The Tao of Enron: Spiritual Lessons from a Fortune 500 Fallout Chris Seay and Chris Bryan NavPress, 208 pages, $16.99
In this disorganized but thought-provoking look at the ethical and financial meltdown of Enron, Chris Seay, a young Baptist pastor in Houston and author of The Gospel According to Tony Soprano, writes that the second-largest bankruptcy in American history offers Christians more than a lesson in economics.
“It speaks into the American lifestyle and critiques our core values,” Seay writes, calling Enron a “poster child for a capitalism run amok.” Seay occasionally goes off on loosely related tangents (one on sex and another on “commodifying” the gospel).
Nevertheless, he uses Scripture well to illustrate the need for responsible business practices, and concludes that the only sure remedy for infectious greed is changing individuals’ hearts, beginning with our own.
“Even as we relish the idea that the guilty will get their just deserts, we ought to remember that we will also get ours,” Seay writes. His “A Few Suggestions for Simple Living” and discussion questions are good touchstones for Christians wanting to make personal changes.
Cindy Crosby is a frequent contributor to Publishers Weekly.
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Related Elsewhere
The Tao of Enron and The Gospel According to Tony Soprano are available at
Previous coverage of business ethics and Enron in Christianity Today and our sister publications include:
The Profit of God | Finding the Christian path in business. (Jan. 27, 2003)
Bad Company Corrupts | Michael Novak, theological champion of the free market, reflects on what recent business scandals mean for church and state. (Jan. 27, 2003)
The Wages of Secularism | New laws won’t prevent another Enron. (June 4, 2002)
The Lessons of Enron | Enron claimed to be a business unlike any the nation had ever seen. (Books & Culture, May/June 2002)
Church Leaders Refocus on Ethics | Thousands of church leaders in Nigeria gathered to take aim at corruption problems in business and agreed to stop shifting blame to political leaders for society’s problems. (March 2, 1998)
Morals for the Marketplace | A treasury of ethical capital for men and women in the world of business. (Feb. 3, 1997)
Holding Corporate America Accountable | Christians press for greater responsibility from businesses. (October 28, 1996)
Previous CT articles on Chris Seay include:
The Dick Staub Interview: Chris Seay | The author of The Gospel According to Tony Soprano talks about men who want to be in the “Christian mafia.” (Sept. 24, 2002)
Pastor X | In sneakers and jeans, Southern Baptist Chris Seay is getting his generation to go to church—at least we think it’s a church. (Nov. 11, 1996)
