Jason Byassee

Mother Teresa, CEO

How NOT to write about leadership.

It is not hard to make the case that Western Christians, especially mainline Protestants, have long been profoundly confused about business. We have treated church members who run or work in capitalistic endeavors as if they were doing something slightly sordid. The real work of ministry is done by those who pastor churches, teach students, run non-profits, or pursue other avenues of do-gooding. This is ironic in that one of the Reformation’s chief charisms is the priesthood of all believers—the claim that a vocation to pastoral ministry is no more essentially holy than any other work God calls one of his saints to do. It is also hypocritical in that all of our ministries depend on the funding of our sisters and brothers who make their money the only way anyone ever makes it: in business.

There is a real opportunity, then, for sensitive and probing theological work integrating theology and business. Some have begun to do just such work, and I anticipate much more to come, especially as the business community wrestles with the fallout of the Great Recession and looks for more innovative ways to do good while doing well. Like all good theology, such work will draw on Scripture and tradition and do so in innovative ways for a new day while integrating the best…

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