Developing Small Group Discussion Guides for Christians in the Workplace: Transformational Studies Related to Theology of Work, Shalom, Justice, Mercy, and Racism

The purpose of this project is to develop a small group discussion guide to be utilized by Christians that desire to live their faith more fully within the workplace. It was observed that Christians throughout all levels of the workplace desire to live their faith more fully at work but feel ill-equipped to do so. Also, they feel alone in their desires. It was further observed in discussions that centered on having a personal Theology of Work that Christians frequently expressed their needs with a question that very often begins with, “How do I…?” such as:
How do I find meaning in my work?
How do I share my faith at work?
One goal of the project was to validate twelve to eighteen “How do I…?” questions (HDIQ), which when answered would satisfy the questions in a cross-section of Christians. The development of the HDIQ revealed that there are numerous resources available that might answer the questions, but that people with full-time jobs rarely have time to digest the information in the form in which it is presented. Therefore, I conceived to develop a small group discussion guide that would fit the time constraints of this population. So, as not to short those who would like to dig deeper a resource catalog has also been developed. The discussion guide for thirteen lessons is found in Chapter 6, and the Resource Catalog is in Chapter 3.
The first six lessons take the small group through development of a personal Theology of Work. Lessons 7 to 13 explore beginning transformations in the individual, the workplace, a community, and a church. These lessons contain the transformational concepts of shalom, justice, mercy, and addresses a city torn by racism and poverty. The issue of racism is an extremely important factor with regard to living faith more fully at work and transforming the community within the context of living and working in Memphis, Tennessee. In the same sense that the workplace is the location of the church scattered, the workplace is also the predominant venue for the opportunity for racial interaction leading to reconciliation.