I recently heard Ed Silvoso speak on transformation and the eradication of systemic poverty. If you aren’t familiar with Silvoso, he is from Argentina and has worked in the private business world and as a pastor and has a fascinating take on how vital the marketplace is to bringing God’s kingdom here on earth. This is part of our everyday lives as inspired by Jesus who prayed: Father in heaven…. Your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. I have read Ed Silvoso’s books Ekklesia and Anointed For Business and they are paradigm shifting as well as thought provoking. I highly recommend them and any of his other books are probably worth the time as well.

What I find the most inspiring is the concept that we have forgotten the marketplace (not the “church” system) is the center for transformation of any culture, city or nation. Over time many Christians have placed barriers between “secular” and “sacred” that gives us church life and “quiet times” in one basket and going to work and doing our every day lives in the other. Living this way creates disintegrated people who are missing an integral part of the point woven throughout the Bible that God so loves “the world” and “everything in the world he has made and belongs to him,” and Jesus came to “seek and save that which has been lost.” Sin didn’t only destroy our relationship to God creating lost-ness, but it brought a curse on work which was purposeful, fulfilling and good in the garden. Work, creation, and the land went under a curse that turned fruitful work into toil that often produced briars instead of harvest. 

Silvoso makes the point that poverty is an evil system that can flourish even when there are resources and wealth available. Some countries with the most poverty also have access to much wealth. He suggests that true revival only comes when it gets all the way into the systems (markets, education, government…) reducing poverty one changed life at a time and in the end will result in healing the land. 

These one changed lives can seem like a slow process. I think people see the need and operate of out that need trying to create programs that will address larger numbers all at once, but when the one on one transformation creates more transformers, and these transformers have ownership of their home territory the multiplication expansion is limitless and the transformation is deeper- more long lasting. He has amazing stories of where these transformations have been taking place in areas of great poverty, corruption, violence and crime. These are stories where “ordinary” people have seen their entire “integrated” lives as a form of worship and decided to live out their identity as citizens of the kingdom of heaven and see their work as a ministry to serve and be a channel for God’s blessing to the whole world starting with their cubicle, their small business, or their government office. These people have lives of true “integrity” because they are living as members of the body (the true church) in all aspects of their lives. 

Often this integrated work is happening in places where the “christianease” language most people associate with “ministry work” is unwelcome. The call to not be ashamed of the gospel does not mean one has to always speak the name of Jesus in order to walk with him. The saying preach the gospel wherever you go and when necessary use words comes to mind. In fact our words themselves are the smallest percentage of whole communication with our tone, body language, and contextual actions speaking louder than the words we use. We can live out the gospel that transforms for the kingdom of God louder than any sermon we speak. God comes with us wherever we go regardless if we tell everyone he is there. Truth, integrity, kindness, love and compassion are God’s ways no matter where they are done and over time bring light to dark places in ways that cannot be missed.

Silvoso does a great job of bringing to new life the many places through the Bible where we see God honoring and working through marketplaces, business people and encourages people not to shrink away from their strengths in the marketplace. He reminds us not to fear success and wealth, but not to love it for its own sake or to be controlled by it. I love his take on David and Goliath.

You can read the story for yourself in 1 Samuel 17.

First we can see that David in this situation was part of a small family business working most of the time as the shepherd. There was a battle against the Philistine enemy going on, so during this time of war in between his animal husbandry role, he put on his catering hat and was delivering food to some of the troops. He also delivered messages as he came and went.

There was an impressive professional soldier – giant who was taunting the army of God under the leadership of King Saul and saying disrespectful things again God and God’s people. David was incensed and as he saw it, a Godly man himself, there was no question God would be with someone who went out to fight against the enemy of the Lord’s people. There was a rumor going around that the King would reward whomever stood up as Israel’s champion… so he asked a very practical question: “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine? Who is he that he should defy the armies of the living God?”

As I pondered this, it occurred to me I’ve never heard this story taught with a focus on the first question that David asked and that it seemed pretty business minded. Most Christians would be considered “carnal” or “unspiritual” if they started with… What’s the payout?

Of course David loved God, and he was deeply angered that this enemy was unopposed to defy and speak blasphemy toward God and his people, but an often overlooked point is he wanted to know before he made his offer to go fight for his people and his God… he wanted to know what the benefits package was.

Apparently the package included: wealth and riches, a place in the royal family by marriage of the King’s daughter, and tax free status for his family for life. Seems like a good deal for the youngest son working for the family business. This would be a great promotion opportunity and it would help the family business as well.

David told Saul he was in. “Let me go and fight with this Philistine.”

Next Saul countered with a sound business question: You have no war experience. You are a kid, and small for your age at that. This giant has been trained since his youth to be a killing machine. If I send you in and you lose, the deal is we become slaves and my entire kingdom goes to the enemy kingdom. Why on earth would I trust you with this job?

Did David answer how much he loves God? Or that he has an amazing prayer life? Or even that he had actually been anointed king at one point so he was totally spiritually qualified?

No. He explained that in his prior line of work he had to fend off wild beasts sometimes with the sheep already in their mouth- up close and personal. His courage had him face to face with lions who are also trained from a young age to kill. He led with his practical skillset.

He did add- considering Saul knew the living God and they were not in a totally secular conversation, that if God could deliver him from a lion to save a sheep, probably God can deliver me from this evil giant to save his people. This point is also key to us today: God is willing to do the heavy lifting, he’s just looking for someone willing to take him to the fight.

David was a man after God’s own heart, but he also was a smart business guy. He relied on natural laws of best practice, he followed biblical guidelines, and when those went as far as they could he relied on the supernatural hand of God to intervene… not just for David’s success, but for God’s glory and purposes. 

The message I took away from this view of David and others like Moses taking leadership strategy from his pagan father-in-law, and Paul during his tent making period bringing revival to a region, is that the beautiful and gratifying work is done when we partner with God to transform staring in our own neighborhood, business, non-profit or home and we allow him to dream for us. It’s likely and it’s good that we should have success too! But the dreams of transformation are much bigger when God’s plans are allowed to lead. We usually think too small. 

We are invited to become a channel of transformation and blessing to the world around us- and when we agree, we take part in reclaiming what Jesus already redeemed! The marketplace is largely still a place held in systems of darkness where we find greed, corruption, alongside lack and poverty. Why are these areas of Business, Education and Government neglected as viable places of great revival and redemption. These are clearly places Jesus wants to see transformed into places of light, integrity, blessing and abundance. 

An integrated life is one where we don’t only go to church but we live as if we are the church. The church isn’t the building or the thing we do on Sundays or other special occasions. Jesus clearly said that HE would build the church, so we get to enjoy beingthe church and welcoming others alongside us as HE does the work. As Lisa Van Den Berg says: it’s less about what we do and more about who we be. Indeed. 

This transformation when it comes in power is so real and so invigorating it cannot help but bring people to want to know the one who is behind it. It becomes an organic way of an integrated life to bring this power, peace, abundance and joy into every room or meeting we enter.

The great news is we can start- or restart- today. As we begin in our own homes, our own bedroom each morning with a reminder of who we be today in our own identity as a beloved son or daughter of the King of a great eternal kingdom of righteousness (think of this as making wrong things right!), we can live out of that identity and allow God to work through us and become a channel of blessing into the world HE loves. 

That sounds like a life worth living! Maybe even a danger to the gates of hell.