Review
“What I did today was good” Business as a Holy Calling? A Workbook for Christians in Business and Their Pastors. By Tim A Dearborn (Dynamis, 2015, 165 pp. $9.49 U.S.)
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wenty years ago Tim Dearborn interviewed 100 Christian business leaders and heard disturbing viewpoints. Very few: saw their work as ministry; had ever heard business affirmed as Christian service; had received church guidance for their work; or had a sense of how their business contributed to God’s kingdom. Meanwhile, polls show that 70 percent of employed Americans feel disengaged from their work or, worse, hate their jobs. “Surely that is not God’s will for humankind,” writes Dearborn. People should be able to end their working day saying, as God did on page one of the Bible, “What I did today was good.” Subtitled a workbook (and formatted accordingly), his book probes the notion that business, despite contrary images, can in fact be a holy calling. He casts a wide net to explore what the Bible says to businessfolk and other working Christians. By Dearborn’s tally, the working life is more present in Scripture than many realize. For example, 38 of 45 of Jesus’ parables occurred in and related to marketplace themes, and 112 out of his 122 public appearances were in the marketplace. Still, many spiritual implications of work go unnoticed. Churches, for example, “are called to equip and support members for their ministry in daily life, not primarily focus on recruiting and drawing members to come to and serve in church programs.” Thus, they miss vital connections
Business can contribute to God’s purposes to enable human flourishing and the thriving of creation with daily life. “We pray for those in our congregations who are unemployed to get work — but do we pray for our businesses and economy to flourish and generate meaningful jobs?” Dearborn, a former pastor who directs the Lloyd John Ogilvie Institute of Preaching at Fuller Theological Seminary, has produced a powerpacked manual for intensive study by businesspeople and pastors. It can be read alone, but it’s better to use it as a lever for theological exploration (if you are blessed enough to have a pastor so disposed). “What has to happen in order for 19
business to be a holy calling?” Dearborn asks. The short answer is that business “can contribute to God’s purposes to enable human flourishing and the thriving of creation.” He supports legitimate profit as one performance indicator, but sees beyond a narrow bottom line of earnings and shareholder value. “If working conditions and wages don’t contribute to people’s well being,” he asks, “then isn’t a business contrary to God’s purposes?” God’s economic system “affirms individual initiative and responsibility, and the freedom to acquire wealth,” he says. “Fruitful work is part of God’s good creation.” But there are caveats. The Bible cares for those at the bottom of the economy, and warns against piling up wealth without regard for the well-being of others. And in the biblical economy “the rights of foreign workers and immigrants are protected” (as in Deut 24:14-15, 17). For business to be a holy calling it must “ensure that the balances in the marketplace are fair, the wages and payments are just, and the integrity and honesty of the transactions are secure.” Dearborn sees huge spiritual potential for business. “Every business activity touches that which is sacred, regardless of the religious beliefs of the businessperson,” he says. One example is the spiritual impact of community. “With 100,000 lifetime hours spent there, the workplace is one of the most obvious venues for experiencing community,” he writes. “How might our interactions be impacted if we treated people knowing that those with whom we work, from whom we buy goods and services, to whom we market, and with whom we compete are sacred — creatures in the image of God?” — Wally Kroeker The Marketplace July August 2017
