Note 2.0

A Paradigm Shitf for Business Leaders (BL) 

by Thomas Bush

As the pandemic begins to wane, many areas of ministry are doing a “reset.”  Asking the question, “How should we emerge from the pandemic to serve the purposes of God.”  I have been thinking with leaders who gather BLs in their community for equipping and fellowship.  The thoughts represented here are from my training as a community transformation specialist.  

1. All ministry must "pastor-ed." God had given pastors and ministry leaders as a gift to the Body of Christ to equip believers for ministry. (Eph. 4:11-16) In order to provide a solid, Biblical ministry framework, BLs should seek supportive pastor-ministry partnerships when developing ministry plans – to leverage the training and expertise of pastors and ministry leaders.   
2. Ministry outside of the local church is necessary.  The community cannot be transformed directly by what happens inside the local church.  The BL should be seen as a sent missionary from the local church.  A BL needs to be equipped to see him or herself as a spiritual force for good in their community. (Example:  The "Good Samaritan" Luke 10:25-37) 
3. BLs need to be equipped to minister to people in their circle of relationships.   BLs may be the only Bible their co-workers read.  God has placed them where they are to be a fragrance of Christ to them. 
4. There is a need for BLs to be equipped to lead where God places them. “When things go well for the righteous, the city rejoices, and when the wicked perish, there is joyful shouting.” (Proverbs 11:10 NAS) This includes, leading his business or department in a Christ-like manner, being open to share his faith and Christian world-view with those in his circle of relationships and doing what he can to influence the culture of the business for Christ (Work/life balance, ethical practices, dignity of work, caring for each other, etc.) 
5. Business leaders should be given a vision for serving together as the "Body of Christ” (BOC) in a locality. Let’s say a group of BLs from the US travel to Mongolia to share their business acumen and faith with native Mongolian people.  They attend different local churches, but choose to work together for the purposes of God in Mongolia. As such, when they choose to work together, they represent the BOC in Mongolia.  
   1. The BOC in a given locale exists across sectors of society.¹ It is one of the few entities that crosses sectors.  The BOC exists in the center of the community through its people. A Business BL working with a Non-Profit BL to clothe orphans is “crossing sectors.”  
   2. In the center of the community, the BOC should: 
      1. Collaborate - within sectors and across sectors.  
      2. Communicate:  Share perspectives and insights learned in their sector with other BOC leaders, that is, sharing their learned point of view. 
      3. Cooperate:  Help the BOC grow and excel by sharing expertise, skills, people, etc. when mutually beneficial outcomes can be achieved by BOC partnerships.  
      4. Co-create:  When synergy exists between or across sectors, there are opportunities for the BOC to create something new that never existed before. 
         
         ¹As described in “To Transform a City” (Authors: Eric Swanson and Sam Williams) Cities can be described as having 3 sectors, PRIVATE Sector (For-Profit Businesses), SOCIAL Sector (Church, Family, Non-profits) and PUBLIC Sector (Education and Government)

©Thomas Bush, Director, Community Impact ROI. communityimpactroi.org, Email: tbush@visionsd.org, (619) 742-8694