Lessons in relevance from the banking industry

Filed in Thoughts on January 30, 2009



Though I do not talk about it much on this blog, I am a founder and CEO of a supplement retailer (Vitabase).  A fairly necessary part of growing businesses is debt, and my business is no exception.  A necessary part of a business having debt is dealing with bankers.  No offense to any bankers reading this, but working with bankers is not my favorite part of my job.

It is renewal time for our business debt, and I am shopping around to see if I want to stay with our current bank or look for greener pastures.  Of course, in today's credit-crunched environment, getting a bank to lend you money at all is an accomplishment, but I am optimistic that we can find a bank or two that will offer what we need.

In working with banks this week, I was struck with a few things.  For example, some of the employees who actually issue and maintain loans refer to themselves as "loan officers."  Why is that?  It is a pejorative term in my opinion.  People and businesses that borrow money are not crooks; they are customers.  Customers of banks should not in any way be made to feel like they are crooks visiting their parole officers. 

Banks should call those employees loan representatives or something a little more friendly.  My guess is that the term "loan officer" is a historical thing that has just stuck.  However, it is no longer relevant and it needs to be changed.

One banker called me this week and offered me what he thought was a great deal.  He offered to give me a line of credit for any amount I want if I will deposit the same amount of cash as collateral in his bank.  Think about that for a moment.  Let's say I get a line of credit for $100,000.  To do that, I have to take $100,000 out of my working capital and lock it in some low interest CD in that bank. 

Anybody with a brain knows that it would be silly for me to do something like that.  Why would I borrow $100,000 and pay interest on it if it requires that I give up the ability to use $100,000?  When I pointed this out to the banker, he acted like he had never considered that perspective.  I declined on his offer and hung up scratching my head.  How can a banker be so out of touch with what his customers need?

Christians who eschew relevance and associate it with being liberal can fall into the same trap as these bankers.  They sometimes hold on to traditions that are neither right or wrong but no longer make sense.  Being out of touch does not necessarily make anyone spiritual; in some cases it just makes them ineffective.

What does this mean in regards to your music?  I will let you draw your own conclusions.



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Doug
2/1/2009 12:34:08 AM

It is amazing to me how many people in fundamental ranks believe that ministry is never to evolve. Whether it is music, or multimedia, or the choice of a different outreach tool. We wonder why our churches are dead and so ineffective. The funny thing about it is, you do not see the non-evolving ministry model promoted in scripture. God seems to always equate himself with life and continued growth.

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Angela Bushatz
2/12/2009 5:03:49 PM

Hey, I wish I had known all this was going on Monday. I have been stuck at home sick and that would have been a bright spot to watch. Let me know when it is out by making a facebook announcement or something. Tell Marla I said hey!!

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