First Baptist Church of Cornelia will host a church retreat called “Work as Worship” on Friday, February 23. The one-day event features a simulcast featuring eleven Christian business speakers from around the country. The message focuses on those who want their faith to impact their work.
“If you are a business owner or manager, I hope you will encourage your employees to come,” says First Baptist Church of Cornelia pastor Dr. Eric Spivey. “If you work alone, I hope you will come and experience a community of fellow followers standing with you.”
When, where, how much?
The simulcast will begin at 8 a.m. The retreat ends at 3:30 p.m. It will be held in the banquet room at FBC Cornelia which is located at 325 Oak Street, Cornelia, GA 30531.
Registration is $25 and includes a continental breakfast and lunch. You may register online at www.fbccornelia.org.
“I am excited about the “Work as Worship Retreat” simulcast,” says Spivey. “This event is both for our church and for our community. It is designed to help all of us see our whole lives as purposeful, missional, and worshipful.”
Retreat focus
To help you get a sense of the purpose and mission of the “Work as Worship” concept, Spivey shares the following 8 tenets that will guide the retreat:
1) God designed work before the Fall. Like every other system and structure (nature, family, government, etc.) on the planet, God designed work to bring Him glory. Work was given to us in the Garden before the Fall. Humans have corrupted many God-designed things for selfish gain, but that doesn’t make them less important to God.
2) We are called to a mission. We don’t become Christians and then instantly go to heaven. God has a purpose for us on this earth. That calling is to be on mission for God whether we work at a church, school, software company, bank, or in the home.
3) The Church is the people—not the building. Every week the Church goes to work. We have to stop compartmentalizing life into “spiritual activities” and “work activities.” Church leaders and business people must work together if we are truly going to see millions of business people unleashed on mission for God.
4) Work impacts our perspective of God. Regardless of our age or position, everyone is impacted directly by the workplace. Our attitude and perspective on work bleeds into how we treat our spouse, our kids, and ultimately our understanding of God. If we work 45 hours per week for 45 weeks a year for 45 years, that’s 91,125 hours spent at work. The sheer amount of time we spend at work will impact our view of life.
5) God uses work to impact communities. In addition to providing a place to exercise our individual calling, God uses business and work to serve communities. Productive work affects other people. God’s design for work isn’t simply that people will earn a paycheck, but that society will benefit from healthy business.
6) All of life can be worship. Many people associate worship simply with music, but it’s so much bigger. In every attitude, action, and relationship we can demonstrate the worth that God is due—that’s worship. In the context of work, we can worship God in a variety of ways: through obeying God’s command to steward His creation; through our attitude, ethics, and excellence in our job; by leveraging resources to generously serve those in need; through sharing our faith with co-workers. Ultimately all of our “work as worship” is for the purpose of glorifying God and sharing Jesus in word and deed with those who don’t know Him.
7) Work as worship, but don’t worship work. In God’s economy, it’s not what you can do for God, it’s what He does through you. The business culture can be so performance-based that it’s tempting to transfer that mindset into our relationship with God.
8) Work as worship, but don’t worship work. While we can worship through our work, we must not worship our work. Our identity is not ultimately in our job but in Christ. Our work is a God-given opportunity to care for our families, fulfill our calling and bring glory to God
For more information, call the FBC Cornelia office at 706-778-4412.
