The Missing Metric

Reclaiming God’s design for work, worship and human flourishing

By Mark and Julie Appleyard

Building God’s kingdom is more than a spiritual goal—it’s a transformative calling aimed at human flourishing in every area of life. Over the past 2,000 years, much progress has been made—including caring for the poor, providing access to education and healthcare for the masses and carrying the good news of Jesus around the world. But there is still much work to be done in the areas of human rights, safety and security, economic quality and enterprise conditions in emerging and frontier markets, for example.

It’s time to rethink how we view the kingdom of God, and our roles within it. For many Christians, the kingdom of God is viewed as something external—a project we contribute to through ministry, service or charity. This perspective creates a divide between the activities we do for God and who we are becoming in God.

The metrics of our success or failure have often focused on “doing” rather than “being,” measurables such as how big our churches have become and how many people attend our outreach events and much less on how we are valuing the image of God in people. On the business front, return on investment and bottom-line profits allow more to be given to philanthropic ventures—and yet this has not moved the needle on human flourishing.

The term “Christian business” tries to bridge this gap but often fails because it suggests merely adding Christian values to a secular system without transforming its core. Biblically, God’s kingdom is not separate from us; it’s within us (see Luke 17:21). His kingdom embodies in us God’s character—His love, creativity and justice—as bearers of His image. This is what it means to be in union with Christ (see John 17:21-23).

Building the kingdom isn’t primarily about what we do but about releasing who we are as God’s image-bearers. As Paul writes, “We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works” (Ephesians 2:10, NKJV). Without reflecting God’s image and recognizing it in the people around us, our efforts remain disjointed, and true human flourishing is out of reach. Trying to build God’s kingdom here on the earth (doing) has become more important than becoming God’s kingdom here on the earth (being).

THE PROBLEM: A FRAGMENTED APPROACH

Working with both church and business leaders around the world for the past decade, we have observed that there are many cultural and church traditions that treat business as secular and suspect. Misinterpretations of verses like 1 Timothy 6:10 (NKJV)—“the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil”—have fueled the idea that business success must necessarily conflict with spiritual integrity.

Even Pope Francis, in his 2013 apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, upholds this idea when he describes the global economy as “unjust at its root,” driven by an “economy of exclusion and inequality.” Views such as these have contributed to the divide between spiritual and professional, which has had real consequences in the business sphere. Traditionally, churches—being suspicious of successful businesses—have sought to control businesspeople into using their wealth to fund properly sanctioned, church-approved missions and projects.

Having been in pastoral ministry for 30-plus years, we can testify to the threat that these strong business minds were to the equilibrium of church life. Wrangling such bullish creativity and forward momentum to fit within the confines of our (then rather limited) imagination was a full-time job that burned up our emotional energy and frustrated the life, love and patience out of the businesspeople we were called to serve.

In an attempt to mitigate this frustration, we (pastors in general) adopted certain business modalities into the running of our church organizations—because we could see that these modalities worked, and we wanted the kingdom to benefit. Now we could point to real, tangible ways in which businesspeople were contributing to the church.

Then we took these modalities, sanctified and Christianized them and taught them back to Christian business leaders so that they too could run their businesses in a more godly way. And the business world received our efforts at bridging the great divide by trying to bring Christian practices into the workplace—morning prayer, devotions and overt declarations of faith and allegiance to Christ became a hallmark of “Christian business.”

But business is still business and church is still church, and now the church is losing its soul because pastors are no longer shepherds. They have had to become CEOs, and “Christian businesses” are struggling to integrate their spirituality and their professionalism into their businesses in an effective way. We begin to see that we have not really solved the problem at all because both sides have deified principles above the image of God in people.

True kingdom business isn’t concerned with “Christianizing” a worldly system with biblical principles. Instead, true kingdom business releases heaven’s values and governance system on the earth through who we are. This begins and ends with hearing and following God’s voice. This inner guidance, like the “still, small voice” of 1 Kings 19:12, aligns us with God’s heart. When we nurture this intimacy, we reflect His image in our lives and work, creating a ripple effect that transforms communities and nations.

The Bible’s description of human flourishing begins in Genesis, where God created humanity in His image to steward creation (see Genesis 1:26-28). Each day of creation, God declared His work “good,” but after creating humans in His image, He called it “very good” (Genesis 1:31). If we were to use the vernacular of today, we might well say, “And God said, ‘There we are!’”

Humanity’s unique role is to be God’s reflection. Jesus Himself was called Emmanuel, God with us. The heart cry of creation itself suggests this: “For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed” (Romans 8:19). The BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) of God isn’t beautiful church buildings with big budgets, celebrity pastors and butts in every seat. The ultimate goal of God is a world where His image is fully expressed through the nations of the earth—Asian, Latino, African, Scandinavian, Baltic, Slavic, European, Islander, Caucasian, Middle Eastern, Indigenous or nomadic—and He declares, “There we are!” (Revelation 21:3).

Jesus’ command to make disciples of all nations isn’t just about individual salvation. That is the irreducible minimum. Rather, it is about transforming societies to reflect God’s image and, by doing so, foster humans being fully alive—human flourishing.

HUMAN FLOURISHING IN PRACTICE

What does this look like in real life? Kingdom impact is often measured by business metrics like profit or productivity (Key Performance Indicators, or KPIs) instead of relational values like honor, respect, dignity and creativity. We call these “Key Relationship Indicators,” or KRIs. How are these different from the widely accepted KPIs of the business world? By way of explanation, allow us to share a testimony given by Gary and Jeanetta Yoder of Stoll Industries, based in Abbeville, South Carolina.

Gary and Jeanetta are third-generation owners and operators of a kingdom family business begun by Jeanetta’s grandfather in the mid 1900s. During the reign of Jeanetta’s father and uncle, there was a particular worker name Frank, who was the shipping manager for their burgeoning metal fabrication company. As with many companies, employees did not always reflect the heart of the companies they were hired to work for, and Frank was no exception.

One day, police arrived to arrest Frank for possession of drugs. Frank was led away in disgrace, and the company was left to fill the hole he had left behind. Jeanetta recalls, “I was probably 13 or 14 years old at the time. My dad had to resort to managing the shipping of all the product himself, until we could find someone to replace Frank. He asked me if I would join him at the warehouse early each morning before school to help him inspect and package the orders.  Some of the sweetest memories I have, working with my dad, came out of that time.” 

So Frank was in jail, facing time for his crimes and feeling pretty low. As the story goes, he was contemplating either making a deal with God or a deal with the devil. He was at the end of himself and wanted a sign from one or the other as to which direction his life would go from here.

Meanwhile, back at work, his fellow employees were figuring out who would go to Frank’s house and make sure his dog was taken care of. One of them called Frank in jail to make sure he knew not to worry about his dog. Once back in his cell, Frank fell to his knees, convinced that God had indeed seen him. This kind of working environment does not happen by accident.

The owners of the business were kingdom-minded and wanted to create a different kind of workplace for their employees—“on earth as it is in heaven,” as we might say. But it does come at a cost. Frank eventually was released from jail, having paid his dues to society, and was welcomed back at work. Knowing that he had a lot to learn, he asked his employers to mentor him—not just professionally, but spiritually.

They began meeting with Frank each morning, and 30 years later, the company still offers a time of Bible reading and prayer each day for any and all team members. And Frank? He is now a chaplain at the prison where he was once incarcerated, walking out the journey of recovery with countless others who find themselves in the same place he was so many years ago. Stoll Industries now has a not-for-profit arm of the company that brings revitalization to the city of Abbeville.

A CALL TO ACTION

In conventional business, firing an underperforming employee is often seen as necessary for the bottom line, even if done with kindness. A kingdom approach, however, seeks to understand the employee’s struggles and helps them thrive, reflecting the value of God’s image in them.

Jeanetta recalls that her father always treated his employees with respect; we might also say that he saw the image of God in every worker. This approach reflects God’s restorative heart and fosters employees’ flourishing, even if it challenges traditional business logic. A true kingdom business leader is more concerned with respecting, honoring and dignifying the creative image of God in others, above traditional business operations, no matter the personal or financial cost.

Human flourishing is the heart of God’s kingdom. For church and business leaders the task is to move beyond division of church and business and embrace union with Christ, thus releasing His love, creativity and justice to the world. By cultivating intimacy with God, reflecting His image and pursuing kingdom impact, we create spaces where people and communities thrive and flourish, revealing His image.

This is the essence of building God’s kingdom: transforming nations as His image is revealed through His people. Let us listen to His voice, honor every person’s dignity and release heaven’s governance on earth. As we do, we fulfill the promise of Revelation 21:3: “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man . . . and they will be his people.” This is the true purpose behind building the kingdom of God: human flourishing, a kingdom where every person has opportunity to fulfill their God-given purpose and reflect God’s glory. A world where heaven points and says, “There we are!”

Mark and Julie Appleyard, Australian-American co-founders of Anothen, are dynamic leaders based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Mark, with 30 years of experience, has spearheaded church plants, revitalized congregations and led an electrical sub-contracting business for 15 years. Julie, a pastor, writer, speaker, birth coach and mentor, brings expertise in relationship dynamics to empower business leaders. Together, they drive Anothen’s two business verticals: Anothen Consulting, a global network spanning 12 states and 20 nations, and Anothen Global Ministries, fostering micro-communities. Parents of three, they inspire kingdom professionals to embrace spiritual leadership, transforming businesses with a heavenly mindset.