THE
NEW-OLD BUSINESS MODEL
©
Morris E. Ruddick
Two
thirds of the world has little or not middle class. Developing
entrepreneurial communities is foundational to God's blessings
and has as its initial prototypes, the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob. In reality, the free enterprise system, in its purist
sense, was hijacked from the Bible. The book of Deuteronomy alone
outlines the principles to operate an entrepreneurial community
. The elements of private ownership, profit, customer relations,
community responsibility, generosity, employee relations, making
your assets work for you and the like are clearly outlined from
the Torah, Psalms, Proverbs, the Prophets to the parables of Jesus.
The
restoration of the biblical economic model and the foundational
principles underlying free enterprise will usher in changes dramatically
impacting the priorities, perspectives and approaches to conducting
business.
Western
civilization is being challenged. The scope of both the risk and
the opportunity are demanding change. The shaking and resistance
underway have been spurring many to reexamine the mold. Those
embracing the new-old biblical entrepreneurial-community business
model will find the results tied to community- and nation-building.
The application of biblical Kingdom truths will set in motion
the potential for timely and strategic-level consequences, as
the paradigm shifts.
The
accelerated pace of unfolding world events and the ease and speed
with which business operates globally today is demanding new economic
models. Opportunity seized with the advances of the mass media
in the fifties has now been combined with inroads available through
the Internet to extend liberty and freedom to economically stagnant
and distressed regions of the world. The result has been a quantum
leap impacting the means by which a new generation of entrepreneurs
serves their customers and communities.
We
have entered an era in which numerous conditions are being aligned.
When they mature and converge, they will become significant catalysts
to the release of opportunity and resources into the hands of
those strategically advancing the precepts reflected by the God-centered
entrepreneurial community model. These dimensions include the
reemergence of the biblical economic model; a new paradigm with
business initiatives being aligned with community responsibility;
strategic partnerships merging spiritual, community and economic
functions, and the maturing of Israel's destiny.
Reemergence
of the Biblical Economic Model .
Because of the nature of the times, the restoration of the biblical
economic model will be as a light shining in the deepening darkness
coming upon the earth. These are times pointed to in scripture
as being wrought with evil and discontinuities. They are described
as days of famines and earthquakes, with wars and rumors of wars.
The biblical principles that govern entrepreneurial communities
work in the face of adversity. The awakening and calling of entrepreneurs
operating according to biblical principles will globally penetrate
bastions of poverty and oppression with hope.
A
New Paradigm with Business Initiatives Being Aligned with Community
Responsibility . The application
of biblical business models in these times parallel the context
outlined in Genesis 26, when God told Isaac to sow in a land of
famine. Isaac heard, he obeyed and he prospered. The biblical
economic model operates against all odds. The variants of this
model will always, in some significant way, be tied to community.
Entrepreneurial men and women of God in this day will not fit
the superstar mold often seen in high profile corporate settings,
but rather a servant-leader model. Joseph the Patriarch was a
servant-leader whose strategies bypassed the destruction of the
famine in Egypt and accomplished God's purposes for his people
in the process.
Strategic
Partnerships Merging Spiritual, Community and Economic Functions.
As we enter a time when the clash of civilizations is intensifying
and power struggles begin reaching vicious levels, we will also
see a convergence of the spiritual, community and economic, as
spiritually-minded entrepreneurs assume their roles. With this
convergence will arise partnerships that will flow in the scriptural
principle of " God giving us the power to get wealth that
He might establish His covenant ." These partnerships will
build communities and bring positive impact to nations. In the
process, there will be a monumental power shifts, that will result
in incredible releases of resources into timely, strategic and
effective initiatives: initiatives that merge the functions served
by spiritually-minded entrepreneurs.
Maturing
of Israel's Destiny. Restoration and redemption has always
included the apple of God's eye, Israel. The perspective to God
giving us the power to get wealth that He might establish His
covenant relates strongly to Isaiah 60. It speaks of the restoration
of Israel. It points to the truth of what is now unfolding in
God's plan, is that the pivot point is Israel and the Jewish people
assuming their destiny-in-God.
"For
the wealth of the seas will be brought to you and the riches of
the nations will come. Your gates will stand open continually,
so that men may bring to you the wealth of the nations. You are
the Lord. You will do this swiftly and they will be called ministers
of our God and they will feed on the wealth of nations." (Isaiah
60:5,11)
The
restoration of Israel, both the land and the people Israel is
already in process. The nation of Israel has become the number-two
center globally for venture capital projects. For its size, Israel's
Technology Incubator program produces an amazingly high ratio
of new business enterprises entering the global marketplace.
Despite
60 years of war and the impact of recurring intifadas, Israel's
desert blooms and against all odds, it thrives. Yet, despite the
pressures against Israel continuing to mount, the initiatives
that merge the spiritual, community and economic and
the efforts of entrepreneurial men and women of God will extend
to the nations and bring balance and change to the inequities
in freedom and opportunity in the two-thirds of the world with
little or no middle class.
The
Power Shift .
Despite the burgeoning clash of civilizations, a massive alignment
is in process. It is an alignment that will release the greatest
move of liberation and restoration the world has ever seen: restoration
and deliverance tied to a significant power shift. It is the power
shift of all ages with God's sovereignty over His creation being
restored, His covenant being confirmed and His covenant people
entering their long foretold destiny. It is a shift that will
incorporate new venues of resources and wealth that will be rightly
administered by prepared and chosen modern-day vessels, like Joseph
the Patriarch, who understand the times and whose actions and
perspectives will bring hope and freedom to this strategic hour.
___________________________________________
This
article is adapted from and reprinted with permission from "God's
Economy, Israel and the Nations," authored by Morris Ruddick.
His books are available from Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com and
other popular outlets. Mr. Ruddick is a Christian Zionist who
has been a board member of two Israeli humanitarian NGOs (amutot).
He works with the Jewish community in putting on business startup
workshops from Israel to anti-Semitic regions in the Former Soviet
Union and with the Christian community with economic community-building
ventures across five continents.
2005
Copyright Morris Ruddick - mer@strategic-initiatives.org
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