Praying for us to obeying our calling in our community

On Sunday we responded to God's word to us as a church by praying this prayer together, it is borrowed from the Redeemer New York service I was at 9 months ago.  

Minister: In a world filled with brokenness, confusion, darkness, mourning and loneliness, God has called His people to bring the healing light of the gospel into every sector of our town through every profession, institution and calling.  There is no inch of this town where his gospel cannot redeem.

All:           We repent of how we have overlooked this great calling we have been given.  The Spirit is waking us to see this mission in God’s world.

                 We surrender all that we are to serve you, O Lord, our Rock, and King.

                 We pray for your power, renouncing our selfish pride, to serve our town with excellence in our respective roles, jobs and professions.

                 We rest in your unfailing love, which dissolves all bitterness, fear, anxiety, and resentment, so that this world will know we belong to you.

                 We ask that you would open our eyes to see how the gospel is powerfully at work to transform hearts, communities, and the world.

Minister: And I heard the voice of the Lord saying: “Whom shall I send, who will go for us?”

All:           Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”

Minister: Go into all the world: work, build, design, write, dance, laugh, sing, create and care.

All:           We go with the assurance of God’s great commission.

Minister: Go into all the world: risk, explore, discover, and love.

All:           We go with the assurance of God’s abundant grace.

Minister: Go into all the world: believe, hope, struggle, persevere, and remember

All:       We go with the assurance of God’s unfailing love.  Amen

The tyranny of being ministry busy

'Better to be busy than bored.'  I've lost track of how often I've said that.  And there's a sense in which that's right, we should never be idly twiddling our thumbs in ministry.  There is always more to pray through (often squeezed out), the long term strategy to think through (sometimes squeezed out), people to visit, reading to catch up on, advanced study (what's that you say?) to do and so on.  Busyness in ministry is a good thing.  Provided that we know the difference between our load and our limit.  Our load is what is long term sustainably health for us and our families, our limit is the pace we can work at for a finite period of time in a crisis.  Don't confuse the two.

But busyness in general in ministry is not what I'm thinking about.  I'm thinking about the busyness that says ministry busyness is the only sort of busyness there really matters.  That frowns, shakes its head and sighs at the notion of someone in secular work being busy.  It's easy for those of us in full time ministry to forget that our lay leaders work as hard as we do if not harder and then voluntarily give their time to be elders, deacons, Sunday school teachers, and youth leaders on top.  I addition to that they have all the same family pressures we have.  But they also have the added complexity that they serve God in a secular workplace with all the extra pressure and scrutiny that involves.  Those of us in ministry would do well to remember this and to allow that to drive us to grateful prayer for those who serve in that capacity.

We also need to take practical steps to ensure they can serve well.  We may have had hours and hours to pray through the upcoming agenda or to think through the new ministry we're launching but they haven't had the same head space we are afforded, though many endeavour to give it.  How practically can we help?  Detailed explanations of the whys and wherefores is important and helpful.  Provided in time to give them the space to think about it over an extended period is even more so.  Schedule meetings to fit around them rather than around you, if that means flexing on your time off, do it, that is a great privilege of working in ministry.  Cancel meetings that are unnecessary and remember to thank them and let them know you appreciate being surrounded by a band of committed brothers and sisters.

But above all we need to remember 'Ministry Busy' isn't the only busy in fact in our churches it may not even be the most busy or harried or pressured.

Back in the saddle

So after two weeks holiday today sees the first day back in the saddle as it were, though also curiously not in the saddle.  After spending quite a chunk of the first week of holiday in bed (post viral fatigue syndrome is the doctors best guess) after starting on some health supplements the second week saw an improvement and I was able to be up and about all day, going to the beach, rock pooling etc with the boys and Lucy though at a reduced (frustratingly restful) pace.  Thus I have come back to Donny feeling much more rested than I went, though still needing to carefully structure my days so as not to exhaust myself, which seems to happen quite easily still.

I am very gratefully to God for the two weeks rest which have a made a massive difference and enabled me to take time to talk through some longer term decisions which need to be made after some serious overwork last year.  Looking back on it it is hard to know exactly when it all started and why, but basically I said yes to too many things in too many areas too much of the time which led into a cycle of unhealthy work and rest patterns.  There were lots of people around me warning me about it, and who very graciously haven't said 'I told you so', in the two months since the problems started.  But God having warned me through others has now enforced a rethink of my time in his love.  It is something I can say I am thankful to God for.

This next month I am on sabbatical.  I'm going to spend lots of time reading the Bible, possibly writing the Proverbs 1-9 material we've been studying up in to a series of bible studies to do as dad with my boys when they become teens (less that two years away - gulp!), and catching up on all the reading and study that has been neglected this year.  Again I am thankful to God for his love shown to me in a church that has given me this time to recharge.

Choosing service

How do you choose what you do?  Whether that is in the field of work or of service?  I wonder if its helpful for us to weigh up two things when it comes to thinking about this.  First of all our competence, in other words how God has gifted us, and secondly how we may benefit, or love, others.

What do I mean by competence?  I mean our gifting, what has God gifted us to do.  It is clear in Genesis 1 and 2 that God has a task for Adam and Eve to do and that he has enabled and equipped them to do it.  But it is also clear that he has in mind for them a task which they are capable of doing, God does not give them a task which is unmanageable or which will burn them out, in fact he interweaves rest and work together.  We live this side of the fall so some of the joy of work is lost and it is at times fruitless and frustrating, but we see in Exodus that God still envisages and calls his people to a balance of work and rest.  God does not call us to a work that is beyond our capacities, or that calls for us to slowly, or quickly, burn ourselves out.  God gifts us in both our skills but also in our capacities.

That means when choosing both a job and/or a ministry we need to bear these things in mind.  Helpfully if we are looking at it rightly and not hoping to find our fulfilment or sense of identity in our ministry or work we will wisely consider our competence and fitness for a work.  On a basic level if we are not remotely mathematical, accountancy is probably not for us, if we have no skills at all with children then probably teaching is not for us, if we can't deal with people the pastorate is probably not an option.  At the same time if we don't have a great capacity for dealing with stress or pressure we should probably not enter highly stressful fields of work or ministry.

And to do so is not failing.  We are never justified by the work we do, we are called to glorify God by working well and caring for God's creation.  All kinds of work have dignity as God works to provide and care for others through our work.  That should liberate us to find a work or ministry that fits our competence.

Secondly how in this area can I work to benefit others.  Our work, as well as our ministry, is an opportunity to love others, be that as the council worker who works in the office in a behind the scenes role ensuring that services run smoothly, or as the midday supervisor caring for other peoples children in the playground, or as the volunteer serving in the creche serving young parents so they can hear God's word taught.  Thinking about work and ministry as an opportunity to serve others liberates some of our narrow thinking.

We too often focus in choosing a career or ministry based on our wants and needs.  Looking for something that others will value, the big job, a well paid profession, a job with status, or a big church, or a successful ministry which is recognised at a county level if not preferably nationally.  But if one of the factors to bear in mind in choosing a career and/or ministry is how I can serve others we are liberated from that narrow focus and a narrow field of options. 

For the young person thinking about work opportunities it means or not going to university does not matter, they do not have to automatically aim for a traditional "good job with prospects" they may choose instead a career that simply serves others.  A graduate may choose to use their degree and maximise their earning, and therefore giving, potential and work with integrity for the glory of God, doing good and standing as witness, or they may choose to pursue a more lowly paid career which suits his or her competence and which has a perceived lower value in society but which enables them to serve others.

In terms of choosing ministry or where to serve in a local church it liberates us from considering up front roles, it liberates pastors from seeking the bigger congregation or the easier flock to shepherd.

The Christian and striking

The NT has a lot to say about work and the Christian, if you take employment to be similar to the role of a slave in NT times. It exhorts us to work hard even when we are not being observed and to serve our boss as if we are serving Christ, not because we are being paid well but because Christ will reward us (Col 3:22-25). 1 Peter 2:18f seems to go further and specifically deals with where masters are harsh and unfair, Peter argues that we must still submit ourselves to those masters.

But what about when it comes to industrial action?  Will the Christian go one strike?  Over what issues?  And how do we do so in a distinctly Christian way?

One of the key questions is what we as Christians will stand up for. The Bible again and again tells us that we must stand up for the oppressed and the poor and marginalised. We will fight for those who have no rights or cannot fight for their own, or be a voice for those who have no voice, we will fight for those in dangerous or unsafe working conditions. That means when considering industrial action we need to ask the following questions; Is it about greed or good? Is it contending for the rights of the impoverished or the destitute?

Another question we need to ask is what about contentment?  1 Tim 6 warns us against putting our hope in wealth but instead exhorts the believer to be content.  It poses another helpful question for us to consider when it comes to industrial action, how is this showing that my contentment is found in Christ?

But what about if you decide to strike, can you strike in a way that is distinctly Christian?

As a Christian if you strike because you sincerely believe it is the right thing to do then you must be part of any picket or protest, you cannot simply take it as a day off. If you are convinced it is a cause that is worth fighting for then you must fight for it. Otherwise, if you just have a day off, you are going against 1 Peter 2:18f, and just having a day off without contending for an injustice against others or against yourself.

Striking is so often about discontentment rather than about justice, the challenge for us is to put it in its biblical context.

Work the godly rhythm

How many weeks holiday do you get a year? The British average is 28 days including bank holidays, do you get more or less? Do you take all your holiday? Do you ever find yourself working longer hours than you are contracted to without being paid for it? A recent survey discovered that the average British worker does eight weeks unpaid overtime a year, that’s like working January and February for free.

Do you answer work emails at home at the weekends or in the evenings? Do you take your mobile phone or laptop on holiday with you – just in case something comes up?

What is your philosophy when it comes to work and rest? Do you work to enable you to rest? Do you live for the next holiday? Or do you rest in order to be able to work? Do you take a lunch break of any sort, let alone an hour?

I was in London last year for a conference and outside one of the big financial institutions in the heart of the city was an enormous banner which said this “3 days until the weekend”. Every morning I went to this conference someone had been there before I arrived and altered the count down, I was half expecting it on Friday to count down the number of hours.

Charles Dickens in 1857 wrote Little Dorrit, in it one of the characters says this:
“What else do you suppose I think I am made for? Nothing, rattle me out of bed early, set me going, give me as short a time as you like to bolt my meals in, and keep me at it. Keep me always at it, and I’ll keep you always at it. There you are with the whole duty of man in the commercial country.”

That was written 150 years ago and it hasn’t changed, if anything its gotten worse. And it isn’t just in the work place is it? So for the young mum there’s the nursery drop off, the toddler group, music club, play dates with friends, nursery pick up, meals to cook, cleaning, ironing, washing to do, and that constant pressure of always stimulating your children as you do each of these things, always encouraging my child as I engage in this maelstrom of activity.

Just think about advertising for a minute. What’s the slogan for Pepsi-max? Live life to the max. What are the selling points that are emphasized of remedies for the common cold or flu? Their ability to get you back up and at them, to help you avoid having to rest. Cram every second full of activity or you are missing out is the message. When was the last time your saw an advert that sold their product on its ability to help you rest? Rest is for wimps!

Its been said that we live in binge resting culture, we overwork 48 weeks of the year for 4 weeks holiday, and we overwork 40 years of our life to be able to retire. Is work, is busyness the problem? How do I solve it? Should a Christian’s attitude be different? Should my diary look different to that of those around me?

1. Work in the perfect world (Gen 1:26-31)
Genesis 1:31 gives us God’s summary statement of the results of his work in creating the heaven and the earth, and as he surveys the results he says this “God saw all the he had made, and it was very good.” I guess the shock as we look at the passage, for those of us who are tempted to live for the holidays or for the weekend is that this included work. Work is good!

What was Adam and Eve’s work? It was to “fill”, “subdue”, “rule over”, “work”, “take care of” creation. That’s not the job of the school caretaker, but it’s the job of the regent ruling on behalf of the king, in this case ruling creation on behalf of God.

There is work in the perfect world and as Adam and Eve go about their work they worship God as they do so. Work in the Garden of Eden is part of worship – it is the activity of their lives, it is an expression of their obedience to God. God is glorified as they work, as they “fill”, “subdue”, “rule over”, “work”, and “take care of” the creation.

Society says work to rest, go to work to enable you to live comfortably, go to work to be able to afford that nice holiday. But the Bible says go to work to glorify God, work as part of your worship. In fact it says whatever you do, do it to the glory of God.

2. Work in our reality (Gen 3:17-19)
So why isn’t work like that now? It’s fairly clear that the world isn’t as Genesis 1 and 2 describe it and that includes the workplace. In the Garden of Eden there is no need for a work place counsellor, or a Human Resources department, or even stress relief toys.
Yet today 8 out of 10 British workers feel their health has been damaged by demands at work. 1 in 5 men has visited the doctor with work related stress, and 60% of people feel that our workloads are sometimes out of control. So what happened between Genesis 1:31 and 2006?

Turn over a page in your Bible and you’ll see, Genesis 3 tells the story of man’s rebellion against God, a rebellion that tears apart not just his relationship with God and with his wife but also with the world and with work. Just look at the change (17-19), no longer is everything good but work is marked by “painful toil”, “thistles”, “thorns”, it now involves hardship and “sweat”.

Work just like the rest of the world becomes corrupted by our rebellion against God. Sin changes it from a means of worshipping God to a means of worshipping myself. It is no longer about being God’s regent mediating his will and instead it is all about me.

So success at work defines who I am, it determines my self worth, I take on more and more to prove myself to myself, but also to show you. I am busy all the time because I need more stuff, I’m busy because I’m not content, I’m busy because life’s too short not be.

We find ourselves working harder to earn enough money to buy the 32” plasma screen TV. We buy it but rarely watch it because we are working hard to earn the money to buy the 42” plasma screen and so on...

Work is corrupted by sin, it becomes a means of slavery, it becomes all about us. Let’s be honest we like to be able to say we are busy; we like to be busy because of what it says about us. It is viewed as a badge of success, of our being irreplaceable, of our popularity or that of our family.

So if that’s the problem and we face it in every sphere of life, what is the solution?

3. What’s the antidote: The godly Rhythm (Deut 5:12-15)
Did you spot the last three verses we had read for us? (Gen 2:1-3) What does God do when he completes his creation? Does he instantly start on the universe mark 2? No. He rests from his work of creating. He doesn’t collapse in an exhausted heap in front of neighbours or I’m a celebrity get me out of here! The Bible says he rested from his work of creating because it was complete. “And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy” why? Because “on it he rested from all the work of creating he had done.”

That doesn’t mean he did nothing but instead of creating he is sustaining the universe as the Bible tells us. He rests from his work of creation.

Just glance back at 1:27, we are made in God’s image, if rest is good for God it is good for us. The principle of 1 day in seven to rest is a good one.

In Deuteronomy 5:12-15 Moses is explaining the Ten Commandments to Israel as they are about to enter the Promised Land. How do you view the Ten Commandments?
Laws that must be kept or else? Unrealistic expectations put upon Israel? A harsh God’s means of keeping his people on a tight leash?

Actually the Ten Commandments are a loving and redeeming God’s gift to Israel outlining for the people he has saved the best way for them to live, showing them how to live lives that reflect their status as God’s people and to show to the watching world around them God’s character. And part of that gift is the idea of rest.

The 1in7 principle is part of the gift “For six days you shall labour and do all your work…” The days rest is part of Israel’s worship of God.

What is the reason that Moses gives here for resting on the Sabbath? (15) “Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to keep the Sabbath.”

Why are the Israelites to rest ? Because it is a sign of their freedom from slavery. It is a sign that they have been redeemed from Egypt. A slave has no say over the days and hours that he works, in Egypt the Israelites had no choice in when they laboured, they did as their masters pleased.

But now they are free, now they have been redeemed from slavery by God and as a sign of that freedom, of that relationship they have been redeemed for they are not to work 1 day in 7, they are to rest. In fact the point is reinforced by the Hebrew word used in v13 for labour – it is the word slave. The days rest is a sign that they are God’s redeemed people living under God’s blessing dependent upon him no longer slaves.

The Sabbath, the rest day was a day to remember that freedom, to remind themselves of their salvation and their dependence upon God.

In our world where consumption is king, where profit is the bottom line, where productivity is what counts the pressure is on to work every second you can, to fill every second you can. What would your work colleagues think, or your school mates, or your friends and family if you took a day a week totally off work or chores?

For Israel it was a mark of their distinctiveness from the nations around them. It was a sign that they were God’s redeemed and blessed people. Would taking that rest day make us stand out similarly? Would it convey that we are redeemed by God in Christ not by our own efforts? That my self esteem comes from being God’s child not from getting a promotion. Would it mark us out as those do not need to work to please others but who work to glorify God?

The day of rest is a reminder for Israel that they are saved by God. For us it is a reminder that our hope is in Christ, he has redeemed us from slavery to sin, and that includes redeeming our work so it is worship, and redeeming our rest as worship.

Exodus 31:13 “The Lord said, you must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you and the generations to come, so that you may know that I am the Lord who makes you holy.”

It is not that taking a days rest makes us holy, that is legalism. It is that it is a day to remember that it is God who makes us holy through Jesus Christ, to show that we are different from the world, to reflect the character of God.

We live in a world of ever increasing work hours, of ever increasing activity and busyness. Where the activity we engage in defines who we are, whether we are successful or not.

But the godly rhythm is that of rest as well as work. It is one where work is redeemed as part of my worship of God but also where I rest as part of my worship of God.

A days rest is an opportunity to remind ourselves that we are made in God’s image, we are God’s people redeemed from the slavery of sin, and that we are dependent upon him for our salvation in Christ to make us holy.

A days rest does not mean a day without doing anything at all. It may also differ from person to person as to what that day is, just as what is restful differs from person to person. But it is the idea of having a day off from our normal work, off from our usual chores, a break from the routine as a way of reminding ourselves of our status in Christ. We are God’s people saved by God’s grace by the death of his Son and our lives are refitted so that everything, including my work and my rest are for God’s glory.

Where the rubber hits the road is in my determination to alter my diary, to turn off my mobile phone, to refuse to turn on my laptop. To be different from those we live and work alongside.

The godly rhythm is to take a day a rest. Not for the sake of it but as a way of reminding yourself that God is your saviour, he has redeemed you from what everyone around us is chasing after. That “a man’s life does not consist of the abundance of his possessions”. That we are freed from slavery to sin to live for God’s glory. To live lives that worship him in spirit and truth at work and rest.

The gospel in the difficult workplace

Following on from looking at worship and how work fits with that a number of questions have presented themselves.

How should a Christian respond to the bad boss?

Is that response to be different when the boss is disrespectful to us than when he or she is disrespectful to colleagues?

How does worshipping God at work influence us when we are asked to do things which we find difficult ethically?

I'm hoping to get some time to look at these questions in coming week.

We live in a world that insists on rights, the battle is to ensure I and we are not absorbing the worlds standards as we think about our work, but rather to return to the Bible and see how God would have us behave in the workplace.

Transformed not conformed at work and in the church

We were looking at why and how to worship God in our service together yesterday. We worship God because we keep his mercy in view but what does it look like to worship God in church?

Looking at (12:3-8) it means humbly using your gifts, be it prophesying, serving, teaching, encouraging, giving, leading, showing mercy, and that is not meant to be an exhaustive list. Paul paints a picture of worship as active humble service of one another.

You may be sat there thinking I’d love to serve but there isn’t anywhere to get involved. Can I assure you this morning that there are loads. Speak to Someone here or in your church and serve. Maybe you aren’t sure where to serve just ask where there are needs.

Worship in the church is putting God’s word into action and serving others.

What does it look like to worship God in the workplace?

The Bible leaves us in no doubt that work is worship. But it also doesn’t duck the joys and struggles of work. We are made to work, it is how Adam and Eve worship God in Eden, but after the fall work becomes frustrating and it is still that way now. The Bible is realistic about your office situation, about how difficult your boss can be to work for, about the conflicts you face, about days when you just don’t want to drag yourself in.

But it also says you worship God through your work, be it as a mum changing the 5th nappy of the morning, as a cleaner, a teacher, a civil servant or a pastor. They are all the same there is no hierarchy of worship. The mum worships as she cares for her child, the cleaner worships God as they clean just as the pastor does as he prepares a talk.

The key to true worship at work is having a transformed mind.

I read this week that the average time spent productively working in an office environment was less than an hour a day. The rest was spent chatting, making coffees, rearranging desks, checking email, surfing the internet and taking breaks. How do I worship God at work? I don’t conform to the world but am transformed so that I work productively.

We avoid eye-service. A manager once walked up to an employee and said why aren’t you working, to which the employee said because I didn’t see you coming. The true worshipper will not be conformed so they work only when the boss is around but transformed.

There is a danger here and that is that work or career becomes what we worship. The Bible doesn’t call us to worship work, or to have unrealistic standards but to worship through our work.


Worshipping God at work affects our attitudes as employees to our employers and as those in positions of authority to those under our care. (Romans 12:12-21) outline love in action, Titus 2, Colossians 4, Ephesians 6 all call on us to worship God through our work relationships.

That means we don’t engage in the office snipping, no matter how much we’d love to chip in. It means that as a Christian boss we are known to be good to work for.

Worship is living to please God with a renewed mind seeking God’s will, it is all encompassing, though we have just thought about two areas. In short worship is living every moment for God’s glory as a response to grace.

Worship is not just an activity in our life it is the activity of our lives. Worship is the only right response to the grace of God in Christ.

Work in the service of God

How do you view your job? A necessary evil? A means of simply putting bread on the table? Something that gives me value and worth? Something I enjoy?

We are encouraged today to live for the weekend, or if you are a teacher for those blissful 13 weeks of the year, when we stop our work and do what we actually want to do.

But the Bible has a lot to say about work and no where more so than in the book of Daniel. The big emphasis on Daniel is on the Sovereignty of God, its why 6:26-7 provide a neat summary of ch1-6 and a bridge into ch7-12. God is sovereign and one of the direct consequences of God's sovereignty is that Daniel and his friends are able to live as they do. They are exemplary in their service of the King (whichever king that may be), they excel, they stand hand and shoulders above everyone else in terms of knowledge, wisdom and understanding but also in terms of character. They serve the Sovereign God as they excel in serving the king.

So often we live for the holidays, or in church circles see church work as being the ultimate work in service of God. Such attitudes are rubbish. God uses Daniel and his friends excellent service to speak to kings! The work place is the front line in the battle between the temporary kingdom of the world and the eternal, indestructible kingdom of God. We are to excel in serving God as we excel in our workplace.

Guilty as charged?

One of the most popular reasons why people reject Christianity is the charge that Christians are hypocrites. How do we respond when we receive that response?

The primary response must be long before that charge is ever made and last long after it has faded to a distant memory. It is for people to be able to look at our lives and come to the conclusion that we are not hypocrites. That we actually live out what we say.

Though this doesn't mean never letting them see the things that we struggle with. I think it is the Teflon Christian with whom people struggle most. People need to see our concern, our love, our compassion for others. But they need to see that we do more than talk about love or fellowship or community. They need to see that these are ideas that we hold deeply to, so deeply that we put them into action. We don't just talk about love but we show it.

The Apostle Paul invited people to do just that, to look at the way he and his friends lived and see if it proved the gospel true. Here is what he writes to the Thessalonians:
"Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well. Surely, you remember, brothers and sisters, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you. You are witness, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you..."

Paul was able to say you are witnesses of how we lived, and our living gave credibility to the gospel. The Thessalonians couldn't charge him with hypocrisy, their lives that had been shared with them disabled such an accusation.

When someone says that all Christians are hypocrites the answer if we dare to give it is 'OK lets put it to the test'. Introduce them to Christian friends, to the church and encourage them to watch the way you live, the way we are at work, when we drive, with family, with money, with priorities, with loving others, and we'll talk again in a couple of months.

But from the other side, the way I am at work, at the school gates, or on the squash court, or in the gym needs to challenge that objection for those around me. Our calling is to live lives that glorify God in every situation and as we do so to be provoking questions and challenging misconceptions.