Welcome to our Faith at Work series, where Northstar members have an opportunity to share how they are able to share their faith in the workplace and show the love of Christ to the people they encounter every day.
Living a life on mission at work doesn’t mean that your coffee mug is covered in scripture or you hold prayer meetings at lunchtime each day. It is a way your heart is oriented and a choice to intentionally reflect Jesus in your day-to-day interactions. After all, the 8-5 workday allows a lot of time to interact with others from a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences. Workplace ministry focuses on meeting people where they are at and loving them in authentic and even surprising ways.
I have two roles outside of our home that allow me to live a life on mission within the workplace. I’m the Chief Growth Officer of Polymer Solutions Incorporated, a high-tech analytical testing lab. I also have my own marketing firm, Blue Mobius Marketing. In each of these areas of my life, I’m constantly on the lookout for ways to love others well, share God’s love, and live a light that shines for Jesus.
To put it simply, my two main goals within the workplace are to focus on Jesus first and to love others well. In doing so, I have full confidence that God will continue to provide me with opportunities to love others in real, honest and truth-focused ways. This has happened too many times to count. From sitting and listening to a coworker faced with a frightening medical diagnosis, to those trying to process a spouse leaving, to even more seemingly benign conversations about how I resolve science and faith. Each of these situations gave me an opportunity to share my heart for who God has made me to be and the truth that I know about Him.
As a top leader of both companies, I’m able to help steer company culture and practices in a direction that honor God and His love for all people. One practical example is being generous with time off and schedules when people experience unexpected hardships–deaths, broken marriages, unexpected life events. Choosing to put people first, at times in a way that that makes it a bit hard on day-to-day business, is something that reflects God’s heart and the second most important commandment, found in Matthew 22:39.
A life on mission within the workplace means that you are going to provoke curiosity. You are going to do things in a way that causes others to pause and ask “why?” This is because Isaiah 55:8 teaches us that His ways and thoughts are not our ways and thoughts. Your coworkers are going to see you doing things counter-cultural, things that go against popular rhetoric, and they will be curious about your motivations. Be ready for them to ask you about it–when you intentionally orient your work days towards Jesus, those conversations will happen. When you have a heart for Jesus, and choose His reality as your reality, people can’t ignore it.
Another important part of living a life on mission within the workplace is being authentic, vulnerable, and honest. Often, this means being appropriately vocal about the ways my beliefs shape my actions, but also includes honesty about when my faith isn’t strong and I wish it were. This happened once when I had a health scare and felt like I was unraveling as I waited for results and answers. I desperately wanted the peace that passes all understanding but one of my consistent faith struggles is fear in the face of health issues. I was able to talk to a coworker about this in a very honest way, showing how I was struggling to “truth it through.”
Being authentic about my faith is an important aspect of my workplace ministry. Pretending that being a Christian makes us perfect or means we have it all together isn’t real or helpful. Demonstrating authentic Christianity, in which you fight for your faith in good times and bad, is critical. Christianity isn’t perfect and Christians aren’t perfect. I want to accurately depict myself for who I am, an imperfect person with a heart for Jesus, consistently refined by His grace. I hope that this real look at the way Jesus has changed me (and continues to change me) is something that shines brightly when I’m at the office.
I’m thankful for how God is allowing me to be part of His work through the various work roles that have been entrusted to me. It makes my working days so much more meaningful when I reflect on the conversations and situations that God perfectly orchestrated to allow His glory and truth to shine. I challenge you to see your job as much more than a means to a paycheck, but rather as an opportunity to further God’s kingdom.