Early Christians made the marketplace the focal point of their ministry because their occupations regularly took them there. As they conducted business, it was natural for them to present the Gospel to the people they encountered. Marketplace people played a vital role in the emergence, establishment, and expansion of the early church—in fact, most of the followers of Jesus Christ remained in full-time business while simultaneously conducting full-time ministry. This was possible because they saw the marketplace as their parish and their business as a pulpit, to them witnessing was not an occasional activity but a lifestyle.
Generals, Not Privates
Today, millions of men and women are similarly called to full-time ministry in business, education, and government—the marketplace. These men and women work as stockbrokers, lawyers, entrepreneurs, farmers, chief operating officers, news reporters, teachers, police officers, plumbers, factory foremen, receptionists, cooks, and much more. Some of them have great influence on mainstream society, others are unsung heroes with low profiles, but each of them has been divinely called to bring the kingdom of God to the heart of the city.
Unfortunately, many of these marketplace Christians feel like second-class citizens when compared to people who serve full-time in a church. This should not be the case. No matter the occupation, Christians who work at secular jobs need to know that they are not perpetual privates in God’s army just because they have not gone to seminary. They have the potential to become full-fledged generals whose ministry is in the heart of the city, instead of inside a religious building.
I am absolutely convinced that as clergy in the UMC, we must reclaim the foundations of our Wesleyan heritage. Our practices of ministry must include marketplace ministry. Our ordination to Word, Sacrament , Order and Service implicitly includes witness. Clergy must model living our witness in the marketplace intentionally and consistently. I will be looking for models of marketplace ministry and sharing over the next few days.
July 19, 2008 at 3:29 am
Awesome article. Interesting proposition. That is essentially why we are in business at the Leadership Institute, as stated in our mission and vision statement. Greater love has no man than this than he would lay down his life for a friend. One of the most important functions of a successful leader in business today is to attract, develop and retain good people; people who will become the organization’s future leaders. The only way to achieve that important goal is through nobility; sowing into the lives of those who make up your organization. Their success is your success. The only way to contribute to the true and lasting success of each of your people is through servant leadership, through example and through your willingness to invest yourself in another’s growth and ultimate success. It’s sometimes equated with the law of reciprocity but it really goes beyond that level. Genuine ‘leadership’ is not only biblical in nature but it’s really the ‘bottom line’ when it comes to effectively developing and retaining your best people. There are very legitimate reasons why people join and then choose to stay with the organizations they’re part of. We discussed in a recent leadership development session the fact that the number one reason why people ‘choose’ to leave their jobs can be traced back to ineffective leadership on the part of their immediate supervisor. We referred to real statistics that confirmed the fact that people have a tendency to leave managers and supervisors more often than they leave companies or jobs. It’s certainly helpful when a manager or supervisor is perceived as being a ‘nice person’ and is well-liked by the people in his or her department, but what people really want and need is ‘effective leadership’ on the part of someone they respect and they trust enough to follow. They need someone who they feel has something to impart when it comes to helping them achieve their full potential and to helping them achieve the success they desire on their job and in their career and life overall. When managers and supervisors (in the process of setting their employees up to succeed) make an employee feel respected, valued and also appreciated, the manager or supervisor is not only functioning more in a ‘leadership’ capacity but they are contributing to the ultimate retention of the employee. And in like manner, anything the supervisor does to make an employee feel under-valued and thus insignificant as a person, will contribute to unwanted turnover. Probably one of the most important functions that will lead to employee growth and retention involves letting team members know in specific terms what ‘good’ looks like, and why it’s considered ‘good’. Some of the most common complaints that have come out of exit interviews and from ‘blind’ exit surveys have included a lack of clarity regarding specific expectations, a lack of clarity regarding one’s earning potential, a lack of feedback regarding one’s performance, a lack of ‘follow through’ with regard to commitments made, canceling scheduled meetings, and a failure to create an environment that’s conducive to the employee’s growing and achieving success; all of which reflect ineffective leadership on the part of their supervisor. In summary, one of the most important things I’ve learned over the years in this business is that ‘work’ is about the money, but true ‘loyalty’ is all about relationship and how people feel about themselves ‘on the job’ and how important they feel their contribution is to the success of the team (their other family), and whether or not they feel really appreciated. The challenge is to take a look at your organization. Are you really doing your best to develop and retain your most valued people? Are you genuinely committed to their growth as people and to equiiping them to live a more fulfilling life? Ask yourself what you can do to make an ever bigger difference in the lives of your people and see how many ways it comes back to you (pressed down and running over, etc.) Leadership really is ‘the bottom line’ in the people business! (Leadership-The Bottom Line happens to be the name of our unique approach to the development of high performance leaders. Feel free to contact me (Dr. Jim) (800-955-0109) for free biblically based leadership development materials or for a free leadership session at your location. We’re happy to share!)
April 15, 2009 at 3:54 pm
If you want to see a reader’s feedback
, I rate this article for 4/5. Decent info, but I just have to go to that damn google to find the missed pieces. Thank you, anyway!