Blog for concerned home based business owners

The Elephant in Our Churches

Fri, 26 Mar 2010 22:03:36 GMT

You've probably heard the quote,"the elephant in the room." Well there is an elephant in our churches and it's called "Network Marketing." The question is how should we address it?

It seems like every year I get somebody calling me regarding some new fabulous Network Marketing company. They talk about all the benefits it will have for our church. They talk about how it will raise funds for the church and they talk about how I can be the biggest beneficiary. Now don't get me wrong, I actually think Network Marketing is a viable profession and I think there is some truth to what the people say to me who want me to join their Network Marketing company.

Here's a challenge I face. What if..., just what if somebody in our congregation is in another Network Marketing company and they just haven't approached me? Get this. What if they were with the same company as this unknown person pitching me on their opportunity? This could open up a can of worms that could lead to a lot of chaos.

Now let me share a few of my thoughts about the "elephant in our church."

1. I am not amazed of the number of people who have at least dabbled with Network Marketing in our church over the years and still do. My prayer them is to be bold about their opportunity just like they would about any other business they would be involved with.

2. I've even taught a special class on"Networking God's Way" for business owners. The goal was to give Biblical instruction about how Jesus built the biggest network in the world and how they could use networking as a tool to evangelize the world.

3. I openly welcome people to talk to me about their Network Marketing business. It gives me an opportunity to minister to them and help them discover God's purpose for using them in business.

4. I don't mind Network Marketers approaching congregation members. It gives the opportunity for iron to sharpen iron...lol.

5. I am an "Entrepreneurial Pastor" and I am also a Network Marketer. The only person I've ever sponsored in our church is my son. I am very open about my business to those who inquire but I don't seek to promote it to our congregants. It would be a rare congregant I would consider being involved with as their pastor and their business partner.

In closing let me say that as the economy has slumped, people are praying for God to give them a way to increase their financial situations. They are not so sure even if their present job/career situation is stable. They are not sure what companies they should consider approaching. Some people think about starting a business but they lack the thousands of dollars to get started.

The elephant in our churches is not going away. Network Marketing is moving more and more to the main stream. People from all segments of society are involved from high dollar executives to laborers. They are the same people in our churches. The reality is that people are considering various options and Network Marketing has become one of those options. My belief is that in appropriate situations, just like we would refer a member to a "job" we know about, it would be okay to refer member looking for a business opportunity to a Network Marketer.

We have a unique opportunity to be a great blessing to our congregants when we look to help them in ways beyond their spiritual growth. If pastors or their delegated leaders take the time to learn the truth about Network Marketing, the "elephant our churches" will no longer be a "side bar issue" in our churches.

Stay blessed,

Ced Reynolds, Entrepreneurial Pastor
Network Marketing Professional

When legal challenges come up

Wed, 21 Nov 2007 08:54:02 GMT

Have you ever bought a home and discovered that things weren't perfect. I know you're probably saying "nobody expects a home to be perfect especially if it's not a brand new home." The reason I'm mentioning this today is because everytime we watch the news these days, we see and hear stories where people are experiencing trouble.

One would never think that they would have legal challenges because of mold or asbestos in their newly acquired home. But the reality is that homes have been sold to people with these kinds of problems and more.

What's a person to do? They've just invested their lives savings in a lot of cases and don't have the money to put an expensive attorney on retainer. I feel so sorry for these people. They've done nothing wrong yet they are having to pay for somebody else's neglect.

It's no wonder it's been said that we live in the most litigious society in the history of the United States. Again the questions is what's a person to do? Getting legal help is the obvious answer but the biggest problem is not being prepared to employ the services of an attorney. That's why I'm so thankful for my Prepaid Legal membership. If something like this were to happen to me or any member of Prepaid Legal, we would be able to contact an attorney without the fear of having to pay anything because the monthly membership covers phone consultation and if were necessary to go to court, it would cover that too.

This is truly a day when the average person who doesn't think they can afford and attorney or doesn't think they'll every need an attorney needs one like never before. The great thing about it is the privileges of the rich have been made available to the middle class. The poor are not so bad off because the government will offer them assistance. It's us middle class people who get a bum rap.

No more do we have to settle for not being prepared or not being able to afford legal consultation. Having a Prepaid Legal Plan is very similar to having medical insurance or automobile insurance. The big difference is that we don't have to have a medical emergency or an accident to use it. It's available to preventative concerns like a HMO plan. It sure is a relief to know that I have access to justice when I need it and not if I can afford it.

It certainly is a new day and the middle class will have to make a shift in their thinking and get on board with what's becoming available to us. There are other companies who are understanding that they have a segment of people who need help in a big way. That's why I gladly recommend the Prepaid Legal Life Events Plan to people everyday.

Stay blessed,

Ced Reynolds

Take someone else's advice or do it on your own

Fri, 16 Nov 2007 09:37:17 GMT

There's nothing like experiencing things for yourself. Chances are when we experience things for ourselves we have a tendency to get the point. When it comes to legal challenges we would probably be better off taking the advice of a person who's been there and done that. I know it's not that easy for us adults to just take somebody's else's word but in times like experiences which involve challenges with the law we have to be careful. But on the other side of things we have to consider what else we don't know that could get us in trouble.

Legal intelligence isn't expected to be our expertise especially if we aren't lawyers. Even lawyers get the expert legal assistance when they need it.

Stay in the game,

Ced Reynolds

More on Legal Help

Fri, 09 Nov 2007 22:58:58 GMT

Ministers/Business Owners Click Here

As a pastor and business owner, I need to be available to minister to my congregation and serve my clients, not putting out small fires all day long.

Like when a heckler visits our church complains that I purposely singled him out in my message and as he leaves, says he will see me in court. I have to make an trip to court to defend myself which costs several hundred dollars and only God knows how much time.

Or the speeding ticket my college age son gets for going 62 m.p.h. in a 50 m.p.h. zone. The fine it not the big issue, but I need to do something to keep the points off his record or else our insurance rate will go through the roof.

Then I get a call from one of my "good" neighbors - you know, the neighbor who says hello every morning so cheerfully you can't ever be down. She complains to me because some kids threw a rock at my office window and the shattered glass ruined her car's paint job.

Another neighbor sends me two invoices for reimbursement. One because he had to call a plumber on a weekend when water from our grass flooded her plants. And the second because she paid a landscaper to plant fresh plants in her yard. We're both tenants in the same complex but the landlord failed to respond to a water leak I had reported two days prior.

You know how the story goes...

In the past, a whole day would have been wasted putting out one fire after another.

Now, I do things differently. I pick up the phone and call my Pre-paid Legal Provider Attorney.

If I ever have a heckler threatening to take me to court, I'll call my attorney and let her contact the heckler and get him to understand that something said by a pastor from the pulpit as an illustration is not a criminal offense, especially when the complaining party is unknown by the pastor.

When my son gets a speeding ticket, my Pre-paid Legal Provider Attorney goes to court for him. We still pay the fine, but at least we keep the points off his license.

When my office window(in a leased apartment) shatters glass on a neighbors car, I instruct my Pre-paid Legal Provider Attorney to write a letter to the apartment owners and demand reimbursement for the broken window and the repair costs of my neighbors car.

As for the two invoices, I'll get my Pre-paid Legal Provider Attorney again write a letter to the apartment owners and demand reimbursement for plumber's charges and the landscaper's charges.

The greatest thing about all this is that I can handle these problems from my office with a phone call and a fax machine.

Here's how it works.

Members of Pre-paid Legal call their designated law firm and tell them what their "issue" is, such as a sue happy heckler, complaining neighbors, or a traffic ticket. Then they get a call back from a attorney who knows how to deal with that particular type of problem.

In most states, members can consult with their Pre-paid Legal law firm by phone on any personal or business-related matter.

And they can have an unlimited number of personal legal documents (up to 10 pages each) reviewed by their Pre-paid Attorney.

Included each year is one business document review at no additional cost.

Even if you've never used an attorney, this is a service you want to have like you have pre-paid medical insurance and pre-paid automobile insurance. The big difference is that you can use your legal plan to be proactive to take care of important things like a will and a living will. This is free as part of your plan.

For special services that are not covered by the basic membership, members get a significant discount of 25% off normal legal fees.

In most states, pastors who also own businesses can get additional coverage for their businesses, either as a Home-based business rider or a Legal Plan for the Self-Employed. If your church or business has three employees or more, you can even offer a Pre-paild Legal plan as an employee benefit.

We live and do business in the most litigious country in the world. Did you know the average American is three times more likely to end up in court than to land in the hospital (according to the American Bar Association)?

I would venture to say that pastors who are business owners are at much higher risk than the average American. We're with troubled people, write contracts and we own property. Three great big sources of lawsuits right there. All it takes to wipe out your ministry your business and your life savings is one lawsuit.

Why would you wait to get an attorney until you need one (i.e., until you get sued)?

For more info click here

Where to get legal help

Fri, 09 Nov 2007 16:01:19 GMT

We live in Southern California and we�ve found ourselves being taken advantage of on more than one occasion. Getting affordable legal help was a challenge until we learned how to utilize the proper legal forms.

What we found was that every seemingly legal situation doesn�t require hiring a lawyer. All it sometimes takes is a phone call and being pointed in the right direction. One thing we�ve discovered is being prepared is extremely important. One of the most absolutely worse things that can happen to any family is to be ill prepared for a legal challenge. The least one could do is get a little educated about how to approach a any legal challenge.

Since the inception of the internet there is no excuse not to know anything we want to know. How and where to get legal help is one of those things we should want to know before hand because not knowing could literally cost us everything.

More to come,

Ced Reynolds

Time for a change

Sat, 13 Oct 2007 15:18:37 GMT

Even home based business owners have to be aware of the laws that protect them. Those who are unaware are likely to be taken advantage of if they are not aware. There is no doubt that you have heard about Prepaid Legal in your years of marketing online. You may not have known that Prepaid Legal offers a special business plan for home based business owners. Click here to find out more about Prepaid Legal's legal plan for home based business owners.

Ced Reynolds
(909) 597-3502

The Disciplines of Jesus Part 2

Sun, 15 Jul 2007 22:11:45 GMT

The Disciplines of Jesus For the last few weeks we've been hearing what the word has to say about the disciplines of Jesus. What's so amazing is the simplicity of adopting the disciplines in our own lives.

If you've been privileged to be part of our recent gatherings at CentrePoint, I hope you have been being challenged to go beyond the disciplines you've developed on your own. It's so easy to fall into disciplines that do us no good at all. Disciplines can be developed one of two ways - "Hard or easy." You guessed it, the easy way is not the best way. The way that requires hard work is the only way to see the fruit of the disciplines of Jesus come to pass in our lives.

One thing I know is that there are no short cuts to success in life. Every person has to pay the price. The good thing is that the price is not all required at once. When we have a set of disciplines that we consistently practice, we eventually see the success we desire.

Which disciplines have you put into practice?

Let's take a moment to look over the disciplines we've been hearing about the past two Sundays:

1. Compassion
2. Obedience
3. Prayer
4. Leadership
5. Honor
6. Listening
7. Giving
8. Humility
9. Worship

Of the nine disciplines we've been hearing about, is there one or more that is making a major difference in your life? Take a moment and think about how your life would be as you practice the disciplines mentioned above. Notice I said would be. That means you would be thinking in terms of having practiced them already and seeing the fruit of your labor.

As I write these blogs it is my intention to actively involve you in searching the scriptures so that you can internalize what you are learning. As much as you search the scriptures and internalize the knowledge of the word you gain will only make your life better.

Disciplines are not easy to master - at least not in the natural. If there is one thing I can tell you about Jesus, He wants us to succeed and He has left us clues so that we do succeed in life as believers. As we follow His lead we will discover that success in the kingdom is so much different than success in the world. It's not about what we acquire or where we live or who knows us. It's about who we become in the process of serving the Lord.

Just remember this as I close. Somebody is watching you. The disciplines you display are being emulated by somebody and my hope is that you (me too) are demonstrating disciplines that are worth copying. If you'll remember what I said I heard a man say, "It's OK to be a copy cat as long as you're copying the right cat."

I guess the real question is are we the "right cats?"

Stay blessed,

Pastor Cedric