'God With You at Work' Author on Movement to 'Bring Heaven to Earth' in the Business World
Mason's passion to see the transformation of cities was born, in part, out of the reason for why he came to the United States in the first place.
As a business consultant who has a degree in agricultural science and extensive experience managing farms and other businesses in New Zealand, Mason often felt a particular urge as a Christian to bridge the practical and the spiritual. The sacred-secular divide some believers make about faith and work, in his view, ought not even exist.
In 2008, while still in in New Zealand and in many respects successful in his work and serving his church, Mason had a nagging sense that significant changes were coming but did not know what. When exploring the possibility of changing roles professionally or in ministry did not result in anything substantially different he surrendered the matter.
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Not long after that, however, in three separate prayer times God spoke to him about leaving everything behind and moving to another country.
He would soon find himself making the long flight across the Pacific Ocean with his family in tow, headed to Redding where he enrolled in Bethel School of Ministry.
While there, God healed up many of the metaphorical cracks in his spiritual foundation about what it means to be and live as a child of God. Over the months of school the Lord stripped away mentalities rooted in the idea that his identity was based on his ability to perform, a mindset with which business people are well-acquainted.
Out of that revelation of his sonship and how supernatural activity flows from understanding who he is in Christ, he started to ask himself several questions. What would it look like, he wondered, to see the Kingdom of God invade the business realm? And how could he personally co-labor with God in the restoration of His creation?
If nothing is impossible with God, if one's dreams do not require Him to show up, Mason believes they are probably too small. And for the big dreams, Mason has required a bold faith for God's physical blessing to break through. But, he emphasized, that kind of faith is not to be confused with what is often derisively referred to as "prosperity teaching."
"I believe in a prosperity gospel as much as I believe in a poverty gospel. Both of them are wrong," Mason said.
"The poverty gospel is stupid, because how can you help anybody with no resources. And with respect to the prosperity teaching, my understanding of it is that it's way out of context, it's about me, my confidence, security and well-being.
"When you become a follower of Christ you lay down your life and you serve Him, and anytime I walk away from that I walk away from the heart of the Gospel. The Cross is central, my life is no longer my own," he said.
And again, he asserted, there is more because the heart of the Gospel is about Good News, Earth, and peace to all mankind.
"So anywhere there's conflict, anywhere there's adversity, anywhere there's lack, anywhere there's difficulty and challenge, that is Christ engaged bringing solutions," Mason said. "And you can't bring about solutions without great resources. So the greater the connection with the heart of God for the challenges and problems of the planet the more resources you will need to do something about it."
For more on Andy Mason and his book, God With You At Work, click here.
