Models of Faith-Work Integration
Week 1
Leading the Integration of Faith & Entrepreneurship
John W. Altman Institute for Entrepreneurship, Miami University
Jeff Haanen
Why Faith?
Leading the Integration of Faith & Entreprenuership
The world is�religious.
Source: Pew Global Religious Landscape
Christianity
31.09%
Islam
25.08%
Hindu
15.05%
Unaffiliated
15.05%
Buddhism
7.02%
Folk Religions
6.02%
Other Religions
0.7%
The future is religious.
Why Faith?
1
Prevalence
80%+ of the world's population claim a faith affiliation
2
Centrality
To many, faith is the most important factor in their lives
3
Base of Knowledge
Decades of research in foundational disciplines: psych, soc, & economics
4
Novel Answers
Informs questions not covered by economic & materialistic paradigm
Smith, McMullen & Cardon (2021). Toward a Theological Turn in Entrepreneurship: How religion could enable transformative research in our field. Journal of Business Venturing.
Leading the Integration of Faith & Entrepreneurship
Why Faith & Work?
People Draw on Faith for All of Life, Including Their Work
Faith
Purpose & Direction
Worship & Service
Community & Support
Values and Principles
Meaning & Fulfillment
Make a Positive Impact
Here’s something else that’s weird but true: in�the day-to-day trenches of adult life, there is�actually no such thing as atheism. There is no�such thing as not worshiping. Everybody�worships. The only choice we get is what to�worship. And the compelling reason for�maybe choosing some sort of god or�spiritual-type thing to worship–be it JC or�Allah, be it YHWH or the Wiccan Mother�Goddess, or the Four Noble Truths, or some�inviolable set of ethical principles.
David Foster Wallace
Kenyon College Commencement, 2005
If you worship money and things, if they are�where you tap real meaning in life, then you�will never have enough, never feel you have�enough. It’s the truth. Worship your body and�beauty and sexual allure and you will always�feel ugly. And when time and age start�showing, you will die a million deaths before�they finally grieve you. Worship power, you�will end up feeling weak and afraid, and you�will need ever more power over others to�numb you to your own fear. Worship your�intellect, being seen as smart, you will end up�feeling stupid, a fraud, always on the verge of�being found out.
David Foster Wallace
Kenyon College Commencement, 2005
But the insidious thing about these�forms of worship is not that they’re�evil or sinful, it’s that they’re�unconscious. They are default�settings.They’re the kind of worship�you just gradually slip into, day�after day, getting more and more�selective about what you see and�how you measure value without�ever being fully aware that that’s�what you’re doing.
David Foster Wallace
Kenyon College Commencement, 2005
Watch One Couple's Story of Faith & Entrepreneurship
John and Ashley Marsh
The Marsh Collective
Opelika, Alabama
Break up into groups of 2 or 3 and share your responses to the questionnaire.
Let's Get To Know Each Other.
Agenda
Models of Integration
There's no one model for "faith and work" integration. In this presentation, we'll discuss ten models from around the faith and work movement.
In each presentation, we'll ask: (1) What question is this model answering? (2) What is the model? (3) What do you believe are its strengths and weaknesses?
Industry, Geography, Size
5. The Four "Es"
6. The BAM (or BaaM) Model
7. Redemptive Entrepreneurship
8. Triple Bottom Line
9. Love God, Love Neighbor
10. Working from the Inside Out
11. Brightlight Impact
The Obvious to Hidden Continuum
Question this model is answering: How explicit show I verbally be about faith in my work or business?
Obvious
Faith is the external brand or explicit in core documents
Hidden
Faith is externally invisible
The "Messy Middle"
Language understandable to both faith & non-faith communities (Lokkesmoe)
From Stephen R. Graves and D. Michael Lindsay
The Floors of Integration
Question this model is answering: How do CEOs integrate their faith into their businesses?
FAITH SHAPES THE VALUES, SYMBOLS, AND ASSUMPTIONS OF EACH PART OF THE COMPANY
Second Floor
FAITH-BASED AFFINITY GROUPS, CHAPLAINCY, ERGS, HR & EMPLOYEE CARE
Ground Floor
Ethics
LAW ABIDING, FOLLOWING STANDARDS OF RIGHT AND WRONG, INTEGRITY BETWEEN VALUES/ACTIONS
FAITH LANGUAGE IN MARKETING, CULTURE, OPERATIONS; FAITH VALUES SHAPE SOME PUBLIC DECISIONS
Public
Presentation
Third Floor
Fourth Floor
Culture
Programs
Transformationist
Relevance
Counterculturist
Two Kingdoms
Center Church Model
How does my church tradition or theology influence how I engage culture and my work? (Keller)
full of common grace
little common grace
active in influencing culture
passive in influencing culture
Neo-Calvinist
Religious Right
Theonomists/Reconstructionists
Seeker Sensitive
Emerging Church
Liberal Mainline
Liberation Theology
Neo Anabaptists
New Monastics
Anabaptists
Amish
Lutheran Two Kingdoms
Reformed Two Kingdoms
Distinctive Worldview
Church as Counter-Culture
Common Good
Humble Excellence
The Four Postures Toward Faith in the Workplace
Question this model is answering: How do large corporations tend to treat religion in their company? (Miller)
Faith Avoiding
Company leadership actively avoids topics related to faith or religion.
Faith Tolerant
Religion is tolerated through accommodations, but not embraced or encouraged.
Faith Based
Owners incorporate their religious beliefs into company culture, practices, and symbolism.
Faith Friendly
Leadership actively welcomes conversations about the beliefs, backgrounds, and religious faith of employees.
The Four "Es"
Question this model is answering: How do individuals tend to express their faith at work? (Miller)
4
Enrichment
Emphasizes practices such as prayer, healing, or meditation. The subcategories are individual prayer or devotional practices and group practices such as communal worship or small groups.
1
Ethics
Emphasizes doing the right thing. The subcategories are Self (personal values,
ethical standards) and Community
(business ethics, social responsibility).
3
Experience
Emphasizes questions of calling, meaning, and purpose. The subcategories work as a means to achieving one's purpose or work as a calling and end in itself.
2
Expression
Emphasizes communication of faith at work. Here the subcategories are Verbal
(discussion of faith, evangelization) and Non-Verbal (symbols, attire, action).
Industry, Geography, Company Size
How do industry, geography, and company size tend to affect faith and work integration?
Most Difficult
More Difficult
Easier
Easiest
Industry
Public Education
Small Business
Geography
The West, Northwest
The South
Company Size
Large Corporations
SMBs
The BAM (or BaaM) Framework
Question this model is answering: How can my business have a missional impact for God?
An Example: C12 (A Ministry for Christian CEOs)
BaaM Metrics
Spiritual ("ministry") impact of a business is elevated
Evangelism and acts of charity are prioritized
Redemptive Entrepreneurship (The Praxis Model)
How should an entrepreneur integrate his/her faith into his/her startup on an organizational level?
Triple Bottom Line
How can a business have social and spiritual impactand "return" alongside financial returns?
Love God, Love Neighbor
Question this model is answering: How do we live out the Great Commandment in our work?
Example 1: Eventide Funds
Example 2: Movement Mortgage
Love your neighbor = love your core stakeholders, beginning with employees then customers
Working from the Inside Out
Question this model is answering: What is a person? And how can he/she integrate faith into all areas of life, including work and our culture?
"Transformation from the Inside Out"
Interior Life
Exterior Life
Civic Life
The Brightlight Impact Model
How can faith-motivated investors make a positive impact with their capital?
*Brightlight is an Australian investment management firm with a mission "to build portfolios and products across the responsible, ethical and impact investment spectrum to positively transform lives." They serve both faith and non-faith motivated clients.
Redemptive Practices
Generosity and Sacrifice
Employee Health and Well Being
Spiritual Health and Formation
Gospel
Witness
Community Flourishing
Cultural Renewal & Systems Change
Discussion
Models of Integration
Which model was most appealing to you? Least? Where do you lean when it comes to integrating faith into your work? How do you think faith should - or shouldn't - influence a startup?
Industry, Geography, Size
5. The Four "Es"
6. The BAM (or BaaM) Mode
7. Redemptive Entrepreneurship
8. Triple Bottom Line
9. Love God, Love Neighbor
10. Working from the Inside Out
11. Brightlight Impact