Greetings from Trinidad and Tobago, where the weather is warm, the sun is shining, and the land if beautiful. In these islands, just seven miles off the coast of Venezuela, God is at work in reclaiming the marketplace through the New Testament Church of God. This is our third time visiting with our partner, the Network of Christians in Business (NCB), and it is exciting to see the message grow in the hearts and minds of the leaders. We were asked to come at this particular time because there is a leadership transition in the denomination, so it was good to talk with the outgoing bishop and meet the incoming bishop. We thank God that they are taking the time to learn about a theology of work and how a workplace discipleship ministry could create whole-life disciples in their churches.
This is the second trip to Trinidad with board member Lacey Faieta and her husband Mike. What a blessing to have a board with members who invest their time, treasure, and talent with DML! Lacey taught with me, and over and over again, her theme was “language matters.” She was referring to the sacred/secular divide language that continues to appear in church leaders’ language. She was referring to our definitions of the church and success. She was referring to our language of what it means to make disciples. She reminded church leaders that while “wealth creation” makes us uncomfortable, “poverty alleviation” is welcomed by all. Yet they are essentially the same. When we look at language and don’t operate from assumptions that we all mean the same thing with our words, we can often find that we are closer than we first realized. It was a blessing to teach alongside Lacey!
Lacey’s husband, Mike (seated next to Lacey in the group picture), is a businessman, and the theme that emerged from him over and over again was that love matters. He addressed this issue with the group and encouraged business leaders to remember that most people just want to be loved, so love them. Take the time to understand them. This is how you can be Jesus to your employees and your clients. It was a gentle reminder that we don’t have to make faith/work integration too complicated. Love people.
We spent a day visiting business owners on this trip, and some are pictured here. As in most places in the world today, the economy in Trinidad is struggling. Unemployment is high. The need for jobs and for innovation is high. These employers are seeking to provide quality products, provide meaningful work, and do their work as an act of worship. It was a blessing to hear their testimonies.
We are encouraged for how God is at work in convicting the Global Church toward whole-life discipleship, and are excited to see denominations embrace this message. Please pray for this denomination as they seek to teach a theology of work to men, women, youth, and children!