Taking Jesus With You…All the Way to the Office

Today, I want to revisit the idea of your needing to be a pastor to the people who you work with each day. I am a pastor of a church family, and so some of my roles or duties to my church members include:

• being an example of godliness,
• speaking the truths of God,
• providing comfort during times of crisis, and
• giving godly guidance to those needing direction.

And to be honest, everyone in this world needs someone who will do these things for them. But there are people who work with you who do not go to church… so who will provide these things to them? I will never have the opportunity to pray for them, share with them, or guide them. So God placed you there to tackle this role! He wants you to take on the role of being a workplace pastor for the people you work with each and every day.

I want to share with you some thoughts over the next few days about how to start doing this in your place of employment, whether you sit behind a desk or on a piece of heavy machinery instead of standing behind a pulpit. But both the professional preacher and you have the same roles – it is just that our “congregations” are different. Let’s start with this idea:

“Secular vocations are not bad, when we make them strategic.”

Sometimes some of you may hear a pastor urging more people into ministry-related vocations. Certainly we need more pastors, more ministers. But that doesn’t mean that a secular vocation cannot also be a ministry. It just has to be intentional and strategic to take place. How intentional and strategic are you in taking Jesus with you to work?

“You don’t waste your life by where you work, but by how you work and why you work.”

John Piper calls this: “Making Much of Christ from 8-5.” He says:

“The “war” is being fought along the line between sin and righteousness in every family. It is being fought along the line between truth and falsehood in every school
. . . between justice and injustice in every legislature
. . . between integrity and corruption in every office
. . . between love and hate in every ethnic group
. . . between pride and humility in every sport
. . . between the beautiful and the ugly in every art
. . . between right doctrine and wrong doctrine in every church
. . . and between sloth and diligence between coffee breaks.

It is not a waste to fight the battle for truth and faith and love on any of these fronts.

The war is not primarily spatial or physical—though its successes and failures have physical effects.

Therefore, the secular vocations of Christians are a war zone. There are spiritual adversaries to be defeated (that is, evil spirits and sins, not people); and there is beautiful moral high ground to be gained for the glory of God. You don’t waste your life by where you work, but how and why.”

You have a role to play in the spiritual warfare that is taking place all around you – especially at your work with your fellow employees. As you step into the secular workforce, you are stepping into a spiritual warzone. It is your role to strategically and intentionally battle for truth, faith, and love on the frontlines as a workplace pastor. How well have you prepared for this frontline battle?

Have you ever seen someone else do a good job of taking Jesus to work with them and serving as a workplace pastor?
What made them effective?

— brian rushing

        (Quotes in today’s post are from Don’t Waste Your Life by John Piper)