Loose talk can cost lives.

Last week, at the end of a long day, I wrote about my experiences in lower Manhattan on September 11, 2001. Writing it was a surreal experience for me, no real goal in mind, it just started coming out me and onto the screen. I didn’t edit it. I didn’t polish it up. I did try and add something prolific at the end, some commentary that would show how profound the feelings I was expressing were.

And though what I wrote was true, I really don’t think September 11th is about me. That’s one of the reasons why I have a hard time thinking about and talking about it. Sure, I feared for my life that day in a way I never had before and never have since, but for me, one of the hard things about September 11th is how I feel distanced from it.

Part of it, I think, is self-preservation, my inner-psyche is minimizing/compartmentalizing/transferring my experiences so that I don’t have to reconcile the tragedy and impact of being that close to such violence. I recognize that that is definitely the case.

But I also think there’s something else and the best way I can describe it is something like “survivor guilt” (though not as extreme). I find I’m having more and more difficulty thinking about what I experienced on September 11th as (for lack of a better term) noteworthy. Which doesn’t mean I diminish the experience or the affect it’s had on me. I just feel like I walked away from that day really no worse for the wear, especially when compared to tragic impact that day has had on thousands upon thousands of victims and their families.

I lived.

I was not hurt.

I was not in the direct path of danger.

No one I know was killed or injured.

The violence of that day did not touch my life anywhere near the way it has for the 2974 victims and their friends and families. I got off easy.

And so over this past week (especially on the eighth anniversary of the attacks) I find myself reacting negatively to most of the commentary or personal recounting of the day. This feeling particularly came to the surface tonight when I saw two things (via social media).

The first was someone posted on Flickr a photo set of images from September 11, all of which showed the damage and chaos of that day and the following days. The second was an article pondering what September 11 would have been like if today’s social media tools had been as available and popular back then. I’m not including links to either of these because the point in writing this is not to call them out or admonish them.

***Before I get to the point, let me say: It is self-righteous of me to judge anyone’s intentions or methods for acknowledging, memorializing, or even expressing interest in September 11th. I confess this as sin and am grateful that Christ’s love washes me clean.

The point I want to make is this, both of the things I saw tonight focused on aspects of September 11th which, though interesting, detract from the tragedy of that day. Neither site so much as mention the loss of thousands of lives that occurred that day.

In this era of increasing social media usage, the goal of generating and linking to unique and engaging content may cause people to lose sight of what is truly significant about the things they commenting on. And since the power of social media is its ability to spread content to great extents, the chances of our content being seen by someone who has been profoundly touched by something like September 11th. We must not become desensitized to events by the media we use to share those events. By doing so we might touch a wound or cause some pain with our carelessness.

I’m not advocating censorship or saying that social media is bad. All I am saying is that as servants of the Kingdom, it is important that we watch what we say.

Matthew 12:36-37 (English Standard Version)
I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Image: http://flickr.com/photos/adrianjmoss/504318642/

You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life. –Winston Churchill

In an article in The New York Times Magazine from August, 2007 William Safire discusses how title “Strategist” is replacing “Adviser”  in American politics and the nuance behind the shift. What says it reveals a desire to differentiate oneself from the overused “campaign manager” and “political adviser” and while implying high status within the ranks of a staff.

I personally have been frustrated by how most business labels which describe my profession, skill set, or the value I offer are either so commonly used that they’ve become sterile and weak or carry some negative connotation (think: consultant). I have often struggled with how to succinctly and accurately describe myself (while trying to remain humble) and have routinely settled on “strategist” after much soul-searching and field testing (What word comes to mind when you hear the word: AWESOMESTAR?)

The difference between Strategist and Adviser? Safire quotes Joe Pickett, editor of the American Heritage Dictionary: “A strategist is someone who has a plan of battle and the situation is always one of contention.” (emphasis mine).

Kevin Ring is a Kingdom Strategist.

An early version of my personal mission statement reads:

I serve individuals and organizations that are set about a purpose greater than themselves to anticipate, neutralize, overcome, and rise above the threats that they face.

This version captures a key aspect of my calling: to serve an ideal greater than myself. For me (and I hope for you as well), that ideal is the Kingdom of God. My purpose is to serve God’s purpose.

As a servant of God’s Kingdom, I choose to stand up against the ways of this world so that others might see Christ glorified in me. As Christ said “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.” (Matthew 10:34).

I know that the work is and will continue to be difficult. I know that I will make enemies. I know that there will be suffering. Make no mistake, I struggle with this. I want to be liked. I want to be comfortable. I fear confrontation. This is (like most things) is easy for me to say but harder for me to actually live out.

But I do what I do in Christ’s name, assured by His promise and strengthened by His grace. And so I will count it all as blessing, because I know what I stand for.

Do you?

I’ve been thinking a lot about this in the context of strategy, well honestly I’ve been thinking about it in the context of a lot of things: life, relationships, entrepreneurship, parenting, ministry… because DON’T BONK is great advice for anyone who strives to create impact in the world, be it in your community, the  marketplace, or your own home. It’s advice that is especially poignant and pertinent in my life right now as I run the race that has been laid out for me.I am a husband, a father of two children under the age of two,  an elder in my church, and starting my own business. See, I have decided to live a life of significance and I believe that I am called to make a difference in whatever roles God has called me to. And right now that means serving his Kingdom in my family, in my church and community, and in the companies and ministries that my company serves. As anyone in similar roles would tell you, each is a lot of work and takes a great deal of time, energy and effort to do well.

Believe me, the demands of doing all four at the same time are often overwhelming. My effectiveness is under constant attack from the demands and chaos that come with the territory as a father, as a husband, as a business owner, as a servant of the Church, in addition to the physical drain that comes from responding to those demands. On top of all of this, the enemy preys on my position and is constantly beleaguering me and my wife, tempting us and doing everything in his power to distract and separate us from the one true Source of life and power from which any impact I have in any of these areas comes.

I read recently that Alcoholics Anonymous advises its members to avoid becoming hungry, angry, or tired in order to avoid succumbing to the allure of alcohol and backsliding. I believe that this wisdom applies not only to resisting the temptation of alcohol but to all sins. I have noticed that my ability to meet the demands of my roles, to faithfully endure, centered in Christ and (very simply) be steadfast in my faith is seriously compromised whenever I am hungry, angry, or tired. I confess that I frequently succumb to my own sinfulness because I lack the energy to push through. I BONK.

For me, the conundrum is knowing what I can do about it (and having the energy to do it). And though there are a number of things that I can and will give attention to that create a conducive environment for faith to be sustained, I think the one thing that is most important and upon which any other bit of advice would be based is knowing that Christ endured far more in our place.

I am constantly learning the extent of the truth in Christ’s words in 2 Corinthians 12 “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” .  So remember these things as you try and fail or as you struggle to keep up with the whirlwind of demands facing you or when you are hungry, angry, tired:

Christ has claimed victory over everything

Sin, death, evil, failure, frustration, exhaustion. Christ’s perfect life, death on the cross, resurrection from the grave, and ascension into Heaven have broke all power of this world over you. Rest in His grace.

You are not able to or supposed to be perfect in this time.

Sin still exists and you are still sinful creatures. Christ alone is perfect and it is His perfection alone through which we are made righteous. Do not view this as license to be imperfect. We are called to be perfect. Just remember whose power enables any and all good that you can do.

Focus on avoiding becoming hungry, angry, or tired.

Said differently, do not give the devil a foothold in your life. Spend time with God, through prayer, through worship, through study of the Word. Prioritize these things so that there is not room for doubt or lies to take hold in your heart. Faith, the power to endure, is a gift from God. Do not shut off the ways He has given us to come to Him and receive it.

Christ has called us into community so that we do not have to suffer through hardships alone.

We have a Great Counselor who is with us. We need to have a community of fellow believers who can lift us up, bear our burdens, preach love to us. Do not foolishly think that you are alone.

Boast in your weakness because it is in these times that Christ’s power is most visible and most beautiful to the rest of this world.

Do not hide from failure. Do not pretend to be something that you are not. For our weakest moments can be the greatest opportunity to be a witness to Christ’s love. Imagine what it would be like to suffer and not be assured by Christ’s love. Your weakness can be an opportunity to bring you close to others who also suffer, but suffer without hope. Letting others see Christ’s love shine in you in your times of weakness will help them to see that the light is missing from their own lives.

Shine on. Don’t bonk.

• Response to global trends
• Challenges facing the organization
• Perceived benefits of Business as Mission

In Part 1 of this series I discussed the first driver, identifying key trends facing missions organizations. In Part 2 I discussed how organizational challenges makes BAM an attractive solution for missions organizations. Finally, in this post I will identify some of the perceived benefits of Business as Mission and discuss some misconceptions that are common among missions organizations.

3. Perceived benefits of Business as Mission

Missions organization generally cite the following benefits that they believe Business as Mission will create for their organization (ranked by frequency of identification):

1. Creative Access
2. Job Creation
3. Influence/Witness
4. Funding/Revenue Generation
5. Developing Organizational Capabilities
6. Enhanced Recruiting

I will dive deeper into each of those in future posts. Generally, the perceived benefits created by Business as Mission fall in one of two categories: those that create advantage for furthering strategic objectives (job creation, influence/witness, developing organizational capabilities) or those that specifically address challenges facing the organization (creative access, funding/revenue generation, enhanced recruiting).

Here’s what field-level leadership from around the world has to say about the benefits of BAM:

“It takes us into arenas where our traditional missionaries would not venture. Business leaders have increasing clout here, and they are also aggressively pursuing opportunities in the opening markets all across the 10-40 Window. Probably Business and Education give the best opening for what we would like to see in terms of placing people in Creative Access countries.”

“I see several benefits. First, it provides a natural platform from which to interact with people. As a missionary in France I frequently was viewed as clergy and ‘I had to say those spiritual things’. But as people got to know me as an engineer, they were much more open to dialogue on spiritual things. Secondly, I do see that funding missions will be a growing issue worldwide and in the US as well. So BAM provides a natural partial solution to that as well. Also, I see BAM as addressing one of the spiritual qualifications listed by Paul to Timothy – that of having experience that is recognized by the world. In today’s information-overload world, people are no longer validated by a title (like missionary or pastor) but by their contribution to the local society. I see BAM as a validating tool for the Gospel.”

Recommendation:

As your organization thinks about what makes BAM an attractive Kingdom strategy, you need to be able to differentiate between:

• BAM as a complement to existing strategy, furthering the impact of current efforts;
• BAM as a series of steps for fixing existing problems.

This distinction is important because integrating business into a traditional missions environment is complex and requires new skills, knowledge, and capabilities to execute. When individuals or organizations are driven by the belief that business will alleviate many of the current challenges inhibiting missions efforts it is possible to underestimate the effort required. This will create additional risk to your organization or to your field personnel which can ultimately lead to failure of the business effort and/or cause unnecessary damage.

Conclusion:

Though some would argue that adopting Business as Mission requires too great of a paradigm shift for traditional missions effort, I believe that in light of these factors I’ve discussed here Business as Mission is a good strategy for missions organizations to pursue. This is why Unconventional Method is committed to helping missions and ministry organizations understand and embrace BAM strategies.

Many of the factors that are eroding the effectiveness of traditional missionary activities are creating greater opportunities for businesses. Taking advantage of these opportunities and integrating business into your organization will also create side benefits that may address many of the other challenges facing your organization.

However, my experience has shown that organizational motivations that lead to a desire to integrate Business as Mission as a strategy contribute more to the success of a BAM initiative than almost any other factor. It is critical for any missions organization considering Business as Mission that key leadership, especially the executive sponsor and champion of your BAM efforts, make sure that it will contribute to your organization’s larger ministry goals first, before focusing on BAM’s unique benefits (job creation, increase influence, development of capabilities) or how it can mitigate some of the challenges facing the organization (access to closed countries, funding, recruiting).

Below are some key questions that will help you to understand the motivations that are leading your organization to consider Business as Mission as a strategy:

Response to trends

• What major trends are affecting your organization? How is your organization being affected?
• How do these trends affect the business environment in the areas that you operate?
• Do you monitor changes in global trends? How would changes to the current trends impact a Business as Mission strategy?
• What additional trends will you need to be aware of if you integrate business into your organization?

Challenges facing the organization

• Does your leadership team agree on what are the top challenges facing the organization?
• What are the root causes of these challenges?
• How are you monitoring/measuring the impact of these challenges?
• In what other ways are you addressing these issues?
• Do you understand how Business as Mission can address these challenges?

Unique benefits of BAM

• Which benefits of BAM are most important to your organization? At the leadership level? At the field level?
• What could limit the potential of BAM?
• What needs to be in place in order for your organization to capture the BAM benefits?