lifestyle

Just a Glass of Water

/ Phill

http://globalopps.org/tmbriefs/feet.png

Neetu was wandering through the break room looking troubled.

The boss approached and asked what was wrong.
”Nothing. I am thirsty and looking for a glass for some water, but they are all dirty” she replied. She left empty-handed. In India, a professional worker would rather go thirsty than lower herself to do the work of a lower level cleaning person.

After she left the boss washed the dishes in the break room and then got himself a glass of water. He got a second glass for Neetu and took it to her desk.

“What is this?”

“Weren’t you looking for a glass of water?,” he said.

“You shouldn’t do this,” she replied.

“Why not, it’s just a glass of water, and I knew you were thirsty.

The incident seemed to end there…

Days later, in a staff meeting she began weeping unexplainably. Concerned co-workers asked what the problem was.  “I get it!” she exclaimed. I understand the statue at the entrance to the office. The one of Jesus washing the disciple’s feet.  Neetu had known the story of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet, but she did not understand the power of the message until she experienced the reality of it herself in a tangible way.

In this Kingdom Company the Christian management determined to exemplify biblical principles in the way they ran the company. Core values were based on Bible truths – honesty, servanthood, stewardship, and community. To build the concepts into the company culture they regularly use Bible stories to illustrate the application of these values in the workplace. Artwork in the offices reinforced the teaching. A statuette similar to the one pictured above sat on the director’s desk. 

As events like this are observed and repeated a different business culture is being forged, and God breaks through to those who are touched.

For Reflection

Mark 9.41 I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward.

Col 3.17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Ministry On and Off the Clock

/ Phill

http://globalopps.org/tmbriefs/phone.png

It’s 10:30 pm when the phone rings. The voice on the other end sounds frightened.

It’s Lindsay, the new neighbor, who moved in recently. We stopped by to introduce ourselves two months ago as the family was moving in and exchanged phone numbers. We have not had contact since. What’s going on? Lindsay explains she is home alone with her two pre-school children and she is scared. Her husband has not returned from work yet.

There are noises outside the house. It sounds like someone is trying to break in. “Could someone drive by the house and see if there is anyone outside?”

My wife and I come right over. We don’t see anyone outside the house. We call to tell her we are coming to the door so she will not panic. My wife goes in to reassure her while I walk around the house.

The intruder has gone. He left a tell-tale mess of spilled garbage. I’m not sure if it was a raccoon or a panther but there was no danger. Lindsay sighed in relief.

Fast forward to Sunday. I am reading the church bulletin. Inside I find a list of ministry needs and opportunities – Teach Sunday School, Lead Bible study, Help with VBS, Short term mission trip to Guatemala, etc.

I reflect. These are wonderful ministries. BUT wait! Something doesn’t seem right. Is this all there is to ministry? I get the impression that in order to be ministry, my effort has to be on the church calendar and part of a church program. What about helping a neighbor? Or, helping a student with his studies? Or, making sure my work is done in a God-honoring way? Where does that fit in?

If we only see ministry as something that we can schedule, or program, then we have a very incomplete picture.

The notion that things that happen in the church, or are part of a church program, are ministry and that the rest are not, is false. In part this is a result of the old Greek idea that some activities are sacred and others are secular. This needs to be challenged and corrected.

I believe there is another reason for this misconception. We only need to look at the stories we tell and the heroes we praise in church for the answer. Christians will practice the activities that are recognized and appreciated in the church. When was the last time someone was recognized for helping a neighbor, or conducting his business in a God-honoring way, unless it was part of a formal church program? Instead we have the VBS leaders and the Sunday School teachers recognized from the platform. We have a mission team do a presentation when they return from their trip. These are exciting to report and they should be reported. But if we only tell these kinds of stories we fail to show people that ministry can happen in the everyday pathways of life too.

The Church needs to tell the stories about how God uses everyday activities that come along as teaching moments to share faith in natural everyday settings. In that way she will be showing Christians how to take Christ into every corner of their lives – their homes, their communities and their workplace.

Ministry is a lifestyle choice, not a scheduling choice. It is about the relationships we create. It’s about  bringing God’s blessing to those he puts in our way.

Matt 5.16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

God’s Whole Life Policy

/ Phill

Phill Sandahl

What Is Secular Work?

In the previous article Chris worked in an everyday vocation not connected to the church. Often this is referred to in today’s parlance as a “secular” job because it was not connected to church and did not require any professional religious preparation or qualification.

In spite of that, Chris called the coffee shop where he worked his sacred place. 
How can that be?

Secular-Sacred Divide

In the West we have the practice of classifying all of our activities into two camps – the sacred and the secular. The sacred we reserve for things spiritual and religious, and the rest we relegate to secular or worldly. This false dualism leads to the erroneous idea that things that are “secular” are of little concern to God and of lesser importance. Christianity is narrowed down to a focus on personal salvation and little else.

The broader consequences of this are that the church is separated from its surrounding culture. Sunday worship services and participation in church program activities are elevated to a higher importance. Those who work in these activities are elevated as well in the mind of church-attendees. As a result, little effort is spent by the church teaching its members how to integrate their faith into the activities outside the church. Rather, the focus is on bringing people into the church to be saved. When the church limits her vision with this mindset, she becomes unable to impact the culture as God desires. Scott Allen succinctly argues this issue 
in Beyond the Sacred-Secular Divide.

God’s Calling

God has called his church to take the Kingdom of Heaven (and its values) to the entire culture, teaching them all he has commanded and making disciples. When the church has an undivided view of reality and realizes God’s intention to have Lordship over all of his creation, the physical as well as the spiritual realm, she is freed to complete his redemptive plan.

There are some who only see “secular” work as a means to an end. Either a necessary means to gather financial resources to carry out the work of the church, or for the more visionary, as a means to reach out and evangelize the lost. Both of these objectives are desirable, but fall short of God’s complete plan.

God wants to redeem all of creation. His church needs to engage the culture and restore the values that were lost in the fall. Most of this takes place in the workplace where the majority of the lost are, AND where most of the church people spend the greatest amount of their time as well.

Reflections on Whole Life Integration

Willy Kotiuga has posted a provocative draft “People At Work: Preparing To Be The Whole Church”to be presented at Lausanne 2010 in South Africa later this year. 

He draws on models of workers in the Bible to challenge the church to create a sacred work environment wherever God has placed them. Joseph worked every day in Egypt bringing his God-given values including accountability, responsibility, excellence, teamwork, risk-taking, forgiveness and support to the workplace. While these are desirable from a professional standpoint, they also demonstrate an application of the character of God and the qualities of 
a Kingdom worker. Each of these character qualities, among others, provide opportunities for discipling those in the marketplace in godly living, but also provide opportunities to lead them into a relationship with the Lord. Kotiuga concludes, “There is no sacred-secular divide in promoting these values.” When God’s children work “as unto the Lord” the workplace is sanctified.

Your Work Is Worship

When work is done from this perspective one realizes with Bradley Moore “Your Work Is Worship.” Quoting author and activist Dave Gibbons in the book Our Souls at Work

“The word glory conveys the idea of beauty. So as we do good work that reflects God’s character…we unleash his beauty. People see God. Our work is a way to worship God. It has intrinsic value and can demonstrate God’s character when we do good work. Faith and work are to be seamless. Work is an expression of our life in Christ. Separating the two is like separating “being” from “doing.”  How do you know who you are being without considering what you are doing?”

Responding to the Gibbons quote Bradley says,

“These few sentences sealed the deal for me as far as pulling together the oft-segregated work and spiritual realms into one happy path towards the Kingdom of God. We can not separate who we are from what we are doing. How could anyone lead a double-life like that?”

Conclusion

This article opened with a question, “Why did Chris call his work in the café sacred?” Those who live their whole life for the Lord do not have a secular-sacred divide and present their whole life as a “living sacrifice” to God. With God there are no compartments. God’s policy is 
to live your whole life for him, and all of life is equally important to him and is critical in his plan of redemption.