Table Of Content

A WORKING FAITH: EXAMINING THE CHRISTIAN FAITH AT WORK HELPING UNDERGRADUATE BUSINESS AND HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGERIAL STUDENTS DEVELOP AND ARTICULATE IN THEIR OWN WORDS A BIBLICAL-CHRISTIAN MODEL OF WORK AND REDEMPTIVE LEADERSHIP A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GORDON-CONWELL THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY SOUTH HAMILTON, MASSACHUSETTS IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE DOCTOR OF MINISTRY BY JAMES E. MOTES MAY 2012 Copyright © 2012 James E. Motes. All Rights Reserved To my wife Carrie “O Lord, My God, how wonderfully and powerfully Thou hast caused me to know with a knowledge that passes knowledge that Redemption is the one great revelation Reality.” --Oswald Chambers CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES Vi PREFACE vil ACKNOWLEDGMENTS GLOSSARY Xit ABSTRACT xV INTRODUCTION CHAPTER 1 THE PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING CHAPTER 2 THE BIBLICAL AND THEOLOGICAL ISSUES 15 CHAPTER 3 LITERATURE REVIEW 65 CHAPTER 4 THE PROJECT DESIGN 83 CHAPTER 5 OUTCOMES 114 BIBLIOGRAPHY 125 VITA 133 vi FIGURES 1.a.-1.d. The Course Syllabus 86 2. The course lesson-plans outline for the eight weeks of the course 90 3. Daily-lesson outline used for each class period 91 4. “Our Class Guest” Questionnaire 92 5. A Biblical-Christian Worldview—Workplace-Leadership-Evaluation Model 93 6. The “Leadership Grid Model” and Its Components 94 7, Biblical-Christian Leadership Questions for In-Class Reflections 95 8. Applied-Listening-Skills Review 96 9.a.-9.b. The Christian Faith and Assumptions Concerning Conflict 97 10.a.-10.e. Five Reading Assignments—Textbook Reviews 99 11. Bonus Reading Assignment—Optional 104 12.a.-12.d. Four Scheduled Tests 105 13. Final Exam 109 14.a.-14.b. Midcourse Student’s Course-Evaluation Form 110 15.a.-15.b “Your Christian Faith on the Job” 112 vii PREFACE This work is an analysis of a Biblical-Christian based work perspective and a proposed leadership model taught as the course content in an undergraduate university class. The students are primarily Business and Human Resource majors and minors completing their undergraduate degrees in an adult evening program on a Christian university campus. Most of the students enrolled are already employed in business and human resources; Therefore, primary emphasis will be given to the practical--i.e., ‘real world’-- applications of the resulting Biblical-Christian-based models of work and redemptive leadership. The class members will apply and assess the results of each application in their fields by means of case studies presented in the class setting. The class meets for two hours and ten minutes twice a week for eight weeks. The primary purpose of the course will be giving the students an opportunity to add Biblical-Christian- based views of work and leadership to their knowledge base for comparing and contrasting with the variety of workplace and leadership models which they are introduced to as they continue their education. The first step is identifying and addressing the major issues of the Thesis-Project and demonstrating how each one will be addressed and evaluated. The second step of this analysis is establishing a definition of worldview, the Biblical-Christian Worldview, and examining the concept of ‘work’ from a Biblical- Christian perspective. A canonical approach to the Old and New Testaments for Vill references to work and the worker will be employed. The goal of such an analysis is attempting to formulate a definition of each that could be applied consistently and without contradiction to examples of their scriptural use. Possible problematic issues of theology and applications to the modern workplace will be covered. Finally, a biblically based leadership model, which is based on and consistent with a Biblical-Christian concept of work and the worker, will be introduced. The resulting ‘Redemptive- Leadership’ idea will then be presented as a model that the students can demonstrate and examine, in workplace case studies. The third step will be reviewing and investigating the resources used to define, describe, apply, and evaluate the information generated from the Thesis-Project in narrative form. The fourth step will be first applying and studying the results of these efforts as the basis of an evening class taught in an on-campus class at a College of Business and Human Resources in a Christian liberal arts university. Extensive assessment, through graded tests and nongraded surveys, will be implemented to evaluate systematically the content of the materials taught in case studies and applications offered though interaction with the students themselves. Second, by the conclusion of this class, students will have examined, applied,--articulated in their own words--a Biblical-Christian perspective and basis for their understanding of work and leadership. The fifth step will be summarizing the major lessons learned from the Thesis- Project, assessing the project results, and proposing how additional instruction and ix evaluation of this perspective can benefit future students in this field, with possible study of its impact on the students’ workplaces after graduation. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would be negligent if] didn’t stop and acknowledge the individuals and groups who contributed to the development of the Thesis-Project. I am fearful of leaving someone out but these that I have record of must be recognized. First, I need to acknowledge the membership of Concord Baptist Church, my home church, who voluntary cooperated in several classes and surveys during the project portion of this study. I also need to recognize our local Christian Businessmen’s Association who agreed to allow me to do a six week devotional series on The Christian at Work and in the Workplace. Their six week study turned into a three year relationship which allowed numerous interviews with businessmen and women resulting in many workplace illustrations for the project. I need to thank three individuals who volunteered to come to our class and be subjected to questions about their Christian faith in their separate workplaces. They were Larry Stone, Brian Hawkins, and Kyle Carson. Many thanks go to these three men. I especialiy want to thank President, Evans Whitaker, members of the administration, the staff and faculty of Anderson University. Many of these fine people allowed interviews and offered numerous illustrations of their efforts to integrate their faith and learning as well as their Christian faith in the their work and the workplace of our university campus. My thanks to AU for allowing a class to be taught by me in our evening ACCEL program as the major work of this Thesis-Project. Many others in local churches and business offered valuable time and insight into the research behind this Thesis-Project. I want also to acknowledge Mrs. Marilyn Anderson who edited and