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Episode 6
3 – To teach personal discipline
Many of the Thessalonians to whom Paul preached assumed that the imminent Second Coming of Christ gave them a legitimate excuse to be lazy and abandon their responsibilities in the marketplace. They thought, “Jesus is coming back soon, so don’t need to worry about ‘worldly’ and ‘temporary’ things such as business.” This misguided theology provided inspiration for Paul’s famous words, “If anyone is not willing to work, he is not to eat, either.” (2 Thess. 3:10) Paul tore through the Thessalonians excuses for not doing business by exhorting them to “follow our example” of working hard in business to demonstrate the gospel through their disciplined lifestyles (2 Thess. 3:7, 9). As a business owner, you are an example of a personal discipline to many people around you. Use this earned authority as an opportunity to inspire people to use their own spiritual gifts for ministry in the marketplace.
4 – To build strategic friendships
When Paul entered Corinth on one of his missionary journeys, he met Aquila and his wife, Priscilla. The Bible says, “Because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and they were working, for by trade they were tent-makers.” (Acts 18:3) Luke tells us that this couple served as teachers for Apollos, one of the most prominent preachers in the early Church. The Holy Spirit used their shared-, profit-making business interests to connect Paul with this power couple for greater ministry impact (Rom. 16:3-4; 2 Tim. 4:19; 1 Cor. 16:19). One of the greatest joys of being a Christian entrepreneur is working with fellow Christians in business. The Holy Spirit forms these divine partnerships for the advancement of the gospel.
5 – To stay flexible and available to the guidance of the Holy Spirit
The portable nature of Paul’s tent-making business allowed him to transact business and make money anywhere he travelled. Because he controlled the means of production in his business, he was able to remain flexible and available to go wherever the Holy Spirit led him on his missionary journeys. When you can write your own pay check, you do not have to ask for permission to move from an employer or from a board. When the Holy Spirit says it is time to transition, you simply can follow His leading.
Darren Shearer has made some Biblical observations based on the Pauline experiences of his calling of the “Cause”. Guided by the Holy Spirit, Paul was aware that his tent-making skills helped his purposes by being relevant to the local culture and making disciples in the marketplace. As a spirited-Christian in business, “Have you ever witnessed first-hand how any of these purposes for being in business” have helped you to advance the gospel of Jesus Christ?
God can use Spirit-inspired business persons to reach out to many lost souls in the contemporary arena. Every marketplace has a place for God. He uses his vocational business servants to create an impact on the formerly lost world ruled by materialism and money. Darren Shearer has published thirteen comments and has listed these seven reasons for mission in the business world.
If God call you into business, please do not wish you are called somewhere else. The market place is a great place for Christians right now. Here’s why:
Reason # 1 – Almost all non-Christians are in the marketplace
Today, less than 20% of Americans attend church regularly. In many European countries, the percentage are much lower. At that rate, regular church attendance is projected to drop to 11.7% by 2050. The good news is that these people who are not attending church will still be walking up to go to work alongside their Christian co-workers in the marketplace each morning.
Reason # 2 – Almost all Christians are in the marketplace
At least 85% of the Christian workforce spends 60-70% of their working hours in the marketplace. In addition to serving our families and our local churches, the marketplace is the primary context in which our spiritual gifts could and should be used. The ministry potential for Christians using their spiritual gifts collaboratively in the marketplace is astounding! (In case you do not know what your spiritual gifts are, my forthcoming book will include a spiritual gifts assessment as well as teaching on how you can use your unique gifts for ministry in the marketplace).
Reason # 3 – Discipleship can happen in the marketplace
Church leaders often are criticized for the lack of discipleship and spiritual growth among their congregations. Let’s give our pastors a break. How much discipleship can actually happen during a two-hour church service on Sunday? Discipleship – that is, becoming more like Jesus – happens in everyday life. Yes, discipleship can happen anywhere … even during a two-hour, lecture style event on Sunday. However, the potential for discipleship and ministry investment in a weekly service is a fraction of what is possible during an entire working week spent with co-workers, clients, et cetera.
Reason # 4 – The marketplace is a more authentic showroom of Christianity
If we were shopping for a car, you’d probably go to a showroom. Before you bought anything you’d probably want to see if the car functions properly on the road. You might even ask the dealer to allow you to take the car home for a day or two to test it out. The local church is like the showroom for Christianity. The marketplace is the test drive is where our unbelieving co-workers get to see if they really want what we have. Daily, they see how we react under pressure. They see how we treat people. They see how much God truly matters to us in our daily lives. As mentioned in “Reason # 1”, most people aren’t even coming to the “showroom” anymore, so marketplace Christians are now serving as both the showroom and the test drive of Christianity.
Reason # 5 – The marketplace forces the Church to use all its capabilities
Personality-driven and super-pastor Christianity does not work in the marketplace. Having a bunch of Christians sitting on the side lines of ministry may not prevent a local church from increasing numerically, but it won’t transform the marketplace for the glory of God. So far, most of the teaching about “marketplace ministry” has been defining marketplace ministry without regards for people’s unique spiritual gifts. For example, if I have an apostolic gift, of course I am going to view marketplace ministry as a mandate to “ascend and take the Business Mountain for God” (see 7 Mountains). If I have a pastoral gift (i.e. marketplace chaplains) of course I am going to view marketplace ministry as a calling to “care for the personal needs of my employees and/or co-workers.” We need to approach marketplace ministry in a way that can leverage the spiritual gifts of all Christians in the marketplace. The “one-size-fits-all” approach only produces self-condemnation and ineffectiveness for marketplace Christians attempting to operate outside of their God-driven spiritual gifts.
Reason # 6 – Denominational divisions are less destructive in the marketplace
We can choose whether to attend a Baptist Church, Pentecostal-Charismatic Church, Presbyterian Church, a non-Denomination Church and so forth, but most of us do not have the luxury of working only with Christians with whom we agree theologically. The marketplace has a way of diluting some of these differences. This opens the door to collaborative ministry beyond the walls of our local churches and traditions.
Reason # 7 – Everything gets funded from the marketplace
All money comes from value that has been created in the marketplace, and business professionals ultimately decide what gets funded. These business professionals need to know God and His plan for their lives in order to make righteous decisions concerning money. Although business is often thought of only as the economic engine of the Church, I hope that we will begin to see and realize its full potentials for transforming society for the glory of God.
The marketplace is a big potential ground in the outworking of the Holy Spirit. People need the Lord every day in finding solidarity in the complex and perplexing workplace. Employers and workers (managers, supervisors, and subordinates) have constant internal moral conflicts and external peer conflicts. People lose the sense of the godly ingredients and ethics of in their own professions. Some compromise their personal ethics to achieve their material goals by ungodly means. Each may exchange his/her own religious belief and value system for unwholesome gains under worldly pressure. The Church must not turn away from or ignore what is the ‘“Sunday Church” has nothing to do with “Monday Work”’ mentality. On the contrary, there are ever more reasons for the church to engage the marketplace.
Ending - Thank You for listening and please stay tuned with us in my next Episode.
Discussion Questions