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A ninetyandnine.com Special Feature: The
Professionals’ e-Panel, Week 2
Our last installment of the Professionals’
e-Panel winds up our seven-week series focused on Apostolic Work Attitudes. This
week, our group of professionals tackle the issues of missing church for work,
being partners with unbelievers and what the church offers workers.
If you have an opinion to add, send us a letter or email us at editor@ninetyandnine.com.
Let the discussion continue.
The Panel:
Lance McElhaney has
a Master’s in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Tech. He is the Senior
Process Control Engineer for Eli Lilly and Company in Indianapolis. He has been
in the full-time workforce 14-plus years, the last 10 with Lilly.
Amy Merk is a wife and the mother of three teenage boys. She considers her career
to be making the best home for her husband and sons that she possibly can. If
they grow up to serve the Lord and their fellow man, then she considers that
success. She works as a medical secretary part-time.
Sharenda
Holland Barlar lives in
Chicago, Ill., with her husband
Jonathan. She is an
assistant professor in Spanish at Wheaton College. Sharenda received her
B.A. from Union University in 1995 and completed her M.A. and Ph.D. at
Vanderbilt University. Sharenda attends Bartlett United Pentecostal Church
pastored by Jack Yonts where she teaches Sunday School and coaches the Senior
Bible Quiz team.
Paul Goff
pastors the United Pentecostal Church of Villa Park, IL. He has owned his own
general contracting business for 17 years. He does work for such clients as
Blockbuster Video, Tudor Time, Lincoln Properties, Public Storage, and the
Marriott Hotels. He has always applied the lesson of Matthew 6:33 in his
business practices and has seen mighty results.
Glenda Moehlenpah, a Missouri-licensed CPA,
is finishing a Masters in Science Business Administration - Financial and Tax
Planning at San Diego State University. She currently interns at two
financial planning firms. She has been Audit Manager at Price Waterhouse and
worked in private accounting in Germany, Georgia, and Wisconsin.
Mark Perkins
works the assembly line for DaimlerChrysler. He is part of the prayer team
leadership for New Life Pentecostal Church in Bridgeton, Mo., teaches Sunday
school and wins co-workers to the Lord.
Justin Walker
attends the United Pentecostal Church in Johnston City, Ill. The 21 year
old is a part-time sportswriter for The
Southern Illinoisan.
Phillip Hampton works in the Information Technology (IT) field and owns
a technology consulting business. His company
provides technology consulting services to small to medium-sized law firms as
well as litigation support services, and has some nationally prominent attorneys
as clients. He is also an executive editor of ninetyandnine.com.
1.
Where does one draw the line between missing church for work?
McElhaney:
“I'd recommend drawing the line at 'never'. Doing so begins the shift
toward replacing Christ with career at the top of your life. Attending
church is like going to the gas station. You refill your spiritual tank
every time you go. This provides the spiritual source you need to take on
life's challenges. Unfortunately, one spiritual experience does not satisfy the
spiritual needs of a lifetime.”
Merk: “If one is missing church just to make more money, I don't think that is a
good reason. However, if there is a special need or project at work, with a
specific timeline, then that is another story. (I don't think it is always a
good witness to say, ‘I can't help you because I have to go to church!’)”
Barlar: “I'm fortunate in that I
rarely have to miss church for work because I'm a professor. The only time I
might miss church is if I'm giving a paper at a conference out of town and that
might be twice a year. I personally think that church attendance is essential
for spiritual growth and I would want to make sure I attended at least twice a
week. Sometimes, due to circumstances it might be necessary to miss some
special midweek services.”
Goff: “When
a problem arises between your work schedule and church that you can't do
anything about, that is when you make it an exception, not a rule. But never
should financial gain be the motivating force behind you missing church.”
Moehlenpah: “I don't know. I've
missed church on more than one occasion for work. If there's a deadline,
sometimes there is little choice. I wasn't paid for working overtime, so I never
was faced with the choice of volunteering for overtime for the extra wage.”
Walker:
“The spirit must be fed. When it stops getting meat, it looks for nourishment
elsewhere. That's the danger point. I personally have to miss every fourth
Sunday night. Four of us do the same job and rotate working Sundays. It's a
fair system and I still get to be there on that Sunday morning. If I had to miss
every Sunday night, I would quit my job. No question.”
Hampton: “I
think every effort should be made to avoid missing church for any reason. When a
person has control over his/her schedule, including deciding whether to accept a
job promotion, work overtime, etc. I believe it is imperative to make church
attendance a top priority.”
2.
Does the scripture 'not equally yoked' include being business partners with
unbelievers? Why/Why not?
McElhaney: “Whether
the scripture intended this or not, I believe it is good business acumen.
Creating a partnership with an unbeliever will likely lead to conflicts with
your faith. For example, what do you do when your business partner feels
the need to work on Sunday to catch the business up with the workload? Or what
about a business partner who sees nothing wrong with over-billing a customer?
The problems can become nearly as serious as those created by marrying an
unbeliever. The Bible's wisdom in such directives is profound. They don't call
it the ‘Good Book’ for nothing.”
Barlar: “This is a tough one. My
initial reaction is no, scripture is not referring to business partners. I think
you could have a business partner that shares your work ethic and ideas and not
necessarily be a Christian. I would however make sure that our vision for
the company is similar and the way we handle clients is pleasing to God. I would
have a serious problem with a business partner who thought that social drinking
with clients or cutting corners to save money was fine because as my partner
he/she would also represent me.”
Perkins:
"Yes, because one's values are different from another."
Goff: “No,
I just don't believe that that portion of scripture pertains to business.
Instead, I believe it is referring to marriage partners. I do see, however,
where problems could arise by being unequally yoked in business.
For example, your goals and priorities would not
match. Classic example, when I got into church, I do not have the same friends I
had before. When you talk about partners in business, how would you ever be able
to go to one of your partners in business and say: ‘I prayed about this
project and I don't believe God wants us to do this.’ They wouldn't understand
and would more than likely consider your suggestion unfounded.”
Moehlenpah: “I think it's scary to be
in a partnership with anyone, believers or unbelievers, since one's personal
assets are at risk due to the vicarious liability in a partnership arrangement.
Basically, that means if your partner does something wrong, you could be held
personally liable, and lose your house, your car and all of your personal assets
in addition to the business assets. Unfortunately, sometimes partnerships with
believers can also lead to problems and then one of the partners may become an
unbeliever!”
Walker:
“I don't think ‘doing business’ and ‘being yoked’ are rarely the same
thing. By my definition, being yoked means you and the yoked-with-person
share the same lifestyle. Business people are business people. And being
picky isn't good for business.”
3.
Does your local church offer teaching on work-related issues?
Merk: “My church has offered a class on the needs of women in the workplace,
and I found it to be very enlightening and helpful.”
Barlar: “No.”
Moehlenpah: “Not that I know of.”
Walker:
“Nope. Well, my pastor is combing through the book of Proverbs for our
Wednesday night Bible study. And there's lots of good teaching coming from
there, and it's all-everything-life related. Which, last time I checked,
includes work.”
4.
What one area of the work/career field do you feel is most misunderstood/under
appreciated by Apostolics today?
Walker:
“I can't say they're the most
misunderstood, but I'll talk about journalists, since I am one. My current field
is sports. My pastor loves preaching about the absurdity of our culture's
love affair with sports, and I agree 100 percent with everything he says.
Sports are idolatrous. They are
stupid and silly. But don't blame us for writing about them. We're
just trying to sell papers.”
Moehlenpah: “One area? There are MANY
areas that are misunderstood/underappreciated by Apostolics today.”
Hampton: “A
not-so-subtle message is that those who choose (or are called to) a secular
education and career are not being used by God. Nothing can be further
from the truth. In my personal experience, I prayerfully
considered what direction I should pursue upon graduation from high school and
then from college. At each step, I felt a definite leading of the Lord to pursue
the career in which I am involved today. Believe it or not, God even chose
my graduate school for me. Do I feel like I am missing out on ministry
opportunities because of the choices I made? Absolutely not. Do I sometimes feel
that the Church does not validate the choices I made and the ministry I have? Sadly,
yes.”
ã
2001, ninetyandnine.com
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