Faith talk

Via Relevant, some tips on talking about one's faith:

• "As you confront people’s ideas and argue with their religion, seek to learn their stories."
• "As you talk about God and faith, resist the temptation to try and move people anywhere. That’s God’s job."
• "As you passionately voice and furiously defend your position, whatever that may be, fight relentlessly to remember there’s always a chance (and a pretty good one), that you may not be completely right."

This brings to mind another facet of our attitudes when talking with others: look past the individual to the worldviews that influence attitudes.

The robot tipping point

Via CEABlog from a short time ago, we're getting close to the tipping point in spite of any reservations:

..there is still hesitation about surrendering too much control to artificial intelligence. Some factors that deter consumers from purchasing robots include total expenditure and technical faults. As a result, industry players are unable to generate enough sales volume, leading to an unhealthy reliance on government funding for research and development initiatives.

Nonetheless, it is a matter of time before a household robot manufacturer hits the performance versus pricing sweet spot.

 When robots take off with consumers, we can expect consumer spending to take off and fuel real economic growth.

Christians in society

From a sermon by David Gibbs of the National Center for Life and Liberty about the relation between Christians and society in the ancient world:

• Ostracized by their families for following Jesus Christ.
• Oppressed by government as potential seditionists.
• Hated by society for saying Christ is the way.

A question: What is the best response? Fight or flight? How about serving others? A statement attributed to the Roman Emperor Julian suggests the impact of serving: "...the godless Galileans care not only for their own poor but for ours as well; while those who belong to us look in vain for the help that we should render them.”

Turning business IT upside down?

Via Business Insider, a primer on Facebook's Open Compute Project: "...anyone can look at, use, or modify the designs of the hugely expensive computers that big companies use to run their operations — all for free."

The claim is Facebook is doing to hardware what open source code did to software and led to the creation of Linux and Android. Apparently, Facebook decided hardware like computer servers, switches, and routers were not its competitive advantage and began sharing its designs and layout. This has spawned collaboration between professionals in different, sometimes competing, organizations.

What kinds of business models will emerge, and what kinds of skills will people need to make the most of what we used to pay for?

OFWs

Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) indicate the economic potential of the Filipino workforce that is also a potential for ministry and mission. The economic potential is such that remittances from OFWs comprise 10 percent of the Philippines' Gross Domestic Product. The workers are called "economic heroes" because of their economic impact, and they have developed a global reputation for competence and dependability. To get to that point, however, OFWs endure homesickness and difficult and, sometimes, inhumane working conditions. Additionally, the absence of such workers means they are unavailable for work in the Philippines, creating shortages in areas like teaching that impact the country's development.

The ministry and mission potential is clear. Ministry to OFWs seems to me to be in two areas: the workers themselves and their families they leave behind. OFWs are also recognized as potential missionaries in the lands where they work, bi-vocational workers in true tentmaking roles. How extensive is the training and preparation for OFWs who want to go this route?

Some ideas:

• Do schools like Asian Theological Seminary have programs to train and empower OFWs? Such preparation would include not only theology but practical matters like laws and customs of the lands where they will serve. Perhaps preliminary travel to those countries for acculturation and language study would be part of the preparation.
• Practical preparation would include practical skills like those taught at The Master's Mission, a rigorous missionary training center in North Carolina. Such skills can breed confidence in people working in new environments. Perhaps partnerships between these kinds of schools can lead to robust training programs.
• Christian schools might be able to increase their preparation of professionals like engineers, lawyers, and accountants for overseas jobs. Such positions gain greater salaries and place the workers closer to key leaders in other countries.
• Christian schools might also equip those professionals to be entrepreneurs so they can do business globally from the Philippines, a development that might reduce dependence on exporting labor.

Of course, the desire should be to bring labor back to the Philippines. Remittances are fine, but the wealth remains overseas. Companies in the Philippines owned by Filipinos mean wealth stays in the Philippines, creating investment opportunities that lead to growth and more employment in country.

Your robot: Coming to a home near you

Via the Economist, in what seems like an economic recovery, the seeds of the next recession may be found: "...sooner or later, policymakers will face another downturn. The danger is that, having used up their arsenal, governments and central banks will not have the ammunition to fight the next recession."

What are those seeds?

• Wage growth.
• National debt.
• Ripples of shrinkage of more fragile economies.
• Too much quantitative easing.
• Not as much consumer spending.

The Economist's solutions focus on policy:

• Raise interest rates after solid wage growth and inflation at target levels.
• Invest in infrastructure.
• Reform policies affecting product and labor markets to stimulate growth.

One area that may stimulation consumer spending, which is the cornerstone of economic growth, is the growth of consumer robots. Robots around the house may sound like the Jetsons but may become the cell phone phenomenon. I recall not understanding why I'd want to be leashed to a phone in my pocket, but now I can't live without one. Some are predicting 2015 will be the year it happens.

Mission matters

The visits to wealthy Manila brought to mind some attitudes to consider, especially when it comes to a gospel for the well-off. The efforts of individuals and organizations in the Philippines also made me think about the impact we can have on this world if we just partner. I came across a blog item about how our everyday work matters to missions. The key points are:

• "Everyone can be involved in more than going or sending."
• "Your faith is more than hot air."
• "You can model the power of the gospel to people around you."

The blogger encouraged readers to think of their involvement in missions as more than becoming a missionary or supporting missionaries. It means treating every day in their lives as a day on mission. The three points seem basic, but they are foundational and reflect a framework I have come to conclude is virtually universal. It's the servanthood framework.

Servanthood has three elements: agency, duty, and accountability.

• Agency: A servant represents (is an agent) his or her master, not himself or herself.
• Duty: The servant takes on his or her master's priorities, not his or her own. This means servants must also develop a level of competence to discharge that duty.
• Accountability: The servant must account to his or her master about the results of his or her activities.

The blogger's three points correspond to the servanthood framework this way:

Servanthood	Blogger	Comment
Agency	"Everyone can be involved in more than going or sending."	Changing one's perspective about missions recasts missions as alignment with God's will in all things.
Duty	"Your faith is more than hot air."	Thinking of missions as more than a specific profession leads to the realization that faith becomes the priority in all areas.
Accountability	"You can model the power of the gospel to people around you."	Rethinking missions underscores the importance of demonstrating faith with action. Action is what God requires.

Those three elements could also apply to the workplace and show the workplace is a mission field. For example, the basic functions of managers correspond to the elements of servanthood, creating an opportunity to turn management into a servanthood opportunity and a way to turn the workplace into a mission field:

Servanthood	Blogger	Management functions
Agency	"Everyone can be involved in more than going or sending."	Alignment. Managers align plans with business objectives.
Duty	"Your faith is more than hot air."	Integration. Managers make priorities real by integrating the different business functions under the business priorities and objectives.
Accountability	"You can model the power of the gospel to people around you."	Management. Managers ensure accountability to the business owners by doing things to turn plans into action.