Toward a BAM “Kingdom of God Purpose and Impact” with a Secret Start
by Larry Sharp
Part of the working definition of business as mission is being “intentional about Kingdom of God purpose and impact on people and nations”, but what does that look like in practice?
A while ago I was in communication with a BAM worker in a large Asian country. During our conversation, he remarked that he wished he knew how to be intentional about teaching Christian values on the job without overtly revealing the source. He assured me that he was living out the values personally, but he wanted to do more, before they identified him as a Jesus follower.
I began to pray and think about the challenge and with the help of a grant from the Pollard Fellowship, I started to look for models and try to develop something concrete that he could use.
I became interested in comparing the need for a low-key witness in countries which forbid Christianity and proselytism with the various occasions where Jesus required those who were healed or who were otherwise benefited from his ministry to keep quiet about it. Matthew 9, 16, Mark 5, and elsewhere records events where Jesus commanded that they “tell no man.”
Some theologians believe that one of Jesus methods was to do work in secret before in public. The idea was that open news of a miracle would hinder his ability to move on and do ministry elsewhere. Notoriety could disturb and interrupt what his intentions were. He wanted to make certain progress before it was known that he was God.
So with these thoughts, first we will consider foundational assumptions, then some contemporary applications.
Some Foundational Assumptions
In his classic book The Soul of the Firm, Bill Pollard, long time CEO of ServiceMaster, presents the question, “How then do I relate my faith to a diverse and pluralistic marketplace?” He suggests four options:
1. Do I redefine my faith to be more inclusive and tolerant and acceptable? Water it down so as not to be offensive?
2. Or do I maintain the old separation between sacred and secular? Live a bifurcated life and accept the premise that religion and business just don’t mix, and
keep my faith a very private matter.
3. Or do I use my leadership to promote and propagate or impose my faith?
4. Or do I seek to live and share my faith in such a way that it can be examined, tested by my colleagues, and fellow workers and yes even be embraced by some, all within the context of a community that works together to produce goods and services and generates profits.
In selecting option #4 Pollard assumes the codes, commandments, guidelines and principles of God’s word as the foundational truths. These include such well known documents as the Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes, the Lord’s Prayer, the Golden Rule, and the Parables. He proposes that we enter the lives and space of those in the workplace and community, just as Jesus did when he came to the shepherds, the hungry, sick and needy.
In our western world, we often “teach” our values in isolation from life practices. This is usually a cognitive exercise which may or may not result in behavior change. For example, we may tell a child what it means to love others, and they may or may not internalize the concept and change behavior. Rather, a teacher may tell a relevant story demonstrating love or look for an opportunity to create understanding in the context of a setting of love, both of which are more likely to create a change in behavior.
Jesus used questions extensively and then tended to probe beyond the response. For example, in John 4 (Samaritan woman) he didn’t immediately launch into a discourse about eternal life. Instead, he used questions and a reference to immediate reality as a launch pad. Time and time again Jesus acknowledged realities, such as sickness, hunger, sadness etc. because he followed the principle of starting with the human condition with a servant intent before moving on to spiritual or other-worldly themes. He thus gave dignity to a person’s worth as the starting point.
Purposeful Love and Service
As we think about Christian truth in a context of forbidden faith, agnostic antagonism or religious persecution, we can almost always still start with human need, serving people, valuing human self-worth, and purposeful love. Within that existential reality, the source of such truths and a relationship with the Creator-God will eventually emerge as we are intentional and the Holy Spirit guides our steps.
In the case of the ServiceMaster Company, the value of the person with their dignity and worth was the beginning point. The company leadership then set about living biblical truths as the pathway to speaking truth. “The leaders drew on their own Christian faith to make this the anchor of the right way to do business, while not imposing that foundational belief on others… I want to have every person confronted with the question of God. They must decide how to answer that question.” (Pollard, 1996 p12)
In John 5 Jesus approached a man who had been infirm for 38 years. The man requested help in getting to the healing pool but lamented that there was no one to help him. But Jesus healed him instead. Again, the story ends with Jesus telling him to stop sinning, because what he really needed was healing as an antecedent to salvation and a new path for following Jesus. Through his ministry Jesus began with the present need and used it to conclude with matters of eternal importance (for example – healing the sick in Matthew 4, the leper in Matthew 8, the demon-possessed man and calming of the storm in Matthew 8, the paralytic in Matthew 9, healing of the daughter and feeding the four thousand in Matthew 15.) Similar events throughout the rest of the gospel narrative demonstrate the principle followed by Pollard and the ServiceMaster Company – start with the human condition and meet needs.
In part 2 of this blog we’ll get into some application of these ideas to real-world situations.
For more from Bill Pollard on the calling and culture of business, read this online paper from 1999 at Seattle Pacific University Library: Soul of the Firm: Business as a Christian Calling.
>> Read Part 2
Larry Sharp is the Founder and current BAM Support Specialist of a Business for Transformation (BAM, B4t) consulting firm, International Business and Education Consultants (www.ibecventures.com). Larry served 21 years in Brazil and then 20 years as Crossworld VP of Operations and as Vice President of Business Partnerships. He is currently a VP Emeritus and consultant with Crossworld. Since 2007 he has devoted energies toward Business as Mission (BAM) and currently is a consultant on BAM and education themes. Larry travels within North America speaking and teaching in conferences, colleges and churches on themes related to Business As Mission (BAM, B4t) and missions. His travels abroad relate to BAM, crisis preparation and management, and team building.
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