When HR Lost Its Way: Brett Billups on Bringing Biblical Truth Back to the Workplace

Brett Billups stood in his corporate office, dreading Monday morning. Again.

He'd just left a powerful Sunday worship service. The sermon had stirred something deep. But now, walking back into Kraft Foods headquarters, that spiritual high evaporated. The disconnect gnawed at him.

"I was becoming bitter at the church for not giving me the tools to connect Sunday morning with Monday morning," Brett admits. "Then I realized—that wasn't their job. That was mine."

That realization launched a 15-year journey that would transform not just Brett's career, but his understanding of what it means to lead with biblical conviction in the marketplace.

From Ranch Hand to Corporate HR—and Back to His Roots

Brett grew up on a 2,000-acre ranch in the middle of Texas—working cattle, running tractors, digging post holes. When he graduated from Texas Tech, he knew there wasn't much money in ranching. So he stepped into the corporate world, eventually landing at Kraft Foods where he cut his teeth in HR at the highest levels.

"I was in Kraft board rooms with senior executives, helping support the HR function at the national operations level," he says. The experience was invaluable. But something was missing.

Brett had walked down a church aisle at twelve to get baptized—but he wasn't saved. "I just walked down the aisle," he says simply. After high school, he stopped following the rules altogether. It wasn't until his wife insisted on raising their first child in church that Brett picked a Southern Baptist congregation in Green Bay, Wisconsin, where they'd relocated for work.

Then he got sick. Dangerously sick.

His liver was shutting down. He lost thirty pounds, dropping to 130. Ten days in the hospital, hooked to IV antibiotics. At the same time, his wife was reading Henry Blackaby's Experiencing God and sharing what she learned.

"Up to that point, I was like, 'Oh, I know all that stuff,'" Brett says. "But I didn't have it. I didn't have that stuff."

That crisis became his turning point. He joined Bible studies. He sang in the choir. He and his wife homeschooled their four kids—not because it was right for everyone, but because God used it to teach them how to be biblical parents and a biblical husband and wife.

His faith became real. And that's when the struggle began.

The Crisis Every Faith-Driven Leader Faces

Brett found himself caught between two worlds. "Kraft didn't pursue godly things—I know that's a shocker," he says with a wry smile. "As a large secular organization, they didn't pursue godly initiatives."

He'd leave church on Sunday spiritually alive—and dread walking back into work Monday morning.

So he started searching for resources that would help him apply biblical principles in the daily trenches of HR. He found plenty of high-level theology of work. But nothing that addressed the Monday-morning reality: How do you counsel someone dealing with a difficult boss—from a biblical perspective? How do you conduct a performance review that honors God? How do you handle sexual harassment, conflict, or a problem employee through the lens of Scripture?

I realized HR has lost its way from a biblical standpoint. Human resources has become the gateway for secular ideology to make its way into the workplace. I want to change that. I want to bring it back to biblical truth.

So Brett started writing. Not as a project, but as he encountered each issue. He'd study Scripture, pull out biblical principles, and draft action steps based on his HR experience—steps leaders could take before, during, and after specific situations.

"It was really for my own edification," he says. But a colleague—the former CHRO for Michaels Retail Stores—told him he needed to put it in book form. Twelve years later, Biblical HR was published.

The Hard Lesson About Timing and Pride

When the book came out five years ago, Brett thought he was ready to launch his own consulting practice. He wasn't.

"I left my position mad at my boss, saying, 'Fine, I'll just go do my own thing.' And it failed miserably because I was spiritually in rebellion. I was prideful. I was seeking my will versus His. I was trying to take glory that was due Him."

God wasn't done preparing him. So Brett took a position with Marketplace Chaplains, providing chaplaincy services to organizations. There, God taught him what he still needed to learn.

Last fall, the release came. "God said, 'Okay, you've learned what I want you to learn. Now you're ready. Now it's time to transform the HR function.'"

His wife confirmed it. This time, Brett didn't launch in pride. He launched in surrender.

What Monday Morning Looks Like Now

Today, Brett runs Biblical HR—coaching leaders, writing, and training organizations on how to integrate biblical principles into every HR function. He's developed a seven-step HR strategy that aligns people planning with business goals, all rooted in Scripture.

But the real transformation isn't in the strategy. It's in how Brett starts each day.

"Every morning, my goal is to get on my knees and ask Him: What do you want me to focus on today? Not write a list and ask God to bless it—but go to Him first. That's where my list comes from."

Control is an illusion. I realized I need to give it over to Him anyway, because I'm not in control anyway.

He's learned there's no such thing as work-life balance. "We have one life. Not two. What are His priorities today? That's what I focus on."

When his father passed away unexpectedly, work-life balance went out the window. Brett needed to focus on his mother, on grieving, on being present. "We don't have a work life and a personal life. We just have one. And I'm His. So what does He want me to do today?"

The One Thing Business Owners Need to Hear

After 37 years of marriage and decades leading HR at every level, Brett has one message for Christian business owners: Biblical principles work.

"It's one thing to say you're a faith-based business or have a faith-based mission. But living it out—where the rubber hits the road, in every situation, every day—that's how you prove it over time. It's not just having a mission statement that says, 'I honor God in everything I do.' It's actually doing it."

He challenges hard-driving entrepreneurs to take a step back. "You don't own it. You don't control it. Give it over to God every day, and you'll be healthier, your organization will be healthier, and so will your employees."

And here's the part most leaders miss: culture isn't built through mission statements. It's built through discipleship.

"The way you create the culture you want is through discipleship. Bringing discipleship into the workplace through effective one-on-ones is what transforms your culture."

Brett learned this leading HR for a 6,000-employee construction firm. He scrapped unproductive team meetings and moved to weekly one-on-ones with every direct report. "It was a beating every Friday—half-hour meetings all day long. But that's when we started getting things done. That's when I could remove obstacles, connect dots, and disciple people into a godly culture."

He points to recent Gallup surveys showing employee engagement at its lowest point in a decade. The primary driver? Lack of managerial engagement.

"What do you think a succession plan is?" Brett asks. "It's you discipling somebody to fill your role. That's what it is."

Monday Morning Action Steps

Brett's favorite passage is Colossians 3—he's working to memorize the entire book this year. But he also returns again and again to Philippians 2:3-4: Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but consider others better than yourself.

"Christ humbled Himself to the point of death, even death on the cross," Brett says. "Considering others and investing in others and discipling others better than ourselves—that's what Christ did. That's what we're called to do."

For the leader reading this who feels the same tension Brett felt 15 years ago—the disconnect between Sunday and Monday—his advice is clear: Don't wait for someone else to build the bridge. That's your job.

Start tomorrow morning on your knees. Ask God what He wants you to focus on today. Then schedule a one-on-one with someone you lead. Not to delegate tasks, but to disciple them.

Because the most strategic move you can make isn't a business plan. It's surrendering control to the One who's been in charge all along.