Business As Mission

1. Business As Mission The market Place Revolution Dennis Tongoi August 2011

2. Attitudes to Business • What thoughts come to mind when you hear the word” Business”? • What is the word for business in your vernacular language? • How are business people viewed in your community?

3. A: Business For Mission • Most business people are familiar with Business FOR Mission. • You do the business and give us the money to do the mission. • They are an • Appendix • To • Mission

4. B: Business and Mission • Business and Mission is also very well understood. • Using one’s business as a platform to do what one understands as Mission- could be evangelism, discipleship etc. • This is a narrow understanding of Mission.

5. Which word appears more in English translations of The Bible? • Business • or • Mission

8. Understanding of mission the foundation to our engagement in mission • Most definitions of mission are narrow and man centered- what we do • Missiologists have come to a fuller definition of mission beginning with God. What God does. • Missio Dei

9. Missio Dei Rightly understood, grounding mission in the mission Dei does not reduce the importance of scriptural commands, nor does it excuse Christians from the joyful and sacrificial obligation of mission work. Rather, it reframes our understanding of mission in terms of God’s work. Rather, it reframes our understanding of mission in terms of God’s own character and prerogative. The mission of the church is embedded in the great drama of God’s mission. (Ott 2010: 62)

10. The purpose and nature of mission • Doxology, the glorification of God, as the highest and most overarching purpose of mission to which all others flow. • Redemption as the foundation of mission. • The kingdom of God as the center of mission • Eschatology as the hope of mission • The nations as the scope of mission • Reconciliation as the fruit of mission • Incarnation as the character of mission (Ott 2010:80)

11. The Great Conclusion …hemade known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ,  to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. Ephesians 1:9-10

12. Doxology For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. Habakkuk 2:14

13. Business defined • the practice of making one's living by engaging in commerce • Providing value to society at a profit.

14. Business as a means of stewardship • Economic activity is rooted in the creation story. Business and enterprise form the institution that is designed to create and sustain wealth for a just society. In the same way government is designed to create and sustain an organised society and the family is designed to create and sustain well adjusted individuals.

15. Stewardship Mandate Genesis. 1:26-28 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.“ [27] So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. [28] God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."

16. Economics • The term economics comes from the ancient Greek οἰκονομία (oikonomia, "management of a household, administration") from οἶκος (oikos, "house“ or “home”) + νόμος (nomos, "custom" or "law"), hence "rules of the house(hold)". It becomes a powerful term for us because it is the root of three significant words- economy, ecology and ecumenical- and therefore points to the interconnections between the church, God’s creation and economic justice.

17. The biblical idea of Stewardship encompasses humankind’s care of creation. It also deals with the responsibility of personal stewardship of talents and wealth. Good personal stewardship calls us to move away from a selfish focus on accumulation, and toward a life of selfless generosity.

18. Are we more spiritual than God? • 6 days of creation after each day- God evaluates and says “it is good” • John 3:16:For God so Loved the “world”

19. Un-Biblical worldview • Dualism • UNBLICAL Secular -Spiritual divide • Monasticism • Focus on escaping rather than engaging with the world

20. Three views on to relating to the world • EVOLUTIONARY VIEW borrowed from the secular humanism which states, ”through human effort, better technology and management we will make this world an increasingly better place.” • ABANDONMENT VIEW: this world is going to end up destroyed any way, so why waste any effort or engage with it? • TRANSFORMATIONAL VIEW: this is God’s world- He has conquered/overcome evil and begun to renew it through His people and will complete this transformation when He returns. • Wright NT

21. The profit question?

22. A wife of noble characterwho can find?She is worth far more than rubies.Her husbandhas full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands. She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar. She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.

23. She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night. She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy. She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes. Proverbs 31:10-18

24. Stewardship Defined • Not maintaining • But • Multiplying

25. Jesus understood Capital 26 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. Matthew 24:26-27

26. Was The Apostle Paul in Business or in Mission 33 I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. 34 You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. 35 In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ” Act 20:32-35

27. Was Lydia in Business or in Mission And a certain woman named Lydia heard us, a seller of purple of the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God; whose heart the Lord opened, so that she attended to the things which were spoken by Paul. Act 16:14

28. Jesus use of Business terms • Construction (Mt 7:24-27) • Winemaking (Lk 5:37-38) • Farming (Mk 4:2-20) • Treasure hunting (Mt 13:44) • Ranching (Mt 18:12-14) • Management and labor (Mt 21:28-31) • Family-owned business (Mt 21:28-31)

29. Jesus’s use of Business terms cont.. • Hostile takeovers (Lk 209-19) • Future markets (Lk 12:16-21) • Crop Yield (Mk 13:27-32) • Management criteria (Lk 12:35-48) • The need for observation and research (Lk 14:24-35) • Misuse of money; bankruptcy (Lk 15:11-16) • The advantage of leverage (Lk 16:1-13) • Venture capital in high-risk situations (Lk 19:11-27) Silvoso 2002:37

30. The question of wealth?

31. Which is The first book of the bible? • Chronologically • Historically

32. Job’s StatusJob 29:7-17  “Those were the days when I went to the city gate and took my place among the honored leaders. The young stepped aside when they saw me, and even the aged rose in respect at my coming. The princes stood in silence and put their hands over their mouths.  The highest officials of the city stood quietly, holding their tongues in respect.  “All who heard me praised me. All who saw me spoke well of me.

33. Job’s Stewardship For I assisted the poor in their need and the orphans who required help.  I helped those without hope, and they blessed me. And I caused the widows’ hearts to sing for joy.  Everything I did was honest. Righteousness covered me like a robe, and I wore justice like a turban. I served as eyes for the blind and feet for the lame.  I was a father to the poor and assisted strangers who needed help.  I broke the jaws of godless oppressors and plucked their victims from their teeth.

34. Jobs securityJob 31:24,25 “Have I put my trust in money or felt secure because of my gold?  Have I gloated about my wealth and all that I own?

35. Review • Business for Mission • Business and Mission

36. C: Business As Mission The Business is the mission

37. Why was the first person on biblical record filled with the holy spirit?

38. My Business My mission Then the LORD said to Moses, 2“See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, 3 and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts— 4 to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, 5 to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of craftsmanship. Exodus 31:1-5

39. Jesus met real needs! • Physical needs for healing • Spiritual needs for deliverance • Intellectual needs • Today one of the biggest needs is JOBS!

40. A World in Need We all know the statistics. About 50% of the world’s population lives on less that US$ 2 a day – that is a staggering 2.8 billion people. Of these 1.2 billion live on US$ 1 a day. Imagine a population twice the size of USA, Canada, Mexico and Brazil, where each person exists on $1 a day. In addition to the existing poverty, we also have the devastating effects of disease in the poorest nations.

41. At the end of 2002, an estimated 42 million around the world were living with HIV/AIDS. 30 million of these live in Sub Saharan Africa. Add to this the status quo of disparity - the richest 20% of the world’s population own about 80 % of the world’s wealth whilst the poorest 20% own approximately 1%. And there is a tragic correlation between poverty, disease and unemployment.

42. I believe the only long-term solution to world poverty is business. That is because businesses produce goods, and businesses produce jobs. And businesses continue producing goods year after year, and continue providing jobs and paying wages year after year. Therefore if we are ever going to see long-term solutions to world poverty, I believe it will come through starting and maintaining productive, profitable business. Wayne Grudem – How Business in Itself Can Glorify God, in Yamamori and Eldred, 2003

43. The Great Commission • Matthew 28:18-20 • Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. [19] Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, [20] and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

44. Great Omission • We must remember when Jesus set up the Great Commission, He did not actually say “go” but rather “as you are in the process of going”; this construction implies that as you are in the process of your normal (business) life, disciple the nations. It is true that a fully devoted business person has time constraints—but then so do the people they are seeking to influence.

45. ‘Quadruple Bottom line’ • Henry Ford once said: “A business that only makes money is a poor kind of business”. Most businesses exist solely to make a profit for their shareholders – that is the financial bottom line. • Business as Mission looks beyond that to the ‘Quadruple Bottom line’ – FINANCIAL, SOCIAL, SPIRITUAL and ENVIRONMENTAL returns.

46. Discipling Nations • “When I asked local Indonesian believers how it came to pass that Islam captured most of the population while European missionaries had so little effect, they answered that the Europeans came as missionaries, acted like missionaries, and only left the mission compound to do evangelistic “raids” into the countryside. The Muslims, in stark contrast, were not missionaries but rather traders and business people who lived among the nationals, held commerce with them, and in the course of their enterprise shared the “truth” of Islam.”

47. “BIZZIONARY”, The task before us is quite challenging: it includes the need for jobs, new business start ups, venture capital, business know-how, access to markets, and business ethics. This transformational development is enormous. We are deceiving ourselves if we believe that just drawing on the same resources will make a major difference. No, the world needs a new kind of Christian worker, the “BIZZIONARY”, a business person with a sense of calling, equipped for service in the Market Place for the greater glory of God. God is calling professionals to explore how to serve Him through the expanding Business as Mission movement.

48. The opportunity • Advocacy-Speak into the Global economic order • - Not greed and fear- but Love and equity • Model kingdom QBL businesses • Create Kingdom capital • Facilitate kingdom networks

49. Recommendation • We call upon the church world wide to identify, affirm, pray for, release and commission business people and entrepreneurs to exercise their gifts and calling as business people in the market place – among all peoples to the ends of the earth.

50. Bibliography • OttCraig, Strauss J., Stephen , with Tennent C., Timothy. 2010. Encountering Theology of Mission: Biblical Foundations, Historical Developments, and Contemporary Issues: Baker Academic • Ed Silvoso, Anointed for business Ventura, California: Regal, 2002), pp.9,37 • N T Wright, New Heaven’s, New Earth: The Biblical Picture of Christian Hope, Grove Books Limited, 1999 • Business as Mission manifesto- Lausanne.