A few weeks ago during a Sunday morning sermon, Pastor Greg read 1 Thessalonians 1:8:
“For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything”.
Pastor Greg drew out two points from this passage. The first is that the Thessalonians proclaimed the Gospel. That is they opened their mouths and spoke the Gospel. Secondly, they were living out their faith. Pointing to the structure of the verse, Pastor Greg suggested that sharing the Gospel was the norm for the Thessalonians, and that living out their faith was the next step. In other words, Christians during Paul’s time were verbally sharing the Gospel with everyone, all the time. As Christians, we can sometimes think that sharing the Gospel is “the next level”, but apparently for the early church this was baseline Christianity.
For many Christians, speaking about the gospel is relatively easy when we are around other church folks. But something changes when we’re at work. We seldom, if ever, speak the Gospel there. I want to offer a few suggestions for how we can begin to cross the pain line and share the Gospel with our coworkers.
1. Live Faithfully.
1 Corinthians 15:58 says, “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” Abiding faith in Christ demonstrates itself through consistent, faithful living. I’ve worked at the same place for over twenty-five years. I know not everyone has that luxury. But that time has allowed people to get to know me and see me on my good days and my bad days. It has also allowed me to see them on theirs. This isn’t about putting on a facade, but living out a life that is oriented toward Jesus and speaking about His gospel in timely and meaningful ways. Over time, people will come to know the real you. If your life, albeit imperfect, is filled with the aroma of Jesus, they will know it. If it is filled with something else, they will know that too. A lived-out, genuine faith is curious to non-believers and commends the Gospel. It should come as no surprise to anyone you work with that you are a Christian. Your character and speech should make that readily apparent. This isn’t putting on airs, it is living out who you are. So, this might mean listening to Christian music in your office just like you do in your car; having a verse of scripture you're memorizing as your screensaver; praying over your lunch like you would at home, or asking forgiveness when you’ve sinned against someone in the workplace. Living out your faith at work provides natural segues about the things of the Lord.
2. Care Like Christ.
Romans 12:15 says, “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.” Life is full of both joys and sorrows. Just as we celebrate special events with family and friends, so too should we celebrate with our friends at work. More than that, be the person who organizes or helps organize special celebrations. Birthdays, anniversaries, and the like are great opportunities to let people know you care about them. A card or a simple birthday cake is an easy way to let people know they are more than just co-workers to you. Another idea is to organize get-togethers outside of work. Besides deepening bonds with one another, people are thrilled to be thought of in these kinds of ways. Related to the point above – living faithfully – spending time with coworkers outside of work is also a way we can demonstrate that a consistent commitment to Jesus isn’t austere or boring. I’ve found that sharing hobbies with my co-workers is an easy way to do this. Going to Reds games with Reds fans or eating at Thai restaurants with Thai cuisine connoisseurs have been experiences that have drawn me closer to my co-workers and them to me. Lord willing, they were able to see someone who was able to have a good time in a God-honoring way.
When people are going through a difficult season of life, they will often confide in those they trust, those they know who care about them. Don’t be surprised if a co-worker comes to you wanting to share a difficult circumstance they are walking through. They are looking for more than a listening ear, they are looking for hope and comfort. When these conversations take place, the door for Gospel-dialogue is wide open and we must enter into it with them.
3. Pursue Deep Conversation.
1 Peter 3:15 states, “...in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.”
Moving conversations from the superficial to the eternal should be a priority of ours. One way we can begin to do this is by speaking “Gospel buckshot”. By gospel buckshot, I mean we’re not aiming to have long, drawn-out discussions with someone. That will come later. Here we’re simply concerned with dropping small pellets of gospel truth. So for example, if politics come up, we move beyond the talk about the politicians who wish to be in power and talk about the One who is already in power. We might explain that while politics are important, we’re not anxious about who wins an election because we’re resting in the King who has already won. I know that may sound foolish and even a bit over-the-top for work banter, but simple quips (a.k.a. “Gospel buckshot”) such as “I’m not anxious, God’s on his throne”, or “I’m thankful Jesus reigns over all these things” are great ways to move the conversation from the temporal to the eternal, while at the same time letting people know you believe in the true and living God.
4. Maintain a Missional Mindset.
Matthew 28:19 tells us to, “Go make disciples…” After a period of time of working in the same place with mostly the same people, routine sets in. You know the people, the atmosphere, and the rhythms of your workplace. This familiarity can be very comforting and is a good thing in many ways. But there is danger in the familiar. When we’re familiar with our workplace or any other activity or environment, we can grow complacent and apathetic in it. We can begin to lose a sense of urgency and a desire to see people come to know the Lord. Complacency and apathy aren’t options for Christians. We’re commanded to love others (Matthew 22:39) and to make disciples. Disciple-making doesn’t happen when we’re complacent and apathetic. We need a different mindset. We might call it an ambassador mindset, a missional mindset, an awareness mindset, or something else. What we call it isn’t important, but we need to keep the mindset that we’ve been given a mission: we’ve been sovereignly placed into our workplaces to put the greatness of God in Jesus Christ on display. Sometimes we might need to fight for that way of thinking. A few ways we can do this is by having our devotion time before work or listening to a sermon on the drive to work. These small practices orient us toward Jesus and to the things He has called us. Pray that God would help you to remember that He has sovereignly ordained where you work and even more than that, he intends for you to be a Gospel light in that place.
Dear brothers and sisters, we’re not called to convert people, but we are called to present the Gospel to those around us. Being creative helps us to cross the pain line of sharing the Gospel. Regardless of how you share, share knowing you serve a living God who is pleased to work through your faithful and obedient efforts.
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