Lance Murdock
Financial Markets Trader
Chicago Board of Trade

Lance Murdock vividly recalls when he first came under the spell of success. He was a young, independent trader with a seat on the Chicago Board of Trade. It was November and he was having a banner year—thisclose to reaching the heady financial goal he had set for the year. He traded in the then-volatile agriculture markets. Independent traders love volatile markets. It’s how good traders make their fortunes.

"It’s an adrenaline rush when you trade well and I was trading very well. Unfortunately, in this business confidence can become arrogance and that gets people in trouble. You have to be extraordinarily self-disciplined. The agricultural markets stabilized and the volatility I counted on went away. I started trading outside my usual ball game to make things happen. I didn’t know what I was doing."

In eight days he racked up a seven-figure loss—wiping out all his profits for the year and leaving him with a heart-stopping deficit.

Day of Reckoning

"Traders have a saying, ‘You have to know your ‘puke’ point.’ When your wallet is on the table and you have to make the decision to own your mistakes, take your losses, and start over, can you do it? I didn’t want to take the loss. I was sure it would come back." The clearinghouse responsible for his transactions ultimately made the decision for him. You’re out of cash, they said. Game over.

Interest rates were hovering around 20%, but he had no choice. He borrowed money to cover his deficit and made the equally tough decision to switch pits and move into the financial markets pit where the opportunity was greater. Pride kept him from asking for help to cover his debt.

Then a strange thing happened—something he didn’t ask for or expect. Three friends who heard of his setback approached him. We know you’re a good trader and you’ll come back from this, they said. We believe in you. We’re going to pay off your debt. Repay us without interest when you are able.

Lance was stunned and never forgot their generosity. In fact, they are all still friends today. But he says the most important thing he learned was not the value of knowing wealthy people. "I learned you can be the most phenomenal success in the world, but it doesn’t mean a thing if you don’t have friends who believe in you and who will stand with you in good times and bad."

Where God Fit In

Lance had always considered himself a Christian, even though as an adult he had abandoned organized religion as irrelevant. "I prayed and read my Bible almost daily. But I was basically keeping my foot on base," he says, "while the rest of me was out partying, running around, being materialistic."

An invitation to a contemporary church near his home introduced him to people who measured faith differently. They talked less about "religion" than about their personal relationship with Christ. One man, in particular, became his spiritual mentor. In the course of building a genuine friendship, the friend didn’t hesitate to get in Lance’s face about a few other life issues as well. Over time, Lance’s career flourished and so did his character.

"I used to be an intimidator," he says. "I wasn’t that way anymore. I had been vulgar and that changed. My relationship with women went from inappropriate to appropriate. I started to ‘get it.’ I realized that the gift of eternal life deserved better from me. Christ had done so much for me, living for Him was the least I could do."

Going Public About Faith

Other traders noticed the changes in his life. When they asked, he would share about his newly invigorated faith. But faith was still a fairly private matter. Then, a few years ago, three younger traders who were Christians approached him.

We believe God wants to do more here among our coworkers, but we don’t have the influence you have, they told him. You know half the people in this building. Use your visibility to host an event that would allow other traders to explore the claims of Christianity. We’ll help.

He wallowed in indecision, worried he’d be embarrassed or—worse—that if he ever messed up again, that he would be called a hypocrite. But he was haunted by Luke 12:48 ("From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.") He knew it was time to step it up a notch.

He and his friends booked the CBOT auditorium. They printed invitations that Lance personally distributed. They brought in special speakers to talk about problems people have with Christianity.

"I was ‘outed’ as a Christian," Lance says with a smile. "Our business is founded on rumor and word quickly spread that I was spearheading this Christian Traders Association. It raised the accountability bar, which was good." More importantly, about 100 people came to the first event. Four more events followed. Then came four-week investigative Bible studies. "It was life-changing," he says, "for all of us."

A New Bottom Line

Now, as he approaches his 25th anniversary at the Board of Trade, he and friends are about to launch another round of events. And when people ask him what it takes to be successful—especially in hard economic times like 2001—he cycles back to the lesson learned in the early days.

"It’s about creating balance between financial success, relationships and spiritual growth. Frankly, I had a very challenging year financially last year. But I remind myself I am not my work. My identity is not in my bottom line. I have friends who care deeply about me, and I have a heavenly Father who will not leave me whether I’m rich or poor. I’m a blessed man."