Well. We probably didn’t need a research study to verify what we already knew, but it’s nice to have back-up.
The study, commissioned by LeTourneau University’s Center for Faith and Work, found that while 93% of pastors agree they should help their members integrate faith with daily work, over two-thirds of them admit they fall short. According to Bill Peel, Executive Director for the Center for Faith & Work, “People work more, and better, when their labor carries a sense of calling. But most employers can’t give it, and most pastors don’t.”
That just about sums it up.
However, the bigger story here may be the collective shrug coming from those who bear the brunt -– namely, the working population within our churches: “What? You’re telling me my pastor doesn’t care much about my job? Well, Duh!”
The church has not done much to prepare us for our “secular” careers. Sorry, church, but it’s true. That loud sucking sound you hear is the enormous spiritual vaccum created by our religious institutions for those of us in the workforce. When was the last sermon you can recall that inspired you to pursue your job as a means of furthering God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven?
I thought so.
This doesn’t make sense, since our career identity is pretty much a consuming force of life. We want to make a difference. We want to have influence. We want to find out what we’re good at, and what kind of work we might like. And then we’re spending most of the week doing that work. I would think that God, being the one who created us to do good work in the first place, would be the biggest cheerleader of all. Sometimes I can almost hear his voice echoing behind me:
Great job today!
Keep pressing on!
Don’t worry, another opportunity is just ahead.
You are making quite an impact!
Yet the church remains fairly silent on this subject. The sad consequence is that very few of us know how to experience God in our jobs. Can you imagine the spiritual awakening in store for those who truly believed an infinitely loving God was accomplishing His purposes through them at work?
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