The A to Z of BAM: P to T – from Power to Tikkun Olam

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by Mats Tunehag

P – Power

Rabbi Lord Jonathan Saks said, ”Poverty crushes the spirit as well as the body, and its alleviation is a sacred task”. There are of course different kinds of poverty and wealth. One can be financially rich but socially poor. One can be endowed with great intellect but suffer from spiritual poverty. Business as Mission, BAM, is addressing this by creating different kinds of wealth through business.

Many are asking: how can we fight poverty? We rather ask: how can we create wealth? The biggest lift out of poverty, in the history of mankind, has happened in our generation – not through aid, but through trade. Check this four-minute video which deals with the affirmation in the Wealth Creation Manifesto, which observes that business has the “power to lift people and nations out of poverty”.

Businesses, especially small and medium size ones, are powerful instruments for holistic societal transformation.  Read more

The A to Z of BAM: K to O – from Kingdom to Opportunity

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by Mats Tunehag

K – Kingdom

Christ is Lord of all, or He is not Lord at all. The early Church confessed Christos Kyrios – Christ is Lord. [1] It was revolutionary when the greeting was supposed to be Kaiser Kyrios – the Emperor is Lord. [2]

May God’s Kingdom come – may Christ the King be the ruler of our lives, business and the marketplace. BAM is recognizing the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and connecting Sunday with Monday. BAM is following Christ into the marketplace, among all peoples and to the ends of the world.

As the BAM Manifesto states: “We believe that God has called and equipped business people to make a Kingdom difference in and through their businesses.”

Here’s a practical way to be Kingdom oriented in your daily life, and King Jesus-centered in your business: Pray St. Patrick’s BAM prayer. [3]

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The A to Z of BAM: F to J – from Freedom to Justice

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by Mats Tunehag

F – Freedom

Winston Churchill said: “All the great things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope.”

Today tens of millions of people around the world are held as slaves, they are victims of human trafficking. A root cause to is unemployment. About 80 percent of those who are rescued from trafficking are re-trafficked unless they find a job with dignity at the other end. Thus, jobs with dignity and transformational businesses are essential for true freedom. Freedom businesses exist to fight human trafficking, providing jobs for prevention and restoration. [1]

There is no quick fix to human trafficking. There is no ‘jump to freedom’; we have a long journey ahead. As Nelson Mandela said: “There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere.” This is true for millions of slaves around the world, and also for the freedom business movement. [2]

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The A to Z of BAM: A to E – from Avodah to Environmental

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by Mats Tunehag

A – Avodah

The Hebrew word avodah is used interchangeably for work, worship and service. Business as Mission, BAM, is a seamless integration of work, worship and service.

A few Bible references:

Six days you shall work (avodah). – Exodus 34:21

This is what the LORD says: Let my people go, so that they may worship (avodah) me. – Exodus 8:1

But as for me and my household, we will serve (avodah) the Lord. – Joshua 24:15

Worship in the temple is different from manual labor in the field. But both are connected to who we are, created in God’s image, with a purpose to both work and worship. Work can be worship! Avodah is a picture of an integrated faith.[1] It is a life where work and worship come from the same root. “Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” (1 Cor 10:31)

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