Business

Let’s talk about it.

I don’t know about you, but there’s something inherently cringey about a businessperson. As I was interviewing for jobs in our new town, my husband pointed out that a place I interviewed was “slimy” as in slick, fake, not quite right. If you’re like me, you can feel when someone is being disingenuous or not telling you the whole story right away. I’ve never liked liars, but as I’ve aged, I’ve come to distrust those who spin the truth or insist on the most positive view of things more than blatant liars. You’d think most people like this would be in business, sales. I’m sure there are many in that industry, but I’ve come across an alarming amount of people like this in ministry.

It’s no secret that the job I lost was one with an organization called Young Life. If you do a quick google search, you’ll learn that this is a Christian organization, a ministry dedicated to working with young people and telling them about Jesus. You’d think that businesspeople wouldn’t really be working for, much less running, an organization like this. You’d think that salespeople don’t belong in ministry. You’d think these things, but you’d be wrong.

I’ve never been afraid to challenge what I think are unhelpful, unholy, or straight up wrong-headed ideas, cultures, or practices in ministry. From the very beginning, there were things about Young Life that I didn’t like. However, just because something isn’t perfect or because you don’t like everything about it is not a reason to leave it behind or give up on it. In fact, I’d probably still be working for Young Life if it hadn’t given up on me for reasons that I’m about to discuss. One of the things that always bothered me was that I felt like we were giving kids a bait-and-switch. Like we weren’t being totally honest with them at all times about what they were coming to or what following Jesus was really like. I cannot count the number of times that I watched volunteer leaders freeze when someone asked them what Young Life was. I, too, felt the pressure to somehow hide the fact that we were a Christian organization or ministry. Some of this pressure comes from the very real rejection that you experience when people find out you’re a Christian. And it’s not even really about the rejection, it’s that you wish they would give you a chance because you know that you’re probably not like what they’ve experienced before. Although, I’ve got news for Young Life: it’s a lot more like the Christians that have given us all a bad name than it would like to recognize.

First, they do the bait-and-switch thing. They lead with all the fun, games, community, etc that Young Life does. And these are really great things. They are really fun. They are things that kids want to come to and they create safe, neutral places where you can talk about Jesus and people might listen. They’re a beautiful reflection of the Kingdom of God and the abundant life he’s invited us into. But, in this cultural moment, if you don’t tell kids, up front, that this is a Christian group, they’re not going to trust you. They will feel betrayed when they come to a Young Life event and hear about Jesus when nobody told them anything about this being a Christian group. This is harmful for myriad reasons, but if kids have been hurt by the Church or other Christians before, it feels like just another faith group that they can’t trust. 

Second, there’s a mold. There are pages and pages of memes on the internet dedicated to making fun of Christian stereotypes. In regards to Young Life and other like organizations, they point out that all the leaders and staff dress and act the same. This is mostly true and mostly just funny, but it goes deeper than that. It’s not just the same shoes and mannerisms. There’s a personality type that thrives in Young Life. And, just in case you’re wondering, it’s not mine. Even if you’ve never experienced Young Life, you know the type. Charismatic, energetic, funny, loud, and woefully incompetent at keeping everyone on the same page and including outsiders. The type of person who can thrive in Young Life is really good at putting a good face on things that might not be that good. They’re really good at making you think that life with Christ is just great and it’s all an adventure. They’re really good at salesmanship. And, if you ask them, they’ll never talk too much about the messy part of following Jesus. Once you meet him, onward and upward, friends. If you really met Jesus, you’d never stumble, never fall, never slide backwards into old habits and lifestyles. And, if you do, someone might be concerned about you, but they won’t be willing to walk with you in the mess. That takes too much time. That doesn’t fill up newsletters. That doesn’t garner donor or parental support. 

Allow me to clarify what I mean about the “mess”. I mean letting people into your whole life. Your house. Your job, if you’re not on staff. Your family events and outings. I mean letting people see you live your whole life, not just part of it, fully, freely, and authentically before Jesus. That means they will see you make mistakes. You’ll have to apologize to them a lot more. They might take advantage of you and drink your last fizzy water. You might end up having to repair your home because their boyfriend kept climbing through the window instead of using the front door. They might hurt you, your children, or your spouse in a variety of ways. You’ll definitely be inconvenienced and the lines will get blurry. That’s the mess. And it’s the right way to make disciples and share the gospel with people because it’s what Jesus did on both a cosmic and a personal level.

This, however, is decidedly not professional. Which is the third major issue I have with Young Life. It wasn’t long after I joined the Young Life staff before my ill-fated and horrible first boss had a conversation with me about professionalism. And then another. And another. And another. The conversations were so many and varied that I’m not even sure what he was really talking about except this: he wanted me to look good to the right people. He cared deeply about how I talked, dressed, and acted around certain folks, but not others. He cared about putting on a good show himself for donors, our committee, and other staff people. He cared about looking the part, but not about living it out.

Now before you start yelling at me about boundaries, I’m not advocating for a lack of those. I’m also not advocating against making sure that your dress and comportment are appropriate to a situation. What I am advocating against is using “professionalism” as an excuse to not apply the truths of the Bible and the lifestyle of Jesus to your own life. 

Jesus lived his whole, real, authentic life out loud right in front of his disciples and, many times, the crowds. He was a full person, displaying a wide range of emotions, moods, and actions. He didn’t hide anything from them or show concern for “professionalism”. And let’s not forget that this was God’s plan for saving the world. Jesus’ goal in having disciples was to prepare them to tell others about him after he left. He was training them to begin the church. And he let them in on it all. The only thing that is kept mostly private in the Gospels is Jesus’ conversations with his Father. And, I think that this is a model we should follow. We all need a deeply private and personal relationship with God that informs how we live full lives authentically before others. But we cannot hide who we truly are. We cannot hide what our life with him looks like, warts and all. Jesus didn’t and his mission was infinitely more important than anything I’ll ever do.

If we’re going to make disciples for the long haul and, for that matter, be good disciples ourselves, we cannot do ministry under the umbrella of business or professionalism. It just has no place in the arena of spirituality. Business and professionalism are literally all about crafting a narrative, telling a story, and getting people to buy into what you’re selling. Do we seriously think that we need to sell Jesus? Do we really think that we need to dress him up to make him attractive? Are laser lights and fog machines the missing piece in evangelistic tactics for the twenty-first century? No!

Jesus is the most compelling person to ever live. His Gospel is timeless and applicable to all people, in all circumstances, throughout all of human history. Everyone knows what it’s like to come to the end of themselves and be in desperate need of rescue. Even people trapped in the throes of addiction want to be free, deep down, even if they don’t know how. And none of us really knows how. That’s why it’s so messy. But it’s beautiful and it’s the only thing that works. 

When you ask me why I follow Jesus, I will tell you the story of my life. I’ll tell you of the deep loneliness that plagues me on a regular basis. I’ll tell you of the lies that creep in and keep me awake at night. I’ll tell you about all my fears, failures, and flaws and how Jesus was the only one who has been with me through it all. Even when it’s messy, the Gospel is the only thing worth living for. Even when it’s hard, the hope of eternal glory keeps me going.

I don’t need to dress it up. I don’t need to sell it. All I have to do is bear witness to the fact that I was dead and I’m alive, I was blind and I can see, I was an orphan and I’m a child, I was a Pharisee and now I’m a disciple. He changed me. He can change you. And he doesn’t give a rip about business.