Reflections
TEN WORDS FOR THOSE WHO WORK: EVANGELISM (08)
By Ray Bystrom
Key Point: If the people of God are to minister effectively in the workplace, we will need to affirm lay people for their witness to Christ in the context of daily work.
Witnessing to Jesus Christ is the privilege of every Christian; it is the means by which faith in Christ is transmitted to the next generation. The God whom Jesus reveals desires to be with ordinary people and wants ordinary people to introduce their friends to him.
Many believe that accepting this task was the single most important factor in the astonishing outreach and expansion of the early church. It was not simply that Paul and the other apostles carried the gospel to the Roman world. Rather, it was that all Christians— small and great, rich and poor, slave and free— made it their passion to tell others about the Christ.
The early church leader Tertullian, writing about 200 AD, declares to the secular public of his day: "We have filled every place among you— cities, islands, fortresses, towns, marketplaces, the very camps, tribes, companies, palace, senate and forum— we have left nothing to you but the temples of your gods" (Apologia).
So how did it happen? In his Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Gibbon suggests that in the early church, "it became the sacred duty of a new convert to diffuse among his friends and relatives the blessings which he/she had received in Jesus."
The same spirit prevailed among the earliest evangelical Anabaptists, a movement dominated by lay people. According to historian David Wells, these Anabaptists left behind a remarkable record of concern for evangelism. "For the early evangelical Anabaptist, discipleship implied a responsibility to share not only material goods, but also the very message of redemption. To be willing to suffer was to be willing to witness." (God the Evangelist).
"Ordinary" Christians needed on front lines
Today, we are slowly rediscovering the ancient truth that ordinary marketplace Christians are God’s primary instruments for witnessing to Christ.
At the Lausanne II Congress on World Evangelism in Manila in 1989, Pete Hammond reminded everyone that the world cannot be reached without the total mobilization of lay women and men. "It is the lay people," he said, "who are connected to the non-believer daily at work; who are fluent in the language of heart and mind; who are un-intimidating as friends together at work; and who are the best evidence that Good News works for average people."
However, Hammond lamented the unbiblical reality that 99% of God’s people are largely immobilized when it comes to the matter of evangelism. Quoting a recent Roman Catholic book on laity, he said, "The church bureaucracy has successfully convinced its pewsittters that their role in the kingdom is to pray, pay and obey— mostly pay."
One speaker a the congress, Lee Yih, described Christians as either frogs or lizards, based on how these two animals eat. Frogs sit and wait until their prey walks, flies, or swims past— and then pounce. In the frog world, everything comes to those who wait. By contrast, lizards would die if they simply sat and waited. They go in search of food.
This is how the church goes about its business. "Professional ministers" normally have their work brought to them. If they are going to preach the gospel, a church or hall is booked for them to speak. Other people drag in the populace, and bring their ministry to them.
The lizards, the lay people, go out into daily occupations. They meet the general public in the form of their neighbors, friends, and workmates—fellow club members in the normal course of their lives.
Don Posterski, author of Reinventing Evangelism, makes a similar point: "There is a serious fact of life the church needs to come to grips with. Simply stated, the world has stopped coming to the church." This means a new strategy is needed to communicate to the world. Specifically, he says, "the church needs to equip church members to be the church in their people networks. The prototype of modern evangelism is pictured between Zacchaeus and Jesus. Jesus goes to where Zacchaeus is most comfortable. Jesus leave his safety zone and enters Zacchaues’ comfort zone. In the same way, the church needs to mandate its members and trust them to enter the comfort zones of the people God brings into their lives."
Samuel Escobar brings to our attention four marketplace Christians he feels effectively pointed people to Christ. C.S. Lewis was a respected English professor who communicated the Christian message clearly in books like, Mere Christianity and The Screwtape Letters, and he did so "without resorting to religious language," says Escobar.
Next on Escobar’s list is the Swiss physician Paul Tournier, who was respected by his medical peers, and who "was a messenger of Jesus Christ who made a deep impact [on people] without parroting religious jargon."
French sociologist Jacques Ellul, who was "respected as a scholar because [of his expertise] in the History of Institutions," influenced thousands for the Christian faith through books like The Meaning of the City and Money and Power.
Finally, Scottish neurophysicist Donald M. Mackay, "well-known by specialists [in his field]," as Escobar points out, is yet found "lecturing" and "debating" for Christ around the world.
A Natural connection to talk about faith
However, after we have earned the right to speak with people outside the church about our faith, it is important to have a point of contact between them and the Christian message. The subject of work provides us with such a natural connection. Since people today are preoccupied with work— thinking, worrying, dreaming and talking about it— why not point out to them that God is very interested in work. God himself is a worker. In his book, God the Worker, (Judson Press, 1992) Robert Banks explores 16 biblical images of God at work— God as composer, performer, metalworker, potter, garmentmaker, dresser, gardener, orchardist, farmer, winemaker, tentmaker, camper, builder, architect, shepherd and pastoralist. He reminds us that when God goes to work, he gets involved in a wide range of occupations.
But more: God’s work can be correlated with all legitimate human work. God’s work overlaps with our work. The work of a teacher reflects God’s work as Revealer, the work of a physician mirrors God’s work as Healer, the work of a musician images God’s work as Creator, and the work of a secretary involved in schedules and appointments reflects God’s desires for Order. With a little reflection we can all say, "My work is God’s work."
So why not help our co-workers, who are outside our faith community, to understand that the God of the Bible is interested in work. He understands the frustrations and possibilities of work, he knows what it’s like to depend on others to get the job done, and he is concerned to balance work and leisure. Indeed, God makes us workers so that we might be like him. Work is godlike activity. We can all say, "My work is God’s work." If we bypass the subject of work, we miss one of the most fruitful points of contact available to us in our efforts to witness to the Christ.•
Ten Working Words
1. Kingdom
2. Church
3. Ministry
4. Worship
5. Creation
6. Spirituality
7. Vocation
8. Evangelism
9. Leadership
10. Community
Ray Bystrom is associate professor of pastoral ministries at the Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary in Fresno, CA.
Reprinted with permission from The Marketplace, January/February 1996. The Marketplace is published bi-monthly by Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA), at 616 Walnut Ave., Scottsdale, PA 15683, whose dual thrust is to encourage a Christian witness in business and to operate business-oriented programs of assistance to the poor. For more information about MEDA, call 1-800-665-7026 or visit their website at www.meda.org.
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