7/22/26 - 2156: The Christian Ceo - Formed By Fire, Guided by Spirit

Jim: This is iWork4Him.

Martha: Where faith meets work and believers unleash their calling.

Jim: Is there really a difference between a Christian CEO and a non-Christian CEO?

Jim: As a believer in Jesus, everything about us should be changing, should be different, and everyone around us should be benefiting from our faith, whether they believe in Jesus or not. That's the kingdom. So should there be a difference? Yes, there should be a difference. Krystal Parker is the world-renowned founder and president of the United States Christian Chamber of Commerce.

Jim: Is the Christian Chamber of Commerce different than the US Chamber of Commerce? Like day versus night. Krystal's here today to talk about her leadership journey and everything she's learned along the way. She's documented it in her latest book, The Christian CEO. Krystal Parker, world changer extraordinaire, welcome back to iWork4Him.

Krystal Parker: Dun-da-na-na. Thanks for having me, guys. I appreciate the intro.

Jim: You bet ... did you take your cape off for the show?

Krystal Parker: The cape. I did. I exchanged it for pearls and a jacket. What can I say?

Jim: Nice. You're undercover. I like it. Okay. Krystal, before we get to your book, The Christian CEO, let's talk about this year's US Christian Chamber's Spiritual World Citizens Expo that you held in April. What was the biggest highlight of the three days?

Krystal Parker: It came from some feedback that I got, and it was people that have attended a lot of conferences for many years. And their feedback was, "I've attended many conferences, and this was the first conference I attended that I could absolutely tell that it was prayed for and undergirded in prayer."

Krystal Parker: And it just really, that touched me in such a way because there were incredible divine connections, opportunities. Just even today I'm still hearing stories and stories, and one that came even just today was, "I couldn't believe the caliber of people that were at that conference." And what he said prior was, "I've attended a number of chamber events, and I usually just get a bunch of cards from people just looking for me to do business with them, but this really felt different."

Krystal Parker: And over and over, I'm just hearing the feedback. So I'm thrilled about how it turned out. I'm excited about what's next. And I think we got a lot of momentum to run with.

Martha: That's so good. As a leader, sometimes it's hard to personally get impacted by an event, especially if you've helped plan it. Was there a personal takeaway for you?

Krystal Parker: It truly is just seeing people experience the unity of business and faith. One moment that really sticks out to me was we had Miss Teen Florida, and she was part of the awards ceremony, and you guys know 'cause you were incredible emcees, and as she got on stage, here she is in her crown, her sash, just this beautiful young woman of God.

Krystal Parker: And prior to taking the stage, I was sitting by her and her mom, and she just over and over could not believe what was taking place. She... It was as if she never experienced anything like this in the marketplace. It was more "this is church, but these are business people." And then when she got on stage and she pulled out her Bible and she started to read her Bible, it was so moving to me to see this next gen leader and what, what is happening, and the caliber of the young leaders that are coming up and coming up even through the Christian Chamber.

Krystal Parker: I'll give you one more 'cause this one just happened also. One of the young professional business owners that was there, he came in from Virginia. He's part of the Virginia Christian Chamber, and he was really wrestling with a business situation where he chose not to do business with a group, make shirts basically, for a group that didn't share his values.

Krystal Parker: And he, at 24 years old, is experiencing the media mob over this decision, and fake orders, and just a massive tsunami of hatred towards him for choosing to stand on his values. So I didn't know this, but at the time he was really struggling. Should I go? Should I not go? I don't wanna go. It's a flight. It's a hotel. I've got this problem in my business. But he kept hearing in his spirit over and over, "You should go. You should go."

Krystal Parker: So reluctantly, he got on the plane, connected with his Virginia Christian Chamber team, came to the conference, sat through the speakers. The very last day was GiveSendGo Heather Wilson, and Jacob, as they shared about the time in their business where they were attacked by the cyberbully, and it cost them, and it was a beautiful only God story.

Krystal Parker: But at the end of that story, they talked about how they wanted to love on him, and how one day they were believing that he would come to know the Lord because of their outreach towards him, and how one day he might actually come and work for their company. And this young professional heard this for the first time- It moved him so deeply that he reached out and said, "Would it be possible to connect? Because I wanna let them know how that story has changed my whole entire approach in this whole situation."

Krystal Parker: And so gosh, just to think about the trickle effect. How one life, one story can change, touch, impact, and reach so many people, business owners, and even people that don't know the Lord yet.

Martha: So valuable that you're hearing the stories, that you're getting the feedback, too, because just imagine hundreds of those stories happening around the room that we don't even know. But God is working in amazing ways when believers work in community and share in commerce and in business, but more than that with their heart. And that's really what it brought to the table.

Jim: It was an amazing event, and we got another one coming up in 2028. We encourage you all between now and then to get involved in the US Christian Chamber, and some of the 34 Christian chambers around the country. Check it out online at uschristianchamber.com.

Jim: Okay. Now Krystal- your book, the Christian CEO. Krystal, there are thousands of books about leadership. I've read hundreds of books about leadership. There's even hundreds of books just about CEOs that are Christians. What makes your book different?

Krystal Parker: This is really about formation under pressure. What I'm really attempting to do in this book, first of all I really piggybacked from the theme of SWC 2026, was Yes, And. When you think about what that really means, it's carrying the tension. It's not really either/or. When you think about doing business in the world today, there is the wide road for business, and there's the narrow path.

Krystal Parker: Even in business, the Lord prepared us in His Word about this sort of intersection that we would face. And I think oftentimes people think it may be in just saying no to drugs kinda thing. But these little things come up in business all the time, and this formation under pressure is really about that fire.

Krystal Parker: It's about carrying the dynamic of the world standards and the biblical standards in doing business, and it's about this tension that exists. And so every single story that I talk about in there really talks about how you carry that tension in different dynamics of the book. The other thing I think that makes this different is my prayer for this book is that the Holy Spirit would just meet people wherever they are in their leadership journey.

Krystal Parker: And I have heard only explainable by God types of stories. People think I'm reading their mail. They think that I'm, like, some sort of super spy. And it's really just an aggregation of my own experience as a CEO, but also all the stories that we get to hear through the Christian Chamber and the experiences.

Krystal Parker: And so this book, somebody asked me the other day, "How long did it take you to write this book?" This book is an aggregate of stories for the last five years, and I put them all together and picked, and I had to pick 52 of the top stories that I felt most described this tension that exists within the Christian CEO.

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Jim: Krystal, you start off the book talking about formation, as we just talked about now, formation as a leader. Let's talk about how did, how God formed you as the leader you are today.

Krystal Parker: Oof. I, it makes me think of this song my, my daughter Giovanna - she's an opera singer, and there was a song she really wanted to sing, but it was probably a 10, 10 years ahead song for her, and it's The Refiner's Fire. And that's how He's formed me is through this refiner's fire. I can just so relate to that.

Krystal Parker: But another story comes to mind in thinking about her. And as an opera singer, stuff I did not know, is that they don't really hit their peak ability to perform until about 28 to 30. And so here she is, top 1% of school in the nation for opera, knowing that her... If she tries to push her voice too hard, then she'll lose that voice or her ability to sing at the level that she could've because she's pushed too hard.

Krystal Parker: And so it's really about how hard is it... Think about this: how hard is it to grow daily, practice daily, work daily, yet know that you cannot peak until nature does its work inside of your voice or your ability to be on top? And I think about leadership. So many people want to be discovered, but so few want to be developed.

Krystal Parker: My leadership journey has really been one of those. I was discovered early, if you will, in oil and gas. I had that, but I did not have the solid foundation that I needed to stay on top. There was so much stinkin' thinkin', there was so much that I just did not have foundationally, and one of the biggest things was an all-in abiding understanding of what it meant to be a follower of Jesus Christ.

Krystal Parker: As a Sunday Christian, with a lot of sin and doing a lot of things for the right now, that's not sustainable business. That's not good business. And so God allowed me an opportunity to experience it, get the training I needed, and then get the work that I had to do, the refiner's fire, chip away a lot of stuff, so that He could give me my kingdom assignment.

Krystal Parker: And please hear me when I say I'm not there. None of us are. When you hit a certain age in opera, you just start to get the chance to sing at the level that you hear in some of the big opera studios and whatnot. But even as leaders- This is a constant work. You don't just get there. It's a constant, consistent eating away at, growing and developing, and getting better every day.

Krystal Parker: And so this is why I liken business to sports, because once a professional athlete gets the big contract, they don't just slack off. They go to work. They get trainers. They get people working with them. They're in the gym more. As leaders, that's what we're supposed to be doing as well. And so it's just a consistent work. I'm still in process. God's got a lot of work left to do on me. But I try to get a little, 1% better every day.

Martha: That's so good. So why do you think it is that CEOs that follow Jesus struggle with integrating their faith naturally?

Krystal Parker: Because I think there's a lot of influence in the world, candidly. There's just so much media influence. There's so much I would say unethical business that's out there. Shady contracts. Even when I was in oil and gas, we'd, be looking at 18, $20 million contracts, and we'd bid it out. And just like we do a lot of the work through USCCC, we bid it out. Some of the companies, their trick of the trade is bid low and then just pepper you with change orders.

Krystal Parker: These are the games that are played in business, and sometimes we fall into the ideation that if I don't play that game and I'm just value and honest, then nobody's gonna pick me as the business. I'm not gonna get awarded that contract. And so you get tempted to play the game that the rest of the world plays, even though it doesn't feel good ethically.

Krystal Parker: Think about resumes. Maybe you're trying to get a job. Everybody's lying on their resume these days, right? So maybe I should embellish a little bit. That's the temptation that we as believers, no matter what level we're in, fall into in this world. But I can tell you right here, as sure as I am as a human being right here today The Holy Spirit and following God will never leave you short or allow you to fail.

Krystal Parker: There will be this supernatural blessing and light over you. And if it's His will, you will get that contract. You will get that job. It will make no sense. But if you trust the world's unethical nature in doing business, embellishment as your way to get business, that's not sustainable business. That's not good business.

Krystal Parker: And when you lay your head down on your pillow at night and you feel that ick inside of you, that's not following what God's called you to do in your business. And believers, we have to be that city set on a hill. We have to be different. We have to set a new standard for doing business in this nation as followers of Jesus Christ.

Jim: And that's what your book goes - your book, The Christian CEO, moves the focus away from growth and profits to people and culture. Explain that.

Krystal Parker: A lot of... business is people. It's really, it is about people. It's about human capital. And even my first book aligns with that, The Best Robot Wins.

Krystal Parker: Certainly we're talking about AI and robot revolution well before we even saw ChatGPT enter into the workplace. But the big purpose of that book is human capital. It's the passion and light within the human, the ability to put them into engagement, to communicate with them, and to simplify their work so that they can be the best wherever they are.

Krystal Parker: And as leaders, it's your job to ensure that your humans in your workplace, or even your individual self, are operating at the best that you can operate individually. And so business is people. It's not transaction. It's not just transaction. It's not either/or. It's yes/and.

Jim: It's so good, yet so often we lose sight of that, that it's about the people. Because without the people, there's no business, 'cause eventually somebody here down the line is selling to people. Oh, yeah, it's all people. It's not corporations- ... because corporations are people. All right.

Jim: I wanna pause here for a second because what Krystal is talking about is exactly why this podcast exists. We believe that your work is not separate from your faith. It's one of the primary places God has put you. And stories like this one are proof of that. We make this show so that more people can hear that, hear those stories, and be inspired by them and live out their faith in their work. If you wanna help keep us going, you can become a monthly supporter for as little as $5 a month. That's iwork4him.com/donate.

Jim: We'll say it again at the end of the show and have it in the show moats. Show, we have it in the show moats. Those are the water around the bank account for the $5 a month. All right. Okay. Sorry about that.

Jim: All right. As a Christian CEO, they're always under pressure, Krystal, especially when his or her faith is public and the culture is constantly telling us that our faith is inappropriate in a business context. Yet the CEO has a life where real life interferes with CEO life. CEOs can be bombarded in public, but also by shareholders or owners. How can a CEO be prepared for the day that his or her faith will be tested in a public forum?

Krystal Parker: I think that's really what this book is about because I think a lot of even just ethics, 'cause I teach ethics at university, and ethics, if you can get into simulating the ethical pressures that your team or you might experience before you get into the situation, then when you get there you know what to do.

Krystal Parker: And so if you haven't thought about these things, if you haven't experienced this, and you don't slow down the game, you don't take time to pray, you haven't any clue or idea, you've never thought about this stuff, then you may be tempted or naive walking into things with no intention to do what you may do.

Krystal Parker: And so that's why this book is so important. It is about formation under pressure. It's about really thinking through, wrestling with some of the hard things internally so that when you're out there externally, you're prepared for what may happen.

Jim: Have you ever had your faith tested in a public forum where people came at you?

Krystal Parker: Yeah. Oh, yes I have. I have. And one that comes to mind is when I was in the gas company and I had a situation. I had just... again, youngest officer, 34 years old. They sent me to El Paso. That was my assignment, and was responsible for 47 cities on the west side of Texas, the entire gas company. So I had no experience in the field.

Krystal Parker: I only came in from office customer service. So now I'm responsible for construction, engineering, pressure control and maintenance. Everything from the minute the gas comes out of the ground into the home. And so I'm trying to get my bearings, and there was a... I also came from a corporate culture of union, and a very challenging corporate culture. So it was very rough where I came from, Kansas Gas Service, then I moved to Texas Gas.

Krystal Parker: And so I say all that to kinda give you what my experience was. And then in this moment, here I am tested, and there was a safety infraction and a lie, a cover-up. And my director, who I had only been in there for maybe a month or two, and I'm young, I'm the youngest one out there, only female on this whole team- And he lied and the HR person lied. They covered it up. And once I found out the truth, because the truth always comes out, I did not handle it very professionally.

Krystal Parker: I'll just say that. There was some explicits, there was some challenges, and there were things that I'm not proud that I said. And because I was so new and I was female there was a higher standard or a different standard for me evidently in that moment. And so I didn't do it well. I didn't do it well.

Krystal Parker: I look back on it, I regret the very things I said. When I say I called myself a Christian and there was no fruit, I know people would look at me and say, "If that's a Christian, I don't want anything to do with it." I wasn't prepared. I flew off the handle. I said horrible things, and I regret that.

Krystal Parker: There was another time that we were water testing pipe, and the water, we have to dispose of it, and you can't just take the water from the pipe test and put it into the water system. However, there are companies that do that, and this is a $100,000 getting rid of this water and cleaning it costs a lot of money.

Krystal Parker: We didn't get a rate case that went through. It was over a million dollars. Our budget's upside down. I could have easily said to them, "Dispose of the water," and then our budget looks great, we're flying in corporate, but it wasn't the right thing to do. And so that one I did right, but there were many times that I was tested and even today I think it's a higher standard, the work that we're doing at the Christian Chamber, because people are watching us.

Krystal Parker: And especially as Christians in the marketplace, people are looking at you going, "You say you're a Christian, so now my expectation is higher for you." And you can really crush the spirit of somebody that doesn't really know God or have a personal relationship with God, who's watching how you behave, how you perform, how you conduct business. So what do you want to do is you're wearing the logos of Christ everywhere you go. How do you want people to see God at work?

Martha: It's dangerous either way. So 'cause you gave an example of a really tough situation where you didn't handle it well, and one where you did. And dangerously, our world almost expects perfection as a Christian, and yet we are all human. So even handling that is so important so that they understand I am still a sinner saved by grace.

Martha: So I'm curious, Krystal, I'm gonna ask you a logistical question. 52 chapters, what is the intention of somebody reading this book?

Jim: I've got an idea, but we'll see what Krystal says.

Martha: That's what I'm kinda wondering.

Krystal Parker: Initially it was weekly, and the feedback we've been getting on the book was, "I'm just plowing through it. I just don't wanna stop." And so I would just encourage people, pause after, think through it, but just consume it at your pace. And don't take a year to get through this book. Just consume it as you will. Go back to it, stop, rewind, share it. But yeah. Initially it was to be a 52-week, and then we realized this, people wanna just plow through it. And that's awesome too.

Martha: Most CEOs are gonna say, "I ain't got no time for that." No slow. I wanna learn it all and, and be able to apply it, so that's so good.

Martha: In the final section of your book, The Christian CEO, that we've been talking about, you talk about endurance and legacy as a CEO. You say in one of your chapters, and I quote, "And leaders face this tension more often than we admit, especially when what we've built still works, just not where the world is heading." So we're talking about making change and driving change in an organization, and how scary that can be, and it can define the legacy that's left behind, whether that's good or bad. So how does a Christian CEO handle this differently than the world?

Krystal Parker: Yeah. I think in that chapter I used the bridge to nowhere story, and it's one of my favorite stories. They built this bridge in Honduras, and the idea was to build a bridge that could withstand a hurricane, and they had strong hurricanes. It wasn't like the Titanic, right? It, the unsinkable. The bridge withstood the hurricane, but what happened was the hurricane was so strong it moved the river, and so there was a bridge to nowhere because the river moved.

Krystal Parker: And I think about businesses and owners that oftentimes start something. And we all know starting something in business or taking over, making it yours, it takes a lot of lift, it takes a lotta love, it takes a lotta sacrifice. And sometimes we're so bent on holding on to what it is that we've built that we are not evolving and adapting with where the world is going in business, or even allowing God to use that idea to reach people.

Krystal Parker: And so we have to, as business owners, be willing and ready to adapt and evolve and go with God and not with our idea alone. And that's so hard. And so I always tell people, "You're best to fail fast, learn from the feedback, evolve, and keep going." And especially in times like now, where business is sped up so fast-

Martha: Yeah

Krystal Parker: over where it used to be. It used to be so slow. Business was slow. Now it's fast. And so we have to be willing to evolve and be in business so that we can create that legacy and have something to hand to the next generation of leaders that are coming behind us.

Jim: Krystal Parker with the US Christian Chamber as you present to us the book The Christian CEO. That was a great conversation. Thanks for being back on iWork4Him.

Jim: We love to have Krystal with us because she's representing a movement in this country that is taking over the marketplaces of all the major cities, and coming to a city to you soon. Krystal Parker, thanks for being here.

Krystal Parker: Thank you so much.

Krystal Parker: And I just wanna encourage your audience, that $5, $10, $100 investment in iWork4Him is good seed, great ground, and I love you guys. I appreciate what you're doing. You serve on the board. You guys do so much, and I'm so grateful for your work and thankful for you.

Martha: Thank you, Krystal.

Jim: Thanks, Krystal. That's iwork4him.com/donate.

Jim: You've been listening to iWork4Him with your hosts, Jim and Martha Brangenberg. We're Christ followers. In our workplace, it's our mission field. But ultimately... iWork4Him.