Entrepreneurial Steward: Re-Examining Paul’s Missionary Work as a Steward Through the Lens of Entrepreneurial Scholarship

This study examines Apostle Paul’s missionary work through the lens of modern behavioral and organizational scholarship. Paul was highly intentional in both his words and actions. What would we learn if we used the conceptual frameworks from the social sciences to analyze his actions and decisions? In this study, we use entrepreneurial and identity theories to re-examine Paul’s life. Paul was an extraordinary entrepreneur who possessed all the core features of an entrepreneur, but with a distinct motivation and mindset grounded in his stewardship identity. We introduce the term “entrepreneurial steward” to characterize his unique identity, which combines the two paradoxical qualities of entrepreneurship and stewardship.