My daughter texted me from college after her volleyball practice inquiring why she was so emotionally linked to her mistakes on the court. Here is what I shared. “Emotions are a function of expectations, or beliefs. You enjoy the game, and you have trained heavily, so you take a high level of ownership. That torches […]

The one thing we are guaranteed on the journey down Restoration Road is change. Each of us has been locked in pride’s prison of pretense from separating the vertical from the horizontal, our relationship with God from our relationship with others. It often looks like this. We maintain a legalistic stone heart on Sunday and […]

March 10, 2002 was a defining marker for me on Restoration Road. Pastor Kelly Byrd had invited me to preach at Blackhawk on Sunday morning, since he would be traveling back to his California hometown for his birthday. I jumped at the chance to communicate what God had done with my life up to that […]

Are you hindered from becoming active in your local church due to your past sins? Restoration Road can include a few speed bumps: stone and sand. When I sold my business to pursue my Masters and Doctorate degrees in Theology, the reactions of stone hearts, like the older brother in Jesus’ trilogy, hampered me from […]

AUTHENTIC CHURCH When attempting to make my business a ministry, I was deeply impacted by a Bible teacher, and local church leader, who talked openly about his liabilities. I had listened to every one of his messages for almost seven years. He opened me to the idea of the continual process of restoration — that […]

Shortly after our sale of our company, I suffered post-business LOST syndrome: Lack of Stressful Transactions. After the first five consecutive stay-at-home weekends of my life, I began to feel like a failure. I thought there was something wrong with me. I realized that these feelings were the result of the absence of deal-making in […]

When it comes to your career, you want to make sure that your GATE is unlocked and open for ministry right where you are. You can categorize four key components of your life using the acronym GATE: G: Gifts A: Abilities T: Talent E: Experiences Gifts include your spiritual gifts. Abilities are your learned skills. […]

Are you contemplating a job or career change? Restorative change places the value of the process over the results. When I was discerning what I had believed was God’s prompting to become a direct carrier of His message of restoration, I became aware of the following change equation: Dissatisfaction with the present state (DPS) plus […]

eBay’s publicly traded stock had skyrocketed onto the market. Their unprecedented escalation stemmed from their 95 percent share in the Internet auction business. In my first meeting with them to discuss their acquisition of our company, I asked, “What keeps a company like Microsoft from flicking you off the map?” I made a gesture at […]

After years of being in the auction business and never being approached by a prospective buyer for our company, suddenly suitors pursued us when “auction” became the biggest buzzword on the Internet. I began the due diligence process with an investment banker who was enthusiastic about the prospect of taking our high-profile company public. He […]

Sonny and Cathy Gandee were friends who bought and sold hundreds of muscle cars at our auctions over the years. I had invited them to fly with us to an auction in the southern United States. Just before takeoff from Auburn, I asked Sonny where he got his name. “My dad. He played for the […]

Chris Schenkel, the ABC Sportscaster and Encourager, not only was aware of those he encountered whom he built up; he was also a comforter. Comfort literally means “to call alongside.” It comes from the Latin, com meaning “together” and fortis which is translated “strong.” Consequently, comfort means that we come alongside someone in order to […]

Chris Schenkel, the ABC Encourager, was a builder. I remember many times when he built me up. However, one occasion stands out above all the others. Many years ago, I shared with Chris that I had been thinking about moving away from the business. He stopped me in mid-sentence, something he had rarely done. “No […]

Can you think of a person who has encouraged you? Now think of someone who discouraged you. Which one most resembles you? Encouragement is a catalyst for each of us to journey forward on Restoration Road. Cor is Latin for “heart.” Therefore, “encouragement” means “to restore another’s heart.” Encouragement breathes life into the heart; whereas, […]

I discovered that as an adult, when we obey a parent, we assimilate not only their assets, but also their liabilities. Perhaps that is why the Bible calls us to “honor” our parents when we become adults, not to simply just continue to obey them. The book of Proverbs gave me a filter to discern, […]

Have you ever had to wait when you didn’t have time to do so? Several years ago, when I still owned my company, I was unnecessarily delayed at my office, and it frustrated me immensely. Immediately, I left the facility and began an internal audit. As a recovering perfectionist, I began an exercise that had […]

After the Jewish captivity, Nehemiah rebuilt the Jerusalem wall, Zerubbabel rebuilt the temple, and Ezra rebuilt the people. While God was restoring my company, I realized that He had shaped my heart to be like Ezra’s. I had a passion to rebuild people. I attempted to place relationships ahead of remuneration, people ahead of profit. […]

On May 17, 1996, I lost one of my best friends, Scott Brayton, in a racing accident during practice at the Indianapolis 500. Scott, who just a few days earlier had become the ninth driver to win back-to-back pole positions at the Brickyard with a record run, was driving a teammate’s car for about twenty-five […]

When my oldest daughter, Megan, was three years old she traveled with Susan and me to a collector car auction in Missouri. One morning we walked together about a half-mile from our hotel to a restaurant for breakfast. I gripped her hand tightly as we talked during our morning stroll. When we arrived at the […]

A rare 1908 Auburn touring car had rested peacefully in an old barn for decades, remaining untouched, until one day, a tornado ripped away the barn’s roof, leaving the car buried under a pile of rubble. The pieces of the Auburn miraculously survived, but now the car needed to be restored. The value of this […]