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As chaplain at Conrad Grebel College in Waterloo, Ont., Fast works closely with Mennonite students. He is also a consultant on family business, president of the board of the Ontario Mennonite Credit Union and a member of the board of Mennonite Economic Development Associates.
With a foot in both worlds, he has "some concerns about the future of business relationships in the Mennonite church."
Writing in the March/April issue of MEDA's magazine, The Marketplace, Fast says current research points to dramatic changes on the business scene. "First, over the next three years an estimated 40 percent of our population will become self-employed. Second, 70 percent of college students in the US and 55 percent in Canada see themselves as going into business for themselves when they graduate. In other words, business will be a growing sector in the church--that is, if these emerging businesspeople choose to stay."
What will make them feel unwelcome are "hurtful generalizations" that they are greedy, uncaring and dishonest.
Because of the critical attitudes they face, many Mennonite businesspeople do not regard the church as "a safe place to talk about what's happening in their life and in their souls. That's a pastoral issue we need to face," writes Fast.
"This means that we as a church need to rehabilitate a sense of calling for those among us who choose to go this route, unless we want to lose them entirely. We need to recognize this as a valid calling, acceptable to God, and honoured and respected in our church. At the same time, in business and in other callings, we need to hold each other accountable for the ways we engage in economic activity."
MEDA release
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