Leadership- Many books written on the topic of vocation and the topic of leadership have argued that starting

companies in low-class areas is the most viable way to decrease poverty over the long haul. Consider the recent book by Paul Stevens called The Other Six Days: Vocation, Work, and Ministry in Biblical Perspective. He states that, business is probably the best hope of the poor of the world (Stevens 109). The spokesperson on the Christian business side of things, Wayne Grudem, states his convictions in his recent book Business for the Glory of God: The Bibles Teaching on the Moral Goodness of Business. I believe the only longterm solution to world poverty is business. That is because businesses produce goods and businesses produces jobs. And businesses continue producing goods year after year, and continue providing jobs and paying wages year after year (Grudem 80). It was mentioned earlier that big problems couldnt be taken care of simply with small solutions. On the contrary, there needs to be a gigantic remedy in order to deal with such endemic issues like world hunger. Although establishing a longterm business does not address the pervasive corruption of the human heart, it does stimulate the economy by providing opportunities for the downtrodden of society to get a steady income and keep themselves preoccupied with a career. Until the cosmic restoration of all things, on earth and in heaven, the best prescription to address the fallen condition of world poverty is the establishment of healthy functioning businesses. None of this is possible, however, without the rise of solid Christian leadership. This reality calls us to turn aside from pondering what the Bible says about work to thinking through how leaders should function in the workplace. This will require a penetrating study of relevant materials on the subject, which is becoming more and more difficult because the landscape for literature on the nature of leadership is wide and ever increasing. It seems like everybody has something to say about how leaders should do things. Before I present my own thoughts on the role of gospel-centered leadership, it seems necessary to summarize two unhealthy models of leadership that err on two opposing sides of the spectrum. (This brief survey does not pretend to approach comprehensiveness, but merely primes the pump a little bit on the topics that, as stated earlier, have particular reference to His Workmanship. Since Christian ministry is both the focus of the landscape company as well as the purpose of my program, the forthcoming observations will be confined to the field of Christian leadership.) The first unhealthy model of leadership is the hierarchical model. A popular slogan for this could be, Its either my way or the highway. Under this paradigm, those at the top of the corporate ladder call all the shots. They make the decisions without seriously consulting their colleagues. They tell everybody else what to do and how to do itno questions asked. They possess all the power. If someone on the bottom calls into question a decision of their superior in command, this bold weakling may be threatened to keep quiet and know their role, or perhaps in some extreme cases, even get fired. This will send a loud and clear message to the rest of the employees that nobody gets in the way of the top gun! This is dangerous on many fronts. In my opinion, the company is likely to plummet within a few years because without any accountability the power-hungry owner will become more and more corrupt until his discernment is eventually 1

clouded by the thought of invincibility. This will lead to poor decision-making skills on the part of the manager. It will probably even lead to fear on the part of the employees. It will only be a matter of time until dishonesty and duplicity plague the workers toward the bottom of the pecking order. The example started at the top will produce lookalikes at the bottom. If workers feel like their opinions arent validated, still less considered, it would be unsurprising if they secretly acted on their opinions without getting permission. Ironically, the more the owner tries to control his workers with strong-mindedness, the more likely the workers will revolt in some fashion. If the owner continues his habitual power trip, this vicious cycle will invariably continue until the company crumbles from the inside. Someone has said that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Transparently, a hierarchical model of leadership like this is far from healthy. Many aspiring leaders wisely pick up on this downward trend and strive great lengths to avoid the implicit dangers, but they foolishly commit the opposite error by adopting some form of the democratic model. A popular slogan for this unhealthy leadership paradigm could be, Give the people whatever they want. This line of reasoning produces wimpy followers instead of headstrong leaders. Everybody in the company gets an equal vote regardless of how long theyve worked, how productive theyve been, how much experience they have, how old they are, and so on. Whichever decision gets the most support is the decision that is made. If it proves to lack long-term benefit, well then a new poll is taken that hopefully will improve the immaturity of the first decision. The business owner can only sit back and wish that the consensus will have a better outcome than was reached last time a poll was taken. The dangers here are equally numerous. Although the democratic approach rightly ducks the problems that stem from disproportionate authority distribution, they nevertheless create a whole new set of problems to deal with. First comes disunity. What happens when the votes are divided roughly half and half? Sounds to me like a split-company waiting to happen. Second comes timeliness. What happens when a decision needs to be made in the moment? The leader will not be prepared to act decisively due to his history of polling the masses. Third comes gossip. Does it stretch the imagination too far to think that, in the attempt to convince others of ones own opinion, employees will slander fellow workers and sabotage their reputation? This will bring about internal conflict left and right. It is not far off to object to this model on at least these three grounds. Each of these unhealthy paradigms of leadership are unabashedly reproached by a brilliant evangelical scholar, In the West, we must repent of our endless fascination for leadership that smacks much more either of hierarchical models (I am the boss, and, for all below me on the ladder, what I say goes) or of democratic models (give the people what they want; take another survey, conduct another poll, and scratch where they itch). All valid Christian leadership, however varied its style, however wise its use of sociological findings, however diverse its functions, must begin with this fundamental recognition: Christian leaders have been entrusted with the gospel (Carson 96). If ones lust for power or longing to be loved is given such a high rank that it dethrones the prerogatives of gospel truth, then we have succumbed to leadership according to the standards of this world. 2

Additionally, based on the conclusions in the previous section, both of these leadership models assume a much too exalted anthropology (as was the case with Parker Palmer). In the first instance, the top dog possesses unrestrained authority that is too much power for any one person to handle. If history has demonstrated anything its that those on the top need some form of higher accountability without which they are bound to face gradual moral decay. According to Christianity, God is this higher authority that keeps human power in check. Democratic leadership runs into the exact same problem but from a different angle. This model puts the power in the hands not of one bad person but of many bad people. In some rare circumstances this may restrain evil, like the Unites States model of government for example, but in most cases it will simply exacerbate the problem. Regardless of whether one person has supreme control or such power is equally dispersed among the employees, the heart of the problemnamely the sinful human heartis never properly addressed. This is precisely where the biblical worldview contributes most compellingly to the nature of leadership. When the fallenness of humanity is not taken seriously, models of leadership (and vocation) will invariably be distorted to a large degree and more than likely doomed to fail. But when people are cut down to size before the God of the Bible, who is absolutely sovereign and righteous yet wonderfully personal and loving, in such as way that accepts the depravity of the human heart, then and only then do we have a solid foundation for developing a theology of Christian leadership that can be applied to the ever-expanding and ever-renewing world of business. For all intensive purposes, this section will be divided into three main headings: upward leadership, inward leadership, and outward leadership. The first pertains to a persons interaction with God and his truth; the second has to do with personal character qualities, and the third looks at advertising methods and loving relational dynamics toward the employees and the customers. The sequence here is intentional and is in order of importance and logical progression. Indeed, the structure flows out of our previous findings on vocation and has direct application for Christian leadership. In our career as well as our management we are called to love God first and to love others second, which must be in agreement with how we love (and view) ourselves. My hope is that each of these main headings will ring a distinctive note in their contribution to an overall gospel-centered model of Christian leadership But first, what is the gospel? We cannot know what a gospel centered model of Christian leadership looks like unless we have a firm grasp on what the gospel is in the first place. If I had to summarize the gospel in a somewhat bulky paragraph it would go something along these lines. The gospel is the good news about what God has done for his rebellious creatures in the ministry of Jesus Christespecially his death and resurrection. All humans were made in order to enjoy a good and perfect relationship with God their Creator. But the first humans and all their descendants choose instead to usurp Gods authority. They insisted upon being the god of God rather than obeying his commands. As a result, God in his justice banished them from his presence and dealt out physical death as a punishment for such anarchy. From this point forward the Old Testament records a continuous pattern of sin and rebellion within his covenant 3

people and beyond the borders of Israel. But in due time God in his love sent his Son to restore his covenant people back to the relationship he shared with them in the garden. Through signs and wonders, the Messiah ushered in the kingdom of God, which includes people from all nations both Jews and Gentiles. Through his work on the cross, the Suffering Servant bore in his body the punishment that people deserve for their sins: physical death and the wrath of God. Through his resurrection, the ministry of the Son of Man was vindicated by the Ancient of Days. The gospel is about the mercy and justice of God. In his mercy, he forgives sinners who place their faith in Jesus, and then declares them to be righteous on the basis of his blood. In his justice, God satisfies his holy wrath against sinful creatures by slaughtering the precious lamb as an atoning sacrifice. In my opinion, this is a broad summary of what the gospel is. This good news is to be received by faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ. The paradigm in Scripture is that genuine faith will always be accompanied by repentance and water baptism. The gospel has many effects on the believer such as new birth, reception of the Spirit, enjoyment of church community and its sacraments, a calling to do good works, the hope of the heaven, and so forth. But these effects must never be confused with the essence of the gospel message lest the exclusive sufficiency of Christ be called into question by something less important. The gospel is primarily God-centered in that it calls believers out of self-focus and into heartfelt worship. Only derivatively of this God-centeredness can it be said that the gospel teaches humans how to lovingly interact with each other. One necessary entailment of the gospel is that, instead of focusing exclusively on recent cultural trends or the most popular opinions, Christian leaders should try to do what is right in the eyes of God for his glory and his alone. What is far more tragic is the sad spectacle of so-called Christian leaders trying so hard for the approbation of peers and parishioners that their focus is diverted from the gospel and from the Well done! of the crucified Messiah (Carson 98). For the believer, the primary purpose in managing does not come from the desire to please people, but from allegiance to the lordship of Christ. Recall our conclusions from the vocation section. The calling to love God with our whole self is the greatest commandment, which comes before our calling to love our neighbors. So when all is said and done, loyalty to the will of God trumps making every single employee happy. That being said, it is still utterly inescapable to evade the significance of serving and caring for fellow image bearers. It is truly unfortunate when someone uses obedience to the Spirits prompting as an excuse to unnecessarily offending others. While it is accurate to insist that truth oftentimes offends modern sensibilities and perhaps even stretches social norms, this statement can never be used to justify overlooking the value of good ole-fashioned winsomeness combined with a large dose of tact. The message itself may be a stumbling block for the hardhearted or weak-minded, but the messengers themselves should never detract from this offense by utilizing inherently offensive means of communication. The better side of wisdom is not a little helpful in figuring out how all these principles practically work out. The apostle Paul is a wonderful example of walking the fine line of acting in 4

accordance with Gods truth while as the same time showing sensitivity to peoples consciences as well as the cultural milieu. Passages concerning this topic abound in the Pauline corpus but consider the following couple verses, For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of man (2 Cor. 8:21). Or again, So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man (Acts 24:16). Finally, Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone (Rom. 12:17). Plainly, Paul took upon himself the responsibility to love God and to love others in ways that are mutually complimentary. Every conceivable step was taken to preserve the integrity of the message, to act on track with Gods will, and thus to give God all the glory; yet he simultaneously sought to win the support of people, to gain a public status that is above reproach, and to convert others with the saving work of Christ. What a tough task indeed! Whenever possible, Pauls default mode is to preach the message of the cross in a way that is suitable with the felt needs of his particular audience. But when push came to shove, Paul always defended the truth of the gospel at the expense of human approval. He recognized that when it was either one or the other, loving God always takes precedence over loving people. Hands down; no competition. Such convictions come out clearly in this passage, But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christs triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life. And who is equal to such a task? Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God. Here is a similar passage stated in more concise terms, Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ (Gal. 1:10). Certainly there will be times in our leadership ministry where we have to make a decision about where our ultimate loyalty lies: in people or God. If we choose people, then we will inevitably sacrifice worship on the altar of popularity. If we choose God, then although slander will probably come and misunderstanding may abound, we still preserve our integrity before God in our resolution to love him over everything else. In the end, our leadership must be God-centered and not mancenteredfor his glory and not ours. One recent piece of work on this idea in particular and of business leadership in general is Why Business Matter to God (And What Still Needs to Be Fixed) by Jeff Van Duzer. I will conclude the upward leadership section by attempting to summarize his overall contention and then proceed to give an evaluation of the various pros and cons. One will notice that the structure of the chapters roughly follows the biblical storyline, with the sole exception of reversing the redemption stage (#3) with the consummation stage (#4). In his book Van Duzer argues that if God had to write a corporate mission statement for the whole institution of business it would include the following twin goals. One goal for the Christian businessperson who is stewarding Gods business is focused outwardproviding goods and services that enhance the quality of life. One goal focuses inwardcreating opportunities for individuals within the 5

company to express their vocation in the performance of God-glorifying work. He concludes by insisting that, When managers pursue these particular goals for their companies, they participate directly in Gods creation mandate (Van Duzer 42). The entire first chapter titled in the beginning clearly articulates and defends this thesis. In the next chapter called broken he moves on from the original intention of creation and business according to God to discussing the fall of humanity and its ramifications. He strives to be as balanced as possible as he weighs the biblical evidence and correlates it with the value of the economy in the contemporary culture. This is how he finishes the second chapter, Thus, as we seek to develop a theology of business that participates in ushering in the kingdom of God, we will need to develop a more nuanced understanding of the market. We can celebrate the market as one of Gods good gifts to fallen humanity. We can appreciate market forces as potentially valuable tools to provide for Gods children. We may end up concluding that a market-economy, particularly when contrasted to a state-directly economy, will do a much better job in contributing to human flourishing. What we cannot do, however, is to equate market forces with Gods perfect will. It simply will not suffice for Christians in business who are committed to the kingdom of God to always follow the market (Van Duzer 78-79). With this remark, he underscores the themes we surveyed in a biblical theology of vocation: the kingdom of God as now and not yet, the fallenness of humanity, common grace, and distinguishing between the church and the state. Not only so, he brings such themes together with wonderful clarity and precision. The third chapter is about what Gods restoration of all things means for the world as it stands now. The fourth chapter observes how God puts it all back together in the person and work of Jesus. Few, if any, contributions in these chapters were unique or profound, so the rest of my attention will be devoted to how his Christian worldview is applied to the nuts and bolts of business management. Given the title, How Then Should We Do Business? this question is clearly unpacked in chapter seven. In alignment with his thesis in the first chapter, Van Duzer develops a philosophy of leadership that is far from making self-centered decisions. On the contrary, In each case this model of purpose suggests that the question to be answered in making these decisions is not in the first instance, which decision will maximize my return on investment? Rather, this model suggests that the corporate leader should first ask, given my core competencies and the assets under my control, how can I best deploy my resources to (1) enable this community to flourish, and (2) provide opportunities for my employees to engage in meaningful and creative work (Van Duzer 152)? In other words, good Christian management does not primarily make decisions in order to increase profit, no matter how permissible such choices may be; rather the basis for all decisions is both the health of broader society as well as the purpose and imagination of the workers. Concerning Duzers theological anthropology, he is no less focused on the mandate to love our neighbor as ourselves as he is in his philosophy of leadership. Pride of place appears to go to the imago Dei, With respect to employees, sustainability means that their character as Gods image-bearers cannot be used up. 6

This requires that they be treated as having intrinsic value, not just as a means to production. It requires that their privacy be respected and that they not be required to work in conditions that are unreasonably dangerous or demeaning (Van Duzer 158). Businesspeople should demonstrate such respect and love toward clients as well even though it looks different due to the nature of the relationship. Customers are entitled to know what they are purchasing and entitled to products that meet their reasonable expectations for usefulness and safety. They are likewise entitled to fair prices. Deceptive sales practices and violations of consumer privacy infringe on the dignity of individuals made in the image of God (Van Duzer 159). Whether the workers or the clients are in the view, the charge for leaders does not change. They are called to respect the value of each person because God created them. What this means will obviously vary based on the relationship, but for Van Duzer the desire to gain surplus can never be an excuse for dishonesty, unsafety or unfairness on the part of Christian leaders. In terms of an evaluation of Van Duzers book, I have mostly good things to say. His outline is fair to the chronology of Scripture, he hits on all the major themes in the Bibles storyline, his method of correlation from the word of God to contemporary culture makes his thesis highly relevant but no less faithful to the text, and his application to business betrays a remarkable competence in the field and this is demonstrated by dealing with numerous instances of church ministries and their relation to the secular world. He deserves applause in regard to all these things. The only thing I would slightly pushback on is his lack of emphasis concerning what the gospel is and how it applies to business by putting it in proper perspective. He does acknowledge the role of the gospel but in his thesis emphasis is laid on the kingdom of God so much that he merely gives a head-nod to Godcenteredness in Christian leadership before he diverts nearly all his attention to spreading the kingdom of God via acts of service and loving deeds. My only question is: where does proclamation of the gospel factor into the equation? In summary, we have observed how the gospel puts the glory of God at the center of everything pertaining to lifeincluding Christian business leadership. The gospel is the prima facie example of where Gods justice and mercy meet. The Lord vindicates his name while at the same time declaring sinners righteous. As a result, believers should strive to fully love God and to fully love others. But when this is not possible our allegiance must always be given to the lordship of Christ. The Apostle Pauls ministry indicates that it is not wrong to enjoyeven to seekthe affirmation of people nor it is inappropriate to adjust our leadership techniques to fit with culture, but when these endeavors lead us astray from heralding a true and offensive message or keep us from conducting a godly lifestyle before a holy God and from giving off light to a dark world, then clearly something has gone awry. A gospel-centered model of Christian leadership is radically God-centered because it ensures that we are always followers of Jesus before we are leaders of other people. Unless such wonderful God-centered truths about the gospel are in place, good management will almost always turn sour over the long haul, as was the case in the hierarchical and democratic models of leadership. These gospel truths are not merely abstract theological jargon devoid of any pragmatic valueactually quite the contrary. They change the very core of our being. For the Christian, moreover, our 7

transformed nature has not a little bearing on what virtues we pursue and what vices we avoid. Each of these two ideas will be probed a little deeper in the following section. With that said, we now turn our attention to inward leadership. It may seem counterintuitive to label a section inward leadership. Indeed, how can one lead himself or herself without simultaneously being a follower? Yes, good leaders should follow God but how it is possible to lead yourself? The point in such a title is not to infer some kind of independence or self-determinism disguised in religious terms. Rather, it is intended to designate the importance of establishing character principles that will prove to be indispensible for a healthy Christian business. Such character principles, however, are never truly accomplished by merely trying harder or by unleashing the power from within (e.g. Palmer). Although such moralistic approaches may bring temporary behavior modification they rarely offer sustainable change. Why not? Scripture insists in several places using various metaphors that when our character is out of wack so also will our actions and words be out of wack. For instance Jesus says, Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of (Lk. 6:44-45). Trying harder or tapping into our inner strength is doomed to fail in the long run because it attempts to change the fruit without dealing with the root. In other words, the problem is not simply with exterior things like actions, words or decisions; rather the problem is with our heart, our whole self. It cannot be much further from the truth to declare that God helps those who help themselves. If that were the case then God would never help anybody! The biblical view on the nature of humanity refuses to bend the knee to moralistic methods that see outside things as the primarily issue. As we have already seen, it insists rather that we are fundamentally depraved. If, then, our whole being is essentially marred by the consequences of the fall, what precisely is needed to bring about an enduring change? Solution: renewal by the Holy Spirit. Through faith in the gospel of Jesus, we receive a new nature empowered not by the sinful flesh but by the Spirit of God. The same Spirit of power that raised Jesus from the dead dwells within those who believe in Christs bodily resurrection. One look at Romans 6 will prove this point plainly enough. Elsewhere, Scripture declares, His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires (2 Pet. 1:3-4). The purpose for this divine power is not merely moral behavior for the sake of financial prosperity, existential fulfillment or popularity among employees, although these things are good indeed and even serve as personal rewards for good behavior. Regardless of all the benefits that may come from virtuous living, God grants the Spirits power for believers to give him maximum glory, to advance his heavenly kingdom here on earth, and to spread the gospel among all the nations. 8

Nevertheless with a renewed nature that is transformed by the Holy Spirit, Christian businesspeople are able to be successful in the worlds eyes and honoring before God as they must avoid certain vices and pursue certain virtues. If they simply say no to wrongdoing but never find enjoyment in doing right, then legalism will invariably creep in the back door. On the flip side, if they only say yes to good deeds but never actively flee from evil, then it is not very unlikely that the bad deeds will slowly and almost unperceptively be cherished as good deeds. So N.T. Wright says, The church is not supposed to be a society of perfect people doing great work. Its a society of forgiven sinners repaying their unpayable debt of love by working for Jesuss kingdom in every way they can, knowing themselves to be unworthy of the task. The moment any Christian leader, forgets thatthe moment any of us imagine that we are automatically special or above the dangers and temptations that afflict ordinary mortalsthat is the moment when we are in the gravest danger (Wright 221). Since Christians will never ever be perfect it necessarily follows that we are never above the risk of falling into temptation either. This is one reason why we must know what is sin and flee from it, instead of just knowing what goodness is and going hard after it. Consequently, it is crucial to affirm virtues by walking into them and to deny vices by walking away from them. An all to brief list of three examples will be offered, which doesnt pretend to come close to approaching exhaustiveness. Humility not Pride- It doesnt take a genius to know that Pride and humility are two contrasting attitudes with predictable consequences (Knapp 105). Both the democratic and the hierarchical models of leadership are quite distant from humility. The latter smacks of power hungry management, while the former lacks any sense of conviction. In contrast to such worldly paradigms, Nouwen argues that the most important quality of Christian leadership is not power and control, but a leadership of powerlessness and humility (Nouwen 63). One must be wary if powerlessness turns into weakness or if humility spirals downward into indecisiveness, but as it stands these two interlocking virtues are important for Christian business management. Nouwen later offer a theory as to why its so hard to resist the allure of power, Maybe it is that power offers an easy substitute for the hard task of love. It seems easier to be God than to love God, easier to control people than to love people, easier to own life than to love life (Nouwen 77). Many conflicts can rise to the forefront when everyones opinion must be given due weight, so also conflicts will arise when nobody other than the boss has a say in the matter. Christian leaders must act humbly by seeking wise counsel from others in order to make informed decisions, but will not forsake truth to satisfy the desire of being well liked. This kind of false humility has deeply ingrained pride as its heartbeat. Integrity not Duplicity- Some argue that maintaining integrity in the workplace is bad for the success of business. For example, Albert Carr contends that business is akin to the game of poker: the ability to bluff and so deceive other players is all a part of the game. When one person wins, it would be unfair to accuse them of cheating or deceiving simply because they lost fair and square. On the contrary, perhaps if they had more whit and a cunning strategy the results would have been different. In a comparative fashion, Carr argues that although business is a slightly different game it still possesses a similar set of rules. The implication is 9

that having an attitude of honesty and straightforwardness will keep others from utilizing your services and will allow competitors to win over your customers. This perspective does not square with the biblical material. It is true that the book of Proverbs acknowledges that the wicked sometimes prosper, but it is untrue to declare that honest people are usually unsuccessful. It is possible that financial loss may come from being honest, but it should not faze those who are storing up their treasures in heaven. As for those who cheat in order to get rich, they usually have difficulty staying in business and prospering in the long run (Wong 173). Fairness not Oppression- Along a similar vein of thought, Christians are called to conduct all their affairs in accordance with what brings about justice. What is justice? According to Knapp, Justice begins with upholding the law, but goes much further in protecting the legitimate rights and interests of others. Because all people are created, valued, and loved by God, we must actively work for fairness in a system that is inherently inequitable (Knapp 102). Consider the following unfair situation. Two foreigners are taking a stroll downtown in an area that does not speak their native language. Several locals pick up on this and decide to engage them with kindness. They offer to give great deals on purchases and put their best foot forward by welcoming these tourists with open arms. They invite them into their home, cook them a meal, give them coffeeoverall showing generous hospitality. The foreigners are dumbfounded by their generosity. It all is certainly much better than they expected. So they decide to return the favor by purchasing their products, answering their questions, and even offering them money in return. All seems fine so far, right? Well, this is when the locals demand more payment in response to their hospitability. They use pressure and the threat of dishonor to milk more money out of the foreigners who feel trapped to give in to their requests. After all, they are much more well off than these poor street sellers. In the end, the crafty locals juice these helpless foreigners for all their worth. This is reverse oppression. This is injustice. This is selfish and unloving. Essentially, its professional manipulation and is profoundly anti-Christian. By way of review, this section has shown how the Spirits transforming power equips the Christian with the tools necessary to living a virtuous lifestyle for both the glory of God and the success of the business. We are not called to merely flee evil but to pursue righteousness in ways that fulfill the commands to love God and to love others. Gospel-centered Christian leadership will act in humility and not in pride, integrity instead of duplicity, and fairness rather than oppression. These character principles are all the fruit of the Holy Spirit and can only come from a transformed heart that has tasted the goodness of Gods love and the power of his truth. Only then will businesspeople refrain from these vices and actively choose these virtues. The question now becomes: how do these character principles of inward leadership contribute to running a company? Its one thing to talk in abstract ideas but its quite another thing to apply those ideas to the actual business world. Oftentimes what looks good on paper gets lost in translation to practical living. One reason for this is because the relational dynamics involved in running a company can be extremely complex. These inter-personal relationships are almost always in reference either to the employees or the customers. Therefore, the final section on 10

outward leadership will explore ways to better love our fellow workers and the clients who use our services. (At this point I will narrow down my scope by focusing almost entirely on the specifics of His Workmanship. This means that I will give very little attention toward general business relationships and will instead revolve around how His Workmanship will practically express our love toward customers and employees alike. Moreover, zooming in the lens like this will naturally bring creative application to the forefront. Therefore, several appendixes will appear that serve as the creative portion of my capstone project). Since I was a student at Wheaton College during the school year it seemed like a good idea to start His Workmanship in the suburbs of west Chicago. Although there are many reasons for this idea, two stand out as more important than all the rest. First, many nearby neighborhoods showed a great deal of interest in maintaining their yards at home and keeping them in good shape. Other than mere anecdotal observations, this has proved to be true as I corresponded with another landscape company owner. For my ministry organization and leadership class I chose to interview Mark Schmitt, the owner of Schmitts Landscape Company. Once we got through the questions I had to ask in order to fulfill the assignment requirements, we talked for over an hour about the business side of running a company. Among a myriad of extremely helpful words of advice, one specific takeaway was how his company prospered due to the high demand of quality landscape services. Application: if other landscape companies were having success and getting more than enough work, then why not try to land His Workmanship in the Wheaton area? (For more information, I have attached a summary of this interview as appendix 1). Second, Wheaton College has a good reputation among the surrounding communities and will make the company stand out above all its competitors. Many times clients have told me they selected my services for two reasons: they support college students and appreciate the religious component. Make no mistake about iton the customer side of things starting here makes complete sense. On the worker side, it makes complete sense too. Indeed, since the graduate school is connected to an undergraduate Christian college, the range of potential workers on board with the vision of His Workmanship is numerous. There will never be a lack of able-bodied laborers who are wholeheartedly committed to the Christian worldview. If clients in the Twin Cities liked our services because of the Christian twist and the college emphasis (for we were explicitly linked to Crown College), then how much more will that be true in West Chicago? Therefore, instead of just stopping the company in Minnesota where it has been going strong for six years I decided to try to keep it going. From my perspective it would be little less than foolish to discontinue things altogether when I have repeat customers, free advertising, and honest and available workers who can get the job done. All that to say, this summer will be the first time His Workmanship will be up and running in two different states at the same time. No matter how much possible growth may stem from such a procedure, taking a route like this means that I will need excellent relational leadership skills in order to foster an above average output from the crew leaders. Over Christmas break I decided to bring the top three 11

crew leaders out to dinner at Famous Daves. This would be a safe place for me to propose these company expansion ideas and how those ideas increase their responsibilities as well as their financial rewards. (For more information, I have attached the handout I gave to the workers as appendix 2). Building off our findings on upward and inward leadership, two aspects of how proper management should be done came out in this conversation. The first aspect harks all the way back to the emerging adult section on dreams and even connects to our broader discussion on vocation. Before any of us ordered the food we had casual conversation about what they have been up too since summer ended. Then I asked them to explain some of the strengths and weaknesses of how I ran things last year. It was somewhat flattering that they had a hard time coming up with any bad things, and no less flattering getting a bunch of compliments from the workers. My purpose for this question was two-fold. I did genuinely want to get better at running a company and their feedback would be valuable toward this end. But more importantly, I wanted to communicate to all the employees that their opinion matters. I never gave the impression that I was open to changing every little thing about the company just because they disliked it for some reason (democratic model), but I also wanted to stray away from making them think I am a cold hard dictator who bosses them around all the time (hierarchy model). After this, I handed each person a piece of paper and a pencil for a writing exercise that allowed them to reflect on the following three questions: Where do you want to be in five years? How can I help you get there? How do you plan to manage your money? My motives behind such questions were to let them know they are more than just a means to making money. I recognize that college students are just looking for a summer job to make some quick cash and then within two to three years they are off and graduated. This is why I encouraged them to think about how to save their money. But the question is: what are they saving up for? What is their dream job? And above all, how can being employed by His Workmanship get them to that place? In this way, I am preparing them for the future beyond landscape labor. One author calls this transformational leadership because it goes one step further and seeks to connect the work of employees to goals or aspirations that are bigger than the company itself (Van Duzer 70). In his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey agrees with this saying, the real test of interpersonal leadership goes beyond transactional leadership into transformational leadership, transforming the individuals involved as well as the relationship (Covey 222). Once the answers were written down, I had each person share with the group what they came up with. This helped build community among the employees themselves. They each get an idea of where the other person is going in life and in this way relationships are deepened. This will most likely increase job performance as well as promote growth in their character as they interact with fellow workers. When I had finished with the largely relational component I moved into describing how the business will look without me present. I clearly explained what things will be the same as well as how their responsibilities will increase along with their payment and benefits. In his book Christians in the Marketplace, Bill Hybels insists that, Job descriptions, defined duties, performance expectation, 12

ultimatumsthey all exert their positive pressure on us. Either we meet the requirements or we lose the job. In this way, the marketplace forces us to accept the challenge of responsible adulthood (Hybels 13). It would not be unsurprising if the new job description prompted feelings of pressure and perhaps even anxiety in the workers. But I stated several times that I believed in their potential as leaders and was convinced they could get the job done well. So the pressure of expectation was counterbalanced by a stated confidence in their ability to perform well. During this time, I made sure to emphasize how much trust I was placing in them to get the jobs accomplished and my dependence on their commitment to work this summer. Indeed, Where trust is low, the cost of doing business increases due to costly monitoring and compliance mechanisms that are required. In addition, where trust is low, there are intangible costs such as decrease in employees commitment to work and eagerness to accept change (Wong 97). One of the reasons I gave them each a raise was to express my commitment to their happiness. I did this in the hopes of eliciting a response that would increase their trust in my promises. As Wayne Grudem says in Business for the Glory of God, Employer/employee relationships provide many opportunities for glorifying God. On both sides of the transaction, we can imitate God, and he will take pleasure in us when he sees us showing honesty, fairness, trustworthiness, kindness, wisdom and skill, and keeping our word regarding how much we promised to pay or what work we agreed to do (Grudem 32). By the grace of God, this is gospel-centered business management at its finest. How to properly manage preexisting employees is one thing but finding new workers through creative advertising is quite another thing. My decision to start in West Chicago and continue in the Twin Cities requires me to do both things. Currently I am in the process of seeking out quality laborers, and in doing so I am making full use of social networking. Hiring workers can be a very difficult task, which is why I remember the words of Aubrey Malphurs in her book Building Leaders, Prayer, good character, and the recommendation of others are essentials in the process, and personal invitation will always be near the top of a good leadership-recruitment approach (Malphurs 96). Or again, Leaders will be recruited by two actions: aggressive listening and bold, consistent asking (Malphurs 131). By word of mouth I have come into contact with many great prospects and my invitation to provide employment has been deeply appreciated. One benefit of knowing workers before they become workers is that an authentic relationship precedes the business relationship. This allows for trust as friends to establish the dynamics of our interaction within His Workmanship. While there remains a very real possibility it will be difficult for them to follow instructions since we have always known ourselves to be equals, in my experience this unfortunate scenario is far and few between what normally occurs. Other than finding and hiring by word of mouth, I have made good use of social media resources. One good resource is Wheaton Thunderlink. This method of advertising has reeled in about a half dozen workers, but I still needed more. Since I really wanted to hire Wheaton College undergraduate students because they fit well with the mission and vision of His Workmanship I had to be even more creative in spreading the word. I knew there were tons of people looking for work but my only 13

problem was how to find out where these people are. This is why I decided to design a flyer and post it all around campus. I put a copy in the Billy Graham Center, the undergraduate dorm rooms, and even on the forum wall. Similarly, these ads got me about a half dozen more responses. (See appendix 3 to view this advertisement). Another good resource is Craigslist. This has been the most effective social networking resource that has found the most employees. In the past, the overwhelming majority of workers I have found by posting ads on Craigslist. (See appendix 4 to view this advertisement). But what good are a dozen newly hired laborers if I have little or no access to customers who are aware of and choose to use His Workmanships services. Marketing for workers is worse than useless; its a waste of time unless my marketing for clients is equally successful. Normally I rely completely on my Craigslist ads. This route is absolutely free and it is easily accessible for an extremely large number of people. This website is an international social network and it has locations in all the major Unites States cities including Chicagoland and the Twin Cities Metro area. Literally thousands of people view different categories of services everyday at no cost whatsoever. Other than word of mouth, I have found easily over 95% of customers through this particular method of promotion. (See appendix 5 to view this advertisement). But what happens if this falls through for some reason? Since I am not currently using any other way to get the word out, the company will most likely fall to the ground. So the question becomes: how can I advertise more creatively? Recently, I have implemented several ideas that have broadened my reach to potential customers allowing me to move beyond the medium of Craigslist. In this next section on loving your customers, I will explain three creative ways I decided to advertise for the clients. Then I will explain how to properly manage those relationships once they are established in two specific ways. My first decision regarding creative promotion was to have one of my friends design a company website. It includes information concerning who we are (about us), what we do (services), what theyre saying (testimonies), what weve done (gallery), and where we are (contact us). There are many before and after pictures, a coupon for $10 off if the client reads Ephesians 2:1-10, links to other online business networks, a page that allows customers to type a job description, and much more. Since its development, a very high amount of contacts have come through this medium and it has made our services look much more professional. However, theres always more room for improvement regarding how professional His Workmanship laborers look on the job site. As I thought about looking less informal and more organized the idea of wearing a custom design tshirt came to mind. So I went to a website that specializes in this kind of thing and brainstormed ideas about what to put on the front and back. After getting some advice, I ended up putting Ephesians 2:10 on the back side, For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. On the front side I put the company name and the logo. I bought several pairs and gave them to each of the crew leaders. They are required to wear them on every jobsite they work at. (Ask me if you want to see it). During the last month, I had the idea of creating a flyer that promotes our 14

services and getting some employees and a few friends to hand them out on the first weekend of April. One of my friends was willing to design the flyer as he was in correspondence with me regarding how I wanted it to look. After a few rounds of drafts, the advertisement was finished and I was off to the copy center. Once I viewed how it would look in black and white or in color, it was obvious that color was the much better option. So I printed out 250 copies and then proceeded to I send out an email to my workers and my friends to see if they were interested in helping pass them out. Although not as many people as I expected made an appearance, we still managed to hand out enough flyers to get to word out there. (See appendix 6 and 7 to view these advertisements). Since many of the jobs require bringing a number of tools and even hauling away debris from the jobsite, I thought it would be beneficial to purchase a truck. So over Christmas break I found one I liked and it is currently at my house in Wheaton. As I kept my eyes open to what other landscape companies were doing I discovered that many successful businesses would put a graphic image design on their vehicle as a way of getting their name out there. Although I have not done this yet, in the next month or so it is my plan to do something like this with my new truck. What is perhaps more important than all of these creative ways of promotion is the establishment of virtues that were mentioned in the inward leadership section. Humility, integrity, and fairness will obviously not get new clients but it will certainly preserve old clients. As one has pointed out, Business also requires and cultivates the virtues of trust, trustworthiness and fairness. For the vast majority of businesses that are dependent on repeat customers for their success, trust and fairness are critical to keeping customers (Wong 97). While promotional innovation is helpful for expanded the company, it cannot replace the indispensability of how loving the customer keeps them coming back for more. From a certain standpoint, acting on Christian virtues is a kind of advertisement in itself. This serves as a nice transition into the ways that proper management is conducted toward the pre-existing customers. After all, if clients are more likely to use our services again if they were satisfied the first time, then its crucial to give them holistic satisfaction which extends beyond moral virtues. Although this is very important it cannot stand by itself. If fact, at least two other factors must be kept in mind as well. The first comes from an ethical angle and the second comes from a communication perspective. It would be ironic at best and un-Christian at worst if I were only nice to the customers simply for purpose of financial gain. Indeed, a business person might treat his or her customers well solely for the sake of future sales and profita happy, but accidental, coincidence of self-interest and social good (Hardy 96). This requires pretending that is nothing more than fake, but believers are called to be authentic and real. As discussed earlier, integrity means that you say what you do and you do what you say. But on a deeper level, it means that honesty is the best policy and acting genuine is of much value. There must always be a connection between ones belief and their behavior. As Carson point out, Faithful Christian leaders must make the connections between creed and conduct, between the cross and how to live. And they must exemplify this union in their own lives (Carson 15

112). Or again, the Christian leader today not only must teach the gospel, but also must teach how the gospel works out in daily life and conduct. And that union must be modeled as well as explained (Carson 111). How, then, will this play out in my financial dealings with clients? Clearly, there is a great need to follow through on the payment that we agreed upon before the job began. In my correspondence with clients I always let them know our hourly rates. Frequently they ask me to drop by their house and give them a bid on the job but I usually decline this offer. I do so because its hard for me to estimate how long it will take. Plus, there are often several other companies doing the same thing. This means that I rarely get chosen and waste my time driving over to their house. However, charging a standard hourly rate has potential problems of its own. The clients trust me to work at a fair pace without compromising on the quality of the work. To dillydally yet do nearly flawless work wastes my time and their money. To race through the task while making many mistakes gets me less money and makes the client dissatisfied. There must be a healthy balance between speed of labor and its excellence. This requires managing my workers as well as being in correspondence with the clients about what exactly they need done and how they want it done. If they are on a budget, it means inquiring about their priorities and doing first things first and the trivial things last only if there is extra time. This is clear communication at its best. Covey holds this principle in very high esteem, If I were to summarize in one sentence the single most important principle I have learned in the field of interpersonal relations, it would be this: seek first to understand, then to be understood (Covey 237). In summary, what we have found is that outward leadership requires loving employees with good management that helps them recognize and fulfill their dreams, which usually extend beyond their contribution to the company. Good management also includes being clear and articulate in communicate the job description as well as establishing mutual trust which will build solid community. Loving employees with good management means preserving my integrity with what we mutually agree upon in terms of finances and job responsibilities. It also means having clarity with what we communication to each other so that we are on the same page with what needs to get done. In reference to creative advertisements, we have seen that having a website makes the company look more professional. The medium of Craigslist works great but other methods of promotion include designing and handing out flyers, putting an advertising blurb on my truck, posting an ad on Thunderlink, wearing His Workmanship t-shirts on the job sites, and finally the simplicity of living a virtuous life.

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