10.22.20 — Dean Eli Jones Interview Reflection

Interview with Dr. Eli Jones — Dean, Mays Business School

How did God lead you here and how did you learn to discern His will for your life?

Discernment is a large part of Dean Jones’ prayer life. He has to make tremendous decisions daily that impact the well-being of many people around him. The Dean told me that he was constantly thinking about the “ripple effect” of his decisions. He is aware that this is an area of his life that he simply cannot afford to be self-reliant in. He is constantly asking God to give him the ability to discern what His will is in the midst of big decisions he is tasked with making. Dean Jones often finds himself praying “Lord, guide me,” during meetings silently in his head. This fascinated me. He was willing to submit every single second of a conversation to the Lord, giving Him free reign to steer it in whatever direction He saw fit. I’m positive that God remained faithful to Dean Jones in those moments, speaking through him rather than allowing foolish talk to come from him. I was also interested by the Dean’s concept of having a “network of like-minded” Christians around you at any given point. He gave the example of his relationship with Doug McMillon. This brother in Christ was one that Dean Jones regularly texts encouraging messages to. The two of them will also pray with and for one another when needed.

The discernment that Dean Jones has was not acquired in a short period of time. He told me that from a young age, he asked God for discernment in small(er) decisions such as where to go to college. At each new level that he reached, he asked the Lord for that same discernment and received it. This reminded me of the story of David in 1 & 2 Samuel. He first tended after his sheep faithfully as a shepherd which allowed him to eventually care for his people faithfully as king. The level of discernment that the Lord has blessed Dean Jones with is the result of a habitual submission to His will in all decisions of his life (big or small).

In summary, the Dean told me that the reason he is here today is because of God’s favor in his life. God’s favor was responsible for the people that helped him along the way and the opportunities that arose.

How did you balance the demands of family and success? What would you have done differently?

This question seemed to strike a chord with the Dean as we spoke (as I knew it probably would). He started by telling me that he does not regret where he ended up in life. However, “the sacrifices that came were incredible.” So often we see the successes of others, but we forget that there are stories behind a person’s net worth (he is actually in the process of writing a book called “First Comes the Sacrifice” that is about this… I am very excited to read it!). Dean Jones got married and had several children at a very young age. As a result, he was forced to live in the tension of navigating his own life while also being responsible for his family.

He said that his wife served as the “anchor” of the family while he “floated” around in order to provide for the family. This freed him up to pursue profitable ventures, develop himself professionally and ultimately land him in the spot he is today. The consequence was equally as great, however. Dean Jones missed many key moments in his children’s lives. In a marriage, someone has to anchor and someone has to float. In this case, Dean Jones assumed the role of the floater. While he might have missed on some significant moments in his children’s lives all those years ago, he gets to make up for it by being a proud grandfather of ten grandchildren (from “God’s favor”). Since he is so much younger than many other grandparents, he is able to play basketball with these kids. He told me, “My only responsibility is to love them.”

To answer my question of how to balance these aspects of life, the Dean told me to take the “long-term” approach. There were certainly moments in his life where he might have thought he had an imbalance between his family and work, but in the greater picture he was able to love them more fully now. When you look at the snapshots of life, it’s easier to think that things are out of balance since that moment is taken out of context. Decisions over what to sacrifice, whether that be time or money (since you can’t have both), must be made with this long-term perspective.

(Also, worth noting — “Do you want TIME or MONEY? What’s more important? You have to sacrifice one. — Dean Jones)

What was your most difficult season? What did you learn?

There was not a particular moment that the Dean described as being his “most difficult” season, but there were certainly many moments of severe heartache throughout his life. Some of these moments included navigating school for the first time as a first-generation college student, financial struggles while providing for his family and the death of his beloved daughter. In response to my question, he pulled up an image on his phone entitled “Full Circle,” which was essentially a completed circle with all sorts of twists and turns, with light parts and dark parts throughout.

Referring to this image, Dean Jones told me that life is never the perfect circle we think it ought to be. There will be a starting and ending point, but the journey between there is not one that can be anticipated. When life drove him through the “dark” parts, he would cling to his hope that the “light” would come after. In these times of trial, the Dean learned to remind himself of the long-term picture (the inevitable light after darkness) and to find like-minded individuals to pray together with.

What a privilege it was to meet with a man of such wisdom and fear for the Lord. I am extremely blessed for the opportunity to have spoken with him. God Bless you, Dean Jones!’