What in the World is God Doing?
September 22, 2008
By Kent Humphreys, Worldwide ambassador for the Fellowship of Companies for Christ International. Kent was a member of the Business as Mission Issue Group at the Lausanne 2004 Forum for World Evangelization. Read the Business as Mission Lausanne Occasional Paper (.pdf).
Kent Humphreys Today the church of Jesus Christ is facing perhaps its greatest challenge since Christ’s resurrection. And unfortunately, the only institution that can seem slower to change than the government is the church. On a given Sunday only 17% of the population attends church in the United States, closely following the pattern of Europe. Yet, the Spirit of God is creative and constantly doing new things among us in Asia, the Middle East, and elsewhere. So the question is: “What in the world is God doing today, and what does he want us as leaders to do?”
I want to look at briefly at just one area where God is obviously at work in our day - The Workplace.
For the last twenty or thirty years we have seen God moving among his followers in the workplace, just as the church in many countries appeared to become more institutional. While many churches invited the “lost” to come in, many also seemed to keep members “inside and busy with programs,” except for occasional activities out in the community or around the globe. Although mission trips are more common than ever, many churchgoers continue to compartmentalize their lives into “the sacred and the secular”. The “priesthood of the believer” is preached but not always practiced. When Christians get really “spiritual” it’s sometimes assumed they’ll give up their regular job (and in some cases their relationships with the lost) and go on the staff of a church or para-church organization.
As marketplace organizations attract, train, and release workers back into the workplace to model Christ and live out their faith in their professions, some have found resistance from churches. What’s missing is a sense of trust between the church and workplace organizations, that efforts to equip Christians for marketplace ministry would actually give leaders back to the church, increase giving, produce more leaders, and open the doors to those who do not know Christ.
Will God have to bring a spiritual earthquake to get our attention?
While hundreds of workplace organizations have sprung up in the U.S. alone, until recently many of those organizations didn’t dialogue with the local church. I’m encouraged by the growing, healthy conversation that I see happening around the world between the church and workplace organizations. These conversations among leaders are allowing them to learn from each other and listen to each other, leading both groups to lay their control issues on the altar before God. My book (Shepherding Horses) encourages workplace leaders to build these bridges with their pastors and work together to reach their cities. I believe that when we get leaders out of their “silos” into the areas of the marketplace, education, government, arts, media, and the church, coming together in Kingdom unity, emphasizing relationships and community, then we will see transformation in our cities.
In a recent survey in Dallas-Ft. Worth, Texas, USA it was estimated that the average church budget costs US$25,000 per conversion, while the average workplace chaplain costs just US$1,700 per conversion. It has also been calculated that the average full-time workplace chaplain leads twenty-eight people to Christ per year, while sadly some churches do not lead one adult to Christ in a year. One part-time workplace chaplain led 750 people to Christ over fifteen years – what an amazing impact! Perhaps every church should consider turning a third of their staff into workplace chaplains, providing them free to the organizations in their community.
Jesus always went to the temple and we know the importance he places on the body of Christ, but we must also remember that he spent most of his time in the marketplace, with some rugged workplace leaders and hurting people. My prayer is that leaders in the Body of Christ will come together and turn the focus of our churches outward toward the lost in our cities, and begin to reap a harvest in the greatest mission field in this century – the marketplace.
Equipping believers to share Christ in their sphere of influence at the workplace offers a great opportunity to have a daily impact on those who do not know Christ and on the community as a whole. May we as leaders become equippers and encouragers of believers as they invade their workplaces with the Gospel of Christ.
OUR NATION by Boe Parrish
September 17, 2008
Have been placed at risk by deception and lies.
Congress and Senate have a passionate vision,
That includes special interest and improving positions.
Much time and effort for funds being raised,
So getting reelected is filling their days.
No vision for us or the red white and blue.
Consumes any leader, so what do we do?
We search far and wide and look for a candidate,
With national vision and passion and mandate.
A man or a woman willing to do what it takes,
To change status quo and raise high the stakes.
Every American who loves this great nation,
Must get out and vote and help change direction.
This nation so blessed doesn’t belong to the few,
It’s our great nation for me and for you!
We stand at a crossroads again in our lives,
An election of great magnitude awaiting our eyes.
The choices are different as the day and the night,
Don’t sit and complain if you’re unwilling to fight.
Go door to door and encourage the vote,
For the candidate of your choice, get out of the boat.
Make a difference today with the work of your hands,
Our future is now for the sake of our land.
Citizens of honor placing their hands to the work,
Can make all the difference in spoiling the pork.
We all have a voice if we unite arm and arm,
In reminding the boys we’re sounding the alarm.
The waste has to stop and accountability rise,
We expect our leaders to work and be wise,
With every bill that flows through their doors,
We’re going to be watching; holding their feet to the floor.
United we stand and divided we fall,
It’s time for our Congress to answer the call.
Govern for action and stop all the games,
Enact the solutions and stop laying the blame.
Your people are weary and tired of the frozen,
Get American moving or we’ll find new chosen,
Representatives who are willing and able,
To address all the issues and get votes on the table.
The hour is short and the need never greater,
We’re anxiously watching for more than debaters.
Action is needed from one and from all,
Who has the courage to stand up and stand tall?
Our nation a jewel and priceless the worth,
We tire of the interests spreading their girth.
Dividing attention and neglecting the simple,
We’re ready for action…Thus saith the people!
Boe Parrish
Forgiveness
September 6, 2008
Forgiving others is the key to this walk,
As we travel through life, while sharing our talk,
Unforgiveness and bitterness are destroying our lives,
Has hardened our hearts and blinded our eyes.
The love was alive and so easily flowed,
Propelled us to new heights as He faithfully showed,
Secrets and treasures embedded in gold,
Through the Word that he left us, that was feeding our soul.
Reading and praying and loving the lost,
We were sharing the truth regardless of cost.
The pathway provided was filled with excitement,
As we grew in His love before the entrapment.
We were doing His will while serving others,
When an incident happened with one of the brothers.
Feelings were bruised and division occurred,
Many were hurt, but no forgiveness was heard.
Days quickly passed, and things seemed to be better,
But deep down inside our heart had turned bitter.
The love so alive that once flowed so freely,
Had vanished from within and no longer came easy.
More important than this the forgiveness we’ve learned,
Was conditional with all until our hearts they were turned.
To our brother who was wounded some time in the past,
We realized at once the damage we’d cast.
No time to waste as our heart ached to live,
Our brother we sought to heal and forgive.
No one had ever done more in the past,
To shape us and mold us as disciples so fast.
How could we possibly let this divide,
Cause so many to hurt and force them to pick sides.
But now we realize just how much it has hurt,
Our stubbornness and pride and being so curt.
The moment of truth now standing before us,
We all stood forgiving like singing a chorus.
Pride or ego or just being right,
No longer mattered, we have to unite.
Because we’re forgiven for all sins of the past,
If we do the same, our friendships will last.
Throughout all our days we will treasure the peace
We have deep within that forgiveness released.
Boe Parrish