Room for God at Work?
C. William Pollard
David W. Miller, God at Work: The History and Promise of the Faith at Work Movement, Oxford University Press, November 2006, Hardcover, 232 pages, ISBN 0195314808.
In our diverse and pluralistic society, is there room for God at work? Are there not some lessons from history or societal norms that provide good reason for separating the sacred from the secular? What is there in common between the labor of my work, the profit I seek in my business, and the God I worship on Sunday?
In his recent book, God at Work, David Miller, executive director of the Center for Faith and Culture at Yale, responds to these questions and more as he provides an extensive review of the development and history of the faith-at-work movement and discusses the implication of its growing acceptance and potential value for the way we do business and the way we live and relate to each other.
Much of the research for this book was done by Miller for his Ph.D. dissertation at Princeton Seminary. Prior to his seminary training, he served in executive positions in international business and finance. The breadth of his experience in business, his training and understanding of theology and the role of a minister, and his current leadership position at Yale has uniquely prepared him to assess the past, present, and future of the faith-at-work movement.
Recent articles in such publications as Fortune, Business Week, and the Wall Street Journal confirm that there is an increasing number of people who want to integrate the claims of their faith with the demands of their work. They are seeking to find meaning and purpose for their time at work and are no longer willing to bifurcate their lives and experience in what is sometimes referred to as that Sunday/Monday gap.
While a growing number of people are now participating in Bible studies at work, attending management seminars on the role of spirituality at work, and seeking training in how to relate biblical teaching with marketplace demands, Miller’s research indicates that for the most part, the church has been silent and non-responsive. To help fill this void of silence, there has developed a rapidly growing number of “parachurch” organizations, some led by business people and others led by those who have theological training. Corporate chaplaincy programs are also on the rise and it is estimated that there are now over 2,000 workplace chaplains nationwide.
Why has the church and its leadership been so silent? Miller’s response to this question suggests that patterns of thought from the past continue to discourage a meaningful engagement by the clergy with the laity in a workaday world ministry. Miller also finds that many of the teaching faculty at seminaries and other institutions offering biblical studies continue to have presuppositions about capitalism, business, and the marketplace that range from benign to negative. On the negative side, the views portray the business community as a necessary evil, unsupportive of social justice concerns, harmful and exploitive of people, an environment that is only interested in maximizing profits.
He also notes, however, that some of the more evangelically oriented seminaries, such as Gordon-Conwell and Fuller, have developed centers to focus on the faith at work movement and to serve as a bridge between the church and the world of business. Also Regent College in Vancouver, Canada has developed a particular focus for educating and equipping lay business people to see their work as a ministry.
In his review of the history of the movement, he recognizes that the concept of faith at work is not new and has its roots in the historical development of biblical teaching on this subject in both the Old and New Testament. He also describes in some detail what he calls the various “waves” of the movement, starting in the late nineteenth century and continuing to today. As one reads this historical account, it is clear that over the years, the leadership and energy for making things happen have come from the laity.
While Miller’s book focuses primarily on the Christian dimensions of the faith/work movement in the United States, he also recognizes that it has an international dimension and has a diversity among its participants that includes initiatives from other religious faiths, such as Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and those described as having a “New Age” philosophy of life.
As part of seeking some common understanding of the faith/work movement among different faiths and among the laity and the clergy of the same faith, Miller suggests a conceptual framework that involves four separate spheres or areas of interest for considering why people seek to integrate their faith with their work. He identifies these four spheres as Ethics, Evangelism, Experience, and Enrichment. While this analysis may be helpful to understanding the motivation and objectives of people seeking to integrate their faith with their work, it may also have the potential to be divisive as one seeks to fit people into categories or labels.
For the Christian, I believe that the integration of faith and work will always involve a tension between the truth of God’s Way and the inclusiveness of his love. The vocation of business can be a calling from God. The management of people is truly a liberal art and profit is not just a result of sin, but is part of God’s economy of surplus and our responsibility of stewardship. Christians are called to be in the world, but not of it and to be excellent in what they do, whether they call it a job, profession, or ministry. When we seek to excel in whatever that may be—as a lawyer, business person, minister or educator, we can live and share our faith in a way that is engaging and cannot be ignored or contained. However, when we proclaim our faith and don’t live it, we sow seeds of cynicism and rejection. We should not leave God on the doorstep of any area of our life, including our work.
God at Work is a leading and authoritative source for those who want to study and know more about the faith-at-work movement. David Miller provides the reader with a stimulating and sometimes provocative review of its scope and potential. One would hope that leadership in the church and in the academy would consider and implement some of his suggestions for developing a greater understanding and involvement in supporting the laity in their ministry at work. In the process, they may learn more of the theology of God’s way and worship and their role in the pulpit on Sunday as they engage with those who are actively involved in integrating and implementing the truth and principles of the faith from Monday to Friday in a workaday world.
Bill Pollard is Chairman Emeritus of The ServiceMaster Company and author of the best-selling The Soul of the Firm and the recent Serving Two Masters? Reflections on God and Profit (HarperCollins 2006). He is a past Trustee and Chairman of the Board of The Trinity Forum.
