Polston Addresses Business Forum

OBU's Paul Dickinson College of Business hosted a business forum on Monday, April 21, on OBU's campus in Shawnee. The guest speaker was Charlie Polston with BG Products. The title of his presentation was "The Christian Business Professional: Excellent Producer, Passionate Presenter, Servant of the Lord."

Polston is a profitability and customer retention consultant with BG Products, which specializes in innovative automotive service center growth solutions through a maintenance awareness program. The program targets three key areas: new technology services, effective marketing strategies and dynamic training seminars.

Polston's message centered on taking Christ into the workplace, offering some practical ways in which business people can weave their faith into their business lives. "You can tie Christ into the marketplace," he said. "You can interject the gospel of Christ into the marketplace very effectively."

Polston shared analogies he has used to share Christ with clients, co-workers, and colleagues, as well as the biblical principles he uses to be successful in business. He shared Romans 12:11, "Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord…" and demonstrated how diligence in business serves God in many ways.

He also shared ways to take practical, relatable items in your field and reveal a gospel message in them. He demonstrated this with a vial of gasoline, showing how it leaves deposits and residue on the glass. Then, after applying a BG Products fuel additive, the residue was gone. He likened this to sin in our lives and Jesus entering into our lives to clean and remove the residue and stain of sin. He has used this analogy to share his faith and challenged students to find other practical, easy to understand examples of the gospel in their workplaces as well.

He also shared scriptures regarding diversification and how God shows us to be diversified in our business dealings instead of staking the future of the business all on one venture or client base. He shared from Ecclesiastes 11, challenging students to diversify their interests in business so that no one thing can sink them or cause them to fail. He then shared examples from his professional experience where this principle has played out.

"If we follow business principles of the Bible, and if we teach that, does that send a strong message for the cause of Christ? Absolutely yes, it does," he said.

Polston has been with BG Products since 1982. He has taught hundreds of workshops and seminars across the United States and Canada. In addition to his other duties, he currently serves as a senior instructor on the faculty of BG University. He has trained over 5,000 automotive professionals nationwide. He writes a monthly article on service lane success for "Dealer Magazine" and he also writes for "Auto, Inc" magazine. He has been a workshop leader numerous times at the National Automobile Dealer Association's annual convention. He has a bachelor's in communications and marketing from Oklahoma State University. He and his wife Angela live in Broken Arrow, Okla. They have been members of First Baptist Church, Broken Arrow, for nearly thirty years, where he is a deacon and an adult Sunday school teacher.

For more information on OBU's Paul Dickinson College of Business, call (405) 585-4400.