Let God Drive: What 36 Years in the Car Business Has Taught Me About Faith, Leadership, and Purpose

At Frank Myers Auto Maxx, we believe leadership starts with service, business is stewardship, and success means more than sales numbers. Faith-based leadership isn't something we practice after work hours. It's part of who we are. Let God drive.

I've spent most of my life in the automobile business.

I've celebrated record months, survived recessions, watched markets rise and fall, and experienced more sleepless nights than I care to admit. If you've been in this business

long enough, you know exactly what I'm talking about. The car business can be one of the most rewarding professions in the world, but it can also test your patience, your character, and sometimes even your faith.

For years, I believed success came from working harder, pushing longer, and carrying more on my shoulders.

Then somewhere along the journey, I learned an important lesson:

God never asked me to carry the dealership.

He only asked me to steward it.

That realization changed everything.

At Frank Myers Auto Maxx, we sell vehicles. But if that's all we did, I don't think I'd still be excited to come to work every day after all these years.

Because the truth is, we're not in this business by accident.

We're here by appointment.

Every customer who walks through the front door is somebody's spouse, parent, child, or grandparent. Every employee has dreams, fears, struggles, and responsibilities waiting for them when they leave work each day.

That means our dealership isn't just a place of business.

It's a place of ministry.

It's a mission field with inventory.

Years ago, I developed a simple framework that helps remind me where my priorities belong. I call it D.R.I.V.E.

D is for Devotion.

Before I can lead a company, I have to follow Christ.

Not the other way around.

It's easy to become devoted to sales goals, market share, inventory turns, and profit margins. None of those things are bad. But they make terrible gods.

My first responsibility isn't to the business.

It's to the One who gave me the opportunity to lead it in the first place.

When our priorities are aligned correctly, work becomes something bigger than work. It becomes worship.

R is for Responsibility.

Leadership is stewardship.

The money isn't really ours.

The influence isn't really ours.

The opportunities aren't really ours.

They've all been entrusted to us for a season.

As business owners and leaders, we've been given resources, people, platforms, and influence that many others never receive. That comes with tremendous responsibility.

How we treat people matters.

How we handle adversity matters.

How we operate when nobody is watching matters.

Because integrity isn't a marketing strategy.

It's a calling.

I is for Influence.

For years, I thought leadership meant getting people to follow you.

Now I believe leadership is simply serving people well enough that they trust you.

Every conversation matters.

Every handshake matters.

Every interaction matters.

Whether you're speaking to a customer, a vendor, or the newest employee on your team, you're influencing someone's life whether you realize it or not.

I've always believed that customers should be treated as people, not transactions.

Sales are temporary.

Impact lasts much longer.

Leadership isn't just management.

Leadership is ministry.

V is for Vision.

The world measures success in quarters and fiscal years.

God measures impact in generations.

The Myers family has been serving customers for more than a century now. That perspective changes the way you make decisions.

When you're building a legacy, not every decision has to maximize today's profit.

Some decisions are investments in tomorrow.

Some decisions are investments in people.

Some decisions are investments in eternity.

A dealership can sell cars.

Or it can change lives.

I know which one I'd rather build.

E is for Endurance.

Every dealer has scars.

The 2008 recession left mine.

There were days I wasn't sure what the future held.

There were moments when quitting would've been easier.

But faith has a way of carrying us when our own strength runs out.

God never promised the road would be smooth.

He simply promised we wouldn't travel it alone.

Sometimes faith isn't about sprinting.

Sometimes faith is simply showing up again tomorrow and trusting God with what you cannot control.

Keep going.

Keep serving.

Keep believing.

The harvest often comes long after the planting.

The world tells us to hustle harder, push faster, and win at all costs.

Faith teaches something different.

Serve.

Honor.

Endure.

Lead with integrity.

Love people well.

The amazing thing is that when you do those things consistently, business results often follow anyway.

I've learned that Jesus doesn't just belong in church on Sunday.

He belongs in sales meetings.

He belongs in service departments.

He belongs in hiring decisions.

He belongs in difficult conversations.

He belongs in every corner of the business.

Because when we let God drive, the dealership becomes more than a place that sells vehicles.

It becomes a beacon of hope.

And maybe that's what we were called to build all along.

So here's my encouragement to every business owner, manager, and leader reading this:

Stop asking God to bless your business plans.

Start asking God to direct them.

Put your faith in gear.

And let God drive.