Faith Driven Entrepreneur


Book Description

"I'm excited about Faith Driven Entrepreneur. Anyone who is following the example of their creator God can find echoes of their work in this book." --Lecrae Entrepreneurship can be a lonely journey. But it doesn't need to be. God has a purpose and a plan for all those entrepreneurial dreams and creative gifts he gave you. The work you do today--the company you've built, the employees you work with, the customers you serve, the shareholders you report to, all of it--serves as an active part of what God wants to accomplish on earth. You are not alone in this journey. Join other faith-driven entrepreneurs as, together, we identify the values, habits, and traits that empower us to successfully build businesses, serve our communities, and faithfully pursue a loving relationship with God; read stories that exemplify how those values, habits, and traits unfold in everyday life; and discover the potential God wants to unleash through our work. Each book purchase includes access to the eight-session Faith Driven Entrepreneur video series, a discussion guide to encourage conversation among peers, and an invitation to join a Faith Driven Entrepreneur Group to meet other like-minded entrepreneurs.




The Christian Entrepreneur


Book Description

The road to launching a successful business can be long and confusing. Where do you start? Should you rent office space or work out of your garage? Should you register as a for-profit or a nonprofit business? How should you handle legal issues that come up? What does it mean to be a "Christian" entrepreneur anyway? Drawing from his work as a legal expert and business coach, Brock Shinen combines practical wisdom and a biblical worldview to help Christians turn their dreams and passions into viable businesses. This easy-to-use guide includes self-assessment tools that will walk you through four stages of starting and running a business: Assess and clarify your dreams Turn those dreams into an actionable plan Implement and execute your vision Grow your business while keeping your faith and character at the center Be inspired and encouraged as The Christian Entrepreneur helps you through every stage of your journey.




Spiritual Entrepreneurs


Book Description

"The overall rate of incarceration in the United States has been on the rise since 1970s, skyrocketing during Ronald Reagan's presidency, and recently reaching unprecedented highs. Looking for innovative solutions to the crises produced by gigantic prison populations, Florida's Department of Corrections claims to have found a partial remedy in the form of faith and character-based correctional institutions (FCBIs). While claiming to be open to all religious traditions, FCBIs are almost always run by Protestants situated within the politics of the Christian right. The religious programming is typically run by the incarcerated along with volunteers from outside the prison. Stoddard takes the reader deep inside FCBIs, analyzing the subtle meanings and difficult choices with which the incarcerated, prison administrators, staff, and chaplains grapple every day. Drawing on extensive ethnographic research and historical analysis, Brad Stoddard argues that FCBIs build on and demonstrate the compatibility of conservative Christian politics and neoliberal economics"--




Entrepreneurial Faith


Book Description

Kirbyjon Caldwell and Walt Kallestad explain how to create innovative partnerships that join the church's passion for ministry with the expertise of the business community to meet physical and spiritual needs.--From publisher's description.




Called to Create


Book Description

We were created by an infinitely creative God to reflect his love and character to the world. One way we do that is by continuing his creative work. In this energizing book, serial entrepreneur and bestselling author Jordan Raynor helps artists, entrepreneurs, writers, and other creatives reimagine our work as service to God and others, addressing such penetrating questions as - Is my work as a creative really as God-honoring as that of a pastor or missionary? - What does it look like to create not to make a name for myself but to glorify God and serve others? - How can I use my work to fulfill Jesus's command to create disciples? - Will what I make today matter in eternity? To answer these questions, Raynor shares compelling stories from an eclectic group of 40+ Christian entrepreneurs, including the founders of TOMS Shoes, Charity: Water, Chick-fil-A, In-N-Out Burger, Guinness, HTC, and Sevenly, as well as nontraditional entrepreneurs such as C. S. Lewis, Johann Sebastian Bach, and J. R. R. Tolkien. Raynor's "show" rather than "tell," story-driven style makes you feel as if you are sitting at the feet of some of the godliest and most successful entrepreneurs of all time. Perfectly poised to reach today's growing creative class, this unique work restores God's position as the first entrepreneur, helping readers see the eternal value in the work they do today.




Understanding the Relationship Between Religion and Entrepreneurship


Book Description

In recent years, a number of scholars trained in the area of economics have begun to pay attention to a fascinating and increasingly important question: Does the interrelationship between religion and enterprise shape entrepreneurial decision making? Though religious groups can provide additional means for the generation of social capital, especially where ethnicity is strongly associated with specific religious adherence, it has been largely absent in economic discussions. Understanding the Relationship Between Religion and Entrepreneurship is a collection of innovative research on the methods and applications of religious theology on entrepreneurial decision making. While highlighting topics including women in business, religious marketing, and consumer behavior, this book is ideally designed for entrepreneurs, theologists, business managers, policymakers, researchers, industry professionals, academician, and students seeking current research on the economic impacts of religious beliefs and practices.







Wisdom-Based Business


Book Description

Make Your Business Purposeful and Profitable At its best, business is both purposeful and profitable, dynamic and gainful, commercial and rewarding. Far from being opposites, good business and good behavior go hand-in-hand, and biblical principles can align with best practices. In Wisdom-Based Business, marketing and supply-chain professor Hannah J. Stolze draws principles from the Bible's wisdom literature and from evidence-based research to create a framework for business that is oriented toward excellence and sustainability. This book addresses import issues such as: The virtue of profit Servant leadership Wisdom-based values, such as long-term over short-term, stakeholders, and quality Beneficial outcomes of wisdom-based business, including reputation and comparative advantage The ultimate outcome of eternal impact Intended for business students and working professionals alike, Wisdom-Based Business demonstrates how to pursue profitability to the honor and glory of God. Unique among Christian books on business, it helps readers make the right decisions in business by presenting: Biblical Principles. Drawing upon the Bible's wisdom literature, each topic addressed is undergirded by insights from Scripture. Evidence-Based Research. Recommendations are thoroughly grounded in the best and latest research in the field. Case Studies: Each chapter demonstrates how the principles can be lived out in the real world, amid the inevitable challenges and competition all business confronts. Any Christian who works in the marketplace or is training to work in the marketplace will benefit from Wisdom-Based Business' practical guidance on how to reflect Christian values in their corporate tasks and strategies--and on how those values can be not hindrances but keys to success.




Christian Social Innovation


Book Description

Everybody seems interested in innovation and entrepreneurship these days. Start-ups are generating new jobs, creating wealth and providing solutions to longstanding problems. People are also aware that old-line social institutions need innovative approaches that provide renewal, re-establish trust and cultivate sustainability. What do faith communities have to do with innovation and entrepreneurship? Faith communities have their own need for innovation, demonstrated in a growing interest in starting new churches, developing “fresh expressions” for gatherings of community and discussions about how to cultivate a renewed sense of mission. But do faith communities have anything unique to contribute to conversations about innovation and entrepreneurship, especially in “social entrepreneurship”? At first glance, the answer seems to be “no.” Burgeoning literature on social entrepreneurship barely mentions the church or other faith-based institutions — and when it does they’re often described as part of the broken institutional landscape. Recently much of the most innovative and entrepreneurial work in these sectors has been done apart from faith communities, whether through secular non-governmental organizations (e.g., Teach for America, Knowledge is Power Program schools) or for-profit businesses (e.g., hospitals and hospices). Indeed, it is now often assumed that faith and faith communities either are irrelevant to social innovation and entrepreneurship or are a significant obstacle. We believe too many people in faith communities, and faith-based organizations themselves, turned inward. They became preoccupied with managing what already existed rather than focusing on innovative renewal of their organizations and entrepreneurial approaches to starting new ones. However, Christian social innovation, at its best, depends on a conception of hope different than the optimism that often characterizes secular endeavors, a hope that acknowledges personal and social brokenness. Further, faith communities, at their best, have embodied perseverance, often bringing people together across generations and diverse sectors to imagine how common effort and faith might overcome obstacles. Although some faith communities have lost the “at-their-best” focus, new conversations and experiments are emerging beyond the goal of starting new congregations. But they tend to be “and” conversations: faith and innovation, faith and entrepreneurship, faith and leadership. We don’t think this goes deep enough. Faith might truly “animate” social innovation and entrepreneurship. In this perspective, faith is not held at a distance from the activities of life but is instead its vital force, providing the imagination, passion and commitment that lead to transformation.




The Prayer Powered Entrepreneur


Book Description

“A practical and powerful resource for any business owner who desires to do business led and empowered by God.”—Shae Bynes, author of The Kingdom Driven Entrepreneur’s Guide While Christian entrepreneurs start their days with prayer, the hustle and bustle of running their own businesses quickly takes focus away from their vital partnership with the almighty God. As a result, prayers for business are often broad, unfocused, and strictly tied to the entrepreneur’s vision of ideal results. The Prayer Powered Entrepreneur model walks entrepreneurs through 31 days of recognizing God as CEO through an inside-out system of praying for transformation: In themselves Their relationship with God Their relationship with others Their relationship with their business Culminating in praying for the impact they want their business to have in the world. Kim Avery encourages entrepreneurs to keep God at the center of everything, praying in alignment with the things He has already promised, and anticipating His daily activity in their lives. During this month-long journey, business owners learn how to build a better business, live a better life, and make a bigger impact—all through the simple practice of inside-out prayer. “Kim Avery gives everyone who is called into such an entrepreneurial challenge a wealth of wisdom and an easy-to-implement practical tool to keep one going. Don’t miss out on The Prayer Powered Entrepreneur! One does not have to face this challenge alone.”—Bob Allums, director of A Praying Life Seminars from seeJesus Ministries, seeJesus.net “A gold mine of inspiration, encouragement, and next steps toward a deeper relationship with God.”—Marnie Swedberg, international leadership mentor & conference speaker




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