Wondering where Jesus is at in your job? You know the right answer to that one, but still.... Try this session from Season 2: Growing in Character, from our brand-new small-group series Growing Out: From Disciples to Disciplers.

"Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people." -- Colossians 3:23

In this lesson, we'll journey….

From: determining how (or if) we follow Jesus into our workplaces
To: learning new ways to allow God to speak into our "jobs," no matter what they are.

Before gathering, make sure you have…

• Playing cards (or 3x5 index cards) -- at least five per person
• A table or other flat surface for every four to five people. Groups can also gather at different ends of the same table if there's room.
• A box of doughnuts, or some other "prize" group members would enjoy winning.

Come and See (15 minutes)

Give everyone at least five cards, and then ask them to get into groups of four or five. Make sure you have at least two teams; if you have a smaller group, it's OK to have smaller teams, too. Show everyone the prize.

Welcome! We're going to start things off today with a game. The object of this game is to build the highest tower using your cards. The team with the highest tower after three minutes wins this [prize]. So, here are the rules….

There are no rules. Whoever wins, wins. It's every team for itself.

If anyone has questions or objections, continue to insist on the "non-rules." Once everyone understands the game, cut them loose and see what happens!

After three minutes, call everyone back together and award your prize to the winning team. Then discuss the following questions:

• What things did your group do to try to win? What motivated you the most to win?
• Were you annoyed by other teams' actions, or did you see them as being "just part of the game"? Explain.
• Did you approve of everything your team was doing? And if not, why did you go along with it?
• How would more instructions have affected the way you played the game?

Give prizes to everyone who didn't already get them.

Today we're going to get into another venue where the competition is probably pretty heavy and not always fair--our workplaces. You may have a good job, maybe not, but there are always plenty of opportunities for us to let our jobs take precedence over our walks with Jesus, if only because we won't let Jesus help us with our work here on earth. Even if your workplace is your home, you know this can be true.

So let's take a look at what it means to follow Jesus to work, and what that might mean for each of us.

Seek and Find (30 minutes)

Ask for a volunteer to read James 3:13-16. Then, discuss the following:

• Let's think again about our game. In what ways does this passage from James echo what happened as we competed against one another?
• When have you seen some of the attitudes in this passage in your own workplace, either from yourself or from others?
• During our game, we also had to decide what rules--or lack of rules--we were willing to work with. What are some "unwritten" rules you face at your job? How do you work within--or around--those rules?

Ask everyone to get back in their groups from earlier.

The following list of Bible passages contains some differing perspectives about work. Divide them among your group members; if someone needs to take more than one verse, that's OK. Read your verse to yourself first, and write down in your own words what it says about work.

When all of you are done, share about your passages with the group. Then together, answer the questions that follow.

• Genesis 3:17-19
• Ecclesiastes 5:18-20
• Luke 12:15-21
• 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12
• James 4:13-16
  
  
  
• Which of these perspectives-all of which, again, are biblical-best describe your attitude about work? Why?
• How would you reconcile these different perspectives? Try to come up with a single statement you can agree upon as a group.

Come back together as a larger group, and share highlights and insights from your discussion time.

Last week we looked at our attitudes toward money, and the attitudes God wants us to have. Since work is where we earn that money, let's take that idea out a little further.

• How do our attitudes toward money affect how we feel about our jobs? What other factors affect our attitudes toward our jobs?

Give everyone 30 seconds to read the Dallas Willard quote in the margin to themselves, and then discuss:

"If we truly see [Jesus] as the premier thinker of the human race-and who else would be that?-then we are also in position to honor him as the most knowledgeable person in our field… and to ask his cooperation and assistance with everything we have to do."
--Dallas Willard, The Great Omission

• What would be different if you believed Jesus was "smart" enough to teach you what you needed to know at work? What keeps you from believing that-or living like you believe it?
• What's one situation at work (or somewhere else) right now that you'd really like Jesus to give you the answer to?

Go! (20 minutes)

Ask for a volunteer to read Colossians 3:22-24.Then discuss:

• How would "working for the Lord rather than for people" (verse 23) solve issues you face at work? Be specific.
• Which problems, if any, wouldn't it solve? What do you think God would want you to do in those situations?
• What changes would you make so "working for the Lord rather than for people" is something you really do? What's one step you can take right now?

"Let the Christian… remain in the world to engage in frontal assault on it, and let him live the life of his secular calling to show in order to show himself as a stranger in this world all the more."
-Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship

Walk It Out!
The options below are designed to help you take what you've learned put it into practice. Get into pairs, and take five minutes to select the option you'd like to take on this week and share your choice with your partner. Then make plans to connect sometime between now and the next session to check in and encourage one another.

Know It: Set aside an hour this week to review this week's Scripture passages, and to spend time meditating on them. Read, and then really stop to chew on each passage. What would it really mean to follow Jesus to work? If you get stuck, stop and ask Jesus to help you-he really does know everything, and wants to teach you what you need to know.

Live It: Plenty of companies have a mission statement--something that encapsulates the focus and purpose of the company's existence. Create your own "workplace mission statement." Think about how following Jesus to work would look at your job and for you personally. How will you respond in certain situations? What lines will you draw? How upfront will you be about what you believe? Write down everything you come up with, pray over what you've written, and then boil everything down into a one- or two-sentence mission statement for your life at work. Then share it with a mentor or a good friend who'll keep you accountable.

Share It: Following Jesus to work isn't just about sharing your faith. It's also about being there for other Christians you work with-being a visible presence to one another to remind yourselves you're not alone. If you know of other Christians in your workplace, set up a time to meet regularly for prayer, either over lunch or before or after work. If your company allows it, meet on-site; if not, look for a nearby coffee shop. It doesn't have to be long, but spend enough time for prayer requests to be shared and prayed over.

Go for It!: Follow Jesus' example of love-in-action at work. Offer to help a co-worker who's buried under deadlines, or offer to cover for him or her on vacation before you're asked. Give someone a ride to work when his or her car is in the shop, or volunteer to help with something outside of work. Or just do the little things that no one else wants to do-cleaning the coffee pot, refilling the copier with paper or toner, or emptying the recycling box. And if someone's facing a difficult situation-whether it's a family crisis or even a tough meeting with the boss-ask if you can pray for, or better yet with, him or her about it. Even non-Christians will usually welcome a genuine offer of prayer, and your care and attention will speak volumes about God's love.

Do It Together: Is your company involved in a service project outside the workplace? Join in! Get to know co-workers in a totally different environment, and show Jesus' love to them and others while doing it. Check with your human resources department or company secretary about programs your company is involved in, then pick one and get involved. Is it a reading program? a charity event? building a house for Habitat for Humanity? using lunch hours to help at the urban day care? Be part of it.

**********

Come back together. Ask group members to once again reflect silently on their answers to the question, "What's one situation at work right now that you'd really like Jesus to give you the answer to?"

Allow 30 seconds for reflection, and then thank Jesus that he really does know everything-including the answers to every challenge we face at work, whether it's moral, emotional, or intellectual. Ask Jesus to reveal just the right answer for each person in your group, and that he would help all of you to follow him and show you how best to model his love and wisdom in your workplaces.