The DADI Plan Part 2

When it comes to making intentional faith-at-work connections, it happens best when the connections are specific, measurable and relevant. 

Last week I introduced a "thought template" called The DADI Plan. Today, I'll complete the process by explaining the final step in the Plan: Implementation. 

When it comes to being intentional about living out the implications of our faith in the workplace, our aspirations will remain in the realm of "good intentions" until there is a S.M.A.R.T. plan of action:

S = Specific
M = Measurable
A = Attainable
R = Relevant
T = Time-Oriented

Although the S.M.A.R.T. acronym is often attributed to Peter Drucker, is believed to have first been coined by George T. Doran, in the November, 1981, issue of Management Review. For a concise explanation of S.M.A.R.T., see the Wayne State University summary here.       
 
The point is, a good plan of implementation has specific and measurable objectives that are not only attainable (no "pie-in-the-sky"), but relevant to our situation, and accomplished within a certain time-frame (not "by-and-by").

In the case of Don Flow, whom I am using here as an example, if he were employing The DADI Plan to think through the implications of his faith for customer service, the final step in his DADI Plan process might look something like this:

I will put kiosks into the showroom floor that will enable employees to show customers all the information they need to make a good decision regarding the purchase of a car.

I will require employees to give customers a realistic estimate of the time it will take to fix their cars, with the commitment that if it takes longer, we will deliver the car at our own inconvenience--not the customer's.

I will require my employees to make only one call to explain the repairs needed, and the price. If the problem is misdiagnosed and the problem costs more, we will eat the difference.

If we do not fix the car right the first time, we will not charge for the second. If it takes a second time, we will pick up the car and return it fully detailed, with a full tank of gas.

I will implement these policies over the next 9 months.

For a copy of the complete DADI Plan as I speculate Don Flow might have filled one out, based on what I know about his beliefs and practices, click here. 

Click on the names below for more samples:

William Wilberforce

George Washington Carver

For a blank electronic template to use for yourself, click here  [Downloaded Word file.]

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The DADI Plan

When it comes to being intentional about aligning daily work with the "bigger picture" of a biblical worldview [contextualizing it], The DADI Plan is a helpful tool (pronounced daddy).

This contextualizing aid has five parts:

Part 1: Write down a specific workplace activity you want to align with the biblical world-and-life view. For example, if you were Don Flow, CEO of Flow Automotive, you might write: "I want to live out the full implications of my faith in the context of customer service within my company." 

If you have not done so, please view Flow's SPU speech here.

Part 2: Identify biblical truths you have discovered from Scripture that relate directly to what you identified in Part 1. Write these as "I believe" statements. For example, if you were Don Flow, you might write: "I believe God actively moves in our daily lives to give us opportunities to care for people in the name of Christ. I believe every individual is created, loved and sustained by God, and thus they are worthy of utmost respect and deserve extraordinary service regardless of their behavior or station in life."

For help with biblical truths, click here.

Part 3: List several ways you could apply the beliefs identified in Step 2 to the objective stated in Step 1. Write these as "I could" statements. This is your vision of "what could be." For example, Don Flow might write: "I could put relationships ahead of transactions. I could treat each customer like a valued friend or a guest in my home. I could be transparent and open with each customer throughout the entire process of purchasing a car, or getting one repaired."

Part 4: Identify specific training, research or preparation you must develop in order to be successful. Write these as "I must" statements. Don Flow might write: "I must train all of my employees (many of whom are not believers) to treat each customer as a 'valued friend' or 'guest in the home.' I must put company policies into place that will reinforce the implications of the biblical worldview."

Part 5 is implementation. This will take more space than I have left in today's post. Tune in next week.

In the meantime, try your hand at Part 1-4, when you can get away to a quiet, undisturbed place.

Enlarge this image by clicking on it once. Come back to this page by clicking the small "X" you will see.

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Intentionality Is Key

Intentionality is the key to putting "theology of work" to work. 

In the past two posts, we have seen examples of followers of Christ making intentional alignments between biblical truth and their daily work: Jack van Hartesvelt, who buys and sells hotels, and Don Flow, who sells and services automobiles. 

The key to successful contextualization of faith and work is intentionality. Of course, prayer is essential, and apart from God's enabling grace we are helpless. But sitting down outside of the workplace and thinking through how we can align our work with the biblical worldview is something people like Jack van Hartesvelt and Don Flow have done. At the risk of being redundant: intentionality is key. 

Over the past month, I have shared specific questions to ask when it comes to contextualizing our work. Those questions, along with some I did not include in my posts, are available to you in a single document here: "Questions for Contextualizing Work."

Here's another document you will find useful: "Signs That I Have A Well-Developed Theology Of Work."

Carrying these documents in your wallet or on your smart phone is good. Reading blog posts and saying to yourself, "that's a good idea!" is also good. But not good enough. What it takes, is slowing down long enough to think intentionally about how you can contextualize your faith in your specific workplace. 

I have discovered over the years that giving people practical tools for this process helps. With this in mind, I have developed a number of simple tools for this purpose, and I'll share one of them with you next week.

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How To Align Cars With A Biblical Worldview

Examples of Christ-followers who contextualize their faith in real workplaces are extremely helpful. Last week, we looked at Jack van Hartesvelt, who made a conscious choice to apply what he was hearing on Sunday to the work he was doing on Monday as a hotel investment negotiator.

This week, I want to share another inspiring example: Don Flow, CEO of Flow Automotive. Flow runs a car sales and service company with 32 dealerships in the North Carolina area of the USA.

Most people don't put "Christianity" and "car sales" in the same sentence. For Don Flow, they cannot be separated. Living out the implications of his faith in the real world of automotive sales and service is where his drive comes from. Thinking through how his company could align policy and practice with the biblical worldview has made a dramatic difference in the way Flow Automotive sells and services cars.

In an interview by Al Erisman in Ethix magazine, Flow said: 

"We don’t have the traditional run back and forth negotiating process; we have a pricing structure that’s set. You don’t have to be a tough negotiator, or more educated, to get a fair price. If you’ve got a Ph. D. or if you’re a janitor, you’ll pay the same price for the vehicle. We did a study and found that the people who typically paid the least for the cars were the most able to pay. Those least able to pay, paid the most. For me, it was wrong to take advantage of the least able."

"We want to be transparent to our customers. We share all of our information with them. In our appraisal process of a car, we go online together with the customer, pull up all the auction reports, Kelley Blue Book, NADA Black Book. We have kiosks in our showroom floors so people can go online. So we try to accommodate the customer at every step, in the way they’d like to buy a car. In our operating principle, the customer is in control of the process, and our job is to help the customer in that process."

Several years ago I heard Don Flow give a speech at Seattle Pacific University. I asked permission to edit his remarks, and I invite you to watch this 4-minute clip, to get a picture of how to align cars with a biblical worldview:

If this video does not play, click here. 

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The Most Inspiring Thing You'll Hear All Month

In his book The Call, Os Guinness makes an astute observation: "The problem with Western Christians is not that they aren't where they should be but that they aren't what they should be where they are."

Imagine a world in which followers of Christ (who are sprinkled like salt throughout the entire spectrum of society in the workplace--right now) got up on Monday morning and said: "Today, by God's grace, I'm going to live out the full implications of my faith at work!"

What might happen if the Body of Christ (even 10%) were to actually take what we heard on Sunday morning and apply in on Monday morning in the workplace? 

If you want to see what might happen, watch the video below. It is the personal account of Jack van Hartesvelt, who decided to bring what he heard on Sunday to work with him on Monday. It may be the most inspiring thing you'll hear all month. 

To put work into the larger context of the biblical view of Moral Order and Purpose, here are some questions we can ask:

How has the reality of sin in a fallen world affected this activity? What can I do about it?

Is justice being done in and through this activity?

How can God's will be done on the earth today, as it is in heaven, through this activity? 

How does this activity fulfill The First Commission given by God to human beings: to govern over all the earth (Gen. 1:26-28)?

How does this activity provide opportunities for me to "observe all that Christ commanded," as given in the Great Commission of Matthew 28:18-20?

How does this activity relate to eternity? What eternal purpose does this activity have? How might this activity relate to what will be going on in the New Earth (Rev. 21)?

How does this activity serve to reconcile all things to Christ (Col. 1)?

What does the Kingdom of God "look like" when it "comes" to this activity? This workplace?

How does this activity provide opportunities for me (by God's grace) to be "salt" and "light" in the world?

Why is this activity truly worthwhile? Why does it really matter?

Think about these questions as you watch Jack's story. He buys and sells hotels for an investment firm. The week before I interviewed him, his company sold a hotel in Manhattan for one million dollars--per room:

If this video does not play, click here.

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"The Basic Problem Of The Christians..."

Francis Schaeffer wrote in A Christian Manifesto: "The basic problem of the Christians...is that they have seen things in bits and pieces instead of totals." 

Contextualization is a way of seeing that brings greater understanding and meaning to things than the things have in themselves. For followers of Christ, ultimate contextualization is about viewing all things in the context of the greatest larger "total:" the biblical world-and-life view.

Students contextualize academic disciplines when they view them in the context of something much larger than the academic disciplines themselves. When plants are viewed in the context of a biblical world-and-life view, they take on greater meaning, significance and purpose than plants have by themselves. George Washington Carver got this. 

Airline pilots and NFL quarterbacks can contextualize their work when they view it in the context of something bigger than piloting and playing football. [Go Hawks!]

When it comes to viewing our work in the context of a biblical understanding of Creation and Humanity, we can ask questions like:

How does my work fit into God's reason for creating the material world, and all that it contains? [What is God's intention for airplanes? For football?]

Are there unseen spiritual realities working against me? [How can I appropriate the grace of God through a painful string of interceptions, and still "keep the faith?"] 

How does God's ownership of all things relate to the material blessings I enjoy? What responsibilities come with these blessings? 

How can I encourage a full release and function of God’s gifts in others through my position as a pilot, or a quarterback, or a mother or a CEO?

Am I "carrying Christ well" at work? [I may be the only "Bible" my co-workers, passengers or fans will ever read.] 

What physical, emotional or spiritual needs of others can be met through my work? How can I be an "agent of grace" when things are going wrong?

How does my work fit into my primary call to be conformed to the image of Christ? How does my work help bring this about--or hinder it? 

Rather than answer all of the questions above, try focusing on just one that interests you, and "peel the onion." Or, create your own question! As I mentioned last week, the best questions are those we ask ourselves. 

Next week we'll look at contextualization questions relating our work to the bigger picture of Moral Order and Purpose.

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Nothing Is Better Than A Well-Framed Question

Contextualization is a way of bringing more meaning to "pieces" of life than the pieces have by themselves. [Click here.]

When Christian teachers contextualize, they help students see how any topic or activity relates to the larger context of a biblical world-and-life view. This larger context provides a unified view of everything, and justifies the very concept of a "universe." [That's what people used to study at the university, before the secularization of higher education. At one time, theology was the "Queen of the Sciences." Imagine that!]

Workers [including students], contextualize their work when they put it into the larger context of a biblical worldview. Through this, we are able to bring more meaning to the "pieces" of our jobs than they can possibly have in themselves. Remember: we don't find meaning in our work, be bring meaning to our work.  

When it comes to contextualizing, nothing is better than a well-framed question. Posing good questions is more powerful than making statements. Jesus often taught by asking questions. Great questions are ones that cause people to reflect deeply, and to personalize their answers.  The best questions are those we ask ourselves!

With this in mind, I'll share some thoughts about questions for contextualization.  

First, understand that 99.8% of all questions that relate anything to the "bigger picture" of a biblical worldview fall within five categories: 1. Questions relating things to God. 2. Questions relating things to Creation. 3. Questions relating things to Humanity. 4. Questions relating things to Moral Order. 5. Questions relating things to Purpose. All contextualization questions flow from this deep pool.

When it comes to seeing our work in the context of God, we might ask:

What does God think about this activity?

What joy (or pain) does God receive through this activity?

How does God speak to people through this activity? What might He want to say to others through what I do, and how I do it?

Where was God when _________ happened [something went wrong]? How did God reveal Himself when this thing occurred? Was He saying something?

How does the centrality of Christ relate to this activity? How is He honored by it? (Dishonored?)

What qualifies this activity to be called "the work of God?"

Try some of these questions. Better yet, shape some questions for yourself!

Next week: questions for contextualizing Creation and Humanity.

Students are workers--without pay. They can bring extraordinary meaning to their math work when they view it in the context of something much larger than math itself. Wise students don't find meaning in their schoolwork, they bring meaning to it. (Effective teachers facilitate this.) Boeing engineers can do the same, bringing meaning to their work by putting it into the context of God's "bigger picture." So can bankers, bus drivers and bakers. This kind of contextualization was integral to education at early Harvard and Yale (prior to the secularization of American schools), and provided a pattern for generations to come. But it has since disappeared, even among Christian schools, at all levels. See the research by Dr. David Scott here.  

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The Power And Import Of Contextualization

What do you see in the photo above?

I have shown this image to many groups around the world, and I have asked the same question: What is it? What is the truth about this? What are you looking at?

The most common answers I receive are: "the rings of Saturn," "a tire," or "a coffee cup."

The object in the photo is something familiar. In fact, some of you may see it every day. But in all the years of doing this exercise, I have never had anyone correctly identify the image.  

Why? Because there is not enough of the whole to make proper sense of the part. I have whited out most of the photo. There is not enough of the complete picture to decipher the portion. To put it another way, there is not enough of the context to bring true meaning to the piece.

This illustrates the power and import of contextualization. That is, putting "pieces" into the context of a "larger whole" that will bring more meaning to the pieces then the pieces can have by themselves. Great teachers don't find meaning in the topics they teach. They bring meaning to them.

In the case of school teachers, a "piece" can be a piece of history, a piece of science, a piece of literature, a piece of athletics, or a piece of music. Christian teachers are in the unique position to help students put these "pieces" into the context of a much larger, significant whole. One that is real, purposeful and powerful: the biblical world-and-life view.

When this is done by skillful teachers in a classroom, biblical contextualization brings far greater meaning to academic "pieces" than the "pieces" can possibly have by themselves. This is what authentic Christian education is about.

Contextualization is a vital skill for followers of Christ in the workplace, too. A "piece" can be a piece of carpentry, from a whole house, to a small cabinet. A piece of business can be a contract, or a return policy. A piece of civil service can be a legislative bill, or a way to handle public input.

How can we put the "pieces" of our jobs into the context of a larger, significant whole that will bring greater meaning to our work than paying the rent?  

Stay tuned.

To find out the true meaning of the image at the top of the page, you may view it in context here.

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Do You Have A Plan?

Is it reasonable to think this meal would be created without a plan?

We can be led by the Spirit in the workplace, and good things can happen spontaneously. But we can also "study to show ourselves approved unto God, as workmen who need not be ashamed" (II Timothy 2:15), and studying is something we do ahead of time, with intentionality. 

A few weeks ago I wrote about the critical role Scripture plays in living out our faith in the context of the workplace. But this requires more than reading a few devotional Bible verses before we leave for work. Taking time to think about how God's Truth can be intentionally "fleshed out" at work on Monday morning requires a bit more focus.

When was the last time you sat down outside of your work time and studied how you might "flesh out" your faith in the context of your job? Do you have a plan for your faith-work connection? Have you studied how you might do your work “as unto the Lord,” as though Christ were going to drive the next car you fix, live in the next house you clean, or be a passenger on the next airliner you pilot? 

Perhaps you have studied how you might improve your golf swing. Very good! I'm sure the President does this, too. So why not study how you can improve your faith-at-work swing?

Can we be intentional and systematic about such things? I think so. And with this in mind, I'll be sharing some tools with you over the next few weeks that will help in this process. These are tools you can use to bring greater meaning to your work, in an intentional way, no matter what kind of work you may be doing.

I'll start with a critical concept I often share with Christian school teachers: the art and science of contextualization. By "contextualization" I mean putting smaller “pieces” into the context of a more significant "larger whole." When we do this in a certain way, in relation to a certain larger whole, we are able to bring more meaning to the "pieces" of our work than the "pieces" can possibly have by themselves. 

I'll start explaining next week. 

The Year In Pixs: 2014

With grateful hearts for God's continued grace and direction, and with thanks for the continued support of those who helped make it possible, we share these highlights of 2014:

January began with 9 days of teaching in South Korea, including this 2-day conference for school teachers hosted by the Korean branch of the Association of Christian Schools International on the campus of Torch Trinity Graduate School. Thank you Scott Lee!

I had a wonderful week teaching graduate students at ACTS, the Asian Center for Theological Studies and Mission. Thank you, Joyce Park!

When you talk with your hands, you don't need an interpreter!

Teaching on contextualizing Christianity in the workplace with employees of  E-Land Group, the largest integrated fashion and retail company in Korea. 

On the cover of a Korean magazine.

Dinner in Korea!

With students at the William Cornelius Vocational High School, in Guatemala City, Guatemala, a unique Christian school devoted to preparing high school students for employment as dental assistants, computer technicians, mechanics and more. Awesome!

Here I am with the senior class at El Shaddai School, in Guatemala City, along with Pastor Mario Larios (far right). This school is one of a group of Christian schools around the globe engaged in a special Pilot Project with Worldview Matters in cooperation with Bakke Graduate University and the Institute for Faith, Work and Economics, to restore Theology of Work [TOW] to the K-12 curriculum. I'll tell you more about this project in coming posts.

Dinner in Guatemala!

This is Norma Buendia, Vice-Principal at Jesu el Buen Pastor [Jesus the Good Shepherd] Christian School in Lima, Peru. This school is also part of the TOW K-12 Pilot Project mentioned above. 

I took this photo of Miss Diana [English teacher at Jesu el Buen Pastor Christian School] with one of her students.

Lunch in Peru!

This is the administrative office of one of the K-12 TOW Pilot Project schools, Kingdom Citizens International School, in Los, Nigeria. It is built upon a rock! [Biblical, isn't it?] Training for the K-12 TOW Pilot Project is done on-line via the distance learning course we created, called, Increase Meaning: A Wholistic Approach To Christian Education, along with monthly SKYPE calls between myself and each Pilot Project school principal. In this case, Headmaster Segun Gbolagun. 

Five of the K-12 TOW Pilot Project schools are in the United States: two in Iowa, one in Kansas, one in Washington State, and one in Virginia. The school in Virginia, Grace Christian School, asked me to do a Saturday morning workshop for parents, high school students and the broader community, called, "God's Pleasure At Work: The Application of Biblical Truth to Everyday Life and Vocation." It was well attended, thank the Lord.

Invitations from other Christian schools resulted in live workshops at Tri-City Christian School, Vista, California (pictured above) and Somerset Christian School, Somerset, Kentucky (pictured below). [Not pictured are Bellingham Christian School, in Bellingham, Washington, and Word of God Academy, in Schreveport, Louisiana.]

I had a delightful time teaching on Theology of Work for four days at a YWAM (Youth With A Mission) base in Monroe, Washington. Most of these students are from South Korea. Yes, they're sending missionaries to America. Send more!

There is hunger, too, in Canada for teaching on integration of faith and work. I was blessed to speak at the Classical Learning Centre on Vancouver Island, in beautiful British Columbia. Thank you Mike Groenewold!

I was also blessed to be one of the plenary speakers at the annual NEXUS LIVE conference hosted by the Association of Christian Schools International, broadcast via satellite from Washington, D.C., to about 14,000 teachers and administrators nationwide. 

Teaching at a 3-day conference in Kiev, Ukraine, where the focus was on how to prepare young people through Christian education to make connections between biblical faith and work, getting Theology of Work into the K-12 curriculum. Hopefully some day such an event will be held in America!

Dinner in Kiev! (Keeping my weight down? Not easy!)

In the past year, we received financial support from 21 faithful donors. Thanks so very much! You helped make the above possible! The board of Worldview Matters has made it a goal to double the number of donors in the next 18 months. If any readers would like to become part of our support team, we'll gladly welcome you to "the club!" If you are still looking for a place to put that end-of-the-year donation, you may do so using the "donate" button in the RH column of this blog. Or call us at 425.246.5386. Our address is 2800 122nd PL NE, Bellevue, WA  98005.
Happy New Year, one and all! 

The Greatest Christmas Gift

[This post first appeared on December 25, 2009, and has become a tradition, posted every Friday before Christmas.]

This statue of Isaac Watts, lyricist of Joy To The World, is in Southampton, England, the place of his birth in 1674. Having written some 750 hymns, Watts has been dubbed "The Father of English Hymnody." [Photo public domain, by Northernhenge.]

One of my favorite hymns is Joy To The World. The words are by Isaac Watts, based on Psalm 98: "Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth; make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise. Let the floods clap their hands; let the hills be joyful together before the Lord; for He cometh to judge the earth, with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity."

Some say the hymn is not about the birth of Christ in Bethlehem, but about His second coming. The joy that is sung about, then, is a future joy that will occur when Christ returns, to “make the nations prove the glories of His righteousness,” in that full expression of His Kingdom yet-to-come.

This may be what Watts had in mind, I don't know, but the song makes as much sense to me as a celebration of Christ's first coming. While I’m looking forward to that full and perfect expression of Christ’s Kingdom-yet-to-come, I’m  celebrating His Kingdom-already-here. Jesus is Lord of all. Today! Not just in the future, but in the present moment (Acts 10:36-37).

The Kingdom hasn't fully come yet, nor is it perfectly functional now. This will happen when Christ comes the second time. But the domain over which Christ is King (that is, His King-domain) presently includes both heaven and earth. 

This is the greatest Christmas gift: that Christ came “to make His blessings flow, far as the curse is found, far as the curse is found.” Right now, His blessings are to flow through people who are reconciled to God, and in turn reconciling all things to Him, including the things of Earth. That's the big idea behind Christ's coming in the first place. (See Col. 1:16-20, and To Reconcile Not Only People But Things.)

So, no more let thorns infest the ground. By God's amazing grace, let's put our work gloves on, go to our workplaces after the Christmas celebration, whether at home or in the community, to pull up bramble bushes─and plant redwood trees.

Joy to the Earth! the Savior reigns; Let men their songs employ; While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains, Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat, repeat the sounding joy! 

Far as the curse is found.

Does It Make A Difference Where Your Grocery Gets Its Apples?

This plastic bag containing apples my wife recently purchased from a nearby grocery outlet caught my eye. The large print at the top reads: "WE BELIEVE BUSINESS CAN AND SHOULD EFFECT SOCIAL CHANGE." Below this headline, the text explains how the company, First Fruits of Washington, supports a home for girls in Mexico, builds pride in home ownership, and provides safe water systems in Kenya. That's not all you should know about this company.

When people use the term "big business" these days, it isn't usually uttered in a positive light. This is a travesty, because big business can bear remarkably positive fruit...if done in a certain way.

Broetje Orchards has over 6,000 acres of apples and cherries in my home state of Washington. On one of the largest privately held orchards in the US, First Fruits of Washington produces 15 different varieties of apples. The company has a capacity to pack about 20,000 boxes of apples per day, which is over 5 million boxes a year. During peak harvest times, 1,000 temporary workers join the company’s 1,100 full-time employees.

This sounds like big business to me! Thank God for it. Why? Because Ralph and Cheryl Broetje, founders and owners, are committed to a biblically-informed view of business, a biblically-informed view of community, and a biblically-informed view of work that would make any 18th Century Moravian smile with glee.

On the company website you'll read: "During the past 30 years our employees have become our community. Together we tend a large fruit garden that then takes care of our needs. As we have learned how to care for one another over the years, we as a community are increasingly able to extend resources and solidarity to other communities both in the U.S and internationally."

Not only is First Fruits committed to growing quality fruit in a way that models best practices for others in the industry, but in the process they truly respect those who work for them: "Our belief is that business does not have to thrive at the expense of the planet or its people, but can chart a course that provides all parties an opportunity to improve." They are addressing the poverty issue, starting right where they live.

What motivates the Broetjes? The screenshot below, from their company website, spells it out with no ambiguity [click the image to enlarge it]:

I encourage you to visit the First Fruits of Washington website yourself. It's very appealing.

Does it make a difference where your grocery gets its apples? It can. Perhaps you could send your local grocery outlet this post, along with a personal note suggesting they consider purchasing apples from First Fruits. Just a thought. The Sales Information page is here.

Intersecting Our Culture

Today's post, Intersecting Our Culture, is by my friend Dr. Larry Peabody, who teaches Theology of Work at Bakke Graduate University. It is posted here with Larry's permission, having originally appeared on July 31, 2014, in his blog, Called Into Work.  

To intersect, says Webster, is to "meet and cross at a point" or to "share a common area.” Where is that point or common area where we as Christ-followers most often intersect our culture?

Some time ago, a pastor friend said he and his church were looking for some way to build relationships with their community. Although he didn’t use the term, they were seeking a way to intersect the culture around them. But how can any church do that effectively?

In church buildings? Clearly we need to gather regularly with other believers. The New Testament, in urging us not to give up meeting together, leaves no doubt about that (Heb. 10:25). But as important as our (typically) Sunday meetings are, they are hardly an effective way to intersect the surrounding culture—for at least two reasons. First, most profess the same faith in Christ. Unbelievers, if any, are few and attend intermittently. Second, once-a-week meetings do not amount to any significant contact even with the few who may be present.

In church outreach programs? Some churches draw in hundreds of neighborhood kids for VBS summer events. Work days in the community can provide useful services. But these events come and go. They usually do not result in repeated or long-term relationships.

In our neighborhoods? One study revealed that a mere 25 percent of us know the names of those in nearby homes. In Bowling Alone, Robert Putnam wrote that neighborhood relationships are "measurably more feeble now than a generation ago.”

But what about the workplace? Suppose your church includes 100 adults. Assume 60 of them work in paid jobs. On average, each of them will have 16 coworkers. Say each knows another 20 in his or her job network (customers, patients, students, vendors, and so on). In that case the workplace "salt-and-light” reach of your 100-adult congregation would total 2,160. And those on-the-job relationships will continue with some regularity week in, week out, year in, and year out.

Nearly two out of three adult believers spend 40 percent of their waking hours on the job. What proportion of our church meetings should aim at equipping them to season their workplace relationships with salt and shine light into the surrounding darkness? Has the time come to equip Christians to intersect our culture in that shared common area where believers and unbelievers constantly cross paths?