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Barriers to Kingdom Business in the Church :: Ken Eldred |
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Written by Justin Forman
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Monday, 17 September 2007 |
 Many Christians hold views that represent significant barriers to the idea of Kingdom business being a viable missions tool. One barrier, as already mentioned, is the notion that only pastors or full-time Christian workers are engaged in God's work. I fell for that misconception myself. As I discussed in chapter 1, it took me a while to discover that the passions and talents God had given me were best used in the business world, and that is where He wanted me to serve Him. It also became clear to me that the most spiritual calling for each individual is that to which God calls and equips him or her. There is no highest calling, not even that of working in the ministry. My ministry was to serve people and bring them the gospel through business.
Because this notion is so widespread, it must be addressed for Kingdom business to be embraced as a laudable mission of the Church. Additionally, I have found that sincere Christians sometimes hold several other misconceptions that are barriers to Kingdom business. What follows are brief observations about transformation, work, business, profit and wealth. (A more detailed discussion of these concepts is found in appendix A.)
Transformation
Various segments of the Church today emphasize different aspects of transformation. Some Christians focus exclusively on spiritual transformation, demonstrating great evangelistic zeal but showing little compassion for the economically needy or socially outcast. Others emphasize social and economic transformation by fostering harmony and unity and curing social and physical ills. The ministry of Jesus demonstrates that God cares about transforming people's spiritual, social and economic conditions. He fed the hungry, called people to personal holiness, healed the sick, taught in the synagogue, preached to thousands, and affirmed the social outcasts. His was a comprehensive ministry, not one limited to a single realm. Likewise, Kingdom business is committed to transforming nations and advancing the kingdom of God through a comprehensive ministry. It addresses spiritual, economic and social ills that plague many people in developing nations.
Work
The hierarchy found in much of the Church today, in which vocational Christian professionals are thought to be following a higher calling than those in secular work, is not supported by Scripture. Christians need to adopt a paradigm that views work itself as ministry and God's holy call on their lives, whether or not they are employed by the Church. All believers, with a multitude of God-given gifts, are called to ministry (or service) and can be said to be in full-time Christian work. Work is inherently good and mandated by God. It is ministry, be it in a business, in a school, in a home or in a church.
Business
Christians are gifted for and called to vocations of every type, including those vocations in the business world. Though media and entertainment portrayals of business people might lead us to conclude that there is nothing redeeming in their profession, business can be a very noble pursuit. Successful commerce is about serving one's fellow man and increasing his standard of living. It is about discovering people's needs and meeting them. Business brings glory to God when it blesses man through the creation of needed products, the delivery of outstanding services, and the increase of society's living standard.
Profit
The wide-standing perception is that business is primarily about maximizing profits. However, the true purpose of business is to provide a vehicle for serving others through efficient delivery of useful goods and services. When this objective is pursued, there will be an opportunity for profit. Profit is like oxygen-it allows a company to grow and continue to serve others effectively. Another prevailing notion is that nonprofit organizations are inherently nobler than for-profit organizations. But there is no direct correlation between lack of profit and benefit to society. In fact, the greater the product or service's benefit to the recipient, the greater the potential for profit. We cannot consider business ignoble or unspiritual because it is profitable.
Wealth
Some Christians consider poverty and austerity to be more spiritual than wealth. Others believe health and financial blessing will necessarily follow from sincere faith. Both the "poverty gospel" and the "health and wealth gospel" fall short of the rich biblical teaching about prosperity. Wealth (material, physical and spiritual) is given by God, and He expects us to manage it for His purpose. He also wants us to enjoy it. To be sure, both poverty and wealth pose potential pitfalls. But poverty is a disease, and a large segment of the world suffers from the cycle of despair that accompanies it. On the other hand, economic improvement brings with it a cycle of success that propels a nation to aggregate increases in wealth, self-esteem, health and the development and use of gifts.
Such attitudes in the Church, some prevalent and some less widespread, create real barriers to the acceptance and growth of Kingdom business as an effective missions movement. Those who devalue economic or spiritual results, consider work in the marketplace as second rate, see business as ignoble, view profit as dirty, or consider wealth as the enemy may have difficulty accepting Kingdom business as a laudable part of the missions movement. Kingdom business rests on notions that God cares about people's spiritual, social and economic transformation, that work in the business world is both a ministry and a calling, that profit is both necessary and a sign of useful service, and that poverty is a social disease to be addressed.
Ken Eldred is currently CEO of Living Stones Foundation and Chairman of the Board of Advisors of Parakletos @ Ventures. For over 20 years, Ken served as CEO of Inmac, a public company he founded. He has assisted in the founding of several other successful companies, including Ariba Technologies. Ken is involved in ventures in the US, China, Europe and India, and he advises various Kingdom business ventures and ministries. He has an MBA from Stanford and was a Visiting Fellow at Stanford's Hoover Institution. Ken is the co editor of On Kingdom Business, winner of a 2004 Christianity Today Book Award. Ken and his wife, Roberta, have three sons and spend their time in Northern California and Colorado.
From God is at Work, � 2005 by Ken Eldred. Published by Regal Books, http://www.regalbooks.com/. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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