Reflections
APPLYING CHRISTIAN FAITH IN A MULTI-CONTEXTUAL WORLD
By Pete Hammond
Context matters! If it did not, our Bible would be a lot shorter.
A complex system of industries and roles comprise worship and workplaces in developed cultures. Each place and each position has its own rules, demands, challenges, and definitions. Applying the Christian faith in this multi-contextual world challenges believers and should not be oversimplified. We cannot assume that simple generic truths and applications are appropriate or helpful.
An example of this complexity is modeled in Scripture: to understand and communicate Jesus Christ to the early Church within the Roman Empire, four different biographies (known as "The Gospels") were required.1 The letters Paul sent the various churches to encourage and support believers provide evidence of this complexity. He wrote separate and distinct letters to Rome, Corinth, Galatia, Ephesus, Philippi, Colosse and Thessalonica. In addition, Peter, James, Jude and the writer of Hebrews wrote many letters to various scattered believers. This illustrates contextualized faith practices.
Perspectives provided in the historical Old Testament records offer very similar content, but distinctly different approaches. For instance, 1st and 2nd Samuel, 1st and 2nd Kings, and 1st and 2nd Chronicles cover the same time period in Hebrew history, but approach it differently. Samuel and Kings take a political, prophetic, and moral history posture, while the Chronicles engage the spiritual and religious aspects of their story. The Chronicles read like a sermon, whereas Kings read as history. The number of Hebrew prophetic books, reflecting differing times, cultures, and contexts for faith and justice to be practiced also evidence contextual diversity. The environment, culture, and the historical era of its practitioners significantly shape our faith.
Scripture describes people as workers. When God sheds his light on people, their work matters. One study shows 75% of all the people in Scripture never held a religious job in their lives. They went to work everyday in contexts and roles similar to many of today’s workplace realities. They had tough bosses, worked under difficult circumstances, experienced conflict on the job, low pay, competition and had little job security. Many of their responsibilities mirror some of today’s jobs.2
Today’s resurgence of ministry-in-daily-life or marketplace ministry has given rise to a wide variety of guilds or networks of believers within specific industries.3 In addition, the hundreds of books about various jobs, workplaces, and issues have appeared.4 Below is one formulation of different industry contexts in which believers serve the Lord while also serving all stakeholders, suppliers, employees and customers.
- Agriculture; Food Services
- Business; Manufacturing; Advertising; Retailing
- Communication; Media; News
- Construction; Architecture; Engineering; Maintenance/Repair
- Education; Training
- Entertainment; Arts; Sports; Leisure; Recreation
- Energy; Mining; Fuel
- Finance; Insurance; Banking
- Government; Public Service; National Resources; Military
- Health Care; Counseling; Life Services, Care-givers
- Protection; Law; Justice; Corrections; Security
- Science; Technology; Research
- Social Services; Religion; Not-for-profit
- Travel; Tourism; Transportation; Import-Export; Hospitality
Congregations, or faith communities, should consider these clusters for church school, small groups, and spiritual formation classes, based upon affinity groupings. Who serves in one of the above categories in your parish or congregation? Do they know each other? How can they be better equipped to practice kingdom development workplace?
These categories can also serve as subtitles in the church directory so believers can find each other by work group. Using the above generic categories, will avoid quickly dating any listing by job change. Designing and offering commissioning or blessing ceremonies in the worship service setting could help these groupings of workers. Rotate among the affinity groups over a liturgical year or a several-year cycle.
Consider the roles people have across many of these industries. Instead of differing specialities listed above, look at the roles people play. Options for this kind to assessment include:
- Administration, middle management, operations
- Clerical, support staff, office workers
- Financial management, accounting, book-keeping
- Human Resources, benefits management
- Legal Services
- Maintenance, repair, general services, building and grounds
- Middle Management, team leaders
- Product development
- Sales, customer service
- Senior management, executive leadership, owners
- Technology services, computer support
- Training
Apply this principle of contextualization to another category: the varying types of congregational location and makeup in different cities and social contexts. The store-front urban church might be similar in size to the rural congregation, but it faces very different challenges. Suburban mega-churches face the challenges that dominate the industries the members work in, and these will vary from industrial cities to seaports, from entertainment and economic centers to downtown historic congregations. This last group brings along a set of memories and realities the others don’t, and they must be engaged.
In addition, the variety of racial and ethnic histories and traditions represent more major differences in what believers experience. Each person needs help in engaging their ethnic legacies— both the good—to be celebrated and the bad—to be repented of and changed. Other contextual differences include gender, family history, variations in family structure and systems, a wide variety of temperaments, gifts & skills, diversity in economic status, the mix in age or generations, and the spiritual beginnings, tradition and heritage.
In light of life’s realities and the examples presented in Scripture we should expect all these variations of spirituality and faith practices. The apostle Paul sought to help the Corinthian believers grasp this when he wrote, "Now, there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone..." 1st Corinthians 12:4-6, (NRSV). Different makeup, differing styles, and various outcomes should all to be practiced in a wide variety of contexts.
But we share one faith, centered in Jesus Christ as portrayed in Scripture. For, "there is one body and one spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called—one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of us all, who is over all and through all and in all....as each part does its work." Ephesians 4:4-6, 16, (NRSV). We have great unity amid the rich diversity of our callings.
Let's celebrate that rich challenge, support one another's callings, hold our assessments of each other gently, and deliver the faith into our various contexts. Let’s engage these contexts in our congregations and parishes, as we seek to nurture and equip God’s people to be agents of the kingdom in their assignments at work and in our communities.
1 Mark wrote first and sought to answer the question, "Who is Jesus Christ?" Matthew targeted his Jewish peers, hence the opening chapter in Hebrews is a genalogy, and the focus is on Christ as the expected Messiah. Luke sought to explain Jesus to his Gentile friends and Jesus' mission to the neediest of the day. John, the last Gopsel writer, focused on the theological questions and intracacies sorrounding Christ. Each author had an audience in mind. Hence, many Christian leaders emphasize the importance that our witness should include active listening, as you engage each individual person in their context.
2 For one description of biblical workplaces, see the "Job and Occupations" Index in the Word In Life Study Bible, Contemporary English Version, pages 2100-1226, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1998. Over 21 job descriptions are listed, illustrating that you can find workplace friends in Scripture.
3 Among evangelicals (across Catholic, Charismatic and Protestant streams) there are scores of workplace-faith guilds. The oldest originated in the mid-20th century. Among them are Christian Legal Society, the Christian Medical and Dental Society, the Christian Teachers Fellowship, Nurses Christian Fellowship, and the Officers Christian Fellowship. Today there are many more, such as the Christian Nuclear Scientists Fellowship, Christian Realtors Association, Cops for Christ, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, the North American Association of Social Workers....and the list goes on and on. They are similar to "orders" in the Roman Catholic tradition.
4 For an overview of this movement and its many books, see Hammond, Stevens, and Svanoe’s Marketplace Annotated Bibliography, IVP, 2002.
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