From our inception, MDE has been focused on our screening and selection of potential new members, and new BAMers. We choose to work with men and women who will commit to “making money – AND – making disciples.” Not one or the other. Not one as the other. Not just enough of one to accomplish the other. Making money AND making disciples. Business AND Mission. It’s not that they need to happen in equal measure. It’s that they can and should, in fact, be the same thing.
The first reference to human vocation is found in Genesis 2: 15: “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” The Hebrew term for work here is Avodah, a common word in the Old Testament. Interestingly, about a third of the time, Avodah is translated into English as “to work,” a third of the time as “to serve,” and a third of the time as “to worship/glorify God.” This seems odd to English speakers, but perhaps the confusion is ours. The Bible and the ancient Hebrew people understood work, service, and worship to be the same thing. One is not holier than the other.
Patrick Lai captures this nuance for us. He spoke on Avodah at the 2023 B4T Expo. He has even coined a clever English term for Avodah, which he calls “Workship.” His talk and his book on Workship can be found here: https://www.openusa.net/workship/
At MDE, we define BAM as Business And Mission. Our BAMers don’t just see business as a means to mission. It’s not a platform for ministry. It’s not a method for evangelism. BAM is a sustainable, holistic vocation to Avodah the way God intended it. Yes, Avodah provides for the BAMer, but more importantly it displays the character of God and the power of the gospel — lived out in an unreached community.