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Change the marketplace and you change the city
Church in the Community - Media Release in the Herald: 26th August 2024
Source: TCN / Mike Smith
Date Added: 2024-08-26
Category: General News, TCN News, Business News, Issues - General,
Date Added: 2024-08-26
Category: General News, TCN News, Business News, Issues - General,
"Change the Marketplace and you change the world". This is the subtitle of Ed Silvoso’s book, Transformation.
My wife Glynn and I were at a conference of Ed Silvoso in 2007 where he taught on various aspects of the book.
I had resigned my position in the accounting practice I managed the year before to do what I believed God wanted from me, namely, to encourage and or persuade Christians to practice their faith where they connect every day, and to teach them how to do it, as directed in Colossians 3:23
Billy Graham is reported to have said in his later years “the next great move of God will be in the marketplace”. His prediction is coming true.
The 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Protestant Reformation celebrated in October 2017 is significant in many respects, not least in providing an opportunity to revisit Martin Luther’s emphasis on the role of the laity.
Yet his legacy of a positive and theologically robust understanding of vocation as located in the everyday world as well as the religious life has only sporadically informed the church’s understanding of lay ministry and has frequently been frustrated by clericalism and institutional inertia.
I read in a LICC (London Institute for Contemporary Christianity) pamphlet that 98% of Christians are neither envisioned nor empowered for ministry in 95% of their waking lives.
The pamphlet goes on to say, “imagine if they were” envisioned and empowered! Now I know that is Britain, but it is highly unlikely that it would be any different here in South Africa.
Malcolm Gladwell who wrote the book “The Tipping Point”, described how the phrase is derived from the world of epidemiology.
It’s the name given to that moment in an epidemic when a virus reaches critical mass. It’s the boiling point. It’s the moment on a graph when the line shoots straight upwards. AIDS tipped in 1982 and Covid in 2021.
Imagine what would happen when we reach “the tipping point”.
One of the ideas in the back of my mind over the years has been to minister directly to workers in businesses with the permission of their owners/managers, rather than working through the local churches.
Currently teams of two people from the church I attend visit two factories in the city to bring a word of spiritual encouragement and prayer every fortnight. This is the only initiative that I know of.
Obviously, this can be scaled up with more volunteers and agreement of business owners/managers.
Recently at the invitation of the Christian Businessmen’s Connection, I joined a five-hour webinar/summit about how Coca Cola Consolidated, one of the 20% of the Fortune 500 companies which identify as Faith Friendly Corporates in the USA, goes about glorifying God within the legal constraints of the largely secular society.
Frankly it was riveting.
Research has found that benefits from a faith-friendly workplace include an increase in employee morale, retention and loyalty. High employee engagement and faith-friendly and service-oriented cultures can increase an organization’s productivity, earnings growth and profitability.
In his opening address at the summit, Frank Harrison, the chairman and CEO said “thank you for deciding to join us on this journey to develop a purpose-driven culture within your company.
“At Coca-Cola Consolidated, our purpose — to honour God in all we do, to serve others, to pursue excellence, and to grow profitably — has made all the difference.
“How do you change your corporate culture to one that is healthy, purpose driven, and servant-oriented?
“The t-factor leadership summit provides the framework, encouragement, and resources necessary for you to develop a faith-friendly culture unique to your company. This is an opportunity to become part of a community dedicated to inspiring one another as we transform our workplaces together.”
Colossians 4: 5-6 tells us to be gracious in our conversation with outsiders in order to bring out the best in others.
Frank Harrison has written a book titled “The Transformation Factor”. It is an easy read, available in electronic format and packed full of insightful information, such as:
“Companies do not grow. Our people grow, then the company grows. When this mindset takes hold, your team members will naturally think about growth as normal, and tough times as opportunities rather than setbacks. That is a recipe for innovation and success.”
“Influence can rise, but culture falls from the top. Like it or not, it’s the responsibility of the top leaders of an organisation to establish a culture and that culture will either be one in which people feel safe and empowered, or it will be one in which people feel threatened, unsafe and fearful to use their abilities to contribute to the corporate purpose.”
“We have got to get over this phobia of integrating our faith with our work. God made us to be whole people, not people who live one way at home and another way at work, all stoic, and well, seemingly faithless.”
Romans 14:19 tells us to “make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification”.
If you are a business leader and would like to know more about transforming your workplace, speak to me or visit t-factor.com.
Mike Smith,
Workplace Mentor
My wife Glynn and I were at a conference of Ed Silvoso in 2007 where he taught on various aspects of the book.
I had resigned my position in the accounting practice I managed the year before to do what I believed God wanted from me, namely, to encourage and or persuade Christians to practice their faith where they connect every day, and to teach them how to do it, as directed in Colossians 3:23
Billy Graham is reported to have said in his later years “the next great move of God will be in the marketplace”. His prediction is coming true.
The 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Protestant Reformation celebrated in October 2017 is significant in many respects, not least in providing an opportunity to revisit Martin Luther’s emphasis on the role of the laity.
Yet his legacy of a positive and theologically robust understanding of vocation as located in the everyday world as well as the religious life has only sporadically informed the church’s understanding of lay ministry and has frequently been frustrated by clericalism and institutional inertia.
I read in a LICC (London Institute for Contemporary Christianity) pamphlet that 98% of Christians are neither envisioned nor empowered for ministry in 95% of their waking lives.
The pamphlet goes on to say, “imagine if they were” envisioned and empowered! Now I know that is Britain, but it is highly unlikely that it would be any different here in South Africa.
Malcolm Gladwell who wrote the book “The Tipping Point”, described how the phrase is derived from the world of epidemiology.
It’s the name given to that moment in an epidemic when a virus reaches critical mass. It’s the boiling point. It’s the moment on a graph when the line shoots straight upwards. AIDS tipped in 1982 and Covid in 2021.
Imagine what would happen when we reach “the tipping point”.
One of the ideas in the back of my mind over the years has been to minister directly to workers in businesses with the permission of their owners/managers, rather than working through the local churches.
Currently teams of two people from the church I attend visit two factories in the city to bring a word of spiritual encouragement and prayer every fortnight. This is the only initiative that I know of.
Obviously, this can be scaled up with more volunteers and agreement of business owners/managers.
Recently at the invitation of the Christian Businessmen’s Connection, I joined a five-hour webinar/summit about how Coca Cola Consolidated, one of the 20% of the Fortune 500 companies which identify as Faith Friendly Corporates in the USA, goes about glorifying God within the legal constraints of the largely secular society.
Frankly it was riveting.
Research has found that benefits from a faith-friendly workplace include an increase in employee morale, retention and loyalty. High employee engagement and faith-friendly and service-oriented cultures can increase an organization’s productivity, earnings growth and profitability.
In his opening address at the summit, Frank Harrison, the chairman and CEO said “thank you for deciding to join us on this journey to develop a purpose-driven culture within your company.
“At Coca-Cola Consolidated, our purpose — to honour God in all we do, to serve others, to pursue excellence, and to grow profitably — has made all the difference.
“How do you change your corporate culture to one that is healthy, purpose driven, and servant-oriented?
“The t-factor leadership summit provides the framework, encouragement, and resources necessary for you to develop a faith-friendly culture unique to your company. This is an opportunity to become part of a community dedicated to inspiring one another as we transform our workplaces together.”
Colossians 4: 5-6 tells us to be gracious in our conversation with outsiders in order to bring out the best in others.
Frank Harrison has written a book titled “The Transformation Factor”. It is an easy read, available in electronic format and packed full of insightful information, such as:
“Companies do not grow. Our people grow, then the company grows. When this mindset takes hold, your team members will naturally think about growth as normal, and tough times as opportunities rather than setbacks. That is a recipe for innovation and success.”
“Influence can rise, but culture falls from the top. Like it or not, it’s the responsibility of the top leaders of an organisation to establish a culture and that culture will either be one in which people feel safe and empowered, or it will be one in which people feel threatened, unsafe and fearful to use their abilities to contribute to the corporate purpose.”
“We have got to get over this phobia of integrating our faith with our work. God made us to be whole people, not people who live one way at home and another way at work, all stoic, and well, seemingly faithless.”
Romans 14:19 tells us to “make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification”.
If you are a business leader and would like to know more about transforming your workplace, speak to me or visit t-factor.com.
Mike Smith,
Workplace Mentor
Source: TCN / Mike Smith
Date Added: 2024-08-26
Category: General News, TCN News, Business News, Issues - General,
Back to News IndexDate Added: 2024-08-26
Category: General News, TCN News, Business News, Issues - General,
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