by Ken Eldred
In God is at Work Ken Eldred calls evangelicals to develop a new view of God’s purpose for business as a vehicle for holistically enhancing the kingdom. The global Church underutilizes business to the detriment of both.
Regal Books, P.O. Box 3875, Ventura, CA 93006, 2005, 336 pages, $19.99.
—Reviewed by Norm Ewert, associate professor of economics, Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois.
In God is at Work Ken Eldred calls evangelicals to develop a new view of God’s purpose for business as a vehicle for holistically enhancing the kingdom. The global Church underutilizes business to the detriment of both.
After sharing his personal journey, Eldred traces business in missions from biblical times to the contemporary movement. He emphasizes the Kingdom Business (KB) objectives as the triple bottom line of spiritual, economic and social transformation.
Citing numerous cases, he illustrates the tremendous kingdom potential of business by surveying microenterprise development, small and medium enterprise development and overseas private equity initiatives.
He develops numerous KB principles which he says apply equally domestically and globally. He warns against the sacred/secular divide emphasizing that “the creation mandate and the Great Commission are both incorporated in the single human call to further the kingdom of God.”
Eldred notes that one unfortunate consequence of the sacred/secular divide is that secular groups have taken the lead in applying what are essentially Judeo-Christian values to business practice. Secular society is calling on business to promote stewardship and sustainable development, to incorporate practices which promote peace, dignity and a more socially inclusive society. Indeed, socially inclusive economic development is increasingly viewed as a necessary precondition for peace.
Why is the evangelical community not taking the lead? We need to develop and commit ourselves to business as integral mission where business gives witness to the Church and also intentionally serves the important biblical mandates of stewardship, justice, mercy and love.
Eldred challenges Christian academic institutions, mission organizations and business associations to build bridges and collaborate with each other. He lays out a vision of KB where a whole generation of evangelicals in business promotes kingdom values. Such a holistic approach to business and vocation would be the strongest witness the evangelical community could make.
One danger in the book is that it embraces an essentially individualistic ethic, preaching an individualistic gospel. As Eldred himself notes, evangelicals in the twentieth century have been suspicious of Christians who advocate social justice and stewardship without a clear commitment to evangelism. We need to be equally suspicious of Christians who affirm a vision of business which generates wealth even while committed to evangelism.
The book is carefully and extensively researched and actively engages the reader. It contains a wealth of information. The related website contains many additional resources. The book is a major contribution to this exciting new emphasis in business and missions.
Check these titles:
Sharpe, Lynn. 2003. Value Shift. New York: McGraw Hill.
Yoder, Richard A., Calvin W. Redekop, and Vernon Jantzi. 2004. Development to a Different Drummer. Intercourse, Pa.: Good Books.
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