Hi Everyone and Warmest Greetings in Jesus’ Name!

I appreciate the articles posted so far, and applaud my collegues for their insights.  However, I notice that there have not been too many comments (despite many visits to this blog site). 

Therefore, I’ve decided to stir up more discussion by putting a few fairly controversial comments in my sharing today….

Last week I had the priviledge of attending the CCCOWE Mission Conference in Macau.  Among the many wonderful speakers was Rev. Dr. Philip Jensen, a pastor with the Anglican church of Australia (incidently, he is thoroughly Evangelical, along the Anglican traditions of John Stott or J.I. Packer). 

Dr. Jensen is a “Pastor’s Pastor”, a man who founded and developed a large university based church, and who has taught and mentored many other pastors.  In particular, he has founded a mentorship program called, “Mentorship Training System” (MTS) that has been the basis for several other similar systems throughout the world.  He is insightful, a great communicator, and loves pastors.  Many of the leading English-speaking Chinese pastors in Australia have been mentored by Dr. Jensen.

 Dr. Jensen shared a few thoughts that I’d like to share with you and get your feedback:

 1.  Career, Home, and Church … or Church, Home and Career?

Dr. Jensen said that Christians should be counter-cultural in a positive way because we are Kingdom citizens.  What does it mean to be salt and light (Matt. 5)?  It means being Distinctly Different.  He suggests that Christian laypersons consider making career, housing and ministry decisions in the exact opposite order than the world does.  The common world perspective is to choose your career first, then buy a house that you can afford, and then find a church near where you work and serve there.

 Dr. Jensen counsels his laypersons to do the opposite.  He challenges them to find a ministry first in a church, then decide what kind of house they need to support that ministry, and finally to decide on a career that will allow you to afford that house and allow you to serve in that ministry. 

Do you see the difference? 

Dr. Jensen advocates putting the Kingdom first in your long term planning.  Perhaps you need to take a job that pays less in order to serve, but that is part of the sacrifice he suggests is part of Kingdom citizenship.

2. You Go … or You Send … or are You Being Sincere?

Several people have said something similar to the following to Dr. Jensen … “Perhaps I should just make lots of money and send others to missions, even though I personally would like to go.  The reason is that I could make a large salary and support many others instead with my income.”

Dr. Jensen’s response is similar to the challenge that Jesus gave to the rich young ruler.  Dr. Jensen says, “I challenge you to find out how much a pastor or missionary in your area makes for a living.  Then you should live on THAT salary and give away the rest to missions.  If you have a problem with that, then forgive me for questioning your motives for making a lot of money.”

Do you get the point he’s making?

Dr. Jensen is challenging the motives and sincerity of affluent Christianity.  He points out that Chinese Christians in particular seem to struggle with this (by the way, he is extremely supportive of the Chinese church in Australia, and he knows it quite well). 

He points out that many Chinese Christians tend to claim “calling” to their careers.  That’s fine and well, according to Dr. Jensen, but why is it that so few (none that he has ever talked to) feel “called” to rather menial or less glamorous careers?  Why is everyone called to medicine, engineering, accounting, business, dentistry, etc. and so few are called to blue collar jobs, post office work, waitressing, garbage collecting, etc.? 

Is he right?  Is the modern emphasis on “Work as Ministry” simply a convenient legitimization of our desire for influence and affluence? 

Why do we hold up only those who are successful in the world’s eyes as examples and models to be emulated?  Why are those faithful Christians in less high profile or less glamorous roles not being held up as examples to emulate? 

 3.  Pastors … Love Them or Hate Them?

Dr. Jensen also pointed out an interesting observation.  Remember, his main focus is on those in the pastorate, so anything related to the pastorate intrigues him. 

Dr. Jensen pointed out that Chinese Christians tend to, on the outside, and in public, respect pastors.  However, they show by their larger actions that they do not respect pastors very much because:

1.  Most would not want their children to become pastors.

2.  Most would not wish that their children marry a pastor.

Frankly speaking, pastors don’t make enough money, according to Dr. Jensen. 

Concluding Comments by Fred Tham:

My apologies in advance. 

I hope, by sharing some of these thoughts, I have not offended anyone.  In particular, I hope I have also conveyed Dr. Jensen’s comments fairly.  Most of these thoughts were shared in public English plenary sessions or workshops at the conference.  A few of them came as a result of semi-private discussions I had with him.  In all cases I have paraphrased Dr. Jensen’s comments (my notetaking isn’t verbatim).

I have shared this article in hopes of “stirring up the pot” a bit and generating some discussion.   If there is any controversy, I trust that this blog community can discuss these issues in a mature, constructive manner.

So …. what do you think of Dr. Jensen’s comments?

Respectfully and Sincerely Submitted,

Rev. Fred Tham (Isaiah 43:19)

Not long ago, my pastor at my church asked me to host a workshop at our church’s upcoming Summer Camp with the title “Work Ethics”. I said that’s easy. My workshop will run like this: (1) Q: Should a Christian be dishonest in his/her job? A: No. (2) Q: If a person is dishonest in his/her job, and is found out, will he/she still have his/her job? A: No. (3) Conclusion: work ethics is just a subset of Christian ethics, no further discussion necessary, end of workshop. My pastor said I was being cheeky. So in order to prevent me from being “smart”, he changed the title of the workshop to something really long, so long that I can’t even remember what it is, something like “Ethics in the workplace”.

Now, I need to re-think how to run that workshop, hum ….

I may have been cheeky the way I put my questions, but it is true. It seems to me that a lot of people have the concept (or misconception) that one cannot get anywhere in the workplace if one is and remains ethical. Lots of people think that they can get away with things and will never be found out. Just as lots of teenagers think that they are immortal and will nevery die from doing dangerous things. Wrong and wrong. In my profession (I am a lawyer), every day I see people being caught up by the things they do. The agony, the anxiety, the pressure it brings is crushing. But do you think they will change their ways once the crisis is over? No way, no one can save themselves except through Jesus Christ. They will just go back to do whatever they have been doing, thinking that they will have better luck next time and not be found out.

On the other hand, I have seen people without Christ trying to remain ethical. When faced with grey issues, it is difficult to remain ethical consistently and with strength. Jesus Christ is the only standard and the example that we can truly rely on. Grow to be more Christlike, follow His footsteps everyday, and I believe He will bestow on us blessings and peace way beyond our expectations. I challenge you to try and see.

Jesus came to give us peace. The first words from Jesus when He first appeared to the disciples after His resurrection were “peace be with you”. The angels were singing peace to men on earth on the night Jesus was born. As work is a major part of our life, do we have peace at work? Is peace at work a luxury or is it something we can achieve?

Many situations at work rob us of our peace. I think it can be categorized into three types.

When we are facing uncertainty at work, it can rob us of our peace. When we are facing laid off or the rumor of laid off, when our company merges with another and the new company wants to trim off excess employees, when our job security is at risk, do we still have peace? It is a challenge to wait when one has sent out a hundred copies of one’s resume and still there is no response. Would the emotion that is constantly ruling you be one of anxiety rather than pease?

Secondly, dealing with people around us at work can rob us of our peace. If we have a tough boss who micro-manages our every moves, or an unreasonable client who demands every concessions whether it is legitimate or not, or a difficult patient who never complies but makes complains to the College on every slight dissatisfaction, it is hard to remain peaceful. How about office politics? Colleagues who stab your back while smiling at you, subordinates who do not listen but you are powerless to fire them, how do these situations affect you? Do we have peace when facing deadmlines that are given at last minutes’ notice? Would you feel at times that you are crippled by fear and frustration, and are hard-pressed to find any peace of Jesus Christ in you?

Third but not least, yes, we are Christians, but let’s not pretend that we are immue to the attraction of material things. Deep in our hearts, is our motivation at work that of greed and jealousy? Do you have peace when you feel that you are underpaid, underrated and yet overworked? Do you have peace when you think you are doing the job of 2 people but only getting 1 salary, or you have to solve the problems your co-workers create, when they get as much or maybe even more pay than you? When you have to get up early to beat the morning traffic, and stay late at the office to finish all your work, are you too tired to have peace? Do you have peace when your classmates who graducated at the same time with you are earning higher salaries, living in larger houses and driving more luxurious vehicles, while you are stuck in a career path that is a dead-end job? Even if you rise to the top, or you have your own business, do you feel you need to do a little creative accounting in order to satisfy your shareholders, stock analysts, creditors and bankers? Do you still have peace that surpasses all understanding?

When our whole being is swamped with anxiety, fear, frustration, greed and jealousy, the chance that we still have the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ at heart becomes pretty remote. But I believe it does not have to be like this. Yes, we all have pressures, we are all face with some or more of the above situations described above at one time or another. But Jesus has promised, “Peace I give unto you, my peace I leave with you.” Pray to Him to give us strength to hold on firmly to His promise, remember we are destined for eternity, whatever happens on earth is temporary and thus trivial in the grand scheme of Jesus’ salvation plan. Peace at work is an achievable goal if we are willing to work at it. This blog is one way to bring out issues that will affect our peace at work. Let’s encourage and strengthen each other here.

[DONNA WRITES:]

You knew it had to happen.

Ten years ago, Laurie Beth Jones’ book on a particular business leadership model was a best seller that occupied prominent bookshelf space in the business section of Chapters Bookstore. Jones’ instant book classic was Jesus CEO—Using Ancient Wisdom for Visionary Leadership.

That the Lord Jesus Christ was an exemplary leader who, two thousand years ago, began a religious movement –the Church—which is still with us today, is indisputable. That what Jesus taught about leadership would create such buzz in the business world surprises only those who strictly observe the sacred-secular divide. For those really clued into Jesus and the kingdom of God and are, at the same time, clued into marketplace realities, know that Jesus-style leadership belongs in the workplace. Excuse us—not “belong,” but rather, has a rightful place in the working world.

What did Jesus teach about leaders, those who exercise authority?

On an occasion when his disciples were arguing over career advancement and being great, Jesus called them together to say,

“You know that those who are regarded as rulers of

the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials

exercise authority over them.

Not so with you.

Instead, whoever wants to become great among you

must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first

among you must be slave of all.

For Jesus, leadership greatness is to be found in servanthood greatness. For Jesus, being a leader means having authority, but not using that authority to be self-serving, for example, to only bolster one’s own position or reputation. Rather, leadership is using that authority in ways that serve people. Any of us who has ever worked for a supervisor who was self-serving and capricious can appreciate the change in office morale when a new supervisor comes in who delegates well, recognizes and honours workers fairly, using his/her authority to empower others to work well.

Here’s a question for us. What would our workplaces look like if Jesus-style leadership was operational in our work-settings? What would change? What would be the impact that servant-leaders would make in our workplaces?

[JANET WRITES:]

“I know someone who read the book, Jesus CEO, and applied some of the principles at her workplace. And as you said, Donna, leadership is using authority in ways to serve people. This principle has helped to guide her decision-making and to answer some salient, soul-searching questions. For example, she’s often been asked:

1. “Why don’t you apply for the director’s position?”

2. “Why don’t you do your own business full-time?” (virtually no politics, triple the money, total autonomy)

3. “Why don’t you do management full-time?”

If the goal is purely to bolster one’s own position or reputation, and more money for that matter, then it makes perfect sense to pursue each of the above suggestions. Well, without going into too much detail, she has kept her position, and in doing so, she has far more contact with everyone from the janitor, to the clients, to her peers, to senior management as well as to the CEO, all the while still enjoying her work and relationships with both peers, subordinates & her bosses. She has nearly doubled her office space, equipment, and her income within 5 years; and she now has more clients and a longer wait list for her services than ever. Meanwhile, she has had numerous opportunities to witness to all of those individuals whom she has different types of contact with.

Does anyone else have some stories to share? Again, what might our workplaces look like, if Jesus-style leadership was operational in our work-settings?

The first thing that anyone who plays golf will notice is that while golf is a competitive game, (you play in “foursomes” with three others; you compete in golf “tournaments”; sometimes you have “match play”; we watch Tiger Woods, Mike Weir and Phil Mickleson in the Masters, US Open, British Open and PGA Championship; and we certainly keep “score” in golf), yet golf is unlike any other sport. It is a competition against oneself, not others.

This competition of one takes shape when you keep score. Each time one plays a round of golf, a “handicap” system is established where your score “over par” (over the average # of strokes a professional would play the course in) equals your “handicap”. Every subsequent time that you play, you do not try to beat your playing partners but to beat your “handicap” score. It’s a game where 4 players of very different levels can play together, each pleased with their final score. The person who shot 100 (someone like me) would be just as pleased with the result as someone who shot 72 (par) because 100 would be a great score for me!

For now, the 1st reflection of golf is that it is a game against oneself. Life is much the same way. Many people live their life “competing” with others: I need to get a promotion over him; I want to earn more money than my wife; I need a higher degree than her; I want to have a better looking husband; my church has to be better than that church on the other side of the road…These “driven” people will never advance in life until they realize that life isn’t lived “against others”. Life is lived within oneself. All God wants from us is a little improvement each day. Sometimes, it may even be three steps forward, two steps back (I know, I stole that one). But the key is that God wants improvement from us over time so that we are closer and closer to the image with which He has created us to be.

One day last week, I was listening to the Sports Radio while driving home. The host asked a most unusual question: Do you think God knows the rule of golf? No, this host was not a spiritual man, he was just fed up with the multitude of rules in golf. Though his question was a bit odd, it led me to think of a slightly different question: Do you think God likes golf?

Yes, was my answer. No, no, I don’t know whether God likes to play golf and that’s not my concern. (unless of course, you would like to make a reservation to play golf with God in the new heavens and new earth) What I meant is that after having a chance to play golf and watch golf for a number of years, I think God would be an interested spectator of the game of golf. He would like to watch how each of us play golf. Afterall, golf is not so different from life. In the following series of blogs (perhaps once a week) I will explore one lesson I learned from golf per week.

You own a contracting firm and your company has subcontracted your waste-haulage operations. The subcontractor charges low fees, making your own fees more competitive. One day, you get an anonymous letter with documentation proving the waste company undercuts its competition by dumping into streams and swamps at night. Do you turn a blind eye to save profits and jobs? Or do you cancel the contract?

Working at Play

      Canada Day weekend, Sat was a wedding, Sun is all church, Mon, ah Monday. Finally a break! Monday is loaded with leisurely activities (cross-border shopping in the morning, cherry picking in the afternoon, dinner party in the evening) where all the cumulated “play” of the past months are being lived out in one day!

      Now forget about the shopping and dinner, I want to talk about the cherry picking. This is an interesting Canadian phenomena, very big in the immigrant community. 90% of the ppl picking cherries with us on the biggest cherry farm in southern Ontario looks like immigrants: Chinese, East Indian, Pakistani, East Europeans, South Americans. However, this is only my 3^rd time picking cherries in my 24 yr history in Canada. At first, I wonder what’s the big deal about picking some fruit that I don’t even like to eat from trees which are too low to provide shade from the sun. Slowly though, I warmed up to the idea.

      There is something appealing in bending over a branch, peeling back the leaves and discovering a string of ripe cherries dangling from the branch. Picking a bucket of cherries while the afternoon breeze brushed the leaves made me think back to the Garden of Eden. Could this be what Adam and Eve were doing prior to the Fall? Picking fruits in the garden, eating half and storing up the other half, laughing and joking, enjoying the work without the sweat? Work and play are intertwined together, indistinguishable and inseparable.

      Adam doesn’t complain of “working” overtime and losing his leisure, work is play and play is work! We are the ones who have lost that unity of work with play. We work to get paid so that we can play. We look forward to the weekend when play is finally available and sing the Monday blues when play is over. I look forward to the New Heaven where play is reunited with work just as humanity is reunited with God.

      In our world, many people play hard but don’t work hard. Others are workaholics who have no idea how to have fun. I myself find it difficult to enjoy one whole day of “play” without feeling guilty about not “doing” anything. Unlike many of us, Adam and Eve knew how to work and how to play. I look forward to the New Earth where we will always work hard at play and play hard at work.

      As I plucked cherry after cheery from the branch, I also think back to the novel The Grapes of Wrath where workers struggled to find farm jobs in the Great Depression. While we North Americans who are among the riches 10% in the world spend our leisure time “playing” at fruit picking, millions around the world would fight to get a job like this, being paid a few dollars a day to pick fruit. Still others live in such famine and poverty that they will never know the taste of cherries in their lifetime.

      Here I am, playing with what others would call “work” and while others in the world are working at what would be “play” for us. I look forward to the New Heaven and New Earth where famine and poverty are no more, no more tears no more suffering, where we will all enjoy the fruits of our labor.

Soon after joining a branch office, you are instructed by a veteran staffer on the fine art of expense-account padding — make a phone call to a customer 20 kilometres down the road and expense it as 40 kilometres’ worth of mileage. This and other little tricks becomes standard practice. Somehow, head office finds out and calls you into the office for a chat. When you tell the veteran staffer what’s happened, he begs you not to rat him out. What do you do?

Have you ever encounter work that you know you Must do but you really don’t feel like doing? No, I don’t mean illegal or unethical or unpleasant work. It is good and appropriate work. Work that one “should” do. That’s exactly the problem! You should do it.

Last Saturday, I’m in just such a situation: A Wedding Banquet. To most ppl, probably including all of you, wedding banquet is a joy, it’s a wonderful time to eat the best food (in this case, 12 course Chinese dinner), drink a lot of free alcohol, make fun of the bride and groom with hilarious games, and enjoy the company of your friends. But for me, most wedding banquets are my Duty, my Obligation, my WORK! That’s right, I’m a pastor…

I was tired after a long day at the end of a long week. An hour long nap in the afternoon did nothing but to make me sleepier and when I got to the banquet, discovered without surprise although certainly with some chagrin that all the pastors are grouped together at the same table along with the eldest of elders. Don’t get me wrong, they are good people whom I get along with. They’re like my parents or older brothers or sisters. But there, that’s exactly the problem: it means we won’t have much fun!

You know as a pastor at a wedding banquet, you can’t really have fun. Just a bit of fun perhaps, but never really, really, crazy fun! This is going to be another 4 hour wedding that drags on and on and I have to pretend I’m having fun…

As the night progressed however, something unexpected is unfolding: I’m actually enjoying myself. First the Best Man, then the Maid of Honor and then another close friend all delivered long speeches toasting the new couple. Though the speeches were rather long, they were not boring. Story after story about the bride and groom were told. Memories of laughter, of camaraderie, of dreaming about great things that characterize the youth and of doing the little things that matter to friends. The audience was drawn into the stories of this new couple and I’m discovering them anew even though I’ve known them for well over 10 years! There’s something about the stories of our lives that attracts us. There’s truly something beautiful in all of our lives!

By the end of the night I was so glad that I was there. I’m privileged to be a participant in this part of the story of their lives. This is the kind of “little surprises @ work” that makes work worthwhile. It is great to be able to share in a part of someone’s life!

Dear friends, and I know I’m using this term loosely because we don’t know each other just yet, I hope this blog serves as a way where our lives will intersect. Let it be a place where your stories as well as mine are told. Stories of work, of home, of church, of relationships and of God. I sincerely hope that as we listen to each other’s stories and engage in discussion to help each other solve dilemmas that we’re facing, this blog in cyberspace will be a beautiful cord that binds our lives together so that one day, we can truly call each other friends.

John Chan

p.s. send in your stories or dilemmas to: email@projectcontempo.ca and we’ll post it to the blog.