3Ci Business Forum: Opening Day

Saturday 23 January saw the first of a new series of monthly events happening at 3Ci: the 3Ci Business Forum. The intent of this forum is to engage business people from our community in finding the mind of Christ and the heart of God in business. It is hosted by Callie Swart, one of the elders overseeing our church and he is backed up by a team of others, each of whom is accomplished in business namely, Piet Lindeque and Dolan Jones, who are also elders at 3Ci, AJ Coetzee, a lawyer and Stefan van der Walt, MD of Nikon (SA). They will be joined by other experienced and accomplished business people as and when necessary – the main criteria for contributing in this forum being that the person must carry some revelation of the role of business in the context of the Christian faith.

Laying a foundation:

This first meeting was given to laying the foundation for what is to come. Callie, Piet and Stefan each held the floor for a time (although Callie for a bit longer than his fair share J) sharing some thoughts on business and the Christian faith. Callie and Piet each brought a foundational biblical message, permeated with anecdotes and testimonies concerning business from their own lives and the role of business in the life of the gospel. Stefan spoke from “where the takkie meets the tar” and shared about his life as a businessman and his testimony of a growing (progressive) revelation of what God intends to do in and through his life as a Christian in business. The obvious implication of what each spoke on is that God intends to do things in and through the lives of every one of us in the church, including through those who are gifted in business.

The Crux:

In a church context made rotten by the heresy of the prosperity movement, the guys called us back to the worship of God and to a rejection of the idolatry of mammon (money), while reminding us of the fact that God is not anti-wealth, but demands our all, including our wealth, which belongs to him in the first place. A key scripture underlining this truth is Deuteronomy 8:17,18 “Beware lest you say in your heart, 'My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.' You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day.”

Against that backdrop, Callie warned us against the insidious dualism we hold between “the secular and the spiritual”. When we live with this mindset, we are inclined to separate our business from our relationship with God – a very dangerous spiritual practice because eventually we find that it is our business that drives and motivates us. He also encouraged us to be daring and courageous in business (not to be interpreted as foolhardy) and to dare to believe God for more than we currently do or more than we ever have. He spoke with affection of his Jewish business partners who “take the spiritual high ground” in everything they do in business and encouraged us to do likewise – to take charge of our businesses in the context of our lives in Christ.

Piet spoke passionately on the heart of God regarding money, giving and stewardship. He quoted numerous scriptures regarding money and finance, reminding us also that there are 2,350 scriptures that refer to money and handling our possessions. He called us to focus our lives on Christ – on getting to know him through his word and spending time with him in prayer. In this way our spiritual eyes will be healthy, giving light to our bodies (Matt 6: 19-24). He then focused on Jesus’ parable of the servants and the talents (Matt 25:14-30) and the implications of this for business specifically and more generally, for putting all of our gifts and talents to use for the kingdom of God. The keynotes of his presentation can be summarised in the admonishment to handle our money correctly, to be good stewards of what God gives us and finally, to be generous and joyful in giving.

Stefan’s own life testimony emphasises the truth that we should not despise small beginnings. God has progressively increased his capacity in terms of character and the capacity and size of his business dealings. His focus was never primarily informed by his need and desire to make money, but rather on putting together something that will last. The Lord has opened up many doors for him in business, often to his surprise and amazement, all the time bringing him into a deeper revelation of where business and making money fit into the kingdom of God. He reminded us that the difference between a godly man and a worldly man is that the godly man does not live primarily for himself but for the glory of God.

All three men reminded us that God is God over all the earth, including business and that He has need of Christian people making a success in business in accordance with their faith and giftings, although sometimes beyond their personal ability and capacity. They emphasised that this must always be tempered by a lively and intimate, personal relationship with God in Christ and the impact of that relationship on our characters.

With the gospel of Jesus Christ at the centre of our lives and a progressive revelation of the heart of God regarding business, money, wealth and stewardship, may this forum (and others like it that are Christ centred) bring about a revival similar to that which took place amongst the Quakers and birthed companies such as Colgate, Cadbury’s, Barclay’s Bank and Lloyd’s of London.

Investor’s Club:

Callie spoke about plans to start an investor’s club and pitching it against the big investment houses and in so doing to test the difference between handling money in a godly manner and handling it as the world does. He predicts that by doing things God’s way, we will outplay the big players in the marketplace. The caveat though is that there are no guarantees! We will hear more about this in future meetings.

What’s coming?

Two of the areas that will enjoy attention over the next ten meetings include Personal and Family Finance during which time the following topics (more or less) will enjoy focus:

 and Hard Core Business Issues, including:

Next meetings:

The next two meetings have been set for:

20^th February – How to Start a Business

20^th March – Personal and Family Finance

Thereafter the intent is to meet every third Saturday of the month…