Business as Mission Theses and Dissertations

Date of Award

9-2014

Document Type

Dissertation

First Advisor

Enoch Wan

Second Advisor

C. Neal Johnson

Abstract

This dissertation engages in an integrative study of the doxological metanarrative of Scripture in relation to mission, motivation and mechanism, with special attention given to the business as mission (BAM) mechanism in Brazil. Two research techniques were utilized: 1) archival research in order to define and describe both the doxological components (metanarrative, mission and motivation) and the BAM mechanism; and 2) case study method in order to examine the motivations that drive successful Brazilian Christian entrepreneurs to start Kingdom companies.

The researcher identified three key metanarrative frameworks for understanding Scripture and redemptive history: the Nature of God (NOG), the Kingdom of God (KOG) and the Mission of God (MOG). While the KOG has been the metanarrative of choice throughout much of history, the MOG has gained growing attention over the past 60 years. There is one underlying core metanarrative, however, which a close reading of Scripture yields, and which has profound implications as a motivation for missions. It is the Glory of God (GOG).

This research is foundational in filling a void of scholarship concerning God’s doxological metanarrative, mission and motivation, and demonstrates the significant interconnectedness between them and the business as mission mechanism.

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