God on Monday: Reflections on Christians Work, by Benny Tabalujan, Klesis Institute (Melbourne) and Comm/Asia (Singapore), 2005.

Intelligent church-members complain that preachers often/mostly answer questions people aren’t asking…

Church-members with a ‘secular’ vocation often complain that most sermons have nothing much to do with their daily work. (I once heard a highly respected 60-ish medico say he can’t remember any sermon in forty years which helped him become a more ‘Christian’ or ‘better’ surgeon).

So we need something written by a person-in-the-workplace about Christianity and work, right?

Here it is.

Dr Tabalujan has a PhD in law (University of Melbourne) and is a lawyer, business consultant, conference-speaker, and university lecturer, among other vocations. He is a highly committed, practising Christian, and – rare breed – very well read in terms of modern and classical Christian literature, especially in the area of practising the Faith in the real world.

Here are some excellent chapters on Sabbath/rest, balancing work and other life-commitments, money-matters, ethics (‘why good people do bad things at work’), ‘Is there a perfect job for me?’, a Christian approach to competition and ambition, etc.

His main motif is an ‘Integrated Work Model’ – blending identity, integrity and intentionality into a biblical view of life and work. Identity of course is about knowing yourself. Integrity has to do with ‘what you see on the outside matching what goes on inside’. Intentionality addresses questions about the purpose and direction of our working lives. ‘Work is not primarily about earning an income or obtaining job satisfaction. Neither is it about reaching the top of our chosen profession or career. Work is ultimately about spiritual growth in Christ.’

There are some brilliant concepts here, like:

* Whereas data is gathered, and knowledge is created, wisdom can only be perceived, through humility (if ‘the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, it is available to all, not just the clever)

* The best way to tackle complex ethical issues: RADAR (Recognize an ethical issue when it arises; Assess fact and stakeholders; Determine possible options – use biblical principles as a guide; Act on the issue; Reflect over the event)

The book is pastorally sensitive to those whose work-experience is not fulfilling. For example: ‘Experiencing unemployment is similar to experiencing a marriage break-up (in both cases ‘you cease to be needed’). But empathy also needs exhortation: ‘If you are what you do, when you don’t, you aren’t’.

Balance is important: ‘Each life-period should be a mix of learning, working and leisure.’

So is sensitivity in terms of evangelism if you’re a red-hot Christian. Here’s some wisdom on that:

* It’s fitting to talk about your faith when it arises out of the relationships naturally built around your work with another person

* It’s appropriate to share your faith when it naturally fits into the topic of conversation

* It’s always appropriate to talk about your faith when you are asked.

He’s honest about business executives who claim to be Christian (and even offer prayer at their staff-meetings) but whose ethics are abominable (Enron, WorldCom).

A few minor complaints: it’s a pity Dr Tabalujan doesn’t use a non-sexist Bible translation like the NRSV (I gave up after counting ten sexist statements: I presume he’s also writing for women). Some sophisticates/ex-fundamentalists might find his penchant for alliterative headings annoying (eg. Isolated/Insider/Inarticulate/Integrated Christians; people/performance/profit). He writes well, but with an occasional odd turn of phrase (like the redundancy in ‘the bridge is currently still standing’ p.96). He’s proof-read his work (a by-product of a writer’s integrity; but his spell-check should have picked up ‘workaholicism’ p.34). And the chapters are very well laid out, and thought-out.

The bibliography is brilliant: a theological ‘auto-didact’ who’s read Thomas a Kempis, John Baillie, Frederick Buechner, Teilhard de Chardin, Jacques Ellul, Richard Foster, Abraham Heschel, and others of that ilk has something going for him (but he could have omitted Watchman Nee)…

CEOs: buy a copy for each of your senior colleagues to discuss at your next Staff Retreat (Ridley College Bookshop in Melbourne has them – 03 9207 4999/4915, or http://bookshop.ridley.unimelb.edu.au/bookweb/ )

* Shalom! Rowland Croucher * * http://jmm.org.au/ * (17,000+ articles, 4000 clean jokes/stories)

http://victoriaconcordiacrescit.blogspot.com/ *