The Church in the Marketplace

In the foreword for Faith Powered Profession, the Lead Pastor of National Community Church (NCC) wrote:  “The Church should be in the middle of the marketplace.” The Marketplace is where people are, and we — as the Church, the Body of Christ — should meet them there.

—    Mark Batterson, Faith Powered Profession

The way NCC lives this out is one of the things I love about my church here in D.C. I didn’t know it was one of their stated values when I started attending almost 10 years ago, but it was obvious to me from the beginning even if I didn’t see it written down.

The “marketplace” isn’t just a shop; it’s the whole world swirling around us – the cities and towns we live in, the economies we buy things from, the governments we participate in, the organizations we support. Think of the marketplace in Jesus’ time – it was where people went to get provisions and news (that was how you heard what was going on, back in the days before Twitter and Facebook). It’s where everyone is.

Most church buildings are in the middle of the marketplace physically, but I don’t think that’s what NCC means. As the Body of Christ – or Church with a capitol “C” – we also belong socially in the middle of the marketplace. As Christians, we should be participating in our economies and governments, and we should be supporting the organizations in our communities that are striving to do good and serve their neighbors.

I think NCC calls this out as something important for our church because they recognize that sometimes we’re hesitant to engage the world. It seems easier to stay inside our “safe” Christian communities – just hang out with our Christian friends, read Christian publications, serve our church body.

As Christians, we can be so quick to criticize what we see in the marketplace. In their book unChristian, David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons write: “The research shows that Christians are best known for what they are against. They are perceived as being judgmental, antihomosexual, and too political.”

Is this the best way to engage the world? Or should we be the hands and feet of Jesus? If we just stay inside our Christian community, where will people learn about the love Christ has for them?

If we aren’t “out there,” what are the chances of them coming “in here”?

We can enter into the marketplace and serve our neighbors through creating strong businesses that provide quality, trustworthy products and services.

We can participate in the government – developing and implementing better policies. We can serve through non-profit organizations that meet vital needs.

What about you? How are you entering the marketplace? I’d love to hear about it! Leave a comment or tweet me back and let’s talk!

Who receives your best energy?

A few weeks ago I spent a day volunteering with a national non-profit known for doing amazing things for kids and communities. Because of the way the volunteers were organized, I ended up in a group that – other than me – only had employees of the organization.

Just a few minutes earlier, one of these employees had been revving up all the volunteers – getting them to cheer for progress made, getting them to talk to one another and start to build connections, getting people excited about what they were doing for the day. But in the group of just employees, the tone was different. Everyone was quiet. When someone asked a question, the answer was delivered with vague annoyance. There was even a little sighing and eye-rolling.

I had become invisible to the employees, they didn’t realize I was watching their interaction. I was surprised to see the difference between the way they treated the volunteers and the way they treated each other.

Their service events are high-energy and high-pressure, so it’s understandable that they can’t keep that up all the time; and I only spent a few hours with them, so I’m not saying their behavior was representative of the entire organization. But it really got me thinking about how we treat the people closest to us.

I know sometimes I have spent so much energy being friendly with clients that I’m short-tempered with my teammates. Or I’m so tired from spending extra hours with colleagues at work, that I have little energy left to be gracious with my family.

I’m trying to figure out how to structure my day so that I can give my best energy to the people who matter the most to me.

For me, it starts with connecting to my life source. As John 15:5 says “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” When I detach myself from the vine by not spending time in the Bible, or not investing in prayer, my priorities get out of whack. I get sidetracked on the ‘urgent but unimportant’ and fail to make sure the really important people in my life are given the attention they need and deserve.

How do you ensure the people most important to you receive your best energy?

Partnership with 4wordwomen.org

I was honored to meet Diane Paddison about 18 months ago at a book signing for Work, Love, Pray. At that time, I told her that we shared a passion for professional Christian women. She encouraged me to stay in touch, and when the time came this past spring to solicit endorsements for my book - I asked Diane if she would be willing to read it and consider endorsing it. Diane called me a few weeks later and shared that she'd always believed there would be 3 sequels to her book - one on work, one one love, and one on prayer. She said that my book was the "work-book" and not only would she endorse my book, but she would welcome me into 4word family, with Faith Powered Profession as the first sequel to Work, Love, Pray.

She introduced me and Faith Powered Profession to the 4word community via a Google Hangout!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91vSjnNA7uo&feature=share&list=UUlI3VfBuDq72BLNAmmcP1tA

4wordwomen.org is dedicated to connecting, leading, and supporting professional Christian women to achieve their God-given potential. Diane blogs weekly about a range of issues - you can see her posts on Mondays. On Wednesdays they interview professional Christian women and highlight how they are serving God and their community - they've highlighted such a range of women! They also provide a very, very comprehensive list of resources for Christians in the marketplace.