Jesus of Nazareth had a job; he worked as a Jewish rabbi. As any rabbi of the day, Jesus was a teacher who interpreted Jewish scriptures and provided instruction to his followers on understanding the history and committing to the promises of God. Also, as a rabbi one of his first job responsibilities was to call disciples to himself. Jesus was to teach, train, and charge these disciples with responsibilities of furthering his teachings and Godâs mission in the world (Gonzalez, 2010). For Jesus, his work and his life of faith were inseparable.
For people who take their faith seriously and include it as central to their personal identity, the connection of religious faith and a personâs work is not a new consideration. But the same consideration is not new for the scholarship in the academy either. The consideration of the connections between the two is as old as the founding of the social sciences.
Max Weber (2002), considered by many the father of the social sciences (to which management science belongs), was one of the first to see the connections of the Protestant âs faith beliefs to their behaviors in the workplace. This has come to be referred to as the Protestant Work Ethic . Today, researchers have found that not only do Protestantâs faith beliefs directly affect their workplace behaviors, but other religious traditions (e.g., Buddhism, Islam) also experience the same relationship between their faith and work .
The connection between the two, Weber noticed and he labeled âelective affinities, â wherein the connection between faith and work is one where the individualâs faith affects their work, and the workplace also impacts a personâs faith, so each affect the other. The idea of the dialectic or interchange is not lost on modern scholarship. Anthony Giddens (1984) from the London School of Economics has offered a modern-day rendition on this, suggesting individuals and organizations have a formative impact on the other and together form and transform each other and larger society.
Though religious faith in the broader culture is still very much alive with 60% of the US adult population affiliated with a church, temple, synagogue, or mosque (Neubert & Dougherty, 2013), committed Christians today are often left wondering if faith-inspired actions have any impact against what is perceived as the great monoliths of organizational life and structures. Because Christians are ill-equipped or feel restricted in their expression of faith within work organizations, many Christian workers may be perceived as no different from their secular counterparts (Silvoso, 2014). Also, many Christians mistakenly believe their faith does not belong in the workplace and question if their work really matters to God. Ironically, if Christians feel as if their faith doesnât belong in the workplace, they ignore decades of writings, theology, and research from the three great Christian faith traditions: Catholicism , Protestantism, and Orthodoxy , which suggest the opposite. For example, Catholics have a robust theology which outlines how the life of faith is to be lived in the workplace, known commonly as Catholic Social Teaching (MelĂ©, 2011). Orthodoxy, while not having the same level of development, also have outlined specific ideals of how Orthodox Christians are to be responsive and inclusive of their faith tradition in the workplace.
While this book draws upon research from a wide variety of sources, both Christian and non-Christian, it is largely informed by Protestant teachings, perspectives, research, and tradition, which has specific distinctions. This is not to suggest that this book fully represents all of Protestantism . The Protestant tent is large and has a great diversity of sects, but its specific historical themes or assumptions act as a framework operative throughout the expanse of Protestant faith and life.
The framework or perspective Protestants use traces its origins back to the reformation and a few key figures such as Martian Luther and John Calvin . A broad stroke of the framework includes the centrality of the Bible as a source of authority whose interpretation is guided by reason, the central role of an individualâs faith in Christ, Godâs salvation through Christ alone and less of an emphasis on the sacramental functions of the church (e.g., communion, marriage, baptism). Comparatively, Catholics place more emphasis on papal authority , the nature and purpose of Catholic Sacraments, priestly elevation over laity, papal/priestly interpretation of orthodoxy and orthopraxy, and the ascetic traditions (Pelikan, 1984; Walker, Norris, Lotz, & Handy, 1918/1985). Orthodoxy echoes many of the commitments of Catholicism , but with an emphasis on faith as a mystery, and a different source of papal authority (Desta, 2012).
What is vital to understand is that whatever one of these three great traditions a person adheres to, the Christian faith is important for the formation of a personal identity (Emmons, 2003) and also functions as a sense-making device, which individuals use to make sense of the world around them, and specifically within the organizations they work in (Weick, Sutcliffe, & Obstfeld, 2005). What is important to understand is that devoted Protestant Christians use their faith to make sense of themselves, others, and the workplace through the lens of their faith. So, those outside the Christian faith who wish to understand how Christians view life and work must understand the reason and perspective this faith provides.
Therefore, this book considers research from a broad scope including how generally held Christian beliefs guide the dynamics and expression of faith and work integration. Consequently, the reader who wants to engage academically may be baffled by the use of scripture, but for the Christian reader, particularly the Protestant Christian, they will find the use of scripture and popular theological perspectives from pastors and theologians as important tools to help make sense of the world.
Realistically, not a lot of resources exist to guide Christians (or those who wish to understand them), on this quest for faith and work integration. However, there are more resources available than most people are aware, and many of these will be referenced in this book. Yet, what may be a bigger problem than lack of information is the lack of a general knowledge about how important work should be for the person of faith. Cosden (2006, p. 6) shared that it is often not clear to leaders and ordinary church members âhow our Christian beliefs in creation and redemption, resurrection and heaven could relate directly to such real-world issues as our work.â The reality is Christians who take the charge or commission of Christ to go make disciples and teach others to obey Christâs commands may face bewilderment when considering how this will happen in the workplace.
In fact, the reality is that work as an aspect of the life of the Christian is often perceived as having a minor role, unless it pertains to the work of discipleship and teaching that is most often performed by professional clergy. Or, alternatively, Christians consider the discipleship-making process to happen while gathered together with other Christians while at church or church-related activities. Though this has historically been perceived as a vital part of the Christian life or the life of Christians as they gather together, this view is limited. But a classic historical theology on the church dating back to Abraham Kuyper may help explain and broaden this perspective (Bacote, 2010; Keller, 2012). Kuyper argued that there is a difference between the gathered church and the scattered church .
The gathered church , led by officers and ministers, is intended for corporate worship, instruction, and the sharing of communion. In contrast, the scattered church is made up of all Christians, the body of believers, any time they are not gathered together in the previously described activitiesâwhich is most of the time. Keller (2012) explains that âmaking disciples â includes much more than equipping Christians within the walls of the gathered church through church-related activities led by the clergy. Making disciples also includes preparing Christians to see how their faith can influence business practices, use of money, civic responsibilities, and relationships with those outside the gathered church. Discipleship then should enable Christians to take responsibility and integrate their faith in all areas of life, including the workplace. Thus, though the work of discipleship is performed within the gathered church, since the Christian spends the majority of their time outside the gathered church, there is much more opportunity for discipleship to be performed by the scattered church.
Another factor making the role of the scattered church even more important for carrying out the Bibleâs disciple-making charge is that church attendance and commitment to formal religion appear to be declining. In 2015, the Pew Research Center indicated that the number of Americans who reported attending church at least weekly declined by 3% from 2007, while the number who indicated they rarely or never attended church increased from 27% to 30% (Wormald, 2015a). In addition, the religiously âunaffiliatedâ increased from 16% to 23% during this same time period (Wormald, 2015b). Based on these US statistics, those wishing to engage in acts of Christian service may have a smaller pool of people to serve within the gathered church.
As noted by Weber (2002) and Giddens (1984), the scattered church is vital, since it is connected to, affecting and also being affected by demographic, socio-cultural, and technological factors impacting the workplace. The reality is that the majority of adult waking h...
