Chapter 11:
Transformational Conversation with Business Culture

This study delved deeper into aspects of engagement in some sectors. The action-reflection research processes involved four cycles. Cycle 1 involved looking back at anger at the loss of a Christian integration of a culture (Chapter 7). Cycle 2 examined themes from conversations at city leadership levels (scattered throughout the study). Cycle 3, in the last chapter, considered these themes in greater depth with leadership teams in various city sectors. In this chapter (cycle 4), I summarize stories from the business sector in more depth in order to demonstrate the necessity and process for formulating a theology of the Kingdom transforming business.

Patrick Lynch (2000), executive director of the Catholic Education Office, identified a growing trend in ethical business and values-based business education. During this study I became acquainted with numerous evangelical business people with a passion to influence business culture. Are evangelical business leaders in a position to influence the directions of such discussions? Based on the seven steps described in the previous chapter is there enough theological integration and reflection to enable the passion for change to move to productive action?

The stories of fifteen Evangelical/Pentecostal business people were gathered and eleven edited and published. Several of them are part of the top echelon of business leadership in the city, others were in significant management roles, some ran small businesses. These stories were analyzed for biblical themes. While too small a sample for comprehensive analysis, I was amazed at the extent to which they illustrated how theologies are developing in this sector and the comprehensive spread of those theologies across the Scriptures. The following is a summary analysis of the business stories. The complete stories may be read in Creating an Auckland Business Theology (Grigg, 2000a).

Eleven Business Stories

It was evident that evangelical business people have patterns of deep spirituality and well-developed value systems. Unbeknown to themselves, they also are creators of theology. That is evident when one businessman (some names withheld for personal reasons) hears a message on tithing, applies it in his company and finds the sudden response of God’s blessing. Or, when a second struggles with an ethical response to being undercut by former employees. Both find themselves entering into and being embraced by the unusual character of God in the midst of the chaotic realities of life. That is theology – reflection on the knowing of God.

The stories included a dramatic range of themes from Genesis to Revelation. They begin in Genesis 1, with the God of creativity, foundational to Peter Haythornthwaite’s values and the success of his advertising company, Peter Haythornthwaite Design (PHD). His desire is to see people “go beyond, to break down the barriers, to do something new and fresh, beyond the preconceived idea.” Craig Weston’s business management consulting company extends the creativity theme into an Inspired Solutions Group, expanding on the role of the Holy Spirit, the breath of life behind creation.

Peter further develops the theme in Genesis 3 of the nature of men and women made in the image of God, in his approach to “treating clients as a treasure” and his desire to inspire people “who may feel like failures, that they can become the person they’re destined to be.” Bruce Nicholson, Manufacturing Manager of Kalamazoo, follows through on the same theme upholding the dignity of women in the workplace by removing pornography and creating a pleasant work environment. The fatherhood of God is inherent in the strong sense of caring and providing, evident in most of the stories of the managers.

Lucy Clancie of the Sanitarium Company, expands on the Genesis concept of God the one who structures, as they have structured into a business their theology of health, based in the Mosaic law. The ten commandments of Exodus for Dick Hubbard of Businesses for Social Responsibility and the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22,23 for John Sax, Chief Executive of Southpark Corporation, give foundations for personal and business ethics.

Wyn Fountain, retired clothing manufacturer, illuminated the sovereignty of God over the foibles of fallen humankind as he reflected in a Psalmist-like manner on the ups and downs of life and of good and evil men around him in the early years. That theme echoes in several of these stories. The prophets are not absent, beginning with the modelling of the prophetic in Wyn Fountain’s life and David Hope-Cross’s (company director of Bayer and Agfa) desire to see a prophetic voice to the economic powers.

Progressing to the New Testament, ecclesiology is inherent in most of these stories, from Wyn’s rejection of the institutional church as largely irrelevant, to other’s total commitment to be supportive of a church which has been supportive of them. A new pattern of theology that sees the church as networks in the community rather than the gathered congregation on Sunday morning in a building in essence redefines the church as mission in the workplace. Ken Eagle, Managing Director, Cambridge Consulting Services, like many of us from Navigator or YWAM backgrounds, has been operating with Jesus’ model of the mission team as being church for some years while sustaining commitments to a traditional church.

Dick Hubbard emphasizes responsibility, hard work and discipline as outworkings of Christian values. He talks of pressing through in the tough times. This relates to Ken Eagle’s reflections on a life of faith and faithfulness, based on Jesus’ promises to answer prayer in John 14 and 16. Faith in a long-term vision and an awareness of God’s timing are significant for another entrepreneur. This reflects Solomon’s wisdom in Ecclesiastes 3: “There is a time for everything under the sun.”

Fig. 1: Transformational Conversation — Sources of Auckland Business Theology

Business Conversation Themes	Biblical Conversation Themes	Sources of Theology for Business Leaders	Their Biblical Sources
Creativity	Releasing full potential, human dignity	Charismatic renewal	Gen 1
Productivity	God made it fruitful Hard work God of blessing  Tithing releases blessing	Pentecostal pastor	Gen 1; John 15:7,16
People-centred management	Loving relationships Management in different societal spheres Harmonious work environment Pastoral care Redemptive leadership, forgiveness	Washington Prayer Breakfast   Industrial Mission	1 Cor 13; 1 John 4:7-21   1 John 1:-10
Ethics in business	Integrity, financial honesty God of faithfulness Ten commandments Fruit of the Spirit	Seventh Day Adventist doctrine	Exodus20:2-17 Gal 5: 22, 23
Struggle against business ups and downs	Spiritual warfare Sovereignty of God Life of faith	Popular Pentecostal theology	Eph 6:10-20
Handling power plays	Sovereignty of God Trust in God’s purposes	Navigator discipling	Psalms
Positive mental attitude	Problems as opportunities for faith and prayer Spirituality heightening the intellectual integration of logic, intuition, emotions	Indian Christian reflection	1 Cor 1:20-25
Career commitment	Business as a vocation	Book: The Other Hundred Hours[1]
Mentoring excellence	Discipleship Holiness, search for perfection	The Navigators, Revival Theology	II Tim 2:2-6
Responsible economic policy and structures	Prophetic voice to the economic powers	World Council of Churches theology, Pentecostal spiritual warfare themes	Eph 6:10-20

Affirmation of business as a vocation, a theme of Timothy and Titus is needed. This sense of calling is strong in every story. It expresses an inner spirituality. Ajayan Abraham, Indian student, reflecting on this, includes in his definition of spirituality, “The spiritual person always embodies critical intellectual capabilities such as heightened awareness that sees problems as challenges or that blends logic and intuition.” That spirituality is expressed in love, forgiveness, ability to perceive the next steps, faith, investment in others, redemptive leadership and so on. The development of the idea of a business spirituality for Kiwis in business requires some further discussion.

Integrity marks Rodney Dawson’s (Managing Director, Leaders with a Vision Int’l) search and, is a common theme in all these stories. It is based on the nature of the God of faithfulness, regular confession of sin and the search for a holy life. Practically, Peter Haythornthwaite relates it to the paying of accounts promptly.

John Sax has a Johannine-like emphasis on the centrality of love and relationships. Indeed, most identified creating a pleasant, just and interactive environment as an essential Christian value in management. Peter extends this to a sphere management philosophy without hierarchy. The biblical foundations for either of these poles of management style are the stuff for an important level of debate. David Hope-Cross has thought extensively of pastoral care for staff.

Another businessman is grappling with the meaning of a Pentecostal theology of spiritual warfare as he confronts the daily difficulties of business. Others perceive of them in more Presbyterian ethical styles.

Expansion of a Theology of the Apostolic into Business Culture

Earlier in the study, I commented on the release of the apostolic and prophetic as significant in moving from revival dynamics to transformative revival. Elements of this were evident in the stories of these businessman. The concept, described in the previous chapter, of an apostle as one called and sent directly by God, includes lay persons with a sense of vocation. One aspect of an apostolic gift is one who pioneers new God-infused structures and is gifted in organisational leadership. The definition of an apostle as one with a sense of both creation of new structure and “sentness,” can include an entrepreneur, a business leader, a trade union leader or community organizer who carry with them a sense of godly vocation. (This is illustrative of the primary thesis of Volf in his Pneumatological Theology of Work (1991: 69-154), a derivative of Moltmann’s (1993) creation-oriented pneumatology).

In the definition of the apostle as one who speaks a message, one can include a business leader who interprets business values in the light of God’s Word, one who creates business culture in a manner that reflects the creator. In the definition of the apostle as one who evangelizes and sees much fruit conserved into groups, one can also include a business leader who reaches out to his people and creates evangelistic momentum and discipleship cells among those he or she touches.

In a redefinition of the apostle as one anointed by God and affirmed by signs and wonders, one would expect both the blessing of God and the unusual activity of the Spirit on these men and women in their business dealings. (This aspect was not specifically explored in the study, but was indicated in several of their comments.)

What is evident is the underlying Evangelical and Pentecostal commitment to evangelism. This is usually significant in apostolic roles. Ken models this par excellence. Sanitarium model it as structural witness and in the environment of prayer and caring within the organisation. Craig Weston ended up with an evangelistic Alpha course as a result of discussion of vision and values within his organisation. Rodney Dawson prays at the beginning of seminars and people are shocked, confront their backsliding, turn to Christ or are strangely moved.

Given these understandings of the apostolic, it became evident from these stories, that there are a good number of such apostolic leaders in the business world and other professions around the city of Auckland.

Integration Of The Theological Conversation

This above brief integration shows business people developing action theologies, from the whole gamut of the Scriptures. Multiple life stories are connected to multiple biblical narratives and teachings. What is not evident is an integrating theological plot that meshes the sub-themes. My observation is that the paucity of theological input on business themes meant that each had latched on to themes that had touched an issue – the diversity of sources is indication of this paucity.

The lack of integration of their theologies with others led most of them to identify the need for consultation and resultant publications to generate a full-orbed theology in order to do what David Hope-Cross cried out for:

This will be addressed further in Chapter 15 as we examine the Kingdom as integrating theological and visionary theme.

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Full Circle

I have examined revival, then its consummation into transformative revival. The last two chapters have demonstrated these progressions in Auckland as far as engagement. As this expansion occurs, new synergistic waves of revival need to begin, ideally concurrently, if the old revival is not to become institutionally dead. Signs of this kind of synergy are not lacking.

                                                email from John Dawson, President, Youth With A Mission

In the space of a few weeks public evangelism had reached over 200,000 people across the nation of whom 20,000 had indicated a desire to turn from sin and become Christians. The leaders of the process had been obedient to perceived commands in the earlier revival to begin with Maori. Indeed, it was so multicultural as to be owned by the Maori and Polynesians.

Meanwhile the phone rings with a call from a leader as to how to cluster together leaders in transformation later in the year, how to create enough unity within Evangelicalism for agreement about issues around the treaty of Waitangi… A brother enters to discuss the development of the ethnic leaders hui…

On the other hand…crime, divorce, abortion, suicide rates show no sign of decline…

There has been revival, Evangelicals are enraged and the beginnings of an engaged and creative minority for social change have been indicated, but there has been little theological reflection or clarity of goals and we are far from seeing major paradigm shifts of culture. Transformative revival is not yet evident. That inadequacy leads to Part 3 of this study and the development of conversations about the goals of transformation.

 

WORKS CITED

 

Fountain, Wyn. (c1980). The Other Hundred Hours. Auckland: Wyn Fountain.

Grigg, Viv. (2000a). Creating an Auckland Business Theology. P.O. Box 20-524, Auckland: Urban Leadership Foundation.

Lynch, Pat. (2000, May 5, 2000). Accent on values emerging in universities, workplace. NZ Herald, p. A11.

Moltmann, Jürgen. (1993). God in Creation: A New Theology of Creation and the Spirit of God. Philadelphia: Fortress.

Volf, Miroslav. (1991). Work in the Spirit: Toward a Theology of Work. London: Oxford Press.