OPINION:
Every day, more than 150 million Americans engage in work. Behind those numbers are lives: fathers, mothers, veterans, immigrants. Each person is shaped by the organizations they serve. Business is the most influential discipling institution in modern life. It molds character, opens doors of opportunity and shapes culture. Yet, for many leaders, especially those of faith, this arena remains compartmentalized a place to “succeed” rather than to serve, steward and shape society.
We must change that. It’s time for a renaissance of business leadership fueled by faith, guided by virtue and aimed at societal flourishing.
At the 2024 Harvard Human Flourishing Program Summit, I shared a simple but profound observation. Every small- to mid-size business in America impacts nearly 10,000 people per year through a dynamic network of relationships: employees, their families, job applicants, vendors, customers, industry peers and community partners. The average private business has arguably greater reach and mindshare opportunity for impacting people than the typical local church.
That influence touches all five domains of human flourishing as defined by Harvard’s research: happiness and life satisfaction, mental and physical health, meaning and purpose, character and virtue, and close social relationships. A warehouse manager who treats second-chance employees with dignity; a founder who crafts a world-changing vision for a venture anchored in solving human problems; a CEO who cultivates a culture of building people up, promoting compassion and healthy conflict resolution each of these is a catalytic act of leadership.
And yet, many Christian business leaders haven’t been discipled to see their work this way. Of the roughly 1 million U.S. companies with more than $1 million in annual revenue and at least 20 employees, we estimate that more than 100,000 of these businesses are led by followers of Jesus. My organization, C12, connects with thousands of these leaders every year, and in our experience, as many as 85% of them aren’t fully integrating their faith into the way they lead.
This gap represents a significant opportunity for the renaissance of faith-driven business stewardship to drive social impact.
In 2008, I was invited to support leadership development efforts through the Global Leadership Network in Haiti. Frederika Alexis, the wife of Haiti’s then-prime minister, offered a sobering reflection that shaped our understanding of the nation’s crisis. She shared her conviction that Haiti’s deepest need was not more foreign aid or reform programs, but the restoration of virtue in leadership.
Without faith-driven, servant-hearted leaders, she explained, the very town square of society had collapsed. When government, education and commerce operate without the anchoring truth and moral compass that only faith provides, corruption seeps through every institution.
In such an environment, even well-intended efforts are undermined by greed and systemic decay. It became clear that courageous leadership, grounded in biblical values and fortified by business as a redemptive force, is essential for building lasting societal flourishing, where money, programs and policies alone cannot.
Faith-driven leadership is historically normative for transformative stories and times.
From biblical patriarchs like Abraham and Joseph to early American entrepreneurs and later industrial titans like Milton Hershey, Andrew Carnegie and R.G. LeTourneau, history is filled with leaders who saw their work as a divine stewardship. They built institutions that cultivated people, uplifted communities and solved problems.
Elon Musk has rightly observed that philanthropy, literally meaning “love of humanity” in Greek, is best embodied not in how we give away money, but in how and why we earn it. What we build and the purpose behind it can reflect love for both God and man.
These leaders understood something we must reclaim: Business is sacred by design.
Today, a growing ecosystem of chaplaincy services, faith-at-work programs, entrepreneur networks and investment funds is reigniting this ancient vision. It’s a rising movement that is blending spiritual depth, economic savvy and social vision to rewrite what success looks like.
It’s time for a reimagination of business, one in which entrepreneurs and executives see themselves as “kings and queens” with jurisdiction over their spheres of influence.
This calling involves accountability. It means declaring, like Joshua, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15) That declaration applies in our hiring policies, customer experiences, our supply chain choices, use of power and how capital is distributed. It involves tearing down cultural “high places” of exploitation, vanity and injustice and building pillars of excellence, virtue and generosity.
Human flourishing requires strong institutions that build up people. If we care about families, communities and future generations, we must elevate the role of business as both a spiritual and social engine. Politicians can regulate. Judges can enforce. The social sector can relieve crises. But business has the capacity to shape culture, forge futures and fortify the foundation of communities.
Faith-driven business leaders carry immense influence. You stand in the center of God’s mission. Your company is a platform for ministry. Use it to serve. Use it to build. Use it to love well.
• Mike Sharrow is the CEO of C12 Business Forums, the world’s largest peer-learning organization for Christian CEOs, business owners and executives. Under his leadership, C12 has grown to serve 4,500 members worldwide, which is supported by a community of more than 240 full-time chairs. He leads the C12 headquarters team, championing the concept of BaaM (Business as a Ministry) for leaders building great businesses for a greater purpose.
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