THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE MODEL

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The philosophy of the model is about driving engagement in our work life, for when we are engaged in our work life through faith, church becomes relevant and this will lead to church fruitfulness. We based our work and faith integration process from the order of salvation (order salutis)- where we are saved, sanctified to serve by doing God's work, so that we can accomplish the whole mission of God. This model anchors on the indwelling of God and of the Spirit which hangs on 2  important doctrine- the doctrine of vocation and charism. It position our work as God given gifts and our call to serve the world. This make our work dignified, purposeful and intentional in bringing meaning to life, hence our matters to God and God matters to the work we do.

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THE INTEGRATION PROGRAM

There are 4 questions that shaped the module towards a holistic WholeLife Church, where our work on Monday are connected to the worship on Sunday.  This is when work and faith are integrated, and the church becomes meaningful and relevant to life. The 4-questions, are arranged in a concentric circles in the order of- 'Who-Why-How-What' in building the module towards a WholeLife Church. 

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​​​​​THE QUESTION OF BEING- WHO

The 'Who' question frames the theological framework of the work and this is an essential question in framing the purpose and meaning of work.

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The question of 'Who' addresses the theological concept of  'who we are in Christ'. saved for the service of God. It hangs on the notion of the indwelling of God and the Spirit in our life or as the Lutheran called it - the 'mystical union between God and us'.

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The 3-main texts we quoted in support of the indwelling concept of God are as follows- ​

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Galatians 2:20. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

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​​Ephesians 2:8-10. For by grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works,  so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

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2 Peter 1:4 ....by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises,  so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.​

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The 'Who' anchors on 2 doctrinal pillars- the doctrine of vocation and charism, which addresses the called life and the gifts of God in serving his people. The discussion of man as the image of God (Imago Dei) doing the work like God (in his function) in fulfilling the mission of God (Missio Dei) at the sacred space as priest, king and prophet.​​ are discussed when we speak of the identity of the workers.

The scripture that supports the 2 doctrines are:

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​​1 Corinthians 7:17. Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. This is the rules in all the churches.

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Ephesians 4:7-8. But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore it says, When he ascended on high he led a host of captives and he gave gifts to men.​​Hence, work is valuable and dignified when we trace the theme of work in the bible, where work was created good, fallen and became difficult but is redeemed by Christ to give us hope that work can be fulfilling and one day it will be glorified in the days to come as work continues in its perfection in eternity. 

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THE QUESTION OF PURPOSE- WHY​​

The "Why' question addresses the biblical framework of work as one of the 'metanarrative of the bible'. Genesis 1-2, addresses 'why work' as we meet God the worker who perform a functional creation in bringing order to chaos through the work of human, then came the fall of 'man and its work' in Genesis 3, where work became difficult and painful as we fall into sin. Work is fallen but not destroyed and awaiting for its redemption. We see the redemption of work through the inaugurated nation Israel and are fulfilled through Jesus Christ, waiting for its final fulfilment as we awaits the perfect promise of the future glorified Kingdom.

​This biblical framework also addresses the creation mandate - man in the garden [Gen. 1:26-27], with his vocation and gifts fulfilling the great commandment [Matt. 22:35-40] and the great commission [Matt. 28:18-20]. 

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​​​​THE QUESTION OF DOING - HOW THE INTEGRATION IS DONE  

​​​​The methodology of 'How' is the program itself and how the work are enhanced  through various activities of the church.

As this is a curriculum development initiative, we created a general curriculum to touch members in the age between 30s-70s range. The curriculum is divided into 4 main parts and are taught in classes, seminars and special talk.

Data are collected via survey, interview and attendance. The data collected are used to access the effectiveness of the program through a regression analysis, to check the engagement level at work and at church to ascertained the relevancy of the church when work life are addressed. ​

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​The Enhancement programs are put in place to support the program and they are as follows-

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i. The Impact Player Mindset- towards an integrated culture of work and faith where everyone can create an impact  by being purposeful and intentional.

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​ii. The Mask of God and the station of life and the affirmation of our role and responsibility- God hides and work through us via our work, he defines our role ( station) of our work.​  We affirm this through a special day dedicated to the work of the people. 

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iii. Formation of Networks @ CLC-

a. Business and work network among young intrapreneurs and professionals.

b.. The formation of work networking group among the elderly and retiree.

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​​​​​iv. Work-Rest-Play Rhythm @ Work

Work life balanced is a very important concept for effective works. The concept of work-rest-play is a rhythm we build into our work life to denote that God is sovereign in our work domain. We need to have joy@work, for when you find joy at work, faith becomes relevant  and church will grow 

 

v. Literature and Work Platform Review

This will enrich the the work and faith integration by reviewing and learn from literatures on various dimension of work- focusing on vocation, charism, work theology, biblical, doctrinal and theological narrative of work.

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​​THE QUESTION OF WHAT- THE RESULT OF THE INTEGRATION  

​​The last part of the curriculum is the tabulation of the result, 'the What', we have achieve through the integration. The integration must justify the hypothesis below: 

When faith are connected to work, we bring our whole soul to do the whole work

to fulfilled the whole mission of God. This will create engagement at work and in the church, which will result in church and work engagement and fruitfulness

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When there is a correlation between work and faith in the regression analysis of attendance and giving, the church becomes relevant to the life of the people, and a sustainable church growth can take place. The curriculum are set up in a digital format to enhanced its integration and this has been a enhancement for the program as participants are able to access them on a 24/7 basis.

 

We also highlight the setback of the program and looks for ways to mitigate the setbacks n through feedback and suggest future work that can be undertaken to enhance the integration.