Eden's Bridge

“The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it.” – Genesis 2:15.

It may seem to be splitting hairs but before Adam’s fall from God’s grace there was not a command that humankind was to work or take responsibility for the environment and its management. The reality was, rather, that work and stewardship were part of the spiritual and social DNA of being human. In our broken, sinful nature, we often seek ways to avoid work, or at least to minimize our efforts at securing the basic necessities of life. This is due to the exasperating nature of work after the Fall, when nature itself took on an adversarial attitude and work became toilsome. But God has a plan to change all that.

In the Garden, humankind worked easily as compared to the effort required once outside that place of blessed abundance. Why the difference? Because when we work in accord with God’s intention and ways, work is pleasurable. We have all likely experienced times when some effort we expended resulted in a job well done and left us with a strong sense of accomplishment and well being. Too often this only occurs when we have carried out a task outside the normal routines of our work life such as applying our energies to charitable acts or in the passionate pursuit of a hobby.

Whatever the field of our wage-earning career, sadly, it can too often be equated to the “cubicle life,” where we are assigned tasks and quotas and we feel isolated or unfulfilled or used or all three simultaneously. Forbes magazine reported last year that nearly two-thirds of worker survey respondents were not happy at work.[i] What a sad contrast to the joyfulness of life that we are promised in the Bible.

There are two main reasons we find ourselves in such a state of mind on the job. First, it is our attitude. We may very well have a sour outlook on life in general, thinking the world or God or someone or something else owes us a high degree of personal satisfaction. In other words, we are not abiding in the Spirit of Christ which produces joyfulness within no matter our circumstances. It seems there are times God deems it necessary for us to suffer such that by our suffering we learn of him and grow in spiritual maturity. Jesus pursued the highest career calling of all, to do all that his heavenly Father asked of him. But even he had to learn “obedience through what he suffered” – Hebrews 5:8. The lesson is to trust God and that appears difficult to learn when we are miserable. But James 1:2-4 clearly teaches it is in just such circumstances that God builds our faith: “My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.”

The second instance of our unhappiness requires a great deal of mature Christian discernment. While God will shape and transform us through the trials of daily life, including on the job, his promises should encourage us that when we find our particular calling, despite the continuance of struggles, we will also find a deep and satisfying compulsion to pursue it. All too often unfortunately we do not take the time to clear our heads in the din of daily life to hear God’s voice and find that place of peace and fulfillment, truly of shalom, vocationally. The Society of Human Resource Management reports that “87% of employees feel having the flexibility I need to manage my work and personal or family life” is of great import in deciding to take a new job.[ii]

Many people enjoy the nature of what they do but mitigating circumstances reduce their satisfaction including factors like their relationship with management, inadequate, or even seemingly inappropriate, pay, the physical work environment, co-worker relations, or having to work excessive hours. Many are also dissatisfied believing their work has little impact in the grand scheme of things. They crave making a difference. Some feel their gifts and talents are unrecognized or misaligned with the work at hand and that their potential is being lost in the daily shuffle. If this is a snapshot of your work life, buck up . . . there is good news!

One of the grand outcomes of globalization is an ever increasing movement toward complexity and vocational specialization. Career niches are the new norm where narrowing foci afford living wages as the efficiencies of divided labor continue relentlessly increasing productivity. Increasing productivity is actually wealth creation and that means cash flows work through a labyrinth of interconnected commerce that looks ever more like the fragmentation of the human cardiovascular system with the heart (the market), arteries, capillaries, and hair-thin veins.

There is significant potential in this complex commercial environment for workers to find a niche tailored to their individual gifts, talents, and interests. Many workers are now finding they can design and carve out their own vocational space through launching their own business. They not only can apply their particular expertise but they can more effectively realize fulfilling significance by managing their own career rather than having it managed for them. In other words, they change the world by changing their own lives first.

There are numerous legitimate keys to unlocking the door to vocational paradise. The first is how you define success. This is critical to vision casting. Without some idea of what you hope to achieve, pursuing anything is like taking a trip to an unnamed destination without a map. You have no idea where you are going or how you will get there. Studies have shown that when we are lost, we tend to wander in circles, accomplishing little more than expending energy and getting dehydrated![iii] Sometimes a single landmark or the simplest strategy will help keep us on track.

I learned a great example of this when I was about ten years old. We sometimes hear of people lost for days in forested wilderness. A state park ranger in Indiana told my brother and me the simplest way to find your way: always go downhill, then follow flowing water. Water nearly always eventually crosses a roadway which will lead back to civilization. The worst case scenario is that it leads to a coast line . . . which will either lead back to civilization or to more water flowing downhill. A simple strategy to solve a serious problem.

Defining success may seem elusive. How much do I want to make? How many customers do I want or need? Are those numbers big enough or will they satisfy me in the long run? Business strategic coaches will advise that when planning a business or project, always be specific in drafting your goals. Too often, however, they want to focus on quantitative goals. Those obviously have their place but I think they undermine potential (what if you could achieve so much more than that particular goal but just don’t know it yet?) and satisfaction.

Life is mysterious. There is a great deal we do not nor ever will understand. Get comfortable with ambiguity. To enhance your comfort level, adopt qualitative goals. Reason is a great tool but it does not feed the heart. We need heart and intellect to be more balanced than the pragmatism the world preaches. For me, defining success is a vague notion but one still measurable . . . not quantitatively but definitely qualitative.

Have you ever walked away from an activity thinking “man, that’s living”? Or found yourself with a warming glow inside in the middle of a particular kind of meeting or job task? Those are the moments to cling to, to dissect, to analyze. Those are the moments that help define your passion.

For me, the advice of a high school friend’s father many years ago opened the door to some deep thinking. He told three of us (paraphrasing), “Boys, the goal is not money. The goal is freedom. In this country, money is simply the tool you use to acquire your freedom.” While there was a definite pragmatic side to his thought, I zeroed in on “what does freedom mean?” If I were completely free to pursue any form of work, what would it be? Freedom ultimately means having the ability to do what you want to do. It is as simple as that.

What do you want to do? I spoke briefly above of passion emerging in those moments of deep contentment. That overwhelming sense of well-being is analogous to the shalom that God’s promises bring when we, like Adam before the Fall, align ourselves with God’s created design, and his character, ways, and will. We can learn a lot about God’s character and ways from the Bible, and even of his will for all of humankind and creation. But how do we figure out his will for our individual lives?

Every prisoner needs a plan of escape to obtain freedom. We have started the journey by contemplating what freedom (fulfillment) looks like in our mind’s eye. We have envisioned a new, different, desirable, passionate vocational reality for ourselves. We now have at least some sense of where we are going, or at the very least we have an idea what it looks and feels like so we can recognize it when we get there. With our destination at least somewhat in mind, let’s delve into other keys, or markers on the map, to unlocking the doors (removing the obstacles) we confront.

Before I suggested getting comfortable with ambiguity. An article written by Paul Wilson, Jr., entitled “Developing the Entrepreneurial Mind of Christ” (to be published this month in Exchange: The Journal of Mission and Markets at www.edensbridge.org), lists several criteria to ponder but it opens with the most critical: faith.

Our relationship with God more often than not seems plagued by ambiguity. I once thought to myself that the closer we draw to God the more quietly he speaks. His intention is that we would therefore draw closer to him to hear more clearly. It works. But we seem to prefer expecting God to answer our prayer overtly. He seldom does (though I have had immediate answers to prayer from a billboard message along the highway and from the Nike “Just Do It” message on a young boy’s ball cap standing in line at a fast food restaurant!).

God will more typically guide us through a process of converging realities if we will open our hearts, minds, and eyes to the promises of his immanence. God is with us every day in every circumstance (despite how often I wish I could hide from him). If we will take an objective survey of our life and situation, we will likely find several pointers along the way indicating the way to go.

One set of significant pointers are those gifts, talents, and passions that seem to well up in us almost without any real effort on our own part. If we study those deeply, we will find they are usually the products of our journey through life. I will use my own case to think through how convergence shines light on where I am headed.

The first converging factor is always that I am a Christian. I am a new creation in Christ that turns me from egocentrism and self-service. I know that I abide in Christ because I have the interest of others at heart. I know myself well enough to know that I am naturally selfish and want to look out for myself and everyone else can wait, and even suffer in their waiting. But I find the choice before me every day to pursue a path of godly obedience or to pursue trying to satisfy my needs by my own devices. Jesus said, “Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness” and all necessary things will be ours (Matthew 6:33). I can certainly attest that the compulsion to pursue the things of God do not come from within my own character. It is the Holy Spirit of God dwelling within me that responds when “deep calls unto deep” (Psalm 42:7) for surely “no good thing dwells in my flesh” (Romans 7:18).

The second converging factor is my passion, born out of the Spirit of Christ, to help others. I want to empower people to make positive changes in their own lives and in the world around them. I want them to be fulfilled, happy, provided for, and a witness to the glory, the goodness, of God.

The next set of converging factors are the gifts and talents I have received from God, formed through the experiences of life. I like words . . . a lot . . . because they allow me to express ideas that help me (and others) think critically and creatively. Solutions to problems come by looking at circumstances in a different light. To the entrepreneurial mind, problems are not really problems but in truth they are opportunities to make human experience better. To the entrepreneurial mind, there are not disadvantaged people so much as there are people embodying God-given potential to become far more than even they believe possible. I love empty buildings and at the same time empty buildings cause me pain. I love them because they help me dream about seeing their potential fulfilled. They cause me pain (perhaps more appropriately I should say sorrow) because their potential is unrealized. Buildings fulfilling their potential are happy, joyful parts of creation. People are very much the same.

My gifts and talents emerge from my main interests. My undergraduate degree was in English literature. I jokingly say that I went to college to learn how to read and write. But in a very real sense, it is true. I learned to read critically, discerning the important information within a text, and I learned to synthesize ideas and express them in written and spoken word so others might share in the knowledge I had gained.

I am an insanely curious person. I have frequently said that I want to know everything. There are, unfortunately, too many things to know and many of them are too technical and complex for me to comprehend. But I find if I can capture the essence of what string theory is, and I observe computer-generated maps of the universe, I can find the energy and integrated design God infused into material creation present in similar ways in both. I want to always be a learner because the more I learn the more I am humbled by how little I know and the more God’s glory, as the Holy Other, is made apparent to me.

So we can see how education contributes to our converging realities. So too, our family and work lives feed into guiding our wandering. Our families of origin inform our value systems, for good or ill, whether as inclusive, receiving people or bigoted isolationists, as hard workers or ne’er-do-well’s, as people of generosity and integrity or selfishness and deceit . We learn of integrity and discipline, and we develop patience given the respected examples around us as we grow into adulthood. Those patterns become part of who we are. My parents were some of the hardest working folk I ever met. They were not, however, overtly ambitious and eked out a meager living all their lives. I personally battle being content with the status quo just as they often acquiesced to it. It just seems easier to just get along and not put myself out there, at risk of failure or ridicule. But I will keep fighting.

As mentioned, careers contribute enormously to our current set of circumstances. We may not be currently working in a field of particularly high passion but the skill sets we pick up along the way contribute to what we are now and are yet becoming. Early in my career, I noticed the assistant manager at the hotel where I worked made a lot more money than I did. I decided I wanted to learn about management so I secured a management trainee position with a restaurant company. Frankly, learning management in that particular company was like studying the complexities of warfare during a fire fight. But learn I did. Subsequently my professional career has spanned nearly thirty years of business management and administration at various levels across seven or eight industries. I learned that core management principles are universal.

Particular aspects of our careers can also contribute to our convergent reality. As a child I made woven pot holders on a small metal loom and sold them to the housewives in our neighborhood for fifteen cents each (or two for a quarter). In effect, I launched my very first business when I was six years old. I handled strategic planning, logistics, production, marketing and sales, and accounting. I was an early entrepreneur. That experience, as well as working as a contractor from ages eight to thirteen (as a newspaper carrier), led me to believe that I could take the bull by the horns and try to shape my own destiny as an entrepreneur. As I am writing this, I am on the verge of launching my fourth small business (or fifth if you consider writing a book a close-ended, project-oriented business enterprise).

Finally, we will find God has supplied some things we need in unique or different ways than we might expect. In 2002, at age 46, I started my seminary education without any real sense of why I was doing it other than I should. Oddly enough God called me to seminary to study economics and that reached a culminating point in the publication of my book, Eden’s Bridge: The Marketplace in Creation and Mission, which explores the biblical and theological bases of business in God’s grand scheme, as well as the disciplines necessary for integrating our Christian faith and economics.

Now I find myself consulting with Christians in business about integrating their own faith with their vocations. I also continue researching how business glorifies God and serves to meet the needs of the poor in response to the biblical mandate charging us all with their care. And I find when I am about these things, there is within a contentment, even excitement, as I reach out and find contact with God’s presence ministering to the world. It is indeed freeing in that not only do I get to do things that are enormously personally satisfying, I get to all the more press down that voice within that frets about my own circumstances. Walking by faith is the ultimate freedom.

God’s plan, his mission in the world (missio Dei), is to reconcile all of creation to himself, setting all things to rights, restoring an order of blessing upon blessing. Our vocations, as said at the first, are an integral part of God’s good and right order. Look around. See God at work in your life, especially at work. Step into the faith and freedom of his blessings. Finding that joy in the work of our hands, the good works that glorify our heavenly Father (Matthew 5:16) are vital to life in Christ, and that abundantly (John 10:10).

In The E-Myth Revisited, Michael Gerber recognizes three primary roles in any successful business: the entrepreneur, the manager, and the technician. He describes these roles but is more concerned that small businesses fulfill all three and find success by the interactions of them. He attributes the failure of most small businesses to the lack of understanding the necessity of these roles and the often absence of one or more of them.

We often hear Christian teachers extol the merits of the material world by referencing God’s repeated utterance, recorded in Genesis 1, that each stage of creation was good (six times) and, finally complete, very good. But Genesis 2:18 reports that in the midst of the process of creation (related to Genesis 1:27 where God created humankind in his own image, male and female), there was one thing “not good” – that Adam was alone.

I have written previously that Adam’s prosperity – both materially and spiritually – hinged on the division of labor. On the material side, we easily recognize how the market (the realm of exchanges) optimizes labor to produce by a community of workers far more than individuals could produce all working in isolation to meet their material needs. Henry Ford is credited with bringing modern production to a whole new level and in developed economies we see worker productivity continue to rise with ever more diversified vocational specialization and the introduction of new and improved technologies. Those technologies are products of the division of labor, dreamt up and created by theorists, engineers, and production workers, and delivered to consumers by marketeers, transportation specialists, and storekeepers.

In small enterprises, the dearth of diverse role players can be glaring. To begin, tackling  the analyses of the purpose of the business or agency, the role requirements of operation, and, finally, “who is in the room?” is helpful. It is not good for our organizations if gaps exist in the structures needed to succeed, like cogs missing from a gear. It is worse (or will become so) if we do not recognize and fix the missing cogs.

The first step, understanding purpose, is to consider what Jim Collins calls our hedgehog in his seminal book, Good to Great. Collins (citing Isaiah Berlin, The Hedgehog and the Fox, 1993) states: “Hedgehogs…simplify a complex world into a single organizing idea, a basic principle or concept that unifies and guides everything.”

My wife works for Special Olympics – Georgia (SOGA). The national organization has their mission statement on their web site: “The mission of Special Olympics is to provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community.” SOGA has three major events a year – Summer Games, Fall Games, and Winter Games – plus a number of smaller events. The major events can draw upward of three thousand athletes and their families. All the work of SOGA’s staff of more than twenty people is focused year round on making sure those events take place and run smoothly.

Defining purpose requires narrow focus. What is it you want your business or agency to be? While some think the process of writing a business plan is passé, even if one is not written down, it is wise to think through all the questions a business plan forces you to address to avoid unforeseen pitfalls like under-capitalization, poor labor planning, bad location choice, etc. Having a clear mission statement helps determine the answer to all those questions.

The next analysis is to sort out the organizational roles to execute a small business or not-for-profit agency well. This is where Gerber’s assessment of the three primary roles holds up to scrutiny. While I will diverge somewhat from Gerber’s text, I take the three roles seriously in reflecting on my own history of owning several small businesses and serving on multiple not-for-profit boards.

To start a new enterprise requires vision. That seems easy enough and is typically the product of the entrepreneur casting vision. The entrepreneur may or may not be able to clearly articulate the mission succinctly but s/he is the one who steps up and says, “Hey! We could do something in this space!” The mission statement may be a collaborative articulation between interested partners or the singular entrepreneur but in any case it should be simple and clear. In 1993, my wife and I opened a bicycle shop with the express vision “to provide the best bicycles, bicycle-related equipment, and bicycle service available to the community” That ultimately resulted in introducing recumbent bicycles to our market and overwhelming success, all in a small rural town of 18,000 in West Central Indiana.

Look around. Who is the visionary in your midst? As said, it may be a collective voice but, as Proverbs 29:18 implies, “where there is no vision, the people are disoriented,” and will accomplish little more than expending energy. Start with a clear purpose, and listen carefully to the visionary as they survey the world in front of them and guide the operation to meet needs, both internal and external, effectively.

Gerber’s second role (though these are not necessarily hierarchical so much as complementary) is the manager. My wife is an accountant. She likes the routines of repetitive processes. She brings order out of chaos with numbers and records and filing systems. Frankly, that kind of work drives me to distraction. Her skill sets and interests were almost perfectly complementary to mine in our bicycle business. She placed orders and kept the books while I researched products and created marketing plans. While we shared the oversight of the business, she provided our accountant with the data necessary to keep an eye on our profitability, and so on. The manager handles the daily things – personnel records, scheduling and payroll, accounts payable and paying the bills, making sure the window cleaner comes every week, and so on.

Who is the most organized person in your enterprise? Sadly, too many start-ups, whether for-profit or not-for-profit, assume recordkeeping, in fact, keeping order in general, is easy. It is not. That is why there are professional accountants who offer a long list of services to make sure employees, vendors, and taxing agencies get paid on time. Organization is often tedious and time-consuming but without it inventories can grow unchecked and cash flow disappears, employees remain untrained and productivity is actually counterproductive, marketing and advertising opportunities are missed and customers or donors never hear of your offerings or the good you want to do in the community.

Finally, Gerber introduces the technician. This is where most small businesses begin: at the workbench. John may make the best cupcakes in the world but making good cupcakes and starting, owning, and running a retail store are two very different recipes. Sally may have grown up at her father’s side working on small engines in the family garage but transferring the knowledge she gained to a for-profit repair shop requires a new and different set of tools.

Technicians are the actual production arm of the enterprise. No business or not-for-profit agency can function without someone, even if it is a troupe of volunteers, handling the nitty-gritty work of getting goods and services out the door. It is easy to see that Gerber has captured a legitimate snapshot of how enterprises work. Lest we think his focus is entirely on the marketplace, think also of how a hospital works – with doctors, nurses, and attendants (technicians), clerks and administrators (managers), and a founding board (entrepreneurs). Churches, government agencies, universities, businesses – they all operate on the same basic model.

But the best organizations take hostage the “not good” of Genesis 2:18 by recognizing that to be most effective they must work in the most ecological way, collaborating between all three of the roles described above. Keith Sawyer explains, in his book Group Genius, that large, successful companies are developing collaborative strategies that surpass the performance of older models. In the past, it has been generally accepted that the best solution to an engineering problem is to get a bunch of engineers together to hash out possible solutions. Sawyer contends that some enterprises are finding much more creative solutions through interdisciplinary collaborations, bringing together accountants, engineers, marketers, managers, etc.

The first company I co-founded (with a high school friend shortly after college) created test equipment for computers. Part of the product was the software that would help our test boards interact with the computer under analysis. I was the business manager for that company while my partner was both entrepreneur and technician. Along the way, I learned that engineers are all geniuses. That may be a bit of an overstatement but I believe they can do far more than they sometimes think they can but sometimes they need a different perspective to challenge them.

On more than one occasion, as I thought about marketing our products, I would think of really cool things we could offer the end-user “if only” our products could do X, Y, or Z. Typically if I approached one of our engineers with the idea I would immediately be given all the reasons why it could not be done. But I understand enough about digital logic to know that if my suggestion was logical, it was likely doable. It might not prove profitable but it was at least doable. We could worry about a financial feasibility study only if we came to an affirmative conclusion in the technological feasibility first. In nearly every case (probably four or five times), within a matter of a week or two, the particular engineer came to me and would open with, “I was thinking about the question you had and if we were to…” They, at least in theory, had overcome what had been impossible to their previous way of thinking. An outside impetus jarred them into thinking in a new way but well within their capacity.

The problem these engineers had was that they had put on the blinders of their own profession. Over time, electrical engineers, like business operators, or surgeons, or accountants, find certain practices effective and manageable. But sometimes innovation must occur. One must die to the old self, in effect, and be transformed into a new self, to move from one way of thinking to having a different vision. This sounds suspiciously like the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2) especially if we embrace that God can accomplish anything in and through us (Matthew 19:26).

This is of particular importance to the Church in our day for the cause of Christ. Elton Trueblood was a twentieth century theologian and author (thirty three books!) who also served as chaplain at both Harvard and Stanford universities during his career. His book, The Company of the Committed, now more than fifty years old, saw the need in his day that remains with us to rethink how we are the Church in reaching the world. He believed that ministry to God (worship) and the world (holistic evangelism, in both Word and deed) will be best served if we are open to innovative strategies, adaptable to our surrounding circumstances, and seeking many and diverse counselors (Proverbs 11:14; 15:22; 24:6).

From the smallest not-for-profit, to Fortune 500 companies, to the mission of God (the largest enterprise in human history), it is best if we understand what it is we aim to accomplish (entrepreneurial), how to organize and oversee the enterprise (managerial), and then effectively activate workers (mechanical). We will accomplish far more if we can recognize the skill and personnel gaps within the organization and shore them up. And we will accomplish more still by interdisciplinary collaboration and encouraging everyone involved to develop and leverage their unique specialties (what economists call comparative advantage).

God designed creation such that it is good, in fact, it is best, when we work together in harmony as a reflection of the perfect, cooperative, creative, and productive Trinitarian God. It is best because our image-bearing, as the community of God’s people, will bear witness to the world to God’s glory and goodness. Then the world will be witness to “a wise and understanding people, near to God, just and righteous” (Deuteronomy 4:6-8).

And perhaps, in taking a holy approach to and in execution of our earthly endeavors, we will discover the spiritual prosperity that Adam could only practice in league with one of his own kind, Eve, also made in the image of God. And that is indeed (“in deed”) very good.

Bibliography

Collins, Jim. Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…and Others Don’t. New York: Harper Business, 2001.

Gerber, Michael E. The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It. New York: Harper Business, 2001.

Sawyer, Keith. Group Genius: The Creative Power of Collaboration. New York: Basic Books, 2007.

Trueblood, Elton. The Company of the Committed: A Bold and Imaginative Re-thinking of the Strategy of the Church in Contemporary Life. New York: Harper and Row Publishers, 1961. Out of print; available online at
http://www.ccel.us/company.toc.html
: accessed May 22, 2013.

(With a special shout out to my newly acquired friends, SB and DH.)

In the midst of a recent conversation, Isaiah 40:31 – “Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.” – seemed suddenly clear as a model for Christian entrepreneurship and business life-cycling.

Having been a three-peat entrepreneur, I understand perfectly the energy and excitement of launching a new enterprise. Since any new undertaking is battling inertia – trying to get something rolling where no action has previously occurred – the energy level that entrepreneurs bring to the table is one of the four most critical components to early growth and sustainability (the others being location, capital, and marketing plan, at least to my thinking).

The energy required is drawn from the zeal of our belief that the undertaking itself is not only a good idea but borders on destiny or fate or calling, or whatever other terms (or combinations thereof) might seem most appropriate. That that energy is present is critical in that the specific challenges of a start-up are unique to that phase of business development. It is good, then, that in that phase we should soar or mount up with wings like eagles. First, our vision must be acute. While embedded in the diverse hat-wearing, often filling many roles in a single day within the organization, the entrepreneur must ever keep eyes wide open to see the broader landscape and be prepared to adjust their flight direction, speed, and trajectory to hit specific targets in real time. The combination of eagle-like vision and the altitude of its flight in search of prey lend themselves analogously to the entrepreneur’s readiness and ability to strike quickly when opportunity presents itself.

The second phase of the business life cycle is an interim phase after the launch has gained some footing but is not yet classified as a mature endeavor. This transitional phase will find the business leader often still wearing many different hats, despite having already fitted suitable matches to several key positions within the enterprise. In this phase, the leader may still be clarifying vision, for investors and key personnel alike, dealing with many unexpected developments on a daily, or at least weekly, basis, and nuancing the company’s product or service offerings within the greater context of its targeted markets or their industry at-large. Running without tiring requires clinging to that initial energy brought by the sense of destiny as the company begins its transition toward maturity. It is still a very formative time in many ways and may require significant shifts that need thought through, explaining, multiple revision, and long hours of diligence to bring a level of consistency and durability to the enterprise.

This phase of the business requires a special endurance, like running or cycling, that can be bone-wearying but compelled to keep putting one foot in front of the other or turning the pedals at a heightened but disciplined pace. The business leader will be challenged by turns and rises where off-loading tasks and building trust in others will be necessary for them to sustain themselves and the enterprise for a longer term than the initial, sprint-like race of the start-up phase. Anyone who has trained in endurance sports will recognize there is a level of pain and suffering that must not only be tolerated but embraced to reach the goals necessary. Sometimes it is as simple as picking a particular point on the horizon as the next achievable goal while the finish line is still far off and nowhere in sight.

The final phase of an enterprise (and one can easily equate this sequence of mount up – run – walk with the phases of spiritual maturity) is one of settled trust and continued diligence, not just in effort but of oversight. Once an enterprise has achieved an enduring level of sustainable profitability, there are yet dangers along the road. It is not a time for laxity or sitting down. Rather, as any through-hiker on the Appalachian Trail will attest, some days the temptation to simply “stay put” must be resisted. There is an adage in business that unless you are moving forward, you are falling behind. The marketplace has always been and shall always be an evolving environment. Companies must introduce new products and services, or innovate on old ones, to keep pace with customer demands and the offerings of competitors. It is no time to rest on one’s laurels but the pace is one that can more carefully take in the details of the surrounding landscape and adapt with greater precision than when rushing headlong, like the downward strike flight of the eagle, or seeing with the often blurry vision of a runner.

In this phase, the ultimate endurance is required because there truly is no end in sight to the journey. It is a journey, to draw on a spiritual parallel, into perpetuity. The business leader must have arrived at a level of trust in the operation and the personnel in which only minor adjustments to either become the norm. But those minor adjustments represent the final path to overt excellence just as a master builder hones his craft, increasing both the aesthetic and material quality of their work over time. In the end, the master is sought out, their work more highly valued than the surrounding players in their market, commanding greater value in their work and their profitability. The subtle nuances, over time, will ensure the long term livelihood of the company, its employees, vendors, and community.

But the wisdom key to Isaiah 40:31 is in its opening phrasing: “Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength.” Any entrepreneur, and especially those who have started and operated their business over an extended period, can tell you that running a business is an arduous, often draining, endeavor. There are two components in this opening phrase of critical importance to the marketplace life of a Christian: waiting on the Lord and gaining new strength.

The Hebrew term most typically translated here as wait, is qavah, which means to “wait for with hope and expectation.” We see the damage done when Israel went up against Ai despite the Lord’s warning (Joshua 7). Or when Saul acted presumptuously by seeking the counsel of the medium at Endor (1 Samuel 28) rather than seeking the Lord for direction. Or when Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, offered “strange fire” before the Lord (Leviticus 10:1).

I often find myself mentally equating the exhortation to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17) to waiting on the Lord and being still and knowing God (Psalm 46:10). There is, obviously, throughout Scripture the idea that God’s wisdom is far above our own and that by finding and following the counsel of God, we shall prosper. The human spirit, will, and intellect are enormously gifted in developing discipline, creativity, and reasoning. There are many solutions that we can create – such as finding a need in the marketplace and filling it – of our own volition and inventiveness. But we are fairly warned by the infamous (and when appropriate, omninous) opening words of Psalm 127:1: “Unless the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build it.”

God provides the impetus and sustainability for creation. As the beginning and end of all reality, it is only by God’s design that creation truly prospers. As we seek and align ourselves with the will and ways of God, we shall find the energy, the strength, to endure all the phases of our entrepreneurial endeavors. Only then will our efforts be perfectly sustainable, life-inducing, and productive as it was in the Garden of Eden. Where the Lord leads (builds a house), he gives the wisdom, gifts, opportunities, and energy to succeed to those who are willing to wait, listen, and obey, and we shall not grow tired or become weary but shall soar where the whole world can see what the Lord has done to his glory.

Sawasdee (pronounced sa-wa-dtee) cup (spoken by men, Sawasdee ca by women) is the most common Thai greeting, stated with both hands flat together in front of the chest and a slight bow. It originates from the Sanskrit and means “well being,” much as shalom does in Hebrew.

As I await my departure to the airport to began the long journey home to Atlanta, Georgia, it is not at all difficult to know where to begin in reflecting on the Global BAM (business-as-mission) Congress that just wrapped up yesterday (April 28, 2012) in Chiang Mai, Thailand. I must begin in worship and praise for our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ. If ever I have been encouraged and energized for God’s mission in the world, this conference was likely my greatest experience on those lines. It was humbling to meet so many who are laying down their lives for those suffering the dehumanizing life of poverty, and especially those victimized by human trafficking.

Some 530 delegates gathered from more countries than I can recount (I am sure a final tally will eventually become known) from all around the world from every continent save Antarctica. The keynote speakers and break out session presenters addressed the issue group concerns as each group prepares to submit final reports in June after a year long, transnational virtual think tank collaboration. There were sixteen issue groups in all (see at
http://bamthinktank.org/process/
) and it became apparent there could easily have been groups developed around many, many more! I was blessed to have taken part in two issue groups during the think tank phase – advocacy and mobilization (how do we get the global Church engaged in being Christ in and through the marketplace?) and biblical models (laying a sound theological and biblical foundation on which a solid “house” of BAM can be constructed as we go forward). If you have read much of my blog, you know the biblical and theological cases are very near my heart. I have said repeatedly, “You would never build a house without a sure foundation, but this one is being built on the Rock.”

More importantly than even the thought work to come of it, the Congress was about creating new and solidifying old connections among colleagues in the business-as-mission movement. Before, between, and after sessions, it seemed I found myself in one-to-one meetings, all but one entirely unplanned but perfectly arranged and timed by the Holy Spirit, from breakfast to midnight almost everyday. I now have covenant bonds with a church-planting brother in Pakistan, a pastor-cum-BAMmer transitioning in South Korea, and an academic leader from Down Under, to note but three. But there are many more I spent time with, sharing in the glow of Christ’s presence among us and seeking his guidance as we move together, many workers joined to one commitment: the Kingdom of God, coming even now on earth as it is in heaven. It is apparent, God has a purpose in all and each of these new relationships.

The worship sessions each morning were among the most anointed I have ever experienced. There was no division of denominations or national boundaries here. Here was one voice, of many origins, nations, and languages, joined together, five hundred strong, lifting praises to a God more glorious and loving than we can ever imagine. If nothing else occurred in Chiang Mai, that Christ was lifted up assures us that the Word goes forth and we are promised that it shall not return void of accomplishing everything God desires.

I spent a bit of time shopping in the night market where street vendors, traditional stores, and restaurants cater to local residents and tourists alike. The sights, the sounds, the bright lights and electronic billboards, and the bustling bodies moving between the curb-parked vendor carts and the storefronts, mixed with the sudden appearance but ever present temples strewn throughout the city, all lent to an energy and feel typical of Asian life.

But nearby, and far too prevalent, the karaoke bars and massage parlors, fronts for extensive prostitution, sadly a major tourist “attraction” in Thailand, are never far from one’s awareness while observing this dynamic city. Of hope, however, a small café, the Zion Café, sits right next door to a brothel just around the corner from the Congress’ hotel. You see, the Zion Café is a Christian business, a business-as-mission, an intentionally planted business that seeks out and welcomes the young women of its surrounding neighborhood into a safe, embracing relationship and space amidst a local culture, broken like so many others around the world. A new friend and I ate dinner there our first night in the city. It was as if breathing fresh, mountain air after coming in from an oppressing smog. Here, in the Zion Café, an unassuming corner restaurant nestled in the din of Chiang Mai, a ground-zero point itself in the center of the East, the Light of Christ shines forth. Please keep the wonderful folk operating the Zion Café in your prayers for surely they were called to this city, this neighborhood, and this very building for such a time as this, as a line of rescue thrown out to all God’s children.

I have said several times in the last two days that when I arrive home, sometime tomorrow, it will take me thirty minutes to unpack my luggage and six months to unpack the BAM Congress. More likely, and I hope it is so, it will take me the rest of my life!

I met some folk here who, to me, are giants in the global BAM and tentmaking movements – Mats, Jo, Patrick, Dwight, Peter, and too many others to even recall offhand. Some I had communicated with before electronically but it was grand to put a face, a voice, a smile, and a handshake with the name and person I had come to know before. Some I met for the first time. In every case, I was blessed by their humility and tirelessness. These folk are true heroes comparable to David’s mighty men in Israel. I was humbled as well by how little my faith and service to God, the Church, and the world has cost me practically and in risk compared to these venturing boldly and directly in through the gates of hell, assured that that those gates will not prevail against the Church but always mindful of the evil intent and wiliness of Satan.

You might note that I did not include their last names here. Most of those named are people who need not be too concerned but many of the Congress delegates live very dangerous lives in places where Christians are routinely persecuted and even run the risk of a death sentence if found out. There was even a subtle “sign” each one wore that revealed to us all, as we moved about our sessions and common spaces in the hotel, that these folk need our prayers and a discerning level of sensitive protection from the rest of us. We were repeatedly exhorted not to photograph them nor to post Congress photos online. The Congress organizing committee will publish a great deal but not until every photograph and document has been thoroughly vetted to protect these precious, anonymous servants of Christ.

In the end, I will summarize (for now!): Since beginning my own journey with Christ into the marketplace in 1993, I have been convinced it is land ripe for Kingdom reclamation and dear to God’s heart. That I was, at that time, being drawn into a global movement of the Holy Spirit, I was entirely unaware for a decade. But while I was in seminary, God drew to me begin studying and understanding his economic plan for humankind and the rest of creation. That journey led to the publication of Eden’s Bridge: The Marketplace in Creation in Mission last year, and led me to Chiang Mai this month. I have never seriously questioned that I was being caught up in God’s marketplace movement but if anyone attending the Congress came with even a hint of doubt, surely they are leaving not only with no doubt but also a revived energy to be a blessing to all nations through the wealth-creating power of the marketplace and the just use of all God’s blessings among the global poor.

I, and many, many others, will be encouraging marketplace ministry participation by the whole body of Christ in the coming months and years. We will be preparing and presenting seminars, vision tours, and information portals to help you on your journey into these areas, as you are so called by God. Seek the Lord’s heart and wisdom and seek us out. We are prepared, having heard the call, and said “Yes and Amen, Lord, send me.” There are many of us who can help you connect to “the front lines” of this aggressive war in an arena too long influenced (and largely “owned”) by the enemy. You can contact me directly through my website (www.edensbridge.org) or any number of other organizations you will find if you simply Google “business as mission.”

That is all for now but there is surely more to come for so much is yet to be said. Be blessed and intentionally be a blessing “unto all the nations.” Shalom. – Dave. 

Eleven Integrated Models, Transforming the World through the Marketplace

(Please also read Bridge Ministry: The Twelfth MPM Model.)

As awareness grows and conversations increase concerning God’s current movement in the global marketplace, diverse strains of ministries are emerging into eleven distinct but integrated forms. This proliferation and resulting integration are grounded fundamentally in the underlying biblical and theological understanding of business as an institution created by God in the original order, now tainted by the universally corrupting influence of sin, and vital to our understanding the advancement of God’s Kingdom as we participate in God’s mission in the world.

Varying levels of integration, such as crossing the boundaries between workplace ministries and leadership discipleship, or between business as mission (BAM) and microfinance, will become increasingly evident as disciplines and protocols developed to pursue a particular agenda will be applicable in others.

The aim here is not to delve into the biblical or theological underpinnings of these models, nor is it to investigate the various interconnections between models. The purpose is merely to offer some differentiation and work toward a comprehensive listing of models. This last is the motivation to invite readers, aware of any marketplace ministry initiative, to examine these model categories and suggest other models that may not be represented. Also, readers are encouraged to address any key elements missing from these brief, introductory descriptions. Treat this document as a “first draft” and, please, contribute your comments to flesh it out.

My identification of this entire movement as marketplace ministry (MPM) is motivated by seeing some unifying effort to help make practitioners in one pursuit aware of others such that the lessons learned across the spectrum can be shared and understood by all, whether applicable directly or indirectly. Given the grandeur of God’s mission in the world and the universal scope of marketplace participation by all humankind, this is a very, VERY large conversation but one that can be most helpful if we can bring it to greater clarity by establishing some framework of order for analysis and planning.

I.                 Tentmaking (TM)

Generally, tentmaking is focused on individuals who take work in a particular mission context to facilitate their presence for the purposes of evangelization in their local communities. Their vocation may supply all, part, or even very little to none of their actual support. This model, particularly when used as a guise to enter countries otherwise closed to Christian evangelism, may be perceived as deceptive (which it is to varying degrees) and can contribute to deepening political and religious persecution of the indigenous church where they take up residence. That is not to say that all tentmakers practice deception or are hiding behind a “front” to gain access to their neighbors and cities. But it is a model that especially should be approached with a great deal of prayer and wisdom.

However, in a very real sense, all Christians working in the marketplace are tentmakers if our normal work provides our support for daily living and contributes to our ability to perform ministry, whether inside our professional life or through volunteerism and such outside work hours.

II.              Business as Mission (BAM)

BAM initiatives are businesses started specifically to fulfill multiple purposes simultaneously but specifically as Kingdom-oriented and outreach endeavors. These businesses typically plan for and execute according to a quadruple bottom line: people (fulfilling an economic / market need in the community), planet (creation care), program (relational evangelism and discipleship ministry) and profit (sustainability).

Typically, BAM is understood to function through three basic models, including microeconomic development (MED), small-to-medium enterprises (SME), and overseas private equity (OPE). MED is proliferating rapidly among the poor as small investments or loans (microlending) supply enough working capital to create a small business designed to support just the entrepreneur and / or their family. SME’s require more capital and typically create more jobs within a community. Unlike many MED initiatives, which can fly under the radar of local and national governmental regulations (in the informal market), SME’s tend to be formal businesses which operate under those same regulations and are more fully integrated into their local and national economies and on tax rosters to support local infrastructure and other amenities like public education. OPE’s are the largest of BAM initiatives and can require considerable sums, often more than a million dollars, to build factories, establish sizable workforces, and so on.

SME’s and OPE’s are very useful tools for creating legitimate businesses that contribute to the common good in countries that would otherwise be closed to Christian presence. The evangelization efforts of Christian owners and operators of these businesses is most often conducted through building long term relationships with employees, customers, vendors, public officials, and their at-large communities.

III.            Workplace Discipleship (WPD)

Workplace discipleship ministries cover a broad range of ministry within a particular workplace or company from informal, voluntary prayer ministry to ethics training coordinated through human resource departments, to company-offered counseling support and chaplain availability. These ministries are established, or at least endorsed, by the ownership or management of the company. Prayer ministries can include scheduled prayer groups and meetings, submitting prayer requests to volunteer intercessors, and prayer request posting boards. Prayer ministries carry a certain burden concerning privacy issues that may be of concern to human resource professionals, hence prayer requests should be kept confidential.

Other forms of workplace discipleship include conducting (or allowing) Bible studies to take place in the workplace (before or after hours, or at lunch time), providing ethics training (conducted either by internal personal, such as a Human Resources program or by bringing in outside expertise), providing counseling for any number of afflictions or life troubles (including treating addictions or to minister to those grieving the loss of a loved one or co-worker), and even providing chaplaincy services.

IV.             Executive / Business Leader Discipleship

Business leadership ministries focus on this defined group specifically to address problems unique to leadership positions in the marketplace to advance the spiritual formation of business leaders and executives, hold group members accountable to the tenets of their Christian faith, and to offer collaborative business strategizing and problem solving opportunities in a confidential environment. These groups address a broad range of biblical and theological concerns, like spiritual formation, and offering peer-counsel for finding the wisdom to inform ethics, decision-making, and strategic planning.

V.               Financial Stewardship Training

While John Wesley famously said we should “Make all you can [ethically], save all you can [frugally], and give all you can [charitably],” these ministries help both households and the very wealthy focus on managing their income and fortunes in keeping with biblical principles. All of these programs embrace core biblical financial concepts like tithing, frugality, and generosity. Household management ministries help individuals and couples understand God’s view of their income and to develop long-term strategies for providing for both current and future needs of families, whether how to deal with mortgage and car payments, build savings, or plan for college and retirement costs. Wealth management programs help participants understand the obligations before God of the enormous blessings he has poured into their lives and how best to leverage their wealth, and especially their giving, to have the greatest impact for advancing God’s Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.

VI.             Workforce Development (WFD)

These ministries fulfill two primary purposes: equipping workers, especially those without fundamental job skills and education, and connecting those in employment transition with hiring organizations. Some ministries in this classification also extend classroom training to small business operators and owners in developing economies to help them grasp the core disciplines of business creation and development – strategic planning, financial control, marketing, employee, customer, and vendor relations, and so on. There are a rising number of workforce development ministries that offer participants preparation for general equivalency diploma (GED) testing. Some also offer basic courses in computer programs in wide use and in high demand in the business world, such as Microsoft Word and Excel. Offerings may also include workplace etiquette, basic customer service attitude and skills training, and even address issues of personal hygiene.

Several workforce networking programs have come into being or grown dramatically in the United States and other regions affected by the most recent global economic crisis. Displaced workers are encouraged to attend networking events and take part in job transition seminars where they can, in the first case, connect with others in their particular industries or specialties, and, in the second, develop job search strategies, brush up on creating the most powerful resume’ or LinkedIn profile, or attend job fairs with many hiring companies present. Often both these type of ministries – job preparation training and job transition – are facilitated by, and even take place, in local churches.

VII.          Enterprise Coaching and Mentoring (ECM)

These ministry efforts match the skills and experience of business practitioners one-to-one with those in poor economies or redeveloping areas (in developed economies, areas such as inner city neighborhoods or among the rural poor) attempting to develop small businesses but lacking access to formal business education. Historically, fulfilling this ministry has been proving one of the most difficult to accomplish for two reasons. First, a lack of awareness among Christian business leaders of the needs and opportunities, even within their own contexts, has left many with great ministry potential idle. Second, problems of skills mismatching (corporate types attempting to coach entrepreneurial endeavors outside their particular areas of expertise or with thinking through how to adapt their knowledge to a very different context and application) and paternalism (which could to often be classified as over-lording when business leaders attempt to “take over” versus coming alongside those they are intending to minister to) lead to failures that may prove very difficult to overcome, especially on the “recipient” end of these transactions.

ECM can take many forms including business planning assistance (helping inexperienced entrepreneurs formulate and think through the numerous facets of business creation and operation), personal and professional development (whether by individual coaching or via classroom-based programs to equip inexperienced entrepreneurs with essential skill sets and decision-making techniques), the formation of advisory boards and mentoring relationships (to observe and come alongside entrepreneurs to forewarn of possible pitfalls or pending dangers and working through solutions strategies to avoid them), and service offerings of affordable consultancies (providing the guidance and information entrepreneurs may not otherwise get but at fees considerably below local market rates).

VIII.        Marketplace Ministries Advocacy and Mobilization (A&M)

These efforts are designed to expand the awareness and engagement of Christian marketplace practitioners at-large. These ministries work extensively on business outreach models, information gathering and sharing, theological and biblical exegesis, and thought leadership. Some of this work is being doing through or in conjunction with educational institutions (Bible colleges and seminaries) through standard coursework or supplemental institutes. Some of this work is being done through denominational and missions organizations, and a few interdenominational permanent and virtual think tanks which stage conferences and seminars, develop teaching materials, and publish in print and on line, including webinars. Some efforts are aimed directly at activating “the pew” while others concentrate more on the influence of the Christian faith by teaching in areas of economic and political philosophy that Christians can be better equipped as informed and active voters, consumers, political activists, and so on..

IX.             Microfinance Initiatives (MFI)

Most of these programs work among the very poor globally but domestic (U.S.) programs are expanding to provide access to credit for very small enterprises. The vast majority of loans range from $500.00 to $5,000.00 to entrepreneurs to purchase basic equipment and starting inventories. Two primary models are currently spreading around the world: community-based credit unions (including both credit extension and savings accounts) and lending institutions providing capital funds. Both can serve to help underwrite the launch of very small (micro-) businesses. The latter have found a great deal of success by working through peer-lending groups (typically featuring predominant women membership) to encourage accountability and provide safety nets in the case of a business failure or illness. Availability of additional loans to group members hinge on all outstanding loans being current on repayment schedules. Microfinance can be very labor intensive and do charge market interest rates but have proliferated since their introduction more than thirty years ago.

X.               Business for Mission (BFM)

These ministries are designed to provide a variety of capital resources to small business development (either start-up or early round financing) in poor economies. The biggest impact of these efforts is the injection of capital funds into poor contexts, whether rural villages or poor urban neighborhoods. These projects and initiatives are applicable in both developing global economies as well as among the rural and urban poor in developed economies. The potential of these projects will be enormously impacted by being conjoined to coaching / mentoring relationships to help ensure the success of new businesses. In any case, some may be businesses created strictly as revenue streams (for sustainable funding for not-for-profit efforts) while others may be formed as venture lending funds or social venture investment funds, both of which could be classified as “smart aid,” that is, increasing capacity in poor contexts by strengthening capital availability and movement within them.

XI.             Christian Community Development Corporations (CDC)

These organizations have traditionally been grant-based to fund their initiatives focused on the quality of formal primary and secondary education in inner cities, the dispersal of social services, family counseling, child and healthcare education and so on. Given their holistic focus, many are now beginning to address the need for jobs and small business development in their neighborhoods, including subsidiary businesses to provide ongoing revenue streams for the agencies themselves.

CDC’s feature three significant distinctive. First, they tend to focus on very targeted geographies, such as a particular cohesive urban neighborhood, or as may be becoming the case, on larger geographic regions involving the rural poor, such as distinct regions of the Appalachian Mountain Range. Second, CDC’s have historically been predominantly operational in Western developed economies but their design and influence is expanding globally and their principles and practices put in place an increasing variety of locations and contexts. But the dramatic rise – predominantly through the growth and influence of the Christian Community Development Association (CCDA) – has been in the United States and aimed at economic redevelopment of inner city neighborhoods. Finally, CDC’s take a holistic approach, as hinted in the paragraph above, concerned with all aspects of the target area including but not limited to issues of governance, taxation, education, infrastructure, social services, and economic development.

David Doty

Eden’s Bridge, Inc.