"How far into debt should I go to finance a business expansion?"
"I need to fire an employee but I am not sure what a just severance would be?"
"How do I negotiate a business contract that puts my best foot forward without misrepresenting the facts?"
"What does my work have to do with serving God?"
I meet with a group of men every Friday morning for breakfast. Most of these guys, ages around thirty-something to fifty-something, own their own businesses. We study books of the Bible interspersed with books about various topics of interest. In prayer time, it is common to hear questions like the ones above enter our discussions.
Over the years, I have seen many resources targeted to business professionals asking these questions. Frankly, I find most of them prosaic and cliché. But recently, I have come across a book that I like. It is a collection of seventy short topical articles edited by R. Paul Stevens and Robert Banks. (Each of these editors has written books that have significantly impacted my life. Stevens: The Other Six Days: Vocation, Work, and Ministry in Biblical Perspective. Banks: Paul's Idea of Community: The Early House Churches in Their Cultural Setting, Revised Edition.) The book's title is The Marketplace Ministry Handbook: A Manual for Work, Money and Business. It was published in 2005. It sells for about $16.50 at Amazon.
The articles in the book are authored and coauthored by various academics, ethicists, and business practitioners. The articles include diverse topics like: Advertising, Calling/Vocation, Competition, Contracts, Dress Codes, Failure, Global Village, Gossip, Negotiating, Private Ownership, Power, Profit, Stewardship, Technology, Unions, and Whistle-Blowing. Each article finishes with a list of references and resources to look into for deeper study. I highly recommend this volume for your reference shelf if you are in business or minister with people in business.
Another reference by these two editors I like is The Complete Book of Everyday Christianity: An A-To-Z Guide to Following Christ in Every Aspect of Life. This volume is 1,166 pages of articles in a format similar to the book Handbook above. It just covers a much wider range of topics (There is even an article on chocolate.) I think it is a wonderful topical resource to help frame questions about everyday issues and provide resources to help with discernment. This book was released in 1997 and appears out of print. Used copies seem to sell for about $40-$50. I have found it very helpful.
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