The document discusses God's view of work and how work became negatively viewed over time. It provides examples from the Bible of Jesus and Paul modeling work as ministry. The key points are that work itself is a form of ministry and worship when done with excellence for God rather than men. Successful change agents in history are provided as examples of using one's work to solve problems and spread the gospel.

1. The Mountain of Business
Session 4

2. God’s view of

3. So what really happened
in that garden?
“Cursed is the ground”
Gen 3:17
Lost
dominion
Joy to
Toil
Sweat
Thorns

4. Understanding God’s
View of Work
How did work get
such a bad rap!?

5. 300 AD
“Catholic Distortion”
Sacred vs secular
1200 AD
“Protestant Distortion”
Work = vocation vs a Calling
Net?
• 2nd class citizens
• Work is less spiritual
• Money is evil
• Workers viewed for $
by clergy vs calling

6. 2 Men Lost

7. Jesus & Paul modeled
work life ministry.
• New Testament – Of 132 public
appearances in NT, 122 in the
marketplace
• Of 52 parables Jesus told, 45 had a
workplace context. Of 40 miracles in
the book of Acts, 39 were in the
marketplace.

8. Key Fallacy
Hierarchy of spiritual calling.
Pastor
Missionary
Evangelist
Church Worker
Vocational Ministry Worker
Stay-at-home mom
Plumber
CEO/Executive
Scum of the earth…
Ad Agency Executive
Whatever you do,
work at it with all
your heart, as
working for the
Lord, not for
men, since you
know that you
will receive an
inheritance from
the Lord as a
reward. It is the
Lord Christ you
are serving.
Col 3:23-24
Lawyer!

9. Give $
WORK
Meet human
needs
Work is
worship
“Avodah”
Platform
Influence - societal
transformation
“Ministry”
equates to
“Service”
“diakonia”
Work IS Ministry Work TO Minister
Col 3:23-25
And whatever you do,
do it heartily,
as to the Lord and not to men,
knowing that from the Lord
you will receive the reward
of the inheritance;
for you serve the Lord Christ. Care
for
Poor
Lev 19:9-10

10. History Workplace Ministry
CBMC
1930
Marketplace
Leaders
1997
Executive
Ministries
1960s
ICWM
1998
FGBMFI
1951
C12
1992
ICCC
1985
CMDL
1991
Pinnacle
Forum
1995
Workplace
Ministry
Workplace
Ministry
Evangelism
Theology
of work
Church-
Based
Ministry
2000
Spirituality
@Work
1997
Social
Transformation
Half Time
1995
7 Mountains
Strategy
Ed Silvoso, Billy Graham,
Henry Blackaby, Peter Wagner
FCCI
1977

11. Egypt
Work Life Call Journey
3 Phases
“Slavery”
Ps 127:1
vs a son
“To Speak”
“Test”
“Manna”
Hosea 2
“Inheritance”
Dt 8 and
Josh 24: 13
sonship
Desert
Promised
Land

12. “What Defines a Christian
in the Workplace?”
– NY Times Reporter

16. Oswald Chambers
We are only what we are in the dark; all the rest is
reputation. What God looks at is what we are in the
dark—the imaginations of our minds; the thoughts of
our heart; the habits of our bodies; these are the
things that mark us in God’s sight.
The Love of God—The Ministry of the Unnoticed, 669 L

17. Compromise always
leads to deceit.
"Because they received not the love of the truth, that
they might be saved. And for this cause [reason] God
shall send them strong delusion, that they should
believe a lie" (2 Thessalonians 2:10-11).

18. What you uncover,
God covers.
What you cover,
God uncovers
through humiliation.

19. Satan has no new tricks. He
has 3 that have worked
just fine for centuries.
For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh,
the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes
not from the Father but from the world.1 Jn 2:16

21. It’s the servants
who see
water turned into
wine.

24. Reason for Business
But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who
gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so
confirms his covenant, which he swore to your
ancestors, as it is today.
If you ever forget the LORD your God and follow
other gods and worship and bow down to them, I
testify against you today that you will surely be
destroyed. Like the nations the LORD destroyed
before you, so you will be destroyed for not
obeying the LORD your God. Dt 8:18-20

25. …built on the foundation of the apostles
and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself
as the chief cornerstone. -- Eph. 2:20
Apostle Prophet
Pastor Teacher Evangelist
Mature Church
Kingdom of God Established in the City
Jesus Jesus

26. Building the Church in the Workplace Ephesians
5 Gifts/Offices
It was he who gave some to be
apostles, prophets, evangelists,
pastors teachers…
… to prepare God's people for
works of service…
Eph 4:11-13

27. …built on the foundation of the apostles
and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself
as the chief cornerstone. -- Eph. 2:20
Apostle
Entreprenuer/CEO
Prophet
CFO,CEO?
Pastor
Customer
Service/HR/CEO
Teacher
Corporate Trainer
Evangelist
Outside Sales
Mature Church, Inc.
Kingdom of God Established in the City
Jesus Jesus

28. Kingdom
business
Leaders
should
solve a
problem

29. God is waiting for his change agents
to step into their destiny.
The creation waits in eager expectation for the
sons of God to be revealed-Romans 8:19

30. Live such good lives among the pagans that,
though they accuse you of doing wrong, they
may see your good deeds and glorify God on
the day he visits us.
I Peter 2:12

31. David’s
Big
Audacious
Idea
What will be done?
• Kings daughter
• No taxes
• Great wealth
• Understood covenant
“Uncircumcised Philistine?”
From delivering food to delivering a nation

32. Becoming a Change Agent
“Can we find anyone like this man, one in
whom is the spirit of God?”
Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘Since God
has made all this known to you, there is
no one so discerning and wise as you.
You shall be in charge…” Gen 41:38, 39

33. Joseph, a Change Agent
You shall be over my house, and all my people shall be ruled
according to your word; only in regard to the throne will I be greater
than you." And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "See, I have set you over
all the land of Egypt" (Gen 41:38-41).

34. Johannes Gutenberg
inventor of the printing press 1455
60 years later - Protestant Reformation 1517

35. Johannes Gutenberg
• “Let us give wings to Truth in order that
she may win every god that comes into
the world by her word, no longer written at
vast expense, but multiplied everlastingly
by a machine which never wearies.”

36. Johannes Gutenberg
• “It is a press, certainly, but through it, God
will spread His Word; a spring of pure
truth shall flow from like a new star it shall
scatter the darkness of ignorance, and
cause a light hitherto fore unknown to
shine among men.”

37. Clara Barton, founder,
Red Cross, age 60
• One of first women
teachers
• Among the first women
to gain employment in
the federal government.
• Barton risked her life to
bring supplies and
support to soldiers in the
field during the Civil War.
• Founded the American
Red Cross in 1881 and
led it for 23 years.
• Her intense devotion to
serving others resulted in
enough achievements to
fill several ordinary
lifetimes.

38. Clara Barton, founder,
Red Cross, age 60
“I have an almost complete
disregard of precedent and a
faith in the possibility of
something better. It irritates
me to be told how things
always have been done ... I
defy the tyranny of
precedent. I cannot afford
the luxury of a closed mind. I
go for anything new that
might improve the past.”

39. George Washington
Carver
• 300 marketable products – peanut
• 100 sweet potato
• Transformed southern economy

40. “Man, who needed a purpose, a mission, to keep him alive,
had one. He could be. God’s coworker. My purpose alone
must be God’s purpose. As I worked on projects which
fulfilled a real human need, forces were working through me
which amazed me. I would often go to sleep with an
apparently insoluble problem. When I woke the answer was
there.”

42. Visions & Witty Inventions

43. Every great invention goes through 3 stages:
1. Ridiculed
2. Opposed
3. Self-evident

44. Christian
Executive
Disney Cruise Ships

45. Lynne Ruhle
Reclaiming the Gymnastics Mountain - Sports

46. Tom’s Shoes

47. Further Study
www.tgifbookstore.com

48. Summary
• We are to manifest God’s presence in the area of our calling.
• We are to solve problems through business.
• We are called to acquire wealth for the sake of His Kingdom -
Dt 8:18
• Social entrepreneurship should be used to solve a global
problem.
• Satan has no new tricks; his old ones work just fine. Pride of
life, lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes. 1 Jn 2:16