Faith at Work. Marketplace Ministry. Ministry of the Laity. Theology of Work. Community Impact. Bible-based Business. Business. Ethics.

Transcription

1 Faith-at-Work is a complex movement with many motives (1) Theology of Work (2) Ministry of the Laity (3) Community Impact (8) Bible-based Business Faith at Work Marketplace Ministry (4) Business Ethics (7) Christian Business Fellowships (6) Godly Career Choices (5) Workplace Spirituality

2 FOUNDATIONS FOR FAITH GOES TO WORK Biblical Foundations Genesis 1:1, 26-25; 2:5-7, 15 Work Is a Four-Letter Word And that word is GOOD! Genesis 1:31 2:3; Luke 6:1-11 (See also Genesis 3:1-19 and Exodus 20:8-9) The Rest of the Story Sabbath sets the framework for our work 1 Thessalonians 2:9-10; 4:11-12; 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13 The Church at Work Wherever disciples of Jesus are found 2 Peter 3:11-13; Revelation 21:1-3 The End of Work Providing building materials for the future Theological Foundations I. Creation Creation is God s good work God builds into creation the need for ongoing labor II. III. IV. Humanity Work (and Sabbath) is part of God s design and desire for us We are created imago Dei, meaning we share in being co-creators with God Fall Work becomes burdensome and unfulfilling in many ways Salvation God works through people to renew, rebuild, and restore V. Christ As God-in-the-flesh, Jesus learned a trade, carpentry, and was known for that Christ had his work, the Father s business, to carry out He hallowed human work and keeping of Sabbath His suffering, death, and resurrection can inspire and inform us in our work

3 VI. VII. VIII. IX. Resurrection Foes of death, decay, destruction which often plague our work are overcome New life is possible in even the most difficult of work situations Spirit The Spirit is at work in the larger world, beyond the church, including work The Spirits gifts and sends us into our workplaces Church The church is empowered by the Spirit to impact the world of work We are co-workers with God in helping to build the kingdom of God Scripture Writings by, for, and about all sorts of workers Chronicles God s work through people X. New Creation All we do either hinders or hastens God s reign The missio Dei to renew, rebuild, and restore uses all our good work

4 CHRISTIANS AND SABBATH Are Christians required to keep the Sabbath, as prescribed in the Old Testament law? A couple of things to note: (1) Technically, the Sabbath refers to a specific day (the seventh day of the week, Saturday), but for Christians that day has been eclipsed by the Lord s Day, referring to the day Jesus was raised from the dead (Sunday, the first day of the week). The earliest Christians, devout Jews, observed the Saturday Sabbath as well as celebrating the risen Lord on Sunday (Acts 2:42-47; 13:14, 44)). Eventually, as more Gentile converts were added to the church, observance of the Sabbath became an issue (Colossians 2:16-17). (2) It s clear from the New Testament, particularly Paul s writings, that followers of Jesus Christ are no longer under the system of Jewish law leading Paul to declare that, because of Christ s work, all things are lawful (permitted) for me, but not all things are expedient (wise) (1 Corinthians 10:23). But the converse of that is also true: Not all things (in the law) are required of me (as a Christian), but some are recommended (prdent and productive). Biblically, Sabbath is a much bigger reality than the Jewish legal code, woven throughout the scripture, Old and New Testaments. It stands alone as an idea imbedded in the creation story, as part of God's design and desire (Genesis 2:3). According to Genesis, work is part of God's design and desire, but it is forever qualified and conditioned by Sabbath. Now, add in Jesus' declaration of himself as Lord of the Sabbath (Luke 6:5); Jesus did not say he was Lord of anything else related to the faith and practice of the Jewish people not the Temple, or diet, or clothing, or any other dimension of the law which Jesus himself kept faithfully as a devout Jew. As Paul indicates, life under grace as opposed to law does not mean carelessly doing whatever I want whenever I want however I want, because that would lead to breaking the "law of love" established through Christ, meaning loving God with all we ve got and loving our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:36-40). So The "higher law" of love for God and love for people which means love in practice, not just a feeling seems well-served by keeping the Sabbath which is so fundamental throughout scripture. To get legalistic in terms of on which day and how it ought to be kept is futile and un-christian. That is why I suggest that we each make Sabbath as simple and clear for our own faith journeys as possible. The question is not "Is it sinful

5 to not keep Sabbath?" (because, for one thing, what keeping it means leads to endless quibbling) but rather, "Is weaving Sabbath into my life as a follower of Jesus something that contributes to the abundant life Jesus came to bring to all people?" At its most basic, Sabbath refers to a cycle of work and rest, established by God through creation. Disciples of Jesus should ask, How can I establish a cycle of work and rest which reveals my love for God and my love for others? Sabbath-keeping should be engaged in conversation with and consideration of many factors in our lives: our sleep patterns, our overall health needs, our various limitations and responsibilities, our demands on others, our drain on all kinds of resources. At the very least, Sabbathkeeping puts to us the question: How well do I image God through my cycle of work and rest? Thus, Sabbath is a biblical ideal (much like tithing, public worship, meditating on scripture, or serving the poor) with enormous potential to serve the kingdom of God which Jesus established, meaning the flourishing of all life and partnering with God for the sake of restoration. It should be observed not out of a sense of duty ( for wrath s sake, as Wesley would put it) but out of a sense of delight ( for conscience sake, to use Wesley s term).

6 Worksheet on FAITH GOES TO WORK TAKING YOUR FAITH TO WORK Think about how your faith is lived out THROUGH your work In what ways are you an artist displaying God s glory through the various activities of your work? Think about how your faith is lived out AT your work In what ways are you a signpost pointing people to God as you engage them at your place of work? Think about how your faith is lived out TO your work In what ways are you being leaven helping to shape process and structures of your field of work?

7 PUTTING YOUR FAITH TO WORK SUPPORTING God s work What skills do you have to share in God s mission? What tools do you have that could help God s mission? PARTNERING with God s work What agencies can you link up with to further God s mission? What initiatives can you join that are serving God s mission? FURTHERING God s work What new ventures could you help start to serve God s mission? What existing causes can you help fund that fit your sense of God s mission?

8 Small Group Discussion Guide on Vocation This is an exercise in thinking more deeply about our work and our faith and how they interact. This guide was originally produced by leaders at Emmanuel Presbyterian Church in Arlington, VA and is used and adapted with their permission. 1. Overview. Describe your job. What do you do? What does a typical day look like? Who do you work for and with? What related training or education did you receive? 2. Calling. When and how did you begin to feel drawn to this area? To what degree have you thought about your job as a calling from God? Share honestly your outlook on your work. If you had a choice, what would you be doing more in line with your sense of God s call?

9 3. Image. What attributes of God (e.g. mercy, care, order, justice, creativity, beauty, etc.)does your work reflect to others, at its best? 4. Idolatry. In what ways do you see your work could be an idol, either to yourself or others? 5. Community. Do you have Christian community within your vocation, that is, people who speak the language of your calling and can offer insight, encouragement, or feedback into what you do? If so, what does that look like? If not, are there ways you can work toward building such community? 6. Scripture. Are there any biblical passages you ve found particularly helpful, as inspiration or guidance In your field? 7. Worldview. A worldview helps explain the world we live in, answering such basic questions of life as Why are we here? How do we explain the problems in my life and the world? What is the solution to those problems? Where are we ultimately going? Your field of work likely has explicit or implicit answers to some or all of the above questions. How do they compare with a Christian worldview? Do they conflict in such a way as to bring any professional or social pressure on you?

10 8. Influence. In your field, what motivates you enough to be a positive influence? What ethical dilemmas do you face? 9. Summary What are 1-3 key insights you ve gained from this exploration? Name 1-3 practical steps you can take toward greater vocational clarity and expression:

11 FOR FURTHER READING AND RESEARCH Web Resources Marketplace Ministries Center for Faith at Work Marketplace Leaders Center for Faith and Work Faith at Work Faith and Work Initiative Videos: Books on Faith at Work These first 3 are ones that have been most inspirational and informational for me Kingdom Calling: Vocational Stewardship for the Common Good Amy L. Sherman (InterVarsity Press 2011) Every Good Endeavor: Connecting Your Work to God s Work Timothy Keller (Riverhead Books 2012) Work Matters: Connecting Sunday Worship to Monday Work Tom Nelson (Crossway 2011) These 3 resources help explore faith-at-work more deeply, the first in terms of theology, the second in terms of scripture, and the third in terms of things the church can do Work: A Kingom Perspective on Labor Ben Witherington III (Eerdmans 2011) Work Matters: Lessons from Scripture R. Paul Stevens (Eerdmans 2012) The Empowering Church: How One Congregation Supports Lay People s Ministries in the World Davida Foy Crabtree (The Alban Institute 1989)

12 Here are four other resources the first two being less dense and a bit more practical than the other two. The Monday Connection: On Being an Authentic Christian in a Weekday World William E. Diehl (Harper SanFrancisco 1991) Faith Goes to Work: Reflections from the Marketplace Robert J. Banks (Wipf and Stock 1999) Just Business: Christian Ethics for the Marketplace Alexander Hill (InterVarsity 2008) The Other Six Days: Vocation, Work, and Ministry in Biblical Perspective R. Paul Stevens (Eerdmans 1999) These resources have to do with the larger issue of the missional church, of which the faith-at-wrk movement is but a small part. Kingdom Come: Why We Must Give Up Our Obsession with Fixing the Church and What We Should Do Instead Reggie McNeal (Tyndale 2015) Missional Renaissance: Changing the Scorecard for the Church Reggie McNeal (Jossey-Bass 2009) Incarnate: The Body of Christ in an Age of Disengagement Michael Frost (InterVaristy 2014) The Next Christians: The Good News about the End of Christian America: How a New Generation Is Restoring the Faith Gabe Lyons (Doubleday 2010) Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church N.T. Wright (HarperOne 2008)

13 Marketplace Manifesto We believe in God the Worker who worked six days and was satisfied with His work. We believe God likes matter - He made it and called it good. We believe God made us in His image as junior co-workers, little lower than the angels. We believe God enjoys and blesses human work, giving it to us before the Fall. We believe God gave us royal dominion over the earth, to develop, tend, keep and guard it. We believe the Fall resulted from humanity disobeying God s call to god-like dominion and work by desiring god-like knowledge and by worshiping the creature not the Creator. We believe that work is also now toil, hard labour and in vain because the ground is now cursed. We believe God still maintains creation, blessing and giving us good work, renewing the creation mandate to Noah. We believe in the Son, the Word, the Worker, who re-creates and redeems humanity and the world through his nature miracles, teaching and parables and above all, the Cross. We believe Jesus has been given all dominion in heaven and on earth as the true human and King who fulfils the creation commission. We believe He commissions and delegates His dominion to us to make disciples and teach them to regain their heritage of kingly dominion over the earth. We believe we are called and commissioned to bring Christ s presence and proclaim His royal rule to every sphere of work and every corner of creation. We believe that God in hope and the Spirit subjected the world of work to vanity and the groaning of slavery and childbirth anticipating the Spirit s birth of a new, good creation. The creating and re-creating Spirit s gifts and fruits are not only exercised inside the church but overflow to all creation through our everyday life and work. We believe in, wait for and hasten a new heaven and new earth in which justice dwells and where we will rule under Christ, doing joyful, creative work forever in His Kingdom, which is creation healed. This statement comes from Marketplace Ministry: Occasional Paper No. 40 produced by the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization. Copyright 2005.