The views expressed in this article are of the author only and do not necessarily represent those of the Center for Pastor Theologians.
Why Business Matters to God (And What Still Needs to Be Fixed)
Jeff Van Duzer
IVP Academic (2010). 206 pp.
I imagine it is fair to say that theologically-minded pastors do not have much inherent interest in a theological vision of business, and if they did, perhaps driven by a desire to minister to business-people in their congregations, rather than a book addressing business straight on, the tendency would be to research creational theology and/or ethical theology, and then derive meaning for business and economics from those more general and seemingly lofty fields.
Likewise, I imagine it is fair to say that many business-people are not interested in a high-brow theological appraisal of business and wonder if and why such a thing exists. If it did exist, would it really address the quite practical concerns of business: economically, institutionally, and relationally?
While Jeff Van Duzer’s Why Business Matters to God does not completely solve the dilemmas that manifest themselves in the tensions I pose here, I found it to be a truly practical and theological book that enables one to see there is a place for a theological appraisal and vision of business, and a theology of business is a road worth traveling down, especially for Christians in the marketplace and, dare I say, the thoughtful pastor theologian who wants to minister to them well.
The book is first an argument that business must be theological (p. 16). When the book was published, Van Duzer was the Dean of the School of Business at Seattle Pacific University, a Christian College in Seattle. He is deeply aware of economics and is obviously conversant in theology. He enumerates the tensions and reasons for a divide between the practical aspects and theological vision of a Christian understanding of business and he goes on to confront them in his opening chapter.
Second, in light of claiming there must be a theology of business, Van Duzer aims to show the reader that both the horizon of creational theology, built upon traditional understandings of the Creation Mandate rooted in Gen 1-2, and a redemption theology, rooted in the Great Commission (Matt 28:16–20), must be the two lenses we view business through. This second aim addresses and justifies the theological appraisal of business, because, as Van Duzer suggests, it is this dichotomy within theological and ecclesial circles, between creation and redemption theology, which digs the ditch between theology and business. One might say business is an obvious field that suffers from the theology’s unfortunate tendency to lack synthesis between the existential, normative, and situational in human vocation.
With those two aims in place, the bulk of the explanatory section of the book, Chs. 1–4, then trace a theology of business along the lines of the fourfold biblical-theological drama, especially prominent among Reformed thinking, of creation, fall, redemption, and consummation (pp. 18ff). It is no surprise that Van Duzer’s Reformed assumptions lend themselves to his interest and vantage point as the Reformed tradition, in particular, has theological categories for a theology of business, perhaps best represented in the Kuyperian tradition and its many branches. In fact, Van Duzer nods at several points to modern day Kuyperians, like Andy Crouch. In doing this, Van Duzer is able to explain that business fits into the creation mandate, was accursed along with all creation post-fall, and yet is currently part of the restoration of the Gospel with meaning and purpose that will endure even into the New Creation. This allows him to explain the complexity and controversy we experience with capitalism and how markets interface with Christian belief. But, it also allows him to encourage the reader toward a hope and trust in business, and that markets, profits, and goods are part of God’s eternal purposes. This overarching program both justifies a theological meaning for business and then sets up a foundation for principles of practice, which the author rounds off the book by addressing, namely, the goal worship and redemption by means of service, sustainability, and support (151-168). For Van Duzer these three ingredients create the operative ethical and theological environment to enable market transactions per se and business people striving to live fruitfully in light of the Gospel as God’s agents in a business per se to serve the purposes of God.
I believe the book succeeds on the front end by defending a deeply theological appraisal of business, not just concerning Christians who must act as God’s agents in corporations, but also in what markets and goods and services do in terms of creation, common good flourishing, and as acts of love. His rendering of business as a holistic service industry, governed by sustainable practices, with a support/partnership mentality was a thoughtful and, I think, challenging grid to start measuring both one’s economics and one’s presence as God’s agent in a business environment. The book will disappoint devotees of the business-as-means- for-gospel-proclamation crowd, as it will disappoint the business-as-a-worshipful expression-in-and-of-itself crowd. But perhaps that is what makes this book a truly biblical study in its orientation and method, for it seems Van Duzer has situated the topic at hand within what all of life must be appreciated—a story about both a good creation being restored and a story of people being forgiven of sin and remade in Christ. The title of the book is true to its content. It is up to the reader to apply the principles and vision therein. For the pastor-theologian, this is an accessible yet theological treatment that will contribute to your discourse with business and aid in ministering to those who live in its complex world.
Jay Thomas is the Senior Pastor of Chapel Hill Bible Church in Chapel Hill, NC. He is the co-author of Sex, Dating, and Relationships: A Fresh Approach (Crossway, 2012). Jay is a member of the St. Anselm Fellowship of the Center for Pastor Theologians.
