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Goals of The Alternative Board |
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· We are to encourage one another. (Heb 10:24-25; 1 Th 5:11). Meeting together is highly valued in the New Testament and talked about often. While there is nothing in those passages to suggest meeting in a business forum, it is logical that if we are to encourage one another, it would be most effective within the context of our call to be ministers in the marketplace. · We are to have unity of purpose. (Ph 2:1-2). Unity is a key principle in the New Testament and is one of the clear hallmarks of being Christians. Jesus Himself prayed that we may be one just as He and the Father are one. (Jn 17:21). How do we accomplish unity of purpose if we do not openly discuss that purpose, equip each other to meet it and hold each other accountable? · We are to focus our activities in the name of the Lord. (Col 3:16-17; 23-24). One purpose of a board of directors is to keep the work of the organization firmly focused on the mission. In the case of Christian businesses, this becomes even more important in that there are always two missions - the Kingdom mission and the temporal mission that equips for the Kingdom mission. Our fellow board members help us keep those balanced and ourselves focused on them both. · We are to be good stewards. (Lk 19:11-27). The parable of the minas is preached in every church, but one of the obvious points, rarely raised, is that stewardship takes place in the market. The good stewards were those who understood how to leverage their master’s resources for a mighty return. Belonging to a board sharpens those skills, holding us accountable for doing the best we are able with what we are given. This is perhaps the key difference between a peer advisory board, and say, CBMC. The purpse is to be the best business owner possible within the context of Kingdom work. A second level of meaning in that parable is really challenging for business owners. The master’s reward to the good stewards in not just more minas, but rather “authority over cities”. It is in the marketplace that power and authority is exercised. · We are called to corporate confession and healing. (Ja 5:13-16). Our businesses are all in need of healing. All of us find ourselves in business trouble now and again. The whole process of healing is facilitated by making ourselves vulnerable to each other. We are to create an atmosphere in which we can safely and openly confess our sins, our failures, and our concerns to each other, bringing ourselves into the right standing with God (righteousness). Then our prayers will be effective. · We are warned against taking counsel from the wicked. (Ps 1). Almost all of the advice we get in business is from the world’s very temporal view. Spiritual accountability is gained by submitting one’s plans and actions to a group of Godly business owners. · We are commanded to be on alert for one another in prayer (Eph 6:18-20). In our Sunday congregations, business owners are not often understood nor given the opportunity to easily share their intercessory needs at their workplace. Work is more often seen as a secular endeavor than a worship and work of the Lord. A strong division between the “sacred” and the “secular” has been nurtured and business is categorized as secular. Paul, in this passage, not only commanded alertness in the Spirit, but for himself specifically that utterance and bold speech would be given to him in proclaiming the gospel as he ought. We need this same prayer, with understanding, so that we may proclaim the gospel in it’s fullness to the market, as we ought.
NOTE: Much of the content of this page is derived from the article, “Why Should a Christian Business Owner Join TAB?” by Bob Ryan, TAB East Metro, Minneapolis. |
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TAB 4 Christ |