Amidst the songs and sermons and outreach and discipleship that goes on in today’s churches, there is an elephant in the sanctuary – a silent, unspoken force.It’s the workplace.
Secular work is rarely discussed from the pulpit, despite the fact that the vast majority of Christians spend most of their time at the workplace. We have sermons, seminars, Bible studies and workgroups that support Finances, Family, Spiritual gifts and even sex are given full measures of support.
But it’s a rare sermon about how to do our work ‘as unto the Lord.” It’s a forgotten 12-week Bible Study on how to function as a believer in the workplace. It’s a nonexistent commissioning of a person to ‘go out the world’ of a new secular job or profession.
What is your suggestion on how to bring this creature out into the open? How can we make this taboo subject an integral part of modern ministry?
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2 Comments so far, click here to add your own:
A part of the answer - even if it is a small part - is in posts like this. One part motivational, one part reminder, the whole geared towards what we need to hear and pass on.
While I don't despair of it happening anytime soon, our programmed to a fare-thee-well sermon series model (I can't speak for y'all's local congregations, but ours fits that description) probably won't have room on the schedule until after Easter... sad.
Well, my church doesn't fit the norm. Our pastor always has something in the sermons that addresses issues in our workplace. We have an entire ministry dedicated to the marketplace and we have conferences annually, meetings monthly, and an ezine that goes out monthly with a paid staff that keeps that ministry alive and strong.
But for decades the churches I was joined to fit what your post describes. Being in church leadership for many years I have observed the manner we educate and prepare pastors to head the churches removes them from "real" life: college, seminary, and isolated to church meetings.
If I ran the universe (may we all chuckle now)...anyway in my perfect world all pastors would be required to have work experience before they could preach to working parishioners. Also the New Testament model shows "real" people sharing the great things God was doing in their lives. Testimonies rarely occur in church services any more. Everything is so "professional" and scripted and programmed that the headship doesn't seem to think plain folk fit in.
Bottomline: Your great blog, books, speaking out, and praying with a heart for God to move on the power brokers in seminaries, denomination headships and in the hearts of those who can bring changes that line up with God's design.
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