Christian business?

I remember distinctly being asked by a friend, "Is your business going to be a Christian business?" I answered yes and no, but not in the ways I think she expected.

Yes, the Gospel will define what we do and the way we do it, but no we're not going to be a Christian business in the sense of targeting our products and services to Christians. In fact, quite the opposite. As those who are changed by the Gospel, we're made missional people. Our mission is to bring the good news to those who have not received it, not to cater to those who have.

Gospel entrepreneurship, as I understand it, is pursuing ventures that act as a sign, and instrument and foretaste of Christ's kingdom. The ethics of our business are the ethics of the Kingdom, and therefore function as a sign to point to the authority and reign of the King. We will end up doing things that appear to be utter foolishness to those in similar fields because of our King. While pointing away to the King, we also endeavor to be His instrument in human society to demonstrate and spread His justice, righteousness and mercy in a way that both magnifies the beauty of His ways and calls people to repentance. We believe that by doing such, we function as a foretaste of the coming Kingdom, in which people who have not received grace may see those who live under grace, and by the Holy Spirit be drawn to bow before our King.

We do not entertain the Pelagian notion that people simply need to see a faithful witness to be convinced of the Good News. Instead, we believe that the obedience of God's people is the chosen instrument of the Holy Spirit to awaken the lost to the beauty of Christ, the greatness of His mercy, and their own need for that mercy.

So the many economic parables of the Scriptures are not merely metaphorical. The diligent investment praised and required in the parable of the talents refers just as much to the affairs of life as to the proclamation of the Gospel because the Gospel redefines all of our participation in human affairs. Entrepreneurship is no longer merely for economic gain. Rather it is obedience to the command of the King who entrusts us with His things, to wisely invest them, according to the ethics of His Gospel and for the sake of His Gospel, so that we function in the affairs of life (and not merely in the 'religious' sphere) as a sign, instrument and foretaste of His Kingdom.