Chapter Eleven
100,000 Fully Engaged
Tutors for Independent Professionals
Who Assist Organizations,
Arise!
So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia,
and from there they sailed to Cyprus.
And when they arrived in Salamis,
they preached the word of God in
the synagogues of the Jews.
They also had John as their assistant.
Now when they had gone through the island to Paphos,
they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet,
a Jew whose name was Bar-Jesus,
who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man.
This man called for Barnabas and Saul
and sought to hear the word of God.
But Elymas the sorcerer (for so his name is translated) withstood them,
seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith.
Then Saul, who also is
called Paul, filled with the Holy
Spirit,
looked intently at him and said,
“O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil,
you enemy of all righteousness,
will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord?
And now, indeed, the hand of the Lord is upon you,
and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time.”
And immediately a dark mist fell on him,
and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand.
Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had been done,
being astonished at the teaching of the Lord.
— Acts 13:4-12 (NKJV)
Independent professionals help organizations to make
improvements in many ways. Some professionals and their firms provide
information. Others supply expert knowledge. Still others coordinate complex
tasks. Many combine these roles.
What kinds of expertise are
involved? While not intending to exclude any category of independent
professionals, I’m writing about people who serve their clients as accountants,
actuaries, advertising copywriters, analysts, architects, artists, attorneys,
auditors, chemists, construction managers, consultants, designers, economists,
editors, engineers, geologists, instructors, investigators, investment bankers,
lobbyists, market researchers, media buyers, money managers, musicians, nurses,
physicians, physicists, planners, product testers, professors, public relations
counsel, researchers, risk management evaluators, scientists, security experts,
software developers, translators, and writers.
Why do organizations seek help
from independent professionals? Here are a few of the many reasons:
• Obtain better results than what
could be accomplished with their internal staffs.
• Check on the work of the
internal staffs.
• Seek an independent opinion.
• Reduce risk.
• Meet a regulatory requirement.
• Cut costs.
• Expand capacity to make
changes.
• Temporarily increase staffing.
• Build credibility for a
decision.
• Encourage consensus.
When a client engages an independent professional or firm,
it’s not unusual for more than one of these reasons to apply.
Independent professionals are
important resources for making changes because their opinions carry the weight
of their training as well as the credibility of their client experiences. In
some cases, independent professionals or their organizations become known for
achieving a certain kind of change that clients seek. For instance, architect
Frank Gehry learned to use high-strength, lightweight materials such as
titanium to design buildings that appear to be much more like abstract
sculptures than traditional structures. As a result, clients who want their
buildings to make dramatic visual impressions may engage Mr. Gehry rather than
a more conventional architect.
As a result, highly regarded
independent professionals can have outsized influences on what an organization
does through what they endorse, what they oppose, and what they ignore. Let’s
consider their silences for a moment. Professionals vary in how much
unasked-for advice they provide. Some professionals appreciate that their
clients want to know the professionals’ every thought. Other professionals wait
to be asked before sharing a point of view. Still others may be reticent even
when asked, feeling that their roles should be entirely subordinate to the
client’s wishes.
Unless an independent
professional has been specially chosen in part for his or her religious
beliefs, rarely do clients expect such professionals to make unasked-for
suggestions about how client organizations can be more fruitful for the Lord
Jesus Christ. Anticipating the possible lack of such an expectation, many
independent professionals see it as improper to make any spiritually related
observations or comments except when engaged by a religious organization,
church, or synagogue.
During any silences about
spiritual issues, much potential fruitfulness for serving God’s purposes can be
lost. Such missed opportunities are especially great when the independent
professionals and their clients are Christians who seek to do His will.
I believe that independent
professionals can play many valuable roles that assist their clients to follow
the Lord’s will including:
• Supply their personal
testimonies about what God has done in their lives and called them to do.
• Share Bible verses that apply
to the tasks at hand.
• Provide information about the
effects experienced by their clients who followed God’s will in accomplishing
similar tasks.
• Encourage clients to include
more Godly purposes when conducting their activities.
• Pray with clients to receive
God’s guidance and blessings.
• Help clients to find other
independent professionals whom God has appointed to serve His purposes.
Some independent professionals will undoubtedly cringe while
reading this list, concerned about losing clients to secularly focused
professionals and organizations. I recommend that any such anxious Christian
professionals read Romans 8:27-37 (NKJV):
Now He who searches the hearts
knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for
the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things
work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called
according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to
be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among
many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He
called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also
glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who
can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him
up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who
shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is
he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen,
who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who
shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or
distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is
written:
“For Your
sake we are killed all day long;
We are
accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”
Yet in all these things we are
more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
Jesus did not promise us a life free from difficulties, just
as He did not avoid experiencing the difficult trials that led to His death and
resurrection. He suffered and died because He loves us so much and wants us to
have the opportunity to receive His glorious grace and mercy through repenting
of our sins and accepting Salvation. If our life goal is to avoid trials
because we proclaim Him, we have to seriously consider if we are His
faith-filled followers:
“Or what will a man give in
exchange for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this
adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed
when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” (Mark 8:37-38,
NKJV)
Since independent professionals
may be inexperienced in helping their clients to draw closer to the Lord, many
may want more help than attending church services, reading the Bible, and
prayer provide. Tutors can play a number of helpful roles in assisting
independent professionals to engage in the Christian practices I’ve listed
including:
• Help professionals to better
understand the importance of serving the Lord through their client work.
• Document future and ideal best
practices for Christian professionals.
• Assist professionals to write
their testimonies.
• Research appropriate Bible
verses for professionals to share with their clients.
• Describe the results that
clients receive after choosing to serve more Godly purposes.
• Introduce professionals to other
professionals who follow the Christian practices described here.
Let’s consider how tutors can
play these roles, beginning with helping professionals to better understand the
importance of serving the Lord through their client work.
Help Professionals to Better Understand
the Importance of Serving the Lord
Through Their Client Work
“No one can serve two masters;
for either he will hate the one and love
the other,
or else he will be loyal to the one and
despise the other.
You cannot serve God and mammon.
Therefore I say to you, do not worry
about your life,
what you will eat or what you will
drink;
nor about your body, what you will put
on.
Is not life more than food and the body
more than clothing?
Look at the birds of the air, for they
neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns;
yet your heavenly Father feeds them.
Are you not of more value than they?
Which of you by worrying can add one
cubit to his stature?
“So why do you worry about clothing?
Consider the lilies of the field, how
they grow:
they neither toil nor spin;
and yet I say to you that even Solomon
in all his glory
was not arrayed like one of these.
Now if God so clothes the grass of the
field,
which today is, and tomorrow is thrown
into the oven,
will He not much
more clothe you, O you
of little faith?
Therefore do not worry, saying,
‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we
drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’
For after all these things the Gentiles
seek.
For your heavenly Father knows that you
need all these things.
But seek first the kingdom of God
and His righteousness,
and all these things shall be added to
you.
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow,
for tomorrow will worry about its own things.
Sufficient for the day is its own
trouble.”
— Matthew 6:24-34 (NKJV)
Many independent professionals take great pride in their
knowledge, experiences, accomplishments, and reputations. At gatherings of such
professionals, you are likely to observe preening and puffed-up behavior by
some who glory in their status, even among those who act quite humbly when in
the presence of their clients. During the gathering’s formal activities, you
are unlikely to hear anyone leading a prayer or praising God for having given
them the talents and favor to succeed as a professional. It’s hard to avoid the
impression that such professionals have chosen their work as an idol to worship
because it feeds their pride, harmfully drawing them toward relying on their
own understanding rather than on God’s will.
Yet at such gatherings, some of
the independent professionals are probably born-again Christians. I believe
that the humblest Christian professionals should serve their independent
colleagues as tutors.
Many conscientious followers of
the Lord will welcome the opportunity to become better witnesses for Him
through their professional activities and tutoring colleagues. Undoubtedly,
some Christian professionals are already troubled by their own lack of
engagement in proclaiming Christ and His purposes to clients.
Why aren’t they doing more now?
The Christian professionals probably lack clarity, in part, about what to do.
Although I have listened to many fine sermons about the importance of being a
witness at work, I don’t recall any teachings that went beyond general
encouragements to work hard and to be honest.
Independent professionals need
details about how they should combine being a follower of Jesus with fulfilling
their professional responsibilities. Becoming a tutor who investigates and
teaches how professional activities can serve Him in more ways will provide
wonderful opportunities to learn what to do, how to be a good example, and more
ways to help lead others to draw closer to Him.
Regardless of what tutors do and
don’t do, the Holy Spirit will ultimately be the primary influence for opening
independent professionals’ hearts to assisting their clients in being more
fruitful for God’s purposes. Tutors can potentially support the Holy Spirit’s
influence through encouraging their colleagues to do more to serve God during
their client work.
In considering any of the supportive
activities that I have suggested for tutors to do, give precedence to any
messages received from the Holy Spirit rather than to my words. However, since
some Christians are more likely to notice such spiritual messages while
reading, let me share a few suggestions in hopes of magnifying the Holy Spirit.
Some professions have already
established separate Christian organizations or Christian chapters of their
secular organizations. Tutors who belong to such groups can request and
encourage meeting agendas that help their professional colleagues address how
to better serve the Lord. When introducing any new subjects to their groups, it
will be helpful for tutors to involve evangelists, pastors, and Bible scholars
to provide the Biblical context for what God wants professionals to do. In many
cases, discussions among clergy and Christian professionals who are encouraging
their clients to do more to serve the Lords’ purposes will be helpful for those
who want to consider what they should be doing differently.
Where such Christian professional
organizations or chapters don’t exist, tutors should seek to establish them.
While meeting with Christian colleagues, consciences can be more effectively
sensitized to the Holy Spirit’s directions. When among fellow believers,
Christians will also feel more comfortable discussing their concerns about how
to practice their profession in ways that serve God, and they will be more
inclined to seek support and comfort from the Lord through joining with one
another in Bible studies and prayers.
Tutors can gain great insights
from discussions held by Christian professional organizations and chapters
about what information their colleagues want to learn concerning spiritually
related advice and services. In addition, professionals seeking information can
describe how they would like the information to be documented. By paying
attention to what they hear, tutors will more rapidly and successfully identify
and document better ways to encourage colleagues to serve Him through their professional
activities.
Creating and working with such
Christian groups also makes it easier to learn about and to share
professionals’ experiences with raising spiritual issues, providing Godly
advice, and encouraging clients to do more for the Lord. Sharing such
experiences can be useful launching pads for discussions of how to be more
effective in such activities.
Through involvement with such
groups and discussions, tutors will also have more fertile ground to develop
resources for assisting Christian colleagues to draw more of their colleagues’
to be interested in serving the Lord. For instance, Christian members can
request that secular organizations for independent professionals offer
discussion opportunities about providing spiritual advice at their general
meetings. Such discussions will probably be easiest to organize and be most
fruitful at the largest gatherings, such as national meetings, when many
separate simultaneous discussions are offered.
Discussions conducted at secular
organizations’ meetings can also help Christian colleagues who haven’t been
involved in Christian professional organizations and chapters to become more
aware of the issues and the opportunities to serve the Lord through their
professional work. These discussions can also present opportunities to share
the Gospel with unsaved professionals who may not be familiar with God’s Word.
If the discussions spark enough
interest, there may also be opportunities to consider how Christian
professionals who are interested in serving God through their work could help
their colleagues to become more successful. For instance, professionals could
draw on the Holy Spirit’s direction to formulate guidelines for how to share
Godly information with clients. By subscribing to such guidelines, independent
professionals would gain opportunities to show their commitment to serving
Christian purposes and to helping attract the attention of Christian clients.
While explaining about the guidelines, independent Christian professionals
would gain a new opportunity to share with Christian clients the extra
value-added of gaining God’s supernatural support through following His
purposes.
In addition, even clients with
limited spiritual interests and no Christian commitments might find the
establishment of such professional guidelines to be an intriguing reason to
learn about the benefits of obtaining Christ-inspired advice and services, much
as those who don’t believe that dragons cause earthquakes may still choose to
hire local spiritualists to recommend the best site for a new building in parts
of Asia where many hold such beliefs. In the process, His will may be served
somewhat more often among nonbelievers. When He provides signs to the
unbelievers who follow His purposes, more souls may be saved.
Let’s now turn our attention to
how tutors can assist in creating best-practice information concerning how
independent professionals can help clients to choose more Godly purposes and to
follow His ways while seeking to accomplish such purposes.
Document Future and Ideal Best Practices
for Christian Professionals
So Joshua defeated Amalek and his people
with the edge of the sword.
Then the LORD said to Moses,
“Write this for a memorial
in the book and recount it
in the hearing of Joshua,
that I will utterly blot out the
remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.”
And Moses built an altar and called its
name, The-LORD-Is-My-Banner;
for he said, “Because the LORD has
sworn:
the LORD will have war with
Amalek from generation to generation.”
— Exodus 17:13-16 (NKJV)
God accomplishes His purposes in a variety of ways. During
the battle against the Amalekites described in Exodus 17, Moses held the rod of
God above his head. Whenever the rod was held in this fashion, the Israelites
had the better of the battle. Whenever Moses let down the rod because his arms
were weary, the Amalekites gained the upper hand. Noticing this, Aaron and Hur
held up Moses’ hands for the remainder of the battle, and Joshua led the
Israelites to victory.
The Israelite siege conducted
against Jericho
succeeded by acting in a totally different way. The Israelites followed God’s
instructions to march around the city’s outer walls for a week in a certain
way, and then the city’s walls fell down, enabling the attack to succeed.
When we examine Christ’s many
healings, it seems as though there was no one method that He consistently used.
Otherwise, Christians might have been tempted to equate spiritual healing with
certain rituals based on what He did, rather than through having faith in and
obeying Jesus.
Keep these lessons in mind when
considering how Christian professionals should encourage their clients to serve
more Godly purposes. Avoid focusing on the details of how God has worked in the
past, but, rather, look for the lessons of what God wants us to remember as in
the memorial that God directed Moses to write in the book and to recount in
Joshua’s hearing: Heed His messages, obey His directions, and build faith in
His will being accomplished regardless of what appears to be happening at the
moment.
Any description of best practices
should begin by including relevant prophecies from the Bible. His Word is full
of prophecies; some scholars estimate that the text is almost one-third
prophecies. God made such proclamations, in part, to help us build our faith by
comparing the truth of His Word with seemingly spiritual books that don’t
contain valid prophecies. In addition, His unfulfilled prophecies are promises
of what is to come. Further, His prophecies give us instructions about what His
will is, such as when God told Moses that He would war with Amalek from
generation to generation.
God also makes promises to
individuals. Christian professionals should keep journals in which they record
what they perceive to be messages from God or the Holy Spirit. Such messages
may occur as answers to prayers, through dreams, being drawn to or struck by a
particular Bible verse, through an occurrence, by a sign, or something else
remarkable or compelling. If there is any problem interpreting the spiritual
message, Christians should pray for guidance and the wisdom to understand and
apply God’s will.
Many professionals will benefit
by separating messages about performing their work from other messages from the
Holy Spirit. Seeing just the messages that are applicable to professional
conduct may make it clearer what God intends, much as writing this book and
receiving His reactions to it have helped me to better appreciate how God
intends to use tutors to help His people become more fruitful in serving Him.
Before visiting with a current or
prospective client, Christian professionals should pray for the wisdom to help
the client to be more fruitful for Him. Professionals should also experiment
with other ways to serve Him through various prayers. For instance, Christian
professionals might ask clients if they would like to offer a prayer before
business discussions begin. If the clients don’t object to praying but don’t
want to lead the prayer, the professional could ask for permission to pray on
everyone’s behalf.
Much as God directed the
Israelites to behave differently so they could win various battles, God and the
Holy Spirit will probably provide unique guidance about what to do while
serving different clients and performing each professional task for them. Such
spiritual directions may include how to witness for Him as well as what
spiritual purposes the client should follow. For instance, a management
consultant might receive directions from the Holy Spirit to encourage a
magazine-publishing client to include Christian columns in its secular
periodicals, while an architect might be guided to design a new building for
the publisher that includes Christian symbols such as the cross.
Let’s next consider how tutors
can help professionals to write their Christian testimonies.
Assist Professionals to Write Their Testimonies
A true witness delivers souls,
But a deceitful witness speaks lies.
— Proverbs 14:25 (NKJV)
Before commenting on the special opportunities for helping
Christian professionals to write their testimonies, let me refer you to Chapter
5 of Witnessing Made Easy: Yes, You Can
Make a Difference (Jubilee Worship Center Step by Step Press, 2010) by
Bishop Dale P. Combs, Lisa Combs, Jim Barbarossa, Carla Barbarossa, and me,
describing a helpful method for encouraging and assisting witnesses to write
their testimonies.
While a personal testimony
usually focuses on how someone lived before being saved, why the person decided
to seek Salvation, and what the results have been from following Jesus, a
professional’s testimony also provides an opportunity to describe ways that God
has helped the Christian’s clients to achieve better results. Most
professionals haven’t thought much about including clients in their
testimonies, and tutors can help such professionals by sharing colleagues’
testimonies that include such information and posing questions designed to help
remind the writer of what God has done for various clients.
Let me add a word of caution. In
most professions, there’s an ethical obligation to keep client information
confidential. Christians who are writing testimonies about what has happened
with their clients should be careful to observe such ethical restraints. Even
where no formal disclosure limits exist, it’s a good idea to check with clients
for permission before revealing anything about them. In some cases, you’ll be
pleasantly surprised to find that clients will be delighted to give God the
glory for the bounty they have received from Him, and the testimonies can be
made more powerful through sharing a client’s praise report.
Fortunately, there are effective
ways to protect a client’s privacy while still sharing valuable experiences. In
some cases, for instance, the client may grant permission to write anonymously
about the work, just as long as the client cannot be indirectly identified. In
other cases, a client may want just a few details removed. Conversations about
publicly sharing experiences also provide excellent opportunities to help draw
clients closer to Him.
In being cautious about including
client information in testimonies and while witnessing, it’s always good to
remember that Christians should avoid the appearance of wrongdoing, as well as
any actual wrongdoing. When including either clients’ names or information,
it’s good to indicate that clients have reviewed the material and approved its
use.
Tutors’ testimonies will provide
valuable examples to encourage and to focus colleagues on preparing their
testimonies. Before assisting any Christian colleagues to write their
testimonies, tutors should be sure to have completed their own testimonies,
including the work-related aspects both before and after gaining Salvation.
In some situations, clients may
be willing to provide complementary testimonies that share their personal and
work-related Salvation stories, including descriptions of the activities done
with the Christian professionals who are preparing their own testimonies. Being
able to share both sets of perspectives through written testimonies can be
especially powerful for demonstrating the value of professionals doing more to
serve Him through their client work.
If the Christian professional and
client are both willing to share their experiences in testimonies, chances are
that they will also be willing to do so through in public discussions and
videos of such conversations. Such sharing examples will be highly encouraging
to professionals and clients who otherwise might feel afraid to relate their
experiences.
With permission from the
testimony authors, tutors can also create online sites where Christian
professionals can read testimonies by their colleagues and the colleagues’
clients. Make any audio and video recordings of discussions available there, as
well. What a blessing such sites will be to those who need examples and
encouragement to witness!
Although more could certainly be
described here about assisting with writing testimonies, I believe that tutors
will find whatever background information and examples they need in Witnessing Made Easy and from online
resources. Tutors can also help independent professionals by sharing and
commenting on professionally relevant Bible verses that can improve
testimonies, witnessing, and helping clients to understand the benefits of
engaging in the Lord’s purposes. Let’s look more closely at finding the right
Scriptures for such purposes.
Research Appropriate Bible Verses
for Professionals to Share with Their Clients
For the word of God is living and
powerful,
and sharper than any two-edged sword,
piercing even to the division of soul
and spirit,
and of joints and marrow,
and is a discerner of the thoughts and
intents of the heart.
— Hebrews 4:12 (NKJV)
I encourage Christians to include in their testimonies the
Bible verse that best summarizes their walks with the Lord. As you can see from
Appendix A (my personal testimony), my summary verse is “Humble yourselves in
the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up (James 4:10, NKJV).” The verse
is a wonderful reminder of Jesus’ willingness to sacrifice Himself so that we
might gain Salvation, letting Himself be condemned to death by one of the most
cruel and lengthy methods, crucifixion. At His death Jesus was at the lowest in
the flesh, but He soon overcame death and was lifted up through His
resurrection and ascension to serve and to intercede for us at the right hand
of God, the Father. This verse also reminds me of the temptations for authors
and consultants to think too highly of themselves and the importance of
overcoming any prideful feelings.
I well remember the difficulties
of learning how to find relevant Bible verses for The 2,000 Percent Solution and the 400 Year Project books published
since then. At first, I tried computer searches using modern words to find
verses containing such words from which people could gain broader meanings of
the book’s text. That method didn’t work very well because Biblical Hebrew and
Greek are seldom translated into modern English words that express today’s
secular concepts.
While working on the books, I
also did a lot of Bible reading and study. Gradually, I found that the Holy
Spirit would remind me of a specific Bible incident, parable, or prophecy that
paralleled the topic I wanted to illuminate. When I couldn’t remember where the
verses were, I used various key words to search for the right sections. This method
worked a lot better than my earlier approach, and I could quickly find just the
right verses to use almost every time.
Later, I began asking pastors to
review my book drafts, and they sometimes identified Biblical themes that
appeared in several different book sections and suggested that the themes be
expanded. By locating and supplying more verses that displayed other dimensions
of such themes, the Bible references I included became richer in expressing
Godly lessons.
Sometimes, I found that a
particular verse seemed more appropriate than any other, but the verse’s full
meaning wasn’t clear to me. By reading Bible commentaries, study guides, and
dictionaries, I gradually began to understand more of the meaning. Assuming
that others might be having as much trouble as I was, I started including
explanations of how the verses related to whatever point I was making, as I did
in this chapter while explaining about the lessons to draw from Israelite
battle methods and Jesus’ ways of healing.
Because few people today have
studied the Bible from cover to cover, anyone looking for excellent ways to
illuminate meanings through verses should add explanations of the passages and
linkages to other Bible verses. Otherwise, many readers won’t understand the
context of a verse or the point that the Bible’s Holy Spirit inspired the
verse’s human author to portray.
The Holy Spirit is also very
helpful for pointing out verses. In a large percentage of the cases while I was
looking for a verse and had just completed an unsatisfying search, within 24
hours I either heard a sermon containing or unintentionally read the perfect
Bible verse. Stay in the Word as much as you can while looking for Bible
verses, and the Holy Spirit will lead your ears and eyes to where you need to go.
After I began writing about
witnessing, I also began assembling lists of verses about sharing Christian
faith. Wanting to improve the lists keeps me searching for verses and better
ways to order the ones I have. Creating an archive of professionally related
verses and developing informative lists will probably provide similar benefits
to tutors.
Encouraging Christian
professionals to speak to clients about following His will, documenting future
and ideal best practices, helping professionals to write their testimonies, and
finding professionally relevant Bible verses will also lead to tutors to learn
about more examples of God’s purposes being fulfilled. By sharing the
information gained, tutors can provide documentation to help professionals
become more effective in describing client benefits gained through God’s
supernatural direction and support. Let’s consider how best to assist
professionals by providing such documentations.
Describe the Results That Clients Receive
After Choosing to Serve More Godly Purposes
God is my strength and power,
And He makes my way perfect.
— 2 Samuel 22:33 (NKJV)
Tutors must be careful while documenting client results
after they choose to follow more Godly purposes. There’s a human tendency to
overstate the positive consequences of a practice that someone favors. Any
exaggerations can be very harmful by misleading those who receive the incorrect
descriptions. Wrong decisions may follow. In addition, someone who investigates
the facts will discover the inaccuracies and will caution others to avoid
belief in the practice. When such corrections are needed and occur, faith can
be harmed. I encourage tutors to ask one another to check each others’
documentations with an eye to understating (rather than overstating) what took
place.
How do I know about these
problems? When I investigated published reports about benefits from various
non-Christian spiritual practices, I could not independently establish that any
of the results had occurred. After awhile, I felt that I was wasting my time
with the investigation, and I stopped looking for objective evidence concerning
the practices. Skeptics about the truth underlying Christian faith will
undoubtedly supply similar reality tests for any tutors’ assertions.
If God’s power has helped an
organization to fulfill more of His purposes, the results should make His
influence pretty obvious. After all, His power is infinite and based on all
knowledge.
If tutors find that evidence for
His influence is anything less than spectacular and overwhelming, I encourage
them to conclude that either God’s purposes weren’t met or He didn’t choose to
add His authority and power to the situation. Stop before documenting such
examples.
I also encourage tutors to avoid
trying to capture frequencies of when positive results occurred. God’s will has
been perfectly reflected in whatever the results have been. It’s misleading to
report a frequency as though that number indicates positive future results. We
know from the Bible and personal experiences that God always keeps His
promises. When supernatural support isn’t supplied, it’s not as though He is
asleep or isn’t paying attention. Sometimes He doesn’t bless a given situation
because it would be harmful to us or to others in ways we don’t appreciate, or
He has a later time in mind for the blessings.
Think of documenting client
results as being a lot like Moses writing about God’s parting the Red Sea in Exodus 14. You just need to properly tell the
story of what happened when He acted, and everyone will get the point.
Professionals and clients will
want to know more than just the outcome of what is documented. Escaping from
the Egyptians wouldn’t inspire anyone if the whole story was summarized as,
“And the Israelites crossed the Red Sea with
God’s help.” From such a sentence, some people might assume that the Israelites
crossed on boats and there was no bad weather during their passages.
Tutors should begin with the
background of why God’s help was needed. Examples where the client’s situation
appeared to be hopeless will be most compelling. The Red
Sea crossing, for instance, is powerful because the Israelites
were hemmed in by the water with a hostile army charging to slaughter them. If
God hadn’t parted the Red Sea and destroyed
the Egyptian army, there wouldn’t have been much to write about in the rest of
the Old Testament concerning the Israelites.
Next, the narrative should
describe the supernatural aspect of the help. Otherwise, disbelieving readers
will simply equate the benefit with random variance or “good luck.” In the Red Sea parting, Moses says that the people were afraid
and complained, indicating that they didn’t see any way out. In response, God’s
prophet told them that the Lord would fight for them and that they would see
the Egyptians no more. Here’s a clear prophecy that was soon tested. The Lord
also told Moses to direct the children of Israel
toward the Red Sea. The command suggests that
God wanted them to show their obedience, to rely on Him, and that He had a
supernatural solution in mind. Once there, He told Moses to lift up the rod of
God and to stretch out his hand over the sea to divide it. A strong wind came
up and the sea was divided. The waters rose like walls on both sides of the
passage, and the Israelites went through on dry ground. When the Egyptians
tried to follow, their chariot wheels fell off and they moved with difficulty.
After the Israelites had crossed, God told Moses to stretch his hand over the
sea to cover the Egyptians, their chariots, and their horsemen. Moses did as he
was told, and that was the end of the Egyptian army.
In this example of God’s
fulfillment of a prophecy, the communications from the Lord and the results
gained by Moses and the Israelites make it clear that God was the source of the
rescue, not a random act of nature. If someone were to go to the same spot
today and try to duplicate the results without God’s divine intervention, the Red Sea wouldn’t respond. If any such Divine
communications occur in your examples, be sure to capture them for readers.
Finally, the story should make it
clear how to find witnesses who can attest to what is described. In the case of
the Red Sea crossing, 600,000 men plus
uncounted women and children went through the passage into the Sinai
wilderness. If you later found an Israelite in the wilderness following Moses,
you could have asked the person about the crossing and heard the event verified
by someone who had been there. After you talked to quite a few people, you
would have become convinced that the event occurred even if it seemed
“impossible” to you. It’s also good to include quotes from those who
participated in the event verifying that God’s supernatural power was present.
I particularly commend making
videos of the most dramatic examples, particularly if there is something visual
that can be captured to make God’s impact clearer. I would love to see a video
of the Red Sea parting, wouldn’t you? When
witnesses are interviewed as part of such videos, the candor of their
testimonies will help viewers to test the witnesses’ credibility.
I also encourage tutors to
prepare several versions of the examples and to ask skeptical people to review
them. Take seriously any challenges to the accuracy or meaning of the event,
and make any necessary improvements. Stick with the version that appears to
skeptics to be the most honest and accurate.
Unfortunately, space doesn’t
permit more suggestions about documentation methods. Pray for guidance, read
examples from the Bible, and I’m sure the Holy Spirit will direct your
communications to document God’s support in the best way.
Let’s look at the final role that
I suggest for tutors of independent professionals: introducing professionals to
other professionals who follow the same Christian practices.
Introduce Professionals to Other Professionals
Who Follow the Same Christian Practices
Greet every saint in Christ Jesus.
The brethren who are with me greet you.
— Philippians 4:21 (NKJV)
If all Christians publicly proclaim their allegiance to
Jesus and share testimonies online about what He had done for them,
professionals could simply rely on Internet searches to locate others who
follow the same practices. Unfortunately, most professionals keep their
allegiance to the Lord secret from all but those in their churches and
families.
While increasing my public
witnessing, I noticed that many Christians are comfortable witnessing to others
they know are born-again believers … but not to anyone else. If, for instance,
you visit the public version of a Christian professional’s page on a social
networking site, references to faith will usually be hidden. If you then are
permitted to link with that person or to become their “friend” online, you see
more of their information and can find out quite a bit about what they believe
and how they exercise their faith. As you can imagine, such “witnessing”
doesn’t do a lot to encourage faith among unbelievers.
Fortunately, comfort with sharing
beliefs with Christian brothers and sisters means that social networking sites
can be used to help identify professionals with similar practices. A typical
professional’s profile on such sites will contain information about the
person’s faith, church service, witnessing, career, and volunteer activities.
Here’s an example of how a tutor
might identify Christian professionals and their practices by using a social
Web site. An architect who is a tutor might launch an identity on such a site
as “Witnessing Christian Architect.” Architects who witness to their clients
and those who think they might want to do the same could easily locate such an
identity, and software tools on the site would probably help introduce people
who have that intent to one another. To provide further clues, the tutor could
frequently post Bible verses that are professionally relevant to architects who
witness to clients or think that they might like to start doing so. Once linked
to any witnessing architect by the site, the tutor could then check out the
profiles of the others who are linked to the witnessing architect and offer the
opportunity to link up via a message about sharing information about architects
witnessing to and encouraging clients to adopt more Godly purposes. In
addition, the tutor could routinely ask architects on the site who are
“friends” to suggest people who should receive “friend” invitations.
By sending messages to others who
are “linked” or “friends,” tutors can start discussions and share experiences
and information. The more stimulating such interchanges are, the more likely it
is that other professionals will participate.
I’m sure that social networking
sites will continue to evolve in terms of how they allow access to other
people, so I don’t want to prescribe any one method as ideal. Such a
recommended method might quickly cease to be available or to be the optimal
approach. I suggest, instead, that tutors from different professions share
information about their experiences with such social networking sites to find
better ways to locate Christian professionals, to find out about their client
practices, and to share information.
Naturally, videos can also be a
powerful tool through sites that feature such materials. A powerful online
video demonstrating what God can do for clients who do more to serve Him would
be forwarded online throughout the profession.
Any Christian professional
organizations or chapters can also offer helpful ways to network by putting up
online networking tools for their members. I encourage tutors to work with
people who are good with social media to establish protocols and software that
will enable the kind of mutual checking out that can lead to good professional
relationships among strangers. If standard online social media formats are used
by each professional group and the groups are electronically linked, then
professionals in related activities will also find it to be easier to locate
one another.
Finally, online article marketing
may be an opportunity to share documented client successes in receiving
supernatural support to serve God’s purposes. Most sites that publish such
articles allow a link in the author information section that can be used to
direct interested readers to the authors.
Some tutors may welcome the
opportunity to develop professional careers in a role as described in this
chapter. Chapter Twelve guides such individuals in how to select a specialty,
to gain the knowledge needed to perform the specialty, to attract learners, to
earn a living from the activity, and to improve their effectiveness.
Copyright © 2011 by Donald W.
Mitchell. All rights reserved.
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