Neighborhood Spotlight Paramount’s Marketplace Leader Todd Bousema

In the book of Matthew, we are encouraged and confronted by a command to not be anxious about our life. The passage, Matthew 6:25-34, is as poetic and beautiful as it is clear that we are to “seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to [us]” (Matt. 6:33). But what about work? What about the business world? It is easy to enter what is often a secular environment and become anxious, upset, annoyed, or angry when we are barraged by impatient demanding managers, dealing with tech problems, struggling with work life balance, overcompensating for fear of job security, or forced to pick up a colleague’s slack. The list could go on and on. So how do we enter the business sector as a Christian and shine our light well?

Todd Bousema, owner of several businesses, has been a part of the community of Paramount City for 36 years. He has worked the service side and works the wholesale supply side of the pool industry. We connected with him to ask what it’s like being a Christian and a business owner and what wisdom he could share for Christians in the marketplace. 

Could you share your perspective as a Christian working in business? What is your motto or M.O. for how you do life as a Christian in the business secular world?

Todd: I had a customer that was a lawyer. He became a Christian when he was a lawyer and he was dealing with a hard time of, uh, you know, being a lawyer and a Christian. And I said, look, the Lord needs Christian lawyers, needs Christian pool guys and God works through all those different avenues and works. And this lawyer and we talk every so often. He said I have never forgotten that, that God needs people in every field and that he can make a difference as a lawyer, as a Christian lawyer in that field. So, I feel like it’s interacting with people. And really the reality is, what a better place than at work where you’re coming in contact with multiple people, and you can have multiple conversations about faith. And you know what? It's finding out, developing relationships, and finding out when there's need. Or you can pray for them. You can care for them. I think those opportunities come up because the Lord brings people to himself.  It’s about being there for when that time comes, that opportunity is there in developing those relationships. 

So, you create a work atmosphere that brings Christ into the center of it?

Todd: Right and its hard. You don’t always feel like it.  You know you get frustrated and angry and upset and part of me goes, okay, how do you do this as a believer?  Who are you relying on that you need to be upset? You know when you get upset, who are you really relying on, you’re relying on your own self. Sometimes it’s okay to be upset depending on the situation but you got to almost ask who’s in charge? You got to check yourself by the Spirit. 

So, would you say that checking yourself on your emotions and relying on the Lord – is that the greatest challenge or what would be the greatest challenge of being a Christian in the marketplace based on your experience? 

Todd: It’s trusting that the Lord is in charge of where I'm going and what's going to happen and that I need to seek him. That's probably the hardest challenge – putting him first and realizing he will provide. And that means employees, that means work. I mean, it still doesn't negate me from working hard. He doesn't say okay, you can sit back, but the hard part is trusting and relying on him that he will provide. And he's calling me to be smart and to work hard. But he will provide, he will take care, but you need to seek him first. And that's the hard part. In the midst of the busyness, can you seek him and rely on him? 

Sounds like you’re referencing the verse Matthew 6:33, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

Todd: That’s my life verse. What are you seeking? You're seeking him. All these things are added, it might not be riches, but he's going to give that peace, the grace, the mercy, the love to get through to do whatever. He's going to give me everything I need and he's going to fill me for more than I can imagine. He wants to take that all into my work and my business and I can't lose sight of that. 

What do you believe your purpose is in the workplace?

Todd: God works together for good all those who are called according to his purpose. Part of me goes am I called to his purpose and what is his purpose? Is his purpose for me to make lots of money every year? Or is his purpose for me to be a light in the darkness from where I’m at? And that’s the perspective I need to keep. 

When it comes to working in the Paramount Community is there something that stands out about the people of Paramount or in working in the community there?

Todd: We’ve been doing business for about 30 years here and we’ve hired people from the neighborhoods and sometimes somebody will come up and go “hey!” And I’ll look at him like I know you. And they’ll say, “Remember I used to work for you.” And then you start to realize how you need to be gracious when you let people go or people move on from working for you. The people still come up to me even though they’ve moved on for whatever reason. But we ended relationships well because you come across people in Paramount, and they remember. They remember who you were, and that makes a difference. You see them later and they know how you treated them compared to how their new boss treats them. And if it’s different because of your beliefs than that makes a difference. And they can see the difference. 

Todd Bousema points out how being a Christian in business is a growing process. It’s easy to be quick to complain but it’s harder to trust the Lord that he knows what he’s doing. If an employee decides to join a competitor, you want to be frustrated but that’s not what we’re called to do. We’re called to love our neighbor and trust God that he works all things for good. There’s pressure to pull God out of business, especially in the name of not offending anyone, but God is there inviting us to join him in the mission of being a light in the darkness. Be light, but also be present if a moment of ministry finds you. Each weak Bousema shares Bible verses in a text loop with some of his workers, with an open invite to others, and they read it and share throughout the week what it means to them and what they got out of it. One of the guys in the text loop doesn’t respond, but he makes the effort to tell Bousema when he sees him that he looks forward to the scripture Bousema sends every day. You never know when a scripture you share could be the only Bible a person ever reads, or how deep a moment of sharing God’s life-giving words could go. Your work is a mission field, and if it feels hard figuring out how to be the light in business, start with first seeking the Lord and the rest will follow.