Local members of the clergy are often called upon to bless the meals served at the regular gatherings of business groups. Between passing of business cards, rubbing elbows and partaking of the catered food, faith leaders ask their audience to meditate about the presence of God.
The say it’s just another example of how faith influences every aspect of life.
Michael Sullivan, rector at Holy Innocents’ Episcopal Church in Sandy Springs, recently gave the blessing at a Sandy Springs/Perimeter Chamber of Commerce luncheon.
“Essentially, people ask their priests and ministers and rabbis to come into those places to affirm that God cares about all life,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan said he has blessed the grand openings of businesses owned by his parishioners. It’s not always a straightforward path from scripture to commerce, he said.
“There is a natural tension between business and religion because religion is not asking questions about a market,” Sullivan said. “… If you look at scripture, you’re going to find that Jesus pushes the market, suggests that sometimes things don’t work as they should in commerce.”
Dr. Charles Qualls, associate pastor at Second Ponce de Leon Baptist Church in Buckhead, is a member of the Buckhead Business Association. It often falls to him to give a blessing at certain BBA events.
While his church is an active member of the business community, he said relations between Jesus and the business world weren’t always cordial. One of Jesus’ signature acts in the Bible was chasing the money changers out of the Temple for their unethical ways.
“Jesus had a love-hate relationship with the marketplace,” Qualls said. “On the one hand, he very much was among the people. One of the things he got in trouble for was having meals in the homes of the tax collector. They were viewed as evil people in that culture at that time. Jesus connected with them as people, so in essence he was seen in fellowship with sinners. On the other hand, he didn’t cut them a whole lot of slack when he was with them.”
Sullivan said where the New Testament spoke about business in general, the Old Testament carried specific messages when it comes to business. The Old Testament forbids charging interest, for example. The core of the Bible’s business message he said, is the Golden Rule: Treat others as you would treat yourself.
Katherine Fein, founder of the Atlanta-based Jewish Networking Alliance and a web designer, said her group is for Jewish business people but it isn’t a religious organization. She said she started her group because other business groups claiming to be “non-denominational” often had a decidedly Christian slant. She said her group is an avenue for Jewish business people to mingle.
She said the Golden Rule is an important part of the Torah and a good business principle for her.
“Treat others as you would want them to treat you and the more effective you can be for your clients,” she said.
Qualls said he thinks sometimes people oversimplify Jesus’ message and try to claim he felt all business was bad. He said scholars debate whether Jesus’ followers gave up their day jobs, such as being fishermen.
“I think Jesus had a great deal of appreciation for people who were doing things right and had strong words for people who were taking advantage of people,” Qualls said.
Rusty Paul, chairman of the Sandy Springs/Perimeter Chamber of Commerce, is a member of Holy Innocents’. He said faith is important in his own professional life.
“Your faith is a reflection of your ethics,” Paul said.
Paul said at Chamber events, it’s important for the faith message to be respectful of the diversity in the room. BBA President Catherine Cattles said that’s also the goal at BBA events.
“It’s a business association first and foremost … so we want to be respectful for all of those and recognize the diversity of beliefs,” Cattles said.
Cattles said the Buckhead business community and local churches are supportive of one another. She said many BBA members helped with the Buckhead Street Ministry to help the community’s homeless population.
“We do have that relationship and it certainly will continue,” she said.
