Ministering to the business community

Theology Today, Oct 2003 by Tewell, Thomas K

One afternoon I went to New York Hospital to call on one of our members. To be honest, this member had been less than faithful in his attendance at worship, so in a sense I was "re-introducing" myself to him-and I had been his pastor for almost nine years! He seemed amazed that I was the fifth minister to visit him in the hospital. Actually, he had been visited by one other pastor, two deacons, and a stephen minister, but he was quite right that I was the fifth person from Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church to visit. He asked me, "How many ministers does our church have now?" I couldn't resist answering, "We are now a church of 3400 ministers." His eyes widened, as if trying to imagine the budget necessary to pay the salaries of 3400 clergy! I quickly assured my new friend that we are a church of five pastors but that every member of our congregation is a minister! One of my deepest theological convictions is that every Christian is called into fulltime service for Jesus Christ. The calling of all lay people and clergy is to penetrate the structures of society and to influence them from within. This is what Jesus meant when he called his disciples to be salt and light in a world of decay and darkness (Matt 5:13-6).

My conviction about vocation is rooted in Reformed theology and has been shaped particularly by the writing of sixteenth-century reformer John Calvin. Calvin believed that God appoints a vocation for every person. Our primary vocation is the call to believe in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Out of our faith commitment to follow Jesus Christ grows our secondary vocation to be part of "the priesthood of all believers" in the church. Spiritual gifts have been dispersed among Christians in such a way that each of us depends on others, and all members of the faith community are important, indispensable parts of the body of Christ. For Calvin, the divine calling also affects our daily occupations. Calvin believed that the work of priests is no more valued in the eyes of God than any other work. Rather, people in any occupation, whether sidewalk sweepers, secretaries, custodians, magistrates, doctors, or architects, all can serve God through what they do. Calvin says, "From this will arise also a singular consolation: that no task will be so sordid and base, provided you obey your calling in it, that it will not shine and be reckoned very precious in God's sight."1 Thus, Christian vocation, as understood in the Reformed tradition, brings dignity to all work and affirms it as an arena in which we can serve God.

From my office on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 55th Street in midtown Manhattan, I ponder the challenge of communicating this message about vocation to members of our congregation who are tempted to become captured by the busyness and materialism of our secular society. All around me, I see evidence of the fast-paced life of business leaders who often work seventy to eighty hours per week trying to climb the corporate ladder of success. Young business people in their 20s who have come to New York with degrees from some of America's finest universities often work over ninety hours per week as they get established in what they hope will be a lucrative career. Billboards call out to these hard-working business leaders, offering them the finest names in fashion, design, and cosmetics as they scurry down this gorgeous strip of real estate on Fifth Avenue. These billboards subtly lure us into defining our identity in terms of what we have, what we do, and how we look, rather than who we are. My calling as a pastor is to challenge these busy executives to serve God in their jobs and not simply to buy into the definitions of success that Madison Avenue puts before them. This requires a radical reprogramming of our minds, as we seek to live as followers of Jesus Christ in a sea of materialism. On the signboard of our church building are six words that call business people to reorient their lives in accordance with God's will, presenting a stark contrast to the billboards that offer the material rewards of success and sending a subtle, yet profound, message that can be life-transforming: "The chapel is open for prayer." These six words define part of our church's strategy for helping business leaders to appropriate God's perspective in their daily lives. They echo Calvin's words in the Institutes: "Prayer is the chief exercise of faith."2 As I challenge business people to listen to the voice of God and talk to God about their concerns, they are usually uncomfortable. For many, prayer is an unfamiliar practice. Eventually, however, these corporate executives begin to think of prayer as an opportunity to develop a new attitude. I had an experience one Thursday night that has provided a helpful metaphor for what these business leaders experience when they start to pray.

On Thursday nights, the bars and clubs on the Upper West Side of Manhattan are crowded to overflowing. Young, dynamic business people in their 20s and early 30s pack into these places to have a drink, meet new people, and get away from the pressure and stress of their long hours of work. As I walked by one of these establishments one Thursday evening and saw the crowds of young, beautiful people waiting in line to get in, I noticed a sign written on a chalkboard outside the restaurant that said, "Attitude Alteration Hour! Thursday nights, 7:00-8:00 PM-Beer and Wine $2.00, Mixed Drinks $3.00, Come in and get a new attitude!" Although that sign uses low-priced alcoholic beverages to lure young adults into the restaurant, it still has a message that the church of Jesus Christ needs to take seriously. That sign taps into the need that all of us have for a new attitude. The church of Jesus Christ should be as creative as that restaurant owner in attracting people to its worship services. Our leadership at Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church is starting to think of worship services as an "attitude alteration hour," where people come to receive a "new mindset" on how to define reality in accordance with God's will. Our challenge as a congregation in one of the busiest cities in the world is to get people's attention and to find fresh, creative ways to help them experience the redemptive power of God's love in Jesus, the Christ. One of the ways we do this is to place creative sermon titles on our Fifth Avenue signboard to attract business people to our worship services. I am discovering that sermon titles such as, "If the Apostle Paul Worked for Goldman Sachs"; "Take This Job and _______: Avoiding Burn Out in the Big Apple"; "Priorities, Palm Pilots, and the Purpose of Life"; and "The Power of a Tommy Hilfiger Label" entice business people into our doors. When they come in, they are often surprised to learn that the biblical story relates so directly to their own life experience in the corporate world.