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New Book: “Business for All Seasons”

Dec 15th, 2025 by

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Business for All Seasons is a gift to the global church. Mats Tunehag has once again brought remarkable clarity, theological depth, and practical wisdom to the conversation about business as a redemptive calling.

With the skill of a storyteller and the conviction of a seasoned practitioner, he reminds us that business—done God’s way—creates dignity, restores broken places, strengthens families, and advances the Kingdom across generations.

This short book carries enormous weight. It will challenge your assumptions, elevate your imagination, and call you into God’s mission in the marketplace with fresh courage. I highly recommend it.

Don Simmons, Author, The Steward Investor

 

Introduction: 

Business for All Seasons is a small book with a large ambition: to help Christians think more clearly and act more courageously in the marketplace. It gathers twenty short chapters* all circling the same conviction: business and investing are not side activities to “real” ministry, but central avenues through which God restores people, and transform communities and nations.

The title nods to A Man for All Seasons, the story of Sir Thomas More, who chose faithfulness to conscience over comfort, reputation, and even his life. In a different arena, men and women in business face their own pressures: to separate faith from work, to chase profit without purpose, or to accept broken systems as inevitable. This book is written for those who want to follow God in boardrooms, shop floors, farms, and investment committees, even when that is costly.

It also echoes Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and the hymn Great Is Thy Faithfulness. Business, like nature, moves through springtimes of vision and start-up energy, summers of growth, autumns of transition and harvest, and winters of pruning, disappointment, or waiting. Yet the seasons are not neatly separated; they overlap and interact. Through them all, God’s faithfulness does not change. “Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest… join with all nature in manifold witness to Thy great faithfulness.” These pages invite you to see your work and investments in that larger, steady light.

You will not find a technical manual on portfolio construction or a step-by-step guide to starting a company. Instead, each chapter offers a theological lens, a story, or a set of questions that can reshape how you view capital, risk, success, and calling. We will look at themes like tikkun olam—repairing a broken world with God; wealth creation as a holy calling; investing for generations rather than quarters; how business can confront human trafficking instead of profiting from exploitation; and why there is no biblical “pyramid” that makes pastors more spiritual than entrepreneurs or investors.

Throughout the book runs the language of four bottom lines. Business as Mission seeks holistic impact—financial, social, environmental, and spiritual—because the Kingdom of God touches every dimension of life. Like the four seasons, these bottom lines are distinct yet inseparable. Sound investments can create dignifying jobs, protect creation, strengthen families, and open space for the good news of Jesus to be both seen and heard.

Whether you are an investor, entrepreneur, pastor, student, or simply someone wondering how your work fits into God’s purposes, my hope is that this book will do three things: affirm that your place in the marketplace truly matters to God; stretch your imagination for what faithful business can do in the world; and encourage you to keep going—through all the seasons—with integrity, courage, and joy.

These are not final answers but invitations into ongoing conversations and practice. My prayer is that as you read and reflect, you will hear God’s call afresh to steward your time, talents, and treasures for the good of people and the glory of God—becoming, in your own sphere, a “business person for all seasons.”

Download pdf here –>  Free e-book: Business for All Seasons

Content:

Introduction

  1. On a Tikkun Olam Mission
  2. Investing for Generations to Come
  3. Human Trafficking Is Profitable. Why Not Pursue It?
  4. Investing & the Pyramid of Christ
  5. Celebrating 1700 Years of Business and Investing as Mission
  6. Investing, Charity & Justice
  7. Investing & Default Mode
  8. What Shall We Call It?
  9. Business Can Transform the World
  10. The Genesis of Business With a Mission Is In Genesis
  11. Jesus – An Integral Part of Our Value Proposition
  12. The Immediate, the Generational, and the Eternal
  13. God Restores the Marketplace
  14. Serve People and Trust God for Impact
  15. Investing for Holistic Transformation
  16. How Do We Define Success?
  17. Private Property, Ownership and the Poor
  18. Not From the West to the Rest!
  19. Business & Wealth, Sins & Virtues
  20. What Are Your Thoughts?

Resources

About the author

 

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A Cohesive Faith, Business and Impact

Nov 11th, 2025 by

Cohesion is about connecting dots. Cohesion brings meaning as the parts stick together, they work together, and they create a unified whole. Like Avodah.

Avodah is the Hebrew word for work, worship and service. It is used interchangeably in the Hebrew bible. Worship is not sanctified entertainment. Work is worship. Avodah. The Jewish concept means work is worship as we serve God and people. Life as an integrated whole: to work, worship and serve. Cohesion!

Or as the Apostle Paul said: Whatever you do, do it unto the Lord.

Thus, business is not a distraction from serving God. Business is Avodah: work, worship, service. We’re taking our Sunday talk into a Monday walk. We’re connecting the dots. Cohesion, a unified whole.

There is a time to compartmentalize. Science does it. Like water is hydrogen and oxygen. But when you’re thirsty you don’t want a chemical formula, but an integrated whole. And we don’t play oxygen against hydrogen. Or the spiritual against the physical. Cohesion, a unified whole, quenches thirst and gives life.

Our faith needs cohesion, also as we do business and seek impact. Faith is not a mere intellectual exercise. Faith mustn’t be a thin veneer brushed over our business operations. We’re not doing business with just a touch of churchianity. Faith should be an integrated whole; authentic, real, and permeating who we are and what we do.

What is the purpose of business? Is it primarily about making money, maximizing profit? If so, I suggest we do drug or human trafficking. Very profitable. But I assume we all say: No! I won’t do that. Why not, I may ask? Because it is against our faith, our values. Rightly so.

But then we need to ask: what is our faith and what are the underpinning values that should inform and guide us? Values deeply rooted in the Judeo-Christian tradition which should shape our businesses. Identifying, internalizing and applying these values will make a difference, and have an impact. Let’s see how that plays out in real life on a macro scale.

Why is North Korea dirt poor and oppressive, while South Korea is flourishing in so many ways? A reason is three foundational values from Genesis which make a huge difference. Creativity, freedom and dignity.

We are created in God’s image to be creative, including creating goods and services in community and for community. God gave us freedom to exercise this creativity, also in the marketplace. Because, without freedom there is no creativity. Without freedom human dignity is affected. And work gives dignity. Handouts never give dignity, but jobs do. In the Jewish tradition, the highest form of charity is to give someone a job, or a loan so they can develop a business.

North Korea shuns freedom, creativity, and dignity and its people pay a heavy price. But in South Korea we can witness these values in action, and its transformative impact.

There are other biblical values which are a part on an integrated faith. Cohesion, parts working together. Like shalom. When shalom exists between people, also in business, there’s trust and honesty. Each person seeks the other’s well-being. The relationships mirrors harmony — between humans, God, and creation.

We want to see the Kingdom of God preached, demonstrated and extended as we do business. But it is not “Kingdom values” without the King, or applying “Christian ethics” without Christ.

The Great Commission makes that clear, and also reminds us about the global thrust – to all peoples and nations.

God is the original entrepreneur, who created in community and for community, and after each production day he did quality control. It was good!

There was an astute business woman in the Middle East many centuries ago. She assessed market opportunities, invested, made a profit, reinvested to grow her business, and gave part of the profit to charitable causes. She was in manufacturing and retail, and she had functioning supply chain. She provided employment and cared for staff and other stakeholders. Her impact in business was recognized citywide. We can read about her in Proverbs chapter 31.

God called and equipped John Cadbury to business, 200 years ago, when he started the chocolate factory in Birmingham, England. It had a holistic impact on many stakeholders for several generations. There was cohesion, faith and impact.

God called and equipped Hans Nielsen Hauge in Norway, also two centuries ago. He was instrumental in catalyzing a nationwide spiritual revival as well as starting an entrepreneurship movement, which transformed the nation. There was cohesion, faith and impact.

Today there is a global movement of women and men in business, called by God to start and grow businesses, and to find business solutions to human trafficking, growing youth unemployment, environmental challenges, and to serve unreached peoples. And make Christ known.

But how about faith in the marketplace? Good question, but remember that faith is not an imposition, but a proposition. We are never to impose Jesus, but propose Him. He should be a part of our value proposition, alongside our products and services. Why? Because of a cohesive faith seeking impact, and market demands.

A global survey done by McKinsey shows clearly, that the vast majority of people around the globe, regardless of culture, religion and socioeconomic status, consider spiritual health just as vital and important as physical, mental and social health. So, making Jesus – and our faith – an integral part of our value proposition can make business sense and meet a need in the market.

We live in a world that is broken, in so many ways. We live in the tension of the world that is and the world as it ought to be. But we are called to repair it, to mend, to heal, to be change agents. We see dire poverty. Not what it ought to be. We see unemployment making people vulnerable to exploitation and human traffickers. Not what it ought to be. We see big rivers in south Asia deeply polluted. Not what it ought to be. We know of large areas around the world where the name of Jesus is rarely heard. Not what it ought to be. But there are business solutions to many of these challenges.

Tikkun olam is another Jewish concept, which means bridging the gap between the world which is broken, and to a world as it ought to be – filled with Shalom. Tikkun olam means repairing the world, to co-create with God, bring hope and healing to the world, also through business. The Lord’s prayer is a tikkun olam prayer. May your Kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven – as we do business.

To heal and repair – tikkun olam. It is about a cohesive faith and holistic impact.

A few more words about impact. We are to serve God and people with professionalism, excellence and integrity, and trust God for impact. As Saint Paul put it: I planted, Apollos watered, but God made it grow.

Paul and Apollos served faithfully in the ‘Chronos’, in time and space where we operate and have certain control. But then there were ‘Kairos’ moments. God can use the planting and the watering for an impact bigger than us, and beyond our control. Don’t try to do God’s job – it is tiring, and doesn’t really work. Do your job in businesses, or whatever it may be, with a cohesive faith, but trust God for impact.

In conclusion, let me quote Rabbi Jonathan Sacks. He writes about faith, tikkun olam, and a purpose driven life to make an impact.

“To live the life of faith is to hear the silent cry of the afflicted, the lonely and marginal, the poor, the sick and the disempowered, and to respond. For the world is not yet mended, there is work still to do, and God has empowered us to do it – with him, for him. … As long as there is unemployment and homelessness, depression and despair, our task is not yet done, and we hear, if we listen carefully enough, the voice of God asking us, as he asked the first humans, ‘Where are you?”

Dare we respond: Lord, here am I – send me

PS. This is a slightly revised version of the presentation I did at the Branches Summit https://www.branchessummit.com/ in Ohio, USA early November 2025.

 

 

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Celebrating 1700 Years of Business as Mission

Aug 14th, 2025 by

Is it more spiritual to give to a church than to invest in business? Is it more “holy” to be a pastor than a business person? Is God really concerned about physical and economic needs? These are questions reflecting the centuries-old ingrained sacred-secular divide. It is a mental paradigm, which has practical implications.

But this divide is based on heresies, which the Church dealt with a long time ago, at the Council of Nicaea. This pivotal event took place 1700 years ago, in 325 AD. It was a major milestone in dealing with two extremes, which played the spiritual and the physical against each other.

Docetism emerged in the early days of the church and it was a belief that spiritualized Jesus, denying his physical incarnation, that the Word became flesh and dwelled among us. Arianism, on the other hand, made Jesus a lesser god, and like Docetism found it hard to reconcile that Jesus was fully divine and fully human. This was linked to Gnosticism which categorized the physical arena as not good or a lesser good, and the spiritual realm as better and more worthy of pursuit.

To settle these issues, a few hundred church leaders met at the Council of Nicaea. They rejected both these extremes, and the sacred – secular divide. The Council confirmed the teachings of Scripture and the Church, that Jesus was both fully divine and fully human. Not an either or, or more or less of either aspect.

Thus, we can celebrate 1700 years of a well-established teaching: it is not more spiritual to be a pastor than an investor. And it has even deeper roots: to work and be creative, also in business, is both deeply divine and deeply human. It goes back to Genesis chapter 1, and relates to who God is, and who we are created in his image.

The concepts of business as mission, or investing with a godly mission, has a firm foundation in the Nicene Creed, which was adopted 1700 years ago.

This means we mustn’t be proud and think that we have come up with something new or groundbreaking. But it also means that we stand on holy and firm ground, when we pursue earthly investments with a heavenly vision.

If Arianism had prevailed, Christianity would be like Islam or Jehovah Witnesses, which deny the divinity of Christ. If aspects of Gnosticism had won, Christianity may have been a small esoteric sect for a self-appointed elite, who would be disengaged from the needs of the world. But they lost.

Thus, on the basis of Scripture, the Nicene Creed and other creeds that followed, countless of Christians on all continents have engaged in preaching and healing, helping the poor, starting universities, engaging in science, and sending missionaries across the globe. Day by day, year after year – for centuries. We are also a part of this great legacy, which includes starting and developing businesses as well as deploying financial, social and intellectual capital to that end.

We must be deeply rooted in our Judeo-Christian tradition, and the Nicene Creed, which is embraced by all major churches around the world. At the same time, we still need to fight and dismantle the sacred-secular divide idea whenever and wherever it pops up.

So, congrats everyone! We celebrate the 1700 years since the Nicene Creed, and thus we can, with confidence and joy, serve God and people with our investments.

Happy anniversary!

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Jesus – An Integral Part of Our Value Proposition

Dec 11th, 2024 by

If we like something we are usually happy to recommend that to others. Like I may say: You should read Russian authors and books like The Karamazov Brothers by Fyodor Dostoevsky, and One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.[1] I unashamedly commend these books to be read. They are good.

You probably have recommended a restaurant to someone, or a favorite tourist destination. We do this all the time; it is part of a human interaction. We’ve had a great experience and we share it with others. Nobody is forced to agree with us, or follow up on our suggestions; we propose them, we do not impose them.

In business we do the same. We develop a value proposition, and it is related to a need, a demand, to market realities. A beach resort may offer a package deal, and a restaurant a set menu or a la carte. They believe in their offers, and thus propose various products and services to customers and clients. So does various financial services. It is a part of their value proposition.

This happens also in the world of ideas, faith and politics. In the global supermarket of the latest trends and modern values, we are constantly offered opinions and asked to buy in. In politics it is the same: politicians and parties propose policies, and in a democracy, we can vote and chose to support some and argue against others.

Similar with sharing our Christian faith. We believe God is truth, goodness and beauty, and thus we are willing to invite others to get to know Him. We believe God and his Kingdom can have a positive impact on many levels in society and on all aspects of life, also through investments and businesses.

There is an inherent demand for God. St. Augustine depicted our common humanness, in his ‘Confessions’, as a longing for God: “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.”

In fact, the market is asking for spiritual health. McKinsey did a global survey on health, and what is important to people. They went beyond WHO’s definition which is about physical, mental and social health, and also included spiritual health. The overwhelming majority, across countries, cultures, religions and socioeconomic levels, stated that spiritual health was ‘extremely or very important’ to them.[2]

But in a compartmentalized modernistic thinking, we tend to have separate boxes for investment, business activities and Christian service. We may sprinkle some ‘churchianity’ on our investments and businesses in a hope that God will bless our endeavors. But Jesus is not an add-on. He should be an integral part of our value proposition to all those seeking and needing greater spiritual health.

We cannot force our faith on anyone, and we shouldn’t try. We should never impose Jesus, but rather propose him. We believe God is good, and good for people and societies.  We are to be creative in business, and involved in value-add processes, be good stewards of the planet, love neighbors / stakeholders, and make Christ known among all peoples. These aspects, and bottom-lines, should be included as we develop our value proposition. Otherwise, we fail to understand our market, and our businesses and investments are not congruent with our beliefs.

In business we aim at delivering good products and services, accompanied with customer care, and corporate social and environmental responsibility. We cannot force anyone to buy our services or like our products, but we offer them to prospective clients and customers. This also applies to investment opportunities and portfolios. We want to have a product offering which aligns with our core beliefs, meet various needs of people and societies, and where Jesus is an integral part of our value proposition. God wants it, the world needs it, and we are called to it.

 

[1] I would also recommend Grey is the Color of Hope, by Irina Ratushinskaya, and The Children of the Arbat, by Anatoli Rybakov.

[2] See https://religiousfreedomandbusiness.org/2/post/2023/01/spiritual-health-as-important-as-physical-health-according-to-new-mckinsey-report.html and https://www.mckinsey.com/mhi/our-insights/the-secret-to-great-health-escaping-the-healthcare-matrix

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Business With a Mission: Go With God and the Flow…

Jan 12th, 2024 by

God called Abraham to leave his hometown and go to another country. The direction was clear, but it was a journey with few if any details sketched out.

Moses wanted to help his enslaved fellow Jews, but he acted violently and prematurely. He was sent on a cool down period which lasted for decades. But then God appeared to him and called him on a defined mission: Freedom! Again, it involved a journey, but little did he and the others know that it would take 40 years. The mission was clear, but it was not a detailed five-year strategic plan that steered them. God guided Moses and the people of Israel on their long journey. They repeatedly had to problem solve as they faced new issues and entered uncharted territories.

Called to a mission with no plan?

There’s a long list of people in the Old Testament who God called to a mission, but they were not given a plan. They tended to doubt their ability to fulfill their roles and missions. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks observes about Moses and others:

“Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?” said Moses to God. “And how can I possibly get the Israelites out of Egypt?” Ex. 3:11 … “…people who turn out to be the most worthy are the ones who deny they are worthy at all. The Prophet Isaiah, when charged with his mission, said, ‘I am a man of unclean lips’ (Is. 6:5). Jeremiah said, ‘I cannot speak, for I am a child’ (Jer. 1:6). David, Israel’s greatest king, echoed Moses’ words, ‘Who am I?’ (2 Samuel 7:18). Jonah, sent on a mission by God, tried to run away.

They were people who doubted their own abilities. There were times when they felt like giving up. Moses, Elijah, Jeremiah and Jonah reached points of such despair that they prayed to die. … It is almost as if a sense of smallness is a sign of greatness.“ [1]

Caught between a rock and a hard place

Moses had left the royal court and he was no longer one of them. And his people of birth initially rejected him as a leader. Now he was to talk to two groups which didn’t trust him, and he really wasn’t deeply connected with either one. And the demands Moses presented to Pharaoh did not reveal a comprehensive plan.

We may sometimes feel like Moses, caught between a rock and a hard place, pursuing business with a mission. Not quite accepted by the church, and not fully understood by the business community. At times it may not be easy to convey our mission, as not everything can be quantified and put in a strategic plan. Also, things may progress a lot slower than we anticipate.

It is also worth noting that encounters with God were followed by a mission, people were given an assignment. It was not just a moment of bliss for their own edification. Rather, it often meant hardships coming up, and a life with many unknowns. They were to be true to God and their God-given mission, but they didn’t have a detailed plan, nor could they fully comprehend the implications of the journeys they started.

Finding God in unexpected places

There were often surprises along the way, and they needed to change their understanding of God’s modus operandi.

When Jesus was born, there were three wise men (three according to tradition) who saw a star, and they set out to find a newborn king.[2] The journey took them to a royal palace, but the newborn king wasn’t there, but rather in a lowly place. He had only been recognized, up to that point, by some shepherds, the lowest of low – socioeconomically speaking. Surprise!

God may not show up where we expect it, and sometimes we are too impressed by titles and seek out influential leaders, only to realize that God isn’t there. But the wise men followed through with their mission, and were willing to change plans. If they had not, they would have missed one of the biggest turning points in the history of mankind.[3] As we seek God, as we are on our mission – which may be business as mission – we should expect the unexpected. We should be ready to leave the palaces, the rich and influential, to be with the least, the lost and the lowliest. God may be right there!

Theology grounded in real life, real business and real people

The apostle Paul was also given a mission after an encounter with the risen Christ. After a three-year period to regroup he set out on a ‘to-all-peoples-mission’. He stayed mission true, and it was a life with on-going journeys and changing plans. Paul is one of the most influential theologians ever, but his theology was not developed in isolation as lofty metaphysical theories. No, it grew out of his divine encounter, his sense of mission, and dealing with real life issues, also as unplanned matters arose.

“Theology isn’t an exercise in conceptual weightlessness; it does not defy the law of gravity. It is grounded in lived reality.” [4]

Theology of work and business must be grounded in real life, real business and real people, while recognizing a plethora of expressions in different cultures and industries. To that end BAM Global has since 2002 engaged many hundreds of theologians and business people (and others) in global conversations about business as part of God’s metanarrative.[5] We do theology with a mission, to bring shalom to a broken market, to shape our companies for God and the common good – among all peoples and nations.

Many see Paul’s letter to the church in Rome as his foremost theological treatise. However, the epistle is framed by his mission to make Christ known among all peoples.[6] Thus, his hope was to go to Rome, fellowship with the church there, with an expectation that they would underwrite his mission to Spain. The mission was clear, but plans changed since so many things were beyond his control. As it is for us.[7]

Go with God – God goes with you

But in all these uncertainties and frailties, we can trust God and he will be with us. Rabbi Sacks writes about what God told Moses when he questioned being summoned to an incredible difficult task. This indirectly applies to us as well:

“I will be with you.” You will succeed because I am not asking you to do it alone. I am not really asking you to do it at all. I will be doing it for you. I want you to be My representative, My mouthpiece, My emissary and My voice.”[8]

As Christ driven entrepreneurs, mission and church leaders, and academics, we need to learn from leaders from Abraham to St. Paul. We often feel inadequate and it is a good start. We may discover God at work in the remotest and lowliest of places.

We may not be understood by business colleagues or appreciated by pastors, and it may take a long time to reach our goals. But we should stay true to our mission, but be ready to change plans.[9] And we know that God is with us, as we do business to the ends of the earth.

Mats Tunehag

[1] https://rabbisacks.org/covenant-conversation/shemot/who-am-i/

[2] Bishop Barron comments on the Magi / the three wise men in ‘Daily Gospel Reflection’ on Jan 7, 2024: “Once they saw the star, they moved, despite the length of the journey. Sometimes people know what God wants them to do, but they don’t act, either out of fear, laziness, or the influence of bad habits. The Magi teach us to move. When they spoke to Herod of the birth of the new King, he tried to use them to destroy the baby. When you walk the path that God has laid out for you, expect opposition.”

[3] “Today the Magi gaze in deep wonder at what they see: heaven on earth, earth in heaven, man in God, God in man, one whom the whole universe cannot contain now enclosed in a tiny body. As they look, they believe and do not question, as their symbolic gifts bear witness: incense for God, gold for a king, myrrh for one who is to die.” – St. Peter Chrysologus

[4] Agbonkhianmeghe E. Orobator, Dean of the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University. https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2023/12/05/contextual-theology-francis-orobator-246633

[5] Through these global conversations we have captured lessons learned from history as well as contemporary businesses around the globe. Our findings have been published in 35 reports and manifestos, and also in about 600 blogs. See https://bamglobal.org/reports/ and https://businessasmission.com/

[6] See Romans 1:5 and 15:15-20

[7] The Covid pandemic certainly taught us that there are disruptions, which force us to rethink our plans while staying true to our mission.

[8] https://rabbisacks.org/covenant-conversation/shemot/who-am-i/

[9] One of my life mottos is ‘Go with God and the flow”, i.e. on a mission, but open to change and God’s leading. Like Philip in Acts 8:26-40. Please note that I also plan, I am not against planning.

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