The Church is made up of Christians from a myriad of different professions, and yet their ordinary tales of God at work rarely get told. In this series, we bring you stories of faith on the frontline
My name is Mark Maciver and I own a brand called SliderCuts. I’ve been cutting hair professionally since 2003. While I’m a barber at heart, I do more than cut hair. I run a shop with 13 barbers, teach small businesses about growth and create content. I wrote a book called Shaping Up Culture (Knights Of).
As a kid, my mum and brothers cut my hair because we couldn’t afford to go to the barber. At twelve, surrounded by classmates with sharp cuts, I decided to try myself. My first attempts went badly, but I kept practising. Soon I was cutting my cousin’s and brother’s hair, then my friends’ and neighbours’. By 18, I had customers and was working in a barbershop while studying. At 24, after doing courses in social work and personal training, I realised that barbering was what I wanted to do.
A typical day is busy. Today, I woke at 2:30am and had my first client at 5:15am. I’ve had back-to-back appointments since then. Later, I’ll be producing content, editing and spending time with my children while my wife does some freelance work. I’ll take my son to football and aim for bed by 10pm, although I admit I compromise on sleep, which isn’t a good thing!
My Christian faith is central to who I am and how I run my business. Biblical principles guide my ethics, decisions and the projects I accept. I once turned down a high-profile music video because I couldn’t be sure the lyrics wouldn’t conflict with my beliefs. It wasn’t easy, but I want my work to align with my faith.
When hiring, I’m clear that I am a Christian and the shop is run on Christian principles. Even the music we play reflects that. I want people to choose whether they want to work in that environment. In the barber’s chair, clients often share deeply personal stuff. I pray for wisdom to offer the right words and sometimes share parts of my faith openly, including on social media.
The hardest part of running a business is managing people well. But I love watching the business thrive and seeing barbers succeed. It brings me joy to know they can earn more in my shop and that enables them to buy homes or enjoy holidays.
My prayer is to be a good leader. The bigger the platform, the greater the responsibility. Above all, I want to represent Jesus faithfully, both in my business and online, and run a company that pleases God.
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