Carpe Monday

Equipping People for Their

Monday Morning Mission Field

Bill Peel www.CenterforFaithandWork.com

God is at Work

►400M+ new Christians in the next 15 years

►82,000 individuals come to Christ every day

– 32,000 in Africa

– 25,000 in Asia

– 17,000 in Latin America (3X the population growth)

►Rumors in the Islamic world

– Dreams and visions

– “16,000 Muslims convert to Christianity”

►Quest for spiritual meaning in America

Losing Ground

► 320K churches

► 800K ministers

► Several religious broadcast networks

► 5,000 evangelistic organizations

► $1B Christian book and music industry

►67% believe religion is losing

influence in America

►8% know the gospel

►97% of 16- to 29-year-old

non-Christians have a poor

impression of evangelicals

►1/3 of young adult church-goers

say the church is out of touch

with reality

►U.S. is the 3rd largest mission field

in the world

So … if Christianity is true, why are we losing ground in America?

Mark Greene at Lausanne 2010

Mark Greene: Two Possible Strategies

1. Recruit Christians to use some of their leisure time in the missionary initiatives of church-paid workers

OR

2. Equip Christians for fruitful mission in all of their lives

Result of Strategy One

“The 98% of Christians are who are not in paid church work … have never been envisioned or equipped for mission in 95% of their waking lives.”

—Mark Greene

The Monday Morning Opportunity

►Every day your church members walk into the most strategic mission field in the world …

their workplace

The Great Commission

“When the church does not send people out to these realms and when it does not provide the theologies that make sense of work and engagement in these realms, the church fails to fulfill the charge to „go into all the world.‟”

—James Davidson Hunter, To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy, and Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World

The Great Divide

►Men and women can‟t seem to make the connection between God and their work.

►They go somewhere else to do ministry.

►If they are really serious about following Christ, this means quitting their job and …

–attending seminary

–becoming a full-time missionary

►They believe that God is only interested in spiritual things.

The Spiritual Speed Bump

Prayer Bible Study Evangelism

Worship

Work Business & Finance

Politics Rock Music

World Series

REAL WORLD GOD’S WORLD

Results of This Faulty Thinking

►Faith becomes a private matter

►See daily work as insignificant

►See themselves as insignificant to God

God‟s Heroes?

Missionaries

Pastors

Bible college graduates

Work at a “secular” job

Results of This Faulty Thinking

►Faith becomes a private matter

►See daily work as insignificant

►See themselves as insignificant to God

►Go to work unequipped

►Miss opportunities for influence

What can be done?

1. They need to understand …

►Work is important to God

Colossians 3:23

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men

Good work well done is a glory to God and a blessing to the world.

Why is the workplace so important?

►Consider the scope of work in our lives.

− Most people spend the largest part of their waking hours in work-related activities.

How We Spend Our Waking Hours

Work47%

Church/ Volunteering

1%

Family12%

Leisure8%

Social5%

TV11%

Eating7%

Shopping5%

Personal Care4%

Percent of Waking Hours

Bureau of Labor Statistics, (part- and full-time adult workers)

Why is the workplace so important?

►Consider the scope of work in our lives.

►Consider the opportunity: Workplace followers of Christ are …

–Strategically deployed

Your Church on Monday

Sunday’s church-goers are Monday’s missionaries

Why is the workplace so important?

►Consider the scope of work in our lives.

►Consider the opportunity: Workplace followers of Christ are …

–Strategically deployed

–Self-supported

• $96,000 vs. $0

Why is the workplace so important?

►Consider the scope of work in our lives.

►Consider the opportunity.

►Consider the perspective of Scripture.

The Perspective of Scripture

►Bible includes more about work than worship

►75% of Bible‟s heroes had marketplace jobs

►90% of Jesus‟ life spent in a small business

►45 of 52 parables have a workplace context

►Work is a good gift of God; central to His intentions for mankind

►The workplace was key to the spread of the gospel in the early church

Why is the workplace so important?

►Consider the scope of work in our lives.

►Consider the opportunity.

►Consider the perspective of Scripture.

►Consider the example of the early church.

– Everyone took responsibility

– From oikos to oikos (business to business)

Dorothy Sayers

In nothing has the church so lost her hold on reality as in her failure to understand and respect the secular vocation. She has allowed work and religion to become separate departments, and is astonished to find that, as a result, the secular work of the world is turned to purely selfish and destructive ends, and that the greater part of the world‟s intelligent workers have become irreligious, or at least, uninterested in religion. But is it so astonishing? How can anyone remain interested in a religion which seems to have no concern with nine-tenths of his life?

1. They need to understand …

►Work is important to God

2. They need to be equipped …

►To apply biblical truth to their workplace setting

Where is the biggest influence?

Work47%

Church/ Volunteering

1%

Family12%

Leisure8%

Social5%

TV11%

Eating7%

Shopping5%

Personal Care4%

Percent of Waking Hours

Bureau of Labor Statistics, (part- and full-time adult workers)

Applying Biblical Truth

The World says you go to work for …

► Power: to get others to serve you

► Prestige: To make a name for yourself

► Possessions: To get rich

God says you go to work to …

► To serve others

Colossians 3:22,23; 4:1

►Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord.

►Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven.

Applying Biblical Truth

The World says you go to work for …

► Power: to get others to serve you

► Prestige: To make a name for yourself

► Possessions: To get rich

God says you go to work to …

► To serve others

► To glorify God

Colossians 3:22-23

Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men,

Applying Biblical Truth

The World says you go to work for …

► Power: to get others to serve you

► Prestige: To make a name for yourself

► Possessions: To get rich

God says you go to work to …

► To serve others

► To glorify God

► To earn an eternal reward

Colossians 3:24-25

… since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism.

Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven.

3. They need to recognize …

► the opportunity

Colossians 4:5-6

Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every

opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you

may know how to answer everyone.

The Workplace Connection

1-2% 2-3% 5-6% 2-3% 1-2% 4-5% .5% 75-90%

► Special need ►Walk-ins ►Pastor ►Church program ►Visitation ► Sunday school ► Evangelistic crusade/TV ► Friend or relative

How do adults come to Christ and church?

4. They need to recognize …

►The obligation

1 Thessalonians 4:9-12

Now about brotherly love …

Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with

your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders

and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.

They need to understand …

► A biblical view of evangelism: a process

John 4:38

I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the

benefits of their labor."

1 Peter 3:15

But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks

you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect

Six Easy Steps You Can Take

1. Pray for the workplace.

2. Watch your language.

3. Spend time every week visiting someone in their place of work.

4. Mention work applications in regularly in Sunday sermons.

5. Make new heroes.

6. Lead a Workplace Grace study.

More Resources

www.CenterforFaithandWork.com