God's Freema:q

19
fs\S Entrepreneur
by Donald Williamson, Jr.
Question: How do you make people
on Wall Street laugh? Answer: Ask
them if Jesus Christ is Lord of fmance!
Those who don't give you a blank stare
or look of horror will probably respond
with a chuckle.
Such are the times in which we live.
Financiers, with novelist Tom Wolfe's
bond salesman, Sherman McCoy
(Bonfrre of the Vanities), would use
debt to gain power rather than foster
wealth creation (the production of actual
goods and services). By clever dealing
they would sweep away all limits to
become "Masters of the Universe."
For their aeries these "Masters," by
telephone (Wolfe's "electric doughnut"),
would manipulate people as they
manipulate numbers on their computer
tenninals. But let their confidence be
shaken (as in the Market crash of '87),
and they willingly enslave themselves
to "New Age" gurus, in a desperate at-
tempt to escape fmancial ruin.
If Wall Street fmanciers seem all too
ready to "worship'.' idols of greed and
power, are businessmen more respon-
sible? A growing number of writers on
business management believe there is,
indeed, a breed of businessman who is
more responsible: the entrepreneur!
They maintain it is entrepreneurs who
spur economic growth, not some imper-
sonal mechanism of market exchanges.
Recognizing that new businesses (Over
500,000 begun annually) account for
the major portion of new jobs in Ameri-
ca, they see a "boom in entrepreneur-
ship."
But with the realization that entre-
preneurs play an important part in
wealth creation (the enlargement, not
redistribution, of the economic pie)
come troubling questions. If we have an
entrepreneurial boom, why do the vast
Donald Williamson, Jr. Is a Presbyter-
Ian who publishes an occasional news-
letter caled The Christilzn Reasoner.
For those Interested. the address Is
5909 Kingsford Place, Bethesda,
Maryland 20817.
majority of new businesses fail? Only
one in twenty survives ten years! Why
do best selling writers on entrepreneur-
ship typically fail to integrate their of-
ten useful but fragmentary observations
on entrepeneurs into a coherent and com-
pelling analysis of the entrepreneurial
mindset?
The thesis of this article is that they
fail to do so because they do not appre-
ciate the spiritual, specifically the Chris-
tian, wellspring of entrepreneurial zeal.
They do not comprehend that it is God's
"freeman" who precisely fits the entre-
preneurial mold! In fairness, George
Gilder CThe Spirit of Entemrise) strong-
ly intimates this might be the case.
Observes Gilder: "It is entrepreneurs
who know the rules of the world and
the laws of God." "Entrepreneurs ...
emerge from a culture shaped by re-
ligious values. The optimism and trust,
the commitment and faith, the dis-
cipline and altruism that their lives
evince and their works require all can
flourish only in the midst of a moral
order, with religious foundations"
Spirit of Entewrise).
W. Edwards Deming, credited with
having revitalized post-war Japanese
industry, displays an entrepreneurial
commitment, emphasizing manage-
ment's responsibility to workers not as
cogs in a machine but as human beings
made in the image of God. management
can "break down barriers between staff
areas" and "remove barriers that rob peo-
ple of pride of workmanship," pro-
moting cooperation and enhancing pro-
ductivity. It is no accident Deming be-
gins Chapter One of the book sum-
marizing his "Deming Management
Method" with .Ioh 38:2. "Who is it that
darkeneth counsel by words without
knowledge?"
An objection may be raised at this
point. If the entrepreneurial mindset is
an integral part of a larger world-view
that owes its existence to Christianity,
why do so few entrepreneurs demon-
strate an appreciation of this fact? One
likely reason: being men (and women)
of action, most are inclined to view
their wealth creating activities as a
"common sense" response to the prac-
tical exigencies of life! They do not self-
consciously act in terms of a "full-
orbed" world view.
This is understandable. The Church
has not taught a theology of work as
part of a Christian world-view. Since a
man' s vocation, his calling, is a central
part of his life, many men perceive the
Church to be only peripherally related
to their activities. Reluctant to become
whole-hearted spiritual leaders, they are
resigned to "going through the mo-
tions" of being Church members. The
result is a culturally impotent Church
and a weakened economy. Businessmen
fail to grasp the implication of the fact
it is God Who gives them "power to .
get wealth that he may establish his
covenant ... " 8:18)
This is no "gospel of wealth," with
its simplistic association of faith and
material riches! It is, rather, an aware-
ness of the interrelatedness of all free-
dom in God's .universe! God. m binding
us to Himself by means of His cove-
nant, gives us a new "resurrection" life
with Jesus Christ (His Son). Christ,
having defeated Satan at the cross, frees
us from the reigning power of sin into
a life of faithful obedience to a "law of
liberty" (RQm. 6, 1 :25) in the
JWm!I of that Spirit of liberty, the
Holy Spirit (2 Qn:. 3:17).
Empowered to exercise self-r:oyern-
I!Wl1. businessman, as economist R.
E. McMaster has noted, are not only
freed, but know how to covenant and
contract and give before receiving. This
is vital to an understanding of entre-
preneurship. The French verb from
which we get the word "entrepreneur,"
entreprendre, mean "to contract."
The "entrepreneur" (fem. entre-
preneuse) is defined as a "con-
tractor" and a "master builder."
Others will enter into contract with him
because of his trustworthiness, his
obedience to God's Law. The business-
man father of W. Edwards Deming is
reported to have "had a reputation for .
writing contracts that couldn't be bro-
The Counsel of Chalcedon, September, 1988
-------------------------------------------------Page13
,,,_
... . . j ' '
:lOOt" (Mary Waltdr;; The of God's Kingdom. He knows that the
MaJtaieiJ'lllt Method. A> ' Might he God Who created the universe and
have helped tb iil.still an ". everything therein has provided the
fu his spn? , .- . . _ _ . _ or:, pattern_ for all
.:As _ to 10:9, 1 0( a); 11 ), and as the original
the covenantal 'context of wealth crea- . Wealth Creator, issues a divine . sum-
-Win; in words or' mons or WJ.i.D2 to meanfugful, IWl:
Joseph R. assume _ a 'place ductjye labor. Aware that his work is
".ai the vanguard:ofGod;s restorative and . a ''cornmand.:peifortruiJlce" in fulfill-
judgzitenW-\YOtk m:the It will rrient of . his (God's) doritinion'
tP build a. struqture of f":nle insti- ' . IllllQ<fate', the freeman as entrepreneur
and State) that . knoWS it is never "in vain in the Lord"
hqnQi':s. God's ox:dainedpattern of govern.: : <ll&r; 15;58).
mental autHoritY: . - .
M:lq}y "Ainetic'ans this diffi-.
cuit to .beCause they do not see . .
".business" as a highc3Jiing undetGbd. _-
Yet.' the Church; m filling to teaeh a
tbeology of work (business) along with
the impOrtance of tithing, has not only
contributed to a breakdown of businss
ethics, but discouraged Christians from
boldly addressing thase issues of pover-
ty, hunger and horilelessness stressed in
God's Word (the Bible).
' As a consequence, we face a business
management leadership vacuum which
is being filledby "New Age" leadership
4evelopment consultants! Their avid
(arid profitable!) efforts to inculcate busi-
ness management models, commonly
based on a view of man as a "diVine
inachine," will not, however, "liberate
employees' psyches." Man-devised and
inan-centered''transformationalteehnolo-
gies" may seem to promote short-term
gains in worker productivity, but ulti-
mately engender an impersonalism that
rums workers intb "cogs" or "drones."
, If we are to see a "breakthrough" that
. Will make American business genuinely
competitive in the world economy, we
must recover an understanding of the en-
trepreiteur as God's "freeman." This in-
volves the awareness that an entrepre
neur's freedoin to work, serve, inno-: .
vate, plan and trade, far from being
based on a belief in his own divinity, is
fJtmly rooted in_ Creator/crea-
ture distinction!
Free to Wotk
The entrepreneur as "freeman" is, in
principle, liberated front a life of frus-
tli!ting toil into one. of fu1ftlling, con-
structive, energetic work as a builder
: Free to Serve .
Diligent _ in his calling, he. is con-
:cemedto follow Christ's obedient ex.,.
aritple @ . 2:5-7; Lk. 22:27) in mak-
ing use of what God has given him in
ministerial seryjce WJID. 4:12). As
God's "trustee," the freeman as entrepre-
neur acts as a steward of property for
the benefit of others, giving before re-
ceiving. He sees the "product" his busi-
ness creates, not as ari end in itself but
as an integral part of the customer "ser-
vice" his business provides! Product
development is geared to meeting cus-
tomers' needs in better ways. As one
enfranchised (freed) by Jesus Christ, he
develops a "franchise model" (fr. fu!n:.
mii: to free) of his business as part of
an overall effort to share his freedom
with others.
Free to Innoyate
The freeman's awareness that he is
created in the image of God, but is not
and can never be God, frees him for
purposeful innovation. Because there is
nothing "new'' for the . Oilllliscient,
Supra-temporal God Who "(Declares)
the end from .the beginning .. " as..
46:10), those who pretend to divinity,
to avoid any reminder of their finitude,
attempt to suppress true innovation.
Betraying their creaturehood in their
fondness for trivial "novelty,'' they
stifle creativity. But the "freeman" fos-
ters it in all he does!
"(R)enewed in the spirit of (his)
mind," (EJ2h. 4:23)" .. in Christhe is a
new creature: old things are. passed
away; .. all things are become (2
.em:. 5:17), "Time" is not an "enemy,"
a rerninderof mortality to be "frozen in
eternity," but the in which
God's redemptive plan is . actualiZed;"
(Carl Henry) a of opportunity,"
making gmmh possible! The entrepre-:
neur as freeman
1
big on"new begin-,
nings,'' rejoices in rather than
pises.(s) the. day of small things" <ZW!.;
4:10).
Eree to Plan
. The freeman as entrepreneur believeS
in .the future because he belieyes in a
God of righteousnes.s . and order, "witl,l
whom is no variableness, 1,1either. sha-
dow of turning." (la. 1:17) His willing-
ness to initiate new ventures is not the
guilt-drlv.en gambler's compulsion to
make i.Jrationalleaps in the dark
duct of his l)elief in a chance
verse"). It is the rational obedience of
covenantal faithfulness that carries with
it the cerWnty that God has a :plan
for his life; that" the path of the just is
as the shining light, that shineth more
and more unto the perfect day"
4:18). In this ,confidence, he has the pa-
tience to set goals and embark on
range undertakings. With an objectivity
borne of true humility, he moves to
overcome the inevitable setbacks
developing a systematic . business
plan or "franchise prototype." ,,
Free .to Trade ...
The freeman as entrepreneur knows
th.at no individual or nation can be truly
self-s.ufficient. Such independence
longs tQ God alone. Men, possessed of
a diversity of gifts, mu.st exercise.' a
division of labor;. and .tJ:wk with.
another if they are to prosper. Thisjs
best within the contex,t,of
a communjty of faith. Where such
a comnmQity is lacking,. various
riers to . trade .are erected, though-
of trade" may be present!
"Free traders" often (unwittingly7) pt0:;
mote protectionism. But the
icy" of "freemen," covenanting and
tracting wit}l anot1,ler, promotes
trade as it redounds to the expansion oft
God's Kingdom._ 1: : .
. . _; , _, \{.: .

Cont:)usion '
4
; 'i
With .. of
"freeman" as entrepreneur, we distin-

The Counsel of Chalcedon, September, 1988
guish true entrepreneurs from enttepre-
neurial phonies (e.g., drug" enttepre-
neurs," "paper entrepreneurs," etc.).
With a generosity of spirit. as wealth
creators, we can achieve that "break-
through" that will restore American
competitiveness. Moreover, as W.
Edwards Deming helped the Japanese to
boost the quality and quantity of their
products, we can point the way for
them as they seek to improve upon
their "group think" mindset and become
better innovators. As the economic pie
is enlarged, everyone wins!
The enttepreneur is no "Master of the
Universe." Nor is he a business demi-
god, a member of an elite group who,
by virtue of having created successful
businesses of their own, stand atop a
corporate "Mount Olympus." In fast, he
may work for somebody else! ("intta-
preneurs") Realizing that next to God,
other people are his "ultimate resource,"
he invests in them, dirtying his hands
as God's "footwasher."
Certain objections will likely be
raised against the thesis of this article.
It may be argued that businessmen
commonly exhibit entrepreneurial
traits. But it is only God's "freeman"
who "puts it all together." Some will
blame America's dwindling capacity to
innovate and compete on the fact that
our high military spending (e.g., vis-a-
vis Japan) and high taxes sap talent and
resources that would otherwise be
available to enttepreneurs. But for rea-
sons too involved to explore here, our
modern military-industrial complex and
Welfare State are not so much the
as the mu.!1 of a lack of entre-
preneurial zeal!
As more Americans, Wall Street
chucklers included, acknowledge their
need to be extricated from a quagmire of
f'mancial debt, will they be receptive to
the efforts of entrepreneurial "freemen"
to lend a helping hand, wash their dirty
feet and set them on solid ground? God
it be so! D
The Counsel of Chalcedon, September, 1988
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