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There are legitimate reasons to fear nuclear weapons in the hands of the mullahs. There is now an on-going discussion between the regime in Iran and Western powers. But the question marks are many: Is Obama’s regime strong and skillful enough to manage these negotiations? Will Israel see a need to intervene militarily? Will sanctions be lifted and what will that mean for foreign direct investments?

For Iranians inside the country there are frustrations and sorrows, and fear that the economic hardships will get worse. And those who fight for democracy and human rights may fear being hauled off to prison and torture.

Fear is also a key characteristic of Islam. I have met so many former Muslims and long-term workers in the Muslim world who have told me this. 

The problems and challenges are both on a macro and micro level; it is about dealing with major international relations but also the lack of jobs for individual Iranians. The growing unemployment sometimes affects Christians even more because of discrimination. That forces many Christians to leave the country.

Iran has some of the worst drug related problems in the world. Prostitution is growing and human trafficking plays a part in this. Due to both internal and external factors, like sanctions and a repressive regime, unemployment and poverty have risen, and with that comes many social problems and evils, like drug addiction and prostitution.

It can be quite easy, unfortunately, to paint a dark and sad picture when it comes to the situation in the country and when it comes to Iran and terrorism, proxy wars and nuclear threats.

But there are also other parts of the story. We have witnessed a major and historic shift in Iran since 1979. The Islamic revolution has turned millions of people away from Islam. Millions are hearing about Jesus via satellite TV. Thousands and thousand of people are starting a new life with Christ.

I have been working with key Christian leaders around the world for about 20 years, all involved in and for Iran. As we have met once or twice every year we have acknowledged one critical need and gap: jobs with dignity. There are many Iranians in the Diaspora who would love to do more business with Iran. When the sanctions are lifted the opportunities will be many.

We know one thing for sure: all dictatorships fall. It is a matter of time. Even the seemingly staunchest regimes may crumble relatively quickly. We learned that from the Soviet Union and the Communist states in Eastern Europe.

One day things will change even in Iran.The borders may open soon and create all kinds of opportunities. But will there be overwhelming and uncoordinated efforts, albeit with good intentions, doing more harm than good?

Water is a necessity of life. But too much water in too short of a time can become a flood and cause a disaster. We need to provide irrigation channels, so water can flow to become a blessing.

Part of this irrigation channel is jobs with dignity. We need to learn and prepare in various ways to serve the people and the country of Iran by developing businesses.

Right now there are many restrictions for some nationalities to engage in business in Iran. Many non-Western countries have other opportunities.

Every Christian, who loves God and Iran, should prayerfully consider what the needs are and how one can work with others. We want to be beacons of hope – also by doing business as mission.

The Business as Mission Think Tank has published an important report, which I hope will be read by many.

To read and download the report, click here –> Business as Mission in Iran: Laboring in the Dark

 

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In August I gave a lecture on Business as Mission, BAM, at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama USA. Enclosed below are the video link as well as a copy of the powerpoint used.

The presentation includes Biblical and historical perspectives on BAM, it introduces the global BAM Think Tank and also presents contemporary BAM case studies. Some issues dealt with:

  • When did BAM start?
  • Engineering with or without God – does it matter?
  • Martin Luther and the rediscovery of BAM
  • Chocolate for Jesus: Cadbury
  • Johan Sebastian Bach and BAM
  • The potential danger of micro businesses
  • The Pyramid of Christ: stop climbing and tear it down!
  • Earthquake tested the value and importance of a BAM business in S Asia

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Click here for the video, my presentation starts 12 minutes in to the video clip.

Click for powerpoint for lecture at Samford University in Birmingham AL USA Aug 2013

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Slavery is illegal but continues. Up to 30 million people are held as slaves today. Human trafficking is not only illegal – it is an evil. It degrades human beings, it tramples human dignity, and it creates untold pain and unbelievable misery.

The global awareness is rising quickly and manifestations against it multiply. But we are yet to see a major breakthrough in setting the captives free, which is more than a rescue operation. The survivors need healing and jobs with dignity. Jobs are also essential to adequate prevention to human trafficking.

The global BAM Think Tank is proud to present a groundbreaking report on how we can combat the business of the slave trade with Business as Mission, BAM. It gives a thorough analysis of the problem as well as providing concrete and practical steps to get engaged. Business is key to prevention and restoration, but by partnering with non-profits a greater impact can be achieved.

The global anti-trafficking movement is growing, but the biggest challenge may yet be to bring business solutions into the arena. This report helps us understand how businesses can become Freedom Businesses. But this is more than a concept; it is more than an awareness campaign. This is about hard and diligent work in and through business, intentionally and with a holistic approach bringing freedom and restoration by providing jobs with dignity.

This report trumpets a new call to freedom – through freedom businesses. We must allow it to ring and be heard widely. As Martin Luther King said 50 years ago:

“When we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, “Free at last! Free at last! Thank God almighty, we’re free at last!”

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To download the report, click here: Business as Mission and Human Trafficking

 

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The purpose of the Global Business as Mission Think Tank has been to invigorate the global business as mission movement, to equip and encourage those who want to serve God and the common good in and through businesses – among all peoples.

To that end we launched over 30 national, regional and international working groups. Some of these groups focused on a particular issue in the Business as Mission (BAM) movement, and others were concentrating on BAM in and from a particular region or country. Each group has produced papers, analyses, case studies, tools and resource directories as a result of this dialogue.

The Think Tank project has resulted in a massive global gathering of both intellectual and social capital for the BAM movement. In addition to the written materials, we have built networks and have gathered together in person at the Leaders Forum and at the Global Congress on Business as Mission, both held in Thailand in April 2013. The intention is to now share and disseminate these gathered resources as widely as possible.

Each report to be published is one in a series of papers from the 30 plus working groups. Hundreds of leaders in the BAM community, from every continent, have contributed to these reports that will be released from early October onwards. The first two reports are:

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In 2014 we will publish a comprehensive BAM 2.0 paper, a follow up to the Lausanne BAM Paper and BAM Manifesto of 2004. (The 2004 Paper and Manifesto are available in Chinese, English, Farsi, German, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Turkish, and Vietnamese: click here)

These 30+ reports are not the end or the final destination of the BAM Think Tank, but should rather be seen as important reflections by BAM practitioners and other leaders who will continue to journey together. We need to continue to grapple with issues, and address needs and gaps. Some groups will continue and new initiatives will emerge. The BAM movement is on the move!

It has been a privilege to facilitate this unprecedented and global collaboration over the last two years, together with Mrs. Jo Plummer. Looking back we can see that at times we have achieved less than we have hoped and planned for. But we have also witnessed that God is able to do more than we could have ever imagined.

We pray that these papers, case studies, tools, recommendations and resources would go out widely, and encourage and equip you as well as invigorate the global BAM movement.

 

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Ideas have consequences. Our worldview affects our behavior. Our beliefs shape our actions. This also applies to the way we see business, treat staff and customers, and care for the environment.

In and through business we want to:

  • serve people,
  • align with God’s purposes,
  • be good stewards of the planet,
  • and make a profit

As Christians we are to be good stewards of creation. But the way we view God, human beings and creation will determine how we relate to people, businesses and environmental challenges.

A Basis for Creation Care

  • We believe in God the Creator – thus we speak about Creation. He is also the Sustainer; he has not abandoned creation.
  • We believe that man is created in his image, and thus has a unique value and dignity.
  •  We also believe that Adam and Eve – and all of humanity – are to be co-creators with God, to be good stewards of creation, to create good things for others and ourselves.

This applies to creativity in business, not only to create wealth, but also to create solutions to poverty, human trafficking, water management, air pollution, and many other things.

Worldviews and Nature

It is not a Biblical worldview to see human beings as creatures with a license to exploit and damage nature. Nor is it a Biblical worldview to see people as equal to dogs, carrots and cockroaches, as just one species among others.

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Human beings are part of God’s creation, with a special value and dignity deriving from God, but we also have special responsibility to care for creation.

     THEO

Theo *

Through the Global Think Tank on Business as Mission (www.BAMThinkTank.org) we have learned that we need to become more aware of these issues and also to become more intentional and pro-active as good stewards of the planet.

Technology and Business for Creation Care

Increasing awareness includes understanding a Biblical worldview and its effects. See recommended reading below. I also recommend reading the Cornwall Declaration from the year 2000, link enclosed below. I do not necessarily agree with all it says, but it provokes us to think through how we view creation care, especially as we always face new environmental challenges.

The Cornwall Declaration gives a view on Creation Care and business by Jewish and Christian leaders. It encourages us to view people as producers and stewards instead of just as customers and polluters. The declaration warns against alarmism and hype. It also argues for political and economical liberty as part of a solving problems, which includes utilizing science, technology and business for creation care

“We aspire to a world in which advancements in agriculture, industry, and commerce not only minimize pollution and transform most waste products into efficiently used resources but also improve the material conditions of life for people everywhere.”

Despair or Hope?

We know from history that many doomsday scenarios have not come to pass. Assuming a closed system, where man alone controls destiny, the Israelites would have been massacred as they were caught between the Red Sea and Pharaoh’s army. In a closed system water doesn’t turn into wine and the dead don’t rise.

Many doomsday scenarios are based on a non-Biblical worldview. They are deterministic, fatalistic and assume a closed system where man controls his destiny and the future of the planet. This leads to despair.

But we believe in a God who cares and intervenes. We see human beings as stewards and co-creators with God; we can and should bring solutions to environmental challenges. This gives hope.

So we need to apply a Biblical worldview when we listen to and analyze the shifting and contradictory reports on global warming and its effects.

Co-Create with God for People and Planet

In our lifetime we have seen “irreversibly” dead waters cleaned up, deserts bloom and the ice age, which was predicted in the 1970’s, seems far away.

Does this mean that we can ignore environment related warnings? No! But we need to “test the prophets” – scientists have been wrong before. We also need to explore what we can do now to serve people around us, by utilizing technological innovations and business solutions today – with a long-term view.

Israel is one example on how worldview influences technological advancements, which can address challenges, related to poverty, water shortage and environmental disasters. Israel holds an incredible amount of patents – way beyond its size. This is of course related to worldview. Learning about their innovative solutions to 21st century problems gives hope. Please see israel21c.org: 65 ways Israel is saving our planet.

Unfortunately legitimate and important creation care has sometimes been too simplistically related to issues of global warming. Creation care is much bigger than embracing some proposed political solutions. Bjorn Lomborg, who does not deny climate changes, questions the efficacy of mega-political solutions, as they are very costly with limited and uncertain effects. He suggests that we should focus our resources on more practical, cheaper and effective ways to help people and planet. To learn more, read Cool It, by Bjorn Lomborg. http://www.lomborg.com/cool_it

We need a Biblical worldview to infuse us with hope for solutions.

We need to co-create with God who cares and intervenes.

We need more Creation Care, and less Creation Scare.

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Recommended reading on worldviews and transformation:

  • The Book that Made Your World, by Vishal Mangalwadi
  • What’s so Great about Christianity, by Dinesh D’Sousa
  • Christianity versus Fatalistic Religions in the War against Poverty, by Udo Middelmann
  • Discipling Nations: The Power of Truth to Transform Cultures, by Darrow Miller

The Cornwall Declaration on Environmental Stewardship

http://www.cornwallalliance.org/articles/read/the-cornwall-declaration-on-environmental-stewardship/

 

* Graphs from a presentation made by Dave Bookless, UK

 

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