IS TIME TO CHANGE DIRECTION

'To win…you must deny yourselves.’

1 Corinthians 9:25

Responsibility requires us to make a living and support our family. But deep down, do you feel you’ve been ‘called’ to do something different? It was when Jesus told His disciples to leave the security of the shore and launch out into the deep, that they landed their greatest catch of fish. Here’s a modern-day story to encourage you: Jerry Richardson faced an important decision in 1961. In those days he played American football for the Baltimore Colts, a job that was considered glamorous and secure. But when he was turned down for the raise he requested, he felt it was time to take a risk and do what he’d always wanted to do – start his own business. He and his family moved back to South Carolina, where an old college friend invited him to buy into a hamburger stand. Richardson took the plunge and bought Hardee’s first franchise. He went from catching footballs to flipping hamburgers twelve hours a day. He scrubbed stoves and floors. His wages? Only $417 a month (about £320). But tired and frustrated as he was, he refused to give up. He employed the same discipline he’d used on the football field to focus on making his restaurant more efficient, his employees the friendliest in town, and his prices affordable. Before long his business boomed. Eventually he went on to head up one of the largest food service companies in the United States, with $3.7 billion (about £2.8 billion) a year in sales. Oh, and one more thing. He also became an owner in the National Football League and established the Carolina Panthers franchise, which he owned for twenty-three years.