Inviting Jesus into Your Workplace (eBook)

Chapter 1
Not Going to Hide It
Under a Bushel

Some Foundational Principles

I clearly remember a time as a young boy working at my father’s manufacturing plant when I overheard Dad discussing with his salesman, Bill, which is not his real name, that Dad wanted to put a big cross out in front of the company’s manufacturing plant. Dad wanted to show to his employees, vendors, and customers that Jesus guides the people of Red Bud Industries (RBI). Bill argued during a time of low sales levels that it would drive customers away from the company, and Dad argued that he didn’t care whether it did or not. Dad was president of the company, so he obviously was going to win the argument.

Well, actually, God won the argument because the cross is still there and, of course, God wins all arguments (John 16:33b: “But take heart! I have overcome the world.”).

The cross in front of Red Bud Industries as it appears today

Dad is a terrific example of a Christian who is open in his faith. Every year, he would stand up at the company Christmas party and give a small talk that mostly consisted of why he was so grateful about his blessings from “the Good Lord.” The Christmas party speeches were heartfelt and public, but I think Dad shows his faithfulness best in his habit of spending peaceful time with the Lord each morning, thanking Him for his many blessings. Spending quiet time with the God who keeps us breathing is definitely underrated.

Mom gave Him glory through her evangelism program at church, visiting people and asking them night after night that age old question, “If you were to die tonight, what would you say to God about why He should let you into His heaven?”

Those cold nights of evangelizing produced some very warm hearts for our Holy Spirit, who in the end is the real converter (Titus 3:5b-6: “He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior.”).

Mom’s evangelism morphed into writing more than 40 hymns with a “hot” heart that never stops praising Him.

My older sister, Kathy (who tells everyone she’s my younger sister…this book will set the record straight!), has led Sunday School for many years teaching the kids “all I have commanded you.” She visits the shut-ins and, in addition to doing so much for the Lord, she and her husband, Kalin, renovate buildings in downtown Red Bud, Illinois, while also running a company that proclaims God’s goodness.

My younger sister, Kim, is a committed church volunteer; her paycheck will come in heaven. At her church, she bakes, leads large projects, and generally is deeply involved in the whole church community. Kim is so full of love that she’d rather serve her Savior than show up on time for anything. One of her T-shirts reads “Always Latte” with an image of a simmering coffee cup. If Kim orders a coffee, I guarantee that it will be cold by the time she drinks it because...yes, you got it...she’s “latte” for everything.

My late wife, Lori, did everything from making food for new mothers who were busy trying to get by with their new little one to changing diapers and teaching young children the Gospel as she led the BSF children’s program for many years. She loved the small people (I mean really small) too as she served on the board of a wonderful Pro-Life group for quite a few years. Lori now resides with her Savior after suffering an incurable breast cancer for nine years. Her grace (and, oh, that laugh!) was infectious to all who knew her. Now, while others put up with me here on earth, Lori rejoices 24 hours a day in a heaven without end (Revelation 22:5b: “For the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.”).

My wife, Stephenie (go ahead and call her Stef because I do), has a newer walk with her Savior. And I’ve got “rock star” seats to watch the fascinating journey God is leading her through.

I “outperformed” my Stef when we wed. I married up and she married down. The Holy Spirit, through my Sweet Stef Miles (SSM), makes a big mess like me into a slightly smaller mess. Stef is so wonderful and I continue to see more things in her “wonderfulness.” And she is a beautiful woman. (By the way, Sweet Stef Miles is also beautiful on the outside too.)

Think of brown sugar, white sugar, and powdered sugar piled high on a sugar cookie. Stef is sweeter than that. Stef is making me a bit sweeter, but I can still sometimes be likened to a plain bagel...without anything smeared on top.

The point behind my introducing you to all of these wonderful people is to point out how my family is such a good example for me. They do not and cannot “hide their candle under a bushel” (Matthew 5:15: “Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.”). Mine is not a perfect family by any means, but it’s truly one whose members love Jesus. And so do I.

The desire to witness Jesus is not about checking boxes to earn our way to heaven, but rather it’s a desire that arises out of love for Him, because He first loved us (1 John 4:19: “We love because He first loved us.”). Simply put, I love God because of who He is.

Think of it this way: I pour love on Sweet Stef Miles because of who she is, not because I check some box for her. And as much as Stef does amazing things for me, I don’t love her primarily for that reason. Instead, and to reiterate because I think it deserves repeating, I love Sweet Stef Miles because of who she is. SSM loves God, her children, other people, and yes, even me. And from my love for Stef, because of who she is, I tell others about how wonderful she is. The boxes get checked but not because I check the boxes. The boxes get checked because of who she is.

And even though He commanded us to witness Him, I witness His glory because He is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God (Matthew 16:16: “Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’”). Yes, truly because of who He is.

The Great Option

We are all aware of the adage, “Never discuss politics or religion at work.” Aw phooey!” (a reference to Donald Duck). Yet Jesus says in Matthew 28:19-20, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

You may already know and recognize that those famous verses in Matthew 28 are part of what is commonly known as the Great Commission. A commission is a command or duty, but I fear too many of us have been looking at His Great Commission as the Great Option. Clearly, there’s no option in the words, “Therefore go,” and there definitely isn’t meant to be any hesitation on our part when He says, “I have commanded you.” When God says that He commands you, I am pretty sure He really means it.

Frankly, I don’t see a lot of baptizing going on at work either, and I occasionally check the bathroom sinks to make sure of that. Even though I have invited each teammate of our medium-size company to let me know if he or she would like to confess that Jesus is Lord (Romans 10:9: “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”) and be baptized, I’ve only baptized two people in my life. Admittedly, I too am guilty of living the Great Commission as the Great Option.

When we baptize, we need water, and we need to baptize in the name of the Triune God. Because there are no rare earth metals or other special materials needed in the baptizing process, you can baptize too. We shouldn’t leave the baptizing out of the “go” part of the Great Commission.

And teaching them everything I have commanded you? Everything? Really? C’mon. My goodness, I have really failed to live up to this command, and yet, I’m writing this book as a so-called authority on the topic. I’m not.

As if Jesus knew we would be hesitant or afraid to do what He commands through His infinite grace and compassion, He closes by saying the words, “I am always with you.” Always. Wow! If Jesus is with us, who can be against us?!?! (Romans 8:31: “What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”)

The answer to that question can be found a little later in Romans 8:38-39: “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Please allow me to try and understand what’s happening here for too many of us: Jesus is with us to the end of the age, but we aren’t even with Him at work.

God created us so that we would be happy, right? Nope. In Colossians 1:16, St. Paul writes about Jesus, “For in Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through Him and for Him.” For Him. Think about that word for in that verse. Do we really take the “option” to push out our Savior, for whom the entire world was created?...