Corporate Christianity
March 31, 2009
Most of my adult life has been spent in ministry leadership, working in a Christian employment context in a church, school, or organization. For that reason, I am ill-prepared to give experience-based advice on living the gospel in a corporate work environment. A good friend, however, who has worked in the corporate world for many years, recently gave me some valuable tips. As a believer attempting to live out your Christian commitment in your work environment, keep the following in mind.
First, expect to be tested. My friend had a co-worker tell him how employees intentionally used foul language and told bawdy stories in this presence to “watch him squirm” when he first started with the company. Over time, the game grew old. But for the first few years he was with the company, it was a regular practice. Whether your co-workers are this intentional or not, you can expect your Christian convictions to be tested. Don’t play the victim or think you are being “persecuted.” Expect it and take it in stride.
Second, do your job well. Professional competence leads to personal influence in the work environment. If you come in late, leave early, slough off your responsibilities, or let your co-workers down, you will have very little influence when you speak up about your Christian convictions. Remember, your workplace is a production facility – not a retreat center. You are there to work, to work hard, and to get things accomplished. Do your job well and you will increase your Christian credibility.
Third, make others successful. Jesus said, “The greatest among you is the servant of all.” When you serve others, you gain influence. In the selfish, dog-eat-dog corporate world, a person who makes other people successful is an anomaly. Be that unusual person who thinks about others, about making your team or company successful, and you will really stand out in the workplace.
Fourth, be honest. Be careful how you handle information, money, supervisory responsibility, and performance appraisals. Tell the truth. Take care of company property and money like it is your own. Treat people fairly. Be frank about problems. Deal with issues on a professional level. Avoid drama! Moral relativism and personal selfishness often mark employment performance. In short, people will often compromise values and morals to protect their own backside! Don’t be that person.
Fifth, be yourself and be a regular guy or gal. If you like basketball, play with the guys after work. Join an exercise group with other women. Talk about your family. Share your hobbies and interests. Admit your weaknesses and struggles. You aren’t super-Christian so don’t try to create an image at work. People know you too well from spending so much time with you to believe your fakery. Be yourself.
Finally, speak up. There is no such thing as “separation of church and state” in a corporate work environment. A Christian has just as much right to their convictions as any other person has to their philosophy, dogma, or belief. Speak up lovingly, winsomely, appropriately – but speak up. Don’t be afraid to reveal your commitment to Jesus Christ.
The workplace is the center of life for most people. Most people spend more time at work that any other place - far more time than at church. We must find ways to be more intentional and authentic as believers at work. Doing so will expand the influence of the gospel and infiltrate the culture with the presence of Jesus. And that is a very good thing!
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Amazing People
March 23, 2009
Golden Gate is in the midst of a multi-year re-accreditation study. We are accredited by both the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) and the Association of Theological Schools (ATS). Once every ten years, we go through a major self-study with an evaluation by a Visiting Team of outside peer experts. The Visiting Team comes twice, about 18 months apart, with extensive preparatory work by the seminary both before and between the visits.
Last week, we completed the first two years of preparation, culminating in the first site visit. The Visiting Team shared their preliminary report with us at the end of the three-day visit. They called us “a very healthy seminary” and commended our excellence at multiple points. Their overall conclusions were overwhelmingly positive. They encouraged us to move aggressively ahead, getting ready for the final visit in about 18 months.
One of the most encouraging findings in their report was our clarity of mission and the remarkable unity our staff and faculty have in pursuing that mission. In short, we have amazing people at Golden Gate who are resolutely focused on accomplishing our mission of shaping leaders who accelerate the fulfillment of the Great Commission.
I am often asked, “What is the best thing about working at the seminary?” or “What makes Golden Gate such a good school?” My answer is always the same: the people. The faculty and staff are amazing people. They are committed to God’s Word and God’s mission. They have long since decided financial sacrifice to be at Golden Gate is “just part of the deal.” They think
mission instead of
job. They choose
cooperation over
competition or
criticism. Every day the people who comprise Golden Gate work hard – mowing grass, cataloging books, managing accounts, and teaching classes – with a rock-solid belief they are changing the world. And, our graduates make it worthwhile as they provide kingdom leadership in multiple contexts on every continent (okay, well maybe not Antarctica yet!).
In the past two years, and particularly last week, the Golden Gate team rose to the challenge of accomplishing the first part of the self-study. It is humbling to be their leader and a privilege to be their friend. Good people, doing God’s work, create remarkable synergy. As one of the Visiting Team members told me, repeating it twice for emphasis, “You have an amazing community here.” Yes, we do!
And now, we get to do it again as we finish the accrediting process with excellent preparation for and accomplishment of the final site visit in 2010. But first, we take a week to celebrate God’s goodness and our good work.
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The Korean Community
March 16, 2009
While many seminaries have Korean students, Golden Gate is unique in how it has embraced the Korean community and developed significant partnerships to advance our shared mission. Here are some examples of what I mean.
This week, Dr. Daniel Lee, pastor of a 30,000 member church in Korea will be on our Northern California Campus delivering the Hester Lectures on Preaching. One of his lectures is “The Role of the Holy Spirit in Preaching.” I am particularly interested in this lecture since this subject is a primary emphasis in my preaching class this spring.
Dr. Lee and I also serve together on the Korean Global Missions Summit Board. This is a coalition of churches and organizations working together to place 1000 Korean-heritage missionaries on the field through the International Mission Board. This was originally a ten year goal but it now appears, because of record response, it will be accomplished much quicker. Working as the training venue for many of these missionaries is another aspect of our partnership.
A future speaker for Intersect 2010, our annual week-long celebration of multi-culturalism throughout our seminary, will be Dr. Billy Kim. Dr. Kim is perhaps the best known Korean leader in the world. He will be our guest in November 2010.
Golden Gate also has three Korean-heritage faculty members, another faculty member fluent in Korean, and several Korean adjunct instructors. We teach a few courses, particularly field-ministry related courses, in Korean. And, even in core courses like my preaching course, we hear and learn from Korean-practitioners who preach the gospel in their cultural context.
One of the enjoyable aspects of embracing the Korean community is vibrancy of the Korean Student Fellowship (KSF). Each year, this group hosts a special chapel, followed by free lunch for everyone. That is a big hit. Yes, I love Korean bar-b-que! BBQ in any language is still the best food going! When we host Korean groups in our home, we have a Korean caterer who provides the food. We have learned to enjoy the best of Korean cuisine (still working on the kimchee!).
Another part of the KSF is Samobang – the Korean women’s ministry on the Northern California Campus. Led by Ann Gill, wife of prominent pastor, adjunct professor, and former trustee David Gill, this ministry prepares Korean women for the challenges of ministry in leadership – from a Korean cultural background, but also in their ever-changing generationally progressing community.
Among our Korean students are some who study with us through our partnership with the Korean Baptist Theological Seminary in Taejon, Korea. This partnership makes it possible for students to do part of their training with Golden Gate, thus expanding their worldview and their cultural understanding of ministry outside Korea.
Finally, and perhaps most significantly, our partnership is expressed through the David and Faith Kim of Global Missions. While funded by a generous naming gift, the Kim School is much broader than any particular ethnic or cultural group. Through its multi-faceted approach to intercultural, missions, evangelism, and church planting, the Kim School is equipping students for all aspects of global ministry and missions in the 21st century.
It’s good to have partners. It’s good to be a global seminary. It’s good to work with and learn from passionate Korean Christians – friends, colleagues, and models who inspire us to greater service.
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The Great Ant War
March 9, 2009
It has been raining, a lot, in the Bay Area over the past few weeks. News reports indicate precipitation on 21 of the past 26 days. And it hasn’t been sprinkling! One day it rained like a monsoon, followed by hail, and then intermittent showers. The result of the super-saturated ground around our house has been ant invasion!
This has been maddening for my wife, Ann. She keeps a clean house but the ant invasion has revealed every crumb, every stray potato chip, and every open package in the pantry. We aren’t dealing with a few ants; we’re talking about hundreds. And, they are everywhere. One night we forget to start the dishwasher, and the next morning we had a dishwasher full of ants feasting on our dirty dishes.
So, we have declared war. We are cleaning and smashing, sealing and vacuuming. We avoided any bug spray in the kitchen for the first few days. Ann didn’t want to contaminate cooking and eating areas. But as we continued to lose the battle, she relented and said, “Blast everything.” As a guy, that was music to my ears! So, on Friday, we sprayed ceilings and countertops and under cabinets. We are now winning the war, but we will see what happens over the next few days.
While fighting my mini-war one of my daily Bible readings was from Proverbs 6 where ants are used as a positive illustration for desirable character qualities. Ants are persistent, frugal, and industrious. They work well with minimal supervision. They plan for the future and store up resources for later use. Ants model some of the character qualities we need to learn or remember, particularly in light of current economic challenges.
Wise people work hard and save for the future. In America, we work as little as possible and borrow against the future.
Wise people work without supervision. In America, we work hard when the boss is looking and take long breaks when he/she isn’t around.
Wise people work persistently, enjoying the satisfaction of finishing a tough project. In America, we want easy jobs with quick results and generous compensation.
So while we are trying to rid our home of these pesky invaders, we also have to admire them. They are little critters, but they have effectively seized control of two adults. They have impacted our schedule, determined our diet, changed our habits, and caused us to spend money on cleaning supplies, bug spray, and lots of zip lock bags. Small creatures, big impact!
Once the ant war is over, we will probably remember our foe fondly. We will try to implement the lessons of Proverbs 6. But for, now, we just keep battling – ridding our kitchen of the whole crawling colony!
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The cure of souls
March 2, 2009
Pastoral ministry involves many facets, but none is more rewarding to me than working with people to apply biblical principles to their complex life situations. This process goes by many names – disciple-making, pastoral care, and personal ministry. But my favorite description of this process is a phrase from a previous century -“the cure of souls.”
God has given me the opportunity to practice this type of spiritual medicine with a small group of professional athletes and their families. My role is simple – facilitate their spiritual development, beginning with conversion and moving toward maturity in their commitment to Jesus Christ. Seeing the personal changes in their lives is deeply gratifying and personally encouraging. The gospel saves lives. The Word of God changes lives. Facilitating that process, personally for a few people, is an honor and a privilege.
Christians, including some pastors, gravitate away from personal work with people. We emphasize programs and separate ourselves into supervisory roles. To be sure, equipping others to make disciples is our core responsibility. But we are supposed to equip other believers to work with us, not in our place. We are supposed to create partners, not replacement players. We are supposed to be models of personal effectiveness with people, not spectators while others do our work. We are supposed to delegate, not dump the responsibility.
All of my adult life I have been a Christian leader. And, by God’s grace, most of that time has been spent in senior leadership roles. This has meant I could easily justify focusing all my time on my administrative tasks, along with speaking and writing. Without much effort, and probably without any criticism from my supervisors, I could wall myself up in my ivory tower and spend very little time working one-on-one with people.
But that has never been an acceptable strategy for me. I need a few people, some individuals I rub shoulders with, to be my personal spiritual responsibility. I need some people to pray for, cry with, teach, counsel, and encourage. I need some names on my prayer list of people who are depending on me for spiritual help. So, I discipline myself and structure my schedule to make the cure of souls a priority.
Doing this has not detracted from my effectiveness in my primary responsibility as a Christian leader of a large organization. In fact, just the opposite has resulted. My personal ministry has kept me focused on the real needs of real people. It has kept me from becoming theoretically aloof and theologically esoteric. In short, my personal work with lost people, new believers, and maturing believers has made me more focused and effective as an organizational leader.
What about you? Do you have some men (or women) you are witnessing to, meeting with for Bible study, encouraging through personal visits, and praying for? If not, why not? Don’t tell me you are too busy!
Accept the personal responsibility for a few – no matter how busy you are or how demanding your leadership role. Model for others what you expect of them as you create a ministry organization that may touch thousands. Don’t give up the cure of souls.
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