Before the Industrial Revolution, before the founding of these United States, before the Renaissance, from the middle ages back through history people focused on using their gifts, talents, and skills to fill needs, and expected payment often in trade or barter, to fulfill their own needs for survival.  People had vocations, a “calling” to a certain trade or activity they were best equipped (we Christians like to say, by God) to perform. 

Hundreds of years ago, in most cultures there was little organized “business” activity other than through guilds, or through groups of servants or staff gathered to serve the needs of a ruling individual or class.  Businesses were sole proprietorships and family members operating out of homes and small shops.  The point is that most human endeavor was directed toward filling one or more of many individual or collective needs.  Successfully fulfilling a need meant survival first, satisfying a higher calling second, and only rarely amassing wealth, or making a profit.  People were rewarded for their skill and the quality of their work; the gifts they brought to their trade.

In our capitalistic society we have managed to reverse the equation, put profit before all else, substitute the concept of career for vocation or calling, and place the priority on how effectively we can market to the perceived needs of consumers by redefining their needs for them rather than ascertaining what are their true needs.  In business today we’ve lost sight of individual and collective needs and focused instead on how much profit we can make, no matter what it takes.  In the need versus greed battle, it appears that greed has won.  But that is the subject of another post.

We need to get back to this idea of defining the purpose of our organizations, whether for profit or not, in terms of satisfying an individual or collective need.  From a Christian perspective, we believe God has a plan for each of us, and that plan can be discerned by looking at how He has gifted each of us, with what talents He has infused us, with what passions He has ignited our spiritual fire.  Going back in human history, those gifts, talents and passions drove God’s purpose for each of us and gave us that calling to a particular vocation for which we were best suited. 

Following that logic, it stands to reason that if God’s plan for you is to be an entrepreneur, a business owner, then wouldn’t God also have a plan for your business?  In fact, wouldn’t it be an extension of His plan for you?

If we employ that same discernment process to define the purpose of our organizations, we begin to think of our organizations as ministries designed to satisfy an individual or collective need.  Having defined our purpose, we can hire people called to a particular vocation instrumental in fulfilling that purpose; people who have certain core competencies (gifts, talents, and passions amplified by education and experience) essential to the success of our organizations.

We bridge the gap from business to ministry by defining purpose in terms of need and finding people called to satisfy that purpose.  We formulate our plans, strategies, processes, and structure around our purpose and our people.  We collectively oversee our organization’s processes to ensure we stay on task.  We ensure our people are relieved from burdens which keep them from achieving their full potential.  And we take those actions with faith and confidence that our organizations will be appropriately rewarded for fulfilling our purpose.  Our organizations become people centered, servant led, values focused, purpose driven, community friendly, and environmentally responsible.

And so we begin to bridge the gap from business to ministry.

Peace my friends…

What a strange title for a blog.  Why did he pick that heading?  What about this “Grassroots approaches to workplace ministry” stuff?   What does it mean?  Well, let me explain.

As one of many Christians in business I struggle daily with integrating my spiritual life and my work life.  We shouldn’t be asked as human beings to compartmentalize ourselves based on whether we are at work, at home, or at church.  We need to be whole people fully integrating all of our activities within the people we are.  Our belief systems should not be suspended or banned from the workplace.  Our spirituality should be allowed to guide us in all of our activities from worshipping to raising families to performing the responsibilities of our jobs.  The question becomes, “Is there room for spirituality in the workplace?”

My answer is unequivocally, “Yes!”  In fact, I believe that any organization if it is to function effectively must accept spirituality as a need of every human being and ensure that need is accommodated in the workplace.  Going one step further, I believe that God intends for us to build His Kingdom here on earth, and an essential element in accomplishing that task is for people to be about ministry in, and Kingdom building through the workplace.

Kingdom building cannot be successful if it only occurs one hour a week during the Sabbath.  It cannot be accomplished through frequent cell group and neighborhood meetings outside of the weekly worship service.  And even if you throw in good deeds and service throughout the community and within our own families that still will not get the job done!  Kingdom building cannot be accomplished without making organizations and businesses of all kinds a part of the effort.

Kingdom building through business involves using our places of work to help reclaim people, communities, and nations for Christ.  Reclaiming nations must start with the greatest common denominator, people, by helping all organizations become ministries that serve people within the boundaries established by law, law which Jesus encouraged all of us to live by, even as we build God’s Kingdom on earth.

Our task is to recast the organizations within which we work into values-focused, purpose-driven, people-centered and servant-led businesses, better businesses that affirm and edify their team members, leaders, customers, suppliers, and communities.  Businesses influence people through their leaders and associates by living out examples of principles, values, morality, and ethics consistent with Jesus’ teachings.  As organizations become grounded in those principles, they can influence people, communities, and nations to continue building a culture that honors Christ beyond the confines of the organization.

Obviously we need to start somewhere.  The grassroots level seems like the best place to begin.  Those of us who are entrepreneurs and business owners can start with the conceptual foundation of our own businesses.  Those of us who are employees in a bigger organization need to look at our own behavior within the workplace, and the influence we have over defining the mission, vision, and values of that organization.

As Christians we are charged with God’s Great Commission to go out and make disciples for Christ, all day, every day.  Let’s begin taking advantage of the one quarter of our lives we spend in a workplace to make those disciples!

As we walk this road together, you’ll need to understand my business philosophy.  Please visit my blog, Better Business Basics, pcoassociates.wordpress.com, and read the first ten posts to learn more.  In this blog, More Than a Business, I will talk about how those better business basics can be employed to make your organization not just a business, but a witness for Christ and a positive influence in your culture.

Blessings, and peace my friends,

Terry