One of the passions of my life is to work with Christ follower’s in the workplace to help them discover and live out a calling, rather than merely settle for a career. After all, a career is something we choose, but a calling chooses us through the providence of God! And that makes all the difference.

I was fortunate recently to speak to buisness leaders in 4 very significant cities through a wonderful ministry called Lifework Leadership. I asked them some survey questions and the results were interesting.

63% said if they were around church as a teen or college student they recall at the
most one message dealing with God’s calling and placing His people to be On Mission
in the workplace.

24% said they were not sure they had sensed any call by God to the particular
vocation they were currently pursuing (almost one in four)

Yet the good news was that 73% felt as though their pastor was improving in understanding the stresses and pressures, as well as the opprotunities, of the work place. That is important if Billy Graham’s prediction in correct. He believes that the next great movement of God may well come through the Christ followers in the work place.

What do you think?

Michael Medved recently wrote an unnerving perspective in USA TODAY. Titled “The Best of Times, the Worst of Times” medved points out that recent polls show that our populace gives a 78% disapproval rating to Congress and 68% believe we are headed in the wrong direction nationally. Yet a Harris poll shows that an amazing 94% say they are satisfied with their personal life. What a disconnect!

But then that perfectly describes our compartmentalized society. Put everything in neatly hermetically sealed compartments…keep life detached…and be more focused on what is happening to us personally than concerned about the corporate whole. Medved sums it up
by declaring…
“In other words, Americans seem to embrac the odd conviction that each of us dwells
upon some sun-kissed, optimistic island of happiness and advancement, while the rest
of the counrty marches dramatically toward catastrophe and collapse.”

This is nothing new. In the Old Testament God’s people were constantly dealt with on an individual basis but in view of what it would mean to the corporate whole. An example was that each follower of Christ was called and gifted by God, but in view of what that would contribute to the corporate whole. A perfect example is Bezalel in Exodus 31 whose God-given gifts were to be used in the making of a place of worship for the benefit of the whole. The individual was a key part of the corporate whole and not to be separate and compartmentalized.

Medved points out that this compartmentilization extends to our view of institutions close to us (local government) and those removed from us (federal government). We have much higher confidence in the former than in the later. The same with small business close to us compared with big corporations headquarted a distance from us.

So we would do well to focus on good news, rather than what’s wrong with everything. Remind ourselves that we aren’t isolated islands, but interconnected individuals who need each other, and whose lives are amazingly intwined. And we can’t neatly separate and compartmentalize life. It’s all integrated. Just like God meant it to be.

I have taken some time away…a little for personal time but most for busy traveling and speaking. The Fall has been great and very busy. But I’m been with some great people. Just this last Sunday in a church I was privileged to speak in we saw an adult man whose mother has been praying for him for a long time turn his life over to Christ and step forward to get involved in Christ’s church. A couple who were living together and knew they needed change responded to Christ’s call with tears…and smiles, and set out to get their lives in order.

Wow, it never loses the wonder to me to see lives changed by the power of Christ. It’s what make life worth living!!!!!!!!! and ministry worth doing!!!!!!! What has God done around you lately?

And one wonderful serendipity….the MADE TO COUNT JOURNEY, a 50 day personal/group/or church-wide study which Randy Singer and I wrote just got a great mention in an article by OUTREACH magazine and got picked up by CHRISTIANITY TODAY. Isn’t that great. They mention two of the many churches it’s been done in pastored by Coy Arnold and Danny Wood. Take a look

http://www.christianitytoday.com/outreach/articles/campaigntrail.html

Thank you to the churches, people and groups that have made use of the MADE TO COUNT JOURNEY. You can find more about it if you have interest at www.totallifeimpact.com