Satisfaction

One of the things that gives me the most satisfaction in my home business is watching people grow and develop. I love it when someone I have been training starts to step out on their own and sees success. This happened today.

I am teaming up with a great lady who is working hard to build her business. I have helped her enroll a couple of customer, and trained her on how to do her own presentation. She has also started to focus on building a business through a cold market. She is calling people that she doesn't know and who don't know her. I have trained her to do presentations over the phone to people thousands of miles a year. Well today she enrolled someone all on her own. It was someone she never knew, and a presentation by phone (which is much more difficult than in person).

I'm very happy for her, and it makes me feel very good about my activity. Helping someone build a business, allows them to gain skills they can use for years to come, and earn a residual income that will pay them for years to come. I guess this is a reminder of how great it is to work hard in helping people to build their own home business. It is very worth it.

A Christian Economic System

What does a Christian Economic System look like?

This is something I have been wondering about for some time now. There are few things I am certain of, and much that I am uncertain of. A Christian economic system is not a system of capitalism. Capitalist's foundations are not Biblical. They are based on 'rational self interest'. This statement doesn't sound bad, but rational self-interest is manifested in greed. It is seen as people want more and more and are never satisfied. Capitalism is based on "unlimited economic wants and limited resources." Unlimited wants are not following the Jesus-model where he calls a rich young ruler to "sell your possessions and give to the poor (Matthew 19:21)". A Christian economic system would not have unlimited economic wants. They would be limited, and equal amongst all groups of people.

I'm not even sure if "limited resources" would adequately reflect a Christian understanding. After all Jesus is able to turn water into wine, and feed thousands with only a few fish and a few loaves of bread. God is able to do all things and provide for all of our needs.

I am also certain that A Christian economic system is not socialism. Socialism does sound Biblical. It sounds, in theory, very much like Acts 2:44-45: "All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need." In practice however socialism is very different. Corruption becomes quickly prevalent as the leaders are able to grab hold of significant power. Further, amongst the people laziness takes over. People know their needs will be provided for, and as such they don't put in the effort they need. Innovation and growth are slowed and everyone falls further and further behind together. This kind of idleness is warned against in the Bible. Paul writes, "we command you, brothers, to keep away from every brother who is idle and does not live according the the teaching you received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone's food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we should not be a burden to anyone of you." (2 Thessalonians 3:6-8)

So a Christian economic system is something different. I don't fully know what this looks like yet, but I know it is radical. It involves limiting our wants, a deep caring for others, and sharing what we have with others. It also involves work. God created work. Work honors God. Another purpose for work is giving to the needy: "He who has been stealing, must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need." (Ephesians 4:28)

A Christian economic system also removes the concept of status. God made it a habit of choosing the least over the most to illustrate the need to break down these status barriers: "But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one may boast in the presence of God." (1 Corinthians 1:27-29) In his book, "Bible and Mission", Richard Bauckham talks of this, saying, "The God who chose the first Corinthian converts is the God who chose the least significant of all the peoples (Israel) for his own (Deuteronomy 7:7)...... This is the God who chose the youngest of Jesse's sons, David, the one no one had even thought to summon (1 Samuel 16:6-13). This is the God who habitually overturns status, not in order to make the non-elite a new elite, but in order to abolish status, to establish his kingdom in which none can claim privilege over others and all gladly surrender privilege for the good of others.

So, while I do not have the answers to all of the questions about what makes an Christian economic system, we have a start. It is up to us to start living our lives in ways in which give examples to these factors. We are to live our lives in ways which demonstrate limiting our wants, giving to the poor, sharing with others, and rejecting the arbitrary differences that come from status.

Lets keep thinking about this topic!
Danny

A New Year - New Energy

Hi everyone,

I know it has been a while since I have written. I have just made it through our first full day of classes of our new school year. My classes today went very well, it is fun to see the life and excitement in the eyes of the students.

I wonder if we should from time to time think back to something fresh and new. Think back to your first day of university or your first day on a new job. What did it feel like? Visualize how you acted during this time. Chances are you had some nerves, but mostly you were excited to get started. You wanted to see how things would turn out. This excitement likely gave you a lot of extra energy. I know that at our students many students in the dorms have stayed up way too late for many days as they have so much energy from the start of their new adventure.

Can you capture some of this energy? Imagine you are new at your business. Try to capture some of that energy and use it today. Use that new energy to propel your business forward. Combine the knowledge and the experience you have gained plus recapture the energy of being new. You will see great things happen.

Danny Gamache

A Quote To Pondor

Hi everyone,

I wanted to share a quote with you. It is actually a few seperate passage from a book I am reading, called "Renovation of the Heart" by Dallas Willard. I think it is important as we think about the role of the church today.

"A fundamental mistake of the conservative side of the American church today, and much of the Western church, is that it takes as its basic goal to get as many people as possible ready to die and go to heaven. It aims to get people into heaven rather than to get heaven into people.....

It implodes upon itself because it creates groups of people who may be ready to die, but clearly are not ready to live. They rarely can get along with one another, much less those 'outside.'.....

As a result they actually fall short of getting as many people as possible ready to die, because the lives of the 'converted' testify against the relaity......

The way to get as amny people into heaven as you can is to get heaven into as many people as you can - that is, to follow the path of genuine spiritual transformation or full-throttle discipleship of Jesus Christ. When we are counting up results we also need to keep in mind the multitudes of people (surrounded by churches) who will not be in heaven because they have never , to their knowledge, seen the reality of Christ in a living human being." P. 238-239

I think there are some good points here. It teaches us that the church needs to focus on true spiritual development of its people. This will naturally lead to evangelism, and much more effective evangelism. It moves us a way from a focus on NUMBERS and turns us to a focus on QUALITY. This increase in QUALITY then naturally leads to more NUMBERS.

- Danny

Real Stewardship

Here is another powerful quote from "Mustard Seed versus McWorld" by Tom Sine:

“Understanding the Old Testament origins of the tithe, a growing number of New Testament scholars tell us that there is no basis for ten-percent stewardship in the New Testament. The call to follow Christ in the New Testament is a whole-life proposition.

Dualistic Christianity typically teaches that after you bring your tithe (or some part of your tithe) into the storehouse, you can pretty much do what you want with the rest. You can buy whatever toys you want and live as lavishly as you want, as long as you don’t get a materialistic hang-up with all of your things. It is amazing how many American Christians seem to be able to live palatially without ever getting hung up with materialism. Too often our Christian leaders in the United States are the pacesetters for this upscaling…..

There is something profoundly wrong when some of us live lavishly and other Christians in our world can’t keep their kids fed.” P. 202

What are some things we can do to keep this kind of whole-life giving?

Danny

What is Most Important?

In life today, economic growth (both individual and national) is considered as the most important thing. It is how we measure the success of our country and the success of us as individuals. This impact doesn't fit with a Christian world view. As Tom Sine writes in his book "Mustard Seed versus McWorld", “from a Christian perspective, I will never be able to define what’s best or what’s ultimate in terms of economic growth or efficiency. ” P. 50

What do you think? Should we measure success by economic growth? If not, what else?

Danny