Timothy. Silas. Tertius. Lucius. Jason. Sosipater. Tychicus. Epaphras. Luke. Erastus. Onesimus. Epaphroditus. Mark. Trophimus. Linus. Eubulus. Pudens. Just a few of the men mentioned who worked with Paul. These men were Paul's companions. They were his students and he was their mentor. Paul knew that the success of the Gospel of Christ impacting the marketplace was going to happen by equipping others to do the work. In John C Maxwell's book, "Developing the Leader Within You" pg 180, he writes... A great leader develops a team of people who increase production. The result? The leader's influence and effectiveness begin to multiply (working through others) instead of adding (working by oneself). A mentor trains, equips and then sends out. Train. One of the greatest learning tools of learning is observing others. In the Jewish culture of the New Testament, a disciple of a rabbi would spend nearly 24/7 with his teacher. Listening. Observing. Taking in all of his surr...

Take a minute and write down one word character qualities of a leader. As we look at Paul's ministry in the marketplace, he loved what he did. He went on three mission trips and his trip to Rome, which lasted years at times. He was stoned, put into prison, beaten, rejected, yet he continued on! We see him talking to people in the marketplace, dialogue with others with confidence in his faith. We see him as a man with a vision and passion to share this hope that he received through Christ. He planted churches and trained others to lead them. His leadership qualities help spread the Gospel through out the Roman Empire. Why was Paul successful? He took what he knew and applied it to the church. What do I mean...remember in "Paul the Business Owner", the tradition of the Jewish culture was to learn the Scriptures through a Rabbi. Once their education was over around 12-13 years of age, they learned a trade from their father. That meant being with him and learning the b...

It is possible to fail in many ways...while to succeed is possible only in one way. - Aristotle Ahhhhh, philosophy. Do remember sitting in class with a glaze look as the professor taught the process of reason? Usually when anyone hears this word its an automatic turn off. It makes us think! Sometimes that hurts! Yet this one word has shaped mankind's thinking and ideas for centuries! The word means... the rational investigation of the truths and principles of being, knowledge, or conduct. Whenever I begin my apologetics class with my seniors, this is one area that I begin with. It lays down the foundation and challenges my students to be thinkers in this age of information. We have heard all our lives that God exist...yet what makes us so sure? We have grown up believing the Bible to be God's Word to man...yet how can we be confident in such a statement? What is my purpose in life? Why do I exist? Questions that have plagued mankind throughout time! So lets take a look at philo...

In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly. -Paul (Romans 12:6-8, NLT) So many times we may think in order to be in ministry or have an impact on a persons life we have to be behind a pulpit. Not so. A pastor serves as an integral part in equipping and training the church to be effective in their culture. Yet it is you who has the opportunity to take the message of hope through Christ, to the masses! To understand Paul's position as a business owner, we have to take a step back into time and understand the tradition. Paul grew up in Tarsus, ...

"Early Christians made the marketplace the focal point of their ministry because their occupations regularly took them there" -Ed Silvoso (Anointed for Business,2002) To understand the marketplace of our time is to take a step back in time into Paul's culture. Paul spent allot of time in the marketplace. Whether it was setting up shop or discussing philosophy, it seems Paul was comfortable in the marketplace. And he entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. But when some became stubborn and continued in unbelief, speaking evil of the Way before the congregation, he withdrew from them and took the disciples with him, reasoning daily in the hall of Tyrannus. This continued for two years, so that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks. Acts 19:8-10 (ESV) The marketplace was the center for political, commercial and social life. It was the place where shopping took...

Now I know that I had said we would take a look at the Marketplace this week, yet throughout the week I could not get Paul the student out of my mind, so we are going to start with that. Next week we will look at Paul and the Marketplace. I believe there is a reason, which will tie in greatly with next weeks lesson! ...though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. -Paul (Philippians 3:4-6, ESV) To understand how Paul impacted the marketplace we need to begin at the beginning. Paul was effective in his culture, not only because he had encountered Christ on the road to Damascus to persecute Christians (Acts 9), but that he was a student first. His understanding of Scripture (Old Test...

For the next couple of weeks we will be looking at Paul. There is so much we can learn from Paul when it comes to impacting our surroundings. Paul understood that people would not come to the hope of Christ in a building...it was going out into the community. The place where people did business, talked politics and philosophy. Paul knew his mission... For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers. But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I di...