Inter-Varsity Press

Contents

Series preface: A time for courage
Foreword
Introduction: My journey to work

1. Curse or blessing?
2. What does God do on Mondays?
3. I hate my job!
4. ‘On yer bike!’
5. Like a candle in the wind
6. When I’m sixty-four
7. With a little help from my friends
8. Milking cows for Jesus?
9. Where do I fit in?

Postscript: Notes from a pastor’s casebook

SERIES PREFACE
A time for courage

Work matters hugely.
Work is the primary activity God created us to pursue – in communion with him and in partnership with others. Indeed, one of work’s main goals is to make God’s world a better place for all God’s creatures to flourish in – to his glory.

Yes, work matters hugely.

And to many people it brings the joys of purpose shared, relationships deepened, talents honed, character shaped, obstacles overcome, products made, people served and money earned – even amid the inevitable frustrations, failures and disagreements of working life in even the best of organizations.

Yes, work matters hugely. And so it matters hugely that for many people, most people actually, work is not only getting harder, longer, less satisfying and more draining, but is stretching its voracious tentacles into almost every area of life, sucking out the zing and whoosh and ease from time with family, friends, hobbies and community activities. UK citizens, for example, work four hours longer per person per week than the citizens of any other EU nation. We live in Slave New World.

How do we follow Jesus faithfully and fruitfully in such conditions?

Is coping – getting through the week – the height of our ambition? Surely not. But do we have good news for the workplace? Not just a truth to proclaim but a way to follow.

Not just a way to follow but life, divine life, to infuse the quality of our work, the quality of our relationships at work, and the quality of our contribution to the culture of the organizations in which we work? In our current context, we need not only biblical insight and divine empowerment, but also courage to make tough decisions about work and life, and courage to make tough decisions at work.

That’s what the Faith and Work series is designed to do: take on the tough issues facing workers and offer material that’s fresh, either because it brings new insights to familiar topics or because the author’s particular background and experience open up enlightening vistas. We’ve also tried to write the books so that there’s something nutritious and tasty, not only for the leisurely diner, but also for the snacker snatching a quick read on a train, or in a break, or, indeed, at the end of a demanding day.

The Lord be with you as you read. And the Lord be with you as you seek to follow him faithfully and courageously in your workplace.

Mark Greene
Series Editor
London Institute for Contemporary Christianity
2008

Volumes include:
Get a Life Paul Valler
Working Models for our Time Mark Greene (commissioned)
Working Without Wilting Jago Wynne (commissioned)

(From the) INTRODUCTION: MY JOURNEY TO WORK

I was once on a plane journey with a man who told me that his wife was a Christian but, although he went to church with her most weeks, he didn’t share her faith – at least not yet.

I asked him what he thought when he attended church on a Sunday. He looked at me quizzically. ‘You really want to know?’ he asked. I told him I did. I have never forgotten his answer: ‘I often sit in church after a hard week at work handling all kinds of pressures and I sit there thinking, “This is completely irrelevant to my life. You simply haven’t got a clue about living in my world.” ’

Ouch.

Mark Greene has a ‘Monday at 11.00’ test. If what people are learning in church on Sunday at 11.00 has little relevance to where they are and what they are doing on Monday at 11.00, then something is seriously wrong.

That was certainly the case with the man I sat next to on the plane.

Mark Greene is the Director of the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity (and Series Editor for this book). He once asked me if I had ever preached on the theology of work. I fluffed around the answer. But he was persistent: he was conducting a research project on the subject. Eventually, he got me thinking.

One day, sitting in my study and trying to plan the next term’s teaching programme, I began some mental doodling. What did ‘workplace theology’ look like? Yes, there were books on the Christian and the workplace, on ethics in business and on 24/7 discipleship. They could give me some clues. But simply to read some books and reproduce the writers’ ideas in sermon form would be cheating. Instead I decided to do what I think is always best when it comes to preaching: start with the Bible and work outwards.

That is when I discovered how much the Bible has to say on the topic of work. To say it was a revelation sounds cheesy. So let’s call it a discovery, or, if you are really spiritual, an epiphany.

I was blown away by how much the best book in the world has to say about work, whether it is paid or unpaid. I got really excited. Not that it was surprising to find Scripture so relevant to this area of our lives, but I had never addressed the question of work so specifically. I wished I could have brought some of what I discovered to my conversation with the man on the plane.

After some reading and note-taking, I found I had so much material that it would be a case of what to leave out. The Bible is packed with wisdom on this subject.

My research resulted in a sermon series entitled ‘God@work.com’, which ran for three months or so. At that point in my ministry, we were based in a city-centre church in Plymouth, which had a large and varied congregation. Running parallel to the series we arranged a prayer initiative, which is outlined later in the book. Following the teaching programme, we also arranged several breakfasts drawing together people in different lines of work with the purpose of providing a forum for meeting and sharing.

As a pastor and preacher, I was encouraged by the feedback I received as members of the church family spoke openly about coming to a new place in relating their faith to their job. I was particularly encouraged by those in the congregation who were not in paid employment, but led busy lives caring for small children or sick relatives. Some spoke of finding a sense of meaning in a role that at times felt meaningless.

I then received a call to an international church in France, very close to the city of Geneva. It was a congregation drawn from up to fifty nations, and many members were expatriates working on short-term contracts before moving to a posting elsewhere. Our turnover of people was enormous and that created some peculiar pressures as well as some unique opportunities.

I had to adapt my teaching on workplace theology in the light of the particular issues, outlined below, that were faced by my new congregation.

• Adapting to a multicultural approach to work where colleagues from other countries held different values.

• The insecurity produced by short-term contracts.

• The upheaval of moving every few years to a new country.

• The constant ‘where do I really belong?’ feeling.

• Family issues where children were born in one culture, grew up in one or more new cultures, and then adapted to what has been called the ‘third culture’ unique to international children.

• The struggle of trying to build relationships with people who move on.

• The stress of being away from family – especially when facing some of life’s big moments.

I came to understand that this world of work looked quite different from the one in the UK and I needed to adapt my teaching and pastoring accordingly.

One of our interns during our time in Geneva was an Italian student named Ester. She had a fruitful ministry among teenagers and her language skills made her an instant hit in our multilingual community.

Out of the blue, Ester was invited to a high-school graduation at an exclusive Swiss school. Much to her excitement (and others’ too), the principal announced a surprise visit from an honoured guest. Michael Douglas took the podium to enthusiastic applause. Perhaps, for once, graduation day was going to prove more fun than watching paint dry.

The immaculately groomed star began by thanking his host and congratulating the graduating students. He then announced the theme of his sermon – sorry, speech. ‘I want to talk today’, he began, ‘about the difference between success and significance.’

He reminded the students that their privileged backgrounds had provided them with an excellent education in comfortable surroundings. With all this behind them and a willingness to work hard, they would not struggle to find success along whichever path they chose to tread. But there is an ocean of difference between success and significance. He spent some minutes spelling out what each of the two destinations looked like, before leaving his audience with a question that hung in the air: ‘Do you want to live a successful life, or a significant one?’

My friend Ester came away deeply affected by what Michael Douglas had shared. She felt she had heard the gentle voice of Jesus speaking to her. She was facing some important choices concerning her own future and, in a most unexpected way, she had heard from God.

This book is about discovering significance, particularly in the world of work. It is for people who are following Jesus and want to integrate their faith and work life. Whether you are a high-flying entrepreneur or a mum with three preschoolers screaming for your attention, I think there are things in this book that will be relevant.

It is also for people like me who teach the Bible, lead churches and do their level best to offer help and support to those who struggle at times with some of the things life throws up in their faces. I hope this book will spark your own imagination and open up some relevant passages of the Bible in new ways. …