Sharing Jesus with People at Work

Benny Tabalujan explained that there are four types of Christians in workplaces.

• Isolated Christians, who can't seem to make friends with people at work,


• Insider Christians, who are friendly but never let on that they are Christians,


• Inarticulate Christians, who are social and are open about their own faith but don't take the extra step of sharing the Gospel, and


• Integrated Christians, who are sociable, open about their own faith, and intentional in sharing the Message of Jesus.

Tabalujan argued that far too many Christians are stuck in the third category, and I have to admit that I find myself there as well. I think about the coworker who regularly asked me what I believed, but I could only couch my beliefs in Jesus as one way to see the world, not as The Way, The Truth, and The Life. I think about my discomfort when students bring up their own faith in the classroom--"oh no, I hope other students don't feel pressured to adopt my beliefs."

I'm not proud of these shortcomings, and it's something that I am praying about.

Part of moving from being an inarticulate Christian to an integrated Christian, according to Tabalujan, is to develop new habits. He lists many ideas that are covered in other parts of this blog such as telling the truth and loving coworkers.

In terms of taking that next step and verbalizing the Gospel, Tabalujan notes that it begins with relationships to others and genuine concern for them. He also notes that discussions of faith should never "hijack" conversations, but instead, should come naturally. These conversations are rarely one-shot experiences. Instead, you may start planting seeds day-by-day. You may or may not see the outcome of those seeds (consider 1 Corinthians 3:5-9). But that's not your concern. Just focusing on taking the opportunities that God gives you to share His Good News. And keep praying for more opportunities.