Do “nice guys finish last”? If so, then maybe that explains why so many capable evangelical men and women shun the competitive world of business.
National opinion polls rank business managers well below the more traditional professions—and, tragically, the Christian academic community has done relatively little either to alter these negative perceptions or favorably influence the profession’s ethical climate.
Few colleges provide the special combination of balanced education and a vision for ministry in the “power professions” that would allow individuals to develop into top-level business executives. Today, Christian young people interested in business-related careers are faced with the dilemma of choosing a secular college with a superior business reputation yet an environment rife with temptation and little Christian support, or attending a Christian institution where a student’s faith can be strengthened and integrated, but which may not be highly regarded by business recruiters and prestigious graduate schools.
Some faculty members at Christian liberal arts colleges become indignant at the thought of such a dilemma. It is more important, they say, to acquire knowledge and appreciation of religion, philosophy, music, literature, art, and history instead of concentrating on more pragmatic courses. Yet, Christian colleges could provide their present, frequently excellent, emphasis on the liberal arts but also make stronger efforts to include effective, pragmatic curricula in business, accounting, information systems, and computer science to meet the needs of those students interested in pursuing management careers.
Pragmatic courses can be sufficiently broad, deep, and demanding to provide the knowledge, versatility, and logical thought patterns desired by discerning employers. Ideally, these course offerings would have to be thoroughly and creatively taught, and be kept relevant to current affairs and state-of-the-art developments in each of the various disciplines. Such programs, moreover, would require particularly dedicated teachers who have acquired appropriate, in-depth training and experience in the business world. Yes, these teachers would encounter a substantial reduction in compensation compared to that available in the business community. But creative recruitment, including probes among top Christian businessmen recently retired or about to retire, could fill these needs.
Collectively, Christian colleges might work to establish a few adequately equipped colleges to train students in fields requiring large capital expenditures for laboratory equipment. Cooperation could allow certain campuses to serve each other—and most important, serve their students.
Christian colleges must achieve a blend of courses and activities that satisfy the aesthetic and pragmatic needs in a young person’s development. All such programs, enthusiastically led and supported by college presidents and boards of trustees, would spawn more outstanding graduates who, in turn, would further enhance the reputation of the Christian colleges and faith communities from which they come and in which they serve. In addition, well-prepared, well-salaried graduates would support future endowment programs, and more immediately would cause a higher proportion of outstanding high school graduates to seek enrollment in Christian college programs.
Many Christians feel that the pursuit of power and wealth is sinful. For that reason, many good people shun careers in business management and look critically at those who prepare for and pursue ambitious paths. Nevertheless, the world operates on a power structure. Decisions are made and actions taken from positions of relative strength. Politics pervades all walks of life, including the time-honored professions of medicine and the clergy. Should Christians flee from positions of power and wealth? Absolutely not.
Christ told us to be salt and light. He also demanded that we use our talents wisely. Paul tells us very clearly to “do all to the glory of God.” More recently Richard Halverson, chaplain of the United States Senate, told a graduating class here at Taylor that “all career paths should be considered a calling of the Lord, with opportunities for ministry in each.…”
Christians must do their best with their God-given talents. If they are blessed with success, power, and wealth, then they have a responsibility to use those blessings in stewardship and effective witnessing.
Employers cannot afford to employ “nice guys and gals” with few meaningful skills. The world needs “Christian tigers” who can combine tough minds and warm hearts in such a way that they can be Christian, competent, competitive, caring—and successful. And further development and promotion of this challenge and responsibility should be enthusiastically pursued by the Christian academic community.
1 Mr. Gortner is chairman of the Business, Accounting, and Economics Department at Taylor University in Upland, Indiana.
