An Executive Decision

Don Hayes' son threw him for a loop. In the last week of high school, Chip dropped out of school, moved in with a fellow dropout-turned-stripper, and then two weeks later announced they were getting married. Any parent would be distressed in such circumstances, but Don also began to question his own life. As president of GTE Data Services, Don possessed power, money and outward success, but not peace of mind.

"All of my business success didn't prepare me for having to deal with this situation," recalls Don of the 1990 experience. "It caused me to wonder about my life and purpose."

It also sent him searching for something more. The confirmation-class teacher did know that something was missing, but he didn't know what until he began attending an Executive Ministries Bible study in Tampa in 1991. There Don learned his belief in God could be personal and intimate.

Following his decision to give his life to Christ, Don and his wife, Linda already a Christian drafted a mission statement detailing how they would live in light of Christ's sacrifice for them. "We wanted to devote our time, energy and resources to the extending of God's kingdom throughout the world," says Don. "And that statement became a tool for us to see if an activity we were involved in met the goals we set."

As president of a software-development and information-processing services company employing more than 4,500 people, the then-53-year-old faced many meetings and tough decisions. But Don's choice to follow Christ galvanized him to re-prioritize all aspects of life including the pressures and politics of work. Instead of pressing to win points in high-powered meetings to boost his ego and status, Don started praying for peace, stating his view and leaving the outcome in God's hand.

This faith was bolstered by the men's Bible study he attended. "What impressed me," remembers Rudy Miller, former director of Executive Ministries in Tampa, "was his commitment to come to the discipleship group every week, in spite of his hectic schedule."

His shift in priorities garnered attention from peers. "It was apparent that Don had balance in his life," comments C.F. 'Butch' Bercher, 20-year business associate and president of consumer markets at GTE Telephone Operations. "His job wasn't the end-all, be-all thing. I could tell that what he believed came from the inside and wasn't just an external show."

Don himself felt the change. "My focus shifted from being promoted to new assignments," the 36-year GTE veteran recalls, "to being concerned with what God would have me do with my life." Nonetheless, Don was promoted in 1992 to vice president of information technology for GTE Telephone Operations Group based in Dallas, which put him in charge of a $1 billion annual budget, while also maintaining his presidential post at GTE Data Services.

Despite this increase in responsibility, Don made time to serve God by utilizing his public-speaking abilities. He arranged his schedule so that he could give five-minute testimonies of his conversion at Executive Ministries evangelistic dinner parties throughout 1995. Don then used vacation time to travel to Bangkok, Thailand, and Phnom Penh, Cambodia, to tell the leaders of those cities about his relationship with Christ. Over the past three years he has been the keynote speaker at Outreach Dinner Parties in Miami and Philadelphia, and breakfast meetings in Palm Beach, Fla., and Tulsa, Okla., among others.

"Sometimes, as we strive for success, we're led to believe that we can make it happen, so we jockey for position," Don said to a crowd of 168 in Philadelphia last October. "But I found that success, accomplishment, achievement and recognition don't satisfy only Jesus does."

With this new perspective on work, Don found himself looking at other options for his career future. "GTE wanted me to stay on at the company and made it very lucrative for me," the towering businessman says. "But I wanted to get involved in full-time Christian work while I still had the energy and physical health." In March, he assumed the role of director of the Christian Embassy, a ministry of Campus Crusade to politicians and diplomats in Washington, D.C.

Even Don's son is turning his life back on course. Chip now holds two jobs, attends community college and, like Don's other three children, espouses a personal relationship with Jesus. "Chip was living his life according to Chip's will," says Don. "Now he's seeking God's will."

Chip, like his dad, his siblings and hundreds of others touched by Executive Ministries, is living life by different priorities. And it shows.