Tea with The Economist: Glen Hubbard on international aid

Institutions that support local businesses are what works to help developing economies, says Glen Hubbard, Dean of the Columbia University Graduate School of Business. He sees the Marshall Plan as a prototype for restarting Africa's once vibrant local business culture. Watch the interview or view other topics on economist.com.

Haiti

My last post was nothing but a link... I was running out to catch a ride but wanted to at least provide a list of organizations through which people could give to relief work in Haiti.

Partners Worldwide sent out an email on the weekend regarding their work in Haiti; here is the text:

Since Tuesday, we have all grieved while hearing reports of the pain and suffering in Haiti. The first 72 hours are critical after an emergency and we are very thankful for the skilled disaster response teams who are working around the clock to meet as many immediate needs as possible.

Leveraging the strengths of our network, Partners Worldwide has established the Haiti Business Recovery Fund. Through our Haitian business partners, we have identified urgent needs that can be met by skilled professionals to help restore and rebuild local businesses that supply critical goods such as clean water, food, medical supplies and temporary housing.

Your contribution will go directly to Haiti Business Recovery and will help to lay the foundation for long-term development and lasting restoration. The Partners Worldwide network is made up of passionate and skilled business professionals so please consider how your experience can make a difference in Haiti.


Your continued prayers, encouragement and financial contributions are deeply appreciated. (Click here to give through Partners Worldwide.)

email: info@partnersworldwide.org
phone: (616) 818-4900
web: http://www.partnersworldwide.org

Organizations at work in Haiti

Link to orgs assisting in Haiti:  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34835478/ns/world_news-haiti_earthquake/

The Joy of Giving

That in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality (2 Cor. 8:2)


Although the United States has the highest percentage of charitable giving then other nations in the world it is also one of few nations that enjoy tax write-offs from such giving. Do we give because of the tax write-off or because we have a heart to give? The recent economic crisis has caused some to reduce their giving and others to even stop giving all together. Do we give because we have much or do we give because we are grateful for what we have?

Giving should be something we do out of joy not out of obligation. Giving should be a natural response of gratefulness and an expression of joy for who God is and what he has done for us. Unfortunately many kingdom business stewards give out of obligation, guilt or benefits rather than out joy.

The Apostle Paul planted many churches, some in very wealthy communities and others in poor communities, but those he planted in poorer communities primarily supported his ministry. Even though the churches of Macedonia suffered great afflictions and were deeply poor they nevertheless gave with great joy even beyond their abilities (I Corinthians 8:1-4).

Joy is an eternal peace and excitement demonstrated by an external expression of gratitude. Joy gives rhythm, flavor and a smile to our giving. Giving without joy is like operating machinery without the proper lubrication. It will not last. Joy makes your giving consistent and easy to be received.

How to give with joy?

1. First give yourself to the Lord - You cannot give with joy if you have not first given yourself to the Lord. Giving is a response to a personal and intimate relationship with the Lord. God does not need what you have; it already belongs to Him. What He needs is you.

2. Give to those people or things you love - For God so love the world that He gave us His only begotten Son. Giving is a tangible demonstration of your love for someone or some cause.

3. Give even in trials - Giving is not something you do when things are going well but it is a lifestyle. The habit of giving is not developed during good times but in bad times.

4. Give to purpose not to need - Need eradicates resources while purpose eradicates need. Giving is not what solves problems; rather it is purpose that solves problems. You should target your giving towards those people and organizations that are working to eradicate the need you are passionate about.

5. Give to good ground - Giving is an investment in eternity so therefore you must ensure that the ground is good so that it can yield the maximum eternal returns. Make sure that the person or organization you are giving to will carry out the expected mission with proper accountability.

6. Give out of what you have - Never give that which has been obligated to other things such as rent, car note, loan payment etc.... Other then the tithe giving should always be out of discretionary money. If you want to increase your giving then either increase your income without increasing your obligated expenses or decrease your obligated expenses.

7. Give as unto the Lord - Your giving is never to people or things but rather it is to God. Though it is administered by people and organizations you must focus on the ultimate receiver of your giving, and that is God. He will honor your heart no matter what the people or organization does with your charitable contribution. This ensures that your giving is unconditional.

Some kingdom business stewards give only enough to meet their tax deduction obligations while others give as long as they have to give irrespective of their tax deduction limit. Which one are you? If the U.S. government was to end the tax deduction policy today will your giving go down or remain the same?

A young biblical entrepreneur, after being blessed by several million dollars in a settlement, was led to commit above and beyond his tithe to kingdom work against his accountant's advice, who felt that he should limit his giving to his maximum tax benefit. This young entrepreneur recognized the fact that his giving is not based on any temporal benefits he may receive from the IRS but on eternal benefits he will surely receive from the King of Kings. To the King every gift is a tax write-off in His kingdom.

Tax write-offs are great and must be encouraged for it is better to give to a kingdom cause then to the IRS. However, it should not be the only basis for our giving. The joy of giving means that I give purely because it is my way of expressing my love for the things I believe in and my gratefulness to the God who made me a steward over His resources. It is the external expression of the peace I have on the inside and my gratitude to the Prince of Peace. All benefits that come with giving are bi-products of my giving not the reason for my giving.


Copyright © 2010 Patrice Tsague ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Business Tithing

"Honor the Lord with your possessions and with the first fruits of your increase; so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine" (Proverbs 3:9-10).

Tithing has unfortunately become such a controversial topic in the kingdom today. Many are questioning whether you should tithe from your gross or net pay. Others are asking whether you should tithe from your business. Can you split your tithe? Does your tithe have to go to your local church? Does tithing still apply in the New Testament? Should I still tithe if my church is misusing the money? Should I tithe even if I am still in debt?

Whatever your personal views are with respect to tithing, I believe that it is important to let the scriptures speak for themselves. Tithing is committing the first tenth of all that God gives you back to the Lord in recognition of His ownership over your life and in appreciation for His goodness towards you (Genesis 28:22). Tithing enables the non-revenue generating ministries that God wants to see operate to have the necessary resources to function. It allows other dimensions of the great commission to be realized. It is a way to provide resources to those who are called to operate in the fivefold ministry: evangelist, teacher, pastor, prophet and apostle (Ephesians 4:11-16, I Timothy 5:17 -18). The tithe is our first gift that must be paid before we can give an offering. The tithe is an obligation; the offering is a choice (Genesis 4:4).

Every born-again Christian must be involved in a local assembly whether it is a home church, small church or a mega-church. While the size of the local assembly is not relevant, it must however, be led by a shepherd (Hebrews 10:24-25, I Peter 5:1-4). As individuals our tithe should be committed to supporting the work of the local assembly that we belong to (Malachi 3:10). If you do not trust your local assembly enough to tithe then you should not trust them with your soul. Where your treasure is there your heart will be also (Matthew 6:21).

Though the New Testament does not specifically mandate the tithe it should nevertheless be the minimum basis for our giving and not the ceiling. Any New Testament believer who believes that tithing is an Old Testament principle should consistently give beyond the 10 percent and never less, otherwise you are using the Old Testament as a loophole to limit your giving rather than as an inspiration to increasing your giving (2 Corinthians 9:6-8).

Kingdom business stewards should not just tithe from their personal income but they should also tithe from their business profits. Though the personal tithe should be committed to supporting the work of the local assembly, the business tithe can be used to support the other ministries of the church. Business tithe can be split but personal tithe must be paid to your local assembly. The business tithe is a tenth of your business profits not the gross revenue. Some businesses do not enjoy a 10 percent gross margin. As such, if businesses are required to tithe from their gross revenue then some will operate at a loss. Of course we know that operating a kingdom business at a loss is not biblical, since Jesus rebuked the unprofitable servant in Matthew 25:30. The other reason why the business tithe should be paid from the profits is because Proverbs 3:9-10 instructs us to honor the Lord with the first fruits of our increase. You do not have an increase if you have not paid for the expenses associated with generating the revenue. The increase is the net income after all expenses are paid. The tithe must be paid in spite of your debt situation. Since you are tithing from your net profits, you can pay the debt from the balance remaining after the tithe. This shows that you are trusting in God and not in your own efforts to make you debt free.

Why is business tithing necessary for the kingdom business steward?

1. It sets us apart from others businesses

2. It recognizes that God is the owner and we are the stewards

3. It shows our appreciation to God for His goodness towards us

4. It allows us to be able to finance other work within the kingdom

5. It enables God to trust us with more

6. It helps us not to be attached to the money

7. It allows God to open the windows of opportunity for us and protect our production from loss or destruction.

There are many kingdom businesses who have experienced the joy of business tithing: JC Penney's, John D. Rockefeller, Chick Fil A, Timothy Plan and one who recently began; Davis Endodontic.

Though a committed tither from her personal salary, after recently learning about business tithing, Dr. Davis had her staff review her profits for the pass couple years and committed over $40K to support the work of the kingdom as a commitment to paying her past business tithe. That is powerful and a tremendous commitment to living the principles of God. If most believers were committed to tithing from their personal income and their business profits then the work of the kingdom would not lack the resources to feed the hungry, nourish the thirsty, house the homeless, clothe the naked, and visit the sick and imprisoned. In addition, God's ministering servants would not be distracted by other activities and could fully give themselves to praying and ministering the Word of God (Matthew 25:31-40, Acts 6:4).

Would you want your doctor working another full-time job just to make enough money to be able to practice medicine? Would you want your teacher to work another job to be able to teach? Would you want your pilot working another job just to make ends meet so he can afford to fly? Of course we wouldn't. We want our professionals to devote themselves fully to servicing us with excellence without other distractions. Why then do we expect those who are called to five-fold ministry to do other things to make ends meet yet expect excellence of ministry? Why do we expect ministries that serve the least of these to devote time to tasks like identifying ways to generate revenue (in the hopes of remaining sustainable) that divert attention away from their primary mission and focus? Sustainability is not always realized through fee-for-service revenue. It can also be realized through the faithful contribution of the faithful saints and the proper stewardship of those contributions.

In this New Year let's commit ourselves to being a part of God's work by entrusting our personal and business tithing to His kingdom and enjoy the benefits of being one of the few that the Lord can count on to see His work realized in the earth realm. As Kingdom-minded business stewards we should be part of the solution and not part of the problem.


Copyright © 2010 Patrice Tsague ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Windows of Opportunity

"Bring all the tithes into the store house, that there may be food in My house, And try me now in this," Says the Lord of Hosts, "If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such a blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it" (Malachi 3:10).
How would you like to have endless business opportunities? How would you like to have so many opportunities that you have to turn down business? A story is found in the book of Luke 5:1-11 where a fishermen name Simon after obeying the instructions of Jesus caught so much fish that his net could not handle it and he had to call for help. What was the key to his sudden productivity? He allowed the rabbi to use his boat to carry out His ministry and followed the instructions that the rabbi had given him.

Though most people view opportunity as something that you chase and spend most of your energy going after, we view opportunity in the kingdom as something that God orchestrates in his own timing but we must be prepared for it.

Opportunity is recognizing when God's timing meets preparation. You are responsible for preparing for the opportunity while God is responsible for orchestrating them. Without opportunities in the market place to meet market needs a business cannot be profitable. Business success begins with opportunity recognition.

Although God is the orchestrator of opportunities our obedience or lack thereof can impact the number of opportunities available to us. God told the Israelites to bring all the tithes into the store house, that there may be food in His house, and he will open for them the windows of heaven and pour out such a blessing that they will not have enough room to receive it. And He will rebuke the devourer for their sakes, so that the fruit of their ground will not be destroyed and their vine will not fail to bear fruit in the field (Malachi 3:10-11).

During the time of these instructions to the children of Israel their main business was agriculture and they were very dependent on farming for survival. God's instruction to them was that if they were to apply the principle of the tithe then He would open for them the windows of heaven and protect their production. Opening the windows of heaven was symbolic for creating market opportunities for them. These market opportunities would be so much that they would not be able to handle them. There would be such production that they would not have enough barns to preserve them. There would be such demand for their product and services that they would not be able to that demand fast enough. Another word if they were committed to providing for the needs of the work of the Lord through the principle of the tithe, God will ensure that they never lack resources. If you seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness everything that you need will be added to you (Mathew 6:33).

Giving opens the windows of heaven which leads to market opportunities being available to you for greater business productivity (2 Cor 9:6-8).

Why does God tie market opportunities to giving?

1. It is a sign that you recognize God's ownership of the business and sovereignty over your life.

2. It demonstrates that you are not attached to money.

3. It shows that you understand the purpose of profit which, among other things, must be used to advance the kingdom of God.

Giving will not only open windows of opportunity for your business but God will also rebuke the devourer. Devourers are things that eat up your production or keep opportunities from fully materializing. It could be high interest rates, bad weather, market instability or employee theft. Giving protects what you have from being destroyed, as well as enabling God to protect your production and market opportunities from being materialized prematurely or before you are prepared to take advantage of them.

All of this is so because God wants to fund His work. He wants to supply His Church with ample resources. However, in order to do so he needs productive, profitable kingdom businesses that understand the purpose for which God called them into business.

How is your business doing? Are you experiencing the kind of growth you desire? Commit to tithing from your personal income, from your business profits and give generously as the Lord blesses you. Not only will windows of opportunity open for you, but your production and market opportunities will be protected from destruction and premature conception.


Copyright © 2009 Patrice Tsague ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

God's Faithfulness

"If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself."
2 Timothy 2:13

Has anyone ever signed a contract with you and backed out? Have you ever been betrayed by a friend, a love one or business associate? Unfortunately, many of us have countless stories of how people have been unfaithful to us and if we are honest how we have been unfaithful to others. We make promises we do not keep, we take vows we back out of, and we sign contracts that we violate. Man is an unfaithful sinner and no matter how hard we try we find ourselves struggling to be faithful. I'm amazed at the fact that even the most devout believer struggles to be faithful though saved and sanctified. The only one whose faithfulness is unchanging, constant, irreversible and unquestionable is God's.

Faithfulness is an ongoing demonstration of commitment and allegiance to a person or cause. It is a time tested attribute. Faithfulness is not something that we were; it is something that we are. You cannot say I used to be faithful, because once you cease to be faithful you no longer can claim faithfulness as a character trait. If you have been married for 50 years and divorce out of unfaithfulness, that act of unfaithfulness eradicates all the 50 years of faithfulness you had put in. One act of unfaithfulness corrupts years of faithfulness. Faithfulness is never past tense it is always present tense. You can see how difficult it is for man to be faithful. Faithfulness requires endurance, perseverance and longsuffering. It is an unconditional act towards a changing person to remain committed no matter the circumstances. Though it is difficult for man to be faithful, there is one whose faithfulness is eternal, uncompromising and steadfast; our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. God's faithfulness is eternal and irrevocable.

How can God be so faithful though we struggle to maintain our own faithfulness? The secret to God's faithfulness is that it is not dependent upon us fulfilling our end of the bargain. God made a deal with Abraham and could not find anyone to swear by so he swore by himself, Hebrew 6:13-19. Imagine that, someone makes a deal with you and recognizing your limitations and frailty he signs both sides of the contract to ensure that the contract will be realized no matter what you do. God's faithfulness is independent of man; it is totally dependent on the very nature of who God is. That is why he says in II Timothy 2:13 that even when we (man) are faithless He (God) remains faithful because He (God) cannot deny himself or His very nature. God made a deal with himself concerning man that He will accomplish certain things through man regardless of man.

Many kingdom entrepreneurs struggle with condemnation and guilt because we are unable to carry out our end of the bargain regarding the covenant we made with God. We allow the devil to trick us into believing that we are not enjoying certain privileges or we are going through certain difficulties because somehow God is not pleased with us or God is dissatisfied with our performance. Here is the good news; relax and thank God for Jesus who paid a dear price for your freedom and to make you right with God. God's love towards you is not conditional to what you do for Him or to Him but it is solely dependent upon what His Son did on the Cross of Calvary. To make sure that we had no excuse He sent His Son to demonstrate faithfulness so we would not have to struggle with it but just walk in it by taking on His Son. Wow, what love.

Do you struggle with faithfulness? Do you struggle to keep the commitments you make towards God or others? Stop trying to keep them based on your own strength which leads to self condemnation. Recognize that you are limited and turn to Jesus Christ and take on His nature so He may show Himself faithful through you. Faithfulness cannot be accomplished outside of a devoted relationship with Christ. God's faithfulness towards us is able to bring us into His image and likeness which enables us to walk in His faithfulness.

Copyright © 2009 Patrice Tsague ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

From Mission Impossible to Possible

But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "with men this is impossible but with God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26.

Have you ever had an assignment or project that you felt in your heart there is no way I can do this? Is your business facing a challenge that seems impossible for you to overcome? The fact is most kingdom assignments are impossible for us to carry out in our own strength. They require supernatural intervention if we are going to be successful.

In Matthew 19:16-22, we learn of a rich young ruler who had obeyed the Ten Commandments from his youth but now desired to ensure that he can make claims to eternity. Jesus' response to him requires an act of compassion towards the poor and a commitment to follow Him forsaking all that is important to him. However, the rich young ruler did not value eternity enough to make the necessary sacrifice. For the rich young ruler this request of Jesus was an impossible mission.

In contrast, we find another rich young ruler in the Old Testament in the book of Genesis Chapter 12 called Abraham; God calls him to leave his father's house and his country and go to a land that He will show him. Forsake all that you know and follow me to a place that you do not know. This young ruler obeyed and God made him very wealthy and he became the father of many nations.

What impossible task has God ask you to carry out? Like the rich young ruler you may have faithfully obeyed God's word for years but yet God is requiring more from you. He is requiring you to do something that will require you to exercise another dimension of your faith. Kingdom assignments are never solely based on our own ability but based on God's ability. How do you turn an impossible mission into a possible mission?

The difference between the rich young ruler and Abraham was the following:

1. Abraham believed he had heard from God while the rich young ruler was uncertain of the deity of Jesus Christ;

• Make sure that your instructions are from God

2. Abraham believed God while the rich young ruler did not believe Jesus since he did not trust in His deity;

• Make sure you believe God, because the scripture says all things are possible to those who believe. Mark 9:23

3. Abraham trusted God while the rich young ruler put his faith in his riches;

• Make sure you put your trust not in what you have acquired or accomplished but in God and God alone

Operating a kingdom business is an impossible mission; it is impossible for man on his own to make decisions that risks his natural stability trusting heavenly stability. It is impossible for man to love his customer more than money. It is impossible for man to love his employees more than their productivity in the business. It is impossible for man to love and pray for his competitors. It is impossible for man to be more concerned about community transformation then business growth. It is impossible for man to conduct his business in an environment where bribery and corruption is the norm for business profitability. It is impossible for certain businesses to be profitable or even maintain positive cash flow in the current economic environment.

All these things are impossible with man, but with God all things are possible. Not just some things but all things that are according to His will. Whatever your situation, make sure your instructions are from God. Believe God and put your complete trust in Him, and not only will He turn your impossible mission into a possible mission, but he will reward your faithfulness in the process.

Copyright © 2009 Patrice Tsague ALL RIGHTS RESERVED


Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.