Session Three
Article One – “Outside – In” Tim Downs
Article Two – “Between Two Worlds”
Doug Sherman & William Hendricks
Application Points for Session Three:
In these two articles, learners will be challenged to consider –
• What are the implications of stressing that Christians should become insiders by working their way to key positions of influence and trust?
• After reading these articles, how would you describe vocational ministry?
• In considering our evangelistic strategies, would you agree that we often place more emphasis on “harvesting” as compared to “sowing?”
• Do you view your work in purely secular terms? Would you agree that we’ve allowed a chasm to grow between our faith and our work? How does that manifest itself?
• Will commitment to “faith-sharing” provide some new fulfillment and purpose to your work?
• How can it be that researchers have found no significant difference between the churched and unchurched in their ethics and values on the job?
Sunday Morning, December 21, 2003
Session Three – “Becoming Evangelistic People”
5 Minutes
Welcome & Prayer
10 Minutes
OPEN
What was your reaction to the story about Kim Philby? Do you agree with the principle the author establishes regarding the mole – “There is great potential for spiritual impact when a Christian becomes an insider by working his way to a key position of influence and trust?”
15-20 Minutes
DIG
In biblical history many triumphs were achieved or catastrophes averted through the crucial contribution of an insider. Several examples were cited in the article (i.e., Joseph, Nehemiah, Esther, and Joseph of Arimathea). The author characterizes these individuals as “sowers” who would make possible the work of many “harvesters” who would follow.
Despite the lessons exemplified in Scripture and church history, most Christians are unconvinced of the value of sowing and suspicious of any “calling” to be an insider. Instead, Christians exhort sowers to grow in their commitment by joining the harvest, and they admonish insiders to come out and make a difference. Where did we get the idea than unless we were “harvesters” we were not evangelistic? Did this article convince you there is an important place for “sowers?”
What was your reaction to the author’s story regarding John, the senior vice president of a large advertising agency? Can you see the flaws of the “outside-in approach” as is well portrayed in this case study? Were you ever left feeling from our teaching in the church that your secular work didn’t matter to God?
Describe in your own words the “inside-out” approach of being an effective sower where you are.
What is your reaction to Tim Downs statement, “Some Christians begin to assume that sanctification itself is an ever-increasing process of coming out, being separate, and touching no unclean thing. The result is an attitude of separatism that has encouraged a polarization between the Christian and the non-Christian worlds”?
Did the metaphor of the “mole” bother you in any way? If so, why?
20 Minutes
REFLECT
When stripped from a sense that our work matters to God, it’s no wonder that many workers feel increasingly bored with their jobs and their lives because they’ve bought into a lie that says its value begins and ends with a paycheck. Isn’t this a tragedy? Discuss in your class the benefits outlined in the article “Between Two Worlds” on page 22 that can transform your attitude toward work and our outlook on life.
5 Minutes
PRAYER TIME
How have you been convicted by this study this week?
Pray that this study can be life-changing and give us a more biblical perspective on our work and careers.
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