Christian Witness in the Workplace

Thursday 26 September

With Julia Garschagen

The good news of Jesus spread through the early church as we have seen and soon it would reach Armenia and India. Until today historians marvel.  How did the gospel spread so quickly and so widely at a time without the internet?  It was the people in the workplace who gossiped the gospel. The gospel was passed on by people like an Ethiopian government official, by Tabitha in Joppa, by a Roman Centurion in Caesarea  and by Lydia a businesswomen in Philippi.

The importance of the workplace missionaries in New Testament times often goes unnoticed because it was so normal. When you look through Acts, you cannot help but notice that the witness of people in the workplace is woven throughout the story.

Today I invite you to an exciting tour through the whole book of Acts in order to trace the amazing impact of this driving force of the mission of God.  On a tour you have different stops.

I invite you to come with me on our first stop in Acts 1:8 There we are in Jerusalem where tax collectors, political activists and fishermen all receive a calling from their carpenter friend to be witnesses to the ends of the earth. This a calling way too big for them. This is why the Holy Spirit comes down.  Pentecost is mind and heart-blowing. We become heaven and earth people because heaven and earth meet in us.

1 Corinthians 3:16 says. “Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in your midst?” That changes how we relate to our world, our society and not least to our work.

Let’s explore how the early Christians discover the influence of their faith in their workplace.

In Acts 16, Paul and Silas are put in prison, one of the most unholy places full of criminals and with one man doing his job. These two prisoners carried the presence of God. Unknown to the jailer, heaven and earth met right there in their cell. As they are praying and worshipping, the Holy Spirit opens the door of the prison and consequently the heart of the jailer.

The Workplace As Holy Ground

Right there, his workplace becomes holy ground. His everyday work day becomes a holy day because Paul and Silas carry the presence of God with them. That has a life-changing impact on the jailer and on his whole family. If a prison can turn into holy ground because of the presence of two Christ-followers, surely your work place can too!

At Pentecost, the division between the secular and sacred was taken away. You carry the presence of God to a meeting on a Monday. You bring the power of God to your business on a Tuesday. Do you see how that brings a completely different dimension to the workplace and a whole new dignity to our vocations?

I asked a friend who is a business consultant what it means to be a heaven and earth person.  She said, “I am called to be a praying presence in my workplace for my colleagues, my customers and my boss.” 

A Priestly Presence

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.” 1 Peter 2:9

You are a priestly  presence in your workplace. Maybe you are not able to freely talk about your faith. But your phone calls are your hymns and your emails are your worship songs.  You are a heavenly presence as you work with passion and skills as unto the Lord, as you are trustworthy, as you show concern to your colleagues and as you are ready to give an answer for the hope that you have.

My hairdresser in London was a radiant Christian from Zambia.  She asked the Holy Spirit how to cut my hair. She told me,  “When I am cutting people’s hair, I am praying over my customers.” I have seen people transformed when they visit her salon. They had got a taste of the love of Christ through her priestly presence.

Ask the Lord for wisdom, creativity, courage and sensitivity to know what that looks like in your work place.  Your workplace is a holy place and you are a priestly presence there.

Paul and Silas prayed and the doors of the prison opened but they stayed. Because of their courage, they were able to be lead the jailer to Jesus. To be a priestly presence in the workplace can be challenging. Integrity requires courage.

A friend started as a hedge fund investor. One of his principles as a Christian meant he decided not to invest in the weapons industry. His partners started to see him as a traitor because profit wasn’t his primary goal; Jesus was. To be a priestly presence can come at the cost of your reputation, your salary or even your career.

But your work place might become holy ground for your colleagues, for your customers or for your boss.

In chapter 18, Paul comes to Corinth and joins Priscilla and Aquilla as “tentmakers” – probably leather workers.  Up until medieval times, it was required of a rabbi to have a job and earn a living.

We read that Paul went to the synagogue on the sabbath to preach and he convinced both Jews and Greeks. Maybe one reason for the presence of Greeks was that they knew Paul through his trade.  Maybe they were his customers.  Maybe he invited them for an evening dinner to discuss the meaning of life.

Not working full time in a ministry did not hinder his ministry. His work was part of his ministry. He lived an integrated life. He was a witness whatever he did. Your work is a holy calling.

When Silas and Timothy joined Paul, he dedicated his whole time to preaching. He was flexible. Throughout the whole book of Acts there is no division between the sacred and the secular. There is no distinction in calling between lay workers and businessmen  and clergy. 

There are no second class citizens in the kingdom of God.

Everyone is a “full time” Christian. Luther called this the priesthood of all believers – but this was God’s invention. There is one calling that we have all received. We are all united to witness God wherever God may place us.

This reaches so many different people in different spheres and different contexts. There are many places in the world where people would not set foot in a church. We have to go to them. That doesn’t mean that the evangelists hold a meeting in a pub. The principle that Paul learned is to become one of them. A teacher to the teachers, a lawyer to the lawyers, a shopkeeper to the shopkeepers.

Programmes are not going to win people’s heart; people will.

The beauty of the church is that we are already there. We are in all spheres. We have pilots, IT specialists and hairdressers.  Do we recognise their calling?

This is a word to those of us who are pasters and ministers. The church is not our church. The church exists to train, love, equip and send out the 99% of Christians who faithfully serve their Lord and master in their shops, businesses and workplaces. We have so much to learn from Christians in the workplace.

Why don’t we pray for our workplace priests? When you are full time pastor there are lots of people praying for you.  When you become a businessman there are less people praying for you. How about we get people of the same occupation together to think about what it means to be a Christian as a nurse or a salesman or as a care worker.  Can we let people know that they matter even if they do not volunteer in Church. We are united in one calling, so let’s build each other up.

The last stop of our journey is in Rome. Paul is in prison again and the last verse of the last chapter says, He proclaimed the word of God “without hindrance.”  Until today the gospel keeps travelling in suitcases, with goods of delivery vans and it is gossiped by taxi drivers…  all over the world.

The Lord sends us all out to display and declare the gospel with all boldness and with all humility wherever He calls us.

Julia Garschagen, director of Pontes Institute for Science, Culture and Faith, teaches apologetics at a theological seminary and co-leads the biggest evangelical youth outreach in the German speaking world.