Are You Working for God?

Every week in my travels, I meet people who dislike what they do and want to quit, go back to seminary, and “go to work for God.” I find myself in the awkward position of talking them out of this formula for significance. God put men and women here to work for Him, but that work is much broader than people generally think. In Genesis 1 and 2 we see that we are God’s partners in developing and caring for God’s creation. So God’s work is not just about saving souls, since at that point there where no souls that needed saving. The simple truth is that if your work is meeting human needs, you are working for God whether you recognize it or not. In Colossians 3:22-4:1, Paul reminds us that if we want to work for God, we need to change our attitude rather than our workplace. Take a look at this passage and see if you can identify three attitudes God wants you to have in the workplace.

1 Comment »

1. Excellent post!I must admit I have thought about this many times. Part of the problems, I think, is the point you make about the separation of the week faith and the sunday faith. It is really hard to apply at work the emphases preached from the pulpit. It almost sounds like the only spiritual work is the pastoral work.

   I’m glad I found your blog.

   Comment by Santos — November 10, 2007 @ 12:29 pm

Will the Real Heroes Please Stand Up

Most
people think of the heroes of the Bible as religious leaders, yet 75
percent of these champions of faith made their living in the workplace, not the
place of worship. God is looking for these kinds of leaders
today—work-world followers of Jesus who take spiritual responsibility
for themselves and those around them. People committed to
shaping—instead of becoming shaped by—their environment. People who
remain faithful in the midst of faithless surroundings. People willing
to lead and influence culture against seemingly insurmountable odds.

This is the kind of
spiritual leader we need today, not “rock star” pastors, but “ordinary”
Christians who take their Lord and their spiritual impact seriously.
That’s my kind of hero.

How Did I get Myself into this Mess?

Just after I had completed 120 graduate hours of theological study, lost my hair learning Greek and Hebrew, and convinced a church that they should hire this budding theologian, I had lunch with a man who would change the trajectory of my ministry. Bill Garrison, a title attorney from Fort Worth, Texas sat across from me and casually informed me, “Bill, God’s heroes don’t stand behind pulpits.” Thirty-plus years later, I know he is right.

While the church is looking for better programs, God is looking for men and women who take their faith outside the four walls. These men and women instinctively know that following Jesus is a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week adventure.

Since that lunch 30-plus years ago, I have worked about half of my career in para-church and the other half in church ministries along with involvement in a couple of start-up businesses. In a day when rock-star pastors seem to be the icons of the Christian faith, my work and prayer is that more theologians will recognize that our job is to equip the saints for their work not church work, and that more men and women see their daily work as their primary place of ministry. Read more about the 24Seven Project.