Jesus as Enterprise Facilitator

I have never known anyone who could "throw" their voice, that is to speak from the front of a room but make it sound as if they are speaking from a corner in the back. Some ventiloquists are particularly good at this. God may be, too.

While meeting with Annette Weeks - Facilitator for Northwest Missouri Enterprise Facilitation, I had the sense that what I was hearing had both a secular and a sacred source. Annette, who formerly owned a successful antique shop, works part-time from her home office in Savannah serving small business owners at no cost to them. Essentially, she is referred by her regional board of over 60 leaders in business, finance, government and not-for-profit to individuals who desire to begin or to expand their business. She interviews those who seek her out, confidentially helps them to assess how they are doing with production, marketing, and financing and then, at their request, introduces them at a monthly board meeting to people who know how to open doors, access resources, and share professional talent. Enterprise facilitation now documents successes outpacing most of all other traditional economic development programs in the creation of new jobs, new income, and more positive images for business owners and communities in several countries around the world.

Annette explained that Enterprise Facilitation is a concept developed by Ernesto Sirolli (http://www.sirolli.com) that essentially turns modern economic development on its head.

While many economic developers work tirelessly to bring big employers into their cities to inject new life into local commerce, Sirolli notes that over 75% of any economy is driven by local, small businesses - employing 1-15 people just about anywhere in the world including the U.S. He argues passionately that any local community has what it needs to be economically viable and profitable if only those seeking to develop that would better respect local wisdom, local resources, local talent, and individual passion. Sirolli also cautions that facilitators should not initiate contact, nor should they ever try to motivate their clients. When individuals are ready, they seek coaching and open themselves to grace in any form that seems appropriate.

Annette loaned to me Sirolli's Ripples from the Zambezi wherein he draws deeply from E. F. Schumacher (Small is Beautiful), Carl Rogers, and others who take a person-centered, positive approach to addressing human challenges. While I read - slowly and over the course of three weeks worth of periods of prayer, scripture reading and meditation - I sensed God saying, "Pay attention!"

What Sirolli described as enterprise facilitation sounds very similar to a missional approach to being missionally oriented followers of Christ in our communities:

• Be connected to Christ in ways that transform us individually and in our families

• Be so familiar with local culture as to appreciate and respect what God has already provided and begun locally

• Be present and fully accessible to anyone who seeks (or may seek) to deepen their relationship and/or to initiaite or to epand mission and ministry

• Be connected and trusted by those in our communities who can also assist those seekers and spiritual entrepenuers

• Be humble enough to facilitate (but not drive) the initiative of Christ in others

What do you think?