After Cape Town: Still Learning to Talk About Business and Ministry

Acton Commentary: After Cape Town: Still Learning to Talk About Business and Ministry

… The sad reality for far too many in the church is that “ministry” is sacred and “business” is secular. You do not have to be a theologian to grasp the logical conclusions that follow and that perpetuate these bifurcated realms. Christian discipleship is reduced to one form or another of ministry effort and all ministry is done through the institution of the local church or a nationally or globally oriented parachurch organization. Therefore, all those serious about ministry will be drawn to spend as much time as possible in the “ministry” world. Perhaps one can even take some of that ministry into the “secular” workplace and redeem it? Perhaps Bible studies or personal evangelism efforts will help redeem that space? 

When we relegate work (which God ordained before the fall) to the “secular” realm we cede territory that is squarely a part of God’s kingdom design. This separation has profound consequences. In fact, from a biblical vantage point, what we commonly refer to as “ministry” is no more sacred than “business” — God is the author and designer of all of life. That means that reflecting God’s image in our business activity is indeed a sacred calling and one worthy of a lifetime of intentional effort. It is most certainly not a necessary evil. We commend the framers of the Cape Town Commitment for very clear language that charts a fuller, more robust trajectory for evangelism and discipleship; thereby inviting the remaining 98 percent of the Christian community who do not serve in formal ecclesiastical roles to understand their vocation as “ministry.” We all must reflect God’s image as we employ our unique areas of giftedness in service to our neighbor, the kingdom, and the world around us.

We read this bold statement in Part 2 of the Cape Town Commitment, titled “Truth and the Workplace”:

We name this secular-sacred divide as a major obstacle to the mobilization of all God’s people in the mission of God, and we call upon Christians worldwide to reject its unbiblical assumptions and resist its damaging effects. We challenge the tendency to see ministry and mission (local and cross-cultural) as being mainly the work of church-paid ministers and missionaries, who are a tiny percentage of the whole body of Christ.

Unfortunately, the Cape Town Commitment itself largely fails to integrate these kinds of profound shifts throughout the two parts of the document and, it seems, even ensconces further the very sacred-secular divide that it strives to dismantle. While business as a vocation and ministry is embraced and honored as a worthy calling, wealth and wealth creation — not so much. Yes, the evangelical community loves the good that money and resources can buy in terms of global evangelism and the financial sustainability it brings to ministry efforts, and we want people, even business people, to use their gifts creatively in the market place. But profit and wealth creation … well, that is a different story. In the Cape Town Commitment, we read the very appropriate forewarnings about the perils and human propensity toward materialism and greed, but deeply ingrained in the document is a bias against wealth creation and wealth in general. We need to stop talking out of both sides of our mouth. Without a clearly articulated rationale for creating wealth, it is hard to talk coherently about the biblical guidelines for the management of all that God entrusts to us, and then to follow that logic further into the realms of transformative generosity and kingdom stewardship.

A well-resourced expanding global church requires the participation of those who are creating wealth and stewarding it well. Many are eager to jump into the economic dialogue at the point of the discussion regarding the best ways to redistribute other people’s wealth. Most, however, fail to consider the economic conditions by which wealth is best created; and then how it is most wisely and biblically invested toward God’s intended purpose. Does it matter whether profit is given away generously, reinvested in business, or taxed and redistributed by governments? We would contend that Scripture and historic Christian theology has plenty to say on these fundamental economic issues. And evangelicals and influential global evangelical organizations such as the Lausanne Movement would do well to take up further study and sustained reflection on these core issues 21st century Christian discipleship and spiritual formation. As the renowned Dutch statesman Abraham Kuyper proclaimed in his famous “Sphere Sovereignty” speech: “No single piece of our mental world is to be hermetically sealed off from the rest, and there is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: Mine!”

The gulf between economics and theology in evangelical social engagement and missionally informed action is a momentous barrier that must still be overcome before we can truly embrace all legitimate vocations as sacred and worthy callings. In God’s economy, he has entrusted his people with his resources to fulfill his mission here on earth. That’s a profound stewardship responsibility and privilege. …