Author: Phill

Six Principles for Sharing Your Faith in the Workplace: Or Anywhere Else

/ Phill

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Most Christian want to share their faith but for one reason or another they often don’t. It may be fear of embarrassment, or offending someone; or the sense that the time is not right, or that they lack adequate preparation and don’t know the right methods.

To keep it simple, the best time and place is in the course of everyday activities while you are in the presence of non-believers. One can learn a lot by following the example of the Apostle Paul. Let’s take the account in Acts 17.22-31. Paul is in the Areopagus where the thinkers from Athens all go to hang out and talk. What can be observed about his interaction with them.

1. He was ready. His preparation was not for a specific kind of situation or encounter. Rather he had prepared himself by prayer, prior study of God’s Word, and dependence on the Holy Spirit. He knew what he believed and trusted God to guide him to bring to mind what was needed for the specific situation.

Today that might look like a person who is active in his church and spends time in Bible study, prayer and spiritual development. Ideally, he has a mentor, or discipleship relationship with others in the body of Christ. He does not allow the church program to dominate all of his agenda and balances his time with family and with unsaved from his neighborhood or work.

2. He was positive. Even in the face of hostile doubters he was not hostile towards them. Instead he pointed out their religious interest and commended them for it. This became a bridge to introduce them to the real God.

Find something in the life of a person you are witnessing to that reveals their desire to do good, or a subconscious awareness of void in their life that only God can fill. Talk about it sympathetically with them.

3. He started where they were. Paul accepted the limitations of their knowledge and started from the point of their awareness. They had erected a statue to the unknown god because of their fear of not “covering all the bases” and causing trouble for having omitted one of the gods. They recognized forces and beings outside their control had impact on their lives. So he started from the point of their thinking and took them further.

In today’s world it might not be a statue but it could be videos or pop music that express social failure or despair. It might be the idea that every path leads to God or all gods are the same so it is not important. Perhaps it is signs of violence or loneliness in the neighborhood. Whatever, condition we find people in we need to understand them and start from that point.

4. He showed interest in people. He went and hung out where they were. He listened to them and showed interest in the things that interested them. He obviously, spent time understanding the poets and philosophers who had shaped their thinking.

It is so disheartening when a Christian says, “I couldn’t go there, they do ____ (fill in the blank with your choice of sin) there. Exactly, that is where you find the needy, not in church. A woman in our community spends her time in strip clubs befriending sex workers and listening to the stories of their broken lives. When they realize they are at the end of their rope, they reach out to her and she ministers God’s love to them.

5. He told them the way to reconcile with God, when the time was right. He did not begin by telling them they needed to be reconciled with God. First he had to gain their interest and confidence. When he sensed they were ready to understand the importance of the way of reconciliation then he tells them of God’s plan.

One does not have to wait to be asked before talking about God’s plan of reconciliation, but it should be at a time when their conversation reveals they are aware of a problem. This calls for sensitivity to the leading of the Spirit.

6. He gave the Word, and then he left. He gave them the message and then moved on. He knew that what he had to say was controversial and that most were not convinced. But he chose not to stay and argue (harangue) with them. He planted the seed and then left the Holy Spirit with them to use it in their minds for a while. It’s best to give people some space to “digest” what they have heard and leave them hungry for more, rather than to feel that one is pressuring them to go where they do not want to go. The Holy Spirit will continue working in them, and when the time is right they will come back for more.

Global Opportunities founder, Ruth Siemens, tells many stories of how this works in her article on Fishing Evangelism. Once after misplacing a great sum of money her staff realized her concern. When it was found staff commented on how lucky she was. She quickly replied it was not luck but that she prayed to God and he helped her find it. She did not elaborate at the time and walked away. Later when the staff person was having a problem of their own she approached Ruth and asked how this relationship with God worked and if she would pray for help in her need. The staff person was ready and responsive at that point.

These are simple principles… Be ready…  be friendly…  be intentional…  be interested…  trust in the Holy Spirit… move on. Practice them. It’s not that complicated.

What Can BAMmers Learn from the World’s Most Successful Shoe Salesman?

/ Phill

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Zappos has been insanely successful selling shoes and engendering a loyal following. This online shoe store is the brainchild of Tony Hsieh. No one does it better.

As a result of his success other businesses have invited Tony to come and teach them how he does it. He credits his success in large measure to the culture of service he has created in the company. It starts by getting everyone onboard with the core values of the company and consistently looking for ways to reinforce them.

In the past TM Briefs has written about the importance of carefully selecting and integrating core values into your company. Tony Hsieh’s example with Zappos is worth a look.

Not surprisingly, he does not use religious sounding jargon. In fact, one would not expect him to since it is a secular business. There is no religious motivation. Interestingly, I believe many of the values are consistent with Biblical teaching. (Could that be a factor in their success?).

Let’s take a look at them:

• Be Humble – a good attribute for effective communication.

• Be Passionate and Determined – you have to believe in what you are doing. If you do then you will spare no effort to succeed and make a difference.

• Do More With Less – good stewardship opens the door to more opportunities to do good.

• Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit – getting the “right people” on the “right seats” on the bus produces synergy and generates exceptional results.

• Build Open and Honest Relationships With Communication – there is no substitute for good, honest communication. With staff. With customers. With the community.

• Pursue Growth and Learning – you can’t stand still. If you are not growing you are atrophying.

• Be Adventurous, Creative, and Open-Minded – being adventurous implies taking risks. It also contributes to growth.

• Create Fun and A Little Weirdness – if you can’t enjoy what you are doing, find something else to do.

• Embrace and Drive Change – related to growth and learning. If you are not constantly improving someone else will soon pass you by.

• Deliver WOW Through Service – be exceptional.

TMB is not suggesting that you adopt these core values. You have to develop your own around your business model, your personality and the mission God has given you. The point is choosing good core values, building them into the business and consistently applying them produces good results.

What values are you incorporating in your company? Are they Biblical?

God Wired You for the Way He Wants to Use You

/ Phill

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The phone rang in the Global Opportunities office. The call was from a successful banker in mid-career wondering what God was saying to him. He sensed God was calling him to get involved in overseas ministry and was seeking counsel. He was feeling frustrated and confused.

As we talked he explained he was selling the regional bank he founded and was in transition. Obviously, he was good at what he did, this was the second time he started with nothing and made it into a business others wanted to buy from him. He was “wired” to be a good banker. He enjoyed it and he was good at it.

He had sought counsel from his pastor and came away troubled. The pastor’s advice was to put his life on hold, go back to seminary, and then look for a mission agency who would accept him, then after raising support send him to one of their fields. But, what do I do about my family, and my mortgage and other financial commitments in the meantime he asked. He also wondered, “What if I am not cut out to be a seminary student. Will this all have been for naught? There were not a lot of good answers to his questions.

As we talked about how God had gifted him and that God could use those gifts and might not be asking him to “re-tool” and become something he was not made to be I could hear a change in his voice and a rush of relief. “So I am not crazy after all,” he said.

We continued exploring alternative paths to ministering with impact, overseas, taking advantage of the special skills, passions and gifting that God had placed in him. We talked about tentmaking and having a unique opportunity to go where traditional religious workers could not go.

How I wish now I had been able to point him to a meditation by Os Hillman I recently found. The reflection comes from Exodus 31: 1-5

Then the LORD said to Moses, “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts– to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of craftsmanship.

Hillman advises, “Friend, your interest in your vocation is not born of your own making. So many business people and even pastors have made the mistake of encouraging us who have a deep desire to walk with Christ in the work place to pursue vocational ministry. To remove us from the marketplace where the greatest harvest is yet to occur would be to remove us from where God called us.

“Do not take this bait. Serve the Lord in the marketplace where he has gifted you and called you.” 

You will find the entire meditation at Surf in the Spirit 
I encourage you to take a moment to jump over there and read the full text and reflect on it.

Engaging the Culture: 8 Simple Ways

/ Phill

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Charles Arn in “The Silver Bullet for Disciple Making” makes some challenging observations based on his research.

“The most effective evangelism—by far—occurs through meaningful relationships between Christians and non-Christians.”

“…we must be close enough to unbelievers for Christ to be observed and experienced through us.”

“One reason that 85+% of today’s churches are not growing is that the social networks of people in these churches are almost entirely within the church.”

The key is getting Christians and non-Christians together. These principles apply even more so to the tentmakers working overseas. They have the additional complication that they have to cross cultural and ethnic barriers as well. At first glance this task may appear daunting.

Simple habits, practiced well can have a big impact. The key to being an effective tentmaker is to build relationships with the people of the country where you go to serve. Being intentional in developing those relationships does not have to be complicated or difficult. Here are 8 practical everyday actions you can take to effectively engage the culture around you. These have been adapted from an article written to the North American church. In most cases they can be applied to any culture, anywhere in the world.

1. Start conversations. Just talk to the people you come in contact with while going through life. These could be neighbors, co-workers, or even total strangers you come across in the course of daily activities like shopping or sight-seeing.

2. Hang out with people who enjoy the same things you do. Find non-believers who enjoy doing the same things you do – or who can teach you something you would like to learn to do. Find ways to hang out with them and enjoy them while exposing them to “Christ in you.” One caveat to the tentmaker. Find your new friends among the nationals you came to serve with, not the ex-patriot community. It is all too easy to fall into the trap of spending all your time isolated from the nationals around you and live in the “ex-pat bubble.”

3. Volunteer somewhere. Be of service to your newfound community and show them you want to help and be a part of them. Just do it.

4. Tell stories. Everyone likes to hear a good story. Tell people about your life, or stories that illustrate important truths, even Bible stories. Learn to do it well.

5. Get to know your community. Ask questions. People are pleased when you express an interest in them and the history and values of their culture. Besides giving you a reason to talk with them you will find that you learn a lot and will gain valuable insights into understanding and relating to them better.

6. Invite others to join you. Don’t go alone. Ask someone to join you in your activity.

7. Pray with others. When you become aware of challenges non-Christian associates are facing, ask if you can pray for them. Pray with them on the spot, if possible. Prayer with them is key.Then follow up and ask them later how God answered your prayer.

8. Address physical and spiritual needs around you. Be aware of the needs around you and begin to make a difference. If you don’t know of any needs, go back to point #1. Ask those around you. You will be surprised at what you hear. Stay focused and work on one need at a time.

Make these practices part of your daily habits and you will find many opportunities to engage the culture around you. Be diligent in doing these until they become habits. It’s not difficult. You just need to start. Just DO it!