Reflections
QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR DAILY LIFE AND WORK
By Edward White
As a Pastor, these are the questions I would want to ask my people about their ministry in daily life:
1. What meaning or fulfillment do you experience from what you do Monday through Saturday? What aspects of your work are most rewarding? What aspects of your work are most frustrating? 1
2. Someone has suggested that a valid "Call" from God should meet at least four criteria:
- It is something God wants done.
- It matches and challenges your particular gifts.
- It is work that you find internally meaningful.
- Others affirm you in doing this.
All Christians are called to "full-time Christian service" whether it be as a preacher, a lawyer, school teacher, or a homemaker. How do you understand your call? 2
3. In what ways do you experience what you do during the week as "ministry?" 3
4. Where do you find support and accountability for your ministry? 4
5. What gifts has God given you that you exercise in your ministry? 5
6. In what ways are you able to "glorify and enjoy God" in your work? 6
7. What ethical or justice issues do you confront in your work? 7
8. Can you identify times when Scripture has helped you cope with issues and problems in the workplace? 8
9. What role do you play as a "trust builder" or "community builder" in the workplace? How has your experience of Church helped you in this role? 9
10. What spiritual resources have you found most helpful in relation to your work? 10
11. Do you suffer from workaholism? Where do you find help for addressing this problem? 11
12. How do you address the "balance" of life in terms of work, home, community, and church? 12
13. Where do you find help in resisting the compulsive "consumerism" that afflicts our culture? 13
14. How do you experience the present culture of this society as a climate for your daily ministry? Is it supportive? Indifferent? Hostile? 14
FOOTNOTE S:
1 Caretakers Of Creation: Farmers Reflect On Their Faith & Work, Patrick Slattery (ED). Augsburg/ACTA, Minneapolis/Chicago 1991. Moving testimonies by farmers who have a commitment to the stewardship of creation.
Of Human Hands: A Reader In the Spirituality of Work, Gregory F. Augustine Pierce (ED). Augsburg/ACTA, Minneapolis/Chicago 1991. Moving testimonies by persons in many walks of life who feel called by God to what they are doing all week long .
The Monday Connection: A Spirituality of Competence, Affirmation and Support in the Workplace, Harper's San Francisco 1991. Explores five types of ministry in daily life: competency, presence, ethics, change and values .
2 The Authority of the Laity, by Verna Dozier. Alban Institute, Washington, DC 1982. Sets forth the biblical mandate for ministry in daily life .
Do What You Love, The Money Will Follow, by Marsha Sinetar. New York Dell Books 1987. Responds to a national survey which concluded that 95% of the working population is unhappy doing what they do .
In Search of Faithfulness, by William Diehl. Philadelphia Fortress Press 1987. A study of 174 Lutheran business executives to discern the marks of Christian faithfulness. The most distinguishing mark is a sense of call .
Listening Hearts: Discerning Call in Community, by Suzanne Farnham, et al. Morehouse Publishers, Harrisburg, PA 1991. A manual for "discernment groups" who can help folks sort out vocational decisions by being active listeners and asking the right "questions."
The Dream Of God: A Call To Return, by Verna Dozier. Cowley Publications, Boston, MA 1991. A prophetic recollection of our call to follow Jesus and not merely to worship Him.
3 Caring For Society, by Robert Kinast. Thomas More Press, Chicago 1985. Contains a beautiful portrayal of how seeing our daily life and work as ministry can help us to see new horizons.
4 The Empowering Church: How One Congregation Supports Lay Peoples' Ministries in the World, by Davida Foy Crabtree. Alban Institute, Washington, DC 1989. Describes the adventure of a congregation that decided to be as serious about sending people into the world as about gathering them out of it.
Ministry Explorations: A Total Ministry Support System, by Jean M. Haldane. Seattle, WA Renewal Press, 1981. An excellent 17 session inductive curriculum that leads people to reflect on their story, on The Story and on the connection between the two. Also explores the ideas of call and of ministry .
Linking Faith and Daily Life: An Educational Program For Lay People, by Robert Reber. Alban Institute, Washington, DC 1991. An outstanding introductory curriculum to help persons connect their faith with their daily life and work. Designed as a weekend retreat followed by six mid-week dinner sessions, this program emerged from the actual experience of congregational study groups of various traditions .
The Co-dependant Church, by Virginia Curran Hoffman. Crossroads, New York 1991. An incisive critique of the mutually destructive relationship between the power needs of the church hierarchy and the security needs of passive dependent parishioners. A striking description of the "debilitating church" as distinct from the empowering church.
5 What Color is Your Parachute? By Richard Bolles. Ten Speed Press, Berkeley, CA 1992. An outstanding manual for the job seeker, which is updated annually and filled with information and resources .
Working From the Heart: For Those Who Hunger For Meaning and Satisfaction In Their Work, by Jacqueline McMakin and Sonya Dyer. Luramedia, San Diego, CA 1989. A basic manual for folks who are trying to figure out what to do with the rest of their lives .
The Truth About You: Discover What You Should Be Doing With Your Life, by Arthur F. Miller and Ralph T. Mattson. Ten Speed Press, Berkeley, CA 1989. Discovering your motivational pattern by looking at your own story of motivated achievements .
6 Business Through Eyes of Faith, by Chewing, Eby and Roels. Harper & Row, San Francisco, CA 1990. A clear and thoughtful manual for the ethically committed business person.
7 The Greed Syndrome: An Ethical Sickness in American Capitalism, by J. Arthur Baird. Hampshire Books, Akron/Philadelphia, 1989. Describes the many ways in which greed is becoming institutionalized in our culture. The Responsible Manager: Practical Strategies for Ethical Decision-making, by Michael Rion. Harper & Row, San Francisco 1990. A thoughtful temperate exploration of the ethical complexities of being a manager. A Woman's Place: Equal Partnership in Daily Ministry, by Judith R. Diehl. Fortress Press, Philadelphia 1985. A straight forward treatment of women's issues in church and society. 8 Your Work Matters to God, by Doug Sherman and William Hendricks. Navpress, Colorado Springs, CO 1987. A thoughtful theologically conservative exploration of the biblical understanding of the vocation of the laity . 9 Leadership Is An Art, by Max Depree. Dell Paperback, NY 1989. A brilliant description of Christian leadership in business by a highly committed and highly successful businessman. 10 Converting 9 to 5: A Spirituality of Daily Work, by John C. Haughey. Crossroad Publishing, NY, 1989. An in-depth exploration of how to help folks develop their own indigenous spirituality that will work for them in the workplace. God: Our Loving Enemy, by W. Robert McClelland. Abingdon, Nashville, 1982. We must experience God as enemy before we are likely to truly understand the love of God. The Acquittal of God: A Theology for Vietnam Veterans, by Uwe Siemon-Netto. Pilgrim Press, NY, 1990. Discerning the reality of the biblical God in the midst of an indifferent pagan culture where folks experience the same rejection that Jesus did. 11 Working Ourselves to Death: The High Cost of Workaholism and the Rewards of Recovery, by Daine Fassel. Harper, San Francisco, 1990. Clear exploration of workaholism as an addiction. 12 Ordinary People as Monks and Mystics: Lifestyles for Self-Discovery, by Marsha Sinetar. Paulist Press, NY 1986. "Monks" are those who have been liberated from the enslavement of worrying about 'what other people will think." "Mystics" have been liberated from the self-centered pre-occupations that drive most of us to pursue "success' according to worldly standards without counting the cost. 13 Following Christ in a Consumer Society, by John Francis Kavanaugh. Orbis Books. Maryknoll, NY, 1986. An eloquent critique of the compulsive consumerism that distorts our lives and our relationships . 14 Resident Aliens: A Provocative Christian Assessment of Culture & Ministry for People Who Know That Something is Wrong. Abingdon Press, Nashville, 1989. How to be a Christian in a non-Christian culture. After Christendom: How the Church is to Behave if Freedom, Justice, and a Christian Nation are Bad Ideas, by Stanley Hauerwas. Abingdon Press, Nashville, 1991. A provocative challenge to some of the facile assumptions of civil religion in the USA. The Once and Future Church: Re-inventing the Congregation for a New Mission Frontier, by Loren Mead. Alban Institute, Washington, DC 1991. Although Christendom is gone, the Church is still living for the most part with the structures and assumptions that characterized the Church when Christendom was alive. It just isn't working anymore. Re-shaping Ministry: Essays in Memory of Wesley Frensdorff, Borgeson & Wilson, E's. Jethro Publication, Colorado, 1990. Essays on the vision of "total ministry" and the empowerment of the laity, especially in small congregations and in third world countries. Ed White is a full-time trainer and consultant with churches and church related organizations, as well as the founder and editor of Laynet , the newsletter for the Coalition for Ministry in Daily Life , an international, ecumenical not-for-profit partnership for individuals, congregations, local judicatories, denominations, college, seminaries, publishers and independent organizations in support of the ministries in daily life of all Christians. For more information on the Coalition for Ministry in Daily Life , write CMDL, 4694 Boxwood Circle, Emmaus, PA 18049.
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