First element of the triple bottom line (TBL)– Spiritual Transformation.
Spiritual transformation is the first facet of the TBL and is the most crucial in distinguishing a missional enterprise from any other business venture. It is the hardest to accomplish and measure, but requires living out The Navigator Core and aiming for a multi-generational ministry starting within the context of a business. Although every missional enterprise needs to intentionally pursue the spiritual bottom line, the appearance can vary significantly between enterprises and regions of the world. The intentional pursuit of a spiritual bottom line within the framework of The Navigators Core is the responsibility of every missional enterprise. There are almost an unlimited number of factors that influence the context and therefore the look of the spiritual transformation bottom line in each missional enterprise. Intentionality and integration is required.
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By JACK BENJAMIN
I will never forget the moment 24-years ago when Aldo Berndt, the Latin America Regional Director at that time and a man for whom I have deep respect, made this stunning comment: “It is cruel to talk about the Great Commission in two-thirds of the world.” “How could that be?” I thought to myself. “The Great Commission is the reason my wife and I just moved to Colombia with our three young children!” After Aldo’s bold statement, he saw my distress. So with a gentle smile, Aldo went on to clarify. When fully funded gift-income missionaries launch a new work with the hope of reproducing and sending out laborers, those new laborers often don’t have the funding capacity or time to replicate what the missionary had modeled. The consequence is that future generations of laborers may become discouraged and end up giving the work of the ministry to the “full-time” workers. “If we want to see nations reached for Christ,” Aldo went on to say, “we must offer the majority of people a different model, one that is more realistic and replicable in their context.” Since that time, Navigators in Latin America have been taking strategic initiatives in response to the challenge that their Regional Director articulated. For example, Jimmy Payton had started a leather goods manufacturing and export business in Bogotá, named Tenazcol. Employees, customers and suppliers—all those relating in some way with Tenazcol—saw that this business was different. They heard the Gospel message and saw it in action. Many were irresistibly drawn to Christ and followed Him. The daily opportunity for Jimmy to work side-by-side with his staff proved to be an ideal arrangement for life-on-life discipleship. Some of those employees were discipled well and have gone on to lead the next generation in Colombia. A decade later, Jimmy and Roberto Blauth (from Brazil), who were serving in Aguascalientes, Mexico, began a construction business called Casas Mas that provided low-cost homes to the community. As with Tenazcol, Casas Mas became a place where life-on-life discipleship and the Scriptures combined with God’s Spirit to make Jesus real to many. It wasn’t long before a vibrant community of faith grew up in Aguascalientes and, energized by Casas Mas, contributed significantly to a new generation of laborers in Mexico. The word spread and a number of emerging laborers from around Latin America chose to intern in Casas Mas and serve in the Aguascalientes work as part of their ministry training. Today most of them are laboring fruitfully around the region. In recent years, a group of Navigator alumni who are successful Mexican professionals, including a former Casas Mas general manager, have come together to launch a new generation of missional enterprises like Tenazcol and Casas Mas. United by this passion, they provide mentoring, subject matter expertise, whole-life discipling and funding to aspiring missional entrepreneurs—people who can serve as Gospel pioneers in other nations. The Navigators have been involved with missional enterprises for more than three decades. Each of the seven regions in the Worldwide Partnership has missional enterprise initiatives as part of their overall strategy to advance the Navigator calling. Such enterprises help not only to gain access to closed or hard-to-reach places, but also to establish credibility with the local community in which they are operating. Please pray that God will continue to lead our leaders to work together to start and sustain missional enterprises that truly fulfill our calling. You can watch a short video about Jimmy and Roberto in Aguascalientes below. Jack Benjamin is director of the Global Enterprise Network for our Worldwide Partnership. We often praise individuals who are entirely themselves, pulling themselves up by their own bootstraps and achieving success. We are exhorted through scriptures like Psalms 139:14 to stand as individuals and focus on how God has created us. “ I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. It is true how God has uniquely crafted every person. But if we are imposing or separating ourselves from others through our "uniquely individual" perspective, how do we address "adapting" to engage the values and customs of the other cultures we are seeking to live and disciple among? In “The Missional Entrepreneur,” Mark Russell addresses a crucial topic regarding the necessity for missional entrepreneurs to understand and respect their new cultural context. In the past, many missionaries sent to the "lost " were Americans. As Americans, we have been raised in an “Individualistic, Universalistic, and Monochromatic” environment. In other words, Americans are taught and naturally bring to the mission field how to:
The cultural values Americans have been raised in are viewed differently in the cultures they are seeking to live and disciple among. For example, Asian and Latin American cultures often function as “Collective, Particularistic, and Polychromatic” socities. This challenges missional entrepreneurs to:
Understanding and abiding to these cultural adaptations is not denying your self or your heritage. “Contextualizing” is living out the calling to serve as a relational and personal witness, to give up our self, and to love others first in a new set of cultural values. Paul describes his journey as: "For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings. Every missional entrepreneur will face the challenge to remain comfortable and stagnant in their own cultural context. Yet, remaining unwilling to see the world through a different perspective, or understand the customs of different cultures, will weaken our ability to see the gospel of Jesus and his Kingdom advance through generations of laborers living and discipling among the lost. - GEN Desk Director Consider Foreign to Familiar by Sarah Lanier for further reading on cultures, adaptation, and contextualization.
Every person in the world spends the majority of time at their place of work. Utilizing business as a method to effectively love and express the redemption of Christ through fair labor treatment and positive management correlates to increased personal contact with individuals out-of-touch with God’s calling for their life. Additionally, business is applicable in virtually every part of the world. Many missional correspondents are realizing that impactful change is best initiated at a level that affects an individual’s bottom line. One leader from Croatia explained that, “Sending us missionaries is good, but we'd prefer that you send us godly businessmen, who can teach us and help us to start businesses and create jobs in a Christ-like way." An individual will know they are truly cared for when the evidence of love is displayed through how they are treated, and how their lives are changed. Impacting someone’s lifestyle and improving their quality of life is fundamental in tangibly illustrating genuine compassion. The Lausanne Conference articulated the truth behind the difference that economical advancement can have in an individual’s life by outlining the following statistic, “… the richest 20% of the world’s population own approximately 80% of the world’s wealth; whilst the poorest 20% own approximately 1%. There is a tragic correlation between poverty, disease and unemployment.” It is difficult to explain to a financially disadvantaged fellow how important their life is, when they are faced with the belief that their current station in life determines their future. Employment and empowerment through financially profitable work reinvigorates those whose perspective of life is defined by scarcity. In the western world and other developed nations, it is easy to focus on, “...personal holiness and individual transformation rather than social holiness and societal transformation.” Missional Enterprise however attempts to shift this concentration to envelop a broader perspective of improvement and growth. Business is, “especially good news for the materially and financially poor of this present world.” Those who look outward and see the breadth of impact business can make and who, “…live by biblical principles of work, stewardship, faithfulness and justice will alleviate most causes of human suffering and poverty.” More and more missional enterprises are experiencing pushback from secular nations against the immersion of foreign ministries. This is largely based on the inability of a traditional missionary to effectively improve the economic climate of a country. Most missionaries are considered “unemployed” persons who fail to contribute to society at large. Business on the other hand, “is a recognized institution in society that brings credibility to relationships with the community as a whole. Thus business brings opportunities to influence and disciple the wider society through the relationships it brings.” This means that the missional entrepreneur, “becomes ‘salt and light’ to the community (or nation) in the marketplace.” Business practices impact not only the financial climate of nations, but also the physical environment. Environmental stewardship (social impact bottom line) is practiced by BAM operations through, “the types and locations of products fabricated and services rendered, of production methods, of types of resources used, and of the disposal of waste.” In a time when scarce resources are being depleted faster than ever, it is critical to ensure long-term sustainability through cognitively sensitive environmental decisions.
At the core, human beings are relational creatures. This is true in any culture and in every part of the world. The fantastic mystery of the redeeming love of our Lord and Savior is His willingness to die for our sins, and take our burdens upon himself. As Christians, we know that we are fully loved, and ardently accepted. Many who are lost, and in need of The Good News, do not know these truths and fail to see how their lives could ever be worth the sacrifice of another. BAM offers a unique avenue to demonstrating the importance of each individual. “Business restores dignity through creating employment, through righteous and equal treatment in relationships and through empowerment.” The truth is, the Lord’s Will is done according to His purpose. He does not need us, but He wants us. His burning desire for us transforms life and produces fruit of the heart. There are many ways to show His mercy, and to spread The Gospel. It is important to realize that changing times require changed tactics and revolutionized perspectives. Business was once seen as purely secular. No longer however, is business defined by this restrictive stereotype. In truth, “Business as mission looks beyond a financial bottom line to a ‘multiple bottom line’; taking into account financial, social, spiritual and environmental returns.” As defined by the Lausanne Conference, and the practical application of BAM operations thriving throughout the world today, “The real bottom line of business as mission is AMDG - ad maiorem Dei gloriam – for the greater glory of God.” - GEN Desk Intern For more information on the Lausanne Movement and BAM visit: http://businessasmission.com/library/articles-papers/ Tunehag, Mats, Wayne McGee, and Josie Plummer, eds. "Business Goals And Mission Analysis." Business As Mission (2008): 1-88. Lausane Occasional Paper No. 59. Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization. Web. 24 July 2015. "What We Do." Transformational Ventures. Tranformational Ventures, n.d. Web. 24 July 2015. Every mission agency wants to start up a new BAM program. Why and what is Business As Mission (BAM)? What purpose can it serve in advancing the Gospel? Can transformational discipleship be espoused through practices commonly associated with a secular lifestyle? These questions and more are ruminated in the Church and Christian ministries. What is now being introduced as utilizing business to promote missional evangelization is scrutinized by many and only fully understood by a few. The Lausanne Occasional Paper No. 59 is the organized effort of the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization to effectively explain, and endorse, the worldwide adoption of BAM practices. The paper identifies the misconceptions of BAM implementation, and the foundational principles necessary for effective discipleship through business practices. At a meeting last summer, a question was raised, “Is it easier to turn a businessman into a Navigator, or a Navigator into a businessman?” The coordinators at the Lausanne Conference encountered the same question, and deduced the following response: “It is easier to teach ministry to a businessperson than business to a mission person. They focus on good business practice and integrating ministry into the business rather than starting a mission and trying to posture it as a business. If the business thrives, so does ministry to its employees and community, all without foreign funding or donations.” Business practices receive a bad rap due to their focus on monetary gain. Yet the focus of BAM is not to raise money purely for the dispersal of financial profits to existing Christian organizations. It is true that this is one of the goals, and is often a practice highly prioritized in BAM operations. However, the pursuit of BAM is to utilize the context of business as a powerful tool for evangelizing to the lost. In the Navigators, the Global Enterprise Network (GEN) has a wide variety of BAM works and describe them as missional enterprises. A missional enterprise (also known as Business for Transformation – B4T) is a small subset of the BAM space but is distinguished by the triple bottom line. Read more from Larry Sharp about the BAM Movement. - GEN Desk Intern For more information on the Lausanne Movement and BAM visit: http://businessasmission.com/library/articles-papers/ Tunehag, Mats, Wayne McGee, and Josie Plummer, eds. "Business Goals And Mission Analysis." Business As Mission (2008): 1-88. Lausane Occasional Paper No. 59. Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization. Web. 24 July 2015.
"Business as Mission Research." Eden's Bridge. Eden's Bridge, 27 May 2012. Web. 24 July 2015.
How can an entire community be transformed? The founders of the Long Miles Coffee Project long to see it happen through their vision of Coffee – People – Potential.
Burundi, the small East-Central African country that is roughly the size of the state of Maryland, has been subject to a tumultuous history of tyrants, civil war, and ethnic division. Yet, in spite of its difficult past, Burundi is rising as one of the top produces of specialty coffee.
The founders noticed the potential of Burundi coffee farmers to produce excellent specialty coffee. They also realized that an increase in coffee-related commerce would coincide with the improvement of nation-wide and individual welfare.[1] 40% of the Burundi population, or roughly 600,000 individuals rely on coffee to support their way of life.[2] The main factor correlating with coffee production in Burundi is the presence of washing stations. In 1991, Burundi coffee began its transition back to the private sector.[3] This corresponded with the increase in Société de Gestion des Stations de Lavage du Café, or SOGESTALS. These SOGESTALS are in charge of operating and managing coffee washing stations. Each region of the country has one. The presence of SOGESTALS led to the foundation of compeitive awards such as the “Prestige Cup” and the “Cup of Excellence.” The purpose of these awards is to recognize the washing stations that produce the highest quality coffee bean. The awards distinguish the washing stations that produce the best bean, making the station’s production more valuable in the global market. The Long Miles Coffee Project determined that in order to have an impact, the organization should implement and manage a washing station.[4] Long Miles Coffee realized that many Burundi farmers own small plots of land, with only enough space to produce one cash crop. For those who choose to cultivate coffee, Long Miles Coffee offers premium payments and fair prices to assist with living and educational costs confronted by every individual, either solitary or responsible for dependents (usually children). Long Miles Coffee believes in creating intentional relationships with coffee farmers and the employees who work with them at the washing station. Farmers bring coffee cherries to the Long Miles SOGESTAL. Workers then clean, strip, and dry the raw coffee cherries, transforming them into the beans ready to be roasted around the world. Long Miles is committed to honoring their Trust Mark of promising quality and excellent customer care.[5] Long Miles Coffee also serves its farmers by investing in direct trade, or buying straight from the coffee growers of Burundi. The Long Miles Coffee Project Story
Read more about Long Miles Coffee Project: From Problem to Opportunity in Coffee-Reliant Burundi – Daily Coffee News by Roast Magazine
- GEN Desk Intern
[1] "New Agriculturist." New Agriculturist. WREN Media, May 2013. Web. 20 July 2015.
[2] Kimonyo, Jean-Paul, and Damase Ntiranyibagira. Reform of the Coffee Sector in Burundi Prospects for Participation, Prosperity and Peace. London: International Alert, 2007. International Alert. USAID, May 2007. Web. 20 July 2015. [3] Banks, Mary, Christine McFadden, and Catherine Atkinson. The World Encyclopedia of Coffee. London: Lorenz, 1999. Print. [4] "Story." Long Miles Coffee Project. Long Miles Coffee, n.d. Web. 20 July 2015. [5] "Story." Long Miles Coffee Project. Long Miles Coffee, n.d. Web. 20 July 2015. A violent civil war breaks into your city. You are fortunate enough to connect with relatives in America, and you flee to their city to begin a new life. However, your troubles are far from over.
Generous social services, a stream of low skill jobs, and growing family networks have made my neighborhood a place of refuge for such refugees. Still, they face significant hardship. Mothers are most vulnerable to the trials of refugee life. Many are the sole providers for their families. Their husbands either divorced them or were killed in the civil war back home. Most jobs here are suited for men, and those suited for women often require English language proficiency—a significant hurdle for refugee mothers, who struggle to attend classes because they are already stretched thin by a houseful of children and a shoestring budget. Cultural tensions plague the homes of these women as well. It has been a significant challenge for their families to retain cultural identity and religious devotion under the clouds of economic hardship, social stigma, and extremist and gang recruiting. Our family moved into this predominantly immigrant neighborhood in 2011. We were overwhelmed with our first children, and our hearts went out to the single mothers who were facing the hardships of parenting alone in a foreign country. To my dismay, this community was not nearly as interested in receiving our help as we were in giving it. My attempts at coffee shop conversations were met with blunt rejection. People would leave the room the minute I walked in the door. After three years of gradual progress, I discovered the entrepreneurial spirit of my new neighbors. This became my key to Kingdom-oriented community development and my inroad to Gospel-centered relationships. I began consulting ethnic restaurant owners about Western foodservice standards. The people that once avoided me began to warmly welcome me for hours of conversation about their business practices and family lives. They even honored me with a seat in their Chamber of Commerce. Having built up this momentum, I began taking action on my vision of providing stable, dignified employment for single mothers of the community. My business partner and I, a mother of this group, are beginning a food distribution company that will soon employ nearly a dozen single refugee mothers. Our prayer is to see these single mothers find strength and purpose in this dignified work and in the Gospel so that their homes and communities may be uplifted in the light of Christ. – GEN Desk Contributing Writer, Nations Within Staff, and ERW Alumni “We were called here to serve.” Many overseas missionaries and domestic missionaries have used this phrase to explain where and why they are serving in a specific region or vocation. As powerful as this phrase is, it can also be a hidden challenge for missional entrepreneurs to confront. Missional entrepreneurs face the hard test of serving as both business owners and missionaries. So what service comes first, their call to witness or their call to operate as business leaders? The question of these priorities is a tough, but necessary, topic to address. A fine balance exists in the BAM world as missional entrepreneurs. A business may fail because it is not given proper time and attention. On the other hand, personal relationships may suffer at the expense pursuing a prosperous business. So what is the answer? Missional entrepreneurs are blessed with the unique opportunity to influence fellow co-workers and employees. With the guidance of Christ, the workplace is the missions field. Intentionally focusing on business operations, and seeking to serve employees as an involved leader, allows the real Mission to manifest itself into the daily lives of the lost. A story in Mark L. Russell’s “The Missional Entrepreneur," is told about two small businesses that were both located in the same cultural context, supported by Christian missions, and run by faithful believers. One business excelled, the other failed. What was the difference between the two businesses? One owner became overwhelmed by the need to spread the gospel and run a full-time business, the other intertwined the gospel with daily business operations and devoted his missional efforts to reaching the lost and hurting who came to work at the company. Discovering the balance between serving in the missions field and running a business is not an easy path to traverse. Have faith in where your heart is being led, and rest in the peace that the One who sent you has gifted you specifically with the desire to meet the needs of His children through the capacity of business. (Romans 8:28) As you are called to serve as a missional entrepreneur, so His will and glory will be done. “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19 - GEN Desk Intern The possibilities for utilizing Aquaponics for Business As Missions (BAM) are endless. The production of the plants requires harvesting time. However, the majority of the “work week” is comprised of minute daily maintenance, freeing missions-minded individuals to invest their time in relationships and the development of community. The harvesting of the crops also functions as a relational tool, as it provides a warm (literally) environment with a task that demands effortless attention. The product itself meets the basic need of every living organism; the production of wholesome, organically grown food, while the harvesting and dispersing of the plants is every bit relational as it is economical. There are two harmful pests that endanger the development of Aquaponics farms. The first is the presence of bugs, such as Aphids and other nasty leaf eating critters. The second is apathy. To combat the first, praying mantises and ladybugs are deployed into the field. As long as doors remain closed and the plants keep growing, both animal groups will self-regulate to a sustainable population that will help protect the development of the crops. To prevent the second, apathy, ownership for the farm and the mission of the operation must be cultivated and intentionally poured into every aspect of the business.
Business As Missions is powerful. It is a way to bridge the gap between meeting the spiritual and physical needs of people groups across the world. Colossians 3:23 encourages us that, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.” Aquaponics is an example of a potent business model that addresses the growing need of worldwide hunger while simultaneously advancing The Kingdom. It is not a complicated processes to learn or manage an Aquaponics Farm, however it is a process that requires the heart and passion to step up to the front lines of the battle against hunger and teach individuals how to fish, rather than feeding them a fish for a day. The Kingdom workers who pour their hearts into each individual operation, not just the profitability of the operations themselves, define BAM. Focusing on the success of a business, with the mindset of serving The Lord, is an impactful decision that affects an indeterminate number of individuals. (Psalms 90:17) The difference between turning an empty stomach into a full one is as much a sign of love as verbally sharing the gospel or sitting down for an evening bible study. Watch the video: AQUAPONICS TOUR VIDEO - GEN Desk Intern
-GEN Desk Intern
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