“Faithpreneurs”

 

                As someone who often speaks in public, I have been guilty of combining two words to create a new one. One time I could not decide between the words “dramatically” and “drastically”, so it came out “dramastically”.  That was over 20 years ago, and my wife still remembers the time I created my own word.  In doing some research on this passage, I came across another example of someone trying to take two words to create a new one.  The word is “Faithpreneur”, and it was used to refer to someone who was a “faith-based entrepreneur who runs their business models with their belief in God as their primary priority.  The example of someone who was a “faithpreneur” was Lydia in Acts 16.  The Bible said that she supported herself by selling purple (which was really clothing dyed purple).  Lydia was also a woman who was very much involved in her faith.  She is said to be a woman who prayed (Acts 16.13). She was a woman who consistently went to worship (Acts 16.14).  She had an open heart to hear Paul’s message of the Gospel (Acts 16.14). Finally, when she did become a Christian, she put her faith into practice by serving, (Acts 16.15) by opening her home to Paul and Barnabas.  Now, I know it sounds cool to hear the word “faithpreneur”, but there is another word that could be used that fits Lydia’s example perfectly.  This word is used to describe a person who doesn’t allow the world to shape who they are, but rather attempts to shape the world to fit their example.  Plus, this word already exists so there is no reason to have to create a new one.  What is that word, you may ask?  The perfect word to describe someone like Lydia is …Christian!