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!