This book explores the nature and meaning of doing business and finds it calls for much more than most think. Seattle Pacific School of Business Dean Jeff Van Duzer presents a robust Christian approach that integrates biblical studies with the disciplines of business and displays a vision of business that contributes to the very purposes of God.
DOING BUSINESS GOD'S WAY is a study of how God manages His resources so we can manage ours in a similar fashion. Dennis Peacocke draws out twelve principles of management, growth, and productivity that can bring lasting change into the life and culture of all who apply them.
God cares a great deal more about our money than most of us imagine. The sheer enormity of Scripture’s teaching on this subject screams for our attention. In fact, Jesus says more about how we are to view and handle money and possessions than about any other topic—including both heaven and hell. In Managing God's Money, Randy Alcorn breaks down exactly what the Bible has to say about how we are to handle our money and posessions in a simple, easy-to-follow format. Filled with Scripture references, Managing God's Money is the perfect reference tool for anyone who is interested in gaining a solid biblical understanding of money, possessions, and eternity.
What would the world of business be like if it were run by the Greek gods of yore? Would Apollo be the right man at the helm of Acme Widget? What sweeping changes would Athena make if she controlled an ad agency? While this might merely seem like an entertaining concept, it also happens to be an extremely valuable framework for understanding management styles and the corporate cultures associated with them. In The Gods of Management, best-selling author Charles Handy uses four Greek gods to illustrate for managers the basic approaches they can use in their own businesses. When power radiates throughout the company from a top boss, that would be an example of a Zeus or "club" organization, one that investment banks and brokerage firms often adopt for their corporate climates. An Apollo "role" culture, on the other hand, results in a stable bureaucracy, such as a life insurance company or a firm with a long history of success with a single product. The Athena "task" environment emphasizes talent, youth, and team problem-solving, as we'd find in ad agencies and consultancies. And lastly, a Dionysius "existential" design exists to let individuals achieve their purposes, as in a university or group medical practice. In this thought-provoking volume, Charles Handy shows managers how to be aware of the cultural choices they can make to create a more productive and satisfying workplace.
Religious and faith-based organisations constitute a large and important group of organisations. This is the first book to study systematically their characteristics and the distinctive challenges they pose to the people managing them. Malcolm Torry discusses how to define religious and faith-based organisations, how to study them, and the secular context in which they operate in Western Europe and the USA. There are chapters on congregations, denominations, governance, membership, the clergy, leadership, and religious and faith-based organisations' relationship to civil society. The book relies on research-based literature and case studies and contains full bibliographies, making it an essential tool for anyone studying this important new field.
Can business activity in itself be morally good and pleasing to God? Sometimes business can seem so shady-manipulating the "bottom line," deceiving the consumer, or gaining promotions because of whom you know. But Wayne Grudem introduces a novel concept: business itself glorifies God when it is conducted in a way that imitates God's character and creation. He shows that all aspects of business, including ownership, profit, money, competition, and borrowing and lending, glorify God because they are reflective of God's nature. Though Grudem isn't naïve about the easy ways these activities can be perverted and used as a means to sin, he knows that Christians can be about the business of business. This biblically based book is a thoughtful guide to imitating God during interactions with customers, coworkers, employees, and other businesses. See how your business, and your life in business, can be dedicated to God's glory.
Pastors, leaders of Christian organizations, and lay persons will find an invaluable guide and spiritual wisdom in this book. Focusing primarily on the what rather than the how of managing Christian organizations, Ray Anderson clearly presents a biblical and theological basis for understanding the unique characteristics of Christian organizations and what it means to manage such organizations in a Christian way. Anderson emphasizes the role of leadership for pastors and those who manage Christian organizations, providing helpful teaching on issues such as strategic planning, the development of mission statements as a definition of the organization's goals, and what it means to use biblical principles, prayer, and dependence on the Holy Spirit in carrying out the organization's goals.
This two-volume work explores the management of religious and faith-based organizations. Each chapter offers a discussion of the earliest Christian organizations based on New Testament evidence; a study of managing faith-based organizations; and an exploration of secular management theory in relation to the management of faith-based organizations.
This original book studies a wide variety of mediating institutions, both organizational and non-organizational, in workplaces, residential areas, and in wider society. Focusing upon institutions in the Thames Gateway and with case studies across south-east London, Europe and the USA, Meditating Institutions highlights the importance of understanding, creating and maintaining these organizations that facilitate relationships between religious institutions and others within society. Discussing their structures and activities, the author asserts that good relationships between religious institutions and other groups in our society are essential for a cohesive and peaceful society.
Focusing on what facilitates effective leadership, church growth, and retention, this book sets forth a process-oriented framework for understanding the dynamics of church growth and what works for and against it. The author, who is currently serving as the senior pastor of a local church in the City of Brampton, Ontario, for more than twenty years, highlights basic concepts and practices related to church leadership and growth. He considers questions such as: Why do some churches grow in numbers while others lag? What are the dynamic processes, strategies, and pathways that underlie effective leadership, church growth, and retention? How can the answers to these questions inform endeavors to increase and retain church membership? The author also asks if it’s true that God is in partnership with his leaders, why are so many of our local churches not growing but declining? The world the church was established in more than two thousand years ago is not the world we live in today. Rethink what it means to lead, grow, and retain membership in a changing world with this important book.
