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Taking care of business
1. Taking care of business
2. P asters and the flock
The word "
pastor" means, literally, a "
shepherd".
Being a pastor of the flock of sheep has been described as trying to lead a "
herd of cats".
How can a pastor get a "
herd of cats" into a meaningful Bible study?
3. Cat Bible study
A "
perfect" solution to the cat Bible study, meaningful to the cats if not the pastor.
The group is growing.
Was it a cat I saw? (palindrome)
4. Ancient Greek palindrome
An ancient Greek palindrome, from the 4th century, is the following. Ancient Greek was all uppercase and did not have spaces.
Greek: ΝΙΨΟΝ ΑΝΟΜΗΜΑΤΑ ΜΗ ΜΟΝΑΝ ΟΨΙΝ
Greek: νιψον ανομηματα μη μοναν οψιν
English: Wash your sins, not only your face.
The most famous place for this acronym is in the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople which features two peacocks. The work is attributed to
Gregory of Nazianzus (329-390) also called Gregory the Theologian. More precisely, the "
Trinitarian Theologian".
5. Ancient Greek mirror ambigram
 |
The original palindrome in the Hagia Sophia is also a "mirror ambigram" (try reflecting on that) in that the uppercase letters in Greek are symmetrical (vertical axis), except "N" which is reversed on the right half.
|
6. Both love your God and love your neighbor needed
Jesus clearly states the two laws on which the law and the prophets hang in Mark 12:30-31 (and elsewhere).
Law/Pearl 1: Love God (and the rules of God).
Law/Pearl 2: Love your neighbor as yourself.
The religious establishment at the time of Jesus emphasized law 1, "Love your God", but ignored law 2, "Love your neighbor as yourself" rule. This is, literally, "against the law" (of God).
According to Jesus, both rules are needed. What happens if the religious establishment ignores "Love your God" and emphasizes only "Love your neighbor" and often leaves out "as yourself"? This is, literally, "against the law" (of God)
7. Gospels - love neighbor as yourself
Matthew 19:19 Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. [kjv]
τιμα τον πατερα και την μητερα και αγαπησεις τον πλησιον σου ως σεαυτον [gnt]
22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. [kjv]
δευτερα ομοια αυτη αγαπησεις τον πλησιον σου ως σεαυτον [gnt]
Mark 12:31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. [kjv]
δευτερα αυτη αγαπησεις τον πλησιον σου ως σεαυτον μειζων τουτων αλλη εντολη ουκ εστιν [gnt]
Luke 10:27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. [kjv]
ο δε αποκριθεις ειπεν αγαπησεις κυριον τον θεον σου εξ ολης καρδιας σου και εν ολητη ψυχη σου και εν ολητη ισχυι σου και εν ολητη διανοια σου και τον πλησιον σου ως σεαυτον [gnt]
8. Paul and James and OT - love neighbor as yourself
Romans 13:9 For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. [kjv]
το γαρ ου μοιχευσεις ου φονευσεις ου κλεψεις ουκ επιθυμησεις και ει τις ετερα εντολη εν τω λογω τουτω ανακεφαλαιουται εν τω αγαπησεις τον πλησιον σου ως σεαυτον [gnt]
Galatians 5:14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. [kjv]
ο γαρ πας νομος εν ενι λογω πεπληρωται εν τω αγαπησεις τον πλησιον σου ως σεαυτον [gnt]
James 2:8 If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: [kjv]
ει μεντοι νομον τελειτε βασιλικον κατα την γραφην αγαπησεις τον πλησιον σου ως σεαυτον καλως ποιειτε [gnt]
Leviticus 19:18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD. [kjv]
και ουκ εκδικαται σου η χειρ και ου μηνιεις τοις υιοις του λαου σου και αγαπησεις τον πλησιον σου ως σεαυτον εγω ειμι κυριος [lxx]
9. John
10. Matthew and Revelation
Matthew 6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. [kjv]
ελθατω η βασιλεια σου γενηθητω το θελημα σου ως εν ουρανω και επι γης [gnt]
In the "
Lord's Prayer", Jesus asks for God's kingdom to come. Jesus then prays that the
will of God from heaven will come to earth. This appears to be part of Jesus coming
again.
old heaven and old earth (first coming as Messiah)
new heaven and new earth (second coming as King)
Is it a valid purpose for the church to decide to bring God's kingdom to earth?
The trouble with kingdoms of heaven on earth is that they're liable to come to pass, and then their fraudulence is apparent for all to see. We need a kingdom of heaven in Heaven, if only because it can't be realized. Malcolm Muggeridge (British broadcaster)
11. Matthew 6:10
KJV: Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Greek: ελθετω ελθατω η βασιλεια σου γενηθητω το θελημα σου ως εν ουρανω και επι της γης
12. New heaven and new earth
Revelation 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. [kjv]
και ειδον ουρανον καινον και γην καινην ο γαρ πρωτος ουρανος και η πρωτη γη απηλθαν και η θαλασσα ουκ εστιν ετι [gnt]
Matthew 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. [kjv]
24:31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. [kjv]
24:36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. [kjv]
13. Revelation 21:1
KJV: And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
Greek: και ειδον ουρανον καινον και γην καινην ο γαρ πρωτος ουρανος και η πρωτη γη παρηλθεν απηλθαν και η θαλασσα ουκ εστιν ετι
14. Matthew 24:14
KJV: And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
Greek: και κηρυχθησεται τουτο το ευαγγελιον της βασιλειας εν ολη τη οικουμενη εις μαρτυριον πασιν τοις εθνεσιν και τοτε ηξει το τελος
15. Matthew 24:31
KJV: And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Greek: και αποστελει τους αγγελους αυτου μετα σαλπιγγος φωνης μεγαλης και επισυναξουσιν τους εκλεκτους αυτου εκ των τεσσαρων ανεμων απ ακρων ουρανων εως των ακρων αυτων
16. Matthew 24:36
KJV: But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
Greek: περι δε της ημερας εκεινης και της ωρας ουδεις οιδεν ουδε οι αγγελοι των ουρανων ουδε ο υιος ει μη ο πατηρ μου μονος
17. Matthew 11: Exploring the Kingdom of Heaven
Jesus speaks of
John the Baptist who appears to represent
Elijah.
Matthew 11:10 For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. [kjv]
ουτος εστιν περι ου γεγραπται ιδου εγω αποστελλω τον αγγελον μου προ προσωπου σου ος κατασκευασει την οδον σου εμπροσθεν σου [gnt]
11:12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. [kjv]
απο δε των ημερων ιωαννου του βαπτιστου εως αρτι η βασιλεια των ουρανων βιαζεται και βιασται αρπαζουσιν αυτην [gnt]
The word for
"prepare", not the same as in Malachi, has in it the Greek word used for "
goods" or "
vessels" or "
people" to be "
raptured" in the parable of the strong man. The word for "
take" is the Greek word for "
plunder" or "
snatch" or "
extort" or "
rapture" while the word for "
force" is that of "
compulsion". In context, these verses provide a possible meaning of
"kingdom of heaven".
18. Kingdoms
There are many viewpoints on the "
Kingdom of God" and the "
Kingdom of heaven" or "
Kingdom of the air".
| Gospel |
Kingdom
of heaven |
Kingdom
of God |
| Matthew |
32 |
5 |
| Mark |
0 |
16 |
| Luke |
0 |
32 |
| John |
0 |
2 |
It appears that Jesus uses the noun phrase "
kingdom of heaven" as a
code word. Matthew just wrote down what was said. The others merged these together in their minds before writing what they remembered.
19. Matthew and Luke
1 Jesus teaches people
2 Matthew writes Gospel
3 Luke writes Gospel
Luke records and correctly reports what people remembered as to the meaning of what Jesus said, sometimes using other words. This often loses the additional meanings as recorded in Matthew.
20. Differences
Many of the differences between Matthew and Luke can be explained by the context in which each was written.
Jesus: Jew, spoke Aramaic and Greek.
Matthew: Jew, spoke Aramaic and Greek, eyewitness, took notes.
Luke: Greek, spoke Greek, interviewed eyewitnesses about their memory.
21. Model of the kingdoms and births
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he can not see the kingdom of God. [kjv]
απεκριθη ιησους και ειπεν αυτω αμην αμην λεγω σοι εαν μη τις γεννηθη ανωθεν ου δυναται ιδειν την βασιλειαν του θεου [gnt]
1 Kingdoms 1
2 Kingdoms 2
3 Kingdoms 3
4 Kingdoms 4
5 Kingdoms 5
Four parts: "
earth", "
air", "
fire", "
water".
The "
ask", "
seek", "
knock" sequence is part of the "
flame" and "
sword" progression.
22. Details
Put the Kingdom of God outside of space and time and (since the fall) includes the "tree of life". The creation is inside space and time.
The "flaming sword" both protects and keeps the way open.
The "Kingdom of Earth" is for those "of the world".
The "Kingdom of Heaven" is for those "in the world".
The "flaming sword" is provided by Jesus who "throws" the "sword". The Holy Spirit provides the "flame".
Birth#3 is the regeneration or in-processing into the Kingdom of God.
23. Matthew 13: Fifth kingdom parable: treasure in a field
Matthew 13:44 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. [kjv]
ομοια εστιν η βασιλεια των ουρανων θησαυρω κεκρυμμενω εν τω αγρω ον ευρων ανθρωπος εκρυψεν και απο της χαρας αυτου υπαγει και πωλει οσα εχει και αγοραζει τον αγρον εκεινον [gnt]
The fourth kingdom parable in Matthew 13, just
one verse, has treasure hidden in a field. What is the "
treasure"? Why is the "
treasure" hid
again? When does the "
sell" and "
buy" take place?
In the parables, the "
man" is "
Jesus as God". Is the "
kingdom of heaven" the same as the "
kingdom of God"?
How might these parable relate to John 3:16? Can we, in addition, make reference to the story of Ruth?
24. Matthew 13: Sixth kingdom parable: pearl of great price
Matthew 13:45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: [kjv]
13:46 Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. [kjv]
ευρων δε ενα πολυτιμον μαργαριτην απελθων πεπρακεν παντα οσα ειχεν και ηγορασεν αυτον [gnt]
The name "
Margaret" comes from the ancient Greek word
"μαργαρίτης" ≈ "pearl". The word "
pearl" appears in the
GNT (Greek New Testament) but not in the
LXX (Septuagint), although the
KJV (King James Version) uses "
pearl" in Job.
It is easy to confuse the "
pearl of great price" parable with the "
treasure in a field" parable (one verse earlier). To what or who does the "
pearl of great price" refer?
To understand the "
merchant" and "
selling" and "
buying", it helps to have an understanding of "
business".
The word "
pearls" in Matthew 7:6 appears to be used in a figurative or code-word sense.
25. Taking care of business
Should the
church be run as a
business?
26. Taking care of business
Should the
church be run as a
business?
Is the
customer always
right?
To answer this question, one needs to define the following.
What is a church?
What is the purpose of a church?
What is a business?
What is the purpose of a business?
Definitions are important! A lot of deception happens when the words are assumed the same but the definitions are different - called equivocation as in making unequal things equal.
27. Defining a definition
The ancient Greek word (
rough breathing)
"ὅρος" ≈ "boundary, definition" and is the source of the English word
"horizon".
Aristotle often emphasizes the importance of
"definitions" in identifying bad logic. Of course, Aristotle then defines what he means by a
"definition".
English: A definition is a phrase indicating the essence of something. (Loeb#391, p. 281)
Greek: Ἔστι δ´ ὅρος μὲν λόγος ὁ τὸ τί ἦν εἶναι σημαίνων, [Topica, 101b-102a]
"λόγος" ≈ "rational explanation, word".
"σημαίνω" ≈ "to indicate" and is the source, through French, of the English word "semantics".
The aspirated rough breathing comes through in Latin and into English in the sound of the letter "
h". Aristotle used this word for "
definition" many times. This was only used for a while in the first century BC and discontinued but persists in ancient Greek notations to this day.
28. Prophecy and profits
Matthew 11:13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. [kjv]
παντες γαρ οι προφηται και ο νομος εως ιωαννου επροφητευσαν [gnt]
1 Corinthians 14:6 Now, brethren, if I come unto you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you, except I shall speak to you either by revelation, or by knowledge, or by prophesying, or by doctrine? [kjv]
νυν δε αδελφοι εαν ελθω προς υμας γλωσσαις λαλων τι υμας ωφελησω εαν μη υμιν λαλησω η εν αποκαλυψει η εν γνωσει η εν προφητεια η εν διδαχη [gnt]
Paul continues with "
prophecy" and "
tongues". In English, the word for "
prophet" and "
profit" have the same sound. These words are sometimes used to make puns. The Greek words, however, are different.
Why did the IRS audit the church?
It was a church for a profit and they had false profits.
29. MBA
Let us cover some business ideas as might be covered in an
MBA (Masters of Business Administration) degree (started at Harvard in 1908).
|
Organizational behavior,
Management
Human resource management
Economics
Marketing
Finance
Financial accounting
Managerial accounting
|
Quantitative methods
Information systems
Business statistics (data science)
Data communications
Information security
Internet marketing
Networks, Database, Multimedia systems
Systems analysis and design, Software engineering
Software project management
|
30. Matthew 16: Calling a masterful gathering of outgoing church believers
Matthew 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. [kjv]
καγω δε σοι λεγω οτι συ ει πετρος και επι ταυτη τη πετρα οικοδομησω μου την εκκλησιαν και πυλαι αδου ου κατισχυσουσιν αυτης [gnt]
Most people agree that the church should represent the
"gathering of believers" that are
"called (out) together". The word
"church" comes from
"Lord" or
"Master".
12:8 For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day. [kjv]
κυριος γαρ εστιν του σαββατου ο υιος του ανθρωπου [gnt]
"ἐκκλησία" ≈ "assembly, called-out, church" as in a "group of believers".
"κύριος" ≈ "lord or master".
Discuss: Is your "
church" a
"gathering of believers" or an entity that wants to be
"Lord" or
"Master" of those in the "
church"?
31. Rock and sand
Build your house on the granite
rock of Jesus and not on the human sand (or stones) of man, Matthew 7:24-27. Sand is a chip off the old block of granite and made in the image of granite.
Church of believers built on the rock of Christ .
Church of believers built on the sand of man .
The higher one goes up the human
sand hierarchy or
sand tree, the more the temptation to ignore the foundation of the
rock and to start to "
influence" or "
manipulate" others as "
leaders" for one's own purposes.
To the extent that the Church of believers built on the sand of man helps one do what Jesus wants them to do, it is good. To the extent it does not, it is not good.
Some
birds will make "
stones" (sand on which to build their birdhouse) appear as "
bread". That is, give "
bad" "
gifts" or "
houses" to their "
children".
32. Throwing pearls build
1 Gates
2 Gates with ask
3 Gates with sheep-dog
4 Gates with wolf-dog
5 Gates with thrown pearls
6 Gates with swine
This chart build is to summarize Matthew 7.
The end result of giving what is "
holy", control of the group, to a wolf-dog and having white and then gray "
pearls" cast to "
swine" to be trodden down to become black pearls is to divide the group into "
few" and "
some". Only the "
few" who have otherwise ignored the "
wolf" will find and knock on the gate to life and have it opened.
33. Taking care of business
The 1990 comedy film "
Taking care of business" is named after the song "
Taking care of business" (and working overtime) by Bachman-Turner Overdrive.
This idea "
Taking care of business" is in contrast to "
Taking care of sparrows" or "
God will take care of you".
34. Song: God will take care of you
The song "
God will take care of you" was written in 1904 by Civilla D. Martin (1866-1948). Her husband, W. S. Martin (1862-1925) wrote the music. Because of her health, she remained home most of the time.
In 1905 she wrote "
His eye is on the sparrow". Charles H. Gabriel wrote the music.
Born in Canada, she spent most of her life in Atlanta, GA, as a member of the First Christian Church.
35. Verse 1
Be not dismayed whate’er betide,
God will take care of you;
Beneath his wings of love abide,
God will take care of you.
God will take care of you,
through ev'ry day, o’er all the way;
He will take care of you,
God will take care of you.
36. Show me the money
The phrase "
Show me the money" cames from the film
Jerry Maguire featuring Tom Cruise. The line is spoken by Rod Tidwell (played by Cuba Goodling, Jr.).
In Matthew, Jesus says, "
Show me the money".
Matthew 22:19 Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny. [kjv]
επιδειξατε μοι το νομισμα του κηνσου οι δε προσηνεγκαν αυτω δηναριον [gnt]
The ancient Greek word
"δηνάριον" ≈ "denarius" comes from the Latin word
"denarius" ≈ "coin" and meaning, literally, "
of ten things" from the Latin word
"deni" ≈ "ten each". In Bible times, it was about a days wages.
The modern Greek word
"δηνάριον" (thee-NA-ree-on) ≈ "denarius" is still in use today.
37. Matthew 22:20-21 Render
38. Romans 12:11
Romans 12:11 Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; [kjv]
τη σπουδη μη οκνηροι τω πνευματι ζεοντες τω κυριω δουλευοντες [gnt]
… slow … bisynesse… [wy]
… busynes … tedious … [ty]
The ancient Greek word
"σπεύδω" ≈ "be keen, make haste" in the sense of an
urgent focused priority. The Old English word for
"busy-ness" became the modern word
"business".
The
KJV "slothful" is
"ὄκνος" ≈ "shrinking, hesitation" as in being
"fearful".
Paraphrase:
Make it an urgent and immediate priority not to shy away or be fearful of ... serving the Lord.
Anyone in business knows not to be fearful or shy away from approaching a customer rather than have them walk out of the store without buying anything.
39. Strongs - hesitate
- *G3636 *3 ὀκνηρός (ok-nay-ros') : from G3635; tardy, i.e. indolent; (figuratively) irksome:--grievous, slothful.
- οκνηρε
- Matthew 25:26 ... unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that ...
- οκνηροι
- Romans 12:11 Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;
- οκνηρον
- Philippians 3:1 ... to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe.
40. Usage - hesitate
*G3636 *3 ὀκνηρός (ok-nay-ros') : from G3635; tardy, i.e. indolent; (figuratively) irksome:--grievous, slothful.
 |
Words: οκνηρε οκνηροι οκνηρον
|
The ancient Greek word
"ὄκνος" ≈ "shrinking, hesitation" and is related to the Latin word
"cunctor" ≈ "delay, hold up, hesitate" and to the English word
"hang" as in "
hang back". Think of hard "
k" going to "
kh" and then softening to "
h".
Numbers 22:16 And they came to Balaam, and said to him, Thus saith Balak the son of Zippor, Let nothing, I pray thee, hinder thee from coming unto me: [kjv]
και ηλθον προς βαλααμ και λεγουσιν αυτω ταδε λεγει βαλακ ο του σεπφωρ αξιω σε μη οκνησης ελθειν προς με [lxx]
… cuncteris … [v]
41. Romans 12:11
KJV: Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;
Greek: τη σπουδη μη οκνηροι τω πνευματι ζεοντες τω καιρω κυριω δουλευοντες
Latin: sollicitudine non pigri spiritu ferventes Domino servientes
Wycliffe: not slow in bisynesse, feruent in spirit, seruynge to the Lord,
Tyndale: Let not yt busynes which ye have in honde be tedious to you. Be fervet in ye sprete. Applye youre selves to ye tyme.
Gothic: usdaudein ni latai; ahmin wulandans; fraujin skalkinondans;
Spanish: Diligentes, no perezosos; fervientes en espíritu, sirviendo al Señor.
42. Numbers 22:16
KJV: And they came to Balaam, and said to him, Thus saith Balak the son of Zippor, Let nothing, I pray thee, hinder thee from coming unto me:
Hebrew: ויבאו אל בלעם ויאמרו לו כה אמר בלק בן צפור אל נא תמנע מהלך אלי׃
Greek: και ηλθον προς βαλααμ και λεγουσιν αυτω ταδε λεγει βαλακ ο του σεπφωρ αξιω σε μη οκνησης ελθειν προς με
Latin: qui cum venissent ad Balaam dixerunt sic dicit Balac filius Sepphor ne cuncteris venire ad me
43. Plastic words and merchandise
2 Peter 2:3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not. [kjv]
και εν πλεονεξια πλαστοις λογοις υμας εμπορευσονται οις το κριμα εκπαλαι ουκ αργει και η απωλεια αυτων ου νυσταζει [gnt]
Peter says that these "
false teachers" will use
"plastic" words to make
"merchandise" of their followers as in selling at an
"emporium".
"πλάσσω" ≈ "form, mold, shape" as is the source of the English word "plastic".
"ἔμπορος" ≈ "traveler, merchant" as in one who makes a journey and is the source of the English word "emporium".
In Romans 16, Paul make a play on words between "
useful words", "
subtle sermons" in Latin, and "
Christ words".
44. Merchandise
45. Smalltalk
Alan Kay wanted to make a computer so easy to use, a child could use it. Then maybe adults could use a computer.
Steve Jobs saw what Alan Kay was doing and hired him away from Xerox to create the
Apple MacIntosh computer, introduced in 1984.
Alan Kay (American computer scientist) was the originator of
object-oriented, having developed the Smalltalk system in 1971, since "
Children should program in smalltalk".
class: general idea/blueprint of something (cookie-cutter, Platonic forms)
object: instance of a class (cookie, Aristotle potential and actualization)
I invented the term Object-Oriented, and I can tell you I did not have C++ in mind. Alan Kay (American computer scientist)
46. Business Process Reengineering
Business process reengineering is the fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business processes to achieve dramatic improvements in critical, contemporary measures of performance, such as cost, quality, service, and speed.
Hammer, M., & Champy, J. (1993).
Reengineering the corporation. New York: HarperBusiness., 83.
Michael Hammer (co-founder of business process reengineering) , has a PhD in computer science. He applied
object-oriented methodologies to business problems as the business community had never come up with a model of why they did things the way that they did them. A business got "
lucky", made lots of money, then went out of business. Why?
47. BPR and TQM
BPR (Business Process Reengineering) is a radical change in what you are doing.
By contrast,
TQM (Total Quality Management) uses continuous process improvement to make incremental changes in what you are already doing. This resulted in many
ISO (International Standards Organization) standards such as "
Six Sigma". The main idea of
TQM is to look for the root cause of problems.
Dilbert (paraphrased): If you don't know enough to look for the root cause of a problem, what are the chances that a course will help you do so?
Scot Adams, creator of the
Dilbert cartoon, made the observation that
TQM, as opposed to TBM or "
Totally Bad Management", was making small incremental changes to something you should not be doing. Because that requires
BPR.
48. Business
What is the purpose of
business?
The
goal of "
business" is
not to make
money! In that sense, one should make more money (net income) than one loses (not out-going). However ...
Business advice (not really): If you lose money on each item sold, just make it up on volume sales.
The
goal of "
business" is to
provide value to the "
customer" - whoever those customers are. The customer is willing to contribute for that value.
This applies to business for profit, for non-profit, to political and educational organizations, etc.
BPR = Business Process Reengineering defined business, for the first time, in the 1990's.
BPR provides a way to "
do more with less". One has to re-think how things are done and make the necessary changes.
Provide a real world example of getting more by doing less.
On many diets, one seems to eat/do less (food), but gain/get more (pounds).
49. Customers
A
customer is someone who gets
value from the
business.
For people who have trouble abstracting the idea of a "
customer", the term "
stakeholder" can be used.
How many people use Facebook?
Who are the customers of Facebook?
What value is provided to the customers?
50. Facebook graph
The Facebook graph is a data structure of users and who they know, are friends with, etc. The Facebook graph is huge, with hundreds of millions of nodes (people, groups, organizations, etc.) and billions of edges connecting those nodes.
Facebook collects personal information from users who post their photos, comments, etc.
Facebook sells personal information to organizations who use that information.
Facebook sells marketing advertisements that users who use Facebook see.
Those organizations are the (primary) customers of Facebook.
The personal information of the users of Facebook are the product being monetized.
51. Customers
Who are the
customers for the following? What is the
value provided?
(medical) hospital
(medical) insurance company
educational institution
social work (government) group
church
Three types of work in BPR:
waste work
non-value-adding work
value-adding work
By definition, all management is non-value-adding work (if not waste work).
52. Church
Who are the
customers for a
church? That is, to whom is the church providing value? What type of value is the church providing? Here are possible customers.
☐ Those outside the church in the community, etc.
☐ The members of the congregation and those who attend the church.
☐ Pastors and people employed by the church.
☐ Jesus as God.
Who is the primary customer? What value is provided?
When the division of value is not clear, an objective function is needed.
53. Objective function
To provide value, a business needs an
objective function that can be maximized or minimized.
A simple objective function, such as with linear constraints, has a feasible region for which an optimum value of the objective function needs to be determined.
What might the objective function be for the following?
(medical) hospital
(medical) insurance company
educational institution
social work (government) group
church
What happens if the objective function of the person doing the work does not match the objective function of the institution?
54. Optimization
Not every constraint can be maximized or minimized at the same time.
The idea of "
optimization" means finding a solution that maximizes or minimizes the combined constraints.
It is
not all or nothing for each part, but both are needed.
☐ Value: Love God. Love God's rules. Hate the sin.
☐ Value: Love neighbor
as yourself. Love the sinner.
How well can you succeed if you provide just
one value?
55. Marketing techniques
2 Peter 2:3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not. [kjv]
και εν πλεονεξια πλαστοις λογοις υμας εμπορευσονται οις το κριμα εκπαλαι ουκ αργει και η απωλεια αυτων ου νυσταζει [gnt]
Modern marketing techniques have become the business of many churches. The "
business" becomes more important than the "
church". Messages can be tailored to avoid losing (paying) customers.
"πλάσσω" ≈ "form, mold, shape" as in "plastic".
"ἔμπορος" ≈ "traveler, merchant" as in "emporium".
One business motto is that "
the customer is always right". Is this a good principle?
56. The customer is always right
One business motto is that "
the customer is always right".
Is Jesus the primary customer?
Is Jesus always right?
How do you really know what Jesus wants? That is where knowing the truth and detecting deception are important. And that starts with
definitions.
Discuss:
What changes if the primary customer is "Jesus" and not the pastors nor the congregation? What does the customer really want?
What historical examples exist of the church putting worldly "gain" above the interests of "Jesus"?
If Jesus is to be the primary customer of the church, then what are the objective functions to be maximized or minimized. Provide evidence from the Bible.
57. Human activities and God
Romans 8:31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? [kjv]
Many use this verse as a "
battle cry" or puffed-up-in-pride "
badge of honor". Some pastors (and others) promote this misconception.
Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right. Abraham Lincoln (16th U.S. President)
If God is the primary customer, then the customer is always right.
Man's "righteousness" is "what is right" as in an "opinion" that is the "glory" of man (humanism).
God's "righteousness" is "what is right" as in an "opinion" that is the "glory" of God (theism).
58. Review of taking care of business
Question: Should the
church be run as a
business?
Answer:
Yes. The church is already being run as a business.
Appropriate questions:
Who are the customers?
What is the objective function to be maximized (or minimized)?
What value is being provided to the customers?
More questions:
Is Jesus the primary customer?
Is Jesus always right?
What value does Jesus really desire?
What should the objective function be?
59. Business decisions
1 First decision
2 Second decision
3 True positive: yes-yes
4 True negative: no-no
5 False positive: yes-no
6 False negative: no-no
7 Complete decision tree
60. Business decisions
61. End of page
