Some of the ways that Ged & Vicky believe that faith and work are inextricably bound together are listed below:

1. Providing a product or service is in harmony with God's creational purpose

Just as Adam and Eve were called to be priests of creation, to "work it and take care of it" as trustees
and stewards; the Christian manager knows that structures can have either a positive or negative influence
and ministers wisely both to people and to structures.

Being a Christian business also involves respect for the environment (soil, trees, air, human community)
and shared stewardship of creation rather than exploiting the earth and its resources for personal gain.

2. A mission statement or business purpose that is larger and deeper than mere financial profit
(though including it)

A Christian business person should wisely define why the business is there; the vision is what we want to be;
the values are how we want to live as we pursue our vision. In distinction from a non-profit society, a for-profit
business must make money. Profit in a business is like blood in the body. Every organisation needs it to survive
and function. But no one gets up in the morning and says, "I live for my blood." But if our blood goes away we
stop living.

Organisations that state they exist for the purpose of making money are doomed to failure. Organizations exist
to serve customers, and they do so when they provide the customers with value. The value added to the customer
is such that normally the customer will pay a profit. Therefore profit is a legitimate measure of the value the firm
is producing for its customers. Without a surplus, the firm will not be able to continue to offer the service or to
add value. Profit is legitimate, but that is not the same as having the company exist "to make money."

3. The product & service is offered with such excellence that it reflects God's goodness

A service company that provides extraordinary service or a product that has extraordinary quality invites
the question "Why?"

In the case of the Christian the answer is because God is good and we should imitate Him in the workplace.

4. Customers are treated with dignity and respect and not just as a means of profit

A favourite variation of this might be "The customer is always right"..... But this is not always strictly true!
The Christian business strives to treat every customer as a person to be loved and appreciated whether or
not business is transacted. Even difficult customers need love when they are wrong. Love is patient, kind,
not rude, not proud and keeps no record of wrongs. Loving customers as you love yourself is that neighbourly
love that the bible talks about.

5. Employees are equipped to achieve greater potential in their life and to work wholeheartedly with
faith, hope and love

What makes work Christian is not the religious character of the work or even the fact that it is obviously a
"people-helping" profession, but faith, hope and love. One of the most tragic situations today is that many
Christians are noted for being "poor workers" because their real interest is in church activities. In a Christian
business people work hard and wholeheartedly because:

i) Fulfilling work is good for an individual and for the wider community

ii) Work is part of how a Christian expresses God's glory

iii) Work is a way of practical love since by it we provide for ourselves and people we love, and have a surplus
to give to the needy

iv) A Christian employer sees opportunities to train, encourage, improve and release potential in employees.
In line with this many Christian business invest profits into employee development and training.

6. All aspects of the business are considered to belong to God and so can be the subject of prayer

William Tyndale, the English Reformer, said, "There is no one work better than another to please God; to pour water,
to wash dishes, to be a cobbler or an apostle, all is one, to wash dishes and to preach is all one, as touching the deed,
to please God."

7. The culture (values, symbols, governing beliefs) of the organisation line up with the bible

The environment or culture of a business "speaks" more loudly than the stated business policy; what values are cherished,
how people are treated, how people learn in the organization, how failure and mistakes are handled, whether the truth should
always be told.

Biblical values that should be cherished are:

i) Communication (in advertising or sales) must be honest even if the sale is lost

ii) The customer is a person to be treated with respect

iii) The company cannot be "bought" by bribes or kick-backs

iv) Prices are fair and not inflated to make an excessive profit

v) Workers are given a second chance; there is forgiveness as well as discipline

vi) The Christian manager is a community-builder in the business

8. The leaders are servants (dedicated to serve the mission of the business, the best interests of the employees
and to the customers) because they are first of all servants of God

"Servant leadership" is so commonly used that it is forgotten how these two words cannot normally be brought together.

i) Servant leadership is based on the statement of Jesus in Matthew 20:25-28

ii) Being a servant leader does not mean being passive and merely responding to pressures/circumstances. So in the workplace there can be legitimate expression of God-honouring ambition

iii) Servant managers/leaders are concerned to bring the best out of their employees, to equip them, even more than they are concerned with their own advancement. The leader's effectiveness is measured by the advancement of his employees

iv) Servant leaders serve the business by [i] continuously holding up the mission purpose of the company; [ii] empowering employees to do their job well; [iii] saying thanks to everyone, showing them they are appreciated.

9. The business runs on grace

Business takes the Christian into the economic, social, political structures of society, into patterns of competition and sometimes amongst dishonest financial transactions. Christian business persons find themselves frequently in situations where there is no easy answer, no "black & white" choice to be made.

Christians make decisions:

1) On the basis of clear teachings of Scripture

2) In fellowship with other believers in business

3) Prayerfully

Inevitably sometimes mistakes and compromises will be made and sins committed. These must not be excused; but neither must they destroy the person. There is forgiveness; there is hope.