Seven Spheres – Business/Commerce

by Jason Joyner | Jan 12, 2008 | Biblical worldview, Blog, Christianity, culture, ministry, missions

I’m continuing on with looking at seven areas that pretty much encompass all of society, dubbed “Seven Spheres of Influence.” I know this is a very late Friday post (read: Saturday), but in the YWAM prayer diary it suggests praying for Business and Commerce on Fridays.

This is a pretty broad category that can include areas such as science and health care as well. When this is taken into account, there are so many areas that Christians can impact acting as professionals in these fields.

One of the basic areas in this area is the impact of general integrity a Christian can provide. I know there are many non-Christians with integrity in these areas, but there’s a lot of potential for abuse as well. I know of Christian businessmen who have gone overseas and have really made a difference with all of the graft and corruption that goes on in other countries. Integrity plays a role in all of the various business areas, but a special emphasis on science is crucial. Proper interpretation and ethical consideration is an addition from believers in this field. I think of being in the medical field myself, and the rapidly changing landscape due to scientific advances such as gene therapy. I need to stay educated on the issues to be able to discuss them and the ethical ramifications.

Another area is the plain fact of making money. The love of money is a root of evil, but money itself is neutral. Having Christian professionals who are able to raise capital and support other missionary endeavors. We need knowledgeable people who are gifted at what they do to go into the areas they are called to, and there they can make a great impact.

Hopefully this idea is starting to seep in. I remember a story from early in YWAM’s development. Two men came to Loren Cunningham (the founder), feeling a call to missions while he spoke at their church. Their question was how God could use heavy equipment operators. They ended up serving to build a road to a village in Africa. Wherever you are in your life, you can be used by God!

Seven Spheres – Education

by Jason Joyner | Jan 11, 2008 | Biblical worldview, Blog, Christianity, culture, ministry, missions

In my earlier post I introduced the idea of Seven Spheres of Influence. I basically talked about the concept that Christians can influence culture from several different areas, apart from ministry. There is nothing magical about have “Seven Spheres” – it is a handy way to think and organize it for memory purposes. In fact, YWAM has a great tool they release every year, a Personal Prayer Diary and Daily Planner (in a wonderful array of colors!), that encourages people to pray for these major areas of influence over the days of the week. Isn’t that so easy?

In fact, I’m going to go through the different areas in the order that the Prayer Diary lists them, just for ease of keeping track. On Thursday, the prayer focus is on the area of Education. This is obviously an important area to have people who love truth serving kids, teens, and college-aged students.

At no time am I ever going to endorse the idea of theocracy (government run by religion) or that professionals in these fields we’ll discuss should use their authority in such a way as to bully people or influence them in an inappropriate way. If a Christian is a teacher, then our laws do not allow her to stand in front of the classroom and lead of all the kids in a devotion. A businessman shouldn’t use Christian cronyism to guide all of their contacts or sources.

However, there are a lot of ways where being a Christian can impact these areas. Back to education – a teacher who diligently prays over his classroom before the students come in creates a healthy spiritual atmosphere for learning and protection. Being an example of integrity is important as a lot of children may not see that in other areas of their lives. A good teacher should be able to teach how to think critically and define truth – even if it is not a specific “Biblical” teaching. The Bible doesn’t comment on gravity or the Civil War, but a strong teacher can illuminate these arenas without using religious terms or making it sectarian.

Schools are a very hard place to serve. I don’t think that teachers get a lot of support anymore. My wife taught 5th grade for a couple of years, and she was amazed how often true “teaching” time was cut into by assemblies, teaching toward a test, or doing lifestyle education like self-esteem or drug-free programs. Many of these things can be good, but in an ever complex world it seems that many subjects are only being skimmed due to the constraints on educators.

It also seems that being an active Christian can be hard, especially in the university setting. College is an area where so much formation is expected, yet if Christians are abandoning this difficult mission field, the positions will be filled by others, and they may not have a favorable view at all of faith and religion.

There is a lot that can be said in this sphere of influence. Hopefully I am starting to show how Christians can be an important influence in these areas. If I’m cutting examples too short or not being clear, please leave me a comment so I can clarify what I’m trying to say.

I’m done with work for the week, the forecast is for steady posts throughout the next few days.

Seven Spheres – Education

by Jason Joyner | Jan 11, 2008 | Biblical worldview, Blog, Christianity, culture, ministry, missions

In my earlier post I introduced the idea of Seven Spheres of Influence. I basically talked about the concept that Christians can influence culture from several different areas, apart from ministry. There is nothing magical about have “Seven Spheres” – it is a handy way to think and organize it for memory purposes. In fact, YWAM has a great tool they release every year, a Personal Prayer Diary and Daily Planner (in a wonderful array of colors!), that encourages people to pray for these major areas of influence over the days of the week. Isn’t that so easy?

In fact, I’m going to go through the different areas in the order that the Prayer Diary lists them, just for ease of keeping track. On Thursday, the prayer focus is on the area of Education. This is obviously an important area to have people who love truth serving kids, teens, and college-aged students.

At no time am I ever going to endorse the idea of theocracy (government run by religion) or that professionals in these fields we’ll discuss should use their authority in such a way as to bully people or influence them in an inappropriate way. If a Christian is a teacher, then our laws do not allow her to stand in front of the classroom and lead of all the kids in a devotion. A businessman shouldn’t use Christian cronyism to guide all of their contacts or sources.

However, there are a lot of ways where being a Christian can impact these areas. Back to education – a teacher who diligently prays over his classroom before the students come in creates a healthy spiritual atmosphere for learning and protection. Being an example of integrity is important as a lot of children may not see that in other areas of their lives. A good teacher should be able to teach how to think critically and define truth – even if it is not a specific “Biblical” teaching. The Bible doesn’t comment on gravity or the Civil War, but a strong teacher can illuminate these arenas without using religious terms or making it sectarian.

Schools are a very hard place to serve. I don’t think that teachers get a lot of support anymore. My wife taught 5th grade for a couple of years, and she was amazed how often true “teaching” time was cut into by assemblies, teaching toward a test, or doing lifestyle education like self-esteem or drug-free programs. Many of these things can be good, but in an ever complex world it seems that many subjects are only being skimmed due to the constraints on educators.

It also seems that being an active Christian can be hard, especially in the university setting. College is an area where so much formation is expected, yet if Christians are abandoning this difficult mission field, the positions will be filled by others, and they may not have a favorable view at all of faith and religion.

There is a lot that can be said in this sphere of influence. Hopefully I am starting to show how Christians can be an important influence in these areas. If I’m cutting examples too short or not being clear, please leave me a comment so I can clarify what I’m trying to say.

I’m done with work for the week, the forecast is for steady posts throughout the next few days.

Seven Spheres of Influence

by Jason Joyner | Jan 7, 2008 | Biblical worldview, Blog, Christianity, culture, ministry, missions

I wanted to introduce a topic that I learned in my time in Youth With A Mission. After the shootings at YWAM Arvada, I was keeping an eye out on the net to see what was being discussed about the mission organization in the wake of the event. Most of the coverage was positive, although I did come across negative publicity, which was bound to happen. No organization is perfect, and YWAM has its warts. However, one of the criticisms was that YWAM tended to produce people that were insular and didn’t want to go out of what YWAM was doing.

YWAM is a pretty dynamic, if loose, organization, and it can be very attractive to stay with a group that seems more intense and going than the local church. I’ve seen folks that have done this very thing. Yet this is antithetical to YWAM’s purpose, as evidenced by their teaching on the “Seven Spheres of Influence.”

I wanted to introduce this topic because it plays into themes that this blog has touched on. Basically, all of life is under the watchful gaze of God (in Latin it is called “Coram Deo”). I’ve talked about this regarding creativity and art, but really no part of life is separate from God, especially for us as Christians. If we are the temple of the Holy Spirit, whatever we do can be used to advance the Kingdom of God. (Of course there are limits. I won’t be promoting Christian erotica anytime soon.)

After a time YWAM decided that there was a greater role for Christians than just being in specific, called, identifiable ministry. You know, being called “Rev/Pastor/Father/Bishop/Deacon/etc.” A Christian businessman could use his influence in his field, mentoring people in Kingdom principles to train a moral workforce in finance or whatever the field may be. There was a great untapped potential for discipleship and transforming not just lives, but entire cultures. If enough Christians entered these “spheres of influence,” then a whole nation could be discipled.

I know this idea is not unique to YWAM, but the idea was one of the reasons they founded their University of the Nations to train people in a Biblical worldview of all fields of industry and work. I applaud all others who forge ahead in this way – I think it has the potential to radically change the world.

I’ll break down this idea more, and spell out the Seven Spheres, in further posts this week.

Seven Spheres of Influence

by Jason Joyner | Jan 7, 2008 | Biblical worldview, Blog, Christianity, culture, ministry, missions

I wanted to introduce a topic that I learned in my time in Youth With A Mission. After the shootings at YWAM Arvada, I was keeping an eye out on the net to see what was being discussed about the mission organization in the wake of the event. Most of the coverage was positive, although I did come across negative publicity, which was bound to happen. No organization is perfect, and YWAM has its warts. However, one of the criticisms was that YWAM tended to produce people that were insular and didn’t want to go out of what YWAM was doing.

YWAM is a pretty dynamic, if loose, organization, and it can be very attractive to stay with a group that seems more intense and going than the local church. I’ve seen folks that have done this very thing. Yet this is antithetical to YWAM’s purpose, as evidenced by their teaching on the “Seven Spheres of Influence.”

I wanted to introduce this topic because it plays into themes that this blog has touched on. Basically, all of life is under the watchful gaze of God (in Latin it is called “Coram Deo”). I’ve talked about this regarding creativity and art, but really no part of life is separate from God, especially for us as Christians. If we are the temple of the Holy Spirit, whatever we do can be used to advance the Kingdom of God. (Of course there are limits. I won’t be promoting Christian erotica anytime soon.)

After a time YWAM decided that there was a greater role for Christians than just being in specific, called, identifiable ministry. You know, being called “Rev/Pastor/Father/Bishop/Deacon/etc.” A Christian businessman could use his influence in his field, mentoring people in Kingdom principles to train a moral workforce in finance or whatever the field may be. There was a great untapped potential for discipleship and transforming not just lives, but entire cultures. If enough Christians entered these “spheres of influence,” then a whole nation could be discipled.

I know this idea is not unique to YWAM, but the idea was one of the reasons they founded their University of the Nations to train people in a Biblical worldview of all fields of industry and work. I applaud all others who forge ahead in this way – I think it has the potential to radically change the world.

I’ll break down this idea more, and spell out the Seven Spheres, in further posts this week.