Only one thing occurs to you when you hear the word “Shepherd” – sheep! Sheep are dependent creatures that need shepherds. A shepherd is a caring loving guide to the sheep. In the Bible God refers to us as the sheep of His pasture.
Jesus also told Peter to feed His sheep, to prove his love for the Savior. Being a shepherd a is a very great job. It is an honor to be called by God o enlist in his workforce and to look after sheep.
In this book, Dag Heward-Mills invites us, urges us and shows us how we may join this great work of looking after God’s people. Don’t be left out of this beautiful job of how to become a shepherd!
Business is where Christian ministry happens best. Great Christian business leaders manage to glorify God through the decisions they make. Christian leaders develop for themselves guiding principles that help them face the challenges posed by business.
They:
Acknowledge God.
The people around a Christian business leader know that she does her daily work to glorify God. She works as if her real customer (or employee) were Jesus. The Christian leader does not merely earn profits to later put in the offering plate—she understands that here work is an offering, and so relates to others in the course of her work as if she is relating to God.
Pray for competitors.
Jesus told us to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matt 5:44). We can apply this command to the competitive business world, as well: Jesus would have us pray for those who seek to destroy our business. A Christian leader wants to succeed in her endeavors, but also prays that God would bless her “enemies” as well. She prays that God be glorified, not merely that she adds to the bottom line.
Watch for opportunities to seek God’s guidance.
“Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8). Satan is always looking for ways to trip up the business leader. A Christian leader learns to watch for decisions that reflect one’s tensions, and she learns to pray and seek biblical guidance in those cases.
Serve.
Great business leaders serve rather than lord their authority over others, “just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve” (Matt 20, 28). Jack Welsh is one of the most celebrated business leaders of our time. Though not a Christian, he famously drew his organization chart with the customer at the top, then front-line employees…and finally the CEO at the bottom.
Even a non-Christian understands that great leaders serve, not dictate to their people. While “servant leader” is not unique to being a Christian, it is a way of thinking that will help a Christian businessperson make the right decision that serves the kingdom of God.
Jesus Wants Christians to Revolutionize Business
Take some liberty with me, expanding on what we know of Paul to imagine the sort of business he might have run. Can you imagine Paul making sloppy tents? We know he was a man who introduced himself as the best of the best—“a pharisee among pharisees”.
He delivered some of the most eloquent and effective sermons of all time and wrote some of the most widely-read literature ever published. It is unfathomable Paul would make tents that were anything less than great. He was likely a great personnel manager, too, caring for his tent making co-workers, just as he did for Timothy in his church work.
For Paul, making tents was more than providing for his physical needs. For Paul, tent making was an aspect of his ministry, a testimony of his dedication to Jesus.
Jesus wants every Christian business leader to serve like Paul or Solomon. He wants leaders who make business decisions, interact with competitors, follow government regulations and lead their employees as a method of glorifying Him.
He will give commercial success to some and not to others. Whatever commercial success He allows, Jesus wants leaders to work as if He were their Chairman of the Board. He wants them to serve customers and manage employees as if serving the Lord Himself.
Jesus lays out a principle in the story in Matthew 24, when the King explained to those who received an inheritance, “for I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink…”. For, the king said, “‘whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” When great Christian managers treat their employees with respect, Jesus counts it as serving Him.
If Christians want to be part of Jesus’ revolution, then they need to implement that revolution where people spend their waking hours—at work. Christian business leaders could be more influential in the world than ministers…when they learn to lead as if every decision is a chance to glorify God. Ministry at church is like salt in the shaker. Salt needs to be on the food; ministry needs to happen in the business world.
Dr. William J. Oliver, DM, Professor of Business at Sattler College
