October 11, 2006

Chasing Best Practices

Part 4: Biblical Best Practices — Do They Exist?

In Part 3, Dan Wooldridge outlined steps that help us pursue best practices more thoughtfully and carefully. Here he turns to the question of whether there are Biblical best practices.

I didn’t expect the lively conversation that followed after I asked our team whether there were Biblical best practices for business. Turns out it’s a tricky phrase made even more complicated by the corruption of perfectly good words.

So how should we think about it? Here’s a sampling of the debate.

1. There is no such thing as a “Biblical Best Practice.”

   The argument goes like this: You cannot point to the Bible and say this is what the Bible says is the ideal model for business strategy or human resource management or organizational design. Take virtually any business challenge — hiring, recruiting, selection of a business location, ownership structure, compensation planning — you will find no template from on high that says this is the best way to do any of these things. So it would seem foolhardy to say there are Biblical Best Practices.

2. But there are Biblical Best Practices!

   Look at all the injunctions in the Scriptures to not cheat or lie, to conduct business with “honest weights and measures”, to be fair and just, and the list goes on. Well said. There are moral and ethical standards for individual and business conduct that are “best.” The current HPGate and its dubiously legal, but definitely unethical investigation of board members or the emerging scandals of back-dating stock options are practices that fall short of the best, even though, in a murky way, they may be legal. The Biblical Best Practices spotlighted here are about the worldview and the moral/ethical core of a company. If these are indeed practiced and not just cubicle poster material, then these should infuse all aspects of the business.

3. So why is it so hard to connect these three words, Biblical, best, and practices together without getting whiplash?

   Let’s start with the word, Biblical. For too long the Biblical worldview has been encouraged to be largely a private matter. For sure, there have been businesses through the years that have been founded on Biblical purposes and principles, but these seemed like exceptions. And many of us were taught that the business world was just that…“of the world” and that the really important things existed in the “spiritual” sphere of church and personal ministry. It wasn’t until I began studying this issue 25 years ago, that I began to see that God has a remarkable transformative role for commerce in world affairs.

   This leads to the second word, best. Because many who follow Christ do not understand the special role that business can play in God’s purposes, there is no drive to rethink our businesses and business lives in a broader way. We are content to borrow best practices from the world around us and try to “christianize” the practice. We are often awed by the “best” practice from these “leading” companies. We often embrace these practices uncritically. In my work with churches and ministries, I’ve often seen the importation of “best” business practices with no thought of whether the practice itself aligned with the core purpose and values of the organization. I’ve seen the same in businesses.

   Another thing about the word, best, is that it does not mean perfect or ultimate or final. It is only “best” in the way that a score or a race time is the best. It is something to shoot for and to improve upon. And in business, we may also find that what we have called a best practice, in the end, was not a helpful or meaningful thing to measure. Another concern is that many business people, including people of faith, settle for chasing a best practice, and if they attain it, stop there.

   The last word is practice. And that’s the challenge, isn’t it, to consistently practice what you preach. And think about the reaction if you were to casually say that you have a “Biblical best practice.” Some might “ooh” and “aah” but many would be turned off by the imagined implication that because you are Biblical, you think you are better.

4. So what do we do with the notion of “Biblical best practices”?

   Let’s not abandon it, but let’s radically reframe how we think about business practices. We need to begin by retooling our worldview to understand God’s purpose for commerce. We must get beyond simple lists of principles and favorite verses. They are helpful, to be sure, but the net result is that we keep up the pattern of borrowing the “best” from the business community at large and then adopt them or adapt them in a way that is more aligned with our beliefs…sometimes, not always. Is adaptation bad? No, but I believe that followers of Christ should be thought-leaders and pace setters in how and why business is practiced. And it’s to our shame that with the exception of a very few, we aren’t.

We face immense challenges in our world today. Business, education, government, not-for-profits, religious institutions…all are breaking under the assault of these complexities and pressures. We desperately need fresh thinking on business purpose and business practice. We need to push beyond “best practices” to “Next Practices” that enable businesses to be purposeful, resilient, innovative, moral, and ethical. It’s time to develop some new wineskins.

Next Issue: From Best Practices to Next Practices

Featured Article

The Future of American Faith

Mixed Messages in the Media

October has so far been a banner month for religious discourse in the United States . . . or at least for reporting, speculating and commenting on matters broadly identified as Christian.

An October 6 story in the New York Times reports that Evangelicals Fear the Loss of Their Teenagers – estimating that only four or five percent of teenagers will grow up to be evangelical adults. According to the Times, "more than 6,000 pastors are hearing dire forecasts from some of the biggest names in the conservative evangelical movement" at 44 events this fall. That the fear is based on data many find questionable does not deter those in the story like Ron Luce who claims "If the 4 percent is true, or even the 5 percent, it’s an indictment of youth ministry. So certainly they’re going to want different data.”

From the Archives

At Any Price

Bribery and the Culture of Politics

As of this writing seven active U.S lawmakers are under investigation, indicted or have pled guilty to conspiracy, securities fraud, tax evasion, campaign funding violations or other illegal acts.

The most recent, Randy "Duke" Cunningham, was an eight-term congressman from southern California who admits taking 2.4 million dollars in bribes from defense contractors while serving on the House Appropriations defense subcommittee and the intelligence committee.

We think it would be fitting for business people — who have no authority but wield culture-shaping influence — to use their leverage in board rooms and golf carts, at conference tables and lunch counters, on airliners and cell phones, to persuade colleagues and competitors of the ancient wisdom:

Better a little with righteousness than much gain with injustice. — Proverbs 16:8