In a recent article, research showed that 70 percent of American Christians do not see how their work serves God’s purposes, and 78 percent see their work as less important than the work of a minister or priest.
The good news though is that American churches are increasing their focus on the place of work in Christians’ lives, with almost nine out of ten ministers saying that they preached sermons which addressed work in the past year. This is an encouraging development as only 26% of ministers indicated that their sermons addressed faith in the workplace in 2011.
What about us Christians here in Australia? Statistics are sparse on these matters, although it would be interesting to note when the last time our Faith in the workplace was seriously addressed, either from the pulpit, in our small groups or another church forum.
A key issue for all Christians is “Do I serve God with my work?” It is disappointing that seven out of ten American Christians don’t see how their work serves God’s purposes. Is this an accurate reflection of our attitude here in Australia? Do we buy into the Sacred versus Secular divide and see serving God as limited to “church” activities, explaining the Gospel or doing some act of service?
The Gotham program is designed to address issues such as, How are we to understand God’s purposes for our work? How can we view our work in the light of God’s creation, our fall into sin and God’s redemption through Christ?
To learn more about the Gotham program and how you can implement it in your church, we are running a one and a half day’s training conference on 18 and 19 June. The cost is only $60. To book your place click here. If you wish to speak with someone about Gotham to get more details, email gabriel@cciw.org.au.