HOW THE MINISTRY OF A HEALTHY LOCAL CHURCH CAN HELP BUSINESSES TO SUCCEED

6. What It’s Going To Take –
BLESSED BUSINESSES

I’m told that at the turn of the 20th century some 70% of people were self-employed or in business. Similarly, I’ve been told that at the turn of the 21st century that number had dropped below 30%.   

When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices,
and when the wicked perish there are shouts of gladness.
Proverbs 11:10

For any society to experience and enjoy the divine blessings of happiness, security, wellness, personal fulfilment, scientific and spiritual enlightenment, and prosperity, it needs this sixth element – blessed business. I am going to make the case that we need leaders in business who know God and how to invoke His blessing upon their business. I hope to further this case by showing that the Scriptures show that when righteous business people prosper, entire cities are also blessed (Prov. 11:10). A part of this blessing upon a city is that people are gainfully employed with meaningful work, and these righteous business people are able to exercise a positive influence for the good and welfare of a society.

He who has clean hands and a pure heart, 
who does not lift up his soul to what is false 
and does not swear deceitfully. 
He will receive blessing from the LORD 
and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
Psalm 24:4-5

THE PRINCIPLES OF RIGHTEOUS BUSINESS

A business is an organised means of supplying goods and/or services at a reasonable price to customers or clients which gives a reasonable return to investors. A righteous business is also this, but it is done in a way that honours God and His Word. It goes without saying then that it is a business that not only operates within the law, it also operates with moral uprightness and ethical integrity. For some businesses, such as Hobby Lobby, or Chic-fil-a, which are owned and run by followers of Christ, it means not violating Hebrews 10:25 which is why they do not open their stores on Sundays. It also effects how they treat customers and staff. Some Christians who have worked for a “Christian business” (a term I do not like or use) have been surprised that their employers have taken a dim view of their tardy work ethic – even though they may have been running late to work having just come from a church early morning prayer meeting, or when they have taken an extended lunch-break because they were deep in Bible study or witnessing to a non-Christian co-worker. (Perhaps in the appendices of this proposed book I might list the principles for being a Christ-following employee starting with those found in Second Thessalonians 3:10.)

Not everyone can go into business as their main or sole source of income. Running a successful business may look easy to an outsider. But upon closer inspection we would discover that the person starting or running a business has to manage a complexity of issues that an employee or self-employed person doesn’t. But the one who owns a business has the potential to create wealth than an employee or self-employed person does not. As Proverbs 11:10 states, when the righteous succeed in their business, the city rejoices. And well they might! Successful businesses can add value to a community – and not just financially! There is tremendous value for their employees who are then able to have the dignity of being productive members of their community. There are numerous ‘spin-off’ economic benefits derived as other businesses are spawned which provide associated goods or services. There is benefits for the broader community as the business pays local government rates and fees which helps to fund the upkeep of local roads and parks. 

By the blessing of the upright a city is exalted,
but by the mouth of the wicked it is overthrown.
Proverbs 11:11

TYPES OF BUSINESSES

When I studied economics nearly 35 years ago, we were taught that there were essentially three categories of business: Primary Industry, the Wholesale(Distribution) Industry, and, the Retail Industry. This view of the economy was built almost entirely upon the production of physical goods and their allied services. While these three broad categories of the economy still exist, all modern economies are now far more complex due to three factors that didn’t exist when I studied economics. 

Perhaps I could illustrate this complexity by pointing out that in today’s economy, the world’s largest video entertainment provider does not directly produce video entertainment! YouTube is a platform which has (as of today) 1.3 billion video producers who collectively upload 300 hours of videos a minute to YouTube! In 2006, Google bought YouTube for $1.65B! Speaking of Google, it is now the world’s main source of information and news, yet it does not produce any. It is a platform. Today, Google is worth $846.02B. Facebook is a platform for anyone (within reason) to produce content and is now worth around $400B. In addition to these businesses which operate as platforms there are full-time YouTube content providers who are making between $50K to $16.5M a year [source]. 

Business today is much more complex than the farmer growing his produce for the distributer to wholesale it to retailers! Economists refer to such major shifts in the economy as revolutions. The Industrial Revolution which began in the late 18th century ended around the time of the Berlin Wall coming down with what has become known as the Information Revolution. Others refer to this period as The Digital Age. No longer are ‘goods’ merely physical, or ‘services’ done manually. Businesses today can still be in the traditional three tiers of the economy, but they are increasingly operating in the digital world of virtual goods and automated services. This can look like coding, software, interactive games, and other forms of digital entertainment. Will Christ-followers develop as industry leaders in this new strata of our global-village economy? I hope so.

Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Engage in business until I come.’
Luke 19:13

HOW BUSINESSES GROW

By my reckoning, up to half of the world’s top 50 companies did not exist 45 years ago! Several of them, such as Apple, and Amazon, have annual turn-overs of several hundred billion dollars. Their stories highlight what it takes to grow any business. And perhaps it is here that we find the filter for distinguishing a business from someone who is self-employed – even though they may employ a few people. A business has the potential for unlimited growth. A righteous global business has the potential to be a force for good on a global scale in such a way that it could have the power and influence to help eradicate global poverty, and those criminal activities which currently blight our world such as human trafficking, and escalating suicide rates. For those called by God to build, or help build, an innovative global business, I want to sow the seed of divine possibility into your soul that you could be called to do far much more than build a comfortable business which gives you a comfortable lifestyle and leads to a comfortable retirement. By growing your business into a global enterprise you could literally be a contributing agent to transforming impoverished and corrupt nations into prosperous and God-blessed nations! To do this, you must learn to develop three things- 

1. SYSTEMS – processes: how things are done
2. STAFF – people: who does it
3. STRATEGIES – purpose: why it’s done

A business could have weaknesses in its processes and strategies but still succeed as long as it has great people involved. Every successful business is always going to be contingent and dependant upon people. Discipled Christ-followers should have a huge advantage here. By following Christ, a person learns to care for others. You cannot follow Christ closely and fail to see Him treating every person He came in contact with with tremendous tenderness and respect – even those He corrected (like the Pharisees for example). It should go without saying that if a business has great systems and a great strategy yet treats people without due respect and care, that business can never truly succeed. This is why any Christ-follower who seeks to run a successful business must learn from Christ about how to lead and manage others. Every great business needs a great leader and many good managers.

You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may confirm His covenant that He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.
Deuteronomy 8:18

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BUSINESSES AND A LOCAL CHURCH

Business people have often thought of churches and church leaders as out of touch with the reality of business life. Whenever pastors spoke about the relationship of business-people to the church, it was nearly always about being a source of finance. I don’t think I have ever done this. In fact, I hope that those business people whom I have pastored over the past few decades could bear witness that I have been a pastor to them as a person. One of the reasons I conduct a monthly leadership training for all our volunteers on the first Sunday night of each month is to also give godly leadership and managerial tools for those in business or management. It is over these years that I have become increasingly persuaded that the ministry of a healthy local church can also help those in business in at least 8 vital ways:

1. Fostering personal character development 
2. Promoting godliness through moral formation
3. Instilling the means and resources for healthy soul-care
4. Providing positive intellectual distraction with a vision of Someone greater than them
5. Connecting them with a Cause far bigger than their business and with the potential to change the lives of others for eternity
6. Inspiring innovation and excellence with a vision of the glorious Creator
7. Training in human relationships, particularly marriage, parenting, social interactions, being a leader, and a manager
8. Helping them to view their business as integral to their worship of the Lord 

For a society to experience and enjoy the divine blessings of happiness, security, wellness, personal fulfilment, scientific and spiritual enlightenment, and prosperity, it needs this sixth element – blessed business. Not everyone is called to go into business, but for those who are, it is my hope that they can be blessed and become a blessing to many. I hope that our church can become an incubator for young people to learn the necessary character traits to be successful in life and not just in business. 

Pastor Andrew

MY PRAYER REQUESTS

This has been a big year for us. In February, we did lunch for 300 people. We took 60 children on the journey of a lifetime over three legs including a plane trip, a train trip, and a boat trip. In August, we moved into our new auditorium. We had a guest Arch Bishop. In October, we had a guest bishop. We had an Australian touring group perform. In November, we had a home-grown Sunday. In December, we had a chart-topping Nashville singer. We had our annual Children’s Christmas Play. We had a community carols outreach which was also outside broadcasted by WayFM. And we had our first Christmas Day service in our new auditorium with a special first-time duet from my two youngest daughters. Added to all this, we held four special water baptism services throughout the year for those who accepted Christ as their Lord and Saviour. It’s been a big year!     

In the midst of all this, we implemented a monthly Sunday night leaders training, monthly Pastors and Elders team breakfast, a monthly Home Group leaders breakfast, and a monthly Care Team breakfast (which morphed into a monthly lunch). My preaching schedule included – The 10 Principles For Living A Balanced Life, The Journey Of A Life Time, Your New Chapter, Lamentations Series, 10 Guest Service messages, Understand The Book Of Revelation Series, By Virtue Series, Worship Series, and reaching Part 186 in the Jeremiah Series. Supplementing this were our Home Group study series, Name – A Story, Finding True Love, and Building A Covenant Community. In addition to this, ICI College Australia has given me the opportunity to supervise degree level Theology students around Australia to train for Christian ministry. Partly due to these demands, I relinquished my role as the tennis coach at Legana Tennis Club and officially retired. And last week, Kim and I farewelled Zoe to Melbourne so she could continue her law degree there. It’s been a big year.

Big years, the kind where positive things are planned and realised, don’t just happen. They require two key things. Firstly, dedication, and secondly, dedicated people. This year could not have happened unless many dedicated people played their part. A lot was asked of our worship team this year. A lot was asked of our Board this year. A lot was asked of our staff this year. A lot was asked our Builder this year. A lot was asked our of volunteers this year. Without their dedication, we would not have had a big year.

This kind of dedication is cultivated in the Spirit by prayer. It is fuelled by prayer. It is sustained by prayer. It needs prayer. Onededicated leader on their own could not ever achieve what a dedicated team can achieve. When I consider all that the Apostle Paul achieved, it is a remarkable parallel that his level of achievement inversely parallels his own estimation of his ability to achieve things on his own. Consider Paul’s journey.

From considering himself a ‘Super-Apostle’:

Indeed, I consider that I am not in the least inferior to these super-apostles.
Second Corinthians 11:5

To considering himself the ‘least of the Apostles’: 

For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
First Corinthians 15:9

To considering himself to be ‘the chief of sinners’:

This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.
First Timothy 1:15

Perhaps as a result of this journey, Paul never asked for anyone to pray for him alone – and he never asked for prayer for his adverse circumstances to change. Rather, the veteran Apostle Paul always for prayer for “us” – that is, for his team.

¶ Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you,
Second Thessalonians 3:1

I think we have much to learn from the Apostle who was used to pen 75% of the New Testament and was responsible for taking the Gospel into Asia and Europe in his lifetime (which laid the foundation for the Gospel to be taken into Africa, the Americas, and Oceania (which includes Australia and New Zealand)). Paul’s achievements lead us to see that dedication and dedicated people also need the prayers of God’s people for there to be the greatest effectiveness. With this in mind, I would like to request your prayers please.

Could you please pray for us to-

• be faithful to Christ despite whatever success might tempt us into conceit
• have wisdom to know how to best care for people
• hear the voice of God’s Spirit and the strength to obey
• have sufficient physical strength to sustain the Lord’s mission
• be able to faithfully declare the whole counsel of God’s Word without succumbing to the fear of man.

I, and my team, would greatly covet your prayers.

Pastor Andrew

HOW SOME SUCCEED

How does someone become "successful"? Whatever your field, you probably know of someone doing what you're doing, who is, to your bewilderment, far more successful than you. How many of us can make a better hamburger than McDonalds? Probably most of us!

...But how come Ronald is the richest clown on earth and we're scratching for parking-meter money? In studying the successful, one thing becomes clear: Success is not the domain of the most educated, the most beautiful, or even the hardest working.

¶ I have observed something else under the sun. The fastest runner doesn't always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn't always win the battle. The wise sometimes go hungry, and the skillful are not necessarily wealthy. And those who are educated don't always lead successful lives. It is all decided by chance, by being in the right place at the right time. 

Ecclesiastes 9:11 NLT

Success means different things. Despite what many think, attaining "success" is not merely a matter of 'luck'. Success nearly always has its reasons. The Successful know what these reasons are and how to implement them. But when the reasons and causes of success are not obvious, often survival takes precedence over success.
For example, I see this too many times with parents. They end up feeling frustrated that their kids won't do as they're told. No matter what bribes are offered or apparent levels of discipline exercised, these parents just don't seem to succeed with their kids. Similarly with some people who go into business and end up working long hours and losing money. They often blame the economy, their staff, or the government in their frustration. And we've all met people who tell us how they are trying to lose weight, but instead, put more on. These people are unsuccessful at losing weight. The difference between the successful and the unsuccessful is not simply effort.

¶ Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all.
Ecclesiastes 9:11

MISTAKES ABOUT SUCCESS

If you've ever attended a leadership or success seminar, you will undoubtedly hear that in order to succeed, you have to have a "Strategic Plan". A Strategic Plan is developed after a process of discovering the vision, the mission, and the goals a person or organisation has. The Successful have all done this formally (or at least informally). This includes successfully married couples and parents. This is why when I prepare a couple for marriage, I take them through a strategic plan process(although I don't call it this). But this is not the formula for success. It is one of the mistakes that people striving for elusive success make when they go through the process of Strategic Planning and think that the process itself is the formula for certain success. For a couple preparing for marriage, who want to succeed in their marriage, they need to answer the 'why' question (agree on their marriage's purpose) and the 'where' question (where is their marriage going to end up?). Parents need to do the same. But, to repeat myself, it is a mistake to think that this is all they need to do to succeed. Planning is considered by many to be "the key to success". It may be the 'key' but it only works if it's put into the right door-lock! It is a mistake to think that having the "key" is the same as being successful.

Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go.
Joshua 1:7

It is not uncommon for this mistake to be made even bigger when Christians are involved! Here's why…

All too often Christians generally make a simplistic series of mistakes when it comes to achieving success - thinking that they are being "faithful" Christians. Attend most Church Leadership (Success) Conferences and you'll hear why Vision is important, and Mission is equally important, and Goals are necessary. But the biggest mistake many Christians make is to think that they themselves play no part in whether they are successful or not (believing that God - and God alone - determines whether someone is successful). Of course, they don't call success: "luck" (they call it "being blessed") but they way think of "blessing" they might as well call it "luck"! The fact that Scripture commands believers, surely means that believers have the privilege to make choices and play a role in the direction of their life.

And David had success in all his undertakings, for the LORD was with him.
First Samuel 18:14

The third biggest mistake that Christians often make is to think that every problem is solved by prayer. "I guess all we can do is pray about it", they say. But this is rarely "all" we can do about it. Parents might pray that their pre-schooler learns the alphabet. They might pray really long and hard. But this is not all they can do in order to see their prayer answered! Similarly, pastors who want to see their church grow, should not think, "All I can do is pray." Pastors. like everyone else need to ask and answer the "how" question. Under the Old Covenant when God told Moses to construct the Tabernacle, Moses selected skilled and intelligent men who knew how to build. No one would accuse Moses of neglecting to pray, but praying isn't all that Moses did.

¶ "Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whom the LORD has put skill and intelligence to know how to do any work in the construction of the sanctuary shall work in accordance with all that the LORD has commanded."
Exodus 36:1

The fourth mistake about success, that is in risk of being worn-out, is that any success can only come about with the latest technology. Bear Grylls catches fish out in the wild with a long shoelace and a paper-clip, yet our local boating/fishing store advertised a fishing rod on our local TV station last night for $499! Hollywood has at times spent millions of dollars to produce viral YouTube clips and flopped more times than they care to admit. Yet some bored bloke with his $40 flip-phone, videos himself tickling his kitten and it gets 24 million views overnight! My racquet company of choice, Babolat, has just released a tennis racquet that is WiFi connected to a player's iPhone via an app which is allegedly going to help someone to play better tennis!

HOW, THE KEY INGREDIENT TO SUCCESS

Parents need to ask the 'How?' question in order to learn the skills necessary to foster happy, disciplined, polite, teachable, cooperative children. The Bible is replete with "How" advice for parents (such as, train, teach, counsel, discipline, establish boundaries, model the fear of the Lord, demonstrate reverence for God's Word and God's House, and so on). Business people need to also ask the "Yes, but how do we do it?" question. The Bible has things to say about this as well (invest appropriately, do your research, work diligently, treat staff well, sell at a fair price, remember the poor, and so on). But the Bible does not restrict the answer to the "How?" question merely to its own pages. The Bible encourages us to find wisdom and understanding beyond its pages in nature, in others, and in the writings of others.

¶ Go to the ant, O sluggard;
consider her ways, and be wise.
Proverbs 6:6
When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments.
Second Timothy 4:13

'HOW' TAKES COURAGE

Discovering how to do something is a two-stage process. The first stage is learning. It involves being instructed. It takes humility. It means acknowledging and discarding poor practices and adopting new ones. Thus, answering the 'how?' question demands change and it will not negotiate our terms of surrender. As difficult as this first stage of answering the 'how?' is, it is a walk in the park compared to the second stage: implementation. To implement a correct (but different) strategy requires great courage. The person who has tried and failed to lose weight is shown how to actually lose weight and is then expected to be at a friend's birthday party that night. It takes great courage to implement the proven plan in the midst of great temptation to do other.

¶ So here's what I think: The best thing you can do right now is to finish what you started last year and not let those good intentions grow stale.
Second Corinthians 8:10 MSG

The Pastor who learns 'how' to lead his church into growth must change what he has been doing (or what has been done), and then have the courage to wisely pastor his church through this period of change. Most pastors realise that for a church to grow past 200 people it must do several things better (AKA: "different"): train the church to care for each other, develop gifted leaders who are able to lead and exercise decision-making, connect everyone into a small group, shift the focus from 'meetings' to spiritual growth and health, phase-out insecurity and phase-in 'team' and, develop a "How" Strategy that everyone in the church knows and implements.

...we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
Ephesians 4:15b-16

For a church to grow in this manner it too must get the 'how?' answer. This is called being strategic. It's one thing to want something, but it's another entirely to know how to get it, and an utterly entirely other thing to have the courage to persist in doing it - even though in the short-term it looks like a complete failure! Parents will experience this when they introduce long-overdue boundaries for their children. Businesses will experience this when they implement new management structures and systems. Churches will experience this when they begin to implement the above list. And those trying to lose weight may even find they initially gain weight as their body-fat converts to the heavier body-muscle!

If you have ever discovered how to do something after a time of frustration in not knowing how to do something, you'll know the sheer joy and delight that comes with it. Finding out "how" comes from finding someone who does know how, and asking them to share their 'know-how'. It also comes from reading books written by people who know how. And one of the most accessible ways to discover 'how' is in a good church where teaching things relevant to living well are frequently addressed directly and modelled by many indirectly.

WE ALL SHARE THE QUEST FOR 'HOW'
TO FULFIL THE GRANDEST MISSION

There is a holy problem which causes all Christian leaders to continually ask: "How?" It is referred to as The Great Commission. Christian leaders who think deeply about this sacred problem, ask "How can we fulfil the Great Commission of discipling nations?" It soons becomes apparent that the answer is far bigger than one local church. It encompasses the health of churches in a community, the level cultural receptivity to the claims of the Bible, the way the media and arts portrays the claims of Christ and His followers, how these churches engage with the broader community, and the means used to communicate the Gospel with the world. Even the Apostle Paul asked the "How?" question about these issues. And so should we.

¶ How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?  And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!"
Romans 10:14-15

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT THAT YOU
LEARN HOW TO SUCCEED

As one of these Christian leaders who does continually ponder "How?" we can fulfil our part of the Great Commission, it is my hope that more and more followers of Christ will learn how to succeed individually, in their marriages, in their families, in their careers, in their businesses, and in their churches -- so that this kind of success becomes the training ground for the realsuccess that we must somehow find when it comes to discipling the nations of the world. This is why I have always told my children they can have whatever they want - we just have to figure out how.

Ps. Andrew