interview
Big business now God's business
- JAMES
HASTINGS finds how God turned multi-millionaire businessman Martin
Clarke's life around
Like
many young men, Martin Clarke always dreamed of owning a Ferrari;
the only difficulty he had was choosing the colour.
At 28, Martin, who says he grew up "in the rough part of Chelsea" was
already a self-made millionaire. Despite leaving school without the right grades
for university, he qualified as a chartered surveyor and set up his own company.
This was during the 'Yuppie' boom of the 1980s and, Martin, now 50, found money
flowing through his fingers like so many casino chips and girlfriends.
"I was making huge profits buying and selling property. I couldn't put a
foot wrong and you could say I was enjoying the finer things in life," he
explains. "Back then, business was very macho and you'd do anything to survive.
It was all about the car you drove, the holidays you took, even what kind of
security system you had.
"Even many national companies and institutions were flying close to the
wind in their business dealings. I'd grown up in a Christian family, but at 18
I decided it was all mumbo jumbo. Still, something in my conscience troubled
me about the way I was operating."
Talking to Martin in his offices in London's West End, it’s difficult
to regard him as anything but a success. A born entrepreneur who could turn
a profit in an empty lift, he literally buzzes with enthusiasm and charm.
His world-wide business interests range from property to wine production, and
while he still possesses a shrewd businessman's nose for a profit, a commitment
to Christ now lies at the centre of his life.
He quotes the Bible the way other businessmen quote The Wall Street Journal,
and rushes from meetings with multi-million pound deals on the table to make
tea for a homeless charity working with those living on the streets.
Above all, he is proud to be an international director of the Full Gospel
Businessmen's Fellowship. This is a fellowship of men with a vision inspired
by God to reach out beyond their personal lives and to help others find the
reality of the Spirit-filled walk with Christ.
It's a world which is a far – and very painful – cry from the early
90s when Martin's business and personal life were in tatters.
"My wife and I had a very public divorce," he adds. "It cost me £5m.
I remember thundering into the lawyer’s office and throwing my precious
car keys at him. I was pretty low."
In an attempt to draw a line under that life, Martin flew half-way across the
world and moved to China, where he quickly established a number of businesses.
On a visit home to London, he bumped into a guy in a café who described
himself as a photographer. His name was Terence Donovan, one of Britain's iconic
fashion photographers, and soon the pair became close friends.
"One night we were in Southall looking for a curry when we heard singing
coming from a church," smiles Martin. "There was a very pretty girl
at the door, inviting us in. I was struck by her and the fact that people were
actually having a good time in church because that hadn't been my experience.
When the service finished, Terence and I went off to find that curry."
Three weeks later, Terence Donovan committed suicide. Martin was devastated.
A few days after that, his bemused secretary buzzed his office to say a woman
was downstairs wanting to talk to him about Jesus.
"It was the same girl from the prayer meeting and she told me I needed Jesus
in my life. I said: 'don't be silly, I'm a successful businessman,' but she quoted
Jeremiah 29:11 'The Lord plans to prosper you and not harm you'. I found myself
listening and was intrigued that she could really believe all this stuff."
Not only did the "pretty girl" lead him to Christ, she also led him
to the altar. Martin and Shaneen married shortly afterwards. It was Shaneen
who encouraged Martin to attend his first Full Gospel Business Men's meeting,
even though he was sceptical of encountering Jesus "at a £6 chicken
in a basket dinner".
"The main speaker was Charles Duke, the Apollo astronaut who drove the first
moon buggy," adds Martin. "He called me out of the audience and prayed
with me. I found myself filled with the Holy Spirit."
As he had been away from church for most of his adult life, Martin realised
he needed assistance to re-encounter Christ. That led to him attending the
Alpha course at Holy Trinity Brompton.
While he lost none of his business acumen, Martin's new faith and perspective
quickly meant he lost the lifestyle which had bound him in a life of despair
and agony. He stopped drinking and visiting the casino and race track.
Friends and colleagues, he says, regarded him as "having gone wacky" but
soon they were visiting him for counsel and prayer. Now a member of the FGBF
in Mayfair, Martin, entrepreneurial as ever, launched a second sharing group
for businessmen which meets monthly.
"When you are in business, you have all kinds of temptations so you need
support if you are going to try and live the way Jesus wants you to," he
explains. "We have speakers and discuss topics such as pornography, honesty
and integrity in business and being faithful in marriage.
"One guy told us his company was cooking the books and as a Christian he
didn't know what to do. I personally believe you should make a stand in these
kind of situations, even if it means losing your job, because God might be using
the situation to move you on to something better."
He adds: "I trust God with all aspects of my life, both personal and business.
One time, I needed £368,000 in five days to conclude a deal and it wasn't
looking good. I really prayed and surrendered the whole thing to God. Just
hours before the deadline, I received £376,000, eight thousand more than
I needed, until I realised I'd forgotten to budget for the lawyer's fee which
came to exactly £8,000.
"Little incidents like that remind me God is in charge."
Martin believes God has called him to be a businessman to make money to support
God's work.
"Everything in the Church needs financing, so you can't escape the issue
of money. We're reminded that money isn't evil, it's the love of money that is
the problem.
"I had that false perspective before I came to Christ, I just wanted to
make a buck for the sake of it. That was my flesh life. Of course, it’s
important not just to give money, but to give of your time to others, which is
why I enjoy being with the homeless.
"Every day I say this verse from Proverbs 3:5 'Trust in the Lord and do
not lean on your own understanding. Acknowledge him in all your ways and he will
direct your paths'.
"The Lord will never let you down."
- James Hastings is a freelance journalist based in Glasgow
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