What makes a Christian company?

[steve-in-kville]

I stumbled onto this link while searching (and have copied some info as well):

https://tifwe.org/what-makes-a-company-christian/

Was originally gonna make this a poll but decided to keep it as a discussion instead. So many directions we could go with this one. What makes a Christian company... well... Christian? Do the employees have to sign a statement of faith? Is it based on founding Biblical principles? Do the owners identify as Christians? Play Christian hymns over the loudspeaker? What say you?

[Josh]

I would argue if 100% of the owners are of like precious faith.

[RZehr]

I would argue if 100% of the owners are of like precious faith.

What if 100% of all of owners are only 4, plus another 10 employees are, and then there are 300+ other employees who are a cross section representative of American society?
What is it if only 5% are of “like precious faith”?

[Ken]

I don't think there is any such thing as a Christian company because companies or corporations do not have souls. Likewise I don't think there is any such thing as a Christian building, Christian car, Christian herd of cattle, Christian government, or Christian country.

I think God's commandments and instructions are the same whether we are business owners or employees, employed or unemployed, producers or consumers, leaders or followers, etc. etc.

Without doing a deep dive into the scriptures, I think it is fairly safe to say that all of Jesus' instructions were for individuals and not institutions like companies, corporations, or governments. In fact, modern companies and corporations did not even exist in biblical times.

[ken_sylvania]

I don't think there is any such thing as a Christian company because companies or corporations do not have souls. Likewise I don't think there is any such thing as a Christian building, Christian car, Christian herd of cattle, Christian government, or Christian country.

I agree.

[KrisKramer]

I dont think it is very Christian to force employees to sign agreement to a statement of faith to work at a company that is not a church or something like that.

Just because owners are Christian does not give them a right to discriminate and not hire someone because they are jewish/muslim/hindu/atheist etc

[ohio jones]

At one level, it makes sense to prefer doing business with someone you know is a Christian, or with a company that exhibits Christian values. But if that leads to exclusiveness and a "closed" economy (as it sometimes seems to in the larger Amish-Menno communities) rather than open interaction with neighbors, our witness suffers.

This is satire, but makes a point:

So you need a new car?
Let your fingers take a walk
Through the business guide
For the 'Born Again' flock

You'll be keeping all your money
In the Kingdom now
And you'll only drink milk
From a Christian cow

Don't you go casting your bread
To keep the heathen well fed
Line Christian pockets instead
Avoid temptation, guilty by association

[Ken]

A few years ago we lived in Waco TX, just a few blocks down the road from a giant Baptist megachurch. The kind with a theater and full size gym inside.

The church itself was set well back from the highway behind a sea of parking. I was always amused by the business owners who would show up early to church with their "work" vehicles that were wrapped with custom logos to convert them into billboards on wheels. They would always park in the very front along the main entrance so EVERYONE coming to church would have to pass by a row of ads for various businesses like insurance agents, exterminators, plumbers, landscapers, etc. etc.

Free advertising I guess, and it conveniently identified for everyone who the "good Baptist" businesses were to patronize.

My next door neighbor owned a State Farm office and had his truck wrapped exactly like this one with his portrait on it and would always have it parked in front of church every Sunday, even if he wasn't at church that Sunday but stayed home to watch football. His truck would go to church anyway



There was another guy down the block who owned an exterminator business and he had his truck wrapped like this. His truck went to church every Sunday too



I found it all very amusing.

Were these Christian companies since their trucks went to church every Sunday without fail?

[RZehr]

Sounds like their trucks were good church goers at least.

[Szdfan]