Posts in Church and Theology of Work
What Does Big Data Tell Us About the Land of Opportunity?

Big data has revealed a shocking finding regarding the American dream: you have a better chance of achieving it if you don’t live in America. We Americans generally think of our country as the land of opportunity, that no matter where you’ve come from, you can improve your station in life through hard work.  But research by Raj Chetty at Stanford University reveals that for large swaths of people, they’d have a better chance of reaching the American Dream if they grew up in Canada. Or Great Britain. Or Denmark. In other words, America is no longer the leading candidate for the title, “The Land of Opportunity.”

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The Moral Mattress Kings of Denver

A "restful buying experience."

Few American consumers would ever think to describe mattress shopping this way. In fact, if you have been mattress shopping recently, restful is probably the last word that comes to mind.

"This is one of the sleaziest industries in the world," says business owner Ethan Rietema. "Customers are treated so poorly. Stores beat you up, trying to get as much money as they can, but they couldn't care less if you get the right bed."

Rietema and Steve Van Diest, both former campus ministers, are bringing rest—and integrity—back to a business largely devoid of it.

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A Redemptive Story of an Automotive Entrepreneur

We started off our week earlier this month with a short video that we found to be a great encouragement.  We love a great, feel good story to kick off a week.

There is much to like here: a church coming around an entrepreneur, and the virtuous continuation of continuing the path of forgiveness and redemption with the hiring others of others in need of a second chance.

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Sabbath as a Sermon for the Ambitious

This is the craziest time in my life. I recently wrote and released a book, born out of leading more than 250,000 Christian entrepreneurs and creatives in the Called to Create ministry. I also lead a venture-backed tech startup called Threshold 360 where we’re on a mission to map the inside of every public location on earth in 360°. And then there is the joyful work I do at home laboring alongside my wonderful wife to raise our two young daughters.

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Podcast Episode 11 - Can a Pastor Equip an Entrepreneur?

This week’s episode

A pastor is in a unique position to influence his leaders who are in the marketplace in many different ways, and this week we turn out attention to how a pastor might support entrepreneurship within his congregation.

This week, Henry, and William interview special guest, Pastor Andy Wood of Echo Church, about his journey in ministry and the world of entrepreneurship.

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Biblical Business: an Oxymoron?

Biblical business has always been an oxymoron for me. I’ve struggled to reconcile my preconceived notions of large, profit-thirsty corporations with biblical principles of gentleness, servitude, and forgiveness.

For a season, I even put aside the notion that God would ever call me to be a business owner because, well, I’m a Christian. Christians don’t lead businesses because businesses are inherently un-Christian.

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A Good Bible Verse for the "Why" Question

We've come to know that the most important question that we need to be able to answer as Faith Driven Entrepreneurs is "Why?"  Simon Sinek does, in my opinion, the best job of unpacking why this question is so important in leadership in his now famous Ted.com video, but he's not the only one.  Clayton Christensen talks about "why"in his business writing at Harvard, and Jim Collins mentions that the Level 5 leader is able be about something greater than seeking his or her glory.

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Reframing for How: Ought-Is-Can-Will

Yesterday I shared the motivation that I discovered in the four-part gospel as I wrestled with why my work mattered to God. Today I touch on how that vision applies to the faith-driven entrepreneur, and I try to make it a bit more actionable.

Why does the four-part gospel matter for the faith-driven entrepreneur? Because the framework charges us to reflect the world as it should be, and business has the power to shape the world in meaningful ways.

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Starting with Why: The Four-Part Gospel

Faith-and-work content consistently beats the drum of affirming that marketplace vocations are as important to God as professional ministry. That message is crucial, as resources like this one give those of us with non-church giftings the confidence to pursue our callings. But we can’t stop there. Even if all believers in the marketplace one day know that our vocations matter, we still need to understand why. Otherwise we may run successful businesses guilt-free, but miss the motivation and focus that come from knowing our place in God’s story.

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