BLOG - Dion Forster - An uncommon path

Top

What are we thinking? Reflections on Church and Society from Southern African Methodists.

by Dion A Forster, Wessel Bentley
Methodism in Southern Africa: A celebration of Wesleyan Mission

by Dion A Forster, Wessel Bentley
Christ at the centre - Discovering the Cosmic Christ in the spirituality of Bede Griffiths

by Dion A Forster
An uncommon spiritual path - the quest to find Jesus beyond conventional Christianity

by Dion A Forster

Pages

Social networking

popular tags

Entries in marketplace (2)

Monday

Feb082010

21 Ways to Pray at Work

Monday, February 8, 2010 at 8:39PM

A friend on facebook (H-K-R) shared this great link from beliefnet - 21 ways to pray at work.

There are some wonderful resources here to add a new level of significance and purpose to your daily work life! Remember that Paul admonished the Colossians saying, “Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.” (Col 3.23).

We spend so much time and energy in our work environment, why not invest that time wisely by taking the hours you spend at work to a deeper level of commitment?

Here's my input on some of the steps they share:

The workday doesn’t start when you walk into the office, it starts when you wake up. Start by thanking God for the job you have.
Ask God to bless the people among whom you work, and the place in which you work.
Pray that God will make you a good steward of your time and resources of your company. As Christians at work we should offer a clear witness through our commitment to our work. Mark Twain once commented that you should "live such a good life that when you die even the undertaker will be sorry!"
Pray that God will use your communication to communicate God's love and care for the people you interact with (whether that be your manner on the phone, the way you deal with a difficult client, or the tone of an email).
A simple exercise is to choose to pray through your 'address book' or phone list. I do this - I take just 10 minutes each day and pray for a few persons on our company phone list. Amazingly I pray for each of our office staff by name every second week. It changes my interaction with them, and I trust that God uses my prayer to bless and help them.
Be willing to pray for those who lead your organisation. Pray not only for them, but for their family and home lives. Executives often face great pressure. God can use you to transform their lives (James 5:16)
Before meetings ask God to guide you and give you calm and peace. Let God guide your thoughts, your words and your interactions. During the meeting listen for God's guidance through the words and inputs of others. Be sensitive enough to hear God's voice, and brave enough to speak. Your voice mayy be the one that God wishes to use to change a situation or bring a solution!
It is worthwhile praying that your organisation will be a just and good steward of the resources they have been entrusted with. Ask God to guide your leadership to make wise and generous choices that will help to transform society.
Practice MBWA during your lunch break. What is MBWA? It is different from an MBA (Masters in Business Administration), MBWA stands for 'management by walking around'. Try to connect with as many people as possible in a sincere and significant way during your free time (remember not to steal time from your employer, so use our time wisely!) Friendships build trust and allow you to offer care, help and prayer to those in need. I can bet you there are many people in your sphere of influence who are longing for someone to connect with!
In God's Kingdom few things happen in isolation - we were made for community. So, find likeminded colleagues to pray with during the week.
When you have to travel for work pray that God will protect your family and give them patience. Pray that God will protect you and keep you from any form of sin or temptation, returning you quickly and safely to your loved ones.

If you have any ideas or inputs to share I would love to hear from you! How do you make the most of your workday as a Christian?

Dr Dion Forster |

2 Comments |

tagged

Transform your work life,

Work,

prayer,

worship in

Marketplace Ministry,

Prayer,

Spirituality

Thursday

Oct092008

So here's what I'm thinking...

Thursday, October 9, 2008 at 10:50PM

Life can be messy, and I'm glad that it is this way. The sorrow of one moment becomes the joy of the next. Being separated from a loved one for a short while creates an intensity of love and appreciation that breaks the regular ebb and flow of life that can so easily lead one into a position of taking your most precious relationships for granted.

This week has been a truly remarkable week of learning and growing for me. I am pleased that there is still so much to learn about life, loving God, and serving Christ. For some years I was treated as 'a font of knowledge' for others - I was approached for counsel, sought out to teach and preach, and asked to participate in various think tanks and meetings. These things flattered my ego, but they also covered a great truth - the truth is that I don't know very much! Titles can be deceptive, they tools of social engineering, employed to create a perception that may or may not be true (or is true in varying degrees). I have two titles, Reverend and Doctor. The one denotes an office within the Church, the other an achievement within the academic arena. For some time these titles were a cause of secret pride (and sometimes not so secret pride!) However, in recent months they have been the cause of great humility and struggle. You see, with a title comes an expectation - the title Reverend seems to carry the social and religious expectation of Godliness, maturity, wisdom, and care. I am not particularly good at any of these, although I do strive to do my best in each. The title Doctor carries with it the expectation of great learning, exceptional insights, and deep thought. Well, with the exception of a few very esoteric and rather eclectic subjects (neuroscience, applied mathematics, artificial intelligence, quantum physics, African philosophy and certain areas of Christian doctrine) I don't know much at all! Well, at least I don't know much about the things that truly count in life!

I am learning.

Before going further, I am aware that some would dispute that 'The Reverend' is in fact not a title, but rather a style of prefix used to address Christian clergy. The point is, I cannot live up to the social expectation of either of the titles that I have, just as little as I can truly be a perfect husband or father. I do my best, but there is tremendous room for growth.

Well, this week I sat in meetings, conference halls, Churches, offices, and around tables with people who were often much more interested in my titles than in my person. What I am learning is that I need to be as patient with them as I hope they are with me! You see, they too are subject to the pressures of socialization. So I guess I could state it more accurately by saying that this week I was learning to learn. I was having to think not only about what I was learning about people, but also about how I was learning what I was learning - for example when I met the head of the Ugandan Revenue service (she jokingly calls herself the 'Chief tax collector' of Uganda) I had to take time to separate the person from the title. The office that she holds is one of immense responsibility, power, and of course respect. But, when she spoke with me (a minister) she was looking for support, affirmation, encouragement, and prayer. I had to make the distinction between the person and the title and ask God to give me the grace to be sensitive to minister to her felt needs as she felt them, not as I perceived them. I am learning to learn!

Well, this was a good week!

I have learned a lot! I have learned a lot about myself, I have learned a lot about others, I have learned a lot about Argentina, and Uganda, and Japan, and Thailand, and Australia, and Iran, and Spain, and Denmark, and a host of other countries and regions...

The meetings were remarkable, my intellect was stimulated, my heart was touched, and my spirit was renewed.

Amazingly though, the highlight of this week came from a town called Paarl, thousands of Kilometers away. The highlight of this week for me was the gift of a child for my friends Angus and Heather, you can read about that gift here: http://gruntleblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/zachari.html

We continue to learn... That's what I'm thinking!

Tomorrow morning I shall be leaving Mar del Plata, driving to Buenos Aires and then catching a boat to Uruguay. There I shall have further opportunities to learn. I do feel that this 'season' of my life is a season of service. I am trying to learn how to serve those that I work with, and serve those that I encounter. It is not easy to serve when almost all of western culture tries to teach one to rule and direct. So, do say a prayer for me. I am learning.

Dr Dion Forster |