COLUMBUS, Ohio — U.S. Congressman and former business owner Warren Davidson (R-OH-08) was one of several speakers at the Christian Employers Alliance (CEA) Ohio Chapter kickoff event on Monday night at the Tree of Life Ministry Center.
Rep. Davidson said that the CEA is “about the culture and respect for our faith and the place it has in our communities.” Mr. Davidson went on to remind the group that “a republic should support the rights of minorities…free speech and freedom of religion …. These are the things that our country was founded on, and the people have fought for.”
The CEA was formed when the Little Sisters of the Poor and other religious organizations were forced to defend their freedom of faith and conscience against the Obama-era Department of Health & Human Services (HHS).
A national network of business owners launched the CEA because they are committed to running their businesses in line with their faith, serving their community, and sharing their hopeful worldview in word and deed.
The group’s mission is to unite and equip Christian employers with advocacy, practical resources, and collective impact opportunities for the well-being of employees, organizations, and communities for God’s glory.
Beau Euton, president of First Harvest Consulting, opened the evening. Ms. Euton said, “I think God calls us to be entrepreneurs…he’s called each of us to the ministry of business;” adding, “we live in a much different place. What once was considered at odds or against our culture is now considered mainstream. And we have experienced quite a cultural shift.”
The main challenge for Christian businesses, Euton observed, is that they see levels of government slowly trying to erode freedoms.
President of Citizens for Community Values, Aaron Baer, said that the benefit of forming a CEA Ohio is community, because “it is in community that you are able to be much more courageous and do amazing things together.”
Speaker Nathan Estruth, a respected Ohio businessman who recently ran for Lt. Governor, is known for servant-leadership. He said that Christian business owners have the opportunities each day “to show up when folks need you most.” He reflected, “There is a shift in our culture, we need to be culture-makers and not culture-responders.”
“My hope for this network is that iron would sharpen iron … and that together you might hold one another accountable and learn and enable how to do these things.”
Aaron Baer posed the question, “How do we actually bring some sanity and love and grace to this culture? We see it starts in community. And that the first idea behind CEA is how do we pull together Christian employers so that they know that they are not alone and they can network with other Christian business owners to see how they can stand together for good in their communities and for Christ.”
Learn more about the Christian Employer’s Alliance online at http://www.christianemployersalliance.org/.