Serving God As Mba

Serving God as an MBA both Locally and Globally

John Terrill and Scott McFarlane

Background John Terrill ♦ NationsBank (Bank of America) and

Hay Management Consultants ♦ MBA from Northwestern (Kellogg) ♦ Presently, Director for InterVarsity Professional Schools Ministries (PSM) ~ business, law, healthcare, education, government, and theology

Background John Terrill ♦ Search to discover biblical theology of

work (vocation). ♦ Joined InterVarsity during fall of 1998 as National Director for MBA Ministry. ♦ 4+ years at Harvard Business School ♦ Help professional school students and faculty know that their work in the world can count for God

Background Scott McFarlane ♦ MBA from Spring Arbor University ♦ Founder and Director of EC Institute ♦ Associate with EC Group International {Scott will provide more of his background when he comes to the podium}

Current Reality ♦ Perceived gap between sacred and

secular ♦ Business professionals marginalized in fulfilling their calling outside the walls of the church (viewed as a second class) ♦ Mistakenly separate the Great Commission (Mt. 28:19-20) from Creation Mandate (Gen. 1:26-28) and Great Compassion (Mt. 25)

Current Reality ♦ Busyness without sense of mission or

purpose  Staying busy is a mark of prestige in our culture…particularly true in MBA programs  Career is derived from a word that means racetrack…speed  Vocation is derived from a word that means to be called or summoned

Current Reality ♦ Men and women in business live

discouraged and/or bifurcated lives ♦ Christian witness is diminished ♦ The devil thwarts the growth of the church

9 to 5 Theology Cultural Mandate ♦ Genesis 1:26-28 ♦ Created in God’s image to do good works ♦ Reign with him in a spirit of dependency and interdependency with one another ♦ Business is perfect discipline to practice these truths

9 to 5 Theology Priesthood of All Believers ♦ 1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” ♦ Priesthood of OT times no longer restricted NIV

9 to 5 Theology Everyone Has Spiritual Gifts ♦ 1 Corinthians 12:4-6 “Now there are different kinds of gifts, but it is the same Holy Spirit who is the source of them all. There are different kinds of service in the church, but it is the same Lord we are serving. There are different ways God works in our lives, but it is the same God who does the work through all of us.” NLT

9 to 5 Theology Jesus Valued the Marketplace ♦ Of the 52 parables Jesus told, 45 had a

workplace context ♦ Different forms of the word “work” are mentioned more than 800 times in the Bible ♦ Of the 132 public appearances of Jesus, 122 were in the workplace ♦ Of the 40 miracles in Acts, 39 were in the workplace {Os Hillman, International Coalition of Workplace Ministries}

9 to 5 Theology Importance of Eschatology ♦ Eschatology is pastoral

{Theologian Jurgen Moltmann}

♦ Moves us away from a belief system of

endless, repetitious cycles ♦ Christ-centered and vindicates God’s purposes for all of creation ♦ Eschatology is connective tissue between old creation and new creation {Theologian. Jack Davis}

9 to 5 Theology Continuity as well as Discontinuity ♦ Discontinuity between this world and

new heavens and earth clearly understood ♦ Strands of continuity not so clearly expounded ♦ Scripture confirms that our work is gathered up and taken into the new creation in a transformed way

9 to 5 Theology Continuity ♦ Historical continuity between the body

of Jesus that walked in Palestine and the body that ascended to heaven. Jesus was recognizable postresurrection. ♦ Will not cease to work in new heavens and new earth {Isaiah 65:21-22}

9 to 5 Theology Continuity ♦ Visions of new heaven and new earth are in terms of what we know and do today ♦ Isaiah 60 and Revelation 21 ♦ The kings of the earth bring their glories into the new heaven and new earth (Rev. 21:24). The glory and honor of the nations is found in the Holy City (21:26).

9 to 5 Theology Continuity ♦ Invited to consider which of our works

will last (1 Cor. 3:12-15) ♦ Deeds of service seem to follow us (Matt. 25:31-46)

9 to 5 Theology Our Response Adapted from model presented by Sunki Bang {Business Ministry Institute in South Korea} ♦ Business and mission (isolated activities) ♦ Business for mission (profit and enterprise as means of financing mission) ♦ Business as a platform for mission (way to gain access)

9 to 5 Theology Our Response Cont’d. ♦ Mission in business (hiring nonbelievers

with a view to leading them to Christ) ♦ Business as mission (marketplace activity viewed as integral part of God’s kingdom work in the world)

Background Scott McFarlane ♦ Ministry undergraduate degree ♦ Almost 2 years in Asia ♦ “Screaming Socialist/Communist” ♦ Reading and research ♦ Business Degree

♦ EC: • EC Institute and EC Group

EC Group International “A global business solutions provider”

India Business Process Outsourcing (BPO)

China Sourcing Manufacturing Supply base of Kingdom companies

Stories India: ♦ Agape Rehabilitation Fellowship, Able

Computers and www.StrategicNetwork.org

China ♦ Factory Ministries & Strategies ♦ Seminars, Consulting, Micro, SME, OPE

EC Institute www.ec-i.org

♦ Summer Programs ♦ MBA Consulting Projects ♦ Advancing Churches in Missions

Commitment (ACMC) Business as Mission Division

Partnership with InterVarsity – MBA Ministries

Dallas Willard The Spirit of the Disciplines - Chapter 10 “There truly is no division between sacred and secular except what we have created. And that is why the division of the legitimate roles and functions of human life into the sacred and secular does incalculable damage to our individual lives and the cause of Christ. Holy people must stop going into “church work” as their natural course of action and take up holy orders in farming, industry, law, education, banking, and journalism with the same zeal previously given to evangelism or to pastoral and missionary work.”

God’s Plan Godly women and men in places of leadership ♦ Business ♦ Healthcare ♦ Government ♦ Social Work ♦ The Arts and Media ♦ Law

In Conclusion John Beckett Video All Christ followers are priests and salt and light in the world. We are not called to live bifurcated lives. The church, which is gathered on Sunday, is to be scattered Monday through Saturday. Given our interests, skills, experiences, and training, how can we best live out God’s calling on our lives? Creation – Fall – Redemption – New Creation

In Conclusion

Thank you for your time… Any Questions? www.ec-I.org www.intervarsity.org/gfm/psm/