{"id":695,"date":"2011-06-01T07:00:03","date_gmt":"2011-06-01T12:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithandfinance\/?p=695"},"modified":"2011-06-01T07:00:03","modified_gmt":"2011-06-01T12:00:03","slug":"perspective-on-a-christian-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithandfinance\/2011\/06\/01\/perspective-on-a-christian-business\/","title":{"rendered":"Perspective on a Christian Business"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

I was listening to the radio yesterday and heard an advertisement for a local business that was \u2018Christian owned.\u2019\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t the first time that I had heard the commercial, but this time it made me think about something.\u00a0 Should Christians always try to support Christian owned businesses?\u00a0 Does a Christian business automatically trump other businesses in service?\u00a0 Is it a duty for a Christian to support a Christian business?\u00a0 While these questions don\u2019t require a solid yes or no answer, they do make for an interesting discussion, and I would love to hear your opinion in the comments.\u00a0 For now, here\u2019s my take on supporting a Christian business.<\/p>\n

Supporting a Christian Business<\/h2>\n

When I hear that a business is Christian owned, I don\u2019t automatically assume that it\u2019s better at customer service or producing a quality product.\u00a0 I\u2019d like to think that those goals are at the top of any business regardless of their religious affiliation.\u00a0 Even more, I don\u2019t expect that a Christian owned business would never work on Sunday<\/a>.<\/p>\n

So why would a Christian owned business even feel the need to make known its owner\u2019s religious ties?<\/strong> I think there are two main reasons: connection and expectation.<\/p>\n

1. Connection<\/strong> \u2013\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t matter if the business is a coffee shop, bookstore, hamburger joint, or clothing store \u2013 if it\u2019s a Christian owned business, they might connect with other Christians better.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 I don\u2019t have a scientific reason to support any reason, but there just seems to be a connection with people who share similar beliefs \u2013 a quality that can certainly flow into business.\u00a0 If you\u2019re a Christian owned business who wanted to some radio space, wouldn\u2019t you consider a Christian radio station because of its reach?\u00a0 There\u2019s no doubt that stating your business is Christian owned is a marketing tool that might attract Christians to support you.\u00a0 Is that wrong? <\/strong>Not in my opinion, but I do think that it makes for high expectations.<\/p>\n

2. Expectations<\/strong> \u2013 When I hear a business claim to be Christian owned, I automatically formulate higher expectations for the business.\u00a0 This might be the owner\u2019s goal \u2013 to let the customers know that the service they will receive will be of the highest quality.\u00a0 It\u2019s reasonable to assume that a Christian business would follow the golden rule: Do unto others as you would have them do to you<\/em>, and there\u2019s nothing wrong with that.\u00a0 There can, however, be problems if the business doesn\u2019t live up to these higher expectations.\u00a0 I would even go so far as to say that an unresolved issue might even affect a person\u2019s view on the religious affiliation the business claims to have.<\/p>\n

Does it matter what \u2018kind\u2019 of business you are?<\/h2>\n

There are plenty of Christian owned businesses that don\u2019t broadcast their religious preferences.\u00a0 I would venture to say that most people don\u2019t think twice about a business owner\u2019s religious ties before making a purchase.\u00a0 Whether you are a Christian owned business or not, I would expect customer service and quality to held at high standards.\u00a0 For those businesses that choose to use the label Christian owned, I would caution them to strive for even higher service because they\u2019re representing more than their business, they\u2019re a representation of Jesus Christ.\u00a0 And though that\u2019s true of our individual lives as Christians, I think it\u2019s just as important to realize that before you run with the phrase \u201cChristian business.\u201d<\/p>\n

What are your thoughts?\u00a0 Do you ever support businesses because they are Christian owned?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I was listening to the radio yesterday and heard an advertisement for a local business that was \u2018Christian owned.\u2019\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t the first time that I had heard the commercial, but this time it made me think about something.\u00a0 Should Christians always try to support Christian owned businesses?\u00a0 Does a Christian business automatically trump other […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2551,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-695","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business-corner"],"yoast_head":"\nPerspective on a Christian Business<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I was listening to the radio yesterday and heard an advertisement for a local business that was \u2018Christian owned.\u2019\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t the first time that I had\" \/>\n<meta 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