One month later...it's been a crazier beginning of the year than I anticipated. But here are some interesting things I've experienced lately:
BAM! I kicked it up a notch, but I wasn't cookin'. I went to a one day conference at about the Business As Mission initiative. Here's some highlights taken from urbana.org (I can't share things I learned at the conference because of the sensitivity of some of the material, they asked not to publish it to the intarweb.)
What is business as mission?
Here's
our definition, which is adapted from the Lausanne Occasional Paper,
no. 59: "Business as mission means releasing business people to use
their gifting in business, integrated with biblical principles, to
transform their own communities and nations and to carry the good news
to the ends of the earth through commerce. Business as mission works
both within a business setting and through its purposes and capacities.
It seeks to harness the power and resources of business for intentional
missions impact in the community, nation, and world at large."
Business as mission includes, but is not limited to:
Starting
a business as mission enterprise in the developing world which impacts
a community economically, socially, and spiritually
Enabling such enterprises through training and availability of capital (e.g., microfinance)
Infusing Christian values and perspective into the global conduct of business (e.g., ethics, Christian leadership principles)
Ministering to counterparts in the marketplace with the gospel of Jesus Christ
To learn more about our working understanding of business as mission, check out our resources page, which includes a link to the above paper.
One major organization that was represented was Interserve. Check them out if you're interested in using your professional skills for more than positively affecting a corporation's bottom line ;)
Speaking of sensitive material...here's a scary clip from Zeitgeist I saw recently. What do y'all think about this??
On a personal note (in poetic form): Friday morning, less than a mile from work. Soft powdery snow gently falls. A phone call from a co-worker. The GM thought our meeting was a half hour earlier. rush, rush, rush down the windy driveway. panic, brake, slide as an oncoming car barrels down. smack, crumple, crack as I collide head on with a wooden guardrail.
The worst part is - I forgot to add rental car insurance when I hit a deer, which ironically happened right after I switched car insurance companies. No, actually the worst part is my insurance agent still tried to convince me that it's not worth it. How is paying $25 a year for up to $900 in rental car coverage better than paying for 2 weeks of rental car usage which I'll be up to with both accidents now?? He keeps telling me of the financial consulting the agency also offers...but I'm not sure that's the best idea.
PS - So I don't get many comments via actual xanga comments but many of you stop me in the street or call or email so I guess there's more than 3 of you reading this thing. I've recently added a site-tracking thingamabobber...so if you've never commented or subscribed...will you just let me know you're out there?? Like who's subscribed to me on Google Reader from Oklahoma? Or the stalker from DC?? I just want to know so I can sleep easier at night.
