Union University’s McAfee School of Business hosted their annual Faith in the Marketplace event featuring Alan Barnhart, President and CEO of Barnhart Crane and Rigging, in the Carl Grant Events Center on March 1 from 12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.
This talk was targeted at students who are business majors at Union and business people in the Jackson community. The talk was supported by the rising excitement for the new business building at Union. The event occurred during lunch time, so a buffet was served to those who came.
Barnhart spent most of his time talking about having wealth while being a Christian. He is the “owner” of a company that is worth $250 million. His testimony was all about how he gave up 99% percent of his company, and he gave the other 1% up. This meant he made all the decisions for the company without actually owning it. He explained how greed is a tool for the devil, and that he wanted to avoid being greedy.
“I had a fear for wealth. God warned about money ten times more than anything else,” Barnhart said. “God said a rich man will have a hard time getting into heaven.”
Barnhart felt the only way to avoid this was to give his company to God. Before the company had grown too large, he and his brother decided it was God’s company. Barnhart wanted everyone that came to the talk to understand that generosity is the ultimate way to beat greed.
One of the business students there was Alex Lapkalo, a sophomore business administration major. He attended the talk for one of his classes but found himself learning a lot more than expected. He had taken several notes and felt a need to change the way he thinks after the talk.
“This talk really opened up my eyes on how greed impacts my life without even knowing,” Lapkalo said. “The idea of giving a whole company away is a huge generosity and make me feel the need to be my generous in my own life to better represent God.”
Barnhart ended his talk with a Q&A. There were many questions asked, but he answered one with something that summed up the whole event.
“God doesn’t want money; he wants you,” Barnhart said.