In the Western church and in business, we’ve grown up thinking that they are official spaces to be spiritual and that those are the appropriate places where we talk God and faith. Of course, that’s a lie.
While there are important times and places where we focus on God and our spirituality, like church and our time alone with God, the spiritual life that Jesus delivered wasn’t bound by official locations (ask the Samaritan women in John 4). In fact, the only official spiritual location is wherever you find yourself.
If there is one thing that we learn from Jesus’ approach to living in the world, it is that spiritual conversations actually belong in the marketplace. They belong in crowded farmers’ markets, on the job site, around the family table, at the gym, and on the sidelines of your child’s latest sports endeavor. They also belong in whatever business you find yourself.
As I talk with business owners, I find that they are rightfully focused on making their business healthy, often working to overcome a challenge or keep up with growth, hiring, and accounting. But here’s the message that sometimes hasn’t sunk in:
Your business is the right place for spiritual conversations. That’s where they are supposed to happen.
In fact, we can take that a bit further. One of my pastors, Stephen George, who works as a financial advisor, says it this way: “I am in business looking for someone that I can disciple.” I think he has it right.
There is something that happens to a business owner when they realize that discipling others is not just the job of the on-the-platform preacher, but in fact, it is theirs. I believe that God has given them their business as a platform to disciple others.
Embracing that role is something that some entrepreneurs don’t want to take on. They don’t always do it consciously, but they do it nonetheless. Either by keeping so busy that they don’t make time for the people already around them, or pretending that discipleship only happens at church.
It’s easy to believe that what we are doing in our business is so hard that we have to leave the disciple-making to others. It can feel like yet another responsibility added to our very full plate.
Helping others toward Jesus isn’t a burden; it’s like breath. It’s something that we simply do. Another mentor in my life, Steve Haynes of the Navigators, has shown me how easy it is to tell my personal story of encountering Jesus in almost any situation. I have seen him share it in coffee shops, business meetings, and gas stations. Who knows how many people have started talking to Steve regularly just because he told his story. For him it’s easy: you share your story; if someone is interested, you offer to grab coffee. Now we’re talkin’ — drinking coffee is like breathing - I can do that.
Jesus made it super clear. In his restatement of the original command to “be fruitful and multiply” from Genesis, He said, “go and make disciples” (Matthew 28:19). That’s the purpose that he has given to every Jesus follower.
The actual official location for disciple-making is found in the business that God has given to you. He planted you there for the specific purpose of helping others on their journey toward Jesus. And those around you may be starting at all kinds of different places. One of the most official places to do spiritual things is the place where you spend most of your waking hours—working.
Starting point? Start looking around for someone to disciple. Don’t worry about where they are on their journey; just help them take the next step toward Jesus. By the way, if you’d like to hear my story about encountering Jesus, I’ll buy you coffee.