by Michele Newbern Gillis
Staff Writer
Sunday isn’t the only day that busy real estate professionals take time out to be religious.
It seems almost every day in Jacksonville, Realtors are getting together for Bible studies or other sharing of religious ideals and values.
Due to busy schedules, it seems Realtors and builders can’t seem to find the time to attend church services on the weekends. And sometimes even if they can, they feel they need more time to devote to Christ either after work or before work. Bible studies give them that opportunity.
These get-togethers come in many forms. Some choose to meet in person at an office, others choose to join a conference call and others just go to lunch to get their weekly spiritual connection.
ON THE LINE
Every Friday morning at 8:15 a.m., a Bible study conference call is held with callers from all over Florida and sometimes out of Florida joining the Christian Business Prayer Group led by Gary Montour, senior vice president of Colliers Dickinson.
“Faith can be exciting. It can be more than just that you went to a service on Sunday,” said Montour. “It’s exciting to learn more about the Bible.”
Montour feels those in the real estate profession or any profession who lives on commission have to live on faith.
“I think anyone in real estate has to live on faith,” said Montour. “You live on commissions with no benefits and no retirement. Everything you do is you, and you can get to the point where you are all ‘Me, me, me’ or you can say ‘God’s doing it and I’m just following him’. Anyone living on commission-only has to have faith.”
The 20-minute call starts with Montour sharing something that touched his life with the listeners. It is then followed by a reading from the Bible and then speakers share stories of how Christ is working in their life.
Montour said everyone that participates in the call says that it is so convenient to just be able to call in and not have to get dressed or go anywhere to participate.
He finds topics to discuss from various sources. He reads a lot of Christian magazines, watches television evangelists and so far, in the group’s two years, he has always come up with a new topic to discuss.
“It’s made me a stronger Christian,” he said. “That’s how evangelism is. You go to do it to help others out, but you ultimately help yourself out and get closer to the Lord.”
There are about 100 members of the group, but on average only 10-20 participate each week.
It all started when Montour won the Broker of the Year award from the Sales and Marketing Council for the second time. As he was standing up at the podium, he took the microphone and thanked God for his success. After the meeting, he was approached by many who congratulated him for standing up for Christ.
This reaction inspired him to write an article expressing his gratitude to Christ for his achievements. He sent the article out to several publications and the Florida Real Estate Journal picked it up and printed it as a letter to the editor.
Montour received many phone calls and e-mails in response.
“I had more and more people send me e-mails so I said I need to keep this thing going,” he said. “And that’s kind of how it started. I stood up for God in my industry and challenged others to also stand up for God.”
Montour got the idea for a conference call meeting because he was already using them for real estate purposes.
“I already did them once or twice a month for Colliers International with 30 or 40 people, so why not get all these people on a call and see where it goes?” he said.
Montour found a telephone company that would allow him 90 ports for a set price, so he set it up with a phone number and PIN number. Out-of-town callers have to pay their long distance charges are.
Justin Skinner of The Charles Skinner Company participates in the call and expressed how it has helped him.
“I appreciate the ministry that Gary has brought into our industry,” said Skinner. “By offering this time of prayer and fellowship, Gary is helping to spread the good seed of the word of God. God has made many special promises to us. By sharing testimony we are encouraging one another to let our light shine.”
Montour said to others can join the conference call every week at 8:15 a.m. by calling 1-603-318-2222. You must enter the PIN number of 385. If for some reason you have trouble getting in, call his office at 904-358-1206 and one of the office staff will help you get into the call.
In addition to the weekly call, Montour also has an e-mail list that he sends notes to members twice a week with a teaser about his upcoming topic and a reminder for them to join in on the call.
Getting your own group started begins with networking.
“If they have any idea about doing one, they should get on our call once a week and ask questions,” said Montour. “The whole thing starts with people you have an affinity for or people with the same interest.”
He said you start by talking with someone that you do a deal with. You talk about their children and as you keep talking and you can tell who are Christians by the conversation. You can then invite them to join your group.
Montour is very careful to not gear his prayer group toward any one particular religious discipline. His group is open to all denominations.
A GATHERING OF MEN
Ronnie Fussell of Ron Wood Development holds a Bible study in his office on Ramona Boulevard on the Westside every Tuesday morning at 8 a.m.
His group includes builders, bankers, enforcement officers and car dealers.
“Most of them are in the builder and development industry,” said Fussell.
Fussell started the group with three others: his partner, Lockwood Holmes; Robert Aspinwall, who is in the medical business; and Wayne Williford, who is in the road construction business.
“We play golf together and we go to different churches,” he said. “We are just all good friends and we decided that we wanted to get together to start studying to become better fathers, husbands and businessmen in our community.”
The group started with just four and has grown since then to about 20-22 members.
“The Bible study is to help maintain focus on what is really important, and who owns everything - God,” said Jeff Agar of Ryland Homes, a regular participant. “It helps me be a better husband to my wife and father to my children. Anything else a Bible study does for me is bonus.”
In addition to the Bible, Fussell’s group studies Christian books to help them learn even more.
A few of the books they have studies are “Raising a Modern Day Knight” by Robert Lewis, “Beyond Belief to Convictions” by Josh McDowell and “Purpose Driven Life” by Rick Warren.
The group starts out each meeting with breakfast at 7:45. Holmes and Jerry Linder of The Vintage Group are the cooks.
After breakfast, they get down to business and whoever is teaching the lesson for the week gets started.
“We teach and then have a discussion,” said Fussell. “It’s open to comments and prayer requests. It’s an accountability thing, too. Whatever is said in there, stays in there. So, whatever troubles you might be having or whatever blessings you are having, you share that and you get other men that are speaking those same truths.”
The group is only open to men.
“We believe as the leaders of our homes that we should be studying and trying to become better people,” said Fussell. “You can share those things when it’s just men.”
Fussell said the group, which is made up of several denominations, helps him in business.
“It gives you a camaraderie and a kinship with guys that are out there doing some of the same things you are doing and maybe struggling with some of the same things you are,” he said. “Also, honesty and integrity are very important in our business, so it helps to reinforce those values and principles when you are around a group of men. Then you can go out and apply those to your daily life. We have a lot of choices to make and if you base those choices on a good solid foundation, then they will stay there. We believe it helps our industry and our city as a whole.”
If you are interesting in getting a Bible study started, Fussell said to pick a small nucleus to be the group’s foundation who can be the group leaders and start inviting people to attend.
“Pick a time, location and stick with it,” he said. “Everyone has a busy schedule but you have to take that hour sometimes and get your gas tank filled up. You will meet other people and get out of the rut you get into sometimes. It helps you to know that there are good things and a purpose in life and it’s more than just making money or having things. It’s also relationships and having time with your friends and family.”
A GATHERING
OF WOMEN
Kathy Broxson of Re/Max Real Estate Specialists started a Bible study 10 years ago at the Watson Mandarin South office and it is still going strong.
She and about 10-12 ladies meet every week, rotating each month between three different real estate offices, Coldwell Banker Walter Williams Real Estate, Re/Max Real Estate Professionals and Watson Mandarin South office in Mandarin. The group consists of about 20 women total.
From her original group, two groups have formed.
First, there is a Wednesday morning group that meets from 9 - 10 a.m.
This group is made up of women who are real estate professionals including agents, builder representatives and mortgage brokers.
“We don’t have customers attend,” said Broxson. “When you are in the Bible study, the first thing we do is prayer requests. A lot of that stuff is very personal. If there were customers, you’d feel as if you didn’t want to say something, so we keep it limited to real estate professionals.”
Second, there is an every-other-Thursday evening group that meets from 6-8:30 p.m. for dinner and a Bible study. This group is made up of real estate professionals and as well as others from different professions.
When Broxson came into real estate, one of the things that was a priority to her was to still go to church every Sunday. She soon realized that real estate is a seven day-a-week job, but she still wanted to make time for God.
So, she asked her manager at Watson Mandarin South office if she could start a Bible study in the office.
“I felt that people needed to get their priorities back in line again,” said Broxson. “I started the group not knowing if anyone would show up or not, but we had about seven people come the first time. It has consistently grown since then.”
She said a lot of those that attended used to go to church before they got into real estate, but had since stopped going and reading their Bible.
“Real estate consumed more and more of their time and they just drifted away from the church,” said Broxson. “They had gotten away from reading their Bible and doing all the things that are really important in your life. The Bible study really started to center everyone back to where they ought to be. It’s interesting, it brought people back to the church.”
After she left Watson, she said Bill Watson, president of Watson Realty, was very gracious to let her continue the Bible studies in her old office. Eventually, they decided to make the circle between Watson, Coldwell Banker and Re/Max. They have Realtors from other companies who have expressed an interest in having at their office, so they may add more to their circuit.
“The brokers and owners of the companies allowing us to do it in their offices just speaks volumes about who they are,” said Broxson.
The first order of business is prayer requests.
“We always remember that everything that is said in the Bible study group stays within the group itself,” stressed Broxson.
This group is made up of all denominations and is not geared toward any particular faith.
“We are working our way through the New Testament, so after 10 years of doing this we are now doing Revelations,” said Broxson. “This is our biggest and most in-depth study we have ever done.”
At the Thursday meeting, either someone brings dinner or they order dinner in and after dinner they hold a Bible study.
Participating in the Bible study has changed the way they do business, says Broxton.
“It’s such a different type of feeling when you get to know each other on a spiritual level and a personal level,” said Broxson. “You really get to know the person in-depth and it makes a difference when you are doing business. It’s easier to pray for someone that they do better and that their business will increase. They always know that if they run into a problem, they can call on you to help them out. That is different in real estate, you normally don’t find that. It’s not a normal situation.”
If you are interested in starting your own study, Broxson suggested first to find out if there is a need.
“For me, I felt a great need in my office,” she said. “I felt people there needed to have a time to dedicate to Christ. Starting a Bible study is like anything else: make sure you are doing it for the right reasons. It’s not difficult to do. All you have to do is find the material to study and have a willing heart.”
LUNCH AND LEARN
Many real estate professionals in St. Augustine belong to the Christian Professional Resources.
“CPR is an organization of Christian businesses that works in unison to promote better business practices by following the gospels of Jesus Christ,” said John Chapman of Century 21 A1A Realty, a member for two years who’s on the steering committee. “We also tend to try and do business with other Christian Members.”
CPR is a means of providing various resources to the Christian professional to assist in the every aspect of his or her professional calling in the workplace.
The local group was started by Pastor Ken Asplund, the chaplain at the St. Johns County jail. He said he felt God’s call to start a local organization known as Living Waters. This has since merged into CPR.
They hold a luncheon with speakers who address specific issues dealing with Christian principles in the workplace. The meetings also offer a chance to network with others who also are Christians. CPR also provides seminars with national speakers who deal with various topics that affect everyone in the workplace.
“I do it because it gives me an opportunity to network with other Christian business people,” said Chapman. “I find myself then working with these folks in my day-to-day business and for my own personal use. It also allows me to strengthen my faith. Many people say that they don’t have to attend church to worship or be with other Christians to feel God’s love. I believe worship and gathering encourages his presence and helps me to focus on the love and generosity he has given to me and my business.”
Chapman said his involvement in the group helps him in business because of the feelings of peace and love he gets when he attends the meeting with other Christians.
“It just makes me feel good,” he said. “To start another group or something similar, simply come to our meetings. There is no monopoly on God or the salvation of Christ. It’s our mission to share the Gospel. We will help start any kind of Christian fellowship we can.”
Their website is at upray.net.