Issue 198
Now we’re back on familiar territory. Many people believe that witnessing at work is the main component of being a Christian there. This is about as sensible as saying that the nearside rear wheel is the most important one on a car.
But we all want to communicate and represent our faith well at work don’t we? We prefer to be good news rather than bad and we need help to do it.
Most of us are experts at missing moments, opportunities and conversations which could have helped people encounter the good news on a personal basis.
This is where the evangelist comes in. Churches see the evangelists’ domain as the street, the doorstep, the Alpha course, the pulpit and the TV. But what we all need is someone to make it attainable to actually present a credible version of the Christian faith in a complicated world.
As I was originally ordained as an evangelist in 1979, permit me to give you a couple of tips.
Firstly, ask yourself exactly what it is like to be a Christian; in other words, what is it like to be you? If you are honest and typical then the Christian life will be a mixture. Some joys, some struggles, some certainties, some doubts, some breakthroughs, some blockages. Sometimes you’re full of prayer; sometimes you’re full of hot air; sometimes you feel such a bundle of bad news that every move you make seems to let your faith down; at other times it’s a great ride; most of the time it’ssomewhere between the two.
My second tip is: having asked yourself what it’s like to be you, recognise that this is what you must show and tell people. In other words, be yourself at work – your whole self and nothing but yourself. This way people encounter the authentic Christian – not someone trying to present what they think it ought to be like, but what it is really like to be a Christian.
This means you can let people see your strengths and weaknesses because evangelism is about communicating a dynamic, not a monopoly. The message is that messed-up people can meet the Messiah and he’s the one who sorts out the mess. This gives a whole new meaning to the word ‘messenger’ (and just by the way, I have never put it like that last sentence before in case you think this is a recycled message!)
Freed from the tyranny of spiritual perfectionism, you can get on with the job – I hope that helps you to prepare.
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Work well
Geoff Shattock
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