19 March 2008

The Call of the Entrepreneur

Last night Anna and I watched The Call of the Entrepreneur. It’s a documentary film that uses the story of three entrepreneurs to explore the religious and societal contribution of those who risk their savings, farm and life. After the film we had a spirited discussion. Anna felt a little jilted that it was devoid of women examples. She also wondered at who the film was intended?

I suggested that the film has a wide but also narrow focus. The wide focus is on those who find themselves in a plethora of disciplines with untapped ideas. The film seeks to encourage them to take risk, that there is a calling, a holy calling, to put the creative process intrinsic to each one of us into action.

The narrow focus is on the clergy. This comes out the Acton Institute’s primary focus of leading economic seminars for seminarians. Acton is concerned that “in most social ethics courses, seminarians wee accustomed to hearing the empty slogans of liberation-theology proponents who believed that developed nations exploit less-developed nations, thus keeping them in a perpetual state of poverty. Generally, these arguments were put forth by theologians who had little grasp of economics.” (The Call of the Entrepreneur: Study Guide, by Robert A. Sirico)

Sirico has surveyed the land well. The film is a great platform for conversation that has profound implications for the development of our world going forward.

1 comment:

Rev. Vaughn W. Thurston-Cox said...

The website looks interesting, as well as pursuing the idea of entrepreneurship as a positive Kingdom force. We have at least two or three entrepreneurs here at Millbrook each carry their "business" ethic into the Kingdom work. They are initiators. They sacrifice. They are committed to the task.

I knew one entrepreneur north of here who saw his "secular" business as a ministry providing jobs for those who may not otherwise find employment.

Exploring the struggle between our capitalist system and social justice has probably been a very one sided argument in many seminary classrooms, though Acton's characterization may be a bit much. These men -and women- who go out without the promise of success to make something new are also the Kingdom leaders who serve as and with their pastors for Kingdom purposes.