Sometimes, God Just Needs An Elbow
By Partner Joe Long, CEO of Cal State Supply
I sometimes tell people that I’m a spiritual elbow.
Scripture tells us that the body of Christ has many parts. Not everybody has to be the hand or the feet. Sometimes you just get to be the elbow. You connect one part to another and help the body move in the direction God wants it to go.
I’ve discovered that I really enjoy being an elbow.
As CEO of Cal State Supply, I spend much of my professional life working with the State of California and organizations that serve it. But being part of The Barnabas Group has challenged me to think differently about those relationships. I find myself asking: What if? What has God put in front of me? How can I steward my relationships, opportunities, and influence for His purposes?
Recently, those questions led somewhere I never could have planned.
It Started With Encouragement
Through Barnabas, I met Jud Boies, who leads the GOALS program and had previously presented to our group. Our company eventually went through the program, and it had a significant impact on us. We changed our go-to-market strategy and clarified our core values, including one that became especially important: For the Greater Good.
That experience also challenged us to become more intentional about sharing the nonprofit work we were already doing.
During a meeting with one of our business partners, Grainger, we shared some of that work. That small decision opened an unexpected door.
The Grainger team told us about a problem. The State of California maintains caches of supplies throughout the state for emergencies, and some of those supplies were approaching expiration. If another use couldn’t be found, millions of dollars’ worth of useful products would eventually be discarded.
They asked a simple question: “Do you know any nonprofits that could use this?” I thought, Let me make a phone call.
The Connections Started Appearing
Convoy of Hope’s West Sacramento Warehouse
Convoy of Hope came up as a possible organization capable of receiving and distributing supplies at this scale. I knew the name, but not much about them. Then something strange happened. The very next day, I opened LinkedIn and saw a Barnabas connection posting from a Convoy of Hope warehouse. I thought, You’ve got to be kidding me. So I called him: “Tell me about Convoy of Hope.”
The following day, I happened to have breakfast with two more people in the Barnabas network. I mentioned that Convoy of Hope kept coming up. Their response was essentially, “We know them. We can help connect you.” One conversation became another. Before long, I was connected with leaders at Convoy of Hope. And then suddenly I found myself standing in their warehouse with representatives from Grainger and the State of California. I remember looking around and realizing something even bigger was happening.
People were hearing about Jesus.
Business, government, and ministry had converged in the same warehouse because a series of relationships had come together at exactly the right moment.
Ten Truckloads. $5.9 Million.
The State of California ultimately sent as much of the available inventory to Convoy of Hope as the organization could receive. The result was staggering:
Ten truckloads of medical supplies. Approximately $5.9 million worth of resources.
Instead of being discarded, those supplies could now serve people who desperately needed them. A significant portion ultimately went toward disaster relief in Jamaica following a Category Five hurricane.
Think about that chain of events. A Barnabas relationship changed the way our company thought about its business. That led us to share our nonprofit involvement with a business partner. That conversation surfaced a problem. The problem led me back to relationships within Barnabas, and those relationships led to Convoy of Hope. Eventually, nearly $6 million in medical supplies that might otherwise have been thrown away were redirected toward serving people in need. I didn’t donate $5.9 million. I didn’t own the supplies. I didn’t run the nonprofit. I didn’t control the State of California. I just happened to be an elbow.
What If?
That’s part of what I’ve learned through Barnabas. Sometimes stewardship isn’t about writing the check. Sometimes it’s about paying attention. Who has God already put in your life? What relationships has He entrusted to you? What problems are people mentioning? What resources are sitting unused? What introduction could you make?
We can spend a lot of time waiting for God to give us some enormous assignment when He may simply be asking us to connect the people already around us. That is one of the things I value most about The Barnabas Group. It’s a community of people encouraging one another to become who God has called them to be and asking how everything He has entrusted to us can be used for His purposes. Our experience, relationships, companies, influence, and resources. All of it can be stewarded.
So maybe the question isn’t, “What huge thing can I do for God?” Maybe the better question is: What has God already put within reach? You don’t have to be the whole body. Sometimes God just needs an elbow.
About The Author: Joe Long
As CEO of Cal State Supply, Joe Long has led the company to prestigious recognition on both the Inc. 5000 regional and national lists. With over 25 years of expertise across sectors such as state and local government, healthcare, education, manufacturing, and commercial, Joe focuses on delivering innovative solutions in safety, sustainability, and large-scale California state contracts. A U.S. Air Force veteran and flight medic, Joe’s leadership is rooted in service. He is also an investor and, alongside his wife Rebekah, is launching the non-profit Ascend International, with the vision to “renew the minds of many.”