Vision Foundation Booklets on Ministry within the Marketplace
Preface to the Vision Foundation Booklets
The Ministry in the Marketplace Series of booklets has been produced by Vision
Foundation to probe deeply into issues which surround the life of a child of God
in the workplace. Sensing increased tension with the integration of Biblical truth
into the secular role of executive, professional, manager, or employee, the authors
have sought to confront issues Biblically and realistically. We cannot escape the
"hard sayings" of Scripture by simply ignoring them. One may maintain a mental list
of "verses I wish were not in the Bible, "but he cannot plead "ignorance of the
Word" on judgment Day any more than "ignorance of the law" when standing before
a civil judge here on earth.
Response to Ministry in the Marketplace has been overwhelmingly favorable.
For this we are grateful to the Father. Booklets have been sent Providentially around
the world, and several titles have been translated into other languages. Often generating
more questions than answers to the daily dilemma of Christian living, these small
epistles have become the springboard for ongoing discussion and interaction among
men of God both in individual and group settings. And that is precisely the aim
of the Ministry in the Marketplace books: to ". . . consider how we may spur
one another on toward love and good deeds . . . " (Hebrews 10:24-25); to attack
the "fuzzy thinking" so prevalent in our society today; and to aid one another in
the process of "renewing the mind" (Romans 12:1-2).
The process of gaining personal convictions from the Scriptures is as important
as the product. With that in mind, the authors urge the reader not to take what
is written in this booklet as "how-to" answers for life's tensions, nor as final
truth. Always filter the thoughts through God's Word and decide for yourself on
how to apply the concepts to your life. Since the primary audience for Ministry in
the Marketplace is the business and professional community, the issues and
illustrations are largelydrawn from this arena, although we realize there is a much
broader spectrum for illustration and application.
The Editors July 1995
Excerpts