That of Which We Do Not Speak

In The Village movie, the head elder, Edward Walker, refers to outsiders as “those of whom we do not speak.” Does your church take a similar stance toward so-called “secular” work? Is it “that of which we do not speak”?

Yes, those in the audience may occasionally hear the words “work” or “workplace.” But the subject rarely arises as a serious topic or major part of discipleship for daily work. Ask yourself: “When was the last time I heard an entire sermon devoted to the place of our daily work in God’s Kingdom purposes?”

The Spirit of Jesus in us seeks to shape our lives, a major part of which we spend working. In this blog, I am asking you to help me understand this widespread silence about daily work in our Sunday meetings. I’ll suggest a few possible reasons for the absence of work-talk. These explanations may or may not stand up to scrutiny. I’ll describe my ideas, then invite you to agree, disagree, or add your own thoughts.

1. The notion that work “out there” is secular. The online Power Thesaurus, among its long list of synonyms for “secular,” incudes: profane, temporal, fleshly, unsacred, unblessed, and earthbound. Where does the Bible ever describe our daily labor as “secular”? Was the flock-raising work of Abel unblessed? Did Daniel, the government worker, engage in profane work? Was Paul’s tentmaking fleshly? Or was Jesus’ work as a carpenter/builder unsacred?

2. An order of service that has little space for reports from life outside church programs. As church meetings turned into platform performances, the lineup became finely tuned. Everything had to fit into the allotted time. Songs and sermons outrank all else. After announcements, prayer requests, and occasional news from missionaries, no moments remain for hearing how God may be moving in this or that local workplace.

3. Pastors with little or no sustained experience in the world of work. Those entering “the ministry” often follow this track: college, seminary, youth pastor, senior pastor. A pastor may have worked odd hours in a fast-food restaurant to get through school. But many have never spent years at work in a setting where most others have no interest in following Jesus. As a result, for countless church leaders, the work world remains an alien and unfamiliar habitat.

4. A theology that begins in Genesis 3 rather than Genesis 1. Years of Sunday teaching can leave the impression that the Fall was the first spiritually significant event. Sin led to the second momentous event, when Jesus died for us on the cross. Sin and salvation both matter greatly. But what happens if we downplay Creation as the first spiritually decisive happening? We will miss the foundational truth that God, the First Worker, created us in his image for the work of ruling his creation under his direction.

5. The belief that God will destroy this earth, so our efforts here don’t really matter. Suppose you think what you do is secular (as in temporal, here today, gone tomorrow). Then your daily work hardly compares with leading a Bible study, taking part in a prayer meeting, or working on a church construction crew. Seemingly, only those activities carry eternal weight.

6. Church leaders cannot control what happens in the workplaces of the congregation. If on weekdays you work as an accountant, a barista, or a carpenter, your role does not show up in the church organization chart. This means that church leaders—who do exercise influence on what gets done in church-related programs—have no say-so in shaping the work you do week after week.

Here, then, are six factors within local churches that may muzzle serious talk about the weekday work of those in the congregation. If you believe I am on target or off base, or if you can think of more explanations for the Sunday silence concerning work, please comment in the box below.