Sunday, September 6, 2009

Alike At Work & Prayer: Our Work Can Be Balanced
Elder Al Betts and Pastor Allen Harris

Ecclesiastes 3:9-15

Liturgy for this day is printed below the sermon.
 

Hear this sermon in MP3 format by clicking HERE!

*Hint: To see the text while listening to the sermon, do a right click on your mouse on the link above and click "open in new window."   This will allow you to have the text and your media player open at the same time!  You may have to minimize the media player to see the text screen.

******* PLEASE NOTE:  The audio (MP3) has the actual sermon.  What is printed below are the notes from Pastor Allen's preparations... they are very different from what was actually preached, and don't have Al Betts' notes at all!*******

>Finding Balance Between Work and the Rest Of Our Lives:
-Balance of work and rest (i.e. how much should we work and how much should we rest/play? Are they dependent upon each other? Can you have too much of either/both?)

Certainly. There is no question in my mind but that workaholism, or laziness for that matter, can become a problem. But our traditional ways of thinking about them doesn’t seem to be working. I think part of the problem is that we have an image of balance as being a scale, you know, the old fashioned scale at a jewelers or something. When one thing is heavier it “tips the scales” toward that item, thus taking away from the other.

Rather, I think life is more like a painter’s pallet, where you can mix all sorts of things into it, but in order to get the exact color you are looking for, you might need to mix a little more of this, or a little more of that. You also might discover a whole new color that is even better than what your mind’s eye saw. (1)

For example… I might in my mind pit my work against the rest of my time, and growl when I have to “work too much.” Or, I could look at ALL the things in my life that I do, and see the mixture. I’ve got a little bit of office work, a little bit of Bible study, and a little bit of visitation: all three are my “work” but vastly different in emotion, skills needed, and energy level. Then in this particular week I dab a little exercise into it… nice, nice…, Then I dab a little time out with friends, a little housework, and a good portion of sleep. There, that’s the color I’m looking for! That is much healthier!


-Balance of work and faith (i.e. where does evangelism belong in our work life?)

We live in a pluralistic society. In fact, not only is the United States of America one of the most religiously, ethnically, and racially diverse nations on earth, it was founded to be so. It’s in our DNA, it’s who we are. So, I’m not willing to risk such a great treasure in order to get “notches on my heavenly belt” by urging you all to try to “convert the heathen” at your worksite.

But on the other hand, I also believe we are caretakers of a beautiful treasure, a priceless jewel, which we call the Christian Faith. My relationship with Jesus is so wonderful and so powerful I want to share it with those with whom I work and play. And I know many of you feel the same way.
So the question becomes, “How do we do this?” I think, like any good educational philosophy would advise, you wait for an openness, an invitation, a curiosity. If one of your coworkers is devoutly of another faith, or is staunchly anti-religion, then I wouldn’t waste my time in sharing with them my faith. I say this mainly because the teacher in me knows it’s really a waste of time. It appeals to your ego, because it seems so much more of a challenge, but then that makes it about you.

Rather, live your life in such a way as to inspire others to ask the question, “Why is it that you are so happy?... or so ethical?... or so calm and peaceful?... or so giving?...” Then you can tell them about Jesus.

And that leads me to another note from a previous sermon… We tend to think about our faith at work in terms of evangelism. I think we would be doing a lot of good if we FIRST began to think about how our faith affects us at work in terms of improving our attitude toward others, about improving our ethical behavior at work, in terms of improving how we give glory to God in our work.


-Balance of individuality and corporate culture (i.e. how much should we allow for an individual’s personality to affect her or his worklife?)

This is a tough one. As an employee, of course, you want complete freedom for you to express your personality. When you become a manager or a supervisor, you begin to understand that there are limits to how much freedom and individuality the company can allow. If you allowed everyone at the auto plant to “be all they want to be,” your car door might not fit quite right.

So, I would say that it is best to have a strong set of personnel policies that are clear, but minimal. Then, when individual circumstances arise, the manager (and this is assuming good, quality management) can make careful exceptions based on individual circumstance and needs.

-Balance of work and family (i.e. does our family always have to lose out when it comes to our work? Does our work become an excuse NOT to be with our family?)

No, they shouldn’t and yes, our work often DOES become an excuse not to be with our family! Ever since human beings started to group themselves together as families, there has been tension between work and home. I even imagine there were cavemen who ran off to the dinosaur hunt to get away from the screaming children back at the cave!

Again, the answer isn’t simple and I don’t pretend it is. Especially in tough economic times, we feel all the more pressure to work harder, perform better, and thus maybe keep our jobs a little more secure. It’s a recipe for disaster, since that usually makes us have less time for ourselves, less time with our family, and less time to rest up… which makes us more cranky, less efficient, and more at risk in the workplace.

The answer goes back to the image we have of balance, and looking not for some magical equation: five parts work and five parts home. But, rather, to look for creative ways to manage both work and home. Really, what it boils down to is communication, being more and more in touch with your partner or spouse, with your children, with your friends, with your coworkers, and even, if possible, with your boss. Together you will be more likely to come up with a creative solution to your stress, or at least allow everyone in your life to understand from your vantage point what you are dealing with.

>Other thoughts:
- Do you think being a manager/supervisor allows you to make a difference in another person’s life, such as one of your employees? Is supervising a way of modeling mature, healthy ways of living? Does this blur the line between work responsibilities and caring for people?

It’s not just because I’m in the ministry that I think that modeling is really critical to the work of supervisors and managers. After all, that’s exactly what “discipleship” is! To mentor, to model, to “disciple” someone (if I can make that into a verb!) is an essential part of the great movement of wisdom and skills throughout history. It is this act of “modeling” that has moved civilization from the backwaters of history to the possibilities of today.

- Have you ever hired someone? Have you ever fired someone? How does your faith help you make such decisions?

Yes, I have both hired and fired persons. I must say, that both are an awesome responsibility that I do not take lightly. Both require great prayer, careful discernment, and good prep work to make it a just and fair decision. After all, you are affecting someone’s life, and maybe even several person’s lives.

But I have also come to learn that I have to balance the individual with the larger organization I am called to lead. If you think of it, as the pastor of a church, I am accountable to dozens, if not hundreds of people. If you consider the persons who in the future may be connected to the church – could or should be linked to that congregation – then the decision becomes even more important. Plus, if we take the Christian understanding of “a great cloud of witnesses” seriously, then I also must be accountable to the saints who have gone before us who made this church possible, helped found it, helped it to thrive and become what you and I know now.

So, yes… my faith makes decisions like hiring and firing EXTREMELY difficult! But I cannot let that weight cause me to be paralyzed, but to empower and lift me to do what needs to be done so that the mission and ministry of Christ will be fresh and new in this community for a new day.
 

- Have you ever had to set personal issues aside to do your work?

Always… and never. Always in the sense that I have to see myself as part of a larger whole. Whether as a citizen on the planet who is called to make decisions that will insure this world we call home will exist well into the future, or as a Christian charged with stewardship of God’s good creation, I try to make decisions that are larger than my own needs, my own wants, my own preferences, my own goals.

Never in the sense that I am always a thoroughly human, thoroughly embodied person. Every decision and action that Allen Harris makes at work (or at home or elsewhere for that matter) is imbued with who I am. Everything I do or say has my “fingerprints” all over it, so to speak. That’s why I must try to have as much integrity in all that I do. It speaks both of who I am, and whose I am.

- Have you ever been challenged to “practice what you preach” at work?

Yes, many times, but the time that came to mind when you first asked this was the day I received the phone call that my mother was dying. I was in the church office, and the moment my brother-in-law called the bottom dropped out of my life. I had to completely rely upon the kindness, the compassion, and the love of the congregation that I had been serving for years by then.

And they responded wonderfully. Literally, I called a travel agent to get a plane ticket, and everything else was handled by the other pastor, the staff of the church or by members. Every appointment I had, every responsibility to which I was committed, every article I had to write… you name it, they took care of it. And not just for a day, but for over a week. And even then, when I returned, the church took care of many items until I was really back on my feet again.
That day I had to “practice what I preached.”


(1) from Wikipedia:  Chromoluminarism, also known as Divisionism, is a technique used by Neo-Impressionists such as Georges Seurat (1859-1891). The technique involves breaking color into its basic elements, painting in very small and regular dots. From a distance the multiple dots form an optical mixture of color. The best known example is Seurat's Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte (1884-1886).
Most television and computer screens operate in a similar way.
Another, similar, variety of Neo-Impressionism is pointillism, which involves painting in dots, though not necessarily with the aim of breaking colour.
 

Liturgy for Sunday, September 6, 2009
Written & Prepared by Rev. Allen V. Harris

Call To Worship:
One: Work, rest, play, family, church, hobby… We seek to find a sense of balance and wholeness in our lives.
Many: O God of righteousness, help us live in right relationship with our work.
One: Employee, employer, supervisor, manager, boss, director, worker, staff… We seek to find a sense of balance and wholeness in our labor.
Many: O God of righteousness, help us live in right relationship with our colleagues and coworkers.
One: Full-time, part-time, temp., student, intern, contract labor, unemployed, underemployed, looking for work, disabled, retired… We seek to find a sense of wholeness in our work identity.
Many: O God of righteousness, help us live in right relationship with ourselves as your beloved children and your holy people.
One: Let us worship God.

Hymn of Praise: For The Beauty Of The Earth No. 56

Invocation, Prayer of Confession, and Lord's Prayer
O God, focus now our hearts, minds, and bodies on our worship of you. Remind us again today of the importance of Sabbath rest, and forgive us when we make no time to explore the mystery and grace that are your essence. Help us to find balance and harmony in our lives, and forgive us when we make life out-of-balance for others. For it is in the name of Jesus that we pray, “Our Father…”

Honoring Our Work:
Sharing Our Jobs, Employment, Careers, Vocations, and Callings

Communion Hymn: Let Us Talents And Tongues Employ No. 422

Scripture Lesson: Ecclesiastes 3:9-15 (see below)

Hymn Of Preparation: Take My Life (vss. 1, 2, 5, & 6) No. 609

Message: Alike At Work And Prayer: Our Work Can Be Balanced
A Dialogue Sermon between Al Betts and Allen Harris

Hymn of Invitation For The Fruit Of All Creation No. 714


Ecclesiastes 3:9-15 (NRSV)
The God-Given Task
What gain have the workers from their toil? I have seen the business that God has given to everyone to be busy with. He has made everything suitable for its time; moreover, he has put a sense of past and future into their minds, yet they cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. I know that there is nothing better for them than to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they live; moreover, it is God’s gift that all should eat and drink and take pleasure in all their toil. I know that whatever God does endures for ever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it; God has done this, so that all should stand in awe before him. That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already is; and God seeks out what has gone by.


Rev. Allen V. Harris
Franklin Circle Christian Church
www.FranklinCircleChurch.org


 

Copyright 2009 -- The Rev. Allen V. Harris

Franklin Circle Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

1688 Fulton Rd., Cleveland, OH 44113-3096