Digital Logos Edition
Jeff Van Duzer grew up thinking business was the source of much damage and evil in the world, the work of greedy capitalists polluting the environment. Thirty years later he was dean of a business school. In the course of that remarkable transformation, Van Duzer found cause for both hope and concern. He discovered many business people achieving a great deal of good for society as well as a lot of illegal and unethical behavior. Along the way he found some who thought that merely being honest and kind was what made business Christian. Others said they'd never ask pastors for business advice because they had no interest or experience in their work. After all, wasn’t “full-time Christian service” what the church was all about? This book explores the nature and meaning of doing business and finds it calls for much more than most think. Van Duzer presents a profoundly Christian approach that integrates biblical studies with the disciplines of business and economics. Looking beyond the place of ethical principles and the character of the individual, Van Duzer displays a vision of business that contributes to the very purposes of God.
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Jeff Van Duzer understands business. He knows how to read the Bible. He can stand toe-to-toe with the theologians. Why Business Matters to God is a rare breed--a book of real-life business practice grounded in competent biblical scholarship. Business people can read it and see how to apply the Christian faith to their daily work. Scholars and pastors can read it and see exactly why business has an irreplaceable role in Christian life. The book is filled with cases and examples that bring every concept down to reality. Van Duzer is so clear and practical that I found myself mentally arguing with him page-by-page about the concrete practice of business in Christian perspective. Must be his classroom experience in encouraging debate. A huge contribution to the emerging discussion about what it means to follow Christ in the business world of the twenty-first century.
—William Messenger, executive editor, Theology of Work Project, board of directors, ArQule, Inc., and adjunct professor of business ethics, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
In a crisp and clear fashion, Jeff Van Duzer gives us a theologically grounded and practically embodied understanding of a Christian view of business. He provides a compelling interdisciplinary synthesis that engages a comprehensive Christian theology with the complexities of running a business. It is a book which theologians and pastors will find useful as they seek to show the implications of faith. It is also a book which business leaders will find helpful as they seek to deepen and mature their work as a vocation. Through Scripture reflections, analogies, cases and stories, Van Duzer weaves a theological narrative that concretely includes business both in terms of the good that it does and the evil that it inflicts. The book helps us to see things whole and deeply in a world of business that can too easily see things partly and superficially.
Michael Naughton, Moss Chair in Catholic Social Thought, University of St. Thomas
No business school faculty has done a better job of exploring the integration of Christian faith and values with the education of business managers than Seattle Pacific University under the leadership of dean Jeff Van Duzer. Why Business Matters to God walks its readers through key biblical texts and themes on the one hand, and today's business challenges and opportunities on the other. Van Duzer interacts creatively with some of the best classic and contemporary thinkers on the subject of faith and work. A good and important read for business veterans as well as students and recent grads.
David W. Gill, Mockler-Phillips Professor of Workplace Theology Business Ethics, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
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