labor day sunday 2012
DESCRIPTION
Bill Peel and Marcus Goodyear present evidence that the evangelical church can better reach people to serve God through their work.TRANSCRIPT
Carpe Monday Equipping People for Their
Monday Morning Mission Field
Bill Peel www.CenterforFaithandWork.com
Marcus Goodyear www.TheHighCalling.org
Losing Ground
• 320K churches
• 800K ministers
• Several religious broadcast networks
• 5,000 evangelistic organizations
• $1B Christian book and music industry
• 67% believe religion is losing
influence in America
• 8% know the gospel
• 97% of 16- to 29-year-old
non-Christians have a poor
impression of evangelicals
• 1/3 of young adult church-goers say
church is out of touch with reality
• U.S. is the 3rd largest mission field in
the world
Mark Greene at Lausanne 2010
“The 98% of Christians are who are not in paid church work … have never been envisioned or equipped for mission in 95% of their waking lives.”
—Mark Greene
The Monday Morning Opportunity
• Every day your church members walk into the most strategic mission field in the world …
their workplace
The Spiritual Speed Bump
Prayer
Bible Study
Evangelism
Worship
Work
Business &
Finance
Politics
Rock Music
World Series
REAL WORLD GOD’S WORLD
God's World
Prayer Bible Study Evangelism
Worship
Real World
Work Business & Finance
Politics Rock Music
World Series
Results of This Faulty Thinking
• Faith becomes a private matter
• See daily work as unimportant to God
• See themselves as marginally significant
• Spiritually formed by the workplace
• Go to work unequipped
• Miss opportunities for influence
• Worship happens at church only
God’s Heroes?
★ ★ ★ ★ Missionaries
★ ★ ★ Pastors
★ ★ Bible college graduates
★ Work at a “secular” job
Why is the workplace so important?
Bureau of Labor Statistics, (part- and full-time adult workers)
1. We need to help them understand …
• Monday Work can/should be as much an act of
worship as Sunday praise.
Colossians 3:23
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as
working for the Lord, not for men.
Good work well done is a glory to God
and a blessing to the world.
Dorothy Sayers In nothing has the church so lost her hold on reality as in her failure to understand and respect the secular vocation. She has allowed work and religion to become separate departments, and is astonished to find that, as a result, the secular work of the world is turned to purely selfish and destructive ends, and that the greater part of the world’s intelligent workers have become irreligious, or at least, uninterested in religion. But is it so astonishing? How can anyone remain interested in a religion which seems to have no concern with nine-tenths of his life?
2. We need to equip them …
• To apply biblical truth to their workplace setting
Work in the Bible
• More about work than worship
• 75% of Bible’s heroes had workplace jobs
• 90% of Jesus’ life spent in a small business
• 45 of 52 parables have a workplace context
“Now go in peace…..and remember: you go
nowhere by accident. Where you are
going…..God is sending you. Where you
are…..He has placed you. God has a purpose
for your life….right where you are. Christ
Jesus—who indwells you—has something He
wants to do, in and through your life……..right
where you are. Believe this…..and go in His
grace……and in His love……and in His power.
In the name of the Father….the Son….and the
Holy Spirit. Amen.”
3. We need to help them see…
• The opportunity
Colossians 4:5-6
Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
Why is the workplace so important?
Sunday’s church-goers are Monday’s missionaries
The Workplace Connection
1-2%
2-3%
5-6%
2-3%
1-2%
4-5%
0.5%
75-90%
• Special need
• Walk-ins
• Pastor
• Church program
• Visitation
• Sunday school
• Evangelistic crusade/TV
• Friend or relative
How do adults come to Christ and church?
4. They need to recognize …
• The obligation
1 Thessalonians 4:9-12
Now about brotherly love …
Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.
Some Easy Steps You Can Take
1. Pray for the workplace.
2. Visit church members at their work.
3. Watch your language.
4. Use workplace illustrations in sermons.
The Benefits to Your Church
1. Your church will feel SUPPORTED.
• Good work is economically significant.
• It strengthens the family and stabilizes the community.
The Benefits to Your Church
1. Your church will feel supported.
2. Your church needs your INSTRUCTION.
• The best climate today is complex and changing moment by moment.
• Your congregation needs moral guidance and practical ethics for the workplace.
The Benefits to Your Church
1. Your church will feel supported.
2. Your church needs instruction.
3. Your church will be EMPOWERED.
• In the 21st century, our neighbors are not just across the fence.
• Neighbors are coworkers and customers and clients and patients and students and...
The Benefits to Your Church
1. Your church will feel supported.
2. Your church needs instruction.
3. Your church will be empowered.
4. Your church will EVANGELIZE.
• Neighbors and coworkers will see the results of your church member's hard honest work.
• This opens the door for effective evangelism.
The Benefits to Your Church
1. Your church will feel supported.
2. Your church needs instruction.
3. Your church will be empowered.
4. Your church will evangelize.
5. Your church will be INSPIRED.
• Organizations can love their neighbors, too.
• Work can be socially significant in the local community.
The Benefits to Your Church
1. Your church will feel supported.
2. Your church needs instruction.
3. Your church will be empowered.
4. Your church will evangelize.
5. Your church will be inspired.
6. Your church will be ENERGIZED.
• God is redeeming our lives and our work to the original cultural mandate.
Resources for Labor Day Sunday
1. Sermon Outlines • http://centerforfaithandwork.com/resources/sermons
Resources for Labor Day Sunday
1. Sermon Outlines: • http://www.thehighcalling.org/content/sermon_notes_order.htm
Resources for Labor Day Sunday
1. Sermon Outlines
2. Commissioning Service
3. Praise Song and Hymn Suggestions
4. Bulletin Inserts
Resources for Labor Day Sunday
1. Sermon Outlines
2. Commissioning Service
3. Praise Song and Hymn Suggestions
4. Bulletin Inserts
5. The High Calling Videos
• http://youtube.com/thehighcallingvideo
• http://vimeo.com/thehighcalling
The High Calling Videos
1. Sixty Seconds to Significance
The High Calling Videos
1. Sixty Seconds to Significance
2. High Calling Visualizations
The High Calling Videos
1. Sixty Seconds to Significance
2. High Calling Visualizations
3. Short Films
Resources for Labor Day Sunday
1. Sermon Outlines
2. Commissioning Service
3. Praise Song and Hymn Suggestions
4. Bulletin Inserts
5. The High Calling Videos
6. Small Group Curriculum (6 weeks)
• (register at the link above to receive the curriculum for free)
Small Group Curriculum
Small Group Curriculum
Small Group Curriculum
Resources for Labor Day Sunday
1. Sermon Outlines
2. Commissioning Service
3. Praise Song and Hymn Suggestions
4. Bulletin Inserts
5. The High Calling Videos
6. Small Group Curriculum (6 weeks)
7. Articles from The High Calling and the Center for Faith & Work
http://CenterforFaithandWork.com
Daily Reflections http://www.thehighcalling.org/user/register
Weekly Calling http://www.thehighcalling.org/user/register
Sermon Notes http://www.thehighcalling.org/content/sermon_notes_order.htm
Resources for Labor Day Sunday
1. Sermon Outlines
2. Commissioning Service
3. Praise Song and Hymn Suggestions
4. Bulletin Inserts
5. The High Calling Videos
6. Small Group Curriculum (6 weeks)
7. Articles from The High Calling and the Center for Faith & Work
Questions and Answers?
Bill Peel
Center for Faith & Work http://centerforfaithandwork.com/
Marcus Goodyear
The High Calling http://www.thehighcalling.org/