A blog prompted by my sister val's email: "New job!"

I'm surrounded by worthies! I admire them. I respect them. I need to pray for them. They're the unsung heroes of the 'secular workplace'. They're my churchplanting colleagues, but they have calls on their time which I don't have in quite the same way. The more I go on in my job as a full-time evangelist, the more I appreciate the ministries of those of my brothers and sisters who are doctors, clerical staff, social workers, engineers, office-bound administrators. First and foremost they are God's children, therefore his ambassadors and gospel ministers. And to keep that focus for them is not easy. No one asks them (well actually we do at our church) to stand up on Sunday and report on their 'ministry in the office'. They're generally seen differently from those doing what we wrongly think is 'proper ministry'. But we do them and our churches a supreme disservice when we sideline them as merely 'workers in the secular sphere '. They are our missionaries in a world of needy people. They have relationships which I will never have. If we have such low expectations of them and their workplace ministry, then they'll be tempted to do one of the worst things a Christian can do: the life / ministry split.
'Getting God to work' is one of the greatest challenges our church faces.

I want to recommend very highly Mark Greene's Thank God It's Monday ISBN: 1859995039 (see pic).


Finally, my friend and mentor Tim Chester gave an excellent talk recently (email me if u want it sending)

Here's some of Tim's conclusions:

How can we support Christians at work?
1. Recognising that people who have been out at work all day can do less in the evenings. They cannot attend a meeting that starts before 8 pm and they may need to plan evening activities in advance.
2. Make church business meetings are relaxed and informal so they do not feel like another work meeting.
3. A visit from another Christian to you in your workplace to see where you work, meet your colleagues and pray for you in context.
4. ‘Commissioning’ people who are embarking on new jobs or new roles at work much as we might commission someone beginning missionary service.
5. A regular ‘window on the workplace’ when we gather as a church in which someone talks about their work and shares prayers needs.
6. Regular consideration of the application to a workplace context of the passage we are studying.
(‘How would this apply in the office or workshop when someone says …’).


So, Val, we'll be commissioning you this Sunday at TCH Crookesmoor. Make sure you're wearing your suit and high heels!