The Loneliest Chair in Business: Why Scott Brunscheen Spent 12 Years Building Tables for Faith-Driven Leaders

The breakfast invitation seemed simple enough—a discussion about faith in the workplace. But what Scott Brunscheen heard that morning in 2014 would redirect the next twelve years of his life.

Around the table sat some of Des Moines's successful business owners and leaders. They had built thriving companies, created jobs, and earned respect in their industries. Yet when the conversation turned to integrating faith into their work, a surprising pattern emerged: these confident leaders felt completely alone.

"Business owners felt alone and did not know how, or if, they could share their faith at work," Scott recalls. "They were uncertain about legal boundaries. They didn't have peers to process it with. The chair at the top can be the loneliest chair in the building."

That realization launched Faith at Work, a nonprofit co-founded by Seneca Tank business owner Steve Reiswick and Scott to create the encouragement and peer support that faith-driven business leaders needed, but rarely found.

Fifty Years of Seeing What Others Miss

Scott's ability to have an open heart to know what people actually need—not what they say they need—comes from nearly five decades in nonprofit work. He started his career with MDA and spent his professional life building organizations that serve others. But it wasn't until that 2014 breakfast that he recognized the unique isolation Christian business leaders face.

"We received our 501c3 on June 1, 2014," Scott explains. "We started holding events to connect Christian business leaders. We discovered that for many team members in businesses, the workplace was effectively their only exposure to faith in Jesus Christ."

That insight came from an unexpected source: one of the chaplains at Vermeer Corporation, a family-owned manufacturing company with some 3,000 team members in Pella, Iowa, who understood that Monday through Friday shapes more lives than Sunday morning ever will.

The Question That Changes Everything

With fifty years in nonprofit work, including twelve years of luncheons and small group gatherings, Scott's approach is simply to start by listening. When he met Harry Stine, Iowa's most successful agricultural entrepreneur, he didn't lead with an organization's needs. Instead, he listened and he learned what mattered to Harry.

"To learn the needs of others is the priority." Scott says. "When you really listen and learn about the person sitting in front of you, your heart opens to knowing how you can effectively love and support them. That's what I believe the Great Commandment means in loving God and people."

The chair at the top is the loneliest chair in the building. Business owners need peer support to navigate faith and work without feeling isolated.

This principle—listening before asking, understanding before advising—runs through everything Scott does. It's rooted in the biblical command to love others, but it manifests in remarkably practical ways: learning someone's story before presenting an option to consider, and discovering their passions before suggesting how they can help.

What Moses and Paul Knew About Going It Alone

Scott often returns to a biblical truth that business leaders forget: "One standing alone is easily defeated."

Moses had Aaron. Paul had Barnabas and Timothy. David had Jonathan. The pattern repeats throughout scripture—God's most effective leaders operated in community, not isolation.

"I was mentored by older leaders and by peers," Scott reflects. "That's what younger entrepreneurs need too. Connect with others through local churches or organizations. Don't try to do this alone. That's not how God designed us."

Faith at Work has supported over forty Christian nonprofits in Central Iowa through the Iowa Christian Generosity Council by helping be a part of creating the tables where these connections happen. Not networking events where people exchange business cards—actual community where business leaders process real challenges with peers who share their values.

The Retirement That Isn't

At an age when many people are disengaging, Scott remains invested in building community for the next generation of faith-driven leaders. He cites friends like Don Lamberti, founder of Casey's General Stores, who found some of their most meaningful work after traditional retirement age.

"Retirement isn't mentioned in the Bible," Scott notes. "Don has said to me that we all need three things: 1) somewhere to go, 2) something to do, and 3) someone to love." That is true no matter what age you are...

For Scott, that means continuing to connect isolated business leaders with the peer support they need. It means introducing newcomers to existing groups like Leading with Power and the Unconventional Business Network. It means being a part of and encouraging small groups where real transformation happens—not in auditoriums, but around tables.

What Monday Morning Looks Like

If you're a business leader who feels alone in trying to integrate faith and work, Scott's twelve-year experiment offers a clear path forward: find your table.

Not a conference. Not a podcast. Not even a mentor, though mentors matter. Find eight to ten peers who share your values and will actually show up month after month to process the real challenges you face.

For many employees, the workplace is effectively their only exposure to faith. Business leaders can carry more spiritual influence than they realize, but that is a choice. Choose this day who you will serve...

"The power of community is biblical," Scott emphasizes. "Look at Moses. Look at Paul. This is ongoing personal and spiritual growth, not a one-time event."

That's the invitation Faith at Work extends: stop leading alone. The loneliest chair in business doesn't have to stay empty. Pull up to a table where other leaders understand both the weight you carry and the God who called you to carry it.

Because the truth Scott learned over fifty years in nonprofit work—and twelve years building Faith at Work—is beautifully simple: we were never meant to do this alone. Not in scripture. Not in business. Not ever.