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Wealth Creation for Holistic Transformation

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AND THE AWARD GOES TO...

Our goal is to provide the BAM Community with the best content and resources available. As we head into summer we are highlighting various articles and resources which have stood out in the past 6 months. Below is the “Most Popular Post” for January to July 2017.

Please enjoy and thanks for following!

by Mats Tunehag

“Remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives  you the ability to produce wealth.” (Deut 8:18)

The Bible talks about wealth in three ways; one is bad and two are good. Hoarding of wealth is condemned. Sharing of wealth is encouraged. But there is no wealth to be shared unless it has been created.

Wealth is not a zero-sum game. Different kinds of wealth can and should be created, and can increase. All too often in the church the issue of wealth creation is misunderstood, neglected, or even rejected. The same thing applies to wealth creators.

Wealth creation is both a godly gift and a godly command (Deut 8). The people of Israel were commanded to seize business opportunities in mining and agriculture, and as a result the nation would prosper. However, God reminded them that wealth creation was a gift from him. It should be done in community and for community, recognizing the covenant, being accountable to God, and being mindful of blessing all peoples.

Wealth creation in and through business is beyond corporate philanthropy. Businesses do not exist to simply give away profit. They primarily exist to create different kinds of wealth for people and societies. It is not only about financial wealth, but also social, cultural, intellectual, and spiritual wealth.  Read more

Wealth Creation Manifesto

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CWC Manifesto Cover 200Background

The Lausanne Movement and BAM Global organized a Global Consultation on The Role of Wealth Creation for Holistic Transformation, in Chiang Mai, Thailand, in March 2017. About 30 people from 20 nations participated, primarily from the business world, and also from church, missions and academia. The findings will be published in several papers and a book, as well as an educational video. This Manifesto conveys the essentials of our deliberations before and during the Consultation.

Affirmations

1. Wealth creation is rooted in God the Creator, who created a world that flourishes with abundance and diversity.

2. We are created in God’s image, to co-create with Him and for Him, to create products and services for the common good.

3. Wealth creation is a holy calling, and a God-given gift, which is commended in the Bible.

4. Wealth creators should be affirmed by the Church, and equipped and deployed to serve in the marketplace among all peoples and nations. Read more

Calling the Church to Affirm Wealth Creators

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by David Bennett

‘What is the role of wealth creation in holistic transformation?’ Have you ever heard a sermon or participated in a small group Bible study that answered this question? If your answer is ‘No’, you are not alone.

Although I have been preaching and teaching the Bible for over four decades, I had never addressed that question explicitly. I had taught about the dangers of obsession with wealth, and the importance of good stewardship of wealth. I had discussed the importance of ethical creation of wealth, and the compassionate sharing of wealth. I had advised foundations and wealthy individuals concerning the wise distribution of their wealth. But I had never taught about the God-given role of wealth creators. I had not highlighted the potential impact of a growing business, not only in lifting individuals out of poverty, but in benefiting entire communities, caring for creation, and introducing people to the good news of reconciliation and shalom through Jesus Christ.

Mats Tunehag, our first Lausanne Catalyst for Business as Mission (BAM), expresses it like this, in a chapter for a book soon to published by the Korean BAM movement:

The Bible talks about wealth in three ways; one is bad and two are good. Hoarding of wealth is condemned. Sharing of wealth is encouraged. But there is no wealth to be shared unless it has been created . . . All too often in the church the issue of wealth creation is misunderstood, neglected, or even rejected. The same thing applies to wealth creators.

Read more

God Gives Us What We Need

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by Hugh Whelchel

The following is an excerpt from Monday Morning Success: How Biblical Stewardship Transforms Your Work, a recently published ebook by Hugh Whelchel on the biblical meaning of success. Download the ebook FREE here.  

 

God gave humans not only the physical world, but our own talents – gifts and abilities that we can use to serve him. Prior to the Reformation, the medieval church interpreted the talents in Jesus’ parable as spiritual gifts God bestowed on Christians. But the Reformers upset the status quo of the church by teaching people that their work matters to God. Martin Luther said, “The work of the milkmen is just important to God as the work of the priest.” Later, John Calvin helped shape the modern meaning of the world talents by defining them as gifts from God in the form of a person’s calling and natural abilities, rather than just spiritual gifts.

Despite some historical disagreements over the precise interpretation of talents, they are basically the tools God gives us to carry out the cultural mandate. He gives us everything we need to do what he has called us to do. In calling us to plant a garden, God gives us shovels, trowels, land, seed, strength, and patience. It is then our responsibility to use those gifts to the best of our ability. Even once we’ve used our gifts to till the soil and plant the seed, we look to him for rain and sun to secure the outcome of healthy plants. But without the contribution of our labor, the garden doesn’t grow.

Calvin challenged believers “to work, to perform, to develop, to progress, to change, to choose, to be active, and to overcome until the day of their death or the return of their Lord.” Calvin understood scripture to teach that “the whole of a man’s life is to be lived as in the Divine Presence.” As Pastor John Piper explains:  Read more

Work is Good

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by Hugh Whelchel

The following is an excerpt from Monday Morning Success: How Biblical Stewardship Transforms Your Work, a recently published ebook by Hugh Whelchel on the biblical meaning of success. Download the ebook FREE here.  

 

From his first steps on the earth, man received a charge from the Creator: work. As a culture, even as Christians, we’ve wandered away from the idea that we were created to work. We tend to view work as something negative. But God placed Adam in the garden to work it and take care of it before sin tainted his good world. As Christians, our mission is summarized by what is called the cultural mandate:

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.’
Genesis 1:28

We are to oversee all that is God’s while we await our Savior’s return. God has given us authority to take care of the earth and use wisely all that he has placed in it. Pastor Tim Keller writes in his book Every Good Endeavor,

“… We do not see work brought into our human story after the fall of Adam, as part of the resulting brokenness and curse; it is part of the blessedness of the garden of God. Work is as much a basic human need as food, beauty, rest, friendship, prayer, sexuality; it is not simply medicine but food for our soul.”

The cultural mandate also emphasizes that the physical world is a good and beautiful part of God’s purposes in this world. Far from a bus ticket to heaven, our salvation is an invitation to participate in the restoration of all things. Our stewardship of the physical world is just as important as our cultivation of spiritual gifts. Therefore, all that we do is worship – planting a garden, cleaning a school, creating a spreadsheet, building a hospital.  Read more

Wealth Creation for Holistic Transformation

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by Mats Tunehag

“Remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives  you the ability to produce wealth.” (Deut 8:18)

The Bible talks about wealth in three ways; one is bad and two are good. Hoarding of wealth is condemned. Sharing of wealth is encouraged. But there is no wealth to be shared unless it has been created.

Wealth is not a zero-sum game. Different kinds of wealth can and should be created, and can increase. All too often in the church the issue of wealth creation is misunderstood, neglected, or even rejected. The same thing applies to wealth creators.

Wealth creation is both a godly gift and a godly command (Deut 8). The people of Israel were commanded to seize business opportunities in mining and agriculture, and as a result the nation would prosper. However, God reminded them that wealth creation was a gift from him. It should be done in community and for community, recognizing the covenant, being accountable to God, and being mindful of blessing all peoples.

Wealth creation in and through business is beyond corporate philanthropy. Businesses do not exist to simply give away profit. They primarily exist to create different kinds of wealth for people and societies. It is not only about financial wealth, but also social, cultural, intellectual, and spiritual wealth.  Read more

Really! Work is Worship

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AND THE AWARD GOES TO...

Our goal is to provide the BAM Community with the best content and resources available. As we wrap up another great year we will be highlighting various articles and resources which have stood out in the past six months. Below is the “Editor’s Pick” for July to December 2016.

Please enjoy and thanks for following!

by Patrick Lai

The Hebrew word “avodah” (ah-vod-ah) is translated in the English Bible for both work and worship. A better English translation when referring to work is service. God receives work as worship done unto Him. Put simply: work is worship. The similarity between the two clarifies that in God’s eyes our work is worship in that it is not done for our own benefit, but rather as an offering to Him. This means the workplace is God’s place. We are to interact with God and talk about God in our workplace just as we do at church or at home. The workplace is a place of worship where we may express the compassion of Christ in word and deed.

In building a theology of work we need to begin with God’s Word and God’s words.  The Hebrew word avodah is central to understanding God’s view of work and worship. This noun עבדה (avodah), occurs 145 times, making this word group a substantial theme in the Old Testament. The root verb עבד (avad) occurs 289 times in the Bible, mostly in the qal form. This does not include the substantive form, עבד (eved), which occurs an additional 780 times in the Old Testament.  The עבד word group is translated throughout the English Old Testament in three main ways: Read more

Los Negocios como Misión es Más Grande de lo Que Crees

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by Mats Tunehag

Los Negocios como Misión, (en adelante BAM, del inglés Business as Mission) puede sonar como algo un tanto extraño pero, aun así, es un concepto capital y una praxis ineludible.

Eso no significa que BAM sea la estrategia definitiva, ni la solución a todos los problemas. Se trata, en realidad, de un movimiento global, en pleno auge, de cristianos que, desde el ámbito laboral, se preguntan: ¿Cómo puedo hacer para combinar trabajo y servicio a las personas, en sintonía con los propósitos de Dios, y ser, además, un buen gestor de los recursos del planeta y obtener el necesario beneficio?

BAM no pretende sustituir las formas tradicionales de servir a Dios y a las personas en todo lugar y nación. BAM no es tampoco un método para creación de fondos. Ni trata de incorporar actividades propias de la iglesia al ámbito empresarial.

BAM, se plantea la importancia de una responsabilidad social corporativa (RSC). Pero yendo todavía un paso más allá: BAM es RSC+.

Estamos comprometidos con una misión en la empresa y a través de la empresa. Que puede materializarse, por ejemplo, en una actuación justa. Podría incluso tener como lema “Empresa Justa”. Ese término, y otros similares, pueden ayudarnos a entender la naturaleza transformadora y total de los negocios como misión. Read more

Bad Math: Why Be a Business Professional?

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by João Mordomo

Why be a business professional (or any other type of professional) when you can be a “Great Commission professional”? Here’s my first bit of math: “Great Commission = to make disciples of all peoples” (see Matt. 28:19-20.)

Many of us have been taught bad math. We’ve learned two formulas in particular whose conclusions can lead to confusion and a lack of clarity about what God wants to do in and through us. Here’s what I mean. We’ve learned that “Great Commission = clergy” and “Business professional = laity”.  

The almost inevitable result of this bad math is to think that the people who hold real value in God’s eyes are the clergy, the full-time religious workers. After all, we are told, they are all about “the Lord’s work,” and they “give up so much” to serve Him in “full-time ministry.”

The flip-side of our conclusion is that, sure, laypeople have some value, but it’s more about the money they make (that they then give as tithes and offerings) or the abilities they have (“hey, would you be interested in teaching a Sunday school class?”).

But that’s not what the Bible teaches! Look at what Peter writes in 1 Peter 2:9, and then get ready to jump for joy (out of your plush leather executive chair, or off of your factory floor, or… well, you get my point!)

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. – 1 Peter 2:9

Did you read it? If you are not jumping for joy already, maybe I can help. Read more

Sabbath Rest and Celebration in the Life of a BAM Practitioner

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by Bill J.

In Hebrews 4 we read, “So then there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works.”

Sabbatical rest here is not the same as observing the Sabbath. They are different words in the text. The Sabbath is a day of the week set aside on which to not work. The Sabbath rest seems to be an experience we could have everyday, not one day a week. We enter into God’s rest by “resting from our own works.” So what in the world does that mean?

This Sabbath rest or in Greek ‘sabbatismos’ is defined by Strong’s concordance as “(figuratively) the repose of Christianity (as a type of heaven): — rest.” This sounds like what you would expect our experience to be if “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” actually happened! In the presence of the Lord we could cease from our own labors because he is here with us.

For anyone running a business this sounds absolutely crazy. We probably are busier than we have ever been. Telling us to rest from our works can feel very irresponsible. And so, most us plug on ahead at full speed. Or to avoid burn out, we slow down and the business fails to develop into a profitable organization. Read more

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