BGU Journal - 1/19/09

It was kind of nice to be back in the class setting after a couple days away.  Brad Smith facilitated the an early discussion about the importance of Martin Luther King, Jr. day.  We also took turns sharing with the group what this day, or more specifically this man, meant to us.  It was a very unique discussion considering the diversity of the people in the room.

Brad Smith lectured about theology, which he defined as the "scientific" study of God.  People can study God from a detached perspective, so the term has lost much of its meaning.  BGU is interesting in submitting to God, and trying to understand Him in relevant ways.  The intent of the author is very important when studying the Bible, and the understanding of God is superintended by the Holy Spirit.  God wants to know us by incarnation, the Bible, tradition, and general revelation.  Systematic theology is important, but it has also produced many varying forms of cultural Christianity (U.S. Christianity featuring individuality and Sunday morning programs is one example).  BGU valued Biblical theology instead of one particular type of systematic theology.  Consistency with scripture is important.  

Other cultures and major religions are becoming more open to Christianity.  This is true, in part, because of some of the impact of globalization.  Hinduism, for example, may not exist in 100 years because of its strong relationship with classism.  Globalization does not sync with classism.  When the other world religions become more Christian over time and the people are searching for answers, will the church have trained leaders who are prepared to take this on?  Global theology is interesting, and Christians will need to know what common language can be found and what things are not negotiable (like Jesus dying on the cross for our sins).  Through this missional lens, Christians will need to bring back the great commission with the first commission.  The first commission is from Genesis where man is made to rule the earth in Eden.  That is how we are still designed, even though we live in a fallen world.  We are garden creatures, but we have been kicked out.  We know from Revelation that God will restore His creation.  The great commission in Matthew is still important, but it cannot be disconnected from the first commission in Genesis.

The key to all of this is stewardship, which is taking care of something that belongs to someone else.  Smith pointed out that we were created to work as stewards of the Earth.  We chose to rebel not because we doubted God's power, but we were (and are) skeptical/cynical about God's goodness.  God's creation is now corrupt and we have reduced power and purity as stewards (a concept he called futility).  Three of the most difficult areas of our stewardship are power, money, and human sexuality, yet Christians are the only ones who can ultimately steward these areas as intended by God.  Four ways to approach power, money, and human sexuality are piety (avoid them), consumerism (claim them as my right), pragmatic (use them as resources to achieve results, or stewardship (reclaim them for their original purpose).  Too many Christians have taken a piety, consumerism, or pragmatic approach to these issues, and not enough Christians have sought to be good stewards in these areas.

According to Smith, we are created to be in "business."  He said, "Business for stewardship and mission sees its purpose is to serve the needs of society - both locally and cross-culturally - in a way that transforms economies, societies, cultures and people's connection to God.  It does it in a way that sustains itself with profits, but the goal is not profit, but healthy stewardship of power, money, influence, resources, people, products, and knowledge for God's purposes.  When Christians detach themselves from the "business" of the world, it creates much pain and confusion.  Reclaiming the original purpose of business is part of our stewardship."

Humans were made for working, being in community, making decisions, reproducing, and worshiping.  The world becomes dysfunctional if we fail to do even one of these things.  The Tower of Babel is one good example of this.  They worked, they were in community, they made decisions, they reproduced, but they forgot one thing:  worship God!  Every human was made for these five things, so we cannot disconnect the first commission from the second commission.  We're supposed to have a stewardship theology.  It's not complicated, just reorienting.  

Neal Johnson, the dean of the business school at BGU, then spoke more about a theology of work.  The common theme so far is that Christians cannot detach from the business world.  There needs to be a dialogue between the pew and the pulpit, and a clear connection between Sunday and Monday.  Transformation in communities will not begin without involving the business world.  A secular/sacred divide has been perpetuated by the church.  What a person does on Monday should be as holy as what they do on Sunday.  Decision making in business should be informed by scripture.  God wants us to come alongside people in business.  Living the gospel happens 24/7, and pastors should see themselves as equippers of this.  People can live out their callings in the business world.  They do not have to become a pastor or missionary to become some kind of better Christian.

Jack Van Hartsfelt, a BGU board member and businessman, then lectured about the role of the business world in  partnering with churches for community projects.  He showed a video of a church renovation project he led as a businessman that took two weekends and involved over 800 volunteers.  He stressed the importance of coming alongside people who are already out there doing big things, with the mindset of equipping them with resources and visionary leadership.

Lowell Bakke then lectured about the local church and a theology of work.  He defined theology of work as the calling of God in the lives of people.  He shared about his brothers, Ray and Dennis, and the differences in their callings.  Ray has been successful in missions in life, and Dennis has been successful in business (he's a billionaire).  Both have felt equally called by God to their areas of impact.  The church should pay more attention to equipping people who have the calling for business.  Lowell Bakke asked, "What is your church's priority?  Is it to attract people from the community to the church?  Or, is it to send people from the church to invest in the community?  Is Sunday more important for our church than the other six days of the week?"  Church programs can actually lead people away from their callings in the world sometimes.  Maybe when 20% of the people are doing 80% of the work in church programs, it's because the other 80% of the people are out in the world potentially making a difference where the people in need are.

After lunch Brad Smith showed us a feature film called "Power Trip."  The story was about Dennis Bakke's company, AES, who tried to solve the electricity problem in the country of Georgia.  It was an amazing story about how corporations can make a very positive or negative impact in the world.  It emphasized the need for Christians to empower and equip people in business for the sake of gains in the kingdom.

My first analysis of all of this is that it seems to make sense, but it's going to take me a while to process through it all.  I hope to develop more of a theology of work, but that is difficult to do working in a full time ministry environment. 

One of the most tangible things I can do when I get back to Pittsburgh is to start valuing business and government leaders more in light of the unique position God has called them to.  In fact, over time I would hope that I'll be able to encourage people more effectively to understand their worth and influence in the world as it relates to God's purposes.  Also, as a mentor I would like to help my mentees to understand a theology of work that enables them to effectively develop a calling.

Application