Frequently Asked Questions

I have often thought of taking the time to organize my thoughts and experiences as a Christian building the LIFE/Starfish business. Over time, I have gained a unique perspective, and I have matured as a servant in my Church and family. I decided to write this article to help the Christian better see the business that I have grown to love, and to see how the business and the ministry dovetail beautifully, and why I build this community for the Glory of God.

In the Gospel of John, Chapter 10, Jesus begins a discourse on the Kingdom of God by using the example of the good shepherd that loves the flock versus the thief or robber that seeks to devour the flock. Jesus’ audience did not completely understand the parable, so He goes on further to explain that all those that came before Him were robbers seeking to fleece the flock, but that He indeed is the good shepherd and His sheep will hear His voice and recognize His calling. His desire is that His sheep have life and have it more abundantly. It is through this lens of a more abundant life that I see the LIFE/Starfish company. A more abundant life should revolve around spiritual, personal, and financial freedoms, and I believe that our community offers a Christ-centered opportunity that equips us for not only a spiritual battle but also an earthly battle.

I was first introduced to the LIFE/Starfish as a young leader in a very conservative Baptist Church. My Pastor Oliver J. Lemmie patiently mentored me in God’s Word for over a decade, and I have yet to meet a more spiritually-minded man in my life. I gave my life to Christ as a 21-year-old college graduate and corporate IT professional. My mind was squarely focused on career success, personal gain, and wealth. Pastor Lemmie helped me properly balance and prioritize my pursuit of God and my pursuit of earthly success, and for that, I am forever grateful. He was a man of conviction, character, and compassion, and he centered his life around the teachings of Jesus Christ. My wife Tina and I counseled with him before he performed our marriage ceremony, he prayed with us for the purchase of our first home, he encouraged me after my first layoff at 24 years old, he was there for the birth of my children, and I learned to trust his wisdom in making life decisions. Naturally, years ago when I partnered with a Orrin Woodward and Chris Brady, it was Pastor Lemmie’s guidance that I sought for perspective. His words were thoughtfully balanced as he led me to Matthew 6:30-33…

“Wherefore, if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knows that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

After reading these scriptures, I was left wondering if he was giving me his blessing or giving me fair warning not to pursue advancement in the business. Was he warning me not to take thought of my daily sustenance? By pursuing a business was I showing a lack of faith in God for the provision of my daily needs? Was I being materialistic in seeking to gain additional income? I asked these and many other questions of my mentor, and I thank God that he took time to help me gain further insight. He helped me understand that God is a jealous God, and that He expects to be first in our lives. God will not settle for second place behind a career, a relationship, a hobby, nor a business. He encouraged me to always remember my faith in Christ first, and everything else, which includes, Family, Finances, Friends, Fun, Fitness, Following, and Freedom, would be added to my life in abundance. Now years later, I am an Ordained Pastor of the Union Baptist Church of Chesterfield, MO, where I strive to teach those great biblical principles.

Throughout my association with the LIFE/Starfish, we have endured monumental changes and our business has evolved drastically. With each change, I reassess my involvement based upon my understanding of the holy scriptures. Today I am confident in the validity of the LIFE/Starfish Company for the individual that seeks God and His righteousness first. My wife Tina and I have been blessed by the friendship of hundreds of business partners, we have been blessed by the principle-based information, and blessed by the income that LIFE/Starfish continues to generate for our family. I write today to help the bible-believing Christian find answers to the most common concerns that many Christians share in relation to entrepreneurship.

First, let me say that this article is written from my Christian perspective and intended for bible-believing Christians that are seeking answers to legitimate questions about LIFE/Starfish. It is not written to try and use the Gospel for personal gain, nor defend LIFE against its nameless and faceless critics. I cannot possibly explain why some people quit, some stay, why some excel while others fail. I can only speak to my experience, and I encourage you to live out your own experiences as well. I apologize for the length of this article, but I intend to offer comprehensive viewpoints based upon my experience in building compensated communities and sharing this business plan. I have shared our business with dozens of Bishops, Priests, Pastors, Ministers, and Elders, thousands of laymen in the church, and I have taught and spoken in front of tens of thousands of people across the Continent. The logic of the business makes perfect sense for those that want to study great information, grow personally and become good stewards over their money. I have also found that most people have valid moral concerns that deserve transparent and straightforward biblical answers. 

Below I offer my viewpoints for those looking to join the LIFE/Starfish community. If you, after prayerful consideration and an open evaluation, hear the voice of the good shepherd calling you, then join us as we build LIFE for the glory of God.

This is one of the most polarizing and legitimate questions that I have ever encountered in regards to pursuing LIFE/Starfish. Often after sharing the actual information that LIFE distributes in regards to faith, finances, parenting, and marriage, many Christians instantly and accurately recognize the information and the mentorship as ministry work. How can it possibly be wrong to teach husbands to love their wives and wives to respect their husbands? Encouraging parents to communicate with their children and spend less time in front of the television is the topic of most sermons on Sunday morning. The teaching of Malachi 3:10, which encourages Christians to give their tithes unto the Lord, is bible study basics for most Christians. But this alignment with God’s word gave me and many other Christians pause because we are all leery of profiting from the Word of God. Countless charlatans have perverted the good news for unsavory purposes. 

We all have learned that just because the product being sold represents the theology of the cross, this does not guarantee that the motive of the business owner is righteous. So how do we come to a consensus in regards to this dilemma? The Christian must begin to seek answers from the bible in three main areas, business in general, financial profit, and finally what the bible says about profiting from the work of the ministry.

LIFE/Starfish is a business, and like every other business, it is designed to profit from the sale of the goods and services. In Leviticus 25:14, Christians are given explicit instructions in the Bible on how to conduct business properly…

“And if you make a sale to your neighbor or buy from your neighbor, you shall not wrong one another.”

In Proverbs 31:15-18, the wise man wrote in regards to the virtuous woman…

“She rises while it is yet night and provides food for her household and portions for her maidens. She considers a field and buys it; with the fruit of her hands, she plants a vineyard. She dresses herself with strength and makes her arms strong. She perceives that her merchandise is profitable. Her lamp does not go out at night."

Business and profit are permissible in the Bible as long as we don’t allow them to consume us and become pitfalls of sin in our lives. Jesus taught this in a parable found in Luke 12:16-21…

"And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘what shall I do? I have no place to store my crops. “Then he said, ‘this is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry. But God said to him, ‘you fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

This certain man allowed greed and the lust of his flesh to cause him to fall into sin, and Christ went on further to explain that so shall it be for all businesspersons that store up treasures for themselves, and not toward God and their fellow man. The general nature of the parable should cause all Christians to heed this warning, whether we build the LIFE/Starfish business, or climb the corporate ladder, or inherit a fortune. It’s clear that business and profit are Biblical when the heart is guided by proper motives, but what about profiting from the Gospel. For years we have been taught to disassociate the Church from business because Christ himself in Matthew 21:12-13, cleansed the temple of those that sold animals for sacrifice as businessmen. But upon further reading, did Christ levy an indictment against businessmen in the Church or just those businessmen that were price gouging their customers at unfair prices? There is a difference between profiting and profiteering! Proverbs 11:1 reads…

“A false scale is an abomination to the LORD, But a just weight is His delight.”

So God is not necessarily displeased with business, he is displeased with sinful businessmen. Once I gained perspective on business according to the Bible, I began evaluating the scales by which LIFE/Starfish used in pricing our products and in sharing the wealth with its members. The Starfish offers consumers the opportunity to continue patronizing their favorite merchants, and to continue purchasing their favorite brands at the cheapest possible price. The ability to pay using a digital gift card at thousands of merchants allows the consumer to rebel against the non-biblical practice of usury via the credit card industry.

The Starfish also offers a better way to be paid through a fair and transparent Compensation Plan. I encourage the reader to study the plan thoroughly in order to accurately measure your investment proportionate to your expected results. Often, in sharing the business plan, I will encounter those that register as a member, but never really study the training materials, attend a meeting, or get a proper understanding of their commitments. Jesus spoke to this natural human tendency of skipping the instructions in Luke 14:28-30…

“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.”

Count the costs, and build the business in proportion to the size of your dreams and goals. Be prayerful, and finish the race set before you both spiritually, and earthly. Because in the end we are all created with a God-given purpose. That purpose is uniquely yours and God has equipped you to finish your race. In fulfilling your mission, you inherently bring God Glory, by being an example of a faithful servant. Christians must fight the temptation to argue and debate over the endeavors that have been assigned to another person’s hand. We must instead fight the good fight of faith assigned to our hand and be an encourager of our brothers and sisters fighting their specific fight. We have all been called to live a Holy and righteous life, but we are not all called to live the same life. Paul spoke of this individualism in Romans 12:3-5…

“For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”

As one body in Christ, we are encouraged to exercise our gifts in order to complete the body. Christ has liberated us from the encumbrances of this world, and with righteous humility, we are called to exercise this freedom. 2 Corinthians 3:17 states…

"Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”

In John 8:36, this freedom is further solidified…

“If the Son, therefore, shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”

As Christians, we are called to freedom. The Christian is free to marry, have children, choose a career, and make thousands of lifestyle choices according to their specific purpose. Christians should especially be careful not to label others as materialistic or greedy based upon their lifestyle or possessions. God is our Judge, and He is not mocked. If the Christian’s motives and actions are not in line, then God will sovereignly deal with that sin. If you feel called to join LIFE/Starfish, then feel free to pursue your purpose without the burdens of guilt, shame, or criticism that may be levied against you. LIFE/Starfish is a compensated community that strives to help everyone live the life that they have always wanted. LIFE/Starfish offers a unique blend of personal development and financial literacy to everyone that feels compelled to build the business. The individual is free to succeed, and free to fail, we are all free to join, and free to quit, we are free to make a profit and free to lose money, but one thing is sure for the Christian, we have the spirit of the Lord, and we are free indeed. May you find comfort and freedom in these words found in 3 John 1:2…

“Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.”

So often I find that we as Christians wrestle against worshiping the creation over the creator. Very often we put so much time and energy into our education, our careers, and our recreation, that we lose connection with God. One of my main concerns when I began building LIFE/Starfish was how will I fit this into my already busy life, and will this too take me further from my calling to serve God? Many of my fears were partially alleviated when I heard and witnessed the founders promoting Faith, Family and then the business in that prioritized order. Even more endearing was the fact monthly seminars, conventions, and private leadership meetings were always opened in prayer and leaders always promoted God as our source of success. Major Conventions always include a humble, but powerful Christians service on Sunday morning that allows believers of the Christian faith to learn more about God and His plan of salvation. I have seen many people come to Christ in these meetings, and many more fan the flames of curiosity as God draws them nearer to the truth. Many will criticize LIFE/Starfish, the founders, and members for being so brazen in their Christian faith, but I found comfort in knowing that people of like faith were leading the charge, and following the words of Matthew 8:38…

“If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

Many times the Christian will ask how do I know if these people are really Christians? Fair question…and the Bible gives us help in identifying true believers in Luke 6:44-46…

“For every tree is known by its fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”

When I first entered into business with the founders, I did not know these men nor their wives. And they did not know me, so we partnered in good faith and took the time necessary to evaluate each other's hearts and motives. LIFE/Starfish provides a 100% money-back guarantee on all products and a 30-day grace period for those new members that change their mind. These safeguards ensure that all parties get a chance to know and hear from the hearts of their constituents before delving deeper into the business partnership.

I initially had major concerns about the doctrine that was being taught, and who was doing the teaching. But the community does a good job in separating the business teachings from the spiritual teachings. LIFE/Starfish will sometimes partner with secular authors, lectures, and teachers in order to learn business and personal principles that align with Godly principles. But the message of the Gospel is kept separate and simple so that we can find the common ground in the good news while not allowing denominational rifts to distort God’s amazing grace. LIFE/Starfish walks the fine line that Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23…

“Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law, I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law, I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.”

I have had the privilege of leading a few people to Christ and then leading those people to this amazing community, but more often I have led people to community and then led them to Christ. To many, this may sound strange, but let me further explain why I have found this to be true. LIFE/Starfish is a business that encourages its members to build a community. First by knowing oneself, then learning how to relate to and communicate with others. LIFE professional business owners are encouraged to share the business plan fifteen times a month, and I, and many other members have developed that industrious habit. In these 15 exposures (plans), we are taught to make a friend, find a need, transfer a genuine feeling of belief in the prospect and the business, get the prospect to a meeting, loan, sell or give them information to enjoy, and schedule a follow-up time to meet again in two days. I have found that these “plans” provide a real opportunity to let our light so shine before men so that they may see our good works. In the living rooms of Americans, LIFE/Starfish members get a chance to know people that they most likely never would have met. We get a chance to cross cultural, racial, and socio-economic lines that our society and many of our Churches have a yet to cross. LIFE/Starfish members often hear the despair, trials, and heartaches that families are experiencing. Financial distress, relational disharmony, physical sickness, and mental stress are common fare. We then get a very real chance to offer hope for both secular and spiritual ailments. With thousands of LIFE/Starfish members knocking on the doors of new friends, co-workers, and neighbors, LIFE/Starfish has put feet on the Gospel of Jesus Christ and our lights are shining brightly. 

There are millions of Christian evangelicals that are doing great work in offering hope to the hopeless of the world, but LIFE/Starfish is offering a path to a full recovery and a more abundant life. This may sound arrogant, but I write from the perspective of a man that has seen the lives of countless people changed through this community, and I am compelled to give credit where credit is due.

If I had a dollar for every time that someone asked me if we were part of a pyramid scheme or taught a prosperity gospel, I would be a very wealthy man. LIFE/Starfish teaches a Principle-based message, not a prosperity gospel. For years we have been taught to disassociate the Church from business because Christ himself in Matthew 21:12-13, cleansed the temple of those that sold animals for sacrifice as businessmen. But upon further reading, did Christ levy an indictment against businessmen in the Church or just those businessmen that were price gouging their customers at unfair prices? There is a difference between profiting and profiteering! Proverbs 11:1 reads…

“A false scale is an abomination to the LORD, But a just weight is His delight.”

So God is not necessarily displeased with business, he is displeased with sinful businessmen. I found it refreshing that the founder’s emphasis in all things is to be fair, transparent, and honest in all things. If you were to study the plan thoroughly, you would discover that you will not find a promise of riches, but you will find an opportunity to make a profit in proportion to your efforts. In Matthew 25:14-30, Jesus spoke of the parable of the talents in which he describes the Kingdom of God as a Master that went on a journey and gave talents to three servants. Each servant was given a measure of talents according to his ability, and then given the opportunity to invest their talents into a business for a profit. After a long time, the Master returned and wanted to see what each servant had done with his talents. The first servant traded his talents and gained ten talents. The second servant traded his talents and gained five talents. But the third servant buried his talent in the ground and did nothing with his talent. The Master was pleased with the efforts of the first two servants but cast out the third servant into outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. Many Christians misinterpret this parable to say that Jesus disapproves of business and making a profit, but upon further inspection, we see that it’s the fear of failure, and the laziness of the third servant that displeases God.

The LIFE/Starfish business model is a compensation plan based upon an exchange of goods and services, where members sell products and build communities in order to share the profits with each other. The amount of effort required to build this business and the likelihood of success are determined by the individual member. The plan is made up of many levels, and in order to build the LIFE/Starfish business, members are required to mentor, train, and develop other members to do the same. The more people we add, mentor, and train, the more profit we gain. The plan also has safeguards in place to ensure that all members share in the profits according to their efforts. Life is full of risks, and LIFE/Starfish is no different. Many people join the community but fail to study the materials, they fail to apply the principles taught, and they fail to put forth the effort required to make a profit. Members that fail to meet the minimum production requirements set forth in the plan, are subject to not earning a profit, and in some cases, they may lose money. The compensation plan was designed to reward the members that do the work, but it is not a guarantee of riches. The LIFE/Starfish business plan is best compared to a college education. The college provides the students with the knowledge and tools necessary to build a career, but it’s ultimately up to the student to put in the effort necessary to succeed. Not every college graduate becomes rich and famous, but most college graduates earn a better living than those that have no education. The LIFE/Starfish business plan offers the knowledge and tools necessary to build a business and a career, but it’s ultimately up to the member to put in the effort necessary to succeed. Not every member becomes rich and famous, but most members earn a better living than those that have no business education. James wrote in James 2:14-26…

“What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,’ but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, ‘You have faith, and I have works.’ Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’ And he was called the friend of God. You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”

The LIFE/Starfish business plan is one of the greatest tools that I have ever found in helping the Christian apply his faith in God to his daily life. Building LIFE/Starfish allows the Christian to learn the principles that will help him gain a full measure of success in life, and at the same time, it allows the Christian to earn a profit for his efforts. The profit gained in the business is a direct result of the effort that the member puts into the business. If the member fails to put forth the effort, then he will fail to gain a profit. LIFE/Starfish rewards those members that do the work, and it’s a wonderful opportunity for the Christian to apply his faith to his works and to live a more abundant life.

My church family and my LIFE/Starfish family are one in the same. Both of my families are led by people of like faith that understand that in order to reach the world with the message of Jesus Christ, we must first reach the world with the message of community. Both of my families are made up of people that understand that in order to build a business, we must first build trustworthy relationships. The family of Jesus Christ has been given a great commission…Matthew 28:19-20…

“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”

I am so blessed to be a part of two families that are so committed to reaching the world with the message of Jesus Christ. Amen.