What can Christian businesspeople learn from Jalen Hurts, Patrick Mahomes, Brock Purdy, and Dan Orlovsky?  Each of these men are living examples of striving to achieve excellence in the job and publicly and fearlessly proclaiming their faith in God in the public arena. Let’s look at what we can learn from them.

           Dan Orlovsky, in his role as NFL game commentor, in a moment of pending catastrophe openly and spontaneously prayed on the air in front of millions of viewers. 

           Patrick Mahomes, upon being interviewed immediately following the Chiefs divisional championship, began the interview by praising God.  Brock Purdy attributes his unusual maturity and calmness to his identity as a Christ-follower.  Jalen Hurts includes “In God we Trust” in his Instagram profile and has openly declared his Christian faith in multiple interviews.

          Each of these men are living examples of striving to achieve excellence in the job and publicly and fearlessly proclaiming their faith in God in the public arena. And while these are the most visible professional athletes, the world of amateur and professional athletics is full of Christian athletes who do the same.

           And that leads us to this question:

           Why do professional athletes so easily and spontaneously proclaim their Christian faith, while Christian businesspeople seem afraid and hesitant to do so?

           Each of these men have achieved levels of excellence in their professions that have given them recognition and influence.  In our world, excellence creates influence. If Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts were run-of-the-mill football players, we would not know about their faith, nor would we care.  It was because they achieved excellence in their professions that they created a following and were able to influence millions.

           That’s a pattern with lots of Biblical support.  You may recall that Joseph became the number two most influential person in the world because he was excellent at what he did.  Daniel achieved rare influence over King Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar and Darius because his work stood out.

           That is a lesson for Christian businesspeople. We gain influence when we strive for excellence. (By the way, our XI community is a place where Christian businesspeople can come together to gain content and connections with other like-minded people.  X I stands for Excellence and Influence.)

           It may be that the character traits that enable professional athletes to reach the heights of their professions are the same that inspire them to unabashedly admit their reliance on God:  Perseverance, commitment, delayed gratification, self-confidence and courage to name a few. It may be the at the average Christian businessperson is not so powerfully equipped with these virtues.

           For example, I’m sure it takes courage to face a 300-pound lineman who is intent on squashing you on Sunday afternoons.  Maybe that courage – developed on the field – oozes over in the opportunity to defeat the fear of being outspoken about one’s faith.

           It may be that Christian businesspeople are more influenced by fear than the athletes are. Most Christian businesspeople will admit to being afraid of what others will think of them, afraid of losing a customer, afraid of tarnishing their image in front of their employees, colleagues and customers.    

           Regardless of the root cause a simple answer to the question of why don’t Christian businesspeople so comfortably proclaim their faith is this:   Habit.

           We have created the habit of swallowing down our urge to give credit to God.  Repeat it enough in becomes almost second nature.  We do it out of habit.  At some point, it was a conscious choice, but we’ve repeated it over and over again to the point where it is a subconscious habit. 

           Our challenge is to break the habit and create a more positive one in its place.

Should we?

           Of course, we should. God commands it:

              Matthew 10:32, 33

                            ³² “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. ³³ But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown him before my Father in heaven. (NIV)

        Our times call for it. There can be no doubt that our culture is sliding darker by the day, with the forces of evil around us more blatant and pervasive than at any time in our lifetimes.

           Part of the reason for that is Christian businesspeople reticence to acknowledge God in their business and their lives.  With God removed from our marketplace lives, we’ve left open the door for more sinister forces to take that place. One way to begin to turn the tide is to mimic Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts and give credit to God in every circumstance.

           I remember listening to Zig Ziglar address the dinner meeting of the National Speaker’s Association some 25 years ago.  Zig began his keynote address with a short testimonial and praise to God.  Then, he launched into his presentation. No one objected.          
           Each of these men, at some point in the past, had to overcome their fear and replace it with faith. They claimed the passage:

           2 Timothy 1:7

            “for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.” (New Revised Standard Version)

            The first step to changing a habit is to consciously act. Do it once and the second time becomes easier.  Do it a few times and it is well on its way to becoming a more positive habit. 

           So, back to the question in the title:  What Can Christian Businesspeople Learn from Jalen Hurts, Patrick Mahomes, Brock Purdy, and Dan Orlovsky?

1. Strive for excellence.  Focus on creating the character traits that contribute to excellence on the job.
2. Take a step of faith and break the habit of ignoring the opportunity to give God the credit.

           I’d love to hear about your successes in overcoming this fear and breaking the habit. Feel free to add to the comments section.

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Related Resources

www.davekahle.com/you-or-him-gods-plan-business

www.davekahle.com/business-model-leadership-character