The Case for The Marketplace Catalyst
The Marketplace Catalyst connects, equips and engages prospective and established leaders to be effective in their work life and agents of human flourishing within their faith community and the broader communities they are called to serve. Our aim is to develop, facilitate and expand the influence of Christian leaders in service to the common good of their communities. We do this by utilizing the resources already established in our communities and being a catalyst for professional and spiritual convergence. This convergence will bring into focus the diverse aspects of the leader’s life: their calling (why they show up), their creativity (how they show up), their career (how they are paid to show up) and their community (who they are called to serve), so that everyone experiences God’s goodness.
There are two real concerns The Marketplace Catalyst will address. First of all, we must overcome a legitimate fear of Christian influence within the wider public professional marketplace. There is a long and sordid history of politicized Christian influence that is tribal, judgmental, and self-serving. This fear is well founded and will only be meaningfully addressed through ongoing relationship building and concrete incremental action, done with humility and personal sacrifice. Marketplace Catalyst leaders should be welcomed as friends by their colleagues and neighbors, not feared as religious interlopers, who are pushing some agenda.
Secondly, in order to achieve such winsome or engaging influence within their communities, the Marketplace Catalyst must overcome the confusion among Christian leaders as to how they are to demonstrate their faith within their spheres of public influence. Within the church today, there are competing perspectives as to how Christians are to inhabit the world. The three most common are summarized in the three words: fight, embrace and hide. The result of this confused response is evident, and the church is increasingly derided by and irrelevant to public professional life. These approaches to marketplace engagement have proven ineffective in most cases; and in some situations, even made matters worse. Moreover, much of the training being provided by the church is irrelevant to the practical needs of marketplace professionals. Its instruction is often too pietistic, too abstract and general to be of real help to the engaged Christian leader. Our approach to Christian engagement in the marketplace needs to be re-framed to be effective in our post-Christian culture.
The Marketplace Catalyst believes that there is a better frame, that overcomes the confusion of these past approaches within the church, and the secular public’s concern about the church’s influence. This fresh frame is called “faithful presence within”. As evangelical pastor and theologian, Tim Keller states,
“The proper cultural strategy is faithful presence within, not pulling away from the culture, and not trying to take it over. ‘Faithful presence within’ means being faithful; it means we’re not going to assimilate, [but] we’re going to be distinctively Christian. It’s about an attitude of service, uncompromising in our beliefs, but not withdrawing and not trying to dominate.”
As the Marketplace Catalyst equips leaders to act in this new frame, we will create a network of influential leaders who are positioned to make a positive difference both individually and through their organizations, whether they are an employee, solo-entrepreneur, manager or executive.
The Marketplace Catalyst has learned from the history of movements that the main actor on the stage of effective cultural change is not the lone individual, however charismatic his or her style or celebrity-laced status. The effective change agent is the dense network of diverse leaders aligned to a common vision. This was true in the abolition of slavery, the civil rights movement, addressing anti-Semitism in elite college admissions, and more recently in establishing public acceptance of the LGBTQ community. We may write books or produce movies about heroic individuals, but it is really the dense network that moves history. The Marketplace Catalyst seeks to create a network to maximize individual and corporate influence for the common good.
The Marketplace Catalyst believes in the importance of leaders—those who are privileged with communal and institutional influence. In short, these are people with power. How will these Christian leaders use the power of influence that they possess? Marketplace Catalyst leaders will be trained to use their power in a manner that conforms to the way of Jesus, rejecting the privilege of status, oriented by self-giving compassion for the needs of others, non-coercive toward those outside the community of faith, and indiscriminately committed to the good of all. Such leaders are in short supply within the church, the corporation, and community. There are academic degrees one can achieve for business management and finance, but the Marketplace Catalyst provides training and engagement in effective faithful presence based leadership.
The Marketplace Catalyst will target two kinds of leaders. First of all, it will recruit seasoned leaders, capture their wisdom, and seek to enhance their effectiveness for Christ and His Kingdom. In his book Faith in the Halls of Power, sociologist Michael Lindsey found that there are committed Christian believers at the highest levels, within most of the spheres of marketplace influence. It is not access to influence that is missing. The problem is knowing how to use this influence in the most effective manner. We need people in the right places with the right stuff. The Marketplace Catalyst is about equipping and engaging a generation of influential leaders with the right stuff that overcomes the public fear of tribalism and demonstrates a commitment to the common good and human flourishing for all.
Second, and perhaps even more importantly, the Marketplace Catalyst will connect, equip and engage the next generation of leaders. These emerging leaders are now dominating the workforce, have decidedly different perspectives on work and technology, and are commonly misunderstood in the public—even maligned—which have made them further frustrated by their lack of access to leadership and understanding by leadership. They also have a conflicted attitude toward institutional religion and are abandoning the church in large numbers. The Marketplace Catalyst will seek to empower these emerging leaders in order to facilitate their professional careers and strengthen their spiritual pilgrimages. We will also seek to be a bridge of understanding between seasoned leaders and these emerging leaders. Seasoned leaders will learn how to best manage and support the coming generation of emerging leaders.
The Marketplace Catalyst will also come along side and serve local churches by providing specialized training in leadership influence and cultural engagement that they are not in a very good position to provide. In the past, churches have been the primary source of the legacy of dualism (sacred/secular, faith/work, Sunday/Monday) that has crippled effective cultural influence. Historically, churches have been more of a problem than a help in these conversations.
In a time of when the public role of church leaders has been diminished, and faith relegated to the private sphere, the role of Christian business leaders in the marketplace becomes paramount. There are tens of thousands of Christian leaders already positioned within the marketplace, they just need to be activated to use their influence for the common good via their faithful presence. For example, in 2008, when the Luis Palau Association’s Season of Service mobilized church leaders to ask their city officials as to how they could serve their communities, more than 27,000 believers were engaged in more than 300 community projects throughout the greater Portland/Vancouver metro area. What if, thousands of marketplace leaders were leading ongoing initiatives and community projects throughout the year and not just cleaning up schools and parks, but also bringing real solutions to the homeless crisis, creating new jobs & industries?
In the past two decades, over 1,000 organizations have been formed to address faith and work. Many of them have a local focus and character. It is thus appropriate that The Marketplace Catalyst be launched out of Serving Our Neighbors [SON], as it combines this 20+ year service orientation with a desire to accelerate its impact through the training and networking of seasoned and potential marketplace leaders. The Vision of Serving Our Neighbors is to see a movement of leaders advancing the peace and prosperity of our communities. The Mission of SON is to connect and equip leaders to achieve a greater community impact through strategic partnerships! Therefore, the Vision of The Marketplace Catalyst is to see every community experiencing the goodness of God through the influence of Kingdom-minded leaders. The Mission of The Marketplace Catalyst is to engage marketplace leaders to influence culture and society for the good of their communities.
Moreover, the Marketplace Catalyst is in a position to learn from the successes and failures of these other organizations and design a program that is uniquely suited to this region. Many have identified the Northwest as one of the more strategic regions for exploring the church’s response to a post-Christian society & a post-modern America. Many have also identified the role of marketplace leaders as a key component in this effort. The Northwest is a global driver in the fourth industrial revolution that will eliminate millions of jobs (with automation & A.I. being developed by Google, Microsoft & Amazon) and the greater Portland/Vancouver metro area is a strategic testing ground for a much needed relevant and influential Christian response to what is shaping our future, since our community is the 12th largest in the USA for $1-10M B2B businesses and one of the smallest major cities with many Fortune 5000 companies, i.e. Nike, Intel, etc.
The Marketplace Catalyst has the opportunity to provide leadership training & engagement on the front line of the Christian influence within this strategic marketplace and to do so in a manner that overcomes the past political and partisan polarization that has crippled its acceptance and effectiveness. The Marketplace Catalyst will provide exciting new momentum to community development, social service and restoring a regional commitment to human flourishing and the common good. It should be welcome by all who care deeply for their organizations, their neighbors and their communities. If you are interested in what's next, join us for our pre-launch gatherings.
There are two real concerns The Marketplace Catalyst will address. First of all, we must overcome a legitimate fear of Christian influence within the wider public professional marketplace. There is a long and sordid history of politicized Christian influence that is tribal, judgmental, and self-serving. This fear is well founded and will only be meaningfully addressed through ongoing relationship building and concrete incremental action, done with humility and personal sacrifice. Marketplace Catalyst leaders should be welcomed as friends by their colleagues and neighbors, not feared as religious interlopers, who are pushing some agenda.
Secondly, in order to achieve such winsome or engaging influence within their communities, the Marketplace Catalyst must overcome the confusion among Christian leaders as to how they are to demonstrate their faith within their spheres of public influence. Within the church today, there are competing perspectives as to how Christians are to inhabit the world. The three most common are summarized in the three words: fight, embrace and hide. The result of this confused response is evident, and the church is increasingly derided by and irrelevant to public professional life. These approaches to marketplace engagement have proven ineffective in most cases; and in some situations, even made matters worse. Moreover, much of the training being provided by the church is irrelevant to the practical needs of marketplace professionals. Its instruction is often too pietistic, too abstract and general to be of real help to the engaged Christian leader. Our approach to Christian engagement in the marketplace needs to be re-framed to be effective in our post-Christian culture.
The Marketplace Catalyst believes that there is a better frame, that overcomes the confusion of these past approaches within the church, and the secular public’s concern about the church’s influence. This fresh frame is called “faithful presence within”. As evangelical pastor and theologian, Tim Keller states,
“The proper cultural strategy is faithful presence within, not pulling away from the culture, and not trying to take it over. ‘Faithful presence within’ means being faithful; it means we’re not going to assimilate, [but] we’re going to be distinctively Christian. It’s about an attitude of service, uncompromising in our beliefs, but not withdrawing and not trying to dominate.”
As the Marketplace Catalyst equips leaders to act in this new frame, we will create a network of influential leaders who are positioned to make a positive difference both individually and through their organizations, whether they are an employee, solo-entrepreneur, manager or executive.
The Marketplace Catalyst has learned from the history of movements that the main actor on the stage of effective cultural change is not the lone individual, however charismatic his or her style or celebrity-laced status. The effective change agent is the dense network of diverse leaders aligned to a common vision. This was true in the abolition of slavery, the civil rights movement, addressing anti-Semitism in elite college admissions, and more recently in establishing public acceptance of the LGBTQ community. We may write books or produce movies about heroic individuals, but it is really the dense network that moves history. The Marketplace Catalyst seeks to create a network to maximize individual and corporate influence for the common good.
The Marketplace Catalyst believes in the importance of leaders—those who are privileged with communal and institutional influence. In short, these are people with power. How will these Christian leaders use the power of influence that they possess? Marketplace Catalyst leaders will be trained to use their power in a manner that conforms to the way of Jesus, rejecting the privilege of status, oriented by self-giving compassion for the needs of others, non-coercive toward those outside the community of faith, and indiscriminately committed to the good of all. Such leaders are in short supply within the church, the corporation, and community. There are academic degrees one can achieve for business management and finance, but the Marketplace Catalyst provides training and engagement in effective faithful presence based leadership.
The Marketplace Catalyst will target two kinds of leaders. First of all, it will recruit seasoned leaders, capture their wisdom, and seek to enhance their effectiveness for Christ and His Kingdom. In his book Faith in the Halls of Power, sociologist Michael Lindsey found that there are committed Christian believers at the highest levels, within most of the spheres of marketplace influence. It is not access to influence that is missing. The problem is knowing how to use this influence in the most effective manner. We need people in the right places with the right stuff. The Marketplace Catalyst is about equipping and engaging a generation of influential leaders with the right stuff that overcomes the public fear of tribalism and demonstrates a commitment to the common good and human flourishing for all.
Second, and perhaps even more importantly, the Marketplace Catalyst will connect, equip and engage the next generation of leaders. These emerging leaders are now dominating the workforce, have decidedly different perspectives on work and technology, and are commonly misunderstood in the public—even maligned—which have made them further frustrated by their lack of access to leadership and understanding by leadership. They also have a conflicted attitude toward institutional religion and are abandoning the church in large numbers. The Marketplace Catalyst will seek to empower these emerging leaders in order to facilitate their professional careers and strengthen their spiritual pilgrimages. We will also seek to be a bridge of understanding between seasoned leaders and these emerging leaders. Seasoned leaders will learn how to best manage and support the coming generation of emerging leaders.
The Marketplace Catalyst will also come along side and serve local churches by providing specialized training in leadership influence and cultural engagement that they are not in a very good position to provide. In the past, churches have been the primary source of the legacy of dualism (sacred/secular, faith/work, Sunday/Monday) that has crippled effective cultural influence. Historically, churches have been more of a problem than a help in these conversations.
In a time of when the public role of church leaders has been diminished, and faith relegated to the private sphere, the role of Christian business leaders in the marketplace becomes paramount. There are tens of thousands of Christian leaders already positioned within the marketplace, they just need to be activated to use their influence for the common good via their faithful presence. For example, in 2008, when the Luis Palau Association’s Season of Service mobilized church leaders to ask their city officials as to how they could serve their communities, more than 27,000 believers were engaged in more than 300 community projects throughout the greater Portland/Vancouver metro area. What if, thousands of marketplace leaders were leading ongoing initiatives and community projects throughout the year and not just cleaning up schools and parks, but also bringing real solutions to the homeless crisis, creating new jobs & industries?
In the past two decades, over 1,000 organizations have been formed to address faith and work. Many of them have a local focus and character. It is thus appropriate that The Marketplace Catalyst be launched out of Serving Our Neighbors [SON], as it combines this 20+ year service orientation with a desire to accelerate its impact through the training and networking of seasoned and potential marketplace leaders. The Vision of Serving Our Neighbors is to see a movement of leaders advancing the peace and prosperity of our communities. The Mission of SON is to connect and equip leaders to achieve a greater community impact through strategic partnerships! Therefore, the Vision of The Marketplace Catalyst is to see every community experiencing the goodness of God through the influence of Kingdom-minded leaders. The Mission of The Marketplace Catalyst is to engage marketplace leaders to influence culture and society for the good of their communities.
Moreover, the Marketplace Catalyst is in a position to learn from the successes and failures of these other organizations and design a program that is uniquely suited to this region. Many have identified the Northwest as one of the more strategic regions for exploring the church’s response to a post-Christian society & a post-modern America. Many have also identified the role of marketplace leaders as a key component in this effort. The Northwest is a global driver in the fourth industrial revolution that will eliminate millions of jobs (with automation & A.I. being developed by Google, Microsoft & Amazon) and the greater Portland/Vancouver metro area is a strategic testing ground for a much needed relevant and influential Christian response to what is shaping our future, since our community is the 12th largest in the USA for $1-10M B2B businesses and one of the smallest major cities with many Fortune 5000 companies, i.e. Nike, Intel, etc.
The Marketplace Catalyst has the opportunity to provide leadership training & engagement on the front line of the Christian influence within this strategic marketplace and to do so in a manner that overcomes the past political and partisan polarization that has crippled its acceptance and effectiveness. The Marketplace Catalyst will provide exciting new momentum to community development, social service and restoring a regional commitment to human flourishing and the common good. It should be welcome by all who care deeply for their organizations, their neighbors and their communities. If you are interested in what's next, join us for our pre-launch gatherings.