Workplace Leadership & Business Ethics

The Purpose

The church has allowed followers of Christ to divide work and religion into two separate spheres. As a result, secular work is turned to purely selfish and often destructive ends. The greater part of the world's intelligent workers have become disinterested in religion. Many people in the workplace view church leaders as "six days invisible and one day incomprehensible."

Consider the benefits to you and to the church of cultivating a more marketplace-sensitive ministry:

• You will help people become "salty" Christians: the vast majority of people in your church represent Christ in the workplace.
• You will help Christians have healthy families: balancing work and family priorities consistently ranks as one of three greatest concerns people have for their marriages.
• You will make disciples who follow Christ out of your Church into the world: people express their creativity, forge their self-esteem, and resolve character-related issues through their work.
• You will have a congregation with a witness where it matters: Christians cultivate some of their deepest relationships with career-minded colleagues who need Christ.

One of the demanding priorities for the Church today is to empower all disciples to come to terms with what it means to honor Jesus as Lord in daily life and work.

The Plan

Year One: The Cultural Mandate

In this residency you will engage in an in-depth study of the culture of the workplace, seeing that culture at work on many different levels. Through field trips, reading, and class discussion you will understand not only the culture, but how Christians who were shaped by the culture can become culture-shapers for Christ. You will learn ways of enabling your people to shift from seeing their work as merely work to seeing it as a Christ-centered calling.

By the end of this residency, as a participant in the D. Min. track, you will be able to articulate the biblical tension of being in the world, yet not of the world. You will be able to discuss intelligently the particular tensions in the marketplace and how Christians live and work within those tensions. You will have tools for shaping Christians to be shapers of their culture where God has called them.

Year Two: The Great Commandment

Christians in the workplace may need to shift from driven ambitions to a healthy work ethic. They need steadfast character in the shifting sand of moral relativity. In this residency you will identify the issues that followers of Christ need to address and directions that others have taken to address them. You will examine spiritual and moral situations Christians face in the workplace and discover the "moments of truth" that test the character and commitment of workers every day.

Year Three: The Great Commission

The line of penetration moves from the pulpit to the pew to the pavement. Churches with high impact on people in the workplace have identified the core competencies of marketplace ministry. Leaders of such churches have refined their skills in these areas. This is your opportunity to master these core competencies. These involve:

• Marketplace-sensitive preaching and teaching
• Networking and evangelism
• Mentoring and facilitating small groups
• Counseling and career guidance

In this residency you will also devise strategies specific to your ministry situation. You will identify the key players, discovering who in the congregation has gifts in line with the core competencies. You will put together a strategic plan for implementing the Great Commission through your church to the marketplace.

Requirements

As a Doctor of Ministry participant, you will attend three two-week intensive residencies, one each for three years. Residencies will mix diagnostic tools, case discussions, practical lectures, task force projects, and on-site consultations in a variety of workplace settings. You will also read widely in books and periodicals and complete assignments that will contribute to your final thesis-project.

Contributing Faculty

This D.Min. track is unique in that we utilize many leaders in the theological and business worlds. A partial list of dozens of contributing mentors and faculty members includes:

Walter C. Kaiser, Jr.
President and Colman Mockler Distinguished Professor of Old Testament

Andrew G. Mills
President and CEO of Thomson Financial and Professional Publishing Group

Armand Nicholai
Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School

Thomas L. Phillips
Retired Chairman and CEO of the Raytheon Company

Haddon W. Robinson
Harold John Ockenga Distinguished Professor of Preaching and teacher on the "Discover the Word" radio program

Alice Mathews
Lois W. Bennett Distinguished Associate Professor of Educational Ministries & Women's Ministries at Gordon-Conwell, and teacher on the "Discover the Word" radio program

Harry J. Heintz
Senior Pastor, Brunswick Presbyterian Church, Troy NY, and visiting mentor for the Mockler Center in Gordon-Conwell's Ockenga Institute

John J. Davis
Professor of Systematic Theology & Christian Ethics, Gordon-Conwell

William Messenger
Director of the Mockler Center in Gordon-Conwell's Ockenga Institute