Dear Friends,

Several of you have asked us about the Indianapolis Business Journal's recent coverage of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce’s lawsuit against the Indiana Christian Chamber of Commerce, citing that our similar names create confusion and infringe on their trademark. While we’ve chosen to address that dispute privately, we welcome the opportunity to clarify our vision and next steps, and how those relate to other business organizations in our region.

Indiana enjoys a myriad of business associations and programs, all churning out resources to help local businesses. Rather than duplicating those efforts, the Christian Chamber seeks to promote existing resources while equipping professionals with the wealth of proven marketplace strategies found in Scripture.

We believe significant, lasting success stems from personal and spiritual growth. Hence, we prioritize character development, peer-to-peer accountability and relationship building, with the Scriptures as our standard. We find that injecting biblical precepts into daily business dealings invariably translates into enhanced relationships, increased influence and, consequently, added profits — outcomes that have been documented and reported by BusinessWeek, Fortune magazine, The New York Times, CNN.com and other national outlets. 

The state chamber’s lawsuit came in the midst of a year-long restructuring and fine-tuning of our focus and direction. Faced with the pressure of a lawsuit, our staff has often meditated on Matthew 6:33: “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” We trust that through this challenge God is opening a door for us to bring new strategies to a changing marketplace. 

NAME CHANGE
We’ll start by changing our name to Christian Professional Chamber — a move that will help us co-brand with our mother company, ChristianProfessional, Inc., and affiliates: Christian Professional magazine and Christian Phone Book. The name change also will facilitate our work beyond Indiana as we respond to requests to duplicate our model in other markets, as we’ve recently done with the Tennessee Christian Chamber of Commerce. 

CHANGING OF THE GUARDS
Meanwhile, we say goodbye to executive director Sue Swayze as she focuses on lobbying efforts, representing biblical values in the political arena. We thank Sue for her leadership and wish her much success in that role. Replacing Sue is Rick Terry, president of Main1Media. Rick’s rich background in small business development, spiritual mentoring and community building will be a great asset to our members.

As we’ve communicated to the Indiana Chamber of Commerce since our inception, our desire remains to find ways to work together and support one another. We applaud the work that they do and welcome the opportunity to discuss concerns and collaboration opportunities face to face. In the end, personal, business and community success all hinge on relationships.

Sincerely, 

Randy Faulkner
CEO, ChristianProfessional, Inc.
randyf@christianprofessional.com