How can you be authentically and noticeably Christian in a way that complements your work and working style instead of distracting it?
— Chris Evans
Have you ever wondered how you can wisely, winsomely apply your faith to the workplace? Many Christians in the workplace have difficulty understanding exactly how their faith informs their work.
Chris Evans wants to help. Evans is an entrepreneur, teacher, author, and consultant to for profit and non profit enterprises. He has served on various boards including DOOR International, Trinity Academy, Communities in Schools, NC State’s Entrepreneurship Advisory Board and The Trinity Forum. He currently serves as Executive Chair of Tethis, a venture-funded startup that is making a green alternative to the super-absorbent used in diapers. He is also a semi-professional sand sculptor. Most importantly, he’s a faithful Christian who wants to help everyday Christian workers integrate faith with their work.
His book, Fruit at Work, looks at the practice of workplace Christianity, and in a recent lecture at Southeastern Seminary, he discussed this book, faith, work and the fruit of the Spirit.
Watch the video above, or read key excerpts below (edited for clarity):
If practiced artfully in the workplace, the fruit of the Spirit are not only welcome; they’re highly prized.
On the fruit of the Spirit in the workplace.
“If practiced artfully in the workplace, [the fruit of the Spirit] are not only welcome; they’re highly prized. They are the attitudes and habits that reflect the personality of Christ.”
On the internal fruit of the Spirit.
- Love: “People trust the people who love them the most. Showing love to people naturally generates the trust you may need in order to be able to get things done, solve problems and fix relationships. Making a habit out of that love gives you tools in any workplace that might turn out to be quite valuable.”
- Joy: “This notion of being able to have this joy that’s always accessible to you as a Christian and being able to reach out take hold of that allows you to be the first one within your team that ‘snaps out of it.'”
- Peace: “At work, [peace] gives you a steady hand under pressure. You’re not rattled easily. You have this spiritual security that allows you to put your day-to-day demands in perspective.”
- Patience: “When you have a group that’s working together and they start getting annoyed with each other, it’s like [when] there’s no oil grease in the gears. These petty annoyances all of a sudden start to blossom into things that keep people from [doing] important things together.”
On the external fruit of the Spirit.
- Kindness: “Active love, the visible demonstration of your love towards someone else.”
- Goodness: “Actively choosing the following of moral good.”
- Faithfulness: “The practice of holding fast to what you know to be true in the face of doubts and questions.”
- Gentleness: “This restraint that allows you to be accessible as a boss and approachable, not intimidating. If you don’t practice it, you don’t wind up hearing the things that are going wrong in your company because they’re afraid you’re going to take it out on them. Cultivating this gentleness turns out to be a very valuable tool.”
- Self-Control: “This self-discipline to consistently demonstrate this fruit of the Spirit, rooted in the daily habits.”
No comments have been added.