There’s commercial real estate and residential real estate.
Then there's redemptive real estate, which John Mullen introduced to a group of Grand Canyon University students.
“It's taking real estate and not just thinking of it as having a return on investment, but it's having an eternal return on investment,” Mullen said Monday the T.W. Lewis Speaker Series in his talk, titled “Real Estate With Eternal Impact: Living Out the Gospel Through Business and Generosity” at the Colangelo College of Business lobby.
“So it's taking real estate and repurposing it for God's glory.”
Mullen, an entrepreneur, author and ordained minister, elaborated on helping those in need after being held at knifepoint as an 18-year-old, getting fired by his brother-in-law and losing another job during his wife’s pregnancy.
Mullen helped start groups like HOW International and Believer’s Edge, which assist people around the world through faith-based initiatives.
As a civil engineering major at Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, “I came to know Christ as my lord and savior. And it was the type of thing where I didn't grow up with any background, any Christian background.
“But God was after me, and God was hunting me down in a way where God wanted me to know that He was there, and that He had a plan for my life. And so that was kind of the beginning of me realizing that there is a God. He has a plan, and I desire to kind of live in the line of what His plan is.”
Mueller said he learned the term “redemptive real estate” from the college's dean, John Kaites, who moderated the discussion, when they aligned their interests.
Mullen, a native of Santa Barbara, California, also connected with Dean Wilson, president and CEO of the Turner Foundation, which is committed to providing housing and aid to vulnerable populations.
Specifically, Mullen became involved in one complex where a landlord charged fees by the number of tenants instead of by the unit.
He helped Behind the Door Ministries by conducting Bible studies at the complex. Behind the Door also conducted free music programs for children.
“We can begin to go behind the door and actually get to know the people and love those people,” Mullen said. “And again, when we think about what Christ has called us to do, I don't believe Christ has called us just to preach and to get people across the line in the kingdom. I believe that Christ has called us to love well and to love so well that we live our lives in the service of others.”
Two years ago, Mullen and the Turner Foundation started a conference that involved 150 real estate developers and officials around the country to discuss redemptive real estate.
The potential is there, Mullen believes, based on how the number of closing churches can be converted, “repurposed for God's glory, as opposed to just being demolished.”
Mullen said his life was in danger when an intruder broke into his bedroom while sleeping with his window open during a warm night and put a knife near his throat.
The intruder wanted only money but fled through the window as Mullen’s father fired shots, leaving a blood trail. Mullen didn’t know where the intruder went, but he said police told the family it was a closed case.
“That was a time of my life where I didn't know Christ,” Mullen recalled. “It was a time of my life where I realized there were a couple things that happened. One was that I left the window open, like I left access, or you want to call the enemy to come in.
“And that really shaped my years beyond 18 years old, where I realized, I live in an unprotected life in many ways.”
Mullen envisioned himself as more of a manager than a laborer, but his career digging trenches was short-lived.
“I'm 18 years old, getting my first shot at kind of development, and my brother-in-law says, ‘I'm going to fire you because you're alone and you're lazy and you're not doing any work,’ “ Mullen recalled. “So that was my introduction to development.”
Mullen remained determined to earn his degree and return to Santa Barbara, where he managed 124 homes for a land development company.
But in less than two years, the owners told Mullen the company was “winding down,” thus leaving him without work with an expectant wife.
“What am I going to do?” Mullen asked himself. “And I remember going to the Lord and saying, ‘Lord, what is your vision for my life?’ And this is incredibly important because God put within me to be an entrepreneur. He gave me a love for real estate.
“But I really didn't know which direction to take. And God downloaded a graph to me that I would be building one company, and it will fund a real estate company, and ultimately a real estate developer. And He showed me the chart. I literally wrote it down.”
Mullen embarked on real estate entitlement projects in the early 1990s but wisely transitioned when wireless became available online. His company built cell sites across the United States, and he formed a business in Mexico with 250 employees.
That success enabled him to start a development company.
Looking back, “God loves us so much that He wants to speak to us all the time,” Mullen said.
Before cable television, Mullen recalled the days when his father would have him climb to the roof of their house and point the antenna in a certain direction until he could watch his television show.
“I really believe that our relationship with the Lord is such that, turning the antenna to him and aligning with him,” Mullen said. “…I just felt like God was having me write this vision. And I always think vision is something that comes not just from God, but it comes from your heart. It comes from your passion. It comes from something that God has made you become.”
GCU News senior writer Mark Gonzales can be reached at Mark.Gonzales@gcu.edu
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