating opportunities for employees, serving customers well, and establishing a legacy that extends beyond the founder.

The missions aren't identical. And we shouldn't pretend they are.

But there's a shared leadership responsibility beneath both.

Our goal shouldn't simply be to accomplish as much as possible while we're in charge. It should be to leave people and organizations better equipped to thrive after we're gone.

That's a different way of measuring success.

It shifts our focus from personal achievement to lasting impact.

From accumulating influence to developing others.

From protecting what we've built to multiplying what we've been entrusted with.

And it requires humility.

Because building something that lasts often means investing in people who may eventually accomplish more than we do.

It means celebrating their success rather than feeling threatened by it.

It means recognizing that we're stewards, not owners, of the opportunities God has placed before us.

That's true whether we're leading a ministry or a business.

The Calling Hasn't Changed

For much of my professional life, I thought about success in terms of results.

Were we achieving our objectives? Were we making good decisions? Were we improving outcomes?

Those questions still matter.

Excellence matters. Results matter. Organizations need capable leaders who can execute.

But my understanding of success has been changing.

I've become less interested in simply achieving more and increasingly interested in what God wants to accomplish through the opportunities He's given me.

And that changes the question.

Instead of asking, "Am I doing important enough work?"

Perhaps we should ask, "Am I being faithful with the work God has placed before me?"

Colossians 3:23 reminds us:

"Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people." (NLT)

Notice that Paul doesn't limit that instruction to pastors, missionaries, or ministry leaders.

Whatever you do.

That's a powerful reminder for those serving in the marketplace who sometimes wonder whether their work matters to God.

And it's an equally important reminder for those serving in ministry who might be tempted to think their position automatically makes their work more meaningful.

Faithfulness isn't determined by our job title.

It's demonstrated through our obedience.

Different Rooms. Same Calling.

Looking back on those three days, I'm grateful for the people I met, the friendships renewed, and the wisdom shared by leaders serving in so many different capacities around the world.

But perhaps the most meaningful takeaway was this:

God's Kingdom is not advanced only by people working in ministry. God works through faithful people serving wherever He has placed them.

The pastor shepherding a congregation.

The executive leading with integrity.

The entrepreneur creating jobs.

The employee showing compassion to a struggling colleague.

The business owner choosing generosity over personal gain.

The church leader making difficult decisions to position a ministry for the next generation.

Different roles. Different opportunities. Different expressions of faithfulness.

I spent three decades in the corporate world before stepping into church leadership.

For a time, I subtly thought that moving into ministry meant stepping into a higher

calling.

Now I wonder whether the greater lesson is that I had underestimated the calling God had already given me.

God was at work in both chapters.

And perhaps the greatest opportunity isn't choosing between ministry and business.

It's recognizing that every place God plants us is an opportunity to serve Him.

We don't have to work in ministry to be in ministry.

We simply need to be faithful with what God has entrusted to us, wherever He has called us to serve.

And when we do that well, our work becomes more than a way to earn a living or build an organization.

It becomes an opportunity to serve others, reflect Christ, and participate in the multiplication of His Kingdom.

Where has God planted you in this season, and how are you using what He's entrusted to you?