Main points:
- The article emphasizes the vital role that everyday Christians play in sharing their faith within their professional environments.
- It challenges the notion that evangelism is solely the responsibility of clergy, encouraging laypeople to embrace their unique opportunities to witness through their actions and relationships.
- By focusing on building trust and demonstrating genuine care for colleagues, individuals can effectively engage in meaningful conversations about faith, fostering a culture of openness and curiosity about the gospel.
More about it:
- “…differences in how frogs and lizards obtain their food. ‘The frog just sits and waits, and lets the food come to him…while the lizard ‘cannot afford to sit and wait, but must go out into his world.’”
- “The vocational Christian worker is like the frog. He goes off to seminary, gets a degree, goes on staff somewhere, and somehow people know he is in the business of meeting spiritual needs. Ministry comes to him and before long, he has his hands full.”
- “The layperson, on the other hand, is a lizard. In order for him to have a ministry…he must move around in the environment he lives in, assess his sphere of influence, sow broadly, build bridges, establish friendships, and then when he has earned the right to be heard, be ready to give an account for the hope that is in him, with gentleness and respect.”
- “A massive army of underappreciated, ill-equipped laypeople sits under-deployed amid the escalating battle for the souls of men and women.”
- “This is what makes the workplace so key to the Great Commission. Here believers have daily opportunities to offer living proof—through their actions, attitudes, and words—that the gospel is indeed good news.”
How it works:
- “…the early church’s positive impact on the world was dependent on the correlation between Christians’ lives and their words.”
- “…godly conduct precedes spiritual conversation.”
- “…the early church rarely grew in number because Christians won arguments.”
- Instead, their embodied behavior, or habitus, ‘enabled them to address intractable problems that ordinary people face in ways that offered hope’ [Church historian Alan Kreider].
- “Their behavior said what they believed; it was an enactment of their message.”
- “…sources indicate that it was their habitus, more than their ideas that appealed to the majority of the non-Christians who came to join them.”
How it’s done:
- “…spiritual conversations become more compelling—to non-Christians and Christians alike—when we view evangelism as a process that builds on earning the right to be heard, building trust, and showing before telling.”
- “While none of us reflects Christ perfectly, four components make our witness in the workplace more believable: competence, faithfulness, character, and concern.”
- Competence: “If we want people to pay attention to our faith, we must pay attention to the quality of our work.”
- Faithfulness: “The most competent people do damage to their witness when they fail to keep their promises and meet their obligations.”
- Character: “Our character, though rarely stated in job descriptions, must fortify our life and witness.”
- Concern: “People don’t care how much we know until they know how much we care.
What to do about it:
- “…no one comes to Christ by simply observing our behavior.”
- “In most cases, someone must help them connect the dots and tell them about Jesus.”
- “Every Christian’s job is to combine godly work with godly living as we watch for what the Holy Spirit is doing, so we can join him with wise words that fit the moment.”
- Other takeaways:
- Recognize that workplace evangelism is a process, not a one-time event, requiring patience and long-term relationship building.
- Understand that effective evangelism in the workplace involves both actions and words, with behavior often preceding verbal witness.
- Focus on four key components to make your workplace witness more credible: competence, faithfulness, character, and concern.
- Prioritize doing good work as a crucial part of your Christian witness, understanding that your job is a holy calling.
- Be faithful and trustworthy in fulfilling work responsibilities and commitments, as this significantly impacts your credibility.
- Develop Christ-like character in the workplace, demonstrating the fruits of the Spirit in your interactions.
- Show genuine concern for colleagues, listening attentively and offering encouragement, to build trust and open doors for gospel conversations.
- View evangelism as a collaborative effort with the Holy Spirit, watching for opportunities He provides to share the gospel.
- Avoid manipulating relationships for evangelistic purposes; instead, cultivate genuine care for coworkers.
- Embrace your role as a “lizard” (layperson) in workplace evangelism, rather than trying to be a “frog” (professional minister).
- Understand that while godly behavior is crucial, verbal communication about Jesus is ultimately necessary for evangelism.
- Seek guidance from spiritual leaders (the “1 percent”) to better understand and fulfill your role in workplace evangelism as part of the “99 percent.”
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