BAAM – “Business As A Ministry”

“In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.”  Ephesians 1:11-12

For the Christian, life and work is not primarily about the self — self-achievement, self-accolades, or even self-wealth, or a surplus of monetary rewards. A Christian’s labor is foremost about working in a way that expresses faith in God and worship to God. It is in the way we conduct our work and the substance of our work that provides us with a means to proclaim his excellencies.

BAAM is when our agency is first and foremost an avenue of faith in God and worship of God, not in self-reliance and personal glory.

In fact, God calls the vast majority of Christians to “common” spheres of work such as business, or academia, or carpentry, or law, or healthcare, or INSURANCE.  As we faithfully give ourselves to this calling, we are God’s agents to love others and to even accomplish his will on earth.

So, what does BAAM look like? It will appear differently for each of us. For one, working to the glory of God might mean celebrating God’s kindness in the outcome of a successful project. To another, it may involve trusting God during difficulty and even failure. To another, it may involve praying with a client in need.  To another, it may be providing grace and understanding to co-worker or client that are having a bad day. Yet, it is trusting God during those challenging circumstances that speak most loudly of the rich sufficiency of knowing Christ.

BAAM is when it serves other people rather than mere projects or profits.

People, made in the image of God, matter more to Him than profits. Our take-home commission is not as important as Christ’s commission to love our neighbors in the workplace. And that means we must seek the interests of our coworkers, our customers, and our business partners.

This is a simple, but too easily forgotten truth. In the urgency of a typical day, it’s easy to forget the people around us, viewing our day as nothing more than a series of tasks to check off. When we adopt that task-oriented mindset, we can easily overlook the people that God has placed in our path.

As a Christian, we are called to love our neighbor, and God has given us a workplace where He intends for this to happen. So, in this setting, taking the time to encourage a co-worker is BAAM. Going the extra mile to help a customer is BAAM. Serving our community through volunteer opportunities is BAAM. When we accomplish tasks, even the most mundane tasks, with a heart of serving and loving our neighbors at work, we are instruments of God’s kindness to them.

BAAM is acknowledging that we are ambassadors of Christ to the specific realm of work He has called us to.

We love our neighbors best when we bring the good news to them. Like Paul, we must see ourselves as ambassadors, bearing the message of reconciliation to an unbelieving world (2 Corinthians 5:20).

BAAM is appreciating the privilege of representing Jesus to our co-workers, clients and community.

We firmly believe that we are not in our present career by accident. It may have felt like we landed here due to random circumstances, but God has been sovereignly guiding us. Our line of work is no accident. Our workplace is no accident. Our vocational ship has sailed to where it is thus far because God has been guiding us. He has placed each of us where we are today because He has need of us.

BAAM is the joyfully and faithfully pursuit of this high calling that God has placed before us; that we may be diligent stewards of the business He has given us to grow and nurture for His glory, and not our own.