Religion
Faith at Work Movement hits Stephenville
By Stephenville Chamber
Mar 2, 2006

Faith at Work Movement hits Stephenville

Christian leaders are acknowledging an emerging trend. Said Dr. Billy Graham, "I believe one of the next great moves of God is going to be through the believers in the workplace," said Billy Graham. His son, Franklin, of Samaritan's Purse Ministry, put it in the present tense: "God has begun an evangelism movement in the workplace that has the potential to transform our society as we know it."

Henry Blackaby (author of Experiencing God), who meets regularly with CEOs of Fortune 500 companies to discuss what it means to bring Christ into a corporate environment, observes: "I've never seen the activity of God this deeply in the business community as I do right now."

Last Thursday, Feb. 23rd, twenty-two local Christians - employers and employees alike - gathered at TexasBank to hear from Bill Bunce, Assistant to the Chairman of the 700 Club, Pat Robertson of CBN. This was the first of an 8-part series called the Brown Bag Bible Studies, geared toward training, equipping, encouraging and releasing the local worker into the one place we all spend the majority of our lives: the Workplace.

And why not? When we consider that the person who is hurting emotionally, physically and spiritually is still hurting when they clock-in, do we really think the local minister can come up with 52 life-changing Sunday sermons that would directly impact the lives of masses of humanity in enduring various degrees of suffering? Many will never have the opportunity as they will never darken the door of his church.

A GIANT STIRS FROM SLUMBER

In November 1999, Business Week magazine noted that "five years ago, only one conference on spirituality and the workplace could be identified; now there are hundreds. There are more than 10,000 Bible and prayer groups in workplaces that meet regularly." Two years later, Fortune magazine confirmed the existence of this bona fide  "Movement" in a cover story on "God & Business," reporting the marketplace presence of "a mostly unorganized mass of believers - a counterculture bubbling up all over corporate America -who want to bridge the traditional divide between spirituality and work." The article went on to say: "Historically, such folk operated below the radar, on their own or in small workplace groups where they prayed or studied the Bible. But now they are getting organized and going public to agitate for change. People who want to mix God and business are rebels on several fronts.  They reject the centuries-old American conviction that spirituality is a private matter. They challenge religious thinkers who disdain business as an inherently impure pursuit. They disagree with business people who say that religion is unavoidably divisive."

Kent Humphreys, a businessman and the president of Fellowship of Companies for Christ, a ministry devoted to serving executives and CEOs, wholeheartedly agrees with this: "Leaders in the workplace from every part of the country are experiencing a hunger to be involved and they're searching the web to find those who are of like heart. Those who are a little further along in the movement understand the principle, but are now more anxious for training and practical helps of what it looks like in their workplace."

Mike Tummillo, a local certified Workplace Chaplain in Stephenville since 1999, and Founder of Total Employee Assistance Ministries (t.e.am.), agrees. "Pilgrim's Pride Chicken spends several hundreds of thousands of dollars annually on workplace ministers to tend to the spiritual needs of their employees. A study by the Harvard Business School showed that, given the choice, people prefer talking to a minister over a therapist or psychologist any day."

In 1998, Os Hillman began writing a daily eMail devotional that has now grown to more than 70,000 subscribers. He wrote, "Christians are hungry to know how to effectively integrate their faith life with their work life, and when they hear about it, they are excited about the concept. Our secular work is a ministry everyone can and must take part in. There are do's and don'ts and we'll be covering those at the Brown Bag Bible Studies."

CORPORATE MOVEMENT

Larry Julian, a business consultant and author of God Is My CEO (which has sold more than 75,000 copies), says he has found an incredible receptivity in corporations to hear about Faith at Work. "I am seeking more ways to bring my Christian faith into the corporate world where I have spent much of my life. There is an openness that has not been there before."

The Coca-Cola Christian Fellowship was formed in 2001, with 275 people attending the first meeting at their world headquarters in Atlanta. Across town, at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Angie Tracey launched the first government-approved Christian association in an agency, The CDC Christian Fellowship Group. Similar groups have been established at American Airlines, Intel, Texas Instruments, Ford Motor Company, Sears and many more. In fact, the Christian fellowship at Sears even has its own choir and has produced a professionally-recorded CD, underwritten by the company.

LOCAL CHURCHES FOLLOW SUIT

George Barna, in his book, Boiling Point, says: "Workplace ministry will be one of the core future innovations in church ministry." He made this assessment several years ago and it is now just beginning to be realized. But Doug Sherman, author of Your Work Matters to God, cautions that the local church has been slow to embrace this message. "Our surveys reveal that 90 to 97 percent of Christians have never heard a sermon relating biblical principles to their work life," says Sherman.

About this, Tummillo said, "The church is reacting slowly but it IS reacting. Workplace teachings are applicable to pretty much everybody. They're practical, useful and they make ministers out of spectators. For the first time, in many cases, Christians are finding purpose in their work. It's about more than money and career. It's about worshipping God, frankly." Tummillo adds that dramatic change was affected in his own ministry when he stopped focusing purely on ministering to people and started teaching how to minister. "The marketplace is a great place to minister. It's where Jesus and His disciples and the Apostles did the lion's share of their ministry."

Is this movement the catalyst for revival that many Evangelicals believe America needs and for which they have been praying? The message appears to be getting through, as the Faith at Work movement sweeps the country. The potential is great for it to effect genuine revival across cultures. "While missionaries are focusing on bringing the Gospel to the 10-40 window," Tummillo said, "the Christian worker is beginning to bring the Good News into the 9 to 5 window."

Everyone interested in the Brown Bag Bible Studies is asked to eMail Tummillo at team1min@aol.com or call 254.965.4376. The session begins promptly at noon on March 2nd and lasts 45 minutes. This week's guest speakers will be Ed & Marlene Dupas, owners of September Song in Stephenville.