Building the Kingdom Through Business

By Bridget Adams and Manoj Rauthatha

At heart I'm a 'business' person. I like the way in which people work together to form some kind of enterprise through which everyone benefits - workers, management, customers and the community in which it serves. But for many Christians, there is a separation between their spiritual life and their 'worldly' life, which I've never been able to see.

Business for these people is seen as something 'bad' and has nothing to do with the Kingdom of God, so I'm glad that Bridget and Manoj have written this book which clearly lays out the Biblical foundation for the inclusion of business.

Of course some businesses, not only in recent times but throughout history, have attracted attention for all the wrong reasons. We've seen corruption at the highest level of business defraud customers, investors and their pension funds, along with greed causing immoral and unsustainable practices. But that doesn't mean the purpose of business and what most other companies do is bad. If that were the case then the church would also be labelled as a bad cause.

To set things straight the authors clearly lay how business shapes the world and why the church should "work in and through business to shape the world for good and for God." It gives some great examples of well known companies that have done this in the past (Cadburys, Lloyds, Frys, Rowntree) and some examples from the Bible.

There is a great chapter on leadership models and some practical suggestions on how to set up a Kingdom Business. The book concludes with contacts of groups that can help and a list of books for further reading.

This book is compact and easy to read. If you're thinking of starting up a business then this book provides a good background. If you're one of those who think that church and business should never mix, then this book is also ideal for you.

"Building the Kingdom Through Business" is published by Instant Apostle and can be purchased through the website www.instantapostle.com.