Business Ethics

Markets are the engine for growth, and they are indeed dynamic. Yet that should not preclude us as participants to think carefully and faithfully about what it is we prefer and why we prefer it. Moreover, this should draw us to the relevance of the church.

How can we blend work and faith? Church Leader Collective interviews Andrea Baare

Does the new Department of Labor ruling have you concerned about how it might affect you? Church Leader Collective shares some great resources to help you remain compliant.

When businesses obey the law and act in reasonably good faith with employees and consumers, they tend to have a variety of very positive effects on the wider community. In short, rather than being value-extracting, most businesses are value-giving.

Most of us don't like to think about money and fundraising in ministry, but sometimes it is necessary. Bill Reid shares with us how some new federal legislation can help you have a fundraising bonanza!

“Advertising aims to teach people that they have wants—which they did not recognize before—and where such wants can be best be supplied.” Yet, contentment is an important mark of Christian maturity, allowing us to rest in God’s will for our lives.

For a market to be a true market, there must be a notion of voluntary exchange. While free, creative, and voluntary actions are not the only requirements for markets to be effective, they are at the epicenter of the market mechanism. Yet the same liberty that allows me to freely enter into economic arrangements also allows me to act in non-market ways. This includes the practice of unconditional giving.

Can economic prosperity force me to evaluate the violence in my own heart? Does education inevitably lead to shalom? Will outside investment make me selfless?

Business is indeed a vehicle to make money (since most of us cannot describe the access to money like Forrest Gump: “One less thing”). However, businesses—and the larger marketplace that they operate within—are avenues of service to others.

In this blog series, I have attempted to highlight five areas of benefit and five areas of caution when it comes to conceptualizing markets in the faith community. I would like to end this series by making some general comments on the five areas of caution that we, as people of faith, should be cognizant of when it comes to market activity.