7.祷 告、进 入…
5. God ga…
Open the session with a short time of prayer.
The first task God gave mankind is known as the Creation Mandate. It is the first objective of a complete ministry.
So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.’
Genesis1:27-28
Discussion.
The passage establishes being fruitful as the primary mandate. Discuss what this means and how it is distinct from ‘increasing in number’.
Prayer
How does the passage suggest mankind is to provide for the needs of increasing numbers of people?
Having established that we are called to be fruitful, we will now consider how this is to be achieved.
Teaching.
Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground
Genesis2:5
In Genesis chapter 2 we find the second account of creation. The earth is unproductive and yet to bear fruit. The reasons are twofold. The passage tells us that the Lord God had not yet sent the essential physical ingredient; rain. There was also a second equally important ingredient missing. There was no one to ‘work the ground’.
Achieving the primary goal of a fruitful creation requires two essential components; God’s part and our part. God provides the water, but He needs us to work and steward creation and maximize its fruitfulness through innovation, production, and cultivation. We are half of the solution. God is looking for people to work His creation and make it fruitful.
Few of us are farmers today. Do you think business is now the primary means by which we subdue the earth and ‘work the ground’, helping to make the earth productive and mankind fruitful?
We are called to be productive (fruitful). The business provides the framework for mankind to be fruitful. Business is therefore an essential part of God’s plan for creation.
Discussion.
The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.
Genesis2:15
In this passage, God adds a responsibility to care for His creation. It is the essential complement to work, if we are to be sustainably fruitful.
Discussion.
What does it mean to work creation?
What does it mean to care for creation?
Teaching.
One of the central concerns of modern business is sustainability. The accepted definition of sustainability provided by 1987
United Nations Bruntland Commission states ‘sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the
present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.’
Compare this to the following passage from the Bible.
If you come across a bird’s nest beside the road, either in a tree or on the ground, and the mother is sitting on the young or on the eggs, do not take the mother with the young.
Deut22:6
This verse provides a godly pattern for consumption and establishes a succinct approach to sustainable development.
Discussion.
Do you feel Christians have been proactive in promoting sustainability?
Consider the wisdom of this passage. What are the implications of this verse for Christians in business?
But in the seventh year, the land is to have a year of sabbath rest, a sabbath to the Lord. Do not sow your fields or prune your vineyards.
Leviticus25:4.
What are the wider implications of this verse for business? Consider the implications of this on both short-term and long-term productivity.
The Bible introduces the importance of care alongside work and establishes a sustainable approach to fruitfulness.
The right balance between work and rest is essential for sustaining the primary objective of fruitfulness in our lives.
By the seventh day, God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day, he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
Genesis2:2-3 .Exodus20:8-11 .
‘Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.’
Work Work Work God establishes a rhythm for our work. What are the hallmarks
of this rhythm?
If we are to prosper in business we must establish the right balance between working and resting. Do you have the balance right?
Never All the time Reflection.
Discuss the consequences of a workplace culture where it is ‘all work and no care’.
Do you have both the faith and discipline to rest?
Teaching.
As Kingdom Entrepreneurs, we are above all called to bear spiritual fruit. In John 15:5-8 Jesus tells us that we can only ‘bear much fruit’ by ‘remaining in Him’. He uses the analogy of remaining ‘in the vine’.
He is the vine and we are the branches on which the fruit grows. As Kingdom Entrepreneurs, the fruit that grows on our particular branch will be the result of how committed we are to nurture our connection with the vine. A balanced approach to rest is essential to getting this right.
Consider what the following verses show about the balance we must strike between work and care if we are to sustain fruitfulness.
I went past the field of a sluggard, past the vineyard of someone who has no sense; thorns had come up everywhere, the ground was covered with weeds, and the stone wall was in ruins.
I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw: a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest – and poverty will come on you like a thief and scarcity like an armed man.
Proverbs24:30-34 .2 Thess.3:10-13.
For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: ‘The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.’ We hear that some among you are idle and disruptive. They are not busy; they are busybodies. Such people, we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the food they eat. And as for you, brothers and sisters, never tire of doing what is good.
Is your work ethic more inclined towards ‘workaholic’ or ‘sluggard’?
Reflection.
Sluggard Workaholic What could you do this month to improve the work-life balance either for you or your colleagues?
God is asking us to trust Him by recognizing that we need to balance work with care. This rhythm establishes a sustainable approach to fruitfulness.
It is God’s intended outcome for both His disciples and creation to ‘bear much fruit. When mankind is sustainably fruitful, something of the kingdom of God is experienced on earth and all of society prospers.
It is our perspective on prosperity that drives our approach to work and care. Those called to business need to establish a godly perspective on prosperity. Only then can we maintain the right balance between work and care. A Godly vision for prosperity
Circle the zone of the graph which best describes the boundaries of your vision of a prosperous life (honestly!)
Describe your own vision of a prosperous life.
Activity.
Consider the different visions of prosperity in the following passages from Deuteronomy and Revelation.
Activity .
Deut.28:2-12a.
All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God:
You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.
The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock – the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.
Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed.
You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.
The Lord will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven.
The Lord will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The Lord your God will bless you in the land he is giving you.
The Lord will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the Lord your God and walk in obedience to him.
Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they will fear you.
The Lord will grant you abundant prosperity – in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock, and the crops of your ground – in the land he swore to your ancestors to give you.
The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands.
Rev.18:10b17a.
“Woe! Woe to you, great city, you mighty city of Babylon! In one hour your doom has come!”
The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her because no one buys their cargoes anymore – cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones, and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk, and scarlet cloth; every sort of citron wood, and articles of every kind made of ivory, costly wood, bronze, iron, and marble;
Compare the descriptions of prosperity in these passages. What are the key differences? Reflect on whether the passages show a vision of prosperity focussed on needs or wants. cargoes of cinnamon and spice, of incense, myrrh and frankincense, of wine and olive oil, of fine flour and wheat; cattle and sheep; horses and carriages; and human beings sold as slaves.
They will say, “The fruit you longed for is gone from you. All your luxury and splendor have vanished, never to be
recovered.” The merchants who sold these things and gained their wealth from her will stand far off, terrified at her torment. They will weep and mourn and cry out:
“Woe! Woe to you, great city, dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet and glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls! In one hour such great wealth has been brought to ruin!”
Activity.
Happiness is not having what you want but wanting what you have.
Reflection.
Reflect on the diagram above. Is the prosperity that you aspire to and are currently working towards between the moral limits and within the zone of Biblical prosperity?
Does your business promote and trade-off ‘poverty’, ‘needs’ or ‘wants’?
It is important to maintain a Biblical view of prosperity. Consider the following passages.
Ecclesiastes5:10-12.
Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless. As goods increase, so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owners except to feast their eyes on
them? The sleep of a laborer is sweet, whether they eat little or much, but as for the rich, their abundance permits them no sleep.
Activity.
In this scripture, what is revealed as the signs that we have lost the right perspective on prosperity?
This is what I have observed to be good: that it is appropriate for a person to eat, to drink, and to find satisfaction in their toilsome labour under the sun during the few days of life God has given them – for this is their lot. Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil – this is a gift of God. They seldom reflect on the days of their life, because God keeps them
occupied with gladness of heart.
Ecclesiastes5:18-20
The secret of a truly prosperous life is contentment. What does this passage from Ecclesiastes reveal about the ingredients of a truly prosperous life?
Having achieved a larger than expected profit, this successful entrepreneur decided to put his feet up and take life easy. He used his profit to secure his vision of a prosperous life. He failed to use God’s abundant provision to prosper others. He chose instead to walk away from a God-given opportunity to prosper in business for the commonwealth and forfeited his part in God’s plan for creation.
It did not end well; ‘This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich And he told them this parable: ‘The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, “What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.” Then he said, “This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain.
And I’ll say to myself, ‘You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.’” But God said to him, “You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?” This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich towards God.’
Luke12:16-21
towards God.’ This ‘rich man’ forfeited his God-given role and purpose as a fruitful farmer. With no remaining purpose or meaning in his life, he died.
What would have been a better response to a bumper profit?
Prosperity is like an overflowing cup. As more of God’s provision flows into our lives, we have a choice… let it overflow to others or reach for a bigger cup and store more for ourselves. We must cultivate a culture of extravagant generosity if we are to truly prosper in business.
Discussion.
Teaching.
1. Business has a crucial role to play in the creation of prosperity. A Kingdom Business strives to contribute towards God’s vision of a prosperous society rather than work against it. Prosperity is a good thing but it is essential that we pursue a godly vision of prosperity if we are to make our business a fruitful ministry.
The measure of true prosperity is not how much flows to us, so much as how much flows through and around us.
1. Close the session with a short time of prayer. Ask God to cultivate in you a godly vision of prosperity and the contentment to live it out.
6.爱 的 核 心
爱 的 核 心
祷 告
简短祷告后开始会议。
一个完备事工的关键性目标是新约有关爱的大诫命。
活 动
我们该爱谁？
有一个文士来，听见他们辩论，晓得耶稣回答的好，就问他说：“诫命中哪是第一要紧的呢？”耶稣回答说：“第一要紧的就是说：以色列啊，你要听！主我们神，是独一的主。你要尽心、尽
性、尽意、尽力，爱主你的神。” 其次就是说，“要爱人如己。”再没有比这两条诫命更大的了。
爱 的 核 心
马可福音12:28-31
我们该如何爱？
1. 教 导
任何一个事工必不可少的标志就是爱。营商事工最重要的是有关经商基督徒对上帝的爱。现在我们来思考在经商的环境中爱上帝意味着什么。
马可福音14:3-6
耶稣在伯大尼长大麻风的西门家里坐席的时候，有一个女人拿着一玉瓶至贵的真哪哒香膏来，打破玉瓶，把膏浇在耶稣的头上。有几个人心中很不喜悦，说：『何用这样枉费香膏呢？这香膏可以卖三十多两银子周济穷人。』他们就向那女人生气。耶稣说：『由她吧！为什么难为她呢？她在我身上作的是一件美事。
这女人有个决择，她可以用一年的工资来祝福一个人或很多人。
耶稣为什么支持她的选择？
有些人反对她的选择，思考这些人反对的原因。你对这女人的选
择有何感想？
讨 论.
耶稣赞同她的选择并表明祂很乐意成为“过度”表达爱的对象。祂挑战门徒的价值判断。我们应该采用耶稣的优先次序。
教 导
要遵守第一条大诫命，我们首先要明白怎样“过度地”爱上帝。经文中的这女人给我们做了榜样。她爱耶稣胜于金钱，并在她爱邻居之先。毫无疑问她爱主。由于今天我们不可能以这种方式来爱主耶稣，那么我们怎么能主动地表现出对耶稣的爱呢？下面是耶稣教导的两种方式。
耶稣回答说：“人若爱我，就必遵守我的道；我父也必爱他，并且我们要到他那里去，与他同住。”
约翰福音14:23
遵守上帝的道就表明我们爱上帝。当我们按照圣经的原则经商时，我们就是在爱上帝。
我们爱，因为神先爱我们。人若说『我爱神』，却恨他的弟兄，就是说谎话的；不爱他所看见的弟兄，就不能爱没有看见的神（有古卷：怎能爱没有看见的神呢）。爱神的，也当爱弟兄，这是我们从神所受的命令。
约翰一书4:19-21
作为国度企业家，我们必须牢记上帝爱我们。这是我们能积极主动地培育和表明我们对商业领域里的“兄弟姐妹”之爱的唯一基础。
现在我们来更深入地研究通过商业活动来爱他人的含义是什么。
经商的基督徒要学会如何用经商来爱上帝。这是最大的诫命。
耶稣关于爱我们的邻居的命令是福音的主要特征，也是任何一个基督教事工的标志。为了更好地理解如何在经商中表达爱，我们需要问一个问题：“在经商中，谁是我们的邻居？”
思考在你的生意中哪些人可以是你的邻居。我们发现考虑到与你生意有关的所有人和机构是很有帮助的。
下表是我们“商业邻居”的一些选项。
客户 合作伙伴 公众 供应商
同事 股东 竞争对手 环境
承包商 利益相关者 家庭 自己
讨 论
上面的这些人或者机构有哪些让你特别留意吗？为什么？
最难去爱的“商业邻居”可能就是我们的竞争对手了。讨论为
什么会这样，以及你会如何用实际行动表达对竞争对手的爱
讨 论
在经商中，什么人可能会被视为“敌人”？
讨论在经商中爱你的敌人的方法。
你们听见有话说：当爱你的邻舍，恨你的仇敌。只是我告诉你们，要爱你们的仇敌，为那逼迫你们的祷告。
马太福音5:43-44
在路加福音第 10 章，耶稣用好撒玛利亚人的寓言来说明爱我们的邻居意味着什么。故事中向邻居表现了爱的人不是那个宗教领袖，而是那撒玛利亚人。有趣的是，这个有爱心的有钱人也可能是个商人。他正沿着耶利哥和耶路撒冷之间那繁忙的贸易路线旅行，看起来他经常住在当地的旅馆里。
讨 论
你通常会将爱与商业交易联系起来吗？
教 导
雅虎高管蒂姆·桑德斯（Tim Sanders）认为爱应该是商业领袖的一个重要特征，我们对此表示同意。他说：“商业中最强大的力量不是贪婪，恐惧，甚至不是盲目竞争的原始能量。商业中最大的力量是爱。
”他在他的《论关怀》（On Caring）书中使用哲学家弥尔顿·梅耶洛夫（Milton Mayeroff）对爱的定义，写到：“爱是对他人成长无私的促进。当你帮助他人成长，成为他们所能成为的最好的人时，你就是在爱，其结果是你自己的成长。”
耶稣示范了相似的爱人的方式。在一生众多惊人的成就之后，耶稣宣布了一个伟大的领导力格言。他对门徒说；“你要做比这更大的事。”在管理学中再没有其他爱的格言可以和耶稣对门徒所说的这句话相比了。他真心希望门徒们成功，而这将使Teaching 教 导祂自己的事业蓬勃发展。爱的核心是对他人成长的渴望，这需要有知道自己本身是被爱的的安全感。
讨 论
你的同事，客户，甚至竞争对手取得比你更大的成就，你感受如何？
帮助我们的商业邻居成长如何带来我们自己的成长？
营商事工涉及爱我们所有的“商业邻居”。
我们现在来探讨我们可以采取怎样的实际措施来爱一些主要的“商业邻居”。首先来看看我们的员工。
马太福音20:1-15
因为天国好像家主，清早出去雇人，进他的葡萄园做工；和工人讲定，一天一钱银子，就打发他们进葡萄园去。
约在巳初出去，看见市上还有闲站的人；就对他们说：“你们也进葡萄园去，所当给的，我必给你们。”他们也进去了。约在午正和申初又出去，也是这样行。约在酉初出去，看见还有人站在那里；就问他们说：“你们为什么整天在这里闲站呢？”他们说：“因为没有人雇我们。”他说：“你们也进葡萄园去。”
看看这个故事中雇主的表现, 他的行为是如何表现出爱的？
耶稣用这个故事来挑战我们的价值判断。员工们没有感到平等被爱。你认为雇主的做法不公平吗？
到了晚上，园主对管事的说：“叫工人都来，给他们工钱，从后来的起，到先来的为止。”约在酉初雇的人来了，各人得了一钱银子。及至那先雇的来了，他们以为必要多得；谁知也是各得一钱。他们得了，就埋怨家主说：“我们整天劳苦受热，那后来的只做了一小时，你竟叫他们和我们一样么？”家主回答其中的一人说：“朋友，我不亏负你；你与我讲定的，不是一钱银子么？拿你的走罢；我给那后来的和给你一样，这是我愿意的。我的东西难道不可随我的意思用么？因为我作好人，你就红了眼么？”
讨 论
这个雇主积极为每个工人提供就业机会，并在一天结束时马上支付日用的工资（在罗马时代一个第纳里 denarius 被视为一天的工资）。这是一个按照上帝的方式经营的雇主。他按照申命记 24:15 的教导支付工资，表现了他对上帝的爱。他还选择慷慨地支付比所谓的“公平”工资更多的钱，这些举动表明了他对雇员和上帝的爱。
犹太虚拟图书馆
慈善的最高形式，是在人变得穷困潦倒之前，通过有尊严的方式提供可观的礼物，延长合适的贷款，帮助找到工作或帮助建立生意等方式，使这些人不会变得要依赖他人。
要当日给他工价，不可等到日落，因为他穷苦，把心放在工价上；恐怕他因你求告耶和华，罪便归你了。
教 学
申 命 记24:15
认识到通过雇用员工我们的企业正在表达一种最高形式的慷慨是很激励人心的。我们有很多方式去爱我们的雇员。首要的是提供就业，将丰厚的薪水与令人满意的工作相结合，使他人得以成功和发展。
圣经甚至提到了奖金。在撒母耳记上 30 章中有一段关于大卫如何分配掠物的记载。这段经文告诉我们“这是大卫的掠物”。战斗结束后，他和那些战斗的人回到了看守器具的人那里。跟随大卫人中的恶人和匪类说：“这些人既然没有和我们同去，
教 学
我们所夺的财物就不分给他们，”大卫的回应为经商的基督徒建立了重要的原则。这一点是如此重要，以至于大卫把它立为以色列的律列典章。大卫回答说：“弟兄们，耶和华所赐给我们的，不可不分给他们 … 应当大家平分。”这就是爱的方式。大卫认识到掠物是属于上帝的，并用这些掠物表明他对所有跟随者的爱。你可以如何更好地向员工表达爱？
当企业慷慨地提供工作时，这就是爱的举动
反 思
路加福音6:38
你们要给人，就必有给你们的，并且用十足的升斗，连摇带按，上尖下流地倒在你们怀里；因为你们用什么量器量给人，也必用什么量器量给你们。
商业经营通过将经济交易转化为爱的行动来向客户表达爱。这是通过提交比所支付的更多来实现的。这就是圣经所说的愿意多走一里路的原则。这个众所周知的圣经原则是一个名为 “乡村集市（Country Fare）”的成功国度企业的核心价值之一。他们将其描述为“我们愿意多走一里路，因为我们相信我们的客户，供应商和同事值得我们这样做”。这是对爱的承诺多么伟大的表达啊。他们的客户收到“这多出的一里路” 并不是因为付了钱，而是因为他们被爱。
为了更好地了解在职场中的爱是怎样的，观察商业交易中没有爱的情形会很有帮助。
教 导
路加福音 6:38
这段经文表明腐败和剥削往往是商业交易的特征。爱将挑战商业经营的现状。
你们这些要吞吃穷乏人、使困苦人衰败的，当听我的话！你们说：月朔几时过去，我们好卖粮；安息日几时过去，我们好摆开麦子；卖出用小升斗，收银用大戥子，用诡诈的天平欺哄人，好用银子买贫寒人，用一双鞋换穷乏人，将坏了的麦子卖给人。
讨 论
更多价值 公平价值 较少价值、你输了 他们输了上图的任何一端都是失宜的。在哪个区域你和你的客户能够双赢？讨论过于慷慨或过于省俭对你，你的企业以及你的客户的影响。
你是否同意“多走一里路”，提交比所支付的更多会为你和你的客户带来双赢？
圣经告诉我们，我们所有的努力如果没有爱，都将一无益处。爱的表现方式很多，但最重要的是内心的态度。圣经清楚地定义了爱的含义，正如下面的经文所说的。
我若将所有的周济穷人，又舍己身叫人焚烧，却没有爱，仍然与我无益。爱是恒久忍耐，又有恩慈；爱是不嫉妒；爱是不自夸，不张狂，不做害羞的事，不求自己的益处，不轻易发怒，不计算人的恶，不喜欢不义，只喜欢真理；凡事包容，凡事相信，凡事盼望，凡事忍耐。
反 思
哥林多前书13:3-7
你的生意表现出的爱的程度如何？在以下圣经定义的爱的每个特征旁写下 0-5 的分数。思考你将如何致力于提高低于 3 的分数，并主动地培养爱的态度，而不是剥削同事和客户。
耐心.
恩慈.
不嫉妒.
不自夸.
不张狂.
不做害羞的事.
不求自己的益处.
不轻易发怒.
不计算人的恶.
喜欢真理.
包容.
相信.
盼望.
忍耐.
总分./70
我们将引用雅虎 Tim Sanders 的几句话当作大诫命这一课的结束语。“还有最后一点：这样做并不是因为你期望得到回报 – 一种交换条件 — 而是因为这样做是对的。你对专业的慷慨行
为的回报期望越少，你所获得的就越多。”这当然就是爱的巨大奥秘，也就是当我们给予的时候，我们反而会得到。爱上帝Teaching 教 导和爱自己的最好方法就是爱别人。当我们积极主动地去爱我们的工作，我们的同事，我们的客户，甚至我们的竞争对手时，我们也一定会从中受益。最终，我们将收获自己所播的种。
当我们为他人放下自己的生命，将别人的利益置于自己的利益之上时，我们就是在爱。太多的时候，我们看到商业领导权被当成爱自己的机会。
当商业领袖致力于像爱自己一样爱他们的邻居时，商业经营就成为一个事工。不仅如此，当我们学会以经商的方式来表达我们对上帝的爱时，我们将会了解如何实践大诫命。当我们这样做时，我们将看到我们的生意变成了富有成果的事工。
最终，正是那些以爱的态度所做的事才能把我们的
生意界定为一个事工。毕竟，上帝就是爱，而爱的存在，在祂所有事业中是必不可少的标志。爱也因此是每一个基督教事工必不可少的标志。我们已经看到，经商中充满了爱的机会。因
而它有可能成为一个完备的事工。
经商提供了许多实践爱的大诫命的机会。
短暂祷告后结束会议。求上帝使你的企业成为一个充满爱的地方。
6.The cen…
The centrality of love
Prayer.
Open the session with a short time of prayer.
A key objective of a complete ministry is the New Testament’s Great Commandment to love.
Activity.
Who are we to love?
One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, ‘Of all the commandments, which is the most important?’
‘The most important one,’ answered Jesus, ‘is this…Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” The second is this: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” There is no commandment
greater than these.’
The centrality of love.
Mark12:28-31
How are we to love?
1. Teaching
An essential hallmark of any ministry is love. Business as a ministry is about Christians in business loving God, above all. We will now consider what it means to love God in the context of business.
Mark14:3-6
While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.
Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, ‘Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.’ And they rebuked her harshly. ‘Leave her alone,’ said Jesus. ‘Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me.’
The lady had a choice. She could use a year’s wages to bless one person or many people. Why did Jesus endorse her choice?
Some oppose her choice. Consider their reasons. How do you feel about the lady’s choice?
Discussion.
.
Jesus endorsed her choice and demonstrated that He was comfortable being the focus of extravagant expressions of love. He challenged the disciples’ value judgments. We need to
share Jesus’ priorities.
Teaching.
To obey the first commandment we need to foremost discover how to love God extravagantly. This is demonstrated by the woman in the scripture. She loved Jesus more than money and before loving her neighbors. There was no doubt she loved
the Lord. Since we cannot love Jesus in this way, how might we proactively demonstrate our love for Him today? Here are two ways Jesus taught.
Jesus replied, ‘Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.’
John14:23
We show love for God by obeying his teaching. When we do business in God’s way, in accordance with the Bible, we are loving God.
We love because he first loved us. Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.
1 John4:19-21
As Kingdom Entrepreneurs, we must remember that we are loved by God. This is the only basis on which we can then proactively nurture and demonstrate love for our commercial
‘brothers’ and ‘sisters’.
We will now look more closely at what it means to love others through the activities of a business.
Christians in business need to discover how to use business to love God. This is the greatest commandment.
Jesus’ command to love our neighbor is a central characteristic of the Gospel and a hallmark for any Christian ministry. In order to better understand how love is expressed in business, we need to ask the question ‘who, in business, is our neighbor?’
Consider who in business might be considered your neighbor. We have found it helpful to think of all those people and organizations with whom your business comes into contact.
The list below is a selection of our ‘business neighbors’.
Customers Partners Public Suppliers
Colleagues Shareholders Competitors Environment
Contractors Stakeholders Family Ourselves
Discussion.
Does any of this stand out to you? Why is that?
Probably the hardest ‘business neighbors’ to love are our competitors. Discuss why this might be and how you might practically demonstrate love for a competitor.
Discussion.
Who in business might be considered an ‘enemy’?
Discuss what is means to love your enemy in business.
‘You have heard that it was said, “Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…’
Matthew5:43-44
.
In Luke 10, Jesus illustrates what it means to love our neighbor through the parable of the Good Samaritan. The one who showed love to his neighbor was not one of the religious
leaders, but rather the Samaritan.
It is interesting to consider that this loving man of means might also have been a businessman. He was traveling along the busy trade route between
Jericho and Jerusalem and he seemingly stayed regularly in the local hotel.
Discussion.
Is love a characteristic you typically associate with business transactions?
Teaching.
Yahoo senior executive Tim Sanders thinks love should be a key characteristic of business leaders, and we agree. He says; ‘The most powerful force in business isn’t greed, fear, or even the raw energy of unbridled competition.
The most powerful force in business is love.’ He uses the philosopher Milton Mayeroff’s definition of love in his book ‘On Caring’ where he writes, ‘love is the selfless promotion of the growth of the other. When you help others grow, to become the best people that they can be, you are being loved – and as a result, you grow.’ What a great description of loving leadership.
Jesus demonstrated a similar approach to loving others. After a life of astonishing achievements, Jesus declares what is one of the great leadership axioms. He says to His disciples; ‘you will do greater things than these.’
There can be no more loving phrase in management than this expression by Jesus to His disciples. He genuinely wanted them to prosper. It would result in his own venture prospering. At the heart of love is the desire for others to grow. This requires the security of knowing you are yourself loved.
Discussion.
How do you feel about your colleagues, customers, and even your competitors, achieving greater things than you?
How does helping our business neighbors to grow result in our own growth?
Business as ministry involves loving all of our ‘business neighbors’.
We will now consider how our organizations can take practical steps to love some key ‘business neighbors’; firstly our employees.
Matthew20:1-15
‘For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.
‘About nine in the morning, he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. He told them, “You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.” So they went. He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing.
About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, “Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?” “Because no one
has hired us,” they answered. He said to them, “You also go and work in my vineyard.”
‘When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, “Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.”
The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of
they also received a denarius.
When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. “Those who were hired last worked only one hour,” they said, “and you have
made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.” But he answered one of them, Look at how the employer acts in this story. How did his actions demonstrate love?
Jesus uses this story to challenge our value judgments. The employees did not feel equally loved. Do you feel the employer’s approach was unfair?
“I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the
right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?”’
Discussion.
The employer actively sought to provide each of the labourers with employment and promptly paid a living wage at the end of the day (a denarius in Roman times was considered a day’s wages).
This was an employer who did business God’s way. By
paying them in accordance with Deuteronomy 24:15 he demonstrated his love for God. The employer also chose to generously pay more than what was considered ‘fair’. These
actions showed love to both the employees and God.
Jewish Virtual Library
The highest form of charity is to help sustain a person before they become impoverished by offering a substantial gift in a dignified manner, or by extending a suitable loan, or by helping them find employment or establish themselves in business so as to make it unnecessary for them to become dependent on others.
Pay them their wages each day before sunset, because they are poor and are counting on it. Otherwise, they may cry to the Lord against you, and you will be guilty of sin.
Teaching.
Deut.24:15
It is highly motivating to realize that our businesses are expressing one of the highest forms of generosity by employing people. There are many ways in which we might love our
employees. First and foremost, it is by providing employment and combining the paying of generous salaries with the provision of satisfying work. This enables others to prosper and
grow.
The Bible even has something to say about bonuses. There is an account in 1 Samuel 30 of how David divided the plunder.
The passage tells us that ‘this is David’s plunder’. After the battle, he and those who had fought returned to the men who had been guarding the supplies. The troublemakers among
David’s followers said, “Because they did not go out with us, we will not share with them the plunder we recovered.”
David’s response established an important principle for Christians in
business. It was so important that David made it a statute and ordinance for Israel. ‘David replied, “No, my brothers, you must not do that with what the Lord has given us…The share
of the man who stayed with the supplies is to be the same as that of him who went down to the battle. All shall share alike.”’
This is the way of love. David recognized that the plunder was the Lord’s and used it to demonstrate his love for all of his employees.
How might you better show love to your employees?
When a business provides generous employment, it is an act of love.
Reflection.
Luke6:38
‘Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to
you.’
A business shows love to its customers by transforming an economic transaction into an act of love. This is achieved by delivering more than is being paid for. This is about being
willing to go the extra mile. This well-known Biblical axiom is one of the core values of a successful Kingdom Business called Country Fare. They describe it as ‘we are willing to go the extra
mile because we believe our customers, suppliers, and coworkers deserve it’. What a great expression of commitment to love. Their customers don’t receive ‘the extra mile’ because it
is being paid for but because they are loved.
To better understand what love might look like in the workplace, it might be helpful to observe what it looks like when love is absent in a business transaction.
Teaching.
Hear this, you who trample the needy and do away with the poor of the land, saying, ‘When will the New Moon be over that we may sell grain, and the Sabbath be ended that we may
market wheat?’– skimping on the measure, boosting the price and cheating with dishonest scales, buying the poor with silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, selling even the sweepings with the wheat.’
Luke 6:38
This passage illustrates the corruption and exploitation that can all too often characterize business transactions. Love will challenge the business status quo.
Discussion
Either end of the spectrum illustrated above is inappropriate. Where on the spectrum is the win-win zone where both you and your customers prosper? Discuss the consequences of
being either too generous or too frugal on you, your business and your customers.
Discussion.
Do you agree that ‘going the extra mile and delivering more than is being paid for results in a win-win for you and your customers?
The Bible tells us that we have achieved nothing if all our hard work is without love. Love is shown in many ways but above all it is an attitude of the heart. The Bible clearly defines what love entails. It is summarised in the scripture below.
If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hope, always perseveres.
Reflection.
1 Cor.13:3-7
How well is your business demonstrating love? Place a score of 0-5 next to each Biblical characteristic of love. Consider how you might commit to improving a score that is lower than 3 and proactively seek to cultivate an attitude of love rather then exploitation towards your colleagues and customers.
Patient.
Kind.
Not envious.
Not boastful.
Not proud.
Not dishonoring,
Not self-seeking.
Not easily angered.
Keeps no record of wrongs.
Rejoices in the truth.
Protects.
Trusts.
Hopes.
Perseveres.
Total score: /70
We finish this section on the Great Commandment with a final word from Yahoo’s Tim Sanders; ‘And one last point: Behave this way not because you expect something in return — a quid pro quo — but because it’s the right way to behave. The less you expect in return for acts of professional generosity, the more you will receive.’ That, of course, is the great mystery of love. It is as we give that we will, in turn, receive.
The best way for us to love God and love ourselves is to love others. When we actively seek to love our work, our colleagues, our customers, and even our competitors, we can be sure to benefit as well. After all, we reap what we sow. It is when we lay our own lives down for others, putting their interests above our own, that we are acting in love. All too often business leadership is seen as an opportunity to love ourselves. Business becomes a ministry when business leaders commit to love their neighbors as they love themselves.
More than this, it is when we learn to demonstrate our love for God, in and through the way we do business, that we will have discovered how to fulfill the Great Commandment. When we do, we will see our business transformed into a fruitful ministry.
Ultimately, it is those activities that are carried out in an attitude of love which will define our business as a ministry.
After all, God is love, and the presence of love is a necessary hallmark in all of His ventures. Love is therefore an essential hallmark of every Christian ministry. We have seen that
business is rich in opportunities to love. It, therefore, has the potential to become a complete ministry.
The business provides many opportunities to fulfill the Great Commandment to love.
Close the session with a short time of prayer. Ask God to make your business a place that is characterized by love.
5.人类被称为创造…
简短祷告后开始会议。
上帝赋予人类的第一项任务被称为创造托管。这是一个全备的事工的首要目标。
神就照着自己的形象造人，乃是照着祂的形象造男造女。神就赐福给他们，又对他们说：『要生养众多，遍满地面，治理这地，也要管理海里的鱼、空中的鸟，和地上各样行动的活物。
创世记1:27-28
讨 论
这段经文明确指出神首要的命令就是“生养”。讨论一下“生养”是什么意思，它与“众多”有什么不同？
祷 告
一个富有成果的事工
这段经文如何表明人类必须满足人口增加的需求？
明确了神要我们生养众多后，现在来思考一下如何实现这一目标。
教 导
野地还没有草木，田间的菜蔬还没有长起来；因为耶和华神还没有降雨在地上，也没有人耕地.
创世记2:5
在创世记第二章，我们看到创造的第二个记述，地球还没有生长，果实尚未结出。原因是双重的，经文告诉我们，神还没有提供必不可少的成分：雨。而且还缺少另一个同样重要的成分：没有人“耕地”。
实现被造的主要目的“生养众多”需要两方面的因素：一方面是上帝，另一方面是我们。上帝提供水，但祂需要我们做工并管理祂的创造，通过创新，生产和耕种使其成果最大化。我们是解决方案一半的因素。上帝期待人类来管理祂的创造并使之结果子。
今天我们很少有人是农夫了。你认为商业是我们现在治理“耕种”这地，从而使地球多产以及人类生养众多的主要手段吗？
神要我们生养众多。商业为人类生养众多提供了构架。因此，商业是上帝创造计划的重要组成部分。
讨 论
耶和华神将那人安置在伊甸园，使他修理，看守。
创世记2:15
在这段经文中，上帝增加了看守祂的创造的责任。如果我们要持续地结果子，我们的工作必须兼顾这一责任。
讨 论
修理神的创造是什么意思？
看守神的创造是什么意思？
教 导
持 续 结 果 子
现代商业经营关注的重点之一是可持续性。1987 年联合国布伦特兰委员会提出的被公认的“可持续性”的定义是：“可持续性发展是指在不损害子孙后代满足其自身需求的能力之情况下，满足当前需求的发展。”
将这个定义与以下圣经中的经文进行比较。
你若路上遇见鸟窝，或在树上或在地上，里头有雏或有蛋，母鸟伏在雏上或在蛋上，你不可连母带雏一并取去。
22:6申命记
这节经文提供了一个上帝喜悦的消费模式，并为可持续发展建
立了一个简明的途径。
讨 论
你认为基督徒在促进可持续发展方面积极主动吗？
思考这节经文的智慧。这节经文对经商的基督徒有什么含意？
第七年，地要守圣安息，就是向耶和华守的安息，不可耕种田地，也不可修理葡萄园。
25:4利未记
这节经文对商业有什么更广泛的含意？思考它对短期和长期生产效率的影响。
圣经提出了工作中看顾护理的重要性，并确立要用可持续的方法取得成果。
工作和休息之间正确的平衡对于我们一生都要持续结果子的首
要目标来说至关重要。
到第七日，神造物的工已经完毕，就在第七日歇了祂一切的工，安息了。神赐福给第七日，定为圣日；因为在这日，神歇了祂一切创造的工，就安息了。
2:2-3创世记 .20:8-11 出埃及记
‘当记念安息日，守为圣日。六日要劳碌做你一切的工，但第七日是向耶和华——你神当守的安息日。这一日你和你的儿女、仆婢、牲畜，并你城里寄居的客旅，无论何工都不可做；因为六日之内，耶和华造天、地、海，和其中的万物，第七日便安息，所以耶和华赐福与安息日，定为圣日。’
保 持 平 衡
上帝为我们的工作确立了节奏。这种节奏的标志是什么
如果我们想要生意兴隆，就必须在工作和休息之间建立适当的平衡。你的工作和休息平衡吗？
思 考
讨 论,休息,没有平衡过 一直都平衡工作
讨论“只有工作没有看顾护理”的职场文化之恶果。
你有休息的信念和纪律吗？
教 导
作为国度企业家，我们首要的是被呼召结属灵的果子。耶稣在约翰福音 15:5-8 中告诉我们：我们只能通过“在祂里面”来“结出很多果子”。主耶稣用了“在葡萄树上”的比喻。祂是葡萄树，我们是结果子的枝子。作为国度企业家，在我们这特定枝子上生长的果子，就是我们努力连在葡萄树上的决心所带来的结果。而要正确地做到这一点，平衡对待休息的态度是至关重要的。
请看以下几节经文如何说明我们若要持续地结果子，就必须在工作和看顾护理之间取得平衡。
我经过懒惰人的田地、无知人的葡萄园，荆棘长满了地皮，刺草遮盖了田面，石墙也坍塌了。我看见就留心思想；我看着就领了训诲。再睡片时，打盹片时，抱着手躺卧片时，你的贫穷就必如强盗速来，你的缺乏仿佛拿兵器的人来到。
24:30-34 箴 言 .3:10-13.帖撒罗尼迦后书
我们在你们那里的时候，曾吩咐你们说，若有人不肯做工，就不可吃饭。因我们听说，在你们中间有人不按规矩而行，什么工都不做，反倒专管闲事。我们靠主耶稣基督吩咐、劝戒这样的人，要安静做工，吃自己的饭。弟兄们，你们行善不可丧志。
你的工作理念更倾向于“工作狂”还是’懒汉’？
思 考
本月你可以做什么来改善你或同事工作与生活的平衡？
上帝要我们通过承认我们需要工作与看顾护理的平衡来信靠祂。这种平衡确立了一个可持续结果子的途径。
教 导
懒汉 工作狂上帝的计划是祂的门徒和创造都“多结果子”。当人们持续性地结果子时，上帝的国度就会某种程度地在地上发生，整个社会都会富裕。
我们富裕的看法决定着我们处理工作和看顾护理的方式。被呼召经商的人要建立起符合神心意的富裕观。只有这样，我们才能在工作与看顾护理之间保持适当的平衡。
描述你自己眼中的富裕生活。
活 动
思考以下《申命记》和《启示录》中的几段经文所表达的不同富裕观。
活 动
28:2-12a申命记
你若听从耶和华你神的话，这以下的福必追随你，临到你身上：
你在城里必蒙福，在田间也必蒙福。
你身所生的，地所产的，牲畜所下的，以及牛犊、羊羔，都必蒙福。
你的筐子和你的抟面盆都必蒙福。
你出也蒙福，入也蒙福。
仇敌起来攻击你，耶和华必使他们在你面前被你杀败；他们从一条路来攻击你，必从七条路逃跑。
在你仓房里，并你手所办的一切事上，耶和华所命的福必临到
你。耶和华 你神也要在所给你的地上赐福与你。
你若谨守耶和华你神的诫命，遵行祂的道，祂必照着向你所起的誓立，你作为自己的圣民。
天下万民见你归在耶和华的名下，就要惧怕你。
你在耶和华向你列祖起誓应许赐你的地上，他必使你身所生
的、牲畜所下的、地所产的，都绰绰有余。
耶和华必为你开天上的府库，按时降雨在你的地上。在你手里所办的一切事上赐福与你。
启示录18:10b17a.
“哀哉！哀哉！巴比伦大城，坚固的城啊，一时之间你的刑罚就来到了。”
地上的客商也都为她哭泣悲哀，因为没有人再买他们的货物了；这货物就是金银、宝石、珍珠、细麻布、紫色料、绸子、朱红色料、各样香木、各样象牙器皿、各样宝贵的木头和铜、铁、汉白玉的器皿，并肉桂、荳蔻、香料、香膏、乳香、酒、油、细面、麦子、牛、羊、车、马和奴仆、人口。
巴比伦哪，你所贪爱的果子离开了你；你一切的珍馐美味和华美的对象也从你中间毁灭，决不能再见了。贩卖这些货物、借着她发了财的客商，因怕她的痛苦，就远远地站着哭泣悲哀，说：
“哀哉！哀哉！这大城啊，素常穿着细麻、紫色、朱红色的衣服，又用金子、宝石，和珍珠为妆饰。一时间这么大的富厚就归于无有了。”
活 动欲 望
比较这些经文中关于富裕的描述。它们主要的区别是什么？思考经文所显示的富裕是以需要还是以欲望为重点的。
快乐不是拥有你想要的，而是珍惜你所拥有的。需 要道德界限,符合圣经原则的富裕区间,知 足,富 裕,贫 穷
反 思
反思上图，你所向往和正在追求的富裕是在道德界限之内，并在符合圣经原则的富裕区间吗？
你的公司倡导“贫穷”，“需求”或“欲望”的折衷吗？
保持符合圣经原则的富裕观是很重要的。思考以下经文。
5:10-12传道书5：10-12
贪爱银子的，不因得银子知足；贪爱丰富的，也不因得利益知足。这也是虚空。货物增添，吃的人也增添，物主得什么益处呢？不过眼看而已！劳碌的人不拘吃多吃少，睡得香甜；富足人
的丰满却不容他睡觉。
活 动
这段经文表明什么是我们失去了正确的富裕观的信号？
我所见为善为美的，就是人在神赐他一生的日子吃喝，享受日光之下劳碌得来的好处，因为这是他的分。神赐人资财丰富，使他能以吃用，能取自己的分，在他劳碌中喜乐，这乃是神的恩赐。他不多思念自己一生的年日，因为神应他的心使他喜乐。
5:18-20传道书
真正的富裕生活的秘诀是知足。传道书的这段经文所揭示的真正的富裕生活的要素是什么？
就用比喻对他们说：有一个财主田产丰盛；自己心里思想说：“我的出产没有地方收藏，怎么办呢？”又说：“我要这么办：要把我的仓房拆了，另盖更大的，在那里好收藏我一切的粮食和财物。”神却对他说：“无知的人哪，今夜必要你的灵魂；你所预备的要归谁呢？”凡为自己积财，在神面前却不富足的，也是这样。
12:16-21路加福音
有位成功的企业家在取得了超出预期的盈利后，决定好好休息过轻松的生活。他用所得的盈利过上了自己期望的富裕生活。他没有利用上帝丰富的供应来造福他人。相反地，他选择放弃上帝给与的以经商的成功来创造共同富裕的机会，因此也丧失了上帝创造计划中原属于他的一席之地，其结局是不会好的；“凡为自己积财，在神面前却不富足的，也是这样。”这个“富翁”放弃了上帝赋予他做个有成果的“农夫”的角色和目的，在度过了没有其他目的和意义的后半生之后，他死了。
对待特大盈利更好的反应是什么？
富裕就像个满得溢出水的水杯，随着更多上帝的供应进入我们的生命，我们面临一个选择：让它溢出惠及他人，或拿个更大
讨 论
教 导
的杯子为自己积蓄更多。如果我们想要商业经营真正地繁荣发展，我们就必须培养一种慷慨大方的文化。
经商对创造繁荣起着至关重要的作用。国度企业要努力为上帝繁荣昌盛的社会愿景做出贡献，而不是相反。繁荣是一件好事，但如果我们要使我们的商业经营成为有成果的事工，就必须追求上帝眼中的繁荣昌盛。
真正富裕的衡量标准不是我们得到了多少，而是有多少通过我们惠及了他人。
上帝、我们,其他人
简短祷告后结束会议。祈求上帝在你心中培育合神心意的富裕
观以及把它活出来的满足感。
4.Christi…
Open the session with a short time of prayer.
At the core of BizMin is the idea that business can be transformed into a Christian ministry. This session will explore the nature of Christian ministry and how your business can systematically become a fruitful ministry. We believe that if it is your business, it is also your ministry.
Reflection
Imagine serving God faithfully every day, becoming a person who walks by faith, practicing what you preach and trusting God for your daily provision. You are confident in God’s calling, free from worry, and clear in purpose. You know you are engaged in a good work to which you have been called, and others support and endorse you in this. At the end of your days, when it is all done, you will look back with satisfaction and look forward with anticipation of treasure stored in heaven and the words “Well done, good and faithful servant! Come and share your master’s happiness!” You will have lived a truly prosperous and satisfying life; one lived to the full. Wow, it sounds amazing! It sounds like what all Christians long for. It sounds like a life spent in fruitful ministry.
Does this describe your life?
Always.
Sometimes.
Maybe someday.
The Encyclopaedia of Christianity Online defines ministry as ‘carrying forth Christ’s mission in the world’ and states that this is ‘fundamentally the task of the church, the whole people of God, and is conferred on each Christian in baptism.’
Discuss whether you agree with this definition of ministry. Write your own definition.
Discussion.
Do you think business can become a Christian ministry?
The term that we translate as ‘ministry’ is from the Greek word ‘Diakonia, meaning, ‘to serve.’ Discuss how an attitude of service, rather than self-interest, might transform the prevailing culture of business.
1.What are the primary activities and purposes of a business?
Activity.
Purpose.
2.Take a moment to consider some of the more fruitful church ministries that you are aware of. What are the primary activities and purposes of these traditional Christian ministries?
Activity.
Purpose.
Discuss the similarities and differences, identifying potential areas of overlap and conflict, between the activities of a business and those of a church ministry.
Consider how church and business have complementary roles and can work in partnership to achieve God’s purposes for the wellbeing of society.
Discussion.
Consider how business might remove or reduce the demand for many church ministries, enabling the Church to focus its resources on its primary ministries of preaching the gospel and equipping the saints for works of service.
We believe that church and business are two complementary elements in God’s plan for society.
Consider what the passages below tell us about the relationship between business and ministry.
Activity.
Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters…to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: you should mind your own
business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.
1 Thess.4:10b-12 , Colossians3:23-24
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
A business can become a fruitful Christian ministry. The business could be an essential partner to the Church in
carrying forth Christ’s mission in the world.
Business as a ministry is about the outworking of our faith and Business as a ministry is about the outworking of our faith and Christ’s mission in the context of our business. The Bible encourages God’s people to express the work of Christ in a balanced manner. Different streams and traditions within the Christian community can be prone to place the emphasis of this outworking quite differently. The diagram below illustrates the three broad areas of emphasis by which God’s people ‘carry forth Christ’s mission in the world’. These are Spirit, Word, and Deeds.
Throughout history Christians have struggled to maintain a well-balanced approach to all three, tending towards a spirituality that favors one or two, but rarely all three. Our goal is for your business to be a complete ministry. This requires actively balancing all three.
The following pages contain stories of Kingdom Entrepreneurs who have demonstrated how each has been outworked in their business.
As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
James2:26
Teaching.
SIR TITUS SALT (1803-1876)
Titus Salt was more than a gifted businessman. What made him unique to many other industrialists of the Industrial Revolution was his compassion for his employees and the practical manner by which he demonstrated his faith. Moved by the squalid conditions, his workers were living in, he decided to do something about it. With over two hundred factory chimneys continually churning out black, sulfurous smoke, the northern England town of Bradford had gained a reputation for being the most polluted town in England. Salt was one of the few employers in the town who showed any concern for the problem. After much experimentation, he discovered a burner that produced very little pollution and in 1842 he arranged for these burners to be used in all his factories. When he realised other factory owners and the council were unwilling to take action over the pollution, he decided to move his operations out of Bradford.
Salt consolidated his factories into one large factory and called the new complex Saltaire. Built in 1853, ‘Saltaire was so bold in its conception, so extensive in its design, so complete in its execution, that it placed the owner on a pinnacle of fame, without a rival’. Suffice to say, it was a special and well-respected new community. The factory complex was located on the banks of the River Aire and included a village for Salt’s employees. He not only pioneered cleaner production; he also provided his workers with good quality homes in a healthy environment.
His village included shops, a church, and schools for both adults and children. The community of Saltaire was seen as an example of a village ‘which embraced architectural comfort and at the same time moral order in a paternalistic community.’ Salt proved that it was possible to be highly successful in the textiles industry without exploiting his workers. He took practical steps which demonstrated that a successful business could care for its employees. His Christian compassion was demonstrated by his deeds.
Salt was a generous man and a great philanthropist of the Victorian age. He helped his workers achieve unprecedented living standards for the time. He had a reputation for generously rewarding his employees and in 1857 he hired three trains to transport around 2,500 workers to the Exhibition of the Art Treasures of the United Kingdom.
When he died in 1876, although he had been an extremely rich man, his family was horrified that his fortune was gone. It has been estimated that during his life he had given away over £500,000 to good causes, a huge sum in the mid 19th century.
Salt believed that by helping his employees to live healthier life he was doing God’s work. He was a devout Christian and his coat of arms read, ‘what not by the help of God?’ He was committed to applying his faith through practical action that showed God’s love and compassion holistically for those in his care.
Titus Salt showed his faith by his deeds.
How did Salt’s approach to business demonstrate faith through deeds?
Is your approach to business revealing your faith through your
deeds?
Discussion.
Reflection.
Teaching.
1 Corinth1:23a
but we preach Christ crucified…
SIR JOHN LAING （1879-1978）
John Laing was a successful construction entrepreneur, creating one of the largest construction companies in the UK. The Laing family belonged to a thriving Brethren church in Carlisle, where John Laing learned to rely heavily on the wisdom of the Bible. He was committed to his evangelical beliefs and sought to apply God’s Word to his business.
Laing became a Christian at the age of seven and was passionate about sharing the gospel. On one occasion, when he was waiting to receive an honor from the Queen, he asked the person standing next to him whether he was ready to be received in the court of heaven. He sought to never miss an opportunity to preach Christ, whatever the context.
Laing had high standards and could be tough on staff, but he was also generous and took a very personal interest in his employees. On one occasion he found a man looking tired on-site and asked what the matter was. The man told him he was having to do the housework and look after his children before starting work at 7am, because his wife was ill. Laing disappeared, only to return and give the man two weeks off with full pay. On getting home, the man discovered that Laing had been and checked out his story, leaving £5 on the kitchen table; a generous
gift at the time.
Laing was also a pioneer of professional cost estimating. In his day clients would often only discover that their budget was going to be exceeded as the project neared completion, with resulting losses and disputes. He revolutionized his industry by taking Jesus at His word. In Luke 14.28 Jesus says; “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it?” Laing made sure that his company did just that. This is a good example of how he explicitly applied the Word to his work. Today, the whole industry is doing this particular aspect of business God’s way!
Laing’s commitment to God’s Word led him to begin practices like sick pay, pension schemes, and pay during poor weather lay-offs, long before these practices were required by law. Laing also used his business to quite literally build God’s Kingdom. On completing the building of Coventry Cathedral, he returned the profit to the church.
He also built many churches at a cost price and when the company built houses, they would build extra houses for missionaries at the same time. As his business prospered, he also went on to become a significant funder of various Bible colleges and student outreach organizations. Whenever he called by, his question was the same; ‘How many students have become Christians this week?’
Laing sought to practice what he preached. He was a man committed to applying the Word of God and his evangelical fervor to and through his business activities and the other ministries it helped enable.
How did God’s word influence Laing’s business practice?
Reflection.
Are you able to ‘practice what you preach’? Are you allowing
God’s word to influence the policies and practices of your
company?
Discussion.
My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s
power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.
1 Corinth.2:4-5
LOWELL ‘BUD’ PAXSON (1935-2015)
Bud Paxson founded the Home Shopping Network in the US and later became an evangelical Christian who pioneered PAX TV, the largest family-friendly television network. This is his story. In 1986, four years after he founded the Home Shopping Network, it was experiencing meteoric growth. Paxson was traveling all over the world and was away from home 260 days a year. His financial position exploded, but so too did his marriage. On Christmas Day 1986, Paxson’s wife broke the news that she was leaving him. He considered this the lowest point of his life. “I was absolutely and completely bankrupt. I was a millionaire, yet all of my success was worthless because I had lost my wife and wasn’t close to my kids” recalls Paxson. His Christmas gift to the family for 1986 had already been arranged; a trip to Las Vegas. His adult children urged him to go, despite the news from his wife, so Paxson headed to Vegas. On New Year’s Eve, after all the festivities had ended, he remained unable to sleep. At 4 am, he felt an urge to read the Bible, something he
Teaching.
hadn’t done since he was a child at Sunday school. Locating one in a drawer next to the bed, he read Romans 5:8; ‘But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us’ and gave his heart to Christ. It was the turning point in his life. Paxson had an insatiable appetite for learning the Bible and with the help of a local pastor, he began to truly understand how to live a life committed to Jesus Christ.
His business practices began to change too and the Home Shopping Network flourished. When he sold the company, his take was $118M. At this point, Paxson could have retired and/or given the money to charity. Instead, he used the money to buy local television stations at a time when many were selling.
Although the plan to purchase these apparently failing television stations seemed illogical, the Lord had given Paxson peace about the plan. It paid off when, soon after, a Supreme Court decision imposed a ‘must-carry rule mandating that cable operators include all broadcast stations in a given market on their channel offerings.
This greatly increased the value of the supposedly worthless stations he had just purchased. He then parlayed these acquisitions into the creation of the television network PAX TV which he used to combat what he called ‘the moral manure’ found on television. He pledged that Pax (the Roman word for peace) would not air gratuitous sex, violence, or bad language. “I want it to be parables and storytelling, which is what Jesus did”.
J. GUNNAR OLSON
Gunnar Olson is a Swedish entrepreneur and founder of the International Christian Chamber of Commerce. He is the owner and Chairman of Alfapac, a high-tech plastic film manufacturing company. He often teaches about ‘a release under the Lordship of Christ and actively believes that a business, reconciled to Christ, has a place in the Kingdom of God, making the Kingdom manifest ‘through spirit, by faith.’
He tells of a wonderful example. His company was coming to the end of a significant production run and had produced several million pounds of silage bags that were ready for shipment. Just a few days before they were due to be shipped, the production manager came to Gunnar looking troubled.
‘I think we’ve come to the end of the road at Alfapac,’ he said. It turned out that all of the bags were faulty. The fault had not been identified during production and over one thousand pallets of stock, ready to be shipped, could not be used. The business was facing bankruptcy.
This is how Gunnar responded; ‘I assembled the family and shared the news. Then we decided how we would deal with the problem in prayer. We would simply present the situation to the Lord and then listen to the Holy Spirit because we had given the company to Him.
While they were praying a man rang and said, ”I don’t know what’s going on, but I have a word for you. You must speak to the invisible.” That word of encouragement was enough. Our faith was sealed.’ It is worth quoting what they did next in full, from his excellent book, Business Unlimited.
‘He had told me the bad news on Friday, and the first opportunity we had to visit the factory and see all the pallets were on Sunday evening. Driving out, we agreed that we would not allow even the tiniest piece of sealed plastic to remain after we had prayed. As we stood holding hands in the yard,
I was glad I hadn’t seen all the pallets before. They were everywhere! To the natural eye, it was overwhelming. For a while, we stood and praised the Lord for his faithfulness and mercy. Then I yelled at the top of my voice, “Listen heaven and earth! Who is the Lord over Alfapac? His name is Jesus! In the name of Jesus, I commanded all those plastic molecules to come back into line!”
Praying in tongues, we laid hands on each pallet and after three hours we had finished. We went home. The job was done. On Monday morning, my brother ordered the whole factory staff to open all the boxes and check their content. To the glory of God, no bag was sealed! What a mighty God we serve!
This is the glory element that becomes visible as we submit every aspect of our lives to Him. There is a joy that carries us through as we work with him, and He is excellent in everything He does. That is the difference between a secular business and one that is given over to the Lord. His glory and His life are manifest in the workplace.’
The examples of Paxson and Gunnar illustrate how it is possible to lead a modern business in both the peace and the power of the Holy Spirit.
How were their businesses led by the Spirit?
Reflection.
Do you prayerfully ask the Holy Spirit to guide your business decisions? Do you act in the power of the Holy Spirit at work?
These business leaders made their business their ministry. We hope their testimony inspires you to do likewise.
Discussion.
Reflection.
Take a moment to reflect on your approach to business. Which area, if any, do you emphasize?
What practical steps might you take to achieve a spiritual balance in your business? If time permits, consider the
significance of 1 Corinthians 12:12-14 and Ephesians 4:11-13.
We must strive to ensure that our business is a complete ministry.
Close the session with a short time of prayer. Ask God to help you live out a complete ministry in and through your business.
4.商业经营为主内…
简短祷告后开始会议。
课程的核心思想是商业经营可以变成一个主内事工。 本课将探讨主内事工的性质，以及如何系统性地将你的商业经营转变成一个富有成果的事工。我们相信，如果这是你的商业经营，那么它就是你的事工。
反 思的定义
想象一下每天都忠诚地事奉上帝，成为一个靠信仰而行的人，怎么教导别人自己就怎么做，并相信上帝将供给你每日所需。你对上帝的呼召充满信心，没有忧虑，也目标清晰。你知道自己所做的正是上帝呼召你去做的善工，而其他人也对此表示支持和认可。在你生命的终点，一切行将结束之时，你将心满意足地回顾过去，并期待天上的财宝和“做得好，你这又良善又忠心的人！进来享受你主人的快乐吧！”这句话。你会过真正兴旺和令人满意的生活，一个丰盛的人生。哇，这听起来真棒！正像所有基督徒都渴望的生活，就是在富有成果的事工中度过一生。
这描述的是你的生活吗？
总是 A
有时是
可能将来某一天是 C
基督教在线百科全书将事工定义为“在世上宣扬基督的使命”，并指出这“从根本上讲，是教会，所有上帝子民的整体，的任务，而这一任务被授予每位受洗的基督徒。”
讨论你是否同意这个关于事工的定义。写下你自己的定义。
讨 论
你认为经商可以成为主内的事工吗？
我们翻译为“事工”的术语来自希腊语“diakoneo”，意思是“服务”。讨论以“服务”的心态，而非追求自身利益的心态会
如何改变盛行的商业文化。
商业经营的主要活动和目的是什么？
活动
目的
花点时间思考你所知道的一些有成效的教会事工。这些传统主内事工的主要活动和目的是什么？
活动
目的
讨论经商和教会事工之间的异同，识别两者潜在重叠和冲突的部分。
思考教会和经商如何发挥互补作用，相互合作实现上帝为社会谋福利的旨意。
讨 论
思考经商如何能省去或减少教会事工的许多需求，使教会能将其资源集中在传讲福音和训练圣徒服事的主要事工上。
我们认为教会和经商是上帝对社会的计划中两个互补的要素。
关于经商与事工之间关系，思考下面经文告诉我们什么。
活 动
但我劝弟兄们要更加勉励。又要立志作安静人，办自己的事，亲手做工，正如我们从前所吩咐你们的，叫你们可以向外人行事端正，自己也就没有什么缺乏了。
帖前4:10b-12 , 歌罗西书3:23-24
无论做什么，都要从心里做，像是给主做的，不是给人做的，因你们知道从主那里必得着基业为赏赐；你们所事奉的乃是主基督。
经商可以成为一个富有成果的主内事工。商业经营可以是教会在世上宣扬基督使命的重要伙伴。
营商事工就是在我们经营的过程中把我们的信仰和基督的使命传扬出去。圣经鼓励上帝的子民以均衡方式来表达基督的工作。基督徒群体内部不同流派和传统之间传扬基督信仰的侧重点可能很不同。下图说明了上帝子民“在世上传扬基督使命”的三个主要侧重点。它们是圣灵、圣经话语和行为。
行为, 圣灵, 事工, 神的话,
纵观历史，基督徒一直难于保持三者之间的均衡，往往倾向于偏重其中一或两个方面，很少三者并重。我们的目标是使你的商业经营成为一个完整的事工。这需要积极平衡全部三个方面。
下面是一些国度企业家的故事，讲述了每个侧重点怎样在他们的商业经营中发挥作用。
身体没有灵魂是死的，信心没有行为也是死的。
雅各书2:26
教 导、行为
泰特斯∙索特爵士 (1803-1876)
泰特斯·索特（Titus Salt）不仅仅是个有天赋的商人。使他在工业革命时期众多的实业家中独树一帜的是他对员工的同情，以及他用实际行动展现他信仰的方式。有感于他的员工肮脏的生活环境，他决定为此做点事。随着 200 多个工厂烟囱不断发出黑色的含硫烟雾，英格兰北部城镇布拉德福德（Bradford）成为英格兰污染最严重的城镇。索特是镇上少数几个对这个问题表示担忧的雇主之一。经过大量的实验，他发现了一种产生污染极小的燃烧器，并于 1842 年将这些燃烧器用于所有他自己的工厂。当意识到其他工厂老板和议会不愿对污染采取行动时，他决定将他的工厂搬出布拉德福德。
索特将他的工厂合并为一个大工厂，并称新的综合性厂区为索尔泰尔（Saltaire）。建于 1853 年的索尔泰尔，“其构思如此大胆，设计如此深入，执行如此完善，以至于使它的拥有者名声大震，毫无对手”。不夸张地说，这是一个特别且非常受人尊敬的新社区。综合厂区位于艾尔（Aire）河沿岸，其中还包括一个供索特的员工居住的村落。他不仅开创了清洁生产的先河，还为他的员工在健康的环境中提供了优质的家。
他的村落有商店，教堂，和供成人和孩子们学习的学校。索尔泰尔社区被视为‘既拥有舒适的建筑，又拥有家长式社区之道德秩序’的村落典范。索特证明了在纺织行业，即取得高度成功同时又不剥削工人是可能的。他用实际行动证明成功的企业也可以关心照顾其员工。他的行为证明了他基督徒的同情心。
索特是一位慷慨的人，是维多利亚时代的伟大慈善家。他帮助他的员工达到了那个时代从未有过的生活水平。他享有慷慨奖励员工的声誉，1857 年，他租用了三列火车运送大约 2500 名工人参加英国艺术珍品展。当他于 1876 年去世时，尽管他曾是个非常富有的人，他的家人震惊地发现他的财富全没了。据估计，他一生中捐出了超过 500,000 英镑用于公益事业，这在 19 世纪中叶是一个巨大的数目。
索特认为，通过帮助他的员工过上更健康的生活，他正在做上帝的工。他是一位虔诚的基督徒，他的纹章上写着：“有什么不是由于上帝的帮助呢？”他致力于通过实际行动来实践自己的信仰，就是对他所照管的那些人全面地表达上帝的爱与怜悯。
泰特斯·索特用自己的行为表明了自己的信仰。
索特的经营方式是如何通过行为表明信仰的？
你的经营方式是否通过你的行为表明了你的信仰？
讨 论
反 思
教 导
神的话
哥林多前1:23a
我们却是传钉十字架的基督
约翰·莱因爵士（1879-1978）
约翰·莱因（John Laing）是一位成功的建筑企业家，创建了英国最大的建筑公司之一。莱因家族属于卡莱尔（Carlisle）一个蓬勃发展的弟兄会教会，在那里约翰·莱因学会了全心依赖圣经的智慧。他投身于他的福音信仰，并努力将上帝的话
运用到他的商业经营中。
莱因在七岁那年成为一名基督徒，并热衷于分享福音。有一次，当他在等待女王授予他一项荣誉时，他问站在他旁边的人是否准备好了被天堂接收。无论环境如何，他都力求从不错过传扬基督的机会。
莱因有高的标准，对员工严格，但他也很慷慨，亲自关心他的员工。有一次，他在现场发现一个人看着很疲倦，便问他怎么回事。这人告诉他，他的妻子病了，所以他得在早上 7 点上班前做家务并照顾孩子。莱因离开了一会儿又回来，给了这人两周的全薪假。这人到家后才知道莱因到过他家查看情况，并在厨房的桌子上留下了5 英镑，这在当时是一份慷慨的礼物。
莱因还是专业成本估算的先驱。在那个时代，客户通常只会在项目快完成时才发现他们的预算将被超出，从而造成损失和纠纷。他信靠耶稣用祂的话革命性地改变了他所在的行业。路加福音 14 章 28 节耶稣说：“你们哪一个要盖一座楼，不先坐下算计花费，能盖成不能呢？”莱因要他的公司设法这样做。这是一个很好的例子，说明他如何在工作中明确地运用神的话。如今，整个行业在这个方面都在按照上帝的方式做！
莱因对上帝话语的忠诚使他开始采取诸如病假工资，退休金计划，和恶劣天气下岗工资之类的做法，远远早于法律开始要求这么做。莱恩还用自己的企业来真正地建造上帝的国度。在完成考文垂大教堂的建造后，他将收益返还给教堂。他还以成本价建造了许多教堂。当他的公司建造房屋时，还同时为传教士建造额外的房屋。随着业务的蓬勃发展，他更进一步成为各种圣经学校和学生外展组织的重要资助者。每当他顺便拜访这些组织时，他的问题都是一样的：“这周有多少学生成为基督
徒？”
莱因努力践行他所传扬的。他是一个致力于将神的话和自己的福音热情贯彻到自己的商业活动以及其企业所资助的其他事工上的人。
神的话如何影响莱因的商业实践？
思 考:
你是否能够“践行你所传扬的”? 你是否让神的话来影响你公
司的政策和实践？
讨 论:
我说的话、讲的道，不是用智慧委婉的言语，乃是用圣灵和大能的明证，叫你们的信不在乎人的智慧，只在乎神的大能。
哥林多前2:4-5
洛威尔·巴德·帕克森(1935-2015)
教 导
圣灵
巴德·帕克森（Bud Paxson）在美国创建了家庭购物网，他后来成为一名福音派基督徒，是他率先开发了最大的适合家庭的 PAX TV 电视网。下面是他的故事。1986年，在帕克森创建家庭购物网四年后，它正经历着飞速的发展。帕克森在全世界旅行，一年内 260 天都不在家。他的经济状况爆炸性发展，但同时他的婚姻也破裂了。
1986 年圣诞节那天，帕克森的妻子发布消息说她要离开他。他认为这是他一生中的最低谷。“我绝对彻底地破产了。我曾经是百万富翁，但我所有的成功都一文不值，因为我失去了妻子，和孩子们也不亲近。”帕克森回忆说。他给家人 1986 年的圣诞节礼物已经安排好了：去拉斯维加斯旅行。尽管有他妻子已发布的消息，他已成年的子女还是劝他去，所以帕克森去了拉斯维加斯。除夕之夜，在所有庆祝活动结束后，他无法入睡。凌晨 4 点，他感到非常想读圣经，这是他从小时候主日学之后就从未做过的事情。他在床边的抽屉里找到一本圣经，读到了罗马书 5：8“惟有基督在我们还作罪人的时候为我们死，神的爱就在此向我们显明了。”这是他一生的转折点。自此帕克森如饥似渴地学习圣经，在当地牧师的帮助下，他开始真正地明白了如何过一个委身耶稣基督的生活。
他的经商方式也开始发生变化，而家庭购物网也蓬勃发展。后来他以 1.18 亿美元卖掉了公司。此时，帕克森本可以退休或将钱捐给慈善机构。但趁着当时许多无线电视台在出售，他用这笔钱购买了当地的无线电视台。
尽管购买这些已然衰败的无线电视台似乎不合逻辑，但上帝给了帕克森执行这个计划的平安。不久之后，最高法院的裁决通过了一项“强制令”，要求新兴的有线电视运营商在其所提供的频道中必须包括给定市场中所有的无线电视台，帕克森的投资获得了回报。强制令大大增加了他刚刚买来的本该一文不值的无线电台的价值。之后，他成功地用这些收购来的电视台创建了 PAX TV 电视网，并以此来对抗电视上被他称为“道德大粪”的不良节目。他保证 Pax（罗马语的“和平”）不会播放无端的性行为，暴力或污秽语言。“我希望它用比喻和讲故事，正如耶稣所做的” 。
詹纳·奥尔森
詹纳·奥尔森（Gunnar Olson）是个瑞典企业家，也是国际基督教商会的创始人。他是高科技塑料薄膜制造公司 Alfapac 的所有人和董事长。他经常教导“在基督王权下的释放”，并坚信一个与基督和好的生意在神国占有一席之地，可以“通过圣灵凭着信心”彰显神的国。
他讲述了一个很好的例子。他的公司即将完成一个重要的生产流程，已生产出几百万磅的青贮袋准备装运。就在即将装运的前几天，生产经理忧心忡忡地来见詹纳。他说：“我想 Alfapac 要完蛋了。”原来所有的青贮袋都有问题。这些问题在生产过程中未被及时发现，导致已经准备装运的上千货盘青贮袋都不能用。企业面临破产。詹纳是这样回应的：“我召集了家人，告诉他们这个消息。然后我们讨论如何用祷告来处理这个问题。我们决定只是将情况告诉主，然后听圣灵的带领，因为我们已经将公司交托给祂了。就在我们祷告的时候，一个人按门铃进来说：‘我不知道发生了什么，但我有话对你们说：你们必须对看不见的那位诉说。’有了这鼓励的话语就足够了，我们的信仰已被封印。”在这里完整引述詹纳优秀的著作《无限的商业》中讲述他们接下来所做的一切是值得的。
“他是在星期五告诉我这个坏消息的，直到周日晚上我们才有机会去工厂察看那些货盘。开车去的时候，我们决定祷告祈求神连最微小的不能用的密封的塑料都不允许留下。当我们站在院子里牵着手时，我庆幸以前没有看到过所有这些货盘。它们到处都是！从人眼看来，它们实在太多了。我们站着用了一些时间赞美主的信实和怜悯。然后我用尽全力大声喊到：‘ 天啊地啊，请听！谁是 Alfapac 的主？祂的名字是耶稣！我奉耶稣的名，命令所有这些塑料分子恢复原来的样子！’
我们用方言祷告，按手在每个货盘上，三个小时后我们全部完成。我们回家了，大功告成。星期一早上，我兄弟命令全厂员工打开所有的包装盒检查。荣耀归于上帝，被密封而不能用的袋子一个也没有了！我们服事的上帝是多么伟大！当我们将生命的方方面面都交托给祂，我们就能看见祂的荣耀。当我们与祂同工，就有一种喜乐带我们前行，而祂所做的一切都那么完美。这就是世俗的生意与交托给主的生意之间的区别。祂的荣耀和祂的生命在职场被彰显。”
帕克森和詹纳的故事说明了如何能在圣灵的平安与大能中领导一个现代企业。
他们的企业是怎样被圣灵带领的？
反 思
你以祷告祈求圣灵来带领你的商业决策吗？在工作中你以圣灵
的力量来行事吗
这些商业领袖把他们的商业经营当成他们的事工。我们希望他
们的见证能激励你也这样做。
讨 论
反 思
花点时间思考一下你的经营方式。你比较强调这三个方面的哪个方面？
你可以采取哪些实际的做法在你的商业经营中达到属灵的平衡？如果时间允许，思考哥林多前书 12:12-14 和以弗所书 4:11-13的意义。
我们必须努力确保我们的商业经营是个完整的事工
圣灵、神的话 行为、事工
短暂祷告后结束会议。祈求上帝帮助你通过你的商业经营活出一个完整的事工。
3.用时间来思考未…
你是否曾感到很难决定你的一生该干什么？花点时间来思考你是怎么走到今天的岗位的。你如何描述上帝在其中的作为？写下重点内容。如果可能，与小组分享其中的关键时刻。
你是否曾觉得很想以某种形式全职做教会事工？
反 思 祷 告 你知道你的呼召吗？
在简短的祷告后开始开始会议。
如果是，这是否会影响你全身心投入目前的岗位？
也许你已经发现自己在考虑把目前用在工作上的时间用在教会的事工上是否会更好。你甚至可能为自己对工作的热情以及能够用在“教会工作”上的时间有限而感到内疚。不是只有你一人有这样的感受.
教 导:
因在废除奴隶贩卖运动中所扮演的角色而闻名的伟大的政治改革家威廉·威尔伯福斯（William Wilberforce），年轻时曾有个对他一生影响重大的时刻。像许多信徒一样，他曾郑重思考自己的呼召以及他应该走的路。他问自己是否应该藉着他对上帝的重新认识离开他正在显现的政治生涯，转而进入教会事工。
他的好朋友，即将成为总理的威廉·皮特（William Pitt）安排废奴主义者们到他家去鼓励他认清，实事上他的呼召甚至他的事工只有在他的政治生涯中并通过他的政治生涯才能取得最大的成就。这一会面记录在电影《奇异恩典》中，电影以有力而改变人生的评论结束：“我们知道你目前难于抉择是做上帝的工作还是做政治活动家的工作，我们诚恳地指出你两者可以同时做到。”
你相信威尔伯福斯的政治生涯是他的事工吗？
认为经商生涯和富有成果的基督事工并非互相排斥。实事上，你可以两者兼顾！本课程旨在揭示如何做到这一点。
我们相信; 如果这是你的商业经营，那它就是你的事工。
讨 论
教 导
上帝赋予威尔伯福斯废除奴隶贩卖的热情在他全情投入的政治生涯中得到最好的实现。上帝给予他的岗位和责任正是在那里。大约经过痛苦的十五年之后，他在下议院不懈的努力最终使整个大英帝国废除了奴隶贩卖。
这可能是十九世纪伟大事工之一的这个事工最光辉的时刻。如果你同样面临做上帝的工作还是做商业领袖工作这一选择难题，我们也同样诚恳地指出你应该两样都做。伟大的事情也许会因此展开。
讨 论
威尔伯福斯难以明白政治生涯如何能成为上帝的工作。你是否也难以明白一个人的经商生涯如何能成为上帝的工作？
讨 论
纵观历史，人们一直难以明白工作和事工如何能够结合，甚至耶稣也得和这种偏见做斗争，他同时代的人不明白一个职场人士怎么可能属灵。
耶稣说完了这些比喻，就离开那里，来到自己的家乡，在会堂里教训人，甚至他们都希奇说，这人从哪里有这等智慧，和异能呢？这不是木匠的儿子吗？……这人从哪里有这一切的事呢？他们就厌弃他。
马太福音13:53-57a
使徒保罗以织帐篷和做使徒而闻名，显然他把工作和见证耶稣完美衔接。有意思的是，不知道早期教会更多地将他看成个会讲道的织帐篷的人，还是个会织帐篷的传道人。我们不知道保罗是不是在意两者之间的区别。他的工作与他的事工完全融合在一起，他从未为自己的工作感到羞耻。
你认为保罗在这两项活动中都同样在为主作工吗？
保罗本人明确表示，我们每个人都必须工作，而且无论做什么，你都应“从心里做，像是给主做的，不是给人做的”（歌罗西书 3:23）。
反 思
你认为自己目前在“为主做“还是在“为人做”？
讨 论
你是否完全是“从心里做”的？如果没有，什么使你不能那样做？
1666 年的“伦敦大火”之后，世界著名的建筑师克里斯托弗·雷恩（Christopher Wren）受委托重建圣保罗大教堂。
1671 年的一天，雷恩在脚手架上观察三个瓦工。他问他们每个人“你在做什么？”第一个瓦工，三个瓦工中效率最低的，回答说“我在铺砖”。第二个瓦工回答说“我在筑墙。” 第三位瓦工，三个瓦工中效率最高的，回答说：“我正在为全能者建造一座大教堂。”
教 导
你是否认识到你的工作是为了全能者？
第三位瓦工非常清楚地认识到他在为上帝工作。这种认识将怎样影响我们的工作态度？
讨 论
铺砖 筑墙为全能者建造
你是否看到上帝亲手造你的方式和你的工作之间的联系？
我们原是祂的工作,在基督耶稣里造成的,为要叫我们行善,就是神所预备叫我们行的｡
以弗所书2:10
Works. 圣经清楚地表明我们被造都是为了行善。
上 帝预 备我们做善工 上帝完美的创造 上帝预备你你做善工
你认为你当前的工作是“善工”吗？
你是否意识到你的工作是事先准备好让你做的？
路加福音19：1-10
耶稣进了耶利哥，正经过的时候，有一个人名叫撒该，作税吏长，是个财主。他要看看耶稣是怎样的人；只因人多，他的身量又矮，所以不得看见。
就跑到前头，爬上桑树，要看耶稣，因为耶稣必从那里经过。耶稣到了那里，抬头一看，对他说：“撒该，快下来！今天我必住在你家里。”他就急忙下来，欢欢喜喜的接待耶稣。众人看见，都私下议论说：“祂竟到罪人家里去住宿。
”撒该站着对主说：“主啊，我把所有的一半给穷人；我若讹诈了谁，就还他四倍。”耶稣说：“今天救恩到了这家，因为他也是亚伯拉罕的子孙。人子来，为要寻找、拯救失丧的人。”
讨论这段经文中耶稣对这个职场男人的态度以及“众人”对他的态度之间的区别。
耶稣的态度对撒该以及撒该对待工作的方式会有什么影响？
讨 论
耶稣愿意与商人在一起，遇见耶稣改变了撒该的经商态度，一夜之间，他从以自我为中心的人变为仆人，从守财奴变为传道人。你认为耶稣为什么没有像他对十二个门徒所做的那样，要求撒该离开他的工作而“跟随我”？
你认为收税是一项“善工”吗？这有可能是上帝对撒该的呼召，一个上帝提前为他预备好的工作吗？思考下面的问题也许会有帮助，如果没人收税，或者不是由敬虔的基督徒来收取，这会给社会带来什么后果？
教 导
耶稣对什么是“善工”有广泛的看法。下面就是一个很好的例子。
埃里克·利德尔（Eric Liddell）是英国最优秀的短跑运动员之一，也是个坦然无惧的属神的人。他也很清楚地知道积极参加教会事工并同时活跃在体育界两者之间的张力。他因为在1924 年巴黎奥运会上为英国那次赛跑而出名。
并不是每个人都能接受埃里克的奔跑能力是上帝的恩赐，更不用说是上帝对他的呼召了。以他的故事为蓝本的电影《烈火战车》中一个精彩的情节表现了这一点，埃里克在与他是基督徒的妹妹交谈，他妹妹对他在跑步上不断增加的投入深感担忧，并试图说服他去中国传教，一个他后来去了并很年轻就死在那里的地方。
有一个场景是他们在爱丁堡的山上行走。埃里克对她恳求的反应非常有趣。他对他妹妹说；“珍妮，我相信上帝造我是有目的的，但祂也使我跑得快。”他停顿下来，好像迷失在跑道上那些瞬间的记忆中，“当我奔跑时，我感受到祂的喜悦。” 埃里克发现跑步是个恩赐，并且像所有的恩赐一样，揭示了上帝对他生命的呼召。他知道跑步是一项“善工”，并且当他做这善工时，他感受到上帝的肯定。
在 1924 年奥运会上，埃里克被选中参加 100 米比赛。令埃里克失望的是，100 米决赛将在周日举行。埃里克不愿意在安息日跑步，他甚至准备抵制王室对他参加决赛的请求。尽管王室试图说服他，然而他还是没有参赛，他对安息日的立场引起了媒体的轰动。不过他的故事和见证并没有到此为止，400 米决赛给了他一个参赛的机会，而这场比赛巩固了他的历史见证。奔跑着，手持一位基督徒竞争对手给他的经文“尊重我的，我必重看他”，他最终广为人知地成功赢得了金牌。
他顺服神不在安息日参加比赛的决定让世界瞩目，并为人们所纪念，2012 年伦敦奥运会还特别委托制作了电影《烈火战车》的舞台剧。同年，印度一家报纸甚至还发表了一篇文章，文章的重点不是他的获胜，而是他对安息日的立场。在为着基督的立场上，这个有上帝赐予的擅长奔跑的恩赐为支持的立场上，埃里克为上帝的国度取得了持久的成果。如果你为此被造，那么即使是体育运动也是一项“善工”！
你是上帝为特定的目的亲手而造；这就是你的“善工”。
你清楚你的呼召在哪儿吗？如果你是基督徒，那么上帝对你的一生有个目的，并有个“善工”恩赐给你，最终，你被呼召为实现祂在我们这代人身上的目的做出贡献。
如果你是一名从事商业活动的基督徒，尤其是拥有或领导一个企业的基督徒，那么以下三种选择之一对你来说会是真的：
经商颇有成果是上帝对我生命的呼召
我被呼召在经商之外的事情上有成果
我没有被呼召有成果
这三个陈述中哪一个最符合你？
你被呼 召经商 吗？
反 思:
如果你是基督徒，选项 C 不能为真。C
“你们多结果子，我父就因此得荣耀，你们也就是我的门徒了。”
功用也有分别，神却是一位，在众人里面运行一切的事。
约翰福音15：8 .林 前12：6
如果你不能确定 A 或是 B 符合你，那么以下四个问题会有所帮助。
你有经商的天赋吗？你参与其中的企业繁荣发展吗？
创世记39：3,5a
他主人见耶和华与他同在，又见耶和华使他手里所办的尽都顺利 ,耶和华就因约瑟的缘故赐福与那埃及人的家。
经商会让你激动不已吗？你有经营理念和管理一个企业的热情吗？
霍华德瑟曼
不要问世界需要什么。问什么使你活着，然后去做。因为世界需要的是活着的人。恩赐 热情
反 思
你是一个慷慨和乐于给与的人吗？
问题不是我把多少我的钱捐给了上帝，问题是我把多少上帝的钱留给了自己。
你是否具有成功的基本要素：谦卑？
华理克
谦卑不是小看自己，而是少想自己。
分成 3 或 4 个小组，思考下面的分类。每人在组内分享你自己所属的类别。 慷慨 谦卑
活 动
你对所有四个问题 你对问题 1 和 2 回答了 你对问题 1 和/或 2都回答了“是” “是”，但对问题 3 都回答了“否”和/或 4 回答了“否”
每小组花些时间为每个类别的人祷告：
清楚自己被呼召
肯定并鼓励那些清楚自己被呼召的人。祈祷他们继续努力抓住他们的呼召。
被呼召但有挑战
清楚自己被呼召 被呼召但有挑战 可能未被呼召经商
对于这个类别的每个人，找出他们认为有挑战的具体因素（慷慨或谦卑）。他们需要两者兼具才能使自己的商业经营成为富有成果的事工。用祷告支持他们，寻求神的帮助以解决问题。
被呼召做商业领袖
你的小组中可能有些人没有被呼召经商。对于一些人来说，这不会是个问题（例如教会领袖或只是对本课程感兴趣的人）。而对其他一些人，这也许是个出乎意外的结论。祈祷他们得到所需的勇气去发现和追求自己真正的呼召。
无论你属于哪个类别，你都需要支持来继续前进。可以考虑与属灵的朋友分享你的发现。当你接受你的呼召，踏上你面前的冒险之旅时，你会需要他们的祷告和鼓励。
教 导
我们希望你感受到你的呼召同时得到了上帝和你的教会的认可。我们希望你感受到你是被呼召去经商的。
这不是说我已经得着了，已经完全了；我乃是竭力追求，或者可以得着基督耶稣所要我得的。
腓立比书3：12
使徒保罗意识到他尚未达到他的目标。如果我们要使经商成为一个富有成果的事工，我们必须像他一样竭力追求这一呼召。
我们希望你被激励把经商作为你的事工。本课程的其余部分将帮助你完成这一任务。我们希望你在你的呼召上被建造并且强壮有力。现在是时候竭力追求上帝预备你要做的“善工”了。商业界和神的国度都需要像你这样的人来接受这一呼召。
我们希望你清楚你的呼召，竭力追求你的事工。我们希望把经商做为事工是一个呼召。
简短的祷告后结束会议。祈求上帝确认对你的呼召并给你勇气去“得着基督耶稣所要你得的”
3.what to…
Have you ever found the decision about what to do with your life a difficult one? Take a moment to reflect on how you ended up in your current role. How would you describe God’s hand in this? Write down the highlights and, if you can, share a key moment with the group
Have you ever felt pressure to go into some form of full-time
church ministry?
Open the session with a short time of prayer.
If ‘yes, is this having an effect on your commitment to your current role?
You may have found yourself wondering if the time you are spending at work could be better spent in a church ministry. You may even have felt guilty about your passion for your work and the limited time you seem to be able to give to the ‘work of the church’. You are not alone.
There is a powerful moment in the early years of William Wilberforce, one of the great political reformers who is famous for his role in the abolition of the slave trade. He, like many believers, was deliberating over his calling and what path he should follow. He questioned whether his renewed awareness of God should lead him away from an emerging career in politics and into a church ministry.
His great friend and soon-to-be Prime Minister, William Pitt, arranged for abolitionists to come to his home and encourage him to recognise that his calling, even his ministry, was in fact best achieved in and through a career in politics. The meeting is recorded in the film ‘Amazing Grace’ and closes with the powerful and life-changing remark; “We understand you are having problems choosing
Teaching.
whether to do the work of God or the work of a political activist. We humbly suggest that you can do both.”
Do you believe that a career in politics was Wilberforce’s ministry?
BizMin believes that a career in business and a fruitful Christian ministry are not mutually exclusive. You can in fact do both! This course is designed to reveal how.
We believe：if it’s your business, it’s your ministry.
Discussion.
Teaching:
life-changing Wilberforce’s God-given passion for the abolition of the slave trade was best served through a dedicated career in politics. That was where his God-given role and responsibility lay.
Some fifteen painful years later, his tireless campaign in the House of Commons resulted in the abolition of the slave trade across the British Empire; possibly the greatest moment in one of the great ministries of the nineteenth century.
If you are having similar problems choosing whether to do the work of God or the work of a business leader, we would also humbly suggest that you should do both. Great things may yet depend on it.
Discussion:
Wilberforce found it hard to see how a career in politics could be the work of God. Do you struggle to see how a career in business can be the work of God?
Teaching :
Throughout history people have struggled to see how work and ministry can combine. Even Jesus had to struggle against this prejudice. His peers could not see how someone from the marketplace could possibly be spiritual.
When Jesus had finished these parables, he moved on from there. Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. ‘Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?’ they asked. ‘Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Where then did this man get all these things?’ And they took offence at him.
Matthew13:53-57a
The Apostle Paul was famously a tentmaker and an apostle. He clearly moved quite seamlessly between work and witness. It would be interesting to know if the early church saw him more as a tentmaker who preached or a preacher who made tents. We are not sure that he would care much for the distinction. His work was fully integrated with his ministry and he was never ashamed of his work.
Do you think that Paul was working equally for the Lord in both activities?
What Paul himself made clear is that we all have to work and, whatever you do, you should ‘work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters’ (Colossians 3:23).
Reflection :
Would you consider yourself to be currently working ‘for the Lord’ or ‘for human masters’?
Discussion :
Are you doing it with ‘all your heart’? If not, what is holding you back?
After the 1666 ‘Great Fire of London’, the world-famous architect Christopher Wren was commissioned to rebuild St Paul’s Cathedral. One day in 1671, Wren observed three bricklayers on a scaffold. He asked each of them “what are you doing?”
The first bricklayer, the least productive of the three, replied “I am laying bricks.” The second bricklayer replied, “I am building a wall.” The third bricklayer, the most productive of the three, replied, “I am building a great cathedral for The Almighty.”
Teaching:
Are you aware that your work is ‘for The Almighty’?
The third bricklayer had a greater awareness that he was working for the Lord. How might this awareness affect our
attitude to work?
Discussion:
Do you see a connection between how you have been created,as God’s handiwork, and your work?
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Ephesians2:10
Works.
Do you see your current work as ‘good work’?
Do you recognize that your work was prepared in advance for you to do?
Luke19：1-10
Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him since Jesus was coming that way.
When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.’ So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. All the people saw this and began to mutter, ‘He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.’ But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, ‘Look, Lord!
Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.’
Discuss the difference in this passage between Jesus’ attitude to a man from the marketplace and that of ‘all the people’.
What was the impact of Jesus’ attitude on Zacchaeus and on his approach to his work?
Discussion:
Jesus was comfortable being in the company of business people. Encountering Jesus transformed Zacchaeus’ attitude to the way he did business. He went from self-centered to servant, and miser to minister, overnight. Why do you think Jesus didn’t ask him to leave his work and ‘follow me as he had done with the twelve disciples?
Do you think collecting taxes is ‘good work’? Could this have been Zaccheus’ God-given calling; a work prepared in advance for him? It may help to consider what the consequences for society would be if taxes were not collected and by a Godfearing Christian.
Teaching:
Jesus had a broad view of what constitutes ‘good work’. Here is a good example.
Eric Liddell was one of Britain’s greatest sprinters and an unashamedly fearless man of God. He also knew well the
tension between wanting to be active in both a church ministry and the world of sport. He famously ran for Britain in the 1924 Olympics in Paris. It was not easy for everyone to accept that Eric’s ability to run was a gift from God, let alone his calling.
There is a wonderful line in the film made about his story called ‘Chariots of Fire’ that illustrates this. Eric is talking with his Christian sister. She is deeply concerned with his growing commitment to running and seeks to convince him to go into the mission field in China; a place to which he later went and died young.
On one occasion they are walking on the hills above Edinburgh. Eric’s response to her pleas is delightful. He says to his sister; “Jenny, I believe God made me for a purpose, but He also made me fast,” and he pauses as if lost in the memories of those moments on the race track, ”and when I run, I feel His pleasure.”
Eric had discovered that running was a gift and one, like all gifts, that revealed God’s call on his life. He knew that running was a ‘good work’ and felt God’s affirmation when he did it.
At the 1924 Olympics, Eric got into the squad and was to run in the 100m race. Much to Eric’s disappointment, the final of the 100m race was to be held on a Sunday. Eric was not willing to run on the Sabbath and was even prepared to resist the pleas from the Royal Family for him to run.
Despite their attempts to persuade him otherwise, he did not run and his stance on the Sabbath became a media sensation. His story and witness did not end there though. A place was found for him to run in the 400m final. It was a race that was to cement his witness in
history. Running, clutching the scripture ‘He that honors me,I will honor,’ which had been given to him by a fellow Christian competitor, he famously went on to win the gold medal in style.
His decision not to race on the Sabbath, in obedience to God, gained international exposure and was still being remembered when the Olympics were held in London in 2012 through a specially commissioned theatre production of the film ‘Chariots of Fire’.
There was even an article in an Indian newspaper that same year, focused, not on his winning, but on his stance on the Sabbath. In that one stand for Christ, a stand facilitated by his God-given gift for running, Eric achieved lasting fruit for the Kingdom of God. Even athletics is ‘good work’ if that is what you were created for!
You are uniquely made as God’s handiwork for a specific purpose; this is your ‘good work’.
Are you clear on what you are called to? If you are a Christian, God has a purpose for your life, a ‘good work’ for your gifts, and ultimately, a contribution you are called to make towards achieving His purposes in our generation.
If you are a Christian and in business, especially a Christian who owns or leads a business, it follows that one of these three options is true for you:
A fruitful role in business is God’s calling on my life.
I am called to be fruitful in something other than business.
I am not called to be fruitful.
Which of these three statements best describes you?
Reflection :
If you are a Christian, option C cannot be true.
‘This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.’
There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.
John15：8 .1Corint 12：6
If you are not sure whether A or B is true for you then here are four questions that may help.
1. Are you gifted at business? Do ventures prosper when you’re involved?
Genesis39：3,5a
When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did the Lord
blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph.
2. Does business excite you? Do you have a business idea and a passion to run a business?
Howard Thurman
Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.
Reflection :
3. Are you a generous and joyful giver?
R.G.LeTourneau
The question is not how much of my money I give to God, but rather how much of God’s money I keep for myself.
4. Do you have the essential ingredient for success; humility?
RickWarren
Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less.
Break into small groups of 3 or 4. Consider the categories below. Within your group, each share which category
you think you fall into.
Activity:
You answered ‘yes’ You answered ‘yes’ to You answered ‘no’ to to all 4 questions question 1 and 2, but question 1 and/or 2 ‘no’ to question 3 and/or 4
As a group, take time to pray for the people in each category:
Called & clear :
Affirm and encourage those who are clear in their calling. Pray that they continue to press on to take hold of their calling.
Called but challenged :
For each person in this group, identify the particular area they find challenging (generosity or humility). They will need both in order to make their business fruitful.
ministry. Support them in prayer, seeking God’s help in resolving issues.
Not called to business leadership:
There may be people in your group who are not called to be in business. For some, this will not be an issue (e.g.church leaders or anyone with a general interest in the course). For others, this may be an unexpected outcome.
Pray that they would receive the courage they will need to discover and pursue their true calling.
Regardless of which category you fall into, you will need support going forward. Consider sharing your findings with a spiritual friend.
As you take up your calling, you are going to need their prayers and encouragement in the adventure that lies ahead. We hope that you feel endorsed by both God and your church in your calling. We hope that you feel called to business.
Teaching:
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for
which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
Philippians3：12
The Apostle Paul recognized that he had not yet arrived at his goal. We must, like him, proactively press on to
take hold of this calling if we are to make the business a fruitful ministry.
We hope you feel inspired to make your business your ministry. The rest of this course will help in that task. We want you to be established and robust in your calling.
It is time to press on and take hold of the good works that God has prepared you for. Both the world of business and the Kingdom of God need people like you to take up this calling into business.
We hope you feel clear in your calling, ready to press on and take hold of your ministry. We hope that it is a calling to do business as a ministry.
Close the session with a short time of prayer. Ask God to affirm you in your calling and give you the courage to take hold of that ‘for which Christ Jesus took hold of you.
2.God-giv…