Working On Mission — Can’t It Wait Until Later?
Working On Mission — Can’t It Wait Until Later?
Working On Mission — Can’t It Wait Until Later?
Working On Mission — Can’t It Wait Until Later?
Our lives, and especially our work, get full of competing priorities, and we frequently tell ourselves we will get more involved in God’s mission later. Listen as our guest Brian Evans, from Strategic Financial Partners, joins Howard to discuss how the time for living and working on mission is now.
Howard: Brian, we are so glad you are here! The way you shared your life and testimony with our groups this week has been very encouraging. Specifically, being able to hear how God used you at Campus Outreach for a decade and how the work you did in ministry on college campuses informs your current job in finance was incredible. Your talk was a testimony to the reality that God’s mission is here and now and we can all be a part of it if our eyes and hearts are open to where the Lord is leading us.
In this podcast, we answer the prevailing question from our weekly groups, and for many people, the prevailing question they have is this: Can I wait? Can’t I wait until later to join God’s mission?
At The Center, we’ve had a wide variety of executives talk about their faith and work. While that is encouraging and often inspiring, some people are tempted to believe that they will also start joining God’s mission at work, but only when they have gotten a certain title or make a certain amount of nickels.
You are the youngest speaker we’ve had at The Center, and as someone who is still in the earlier phases of their career in finance, you are uniquely equipped to talk about what it means to be on mission at work before making it as an executive.
Can It Wait?
So our question today is this: Can’t our missional witness wait for later? Can’t this wait until I get some stuff in my career sorted out first?
Brian: Yeah, I want to be extremely honest in thinking through the reality of whether this can wait. I think if we all stopped and thought about it we would say, “No, this can’t wait. There are lives on the line. There are eternities at stake, and we are not guaranteed tomorrow.” So that coworker you talk to, the waitress who takes your order every week, your neighbor who you enjoy. Can it wait? Well, not really. We don’t know if they will be there tomorrow.
So it obviously cannot wait for them. The one thing we cannot do in heaven is share our faith with others by bringing them into a saving relationship with Jesus because they will already be in relationship with Him. However, this means there is an urgency in the life we live, the one life God’s given us to make disciples. The stakes are too high to sit around at wait until later.
On the other end of the spectrum, we have to ask the question: Why would I wait? Personally, why would I wait? Of course, we all could come up with some reason as to why we should wait. We could say we are too busy or whatever, and last week you talked a little bit about the debate over whether we go and make disciples or as we go we make disciples. The answer is both.
However, if we go back to the original question of why would we wait, this question indicates that we’ve misunderstood what the work actually is. We see the work as something that encroaches upon and challenges my time, comfort, or whatever else you can think of. Instead of seeing it as the greatest and most delightful work you can do. Once you begin to see that this work is the greatest, most fulling, most joy-filled work there is, you see that it makes no sense to wait. Why would I fiddle around with temporary trinkets in this world when work that lasts for eternity is sitting right in front of me and the Lord has called me to do it?
“I’m Too Busy”
Howard: And, despite all that, we get so busy. One of the best stories about busyness I have comes from when I was in college. I was a senior in the fraternity house and I invited a freshman to spend the evening with us, and the freshman declined the offer and told me how busy he was. This was probably 6 weeks into his freshman year, and I can’t remember a time I was less busy than the first 6 weeks of my freshman year of college. As a senior, I knew he was only going to get busier.
Many of us get caught in that type of reasoning. We think that we will get our career established first, but the reality is that it never gets less busy.
So what do you think about that? Can we wait until our career is established?
Brian: No, and I think you are right. I used to draw up for college students all the time how many hours are in the week and how their hours are spent — which was usually a very minimal amount of hours spent with a lot left over to do other things like summer mission or discipling others.
One of the most delightful things about being in ministry was getting to take my family on things like summer mission with me. We would have tons of college students sharing the gospel with our children, and that was awesome, but those benefits are not exclusive to college ministry. Most of those benefits can be achieved by faithfully living out your faith wherever God’s called you.
Everyday Examples
How do I live today, personally as a parent or an employee? How do I work today, and are those who are in my family connected to that work with me in how I serve people?
Amos, my son, just started soccer on Friday nights at Presbyterian Day School. Honestly, I love it because my son gets to have a blast while I meet people and build new relationships. I know two parents on the soccer team, which means there are 5 I don’t know at all. That’s an opportunity to sit with them on the bleachers and form a relationship with them. If I’m in tune with the Spirit and believe this work is the greatest work I could ever be a part of, then the conversation is going to naturally flow to what is most important to them and me — the gospel. Sandy Willson used to say, “If anyone asks you why two times, it should always lead to Jesus.” No matter what the questions are related to — whether finance, sports, politics, food, etc. — the second why should always go straight to Jesus.
For example, a parent could ask, “Why did you sign up for soccer this year?” and then later ask, “What attracted you to this school?” Bam, that’s it. They just asked about our motives, and Christ should always be at the center of our motives. That’s an opportunity to talk about the person and work of Jesus Christ.
And, what’s so amazing is my son gets to enjoy playing soccer, I get to enjoy working in God’s kingdom, and my son will later talk to me about it — all because we signed up for soccer this year.
Vow Order
Howard: What you’ve made clear is that mission is first to Christ, then spouse, then kids. This is commonly referred to as vow order. And, you reordered your career a little bit to make that happen. Talk a little about why you reordered it to stay on mission and how it’s going.
Brian: We’d gone through a season of life with young kids where my role with Campus Outreach was one that I love doing, but the hours were an impediment to my family. College students are available to hear the gospel in the evenings and I would frequently not get home until midnight. What that would look like is putting my kids to sleep as fast as possible and running off to campus and not getting any quality time with my wife.
So I started to wrestle with this, and considered the fact that God called me to be the husband to my wife and the father to my children. And, that is what is most important. I can’t expect God to bless my work if I’m ignoring the primary duties He’s put right in front of me. So in a snapshot, that’s why I needed to make a change in my career. However, that doesn’t mean the mission is different. Our dinner table is the place where we invite people to come and share with us in the gifts God has given us, and share with them the hope for eternal life with Him.
Even last night, we had a meeting with people from our parish that I don’t know very well. These people live in our neighborhood and go to our church, but I’d never met some of them before. We had a dinner around our table and I met a sweet old lady, a couple with adult children, and two young single men. All these people are in very different stages of life, but here we are sitting around a table and sharing a meal together as we talk about what God is teaching us in our lives. That’s the work! That’s the joyous work God’s called us to, and it made me want to have more people at my table because the work is delightful.
Redeeming Financial Services
Howard: That’s awesome! And, you’re describing it all in a way that is not separate. One of the devil’s most common tricks is to convince us it’s a separate priority. I’ve got to take care of my spouse. I’ve got to take care of my kids. I’ve got to raise up some nickels. Christ is at the center of each of those things; it’s one life with one mission lived unto the Lord.
Even the example you gave right there is other church folk coming over. How is that the same as you go out into the marketplace? Financial services is about making nickels! They want a financial future from you, they want help, they want advice, and you are supposed to make some nickels for your family.
How does all that go together? How is that not separate?
Brian: One of the reasons I chose the firm I’m at is because they are all about the people. Before I started working there, I met with some of the managers of the firm and over and over again they talked about serving people. Something we talk about frequently is what is the intent of the nickels? Where are the nickels supposed to land one day?
Just this morning I ran into a guy I’m working with who is in a lot of debt. Living with a lot of debt hanging over your head is very stressful. I know because I’ve been there. It’s emotionally taxing and draining. The amount of stress debt can produce detracts from your capacity to disciple your family. You might not have the emotionally capacity to engage people in your neighborhood because all you are thinking about is the nickels.
Now, I can’t make all that debt magically disappear, but what I can do is help him create and execute a plan that brings peace, comfort, and happiness into his life and the life of his family.
One of the key questions, whether you are at work, Kroger, Starbucks, at home, etc. is this: Are you listening to people? Everyone has issues and Jesus is the answer to those issues. Maybe Jesus isn’t the answer to all the practical issues, but He sure is the answer when it comes to lasting peace and eternal hope.
A large part of what we do at our firm is listen to people all the way through. We listen to what’s hard, what’s challenging, where they are lonely, what gives them hope, who they love, what they hate, etc. And, what all those things are is an opportunity to share the hope of Christ and help them with the various financial needs they have.
And, a quick point about how all this comes together. My son, Amos, asks me about how work was every day, and he expects me to also ask him about his day. When I’ve done my job well, it is so fun to sit down with him and share who I was able to help today by sharing the hope of Christ with. I could just say that I help people make money, but every time he asks me there is an opportunity for me to talk to my son about how God is moving at my work. Talking with my son about what I did at work is just as much a moment of discipleship as sitting with him before bed and reading the Bible together.
Howard: You mean our God is that good — that gracious? Our work can facilitate God’s mission for our lives to love others around us?
A Biblical Example — Matthew 20
Brian: He is that good! In Matthew 20, He is the good master. He came out and found us. We were standing beside the road without purpose, and called us into the work. God’s called us into the work at different times. Some people he called when they were 20, others when they were 60. However, the work for both of them is the same. Those who came into the work at the 11th hour — who only got to work one hour for the King of kings — get the privilege of working for the King for one hour. This makes me sad though because they only got to work for the King for one hour. They could have been doing this work all along. Instead, they waited and waited and waited until the last hour, and in that last hour they experienced more joy and purpose than they ever had, and realized all the joy they missed out on when they were waiting.
And, on the other hand, you have the laborers who worked all day and complained that these people who only worked one hour got paid the same. They’ve missed it! They are grumbling and complaining, when in reality they should be rejoicing because they got to work for the King all day long.
In my own life, I want to be grateful for the work God’s given me to do. I don’t want to come home grumbling and complaining about working all day. I don't want to look back after 60 years and realize I missed out on the work God called me to do. No, I want that time at home to be even sweeter because I got to work for God all day long.
Howard: Your commentary on Matthew 20 sheds so much light on how we should view our work. Working for God is the greatest privilege we have, and while people who are saved at the end of life share in the same eternal glory, those who step into their mission sooner rather than later get to experience the joy of Christ in a fuller way than those who wait until later.
Anything you’d leave us with today?
Final Thoughts
Brian: I’ve often found myself grumbling about the work. It’s easier to slack off and complain than it is to be actively engaged in God’s mission in all areas of my life. What I’ll leave you with today is this: When God impresses upon our lives the reality that He is the Lord of all our life, we obey — regardless of what our motive is today. In those moments of obedience, where I am walking by faith — even when I might not feel like it — the joy and peace God provides is far beyond anything else I could find in moments of disobedience.
So if you are listening today, and you think you are too busy or need to wait for some reason, have faith and take a step of obedience toward God. Watch what God does. When you share your testimony with someone, the joy you experience will make you want to do it more.
In John Piper’s book Don’t Waste Your Life, he tells a story about a man who comes to faith on his deathbed and is weeping because he wasted his entire life on things that didn’t matter. I would encourage you to do the work that matters today so you don’t look back upon your life and realize you wasted it.
Resources
Alister Begg, The Man on the Middle Cross
John Piper, Don’t Waste Your Life
Matthew 20:1-16
Howard: Brian, we are so glad you are here! The way you shared your life and testimony with our groups this week has been very encouraging. Specifically, being able to hear how God used you at Campus Outreach for a decade and how the work you did in ministry on college campuses informs your current job in finance was incredible. Your talk was a testimony to the reality that God’s mission is here and now and we can all be a part of it if our eyes and hearts are open to where the Lord is leading us.
In this podcast, we answer the prevailing question from our weekly groups, and for many people, the prevailing question they have is this: Can I wait? Can’t I wait until later to join God’s mission?
At The Center, we’ve had a wide variety of executives talk about their faith and work. While that is encouraging and often inspiring, some people are tempted to believe that they will also start joining God’s mission at work, but only when they have gotten a certain title or make a certain amount of nickels.
You are the youngest speaker we’ve had at The Center, and as someone who is still in the earlier phases of their career in finance, you are uniquely equipped to talk about what it means to be on mission at work before making it as an executive.
Can It Wait?
So our question today is this: Can’t our missional witness wait for later? Can’t this wait until I get some stuff in my career sorted out first?
Brian: Yeah, I want to be extremely honest in thinking through the reality of whether this can wait. I think if we all stopped and thought about it we would say, “No, this can’t wait. There are lives on the line. There are eternities at stake, and we are not guaranteed tomorrow.” So that coworker you talk to, the waitress who takes your order every week, your neighbor who you enjoy. Can it wait? Well, not really. We don’t know if they will be there tomorrow.
So it obviously cannot wait for them. The one thing we cannot do in heaven is share our faith with others by bringing them into a saving relationship with Jesus because they will already be in relationship with Him. However, this means there is an urgency in the life we live, the one life God’s given us to make disciples. The stakes are too high to sit around at wait until later.
On the other end of the spectrum, we have to ask the question: Why would I wait? Personally, why would I wait? Of course, we all could come up with some reason as to why we should wait. We could say we are too busy or whatever, and last week you talked a little bit about the debate over whether we go and make disciples or as we go we make disciples. The answer is both.
However, if we go back to the original question of why would we wait, this question indicates that we’ve misunderstood what the work actually is. We see the work as something that encroaches upon and challenges my time, comfort, or whatever else you can think of. Instead of seeing it as the greatest and most delightful work you can do. Once you begin to see that this work is the greatest, most fulling, most joy-filled work there is, you see that it makes no sense to wait. Why would I fiddle around with temporary trinkets in this world when work that lasts for eternity is sitting right in front of me and the Lord has called me to do it?
“I’m Too Busy”
Howard: And, despite all that, we get so busy. One of the best stories about busyness I have comes from when I was in college. I was a senior in the fraternity house and I invited a freshman to spend the evening with us, and the freshman declined the offer and told me how busy he was. This was probably 6 weeks into his freshman year, and I can’t remember a time I was less busy than the first 6 weeks of my freshman year of college. As a senior, I knew he was only going to get busier.
Many of us get caught in that type of reasoning. We think that we will get our career established first, but the reality is that it never gets less busy.
So what do you think about that? Can we wait until our career is established?
Brian: No, and I think you are right. I used to draw up for college students all the time how many hours are in the week and how their hours are spent — which was usually a very minimal amount of hours spent with a lot left over to do other things like summer mission or discipling others.
One of the most delightful things about being in ministry was getting to take my family on things like summer mission with me. We would have tons of college students sharing the gospel with our children, and that was awesome, but those benefits are not exclusive to college ministry. Most of those benefits can be achieved by faithfully living out your faith wherever God’s called you.
Everyday Examples
How do I live today, personally as a parent or an employee? How do I work today, and are those who are in my family connected to that work with me in how I serve people?
Amos, my son, just started soccer on Friday nights at Presbyterian Day School. Honestly, I love it because my son gets to have a blast while I meet people and build new relationships. I know two parents on the soccer team, which means there are 5 I don’t know at all. That’s an opportunity to sit with them on the bleachers and form a relationship with them. If I’m in tune with the Spirit and believe this work is the greatest work I could ever be a part of, then the conversation is going to naturally flow to what is most important to them and me — the gospel. Sandy Willson used to say, “If anyone asks you why two times, it should always lead to Jesus.” No matter what the questions are related to — whether finance, sports, politics, food, etc. — the second why should always go straight to Jesus.
For example, a parent could ask, “Why did you sign up for soccer this year?” and then later ask, “What attracted you to this school?” Bam, that’s it. They just asked about our motives, and Christ should always be at the center of our motives. That’s an opportunity to talk about the person and work of Jesus Christ.
And, what’s so amazing is my son gets to enjoy playing soccer, I get to enjoy working in God’s kingdom, and my son will later talk to me about it — all because we signed up for soccer this year.
Vow Order
Howard: What you’ve made clear is that mission is first to Christ, then spouse, then kids. This is commonly referred to as vow order. And, you reordered your career a little bit to make that happen. Talk a little about why you reordered it to stay on mission and how it’s going.
Brian: We’d gone through a season of life with young kids where my role with Campus Outreach was one that I love doing, but the hours were an impediment to my family. College students are available to hear the gospel in the evenings and I would frequently not get home until midnight. What that would look like is putting my kids to sleep as fast as possible and running off to campus and not getting any quality time with my wife.
So I started to wrestle with this, and considered the fact that God called me to be the husband to my wife and the father to my children. And, that is what is most important. I can’t expect God to bless my work if I’m ignoring the primary duties He’s put right in front of me. So in a snapshot, that’s why I needed to make a change in my career. However, that doesn’t mean the mission is different. Our dinner table is the place where we invite people to come and share with us in the gifts God has given us, and share with them the hope for eternal life with Him.
Even last night, we had a meeting with people from our parish that I don’t know very well. These people live in our neighborhood and go to our church, but I’d never met some of them before. We had a dinner around our table and I met a sweet old lady, a couple with adult children, and two young single men. All these people are in very different stages of life, but here we are sitting around a table and sharing a meal together as we talk about what God is teaching us in our lives. That’s the work! That’s the joyous work God’s called us to, and it made me want to have more people at my table because the work is delightful.
Redeeming Financial Services
Howard: That’s awesome! And, you’re describing it all in a way that is not separate. One of the devil’s most common tricks is to convince us it’s a separate priority. I’ve got to take care of my spouse. I’ve got to take care of my kids. I’ve got to raise up some nickels. Christ is at the center of each of those things; it’s one life with one mission lived unto the Lord.
Even the example you gave right there is other church folk coming over. How is that the same as you go out into the marketplace? Financial services is about making nickels! They want a financial future from you, they want help, they want advice, and you are supposed to make some nickels for your family.
How does all that go together? How is that not separate?
Brian: One of the reasons I chose the firm I’m at is because they are all about the people. Before I started working there, I met with some of the managers of the firm and over and over again they talked about serving people. Something we talk about frequently is what is the intent of the nickels? Where are the nickels supposed to land one day?
Just this morning I ran into a guy I’m working with who is in a lot of debt. Living with a lot of debt hanging over your head is very stressful. I know because I’ve been there. It’s emotionally taxing and draining. The amount of stress debt can produce detracts from your capacity to disciple your family. You might not have the emotionally capacity to engage people in your neighborhood because all you are thinking about is the nickels.
Now, I can’t make all that debt magically disappear, but what I can do is help him create and execute a plan that brings peace, comfort, and happiness into his life and the life of his family.
One of the key questions, whether you are at work, Kroger, Starbucks, at home, etc. is this: Are you listening to people? Everyone has issues and Jesus is the answer to those issues. Maybe Jesus isn’t the answer to all the practical issues, but He sure is the answer when it comes to lasting peace and eternal hope.
A large part of what we do at our firm is listen to people all the way through. We listen to what’s hard, what’s challenging, where they are lonely, what gives them hope, who they love, what they hate, etc. And, what all those things are is an opportunity to share the hope of Christ and help them with the various financial needs they have.
And, a quick point about how all this comes together. My son, Amos, asks me about how work was every day, and he expects me to also ask him about his day. When I’ve done my job well, it is so fun to sit down with him and share who I was able to help today by sharing the hope of Christ with. I could just say that I help people make money, but every time he asks me there is an opportunity for me to talk to my son about how God is moving at my work. Talking with my son about what I did at work is just as much a moment of discipleship as sitting with him before bed and reading the Bible together.
Howard: You mean our God is that good — that gracious? Our work can facilitate God’s mission for our lives to love others around us?
A Biblical Example — Matthew 20
Brian: He is that good! In Matthew 20, He is the good master. He came out and found us. We were standing beside the road without purpose, and called us into the work. God’s called us into the work at different times. Some people he called when they were 20, others when they were 60. However, the work for both of them is the same. Those who came into the work at the 11th hour — who only got to work one hour for the King of kings — get the privilege of working for the King for one hour. This makes me sad though because they only got to work for the King for one hour. They could have been doing this work all along. Instead, they waited and waited and waited until the last hour, and in that last hour they experienced more joy and purpose than they ever had, and realized all the joy they missed out on when they were waiting.
And, on the other hand, you have the laborers who worked all day and complained that these people who only worked one hour got paid the same. They’ve missed it! They are grumbling and complaining, when in reality they should be rejoicing because they got to work for the King all day long.
In my own life, I want to be grateful for the work God’s given me to do. I don’t want to come home grumbling and complaining about working all day. I don't want to look back after 60 years and realize I missed out on the work God called me to do. No, I want that time at home to be even sweeter because I got to work for God all day long.
Howard: Your commentary on Matthew 20 sheds so much light on how we should view our work. Working for God is the greatest privilege we have, and while people who are saved at the end of life share in the same eternal glory, those who step into their mission sooner rather than later get to experience the joy of Christ in a fuller way than those who wait until later.
Anything you’d leave us with today?
Final Thoughts
Brian: I’ve often found myself grumbling about the work. It’s easier to slack off and complain than it is to be actively engaged in God’s mission in all areas of my life. What I’ll leave you with today is this: When God impresses upon our lives the reality that He is the Lord of all our life, we obey — regardless of what our motive is today. In those moments of obedience, where I am walking by faith — even when I might not feel like it — the joy and peace God provides is far beyond anything else I could find in moments of disobedience.
So if you are listening today, and you think you are too busy or need to wait for some reason, have faith and take a step of obedience toward God. Watch what God does. When you share your testimony with someone, the joy you experience will make you want to do it more.
In John Piper’s book Don’t Waste Your Life, he tells a story about a man who comes to faith on his deathbed and is weeping because he wasted his entire life on things that didn’t matter. I would encourage you to do the work that matters today so you don’t look back upon your life and realize you wasted it.
Resources
Alister Begg, The Man on the Middle Cross
John Piper, Don’t Waste Your Life
Matthew 20:1-16