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Christianity Today, November, 2007 |

The Mission Of Business

Companies around the globe are mixing profits with gospel ministry.

Joe Maxwell | posted 11/09/2007 08:57AM

Seventy-five-year-old Ken Crowell strolls along his massive, machinery-strewn assembly lines, chatting with blue-smocked, smiling workers who hail from Israel's Tiberias region. More than 300 Arabs, Jews, ...

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David Williams

Posted: November 19, 2007 1:39 PM

A REALLY interesting area (although it also raises a lot of questions too - sustainability when working in developing countries, are Mission organizations pretending to be BAMs because it's in vogue when they may be better staying true to their core work of pure mission? How much pressure to conform (subliminal or 'liminal') do these organizations place on their local employees?) This approach seems to offer a real 'whole life' approach to those of us whose gifting appears to be in business rather than more 'spiritual' areas. And accountability? I'm inclined to think that I'm accountable as an individual to the Body of Christ in my home church but my business is accountable to those who invest their money, skills or time into it.

G.K. Chesterton

Posted: November 16, 2007 7:52 PM

I know that the most modern manufacture has been really occupied in trying to produce an abnormally large needle. I know that the most recent biologists have been chiefly anxious to discover a very small camel. But if we diminish the camel to his smallest, or open the eye of the needle to its largest — if, in short, we assume the words of Christ to have meant the very least that they could mean, His words must at the very least mean this — that rich men are not very likely to be morally trustworthy. Christianity even when watered down is hot enough to boil all modern society to rags. The mere minimum of the Church would be a deadly ultimatum to the world. For the whole modern world is absolutely based on the assumption, not that the rich are necessary (which is tenable), but that the rich are trustworthy, which (for a Christian) is not tenable. You will hear everlastingly, in all discussions about newspapers, companies, aristocracies, or party politics, this argument that the rich man

David Rupert

Posted: November 15, 2007 12:11 PM


A great blog about living out your faith in the workplace can be found at www.redletterbelievers.blogspot.com.

Eugene Sallee

Posted: November 14, 2007 12:18 PM


Christine, are you suggesting that you believe the Kingdom of God does not have dominion in business?

walt	Posted: November 13, 2007 5:53 PM

Openly running a business on Christian principles will reach the unreachable. Capitalism has not been openly mixed with the Gospel since when ever. When it was it was used as a deception and drove people away who then became biter to Christianity. I believe those who are against businesses are those who least understand it. They believe it is only for making lots of money when in fact it is the production of goods and services needed by the community. Money is only the reward. Jesus was a business man for more years than he was an evangelist. Never did He condemn business ventures. He only warned about keeping your priorities strait: Serve God first and all else will fellow. Besides, if you don't have businesses you will not have the material necessities to live in this material world. The material and the spiritual are one and the same. Faith is the result of physical facts. The proof of that is that Jesus materially and physically rose from the dead. All The world needs Jesus.

37027

Posted: November 12, 2007 2:27 PM

I love the article and strongly believe that our greatest opportunity is in the marketplace to introduce people to Christ. We started CEO Fellowship three years ago and have more requests than we can respond to, to develop similar teaching in schools and churchs. We teach very specific principles on all the areas of managing a company based on Christian principles. I look forward to receiving more articles from you on this subject. Joe

Isukapati vidyanadh

Posted: November 12, 2007 12:33 PM

I am running the Divine Grace Orphanage & Destitute Welfare Center and Spiritual Churches witch are guiding by the Holy Spirit. I have been receiving your prayerful mail continuo sly. I would like to continue my friendship and fellowship with you. Here I have been working as a director of Divine Grace Orphanage & Destitute Welfare Center and Church of the only true God ministries. God is doing miracles midst of the people. I started here Bible research conference, Biblical philosophy center. Still I wanted to know more about our living God through on Bible .My great desire is to ATTEND your CONFERENCES and meetings. If you provide me the journey [Please give me A one VISA]. Surely I will attend to your Gospel service, conferences & meetings.

Raymond Takashi Swenson

Posted: November 12, 2007 11:41 AM

Recognizing that even apostles like Paul had to work in cloth to make tents and sails to support his missionary labors, it is certainly not new that people have sought to intensely apply the teachings of Christ to their work relationships, just as we routinely assume they apply to our family relationships. The Amish are a good example of the desire to sanctify all aspects of life to make them support humility and faith. The height of official persecution of the Mormons in the 9th Century was largely due to their efforts to establish themselves as a separate economy not dependent on the larger capitalist economy of the United States, and the remnants of that are still around, in the form of the LDS Church Welfare Program. The program sells used clothing and furniture in large stores throughout the West, employing and training many people in need. The program owns farms that are supported with donated labor and provide food that is given to the poor.

Rev. G. Evangelist/New church founder

Posted: November 10, 2007 5:40 PM

I think the article is a good read about spreading the Gospel. I see nothing scriptually wrong with this approach. These bussiness entrapertneus are problably not the called of the Lord to be ordained preachers. But each one is a called "wittness" for the Lord. I applaud all efforts to spread the Gospel. This Idea is nothing new, Lydia was a seller of purple ( to the rich of her day) and she new and loved the Lord. No doubt she was Christian enough to spread the good news about Jesus to her clients. Acts 16:14. Only a couple of decades ago the " The Full Gospel Businessmens Fellowship" had the same idea and encouraged the spreading of the Gospelthrough bussisness. I would only remind everyone that Paul told Timothy not to seek after wordly gain for the purpose of worldy gain and self pampering. Preachers and all Christians alike can miss the mark badly. I Tim 6:6-12 I've worked by my own hands 28 yrs,for edu. & preaching,The Salvation Minute broadcast, but do need an offering

Delfin

Posted: November 10, 2007 4:40 AM

It seems strange to me that this is a question. The wealth of a society is the humanity that exists in that society. Each of us has been given gifts from God that should be used to their maximum and the commandments and bible are the instructions. The product of utilization of our individual and collective use of our God given gifts is the creation of wealth of the society. The existance of this wealth is the product of utilization and respect for our creator and the expression of our responsible use of our talents. Humanity, individually and collectively is not perfect but we work towards perfection in thankfulness to our God and creator. Material wealth is not the complete product. Giving or ourselves and our material wealth in the service of God and makind creates both material and spiritual wealth and is the only source of happiness. Faith enters the picture through the enabling of our individual understanding and humility and is the driving force to achieve eternal life.

Ellen

Posted: November 09, 2007 11:05 PM

The allure of worldly gain in all this puts the focus on what is seen .. on worldly profit and material comfort. Evangelization has to be faith-focused, on the unseen power, wisdom and majesty of our unseen, mystical God. The focus of evangelization is too easily derailed toward peddling and selling, for material, worldly reward. These businesses are putting too much material allure in the way of faith in the unseen, the spiritual. 2 Cor. 4:18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. Heb. 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Jay	Posted: November 09, 2007 6:51 PM


Interesting, but Christian businessmen in the secular world have been mixing the gospel with capitalism since whenever. Why, exactly, should a formal ministry be any different?

Bruce

Posted: November 09, 2007 6:18 PM

Ephesians 5:16 (NKJV) …redeeming the time, because the days are evil. The word translated “redeeming” comes from the Greek word “exagorazo”, which means to rescue from loss or to buy out of the marketplace. I do not want to replace the classical interpretation of this passage but I would like to add another. This new interpretation is that we need buy out of the marketplace processes for furthering the Kingdom. Capitalism is the only surviving economic model left (communism is dying) and we must minister in that arean too. We must use marketplace tools to (as Paul said I Corinthians 9:22) by all means win some.

Christine

Posted: November 09, 2007 5:15 PM

While I think the idea of businessmen helping farmers and others in developing countries is a great idea, I hesitate at the idea of "Christian" businesses. Unfortunately, history shows us that the gospel is corrupted when mixed with cultural imperatives. "Mammon" is very seductive, that's why Jesus warned us against it. I'm unclear how there can be such a thing as a "Christian" business. The principles of running a business are surely inimical to the true gospel. Unless every person you employ is a Christian, how can you guarantee that the business will be run on Christian principles? Even then it's questionable. The kingdom of God is not a Christianized version of the kingdom of the world. By all means set up your business, but don't call it a "Christian" business.

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