SfK November 2022 Newsletter

 

SfK Ministry 2022 November Newsletter View this email in your browser

Colossians 3:17 "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the  name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." Is Jesus Just Your Adjective?: The Problem with “Christian Entrepreneurs” By Paul Michalski Article featured in Faith Driven Entrepreneur   “Words are sacred. If you get the right ones in the right order you can nudge the world a little.” (Tom Stoppard) Words are important and powerful.  After all, God created the universe by speaking, and Satan tried to tempt Jesus by twisting God's word.  Words have the power to build up or tear down.  Words have the power to clarify or confuse.  Tom Stoppard got it right when he said that words are “sacred”: Words are sacred. If you get the right ones in the right order you can nudge the world a little. The culture of the world is filled with words that blind us to God’s purpose for work and business.  Even some words and phrases common in the faith and work movement are disordered.  Disordered words that embody the world's priorities rather than Biblical priorities infect our thinking, which ultimately infects our heart.  Disordered words can shape and distort our very identity and our behavior at work. In some sense, we can become who we say we are, which means we need to be very careful how we describe who we are.  For example, striving to be a "Christian entrepreneur" (or a “Christian businessperson” or "Christian lawyer", or "Christian doctor" or "Christian artist", etc.) is an obstacle to working in alignment with Biblical beliefs, principles and priorities. The Importance of Primary Identity It is said that our words become our actions, which become our habits, which become our values, which become our destiny.  You can become who you say you are (or who others say you are), which means we need to be very careful how we describe who we are. Matthew 6:24 tells us that a person can have only one primary identity (and an organization can have only one ultimate priority): No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. Although a person can only have one primary identity, they can have many secondary identities, For example, a person can be a Christian, a businessperson, a wife (or husband), a mother (or father), a daughter (or son), all at the same time. But when push comes to shove, there is one identity they view, consciously or subconsciously, as the primary identity—the one they will protect even if it means sacrificing success in their secondary ones.  Our self-worth and value is wrapped-up in whatever we see as our primary identity. Continue Reading... MINISTRY UPDATES MB Academy - SfK conducted BMT sessions over five weekends, mainly on the topics of Operations and Accounting and Finance.  MB Academy - SfK conducted its October Post BMT on the 15th, in which participants reviewed two Organizational Behavior cases. MB Fund - SfK funded a small loan to help the CEO of a missional business in Central Asia to help buy a residence because the housing prices in this nation continue soaring.  MB Trading - Shop4Impact.com held its first offline sales event on October 30.  SfK Network - SfK Korea board held an informal gathering in October to welcome new board members. Please pray that all board members will continue strengthening the bonding and unity. UPCOMING EVENTS 1. MB Academy - SfK will continue holding its BMT sessions in Weeks 12-15 focusing on Organizational Behavior and Marketing. Please pray all participants will be able to finish their race well. 2. Nov. 25, 2022: MB Academy - SfK will hold its Post-BMT sessionon Marketing to be led by Professor Christine Kang of Cal State Long Beach. Please pray that this continuing education will help equip the 2021 BMT graduates. 3. Nov. 14, 2022: MB Academy - SfK will lead a lecture on the topic of BAM and Holistic Mission at the MMTS Advanced Class. Please pray that the session will empower the participants with the right perspective on BAM. 4. MB Academy - SfK is expanding its MB Academy leadership so that the program will be more sustainable and prepared for further growth. Please pray that all decisions will be made in a way that pleases the Lord. 5. MB Fund - SfK is continuing to explore the possibility of additional investment in a restricted nation in Asia. Please pray that the process will bear fruit that is pleasing to the Lord.  6. MB Trading - SfK will make a crucial decision on Shop4Impact.com, its online trading platform before the year-end. Please pray that the leadership will make a prayerful decision. 7. SfK Network - In November, SfK Korea will hold its special shareholders' meeting to approve the invitation of two additional members to its board of directors. Also, SfK Life and SfK Korea will hold their respective board meetings online. Please pray that all these meetings will help strengthen the bonding and capability of the two enterprises. Thank you for standing with us through prayer and financial support for our mission to equip and empower missional businesses in Asia and Africa. .   .   . May the Lord bless you abundantly so that you may become a greater blessing to people in need around you and around the world.

SfK 뉴스레터 - 2022년 11월호

 

SfK Ministry 2022 November Newsletter View this email in your browser

골로새서 3:17 "또 무엇을 하든지 말에나 일에나 다 주 예수의 이름으로 하고 그를 힘입어 하나님 아버지께 감사하라." Is Jesus Just Your Adjective?: The Problem with “Christian Entrepreneurs” By Paul Michalski Article featured in Faith Driven Entrepreneur   “Words are sacred. If you get the right ones in the right order you can nudge the world a little.” (Tom Stoppard) Words are important and powerful.  After all, God created the universe by speaking, and Satan tried to tempt Jesus by twisting God's word.  Words have the power to build up or tear down.  Words have the power to clarify or confuse.  Tom Stoppard got it right when he said that words are “sacred”: Words are sacred. If you get the right ones in the right order you can nudge the world a little. The culture of the world is filled with words that blind us to God’s purpose for work and business.  Even some words and phrases common in the faith and work movement are disordered.  Disordered words that embody the world's priorities rather than Biblical priorities infect our thinking, which ultimately infects our heart.  Disordered words can shape and distort our very identity and our behavior at work. In some sense, we can become who we say we are, which means we need to be very careful how we describe who we are.  For example, striving to be a "Christian entrepreneur" (or a “Christian businessperson” or "Christian lawyer", or "Christian doctor" or "Christian artist", etc.) is an obstacle to working in alignment with Biblical beliefs, principles and priorities. The Importance of Primary Identity It is said that our words become our actions, which become our habits, which become our values, which become our destiny.  You can become who you say you are (or who others say you are), which means we need to be very careful how we describe who we are. Matthew 6:24 tells us that a person can have only one primary identity (and an organization can have only one ultimate priority): No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. Although a person can only have one primary identity, they can have many secondary identities, For example, a person can be a Christian, a businessperson, a wife (or husband), a mother (or father), a daughter (or son), all at the same time. But when push comes to shove, there is one identity they view, consciously or subconsciously, as the primary identity—the one they will protect even if it means sacrificing success in their secondary ones.  Our self-worth and value is wrapped-up in whatever we see as our primary identity. Continue Reading... 사역동정 MB 아카데미 – SfK는 지난 5주동안 주말에 조직행동과 재무 회계를 주제로 BMT 훈련을 실시하였습니다. MB 아카데미 – SfK는 10월 15일에 Post BMT교육시간을 가졌는데 두개의 조직행동 사례를 검토하고 토의하였습니다. MB Fund - SfK는 중앙아시아에 소재한 한 나라에서 선교기업을 경영하는 대표가 천정부지로 치솟는 주택가격과 임대료를 극복할 수 있도록 주택을 구입할 수 있도록 소액을 대출하였습니다.   MB 트레이딩 – Shop4Impact.com은 미국 남가주에서 10월 30일 최초로 오프라인 판매를 실시하였습니다. SfK 네트워크 – SfK Korea 이사회는 새로 합류하시는 두 분의 이사님을 환영하기 위하여 서울에서 회동하였습니다. 모든 이사회 멤버들이 합력하여 결집력을 강화해 갈 수 있도록 기도해 주시기 바랍니다.  다가오는 일정 1. MB 아카데미 – SfK는 11월 동안 12주차부터 15주차까지에 걸쳐 조직행동론과 마케팅을 주제로 훈련을 실시합니다. 모든 참가자들이 그들이 시작한 경주를 완주할 수 있도록 기도해 주시기 바랍니다. 2. 2022년 11월 26일: MB 아카데미 – SfK는 11월 Post BMT 세션을 칼리포니아 롱비치 주립대  강수연 교수가 리드하여 마케팅에 관한 Continuing Education을 실시합니다. 이번 교육이 2021년 BMT 수료생들의 역량을 강화하는데 유익하도록 기도해 주시기 바랍니다. 3. 2022년 11월 14일: MB 아카데미 – SfK는 한국 이주민 선교회에서 “이주민 선교” 심화과정에서 BAM과 통전적 선교라는 주제로 강의를 합니다. 이번 훈련 세션을 통해 참가자들이 BAM에 대한 시각을 올바르게 가질 수 있도록 기도해 주시기 바랍니다. 4. MB 아카데미 – SfK는 MB 아카데미가 지속가능성을 높이고 앞으로의 성장에 대비하기 위하여 리더쉽을 대폭 확대합니다. 모든 결정이 주님을 기쁘시게 하는 결정이 되도록 기도해 주시기 바랍니다. 5. MB 펀드 – SfK는 아시아에 소재한 한 선교제한국가에 있는 선교기업에 추가투자를 고려하고 있습니다. 모든 과정이 주님이 기뻐하시는 열매를 맺도록 기도해 주시기 바랍니다. 6. MB 트레이딩 – SfK는 온라인전자상거래 플랫폼인 Shop4Impact.com 에 대하여 중요한 의사결정을 연말 이전에 내리려고 합니다. 관련된 리더쉽이 기도하는 중에 신중한 결정을 내릴 수 있도록 기도해 주시기 바랍니다. 7. SfK 네트워크 – 11월 중에 SfK Korea는 임시 주주총회를 개최하여 두 분의 신입이사 영입을 결정하게 됩니다. 아울러 SfK Korea와 미국의 SfK Life에서는 각각 정기 이사회를 온라인으로 개최합니다. 모든 회의가 두 기업내의 단합과 능력을 강화할 수 있도록 기도해 주시기 바랍니다. 아시아와 아프리카에 있는 선교기업을 훈련하고 역량을 강화하는 SfK의 사역을 위해 기도와 후원으로 함께 해주신 여러분께 진심으로 감사를 드립니다. .   .   . 우리 주님께서 여러분을 풍성하게 축복하사 여러분 주변과 세계에 흩어진 소외된 자, 주님의 지극히 작은 자들에게 보다 큰 복의 근원이 되시기를 기도합니다.

SfK October 2022 Newsletter

 

SfK Ministry 2022 October Newsletter View this email in your browser

Luke 21: 34-36 "Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap. For it will come on all those who live on the face of the whole earth. Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man."  Unevangelized or Unreached: Why the Difference Matters By Brian Zunigha, Director of Discipleship Ministries at California Baptist Univeristy Original Article from thetravelingteam.org UNAWARE OF THE UNREACHED Ignorance is bliss but it can also be deadly. One of the most dangerous misuses of Christian phrases I’ve heard recently is the overuse of the phrase, “unreached people group.” I’ve heard people use that phrase to talk about efforts to reach college campuses, friends, clubs, and neighborhoods. It is a term that has been used more and more in the Christian subculture to validate missional status quo rather than raise the alarm for people groups who are entirely cut off from the gospel. CRUCIAL DEFINITIONS We need to understand what a people group is and how to define what it means to be “reached” with the gospel.   A people group is not a subculture, but the largest grouping of people within which messages can be exchanged without encountering major communication boundaries. Just because my seventy-year-old neighbor doesn’t have a smart phone or listen to Adele doesn’t put us in different people groups. Our slang may be different, but we both speak English and have no problems communicating.  On the other hand, the family down the street who primarily speaks Spanish would be a part of a different people group because our ability to communicate is severely limited to their broken English and what I’ve learned from Dora. A people group is considered “reached” or “unreached” based on the group’s public access to the gospel. By public access, I mean the presence of churches with the intention and ability to share the gospel with the rest of the people group. Just because there may be individuals within a specific people group who have not personally heard the gospel, it does not mean that group is unreached. There may be public access to the gospel (churches who are sharing the gospel), but not every individual has heard the message. Without public access to the gospel individuals will never personally hear the message. If we desire all people to personally hear the gospel, we should leverage our lives to plant churches among the people groups where there is currently no public access to the gospel. We can roughly separate people into three groups depending on the degree of personal hearing and public access to the gospel within the group.   Continue Reading... MINISTRY UPDATES MB Academy - SfK held its BMT 2022 Korean track sessions for weeks 4 - 6 in September. Now their training focuses on Operations and Accounting and Finance modules. MB Academy - SfK held its Post-BMT session in September on the topic of Organizational Behavior led by Professor Sunghoon Kim of the University of Sydney in Australia. MB Academy - SfK is solidifying the bond from previous and current BMT participants through informal gatherings in Korea whenever they visit Korea. From one of the MB Academy gatherings in Korea MB Fund - SfK reviewed the information to consider additional investment in a missional business in a restricted nation in Asia. This process will continue in October. MB Trading - The management team for Shop4Impact.com continued their weekly meetings in September, seeking God's grace in finding a breakthrough. SfK Network - SfK Korea is working on establishing a BAMer Care program. Please pray that this initiative will bear useful fruit.   UPCOMING EVENTS 1. October 2022: MB Academy - SfK will continue holding the BMT 2022 Korean track sessions for weeks 7 - 11. Please pray that this training will be effective in equipping the current and future BAMers. 2. October 15, 2022: MB Academy - SfK will hold its October Post-BMT session. Two cases in Mozambique and Cambodia will be shared and discussed. Please pray that this continuing education will help deepen their understanding of missional business management. 3. MB Fund - SfK will continue reviewing additional information about a missional business in a restricted nation in Asia. Please pray that this process will be completed in a timely manner. 4. October 30, 2022: MB Trading - Shop4Impact.com team in California will participate in an offline sales event. Please pray that this event will help move some of the inventory effectively. 5. November 2022: SfK Network - SfK will participate in a Migrants Mission Training School program to be held in a hybrid of online and offline sessions. Please pray that this collaboration will be encouraging and edifying for all involved. 6. SfK Network - SfK Korea is exploring several options to redefine its business model. Please pray that this initiative will pave a solid way towards the enterprise's long-term sustainability with a greater transformation impact. We thank you for standing with us through your prayer and financial support in equipping and empowering missional businesses in Asia and Africa. .   .   . We pray that our good and faithful Lord will bless you richly so that you may become a greater blessing for people in need around you and around the world.