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Search Ministries Gives Seekers in the Business World a Safe Haven to Ask the Important Questions by Michael Patrick Leahy  Larry Moody, pictured here with his wife, founded Search Ministries in 1977 For Christians, the challenge is how to conduct their business life in a manner that is consistent with God's word. For non-Christians, the question often is even more fundamental: What does this all mean ? Why am I working so hard ? What's the purpose of all this activity ? My former teacher in college, Laura Nash, has done a good job looking at the question of how Christians should conduct themselves professionally in her book Church on Sunday, Work on Monday. But what about the non-Christian, or the Christian who just can't find inspiration in the same old, same old of every day business and church life ? As I pondered that question, with the help of my business school classmate Reid Rutherford, I stumbled across an organization that keeps a low profile but has over three decades of experience helping people in the business world make sense of those most fundamental questions. Reid introduced me to Skip Vacarello, a Silicon Valley veteran, and a volunteer member of the Search Ministries Staff in the San Francisco Bay Area. Skip is no shrinking violet in the business world. He was the first employee of Visicorp back in the early 1980's. For those readers who are not technologically long in the tooth, Visicorp was the company that published the very first spreadsheet software program for personal computers, VisiCalc. Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Computer, is said to have stated that it was the functionality of Visicalc on the Apple II that made Apple Computer into a real and successful company. The Visicorp tale, however, is a bittersweet one, as is often the case in Silicon Valley. The founders made some mistakes, a window of opportunity vanished, and before you knew it, Lotus introduced 1-2-3, and Visicalc was no longer relevant. (1-2-3 itself also later succumbed to Microsoft's Excel). In talking to Skip, I learned about Search Ministries. Thirty years into the ministry, it has 45 staff members and associates spread throughout 30 states. The organization is really about helping people find and grow their faith, and doing it in very low key but practical ways. The organization's web site describes the mission well: Search Ministries was created to help men and women who are searching for meaningful answers to life's tough questions. We like to create non-threatening environments where all kinds of religious beliefs and perspectives can be shared and explored openly. As part of the process, we throw a biblical perspective into the discussion as one of the options to be discussed. When he walked the earth 2000 years ago, Jesus invited the people around him to thoroughly investigate his teachings and claims. We wish to extend the same invitation and opportunity to you today. Whether that is through an Open Forum environment, where large groups of people can discuss spiritual questions; or in the setting of a smaller groups with a more structure; or even one on one, over lunch, we want to help you find honest answers to tough questions Five years into the ministry, Larry Moody, working with a co-author, decided to put his thoughts on what he had found helpful in guiding others in their search for meaning. The result was the book I'm Glad You Asked, a classic that is still in print. I'm Glad You Asked: This is Search’s original resource, written to provide believers and seekers alike with answers to the tough questions most people ask about Christianity - questions such as: How can there be a good God with all the suffering in the world?; or, Isn’t religion just another psychological crutch? The text guides you logically through these questions with helpful flow charts and practical illustrations. It shows how each objection is really an opportunity for meaningful communication and dialogue. Each local office is self supporting. Bill Howard, who runs the Nashville office, describes each local office as dealing with Christian communities that are unique. Nashville is different from Seattle is different from Balitmore. Local offices adjust their approaches to the local community. In Dallas, for instance, "open forums" tend to be successful. In Nashvile, in contrast, one on one approaches and networking is more successful. Bill describes his ministry in this way: One of the most common questions asked around here is, "So what is it exactly that you guys do?" The answer is really pretty simple: we help people who are searching for meaningful answers to life's toughest questions find them. These questions include, "Where did I come from?", "Why am I here?", "How am I supposed to live?", and "Where am I going when it's over?" to mention a few. The key for Bill in Nashville, Skip in Silicon Valley, and Larry in Baltimore is creating those safe environments where people can ask those important questions. It's not about creating a therapy group, or a psychological counseling service. It's about letting people really discuss those questions of meaning that have been hanging around in their mind for years. It's for that successful business executive whose internal life might be ready to fall apart at any moment, like the protaganist of the new AMC television series Mad Men. Set in the late 1950's in Madison Avenue's tough advertising world, Mad Men portrays lives focused on achievement but lacking in meaning. To all the world, Don Draper has it all. A brilliant ad executive with a financially rewarding job, a beautiful wife, a nice house, and two kids, Draper's own world is filled with signs of his own amorality. He has multiple affairs, misses his kid's birthday parties, and drinks too much. Why, he wonders, is he not happy ? He is searching for meaning, and he can find it nowhere. Search Ministries is designed for the Don Drapers of the world, and any of the rest of us who simply want to talk about what it all means, and what God's role might be in all that. Past issues - Print edition - Media Kit - About Christian Faith and Reason ©2007 Christian Faith and Reason
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