Introducing and teaching the True Gospel to others in the workplace has enabled me to garner a number of ideas over thirty-three and a half years of employment at two different jobs. Everybody considers lunchtime to be “their own time”. I discovered that showing God’s love for my fellow employees was a big factor in getting them to give up this time and respond to my invitations to study the Bible together. It was important for me to give them due respect, regardless of the amount of Bible understanding they had. It was also important for me to help them gain an image of the person they could become in the future, both in terms of their faith and their walk before God.
In the process I have had the wonderful privilege of seeing God’s hand at work, not only on the hearts of my fellow employees but also upon those of my superiors, outside vendors, service people, and the spouses and families of those in my lunchtime classes. This has bolstered my own personal faith and encouraged me to continue to speak of these things to almost everyone I meet.
Some of us are indeed more extroverted in our personalities than others. Let me just say that having the Truth will enable anyone who really wants to share their faith with others to grow and develop the ability to do so. Prayer, preparation, practice and preaching are four pillars which will hold up even the most frightened individual.
I began by asking God to bring me to cross the paths of others who would be interested in learning the Truth. I tried to assure Him that I was willing to give up my lunch hours at work as well as evenings away from home and family, but to balance this with the needs of my wife and four young children.
The first fellow employee I presented the Truth to was never baptized. But his questions enabled me to develop my presentation of first principles. I marked up a small pocket-size Bible with verses from Index Rerum1and used these in my first attempts to teach. I met many others on and off the job during those initial years and recall the baptism of the first person whom I tutored completely through the first principles. I was so excited the night he was immersed that I thought my heart would explode! You will miss this thrill if you decide to leave the preaching of the Gospel to others.
And why do we do it? It is for God’s glory. It is for the salvation of others. It is to express our personal thankfulness to Jesus. There is a vacuum in the lives of others, longing to be filled. We have what they want and what they need to become truly living beings.
I changed jobs in June of 1977. I took a new job as a geology draftsman in Houston, Texas. This gave me a wonderful opportunity to build on what I had learned and to introduce the Truth to others in a new environment. I decided to take my time, be prayerful, and start by being more of a listener. I would not charge in with trumpets sounding, drums rattling and saber drawn. I proceeded to take the first three months to get to know everyone on a personal basis. I went into their offices in an unobtrusive way and deliberately avoided getting drawn into conversation about the Bible. I listened to what they wanted to talk about, and I got to know them and what they felt was important in life.
At the end of those three months, I planned my first lunch hour presentation. Let me add that it is important to secure a supervisor’s or manager’s approval before attempting to use company resources. I found management to be very supportive.
I placed a big chart of “God’s 7,000 Year Plan for the Earth”2on the wall of a large light-table room at the back of our drafting department. Then I went around and invited everybody in the drafting department to a presentation of “The Plan.” To my surprise everyone, including my supervisor, showed up and seemed to enjoy it. We hardly had enough room for everyone! Over the next couple years we regularly had four or five people in first principles classes that were held at least three times a week. People from other departments would hear of the class and ask if they could join us. They were always welcome.
On one occasion Bro. Charles and Sis. Edna Scott of the Richmond, VA, Ecclesia were visiting us with their son, Bro. Isaac, now of the Orlando, FL, Ecclesia. Bro. and Sis. Scott loved teaching the Truth to others as much as Sis. Windy and I did. I asked Bro. Charles if he would like to come and teach the class at my workplace. He got so excited! I went to my Division Manager — four levels up the administration pyramid! — and asked if we could use his conference room for the lunch hour presentation. He was happy to oblige us. Imagine everyone walking into a room with a beautiful, twenty-foot conference table and high-backed, rocking, leather chairs. It had overhead projector, automatic screen, and all the amenities of a corporate meeting place. But all of this paled to insignificance against the splendor of the Kingdom vision that dear Bro. Charles presented to us that day.
As technology went digital so did our presentations, and we were always afforded the use of conference room equipment. This had an exceptional impact on one occasion when we had scheduled a special “Prophecy Day” presentation. As we were setting up the equipment, the President of the United States announced the invasion of Kuwait. It was the start of the Gulf War. Imagine it again. At one end of the conference room was a dual, floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall projection screen. On the right screen we projected our PowerPoint presentation, while the left screen was displaying live CNN video of “Desert Storm”. What a memory for those of us who were privileged to be part of God’s greater work of manifesting Himself to men and women in the workplace!
Over the course of one’s career, opportunities present themselves for promotion into managerial positions. A brother or sister in Christ, who has become established in the ranks of a company as a “teacher of the Gospel” needs to stop and weigh these opportunities carefully and prayerfully. I received two such offers over a period of thirty years. I felt, however, that I was already employed in the greatest work any man or woman could ever hope to be engaged in. No amount of salary increase, prestige, or added authority could enhance the position I already had. In fact, the possibility existed that such advancements could interfere with the wonderful work that was being done, not just through me but now also through those who had become my brethren in the Lord and fellow laborers in the “Corporate Vineyard”. I decided to decline both offers of promotion.
There is no way in this brief article that I can share with you all the important ideas I have come to recognize over the years, so feel free to contact me. My e-mail address is stanisbell@gmail.com.
Finally, may we all recognize our position in the Body of Christ as Bro. Thomas states it in Elpis Israel:
“To this ‘one body’, energized by the ‘one spirit’, and ‘perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment’, and styled ‘THE BRIDE’ — is committed the work of making known ‘the manifold wisdom of God’, as contained in the word; and of inviting the world to be reconciled to God. No member of this body is exempt from the obligation of co-operating in this work. It is the duty and privilege of every one in his own sphere to endeavor to turn men to righteousness; for there is no distinction of ‘clergy’ and ‘laity’ in the family of God.”3
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One