The Mission of Business

I was quite surprised to see that the cover story of Christianity Today related to Business as Mission. It was heartening to hear that there is a groundswell of interest in what they call 'business as mission.'

BAM "is the big trend now, and everyone wants to say they're doing it," says Steve Rundle, associate professor of economics at Biola University. (source)

That is both exciting, and dangerous. I am deeply encouraged that the division between the spiritual and economic spheres is being demolished; yet I fear that lack of theological depth and spiritual maturity will beget yet another wave of misguided Christian enthusiasm.

Unfortunately, I didn't find the article tremendously helpful in clarifying how BAM is different from social entrepreneurship (besides motivations). I think that there is likely a lot more depth to the individuals highlighted than comes out in the article. Nonetheless, I'm encouraged by the public call for Christians to be actively involved in creating organizations that meet real needs, create opportunities, and give opportunities to share the good news with vendors, clients and employees.