How to Watch Your Language Regarding the Sacred-Secular Divide

This week, DML is hosting its annual summit.  In even-numbered years, we gather in person, and in odd-numbered years, we gather virtually.  This year's retreat will be virtual, with every team gathering in their own country for a week-long retreat. We will meet together daily for four hours via Zoom.  

In total, we will have 220 people gathering from 25 countries.  We covet your prayers.

Our theme is "Whole Life Disciples," where we seek to make "whole-life missionary disciples, who are learning to live the way of Jesus in their context, at this moment."

Part of learning how to make whole-life disciples means learning to watch our language.  

Specifically, we have to learn to watch our language regarding the sacred-secular divide.

It's remarkable how often we use language that emphasizes a church vision rather than a Kingdom vision, subtly reminding the majority of believers that they are second-class Christians because they are not in "full-time" ministry.

So we work hard as a team to watch our language.  Here are some specific things that we pay attention to and seek to help our church leaders pay attention to:

(Table taken from BAM Global's BAM and the Church paper.)

When someone says:	What it might imply (not biblical):	Better words or concepts to use:
Called	Only some Christians are called, which sounds mysterious.	All Christians have a calling to serve in God’s kingdom and be salt and light in their daily lives.
Full-time ministry	Ministry is within a certain time rather than a lifestyle	Use an adjective prior to 'ministry.’ For example, ‘pastoral
Clergy/laity	Some individuals have a more important role than others.	‘Pulpit pastor’ and ‘marketplace minister’. We are a kingdom of priests.
Go to church	The church building is the primary place to worship God.	‘Church gathered’ (when in the church building), 'church scattered’ or ‘church sent out’ (when not in the building, but being the church every day).
Missionary	Special people, while other Christians are exempt from God’s mission.	We are all on a mission, though some are “Cross-cultural gospel workers.” Others go to their own workplace locally.
Worship	Often refers only to the songs we sing during the service when the church is gathered.	Worship is to be all of life. We do work as an act of worship, raising children as an act of worship, doing chores as an act of worship, etc.
‘The ministry’	Only one, and it is only within the church building.	Living a life on mission, ministry is a natural part of everyday life.
Evangelism	It is an event with a program.	Life-on-life evangelism in every place and space.
Discipleship	A program about doctrine for new Christians.	Lifetime learning to apply God’s work and be obedient to Him.
Money as the root of evil	Implies that money itself is evil, but money is actually neutral.	We can worship God through how we use our money. Wealth creation is part of the covenant.
Commissioning	Sending out a few people who are selected to work for God.	All Christians are sent by God to be on mission every day.
‘I’m not gifted in evangelism.’	Used as an excuse to not share Christ with others.	All Christians are called to share Christ with others, but we need to understand that there are different ways to do this.

As you enter this week, may you remember that when God created the world, He declared that all of it, in beautiful synergy, was very good.  When we participate in God's creation and do it for His glory, there is no distinction between sacred and secular.  So together, let's break it down - watch our language as we speak!

A Forgotten Truth Rekindled in Trinidad and Tobago

Last week, I had the privilege of being on the beautiful island of Trinidad and Tobago, located approximately 7 miles off the coast of Venezuela.

The week started a bit rocky with Americans being warned about going to Trinidad, as some Trinidadian fishermen had been killed by American drones a few days earlier. Thankfully for us, that unrest died down fairly quickly, and we were able to travel without too much worry.

The goal of the trip was to share the theology of work with the New Testament Church of God, in partnership with the Network for Christians in Business. We have been partnered with this organization for just over a year.  The Executive Director is Ladi Franklin, and I have known her for some years, back to my time with Partners Worldwide.  She is a follower of Jesus, a businesswoman and entrepreneur, and has served Trinidad very well over the years.  She has had a hunger for the church to engage with the marketplace for some time, so last year I went there for the first time to introduce a theology of work for churches.  

This visit was a fruit of that seed planted, as the New Testament Church of God responded to the message and has been seeking, over the last year, to begin discussing it more and disseminate it further within their denomination.  Key leaders from both denominational and marketplace leadership were gathered for this foundational workshop, and the dialogue was vibrant.  It is so important, we are learning, to have both groups in the workshop, as they help to bring a reality of both the challenge and the opportunity that exists for the church to engage the marketplace.  As is usual, we heard the same lament, this time by the head of the denomination, who said, "I wish I had known about this twenty years ago."  

While this is a statement of regret, it is also a statement of understanding and comprehension, especially that this is not a DML-thing...it is a God-thing. It is Biblical.  It is a forgotten truth.

Please pray for the New Testament Church of God as well as for the Network of Christians in Business as they seek ways to impart this message to all of their pastors and members throughout Trinidad and beyond. 

The extra fun part of this trip was that three others joined me: Dr. Colin Watson, who serves as the Vice-Chair of the DML board, and Lacey and Mike Faieta (Lacey serves on the DML board).  It was nice to see DML's work through the eyes of board members and to spend a good deal of time debriefing and processing our work in real time.  

We also had (for some of us) the first time experience of a 5.2 earthquake while we were there - it was over before we really realized what it was, and we were thankful for all those in the area that it wasn't worse!  

Reciprocity: The Work of Gifts

I know what you might be thinking...this title has an error!  Normally this blog is about the "gift of work" rather than the "work of gifts."  

But no!  This was not a mistake!  This post is about the WORK of GIFTS. 

Let me explain.

The best gifts I've received in my life have evoked an emotion of some sort (a memory) OR they have unleashed my potential, stoked my curiosity, or prompted me to interact with the item in some way.  Consider books, musical instruments, gardening tools, kitchen tools, and gifts that lead to hobbies, among others.  These gifts lead to work in some way.  And this is good!

There's an episode from a comedy show that illustrates this connection.  The main character laments about a gift that he received, saying, "I know you think you are being generous, but the foundation of gift-giving is reciprocity...You haven't given me a gift. You've given me an obligation."

I believe the same is true of the gifts the Father has so generously given us - gifts of time, treasure, and talent.  When God gives us these gifts, there is an implied expectation of reciprocity - using them for the flourishing of this world for His glory.

This is shown very clearly in Ephesians 4:11-13, where gifts are given to the church:

11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. (Emphasis mine.)

These gifts are not to be confined to offices, titles, or positions, but rather are for the equipping of the body of Christ. These gifts grow as they are given away (learned with practice).  Some of you may remember that two years ago I did a series of blogs on these five-fold gifts, as I believe that every believer needs to "work these gifts/muscles" in all five areas, regardless of where they work, so that they are ready when the time comes to use it  These gifts are not to be held but to be given away.

Likewise, think about these examples:

• The greatest gift we have been given is salvation through Christ.  But upon receiving this gift, we are then compelled to give it away.  We are not simply recipients of this gift.  What we are saved FROM, we are then saved TO!
• God blessed us by entrusting the earth to us in Genesis 1:28. He blessed us and then commanded us to cultivate it.  The blessing in this verse is an equipping.  He gave a gift and then told us to get to work!

The mistake we make when receiving a gift is to keep it for ourselves or do nothing with it.

I know that sometimes in my life, I received a gift that I was unsure about.  I didn't think it was a good fit for me.  I believe that many of us do the same with some of the gifts from the Father, like the gifts of growing our ability to be an apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, or teacher.  Maybe I don't feel like a prophet or evangelist - I'm not sure those are a good fit for me.  But these aren't optional - they are what is needed for us to reach unity and grow in maturity.  The Gift-Giver, God, is the giver, and He will now ask us to do something and then not provide the means by which to do it. 

Ultimately, the main gift that we are given and that we are to give away is love.  We love people by being pastoral, teaching, speaking truth (being prophetic), sharing about Christ (evangelism), and living as ambassadors (being apostles/disciples).  Whatever we do and how we do it (like the packaging on a gift) doesn't matter, as long as the gift is received for what it is, and the person learns how to use that gift by giving it away.

The work of gifts.  

Indeed, it is an obligation.  But it is good.  We have been loved so much, and because of that, we are compelled to love others.  Let's keep the cycle of gifts going by giving them away.  Let us not hold onto gifts or blessings, acting as the only recipient, thereby stopping the cycle.  Let us not hold on to things, protecting, keeping, and preserving them, rather than giving them away.  Giving them away is risky.  It takes work.  It takes energy.  

But it is what we have been made to do.

The work of gifts.

May God help us.

Conversational Stickers: Work as Worship

One of the great joys in 2025 has been the DML team's crisscrossing of countries and borders.  While I was out on my recent trip to Tanzania, Zambia, and Ethiopia, our partner from Burkina Faso (Pastor Theo) was bringing the message to Chad and to the DRC.  

Upon his return, he sent the following piece to the rest of the DML team regarding the "Work as Worship" stickers that we share to remind people to do their work "as unto the Lord."  We have these stickers in French, Spanish, and English, and when put on phones or computers, cash registers, or desks, they serve as a good reminder of the opportunity to live our lives as an act of worship, but they also serve as a conversation starter.  

I thought that Pastor Theo's examples and encouragement of how he is doing this were too good not to share.  And if you would like to have some stickers to carry in your wallet to pass out, please email me (renita@dmleaders.org) and I would be happy to send some to you!

I wanted to share a little experience on another way we could utilize the “Work as Worship” stickers.

I used to struggle with starting a spiritual conversation with people seated next to me on my various trips. The challenge lies in how to just start it.

But with the stickers of “Work as Worship”, it is becoming easier.

I will start by asking about how the fellow is doing, and our conversation will naturally lead to sharing the purpose of our travel. Typically, before I even ask about his profession, he will inform me, as people often travel with a purpose related to their profession.

That opens a great door for me. I will pull up my stickers and tell him that I am travelling to speak to people on how they should do their work.

Note that I will not mention that I am a pastor, because when you say that, the person might not be free to continue the conversation.

Here are three cases I wanted to share from my recent trips.   

1.  At the airport in Addis, I met a young man as I was waiting for my next flight. He is from DRC. I told him that DRC is the most blessed country because God, by His handiwork, has put everything there. But for the people to enjoy that blessing from the Lord, they need to join God in His work. That young man became so engrossed in the conversation, and he confessed to me that he had just been released from prison in India after years of incarceration. He is also a smoker, and he desperately wants to break free from it so that he can be a blessing to his country. I shared some testimonies with him about how God has delivered people from those challenges, and he confessed his faith in the Lord at the airport. I then prayed with him. He was so glad afterward, and we exchanged phone numbers. I am entrusting him to a pastor in DRC.

2.     The second person is a Kenyan woman athlete going to compete in Malaysia.

Our conversation began when I told her that I am from Burkina Faso, and I asked her where she is from. When she told me from Kenya, I shared that I have been going around speaking to people about something that started in Kenya: Discipling Marketplace Leaders, and then I pulled out the “Work as Worship” sticker. I started sharing with her on how Christians are called to do their work or compete in a running race as an act of worship. She told me that she heard about Work as Worship in Kenya, and then I prayed for her as she is going to compete.

3.     The third meeting was with two policewomen at the airport who were trying to get some money from me. I was even amazed that one policewoman said I should bring the receipt for the projector, and I tried to explain that it is a working tool, as I use it with my laptop to project my presentations. She said she did not know about projectors. Well, after these two women said I should bring 20 USD, which I did, I noticed that they were Christians. I then pulled out the stickers and began explaining how Christians are to do their work as an act of worship. They became mild with a sense of regret when I started sharing.

The task is great, but we need to push back the darkness in the marketplace through Christians who become really light.

God bless you. 

Thank you, Pastor Theo, for these examples and for your willingness to share in so many situations!

From Workbenches to Mission Fields: The Ethiopian Church on the Move

Greetings from Asheville, North Carolina, where I'm attending the forum for the Global Alliance for Church Multiplication, part of Campus Crusade for Christ.  This is a network of more than 110 global church planting organizations.

The last stop of my recent trip to East Africa was in Ethiopia, with most of my time in Wolayta Soddo, about 320 km outside of Addis Ababa.  Our relationship with the Ethiopian Kale Heywet Church (EKHC) goes back to 2016, as the first formal denomination with whom we partnered.  At the time, they had 10,000 churches, 10 million members.  Today, they have approximately 14,000 churches and more than 12 million members.  

The DML leader for EKHC, Yoseph Bekele, had a marketplace ministry on his heart for years before meeting DML, and because of this calling from God on his life, the ministry has flourished.  Yoseph travels to more than 70+ villages and towns every year - that is more than one per week - to share the message that work should be done as an act of worship.  He hosts a TV show for EKHC twice per week to teach this message.  He has brought the teaching to the youth ministry, men's ministry, women's ministry, and family ministry.  He teaches that poverty is not the lot of Christians and that our generous God seeks for his people to flourish and to be generous as well.

And that message is landing with changes that are noticeable.  

Last week we met with newly elected leaders of the denomination (who supervise 10,000+ fulltime ministers and 30,000 elders) to ensure that they also have an understanding of the theology of work and to hear many testimonies of believers and church leaders who are seeing the impact of working "as unto the Lord."

In Wolaita Soddo alone, there are 48 EKHC churches.  Together, the business people have formed an association that numbers more than 3,000, gathering regularly to encourage, equip, learn, and share.  They are seeing business growth and jobs being created.  

And they have planted 155 churches, sent 370 missionaries (with a goal of reaching 500 missionaries), and built seven homes for widows.  

Amazing.  

When the church is unleashed from the building, it's amazing what can happen.

When people are affirmed that their work is part of the mission of God - that their role is not limited to paying for and praying for the "real" work of the church which happens in the building - it's amazing what can happen.

Thanks to the partnership of many of you, we placed four additional fulltime DML leaders in four regions of Ethiopia, and with God's help, we hope to add seven more next year.

I can't even share all the testimonies and stories that we heard, but I will share one more.

In several countries now, a theology of work has entered into prisons, and Ethiopia is one of those countries.  Most prisoners are expected to work and there are sometimes opportunities for them to earn some money by doing so.  When the message reaches these prisoners that their work matters to God, and that they can contribute by doing their work as an act of worship, things begin to change.  Work gets done with excellence, with joy, and with integrity.  And one person shared that the prison where they are serving has now sent six missionaries.  The prisoners are pooling their limited resources, seeking to be a blessing for others, and are coving the costs of these missionaries.

Absolutely amazing.  Only God.

It's how He made us to work in harmony and cooperation for the building of His church, to His glory.

What a joy to watch, listen, learn, and participate.

The visit in Ethiopia ended with meeting with two other denominations who want to get started with DML.  Up until now, the EKHC has consumed all of Yoseph's time, but the pressure has been increasing, and we think the time has finally come for him to share some of his time with other churches.  

As always, we ask for your prayers in this!

Lastly, we also ask for your prayers for Ethiopia.  Inflation has been very significant in the last few years (resulting in EKHC just approving a 100% salary increase for their staff!), and democracy is also struggling.  You can read more about this in this article but it is worrisome for the citizens who experienced a few good years of change and now see that slipping away.

The God of Great Generosity in Zambia

Greetings from Wolayita Sodo, Ethiopia!  

Last week, I had the great privilege to be in Zambia with our DML partner, Go Make, led by Rev. Billiance Chondwe (pictured in the blue and white shirt, alongside his CFO Timothy).  Go Make launched its first Business Symposium for Young Adults on the 13th and made a commitment with the local government to keep Kitwe and Zambia "clean, green, and healthy."  The local government stated that it was the first time the church had sought to collaborate with the government.  They were very excited!  We also had other very good meetings with new and potential Zambian partners.  

We spent most of our time in Kitwe, a city of two million, and also drove to and from Lusaka, which is about a six-hour drive each way.  While I had often heard Pastor Billy talk about this being the "copper belt," it was quite something to see it in action.  Semi after semi after semi of what seemed like small loads of copper showed the very, very heavy weight of this mineral.  Zambia exports approximately 3 million metric tons of copper annually.  What an amazingly generous God!  

We also drove past zinc mines, lead mines, and coal mines, and there have been new findings of gold and emeralds as well.  Industrial parks are everywhere, and the number of semis on the roads (yes, a two-lane road) was astounding.  Zambia is very rich in natural resources!  Zambia is blessed!

Of course, Zambians are not the only ones who are aware of this abundance and suffer from the opportunistic actions of outsiders and the evils of greed and corruption. I observed numerous foreign mining companies, as well as a large number of individuals from other countries, actively engaged in the mining business.  

However, this particular government in Zambia is working diligently to help the people develop their capacity to mine independently and reclaim some of that land for Zambians.  They have made it very easy for nationals to register a mining company, have set up systems for renting earth-moving machines, and have technocrats who can teach and mentor Zambians in the mining industry.  They are also encouraging farmers by setting up feed mills every 2-3 km so that the farmers don't need to carry their harvest very far to process it.  Lastly, they have given community development power back to communities and allocated 32 million kwacha (approximately $ 1.2 million) annually to designated communities for the people to decide how to bring development into their own community.  They can build bridges, roads, clinics, or other infrastructure. Very smart for promoting ownership and self-determination!

I wish the news were similar to that of the other two countries I visited on this trip.  Democracy appears to be in decline in many places. Dictatorship seems to be making a comeback, eliminating the ability for free speech, reports of people disappearing, torture, and killing.  The leader of one denomination is in jail, and all 2,000 churches from that denomination have been shut down due to the belief that this leader spoke against the existing government.  People are afraid, and flourishing is under attack.  

We pray for the church to live out its call for justice, righteousness, and loving kindness through leaders who possess courage, compassion, capacity, and competence.

(L-R) Regional Overseer of the Pentecostal Holiness Church, myself, the Deputy Mayor of Kitwe, and Pastor Billy.

Not only is God generous with minerals in Zambia, but beautiful purple flowering jacaranda trees also line many streets in Zambia!