Tag Archive for: endurance

Helping BAM Practitioners Start Well and Endure for the Long-Term

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To celebrate the launch of a new BAM Global Consultation on BAM Practitioner Care and Well-being, we are reposting a resource blog from two years ago that first helped us identify the gap in this area. Read more on BAM Endurance here.

by Jo Plummer

Recently I received a question about training resources and spiritual courses from a BAM practitioner who reads our blog. There already are lots of great resources on this site and elsewhere for helping BAMers start well and endure for the long-term. This post is designed to introduce some resources that BAM practitioners may find helpful for both preparing to launch into BAM and enduring long.

However, having asked advice from a few other business as mission leaders, we identified that there are relatively few dedicated, BAM-related resources for what the mission community calls ‘member care – that is helping ensure the personal, physical, relational and spiritual well-being of BAM practitioners. There are, however, many general member care and spiritual life resources that we can glean from in the wider Christian community, and a selection of these are also listed below.

Training & Preparation: Launching Well

How do people get from BAM vision to BAM reality? What training resources are there out there for BAM practitioners? What factors help launch BAMers out into stable, successful business as mission enterprises? What are the skills and characteristics that BAM companies are looking for as they recruit? How do potential BAMers best develop themselves and prepare for doing business as mission?

Here are some places to start:

  • Courses & Training Page – BAM Resource Library
    Looking for some BAM-related training? Start with the Courses & Training page in the Resource Library here on the BAM website for a list of training organisations and course providers related to BAM. Follow that up by browsing the Video & Audio Page which links to many Podcasts and Video Series which have great content and are all totally free to access. (And of course we have great Books and Papers listed too, as well as over 550 Blogs to read – see Blog Categories listed on this page!)

Read more

A Gap in the BAM Ecosystem: BAM Practitioner Care and Well-being

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BAM Global initiates working consultations under its BAM Global Think Tank initiative where there are identified gaps in the BAM ecosystem. BAM Global Consultations open up an unprecedented opportunity for discussion, collaboration and networking as a group works through a process of connecting, listening, learning, sharing and recommending. The results are captured in a published BAM Global Report and outworked in new projects and communities of practice. These enable the next generation involved in business as mission to go further, faster.  We are excited to announce the launch of a new BAM Global Consultation.

by Jo Plummer

Business is a powerful strategy in the mission of the global Church today. Those engaging in business as mission (BAM) have a unique opportunity to bring the whole gospel to the whole world with for-profit solutions to pressing global issues. Yet these BAM practitioners also face the unique pressures of integrating holistic missional impact with for-profit business. These pressures can take a toll on the spiritual, physical, emotional, and relational health of the BAM practitioner and that of their family and team. Ultimately these attritional effects can endanger the long-term viability and fruitfulness of BAM companies, especially where there is a lack of support and care for the people involved. 

Mature businesses may have access to human resource departments, staff training, chaplains or coaches. Mission agencies often have ‘member care’ provision for their workers. However, often BAM practitioners are at a unique intersection of business and mission with little to no support or resource provision for their personal and inter-relational well-being. There is a corresponding lack of research on the felt-needs of BAMers in this area, nor work seeking to identify and redress resource gaps. The new Consultation on BAM Practitioner Care and Well-being will address these concerns.

Consultation Introduction

Jo and Mike introduce the new Consultation at the BAM Global Connect event in November:

Vision and Purpose

Our vision is for thriving BAM practitioners, with healthy spiritual, emotional, physical, and relational lives, able to effectively lead businesses that are transforming people and nations––for God’s glory!

The purpose of the Consultation is to strengthen the BAM ecosystem to be able support BAM practitioners in the areas of life care and well-being—through greater access to training, coaching, counseling, support structures, and resources—in order to increase the fruitfulness and longevity of business as mission companies. 

Specific Objectives

  1. Identify critical life and career needs of BAM practitioners (through surveys and interviews)
  2. Share case studies and stories that highlight current needs, solutions and approaches
  3. Explore the current landscape (map the ecosystem) and identify current best practices and resource gaps.
  4. Make recommendations about what training, coaching, counseling, support structures, and resources are most effective and how best to intentionally close gaps and provide resources/training going forward.
  5. Strengthen relationships among interested individuals and organizations for this area of work in order to further catalyze partnerships, collaborative projects and action in response to the recommendations made.

Outcomes we anticipate from this work include:

  • A growing community of practice around this area of interest
  • A recommended resource list for BAMers and organizations to utilize
  • A BAM Global Report on BAM Practitioner Care and Well-being to serve as a guide for the BAM movement on this topic
  • New providers that respond to identified gaps with training, resources and solutions

Our Ask – How you can help:

 

Take the Survey

Celebrating 10 Years of BAM Global

 

Help us accelerate the global business as mission movement in the next decade,
give a once off financial gift or join the BAM Global Patron’s Team of monthly supporters

 

SUPPORT US

 

 Jo Plummer is the Creative Director & Co-Founder of BAM Global and the co-editor of the Lausanne Occasional Paper on Business as Mission. She has been developing resources for BAM since 2001 and currently serves as Editor of the Business as Mission website and The BAM Review Blog. 

 

 

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

 

 

 

 

Helping BAM Practitioners Start Well and Endure for the Long-Term

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by Jo Plummer

Recently I received a question about training resources and spiritual courses from a BAM practitioner who reads our blog. There already are lots of great resources on this site and elsewhere for helping BAMers start well and endure for the long-term. This post is designed to introduce some resources that BAM practitioners may find helpful for both preparing to launch into BAM and enduring long.

However, having asked advice from a few other business as mission leaders, we identified that there are relatively few dedicated, BAM-related resources for what the mission community calls ‘member care – that is helping ensure the personal, physical, relational and spiritual well-being of BAM practitioners. There are, however, many general member care and spiritual life resources that we can glean from in the wider Christian community, and a selection of these are also listed below.

Please get in touch if you would be interested in being part of a future task force on the specific topic of ‘Member Care for BAM Practitioners’.

Training & Preparation: Launching Well

How do people get from BAM vision to BAM reality? What training resources are there out there for BAM practitioners? What factors help launch BAMers out into stable, successful business as mission enterprises? What are the skills and characteristics that BAM companies are looking for as they recruit? How do potential BAMers best develop themselves and prepare for doing business as mission?

Here are some places to start:

  • Courses & Training Page – BAM Resource Library
    Looking for some BAM-related training? Start with the Courses & Training page in the Resource Library here on the BAM website for a list of training organisations and course providers related to BAM. Follow that up by browsing the Video & Audio Page which links to many Podcasts and Video Series which have great content and are all totally free to access. (And of course we have great Books and Papers listed too, as well as over 550 Blogs to read – see Blog Categories listed on this page!)

Read more

Moving From Anxiety to Freedom as a Kingdom Entrepreneur

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by Stu Minshew

 

Fear vs. Anxiety

Restless nights, imagining disaster scenarios, legs bouncing up and down, gulping caffeine to push through, poor concentration, irritable – Do any of these sound familiar? If so, you are not alone. Fear and anxiety, and their associated mental and physical markers, are extremely prevalent in the entrepreneurial world.

If you’re like me, I bet you can quickly name at least 3 fears or anxieties that you currently have about your business.

Do we have enough money in the bank?

Will our product or service sell?

What if my co-founder quits?

What if I get fired by my board?

Who’s my next major competitor?

Often, we think that once we reach our next business milestone, fear and anxiety will magically dissipate. Like me, you’ve probably found this isn’t true. In fact, each new milestone usually compounds my fears. The bigger you play, the bigger the stakes, the bigger the fears.

Success, higher profitability, and a bigger income doesn’t solve our problems and eliminate our fears. Thinking that it will is a lie Satan and our culture tells us on a routine basis. They are not bad goals in and of themselves, but when we turn them into mini “saviors”, they can have devastating effects on our mental and spiritual wellbeing.

Give It a Name

To break free from our fear and anxiety, we must begin by knowing when we are experiencing it.

Our fears often live in our subconscious, so we sometimes fail to notice when they are running the show. That’s why we need to be able to identify the mental and physical markers – insomnia, poor concentration, feeling down on yourself, jittery, eyes twitching, experiencing racing or unwanted thoughts, avoiding challenges, etc.

When you experience these markers, you’ll need to dig deeper to get to the root fears and anxieties causing them. If you are currently experiencing this, take some time to pray that the Holy Spirit will help reveal your root fears and anxieties.  Read more

Entrepreneur Mental Wellness Needs a New Story

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by Stu Minshew

 

The Big Problem

As a global society, we’re having much more productive conversations about mental wellbeing. In many places, we’ve begun to normalize the struggles we all face, seek help, and encourage others to do the same. Yet some days, and in some circles, it feels like we still have a long way to go. I believe entrepreneur circles and startup communities have some work to do in this regard.

I’ve been in entrepreneur circles for many years and I wouldn’t change that for anything. But there is a problem, and as followers of Christ, we have the freedom and responsibility to shine the light on this problem. Doing so allows us to talk about it with openness and honesty in order to lovingly serve and care for our brothers and sisters who are entrepreneurs.

Businesses Creates Change

Business, and entrepreneurship in particular, can be and have been powerful change agents for God’s Kingdom. For thousands of years, business has transformed communities, cities, nations, and the globe. It has helped pull millions of people out of poverty.

Sadly, business has also had its share of greed-fueled disasters that have negatively impacted thousands of people, or even whole populations. Thankfully, these instances only represent a small portion of the history of business. The global story of business is filled with examples of positive impact. It has been used to drive development, education, and innovation. For those following Jesus, it creates opportunities to join His work to usher in the Kingdom. 

I see glimpses of God’s Kingdom in the world of entrepreneurship. The vast majority of Christian entrepreneurs I know are deeply committed to making a difference. Are they looking to make a profit and have more control over their schedule? Absolutely! But they also believe their product or service is glorifying God and improving their lives of their customers.

Many seek to improve the lives of their employees and point them to Christ. Others use the freedom created by entrepreneurship to transform their family or community. It may take on many forms, but Christian entrepreneurs are helping usher in God’s Kingdom.  Read more