Fervent in Business

"Fervent in Business": Advice from 3x AI founder, Arturo Del Rio Jr.

"Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord" - Romans 12:11

Founding businesses with AI-powered solutions for almost a decade (long before it became daily conversation), Arturo Del Rio Jr. is at once intimidating and personable, which in my mind makes him a perfect candidate for a series on being a Christian business leader.

Although he hopes to go into ministry full-time by 2027, for now, he is deeply entrenched in sales, technology, and entrepreneurship. He's currently CEO & Founder of Lakeside Growth, creating enterprise-level AI solutions, and TheGroundwork.ai. He’s affiliated with the AI Core Institute, SEOMarketing.com, Buzz, and Pro-Life Payments.

But to him, this enterprise level, secular work doesn't mean a separation in identity.

"I know the Lord loves me more [than I love my son] and has done more for me. And my motivation has to come from that place."

I recently sat down to let Arturo share his mindset on being a Christian Business owner and bring real glory to God in this world's economy.

1) It's never just a business decision

"Yeah, Jesus is over here on Sundays, you know what I'm saying? But on Monday, you know, I got to do what I got to do because I'm making decisions based on the knowledge that has come from me in this world. We are not making decisions out of the doctrine that explicitly has told us how to interact all the time, including in business."

Arturo highlights an issue that many leaders face, and he says it clearly: God is the God of all things, and He's our master. Our business decisions, interactions, and strategies need to be rooted in the clarity that God is present at all times.

He knows he hasn't been perfect on this point. We're surrounded by a world that wants to train us to live without God. Even Christian business owners are often guilty of neglecting Christian values once they leave Sunday service.

But as we all hopefully grow in grace and wisdom as we age, the Gospel should be lived in our actions, too.

2) Excellence, not Christianity, is the selling point

Although our business decisions align with our values, that isn't the end point. Arturo cautions against using Christianity as the only selling-point for your business. Lower quality services and products don't get a "pass" just because you're religious--especially if you want to have an impact on the wider world.

"...this concept that we should be browbeating people because 'I'm a team Jesus guy, you should buy from me.' Are we striving for excellence? How does that [give] glory to our Father? How does that put the life of Christ on display?"

Our real motivations matter.

3) Prayer isn't God's to-do list

To Arturo, our effort matters, too. As St. Paul wrote to the Romans in the quotation above, we are supposed to be "not slothful in business." God gave us intelligence, talents, and the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. Christian entrepreneurship should be a journey of multiplying those talents, rather than hoping God will do all the hard work for you.

"I would hope that if there's any takeaway from this is, you know, let's really think about who we have been designed to be, and all of those, you know, gifts that we have been given for a reason, and what does that really mean?

"Because I think sometimes people say they believe stuff, but if you watch what they do, there's often disparity from what they say.

"And maybe intellectually they believe it, and they've gotten so sucked into the world. Myself being one of those guys historically where you've been trained to, you know, live without God. [...]That's what the entire course of this world is about, and Satan's done a great job setting that out.

"And this is why most of us in the Christian world, I think, really do compartmentalize things that should not be that way."

4) Avoid fear-based decisions

One final action point every business leader can put into practice? Avoid fear-based decisions.

Arturo noticed that some of the disconnect, especially when it comes to AI adoption (and AI adoption failures) is that leaders are making poor decisions because of external pressure and fear. We have to change our minds to be focused on doctrine, and then better decisions can be made.

"The actions come from first renewing my mind by the understanding of the doctrine. Because if we don't change our minds, we can never change behaviors.

"And that's the first step, is truly that understanding. And then we try to filter everything we do from there. [...]

"When you act that way, even when things may go wrong, and they will, right? You know what? Your remediation is different because I'm not trying to keep this customer."

When serving God and acting well, even when something goes astray, we'll be able to show up at work better than if we see it all about "how many customers can I get?"

This attitude seems to have served Arturo well, and may God bless him, his family, his ministry, and his businesses. Be sure to follow him on LinkedIn.