What Christian virtues do you find the most difficult to display at work? Maybe it’s resolving the tension when your team is unhappy with a decision? Maybe you struggle to display your faith in our less connected workplaces? Or is it something more intrinsic to who you are as a Christian?
A recent study funded by the Templeton Religion trust gathered data from a Christian mentoring program (cross currents) over four years. The study sought answers to the following question:
“How can a Christlike character (service, love, integrity, generosity, humility, and beneficial purpose) be promoted and supported amongst young Christian professionals in the workplace?” (Johns, 2021).
The study emphasised that a Christian’s professional development should be connected to their Christian faith and discipleship, but that many Christians tended to separate the two. Participants recognised the need to understand the connection between their faith and their work, through a focus on theology of work. However, the study showed that joining a small group community was more effective in learning how to develop Christian character that benefited their professional lives.
“A lack of mentoring, support, relational accountability... deep teaching and training hinders young Christian adults from living out their full potential as Jesus’ people in their professional careers.” (Johnson, 2021)
Mentoring in a like minded group can help you specifically apply your faith to your field. Even if you have a good grounding in theology of work and understand the theory of how to connect your faith with your work, barriers, such as work pressure, can get in the way.
The most common barriers identified to living out faith in the workplace were:
- The demand or pressure to conform to workplace standards
- The need to balance work pressures and targets with being present to clients
- An efficiency and results-oriented environment versus a relational one
- A desire to be counter-cultural versus a professional expectation to be neutral
- A private and public divide between what is okay to talk about at work and what is not
- The work culture and lifestyle, including a lack of time and anxiety from work pressures
- The sheer volume of time given over and consumed by work
- An expectation to meet targets and deliver work results
- Differing cultural expectations within the workplace
- The everyday stress of work performance
- The busyness of work and time pressures (Johnson, 2021)
Which of these barriers can you relate to? Why?
In many ways, the connection between work faith is intrinsic, because all Christians work, whether it is paid or voluntarily, in the community or in the home. So how can we develop interdependence between our Christian identity and the person we find ourselves being at work? Additionally, how can this identity be an outpouring of our delight in Christ?
…"how can we make sure we’re not simply buying into the secular liturgy of educational meritocracy and professional achievement, adding a transcendental motivational layer to it? “ (Cross Current, May 28th 2021).
If you would like to develop a deeper sense of your work as an expression of your faith, where can you access this kind of accountability, training and support? How can you move from knowing the truth and living the truth?
You can start by joining a local Evangelistic Prayer Team - a place to be Equipped, Share and Pray. If you’re new to the workplace, you may want to gather with other newer professionals at Headstart. Either way, our staff would love to hear from you.
References:
Johnson, 2021. "Young Christian professionals: Discipled away from Christ?", IFES Graduate Impact, 5 Blue Boar Street, Oxford OX1 4EE UK © IFES Graduate Impact.
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