Faith at Work

At the time I became a Christian I was working as a Speech Therapist. The main impact my faith had on my work was that I tried to be reliable and kind to my workmates, and caring and compassionate to my clients. I tried to share my faith with others, but was frustrated by the lack of opportunities to do this, or to talk about anything serious at all.

I was actually finding my job very difficult at this time. My fiance and I had broken up a few months earlier and I was a bit depressed at work. I found it hard to rouse myself to do anything other than see clients. I found it hard to do paperwork or make phonecalls. But I just kept going, neglecting these parts of my job.

This reached the point where I was afraid I had contributed to someone's death. Thankfully this turned out not to be the case. It was at this point that I finally decided to act in accordance with my beliefs that Christians are sinful, yet forgiven and that we should take responsibility for our actions. I didn't want to be a hypocrite. I didn't want my Christian family to think I was a good and kind person when I was secretly ugly inside. So I went to my boss and admitted and apologised for what I had done.

Since that time I've continued to mature in my faith. I would like to think that if a similar situation arose, I would care so much for my clients and for doing a good job and so little for approval from others, that I would seek help early on.

I think that work can be dangerous and disheartening because we either do not see or we forget God in it. This is harder to do in my current work as a church apprentice – but it is still possible for me to get caught up in organising things and passing on biblical knowledge. I run the risk of regarding God as an idea, rather than having an ongoing relationship with him.

Forgetting God is particularly easy to do when work is busy or stressful or difficult. At these times, it is very easy for Christianity to become something extra, something you engage in when you have time or energy. This is probably why I didn't act in a loving or responsible way when I was having trouble at work – although my faith was important, it was an extra, not the starting point for how I look at everything, each day.

When things are busy or stressful or difficult, God does not disappear. He is still the true God who asks for our praise and obedience. Rather than forgetting about him, we need to pray and ask for his help in doing our job well and loving the people we work with, whatever the situation.

Writing My Job Description

It has taken me ten months to work out what my job is about. I've been told that's part of the job! I'm particularly interested in feedback from past and present church workers or apprentices.

A church worker is a leader. Their exact role will change according to the gifts God has given them, but they will always be involved in leading the church. So an apprentice church worker is learning to be a leader.

Christian leadership involves three things – setting a good example by godly character and conduct, teaching and serving others. In theory, Christian leadership should look the same whether it is full or part time – quantity being the only difference. In practice, however, spending all your working hours on one thing can change the quality of your work, or the type of work you are able to do. It can also change other people's perception and expectation of your role.

The first priority for a church apprentice is to grow in righteousness, humility and love – to set a good example to Christians and to promote the gospel to non-Christians. This is done by growing in your relationship with God. It calls for time reading and meditating on God's word; time praying; reading Christian books; examining yourself and thinking about how God's word applies to your life. This is often work observed by no-one but God.

Teaching others can be done through preaching; studying the bible or Christian books with individuals or in bible study groups; discussing life as a Christian with others or taking Sunday School. It involves training people to serve Christ using the gifts they have been given. As a church worker you also teach non-Christians about your faith when you have philosophical discussions, when you comment on the Christian perspective during everyday conversations and when you participate in events tailored for non-Christians.

Serving others is a distinctive feature of Christian leadership. It is hard to describe because it can involve anything to help an individual or a group. It can involve practical help; overseeing, reflecting on and participating in church programmes, structures, events and people; friendship and thinking about and getting involved with the community. It always involves praying for others. Church workers serve both their Christian family and the non-Christian people they know.

And all this is done in light of eternity.

Going to a Church for the First Time: The Gospel Assumed

It has been said that the first generation believes the gospel, the second assumes the gospel, the third forgets and the fourth denies. I recently visited a church where the people were caring and the gospel was assumed. This is how I remember the church I grew up in, although I might not have been paying proper attention, listening instead with a rebellious, hard heart.

When the gospel is assumed, the explicit and demonstrated teaching of the church focuses primarily on people's response. We are taught that God is awesome and good and that he loves us, but we are not told how we know this is true. We are told we can have a relationship with God, but we are not taught how or why this relationship is possible, or what part we have to play. The emphasis is on us loving and praising God. This is not wrong, but it is incomplete. It would be so easy to explain the how and why that is the gospel - that creates the possibility of and reason for our response. The heartbreaking thing is that if this is not explained, we may fail to know God at all and certainly not in his fullness. As a consequence, praise and love becomes forced or misguided. We don't understand what Jesus has saved us from or to, and we don't know the surety of our forgiveness and of our eternal life. We don't know the reason God the Father sent his Son, in our past, for our future – for his glory. This knowledge should be at the centre of all we know.

When the gospel is assumed, we also fail to be taught how to find this knowledge. This too is a tragedy because we end up praising a God each Sunday that we never hear from or speak to for the rest of the week. We forget that we must first approach him in repentance and faith. We forget that because of the gospel, God will continue the work he has begun in us. We forget that for this to happen, we need to get to know him by reading his Word. And we forget that our growth also depends on our praying to him, sharing our lives with him and depending on the God who has shown himself to be dependable. These actions should be the fabric of our lives.

As a result of all this we lose the reason and the courage to kneel in repentance before the cross; we lose the assurance of our forgiveness; we lose reliance on the Holy Spirit's sanctifying work in us; we lose hope in the bright future that eclipses this sorry world and we lose the desire to do all things only for God's glory. Instead, Christianity is reduced to experiencing God now, like so many other religions and spiritualities.

There is nothing wrong with experiencing God now, but this experience is only gained when Christianity is rightly understood and lived. In true Christianity, God's decisive work in our world in the past and his promise of a future teaches us how to come into relationship with him and gives us great joy now. As we learn more about his unchanging character and his work, we know him better, we love him more and we experience his love for us. Knowing God, we end up with nothing but heartfelt praise and love for him.

The Aftermath of Postmodernism: Privacy, Harmony, Control and Integrity

We no longer know what is true and we no longer believe it is possible to find out. Yet we continue to believe – only now we keep our beliefs private. Having lost the answers, we know that asking questions will only lead to conflict that can never be resolved. This desire for beliefs to stay safe and unquestioned has become, not just an individual defense mechanism, but normal practice.

And so our regard and search for truth has been replaced with our love of harmony. Harmony is only possible when conversation remains superficial. In losing permission to think deeply, to generalise and wonder, we have become stupid.

We have also turned to things over which we still have some control. We value 'making the most of life'. We are still realistic enough to acknowledge and love the underdog who makes the best of things despite difficult circumstances. (Particularly when they do so cheerfully – affirming our hope that life can still be enjoyed even when things are shit.) We value our family. We value our community. (That is, the community that we chose to be a part of, the community that is consistent with our truth.) We validate, and sometimes act on, big issues when they are concrete – the environment, the treatment of refugees.

And we do still continue our search for truth, only more narrowly now. We look to the fruits that come out of belief. To lives of integrity, where beliefs are followed through into good action. This is the one gauge of truth we have left.

What I Have Learned from Suffering

• The value of not being intense.

  I used to listen attentively and intensely when I was talking with someone, thinking of probing, caring questions to ask. When I began suffering I no longer had the energy to sustain this. Instead I have learned to value and enjoy people's company – even when no words are spoken. I have learned to let others listen to me. I have realised that my conversations are within God's control, and that he will guide them in a serious direction if it is his will.

• The importance of being determined to suffer in a godly way.

  I have seen this time as the ultimate test of my faith, of whether I truly desire to please and bring honour to my Lord. With this in mind, I have persevered in doing good and seeking God's help when I am weak or tempted.

• That God answers good, faithful prayers.

  I have prayed for many things. I have prayed for my circumstances to change and they have not. I have prayed for my character to improve and it has. I have prayed for things like calmness, strength to do my work, openness with others, humility. My suffering has been such that it was a matter of either maturing quickly or else responding sinfully. Had I not suffered I might not have prayed for these things, or least not so fervently.

• That you can be content and secure in God's love and protection, even when all else is pain.

  Even when I have suffered greatly, on the verge of despair, I have never quite despaired and I have never lost or doubted God's love. He is always present.

• That even when circumstances are awful and there's no hope for improvement, God's love is sufficient.

  I can see that this is true, but I am only beginning to learn it. I trust that as I know him better, this will be made obvious.

• That God can deal with the deepest pain, anger or disappointment.

  It is right for me to be open with him about everything, rather than 'dealing with it' myself. He may not deal with it straight away, but in his good time, he does.

• That grief ages you and wears your body out much quicker than time.

• That God gives you friends to support you, just when you need them.

  I have been so blessed by people's concern and encouragement.

• That persevering is what you do long after you already thought you were.

  Suffering can keep on unbated for a surprisingly long time. I have felt like I've been doing this for ages and that soon something must change. The point when you realise it's going to continue on as before, is when perseverance really kicks in. That weary point is when you really need God's help if you are to persevere.

• That when I am weak God is strong. One of my prayers that has been answered again and again is that I will be able to be kind and loving towards others. It has truly been a small miracle that when I have been very weak and sorrowing, I have continued to have a lot of my heart to give the people around me. I really have felt like this weak, helpless creature leaning on God and passing on his great love.
• The value of humility. In my suffering I have seen my weak, pitiful state and have learned that it is posturing to ever think I am more than this (though I am made in God's image . . . yet am much less than he). It is a great relief to be made honest before God and a great comfort to be loved by him. I want to doggedly pursue humility, though I tremble at the hardship I may find.