Core Scripture: “Jesus came and told his disciples, ‘I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’” (Matthew 28:18-20)

Message: I remember the day Supergirl got her nickname.  I was working the dock at Amazon, water spidering, and there she was.  She was assigned the duty of problem solve; however, she was not just solving problems of leaky or misassigned packages.  She was helping pull up carts.  She was putting carts away.  Heck, she even was bringing water to employees that needed hydration! 

I started calling her Supergirl, and the name stuck under one circumstance … I had to be Uncle Clint.  I was okay with that.  I mean, I am old enough to be her uncle for sure, and in her home country, Guam, it is a term of respect. 

Supergirl is a Christ follower, younger in her faith than I am, and she agreed that she wanted to do some online Bible studies on YouVersion with me.  The plan we are currently working on is called “How to Be a Christian at Your Work—Part 2 of 2,” and we have been chiming in on living our faith out in the workplace. 

Reading her comments yesterday brought up some interesting points and struggles.  How do you talk about Jesus at Amazon?  I mean, do you just go up to someone and say, “Hey, can I tell you about what Jesus has done in my life?”  How do you engage coworkers with the great commission in mind without sounding totally awkward?

I struggle with this at times, too.  I remember early in my Christian walk feeling convicted to witness at the gym.  Between sets, I asked this musclebound dude next to me if he knew Jesus, and the guy abrasively told me this was not the time or the place for that conversation.  I thought he was going to pound on me!  Note to self … you need to get to know someone before you witness to them. 

That is step one.  Start a conversation.  It doesn’t have to be faith related.  As a matter of fact, it could just be where are you from?  What hobbies do you enjoy?  What do you do for fun outside of work?  What is your go-to midnight snack?  Who is your favorite Backstreet Boy?  Build a relationship by asking questions and taking interest in someone. 

Step one can be drawn out if needed.  I love doing this over a meal, coffee, or a snack.  There is just something about food that connects people together.  If you have the finances, pay for their meal.  That makes it even sweeter for them!  I donate plasma, and my plasma money is my “eat out” money.  I use it for my family and myself mostly, but I have taken out a good handful of colleagues for a light lunch on me when I can.

Now we get to move on to step two.  I call it “taking someone’s spiritual temperature.”  You already have that relationship built with them, and now you get to find out about their faith.  This may seem awkward, but it doesn’t have to be.  As a matter of fact, you can actually begin taking someone’s spiritual temperature before you fully get to know them. 

Case in point with a conversation I had at lunch last week.  It was my first in depth conversation with the guy, and right in the middle of it he said he grew up going to church.  I followed that with a question, asking if he was a believer, and he immediately smiled, saying, “Yeah, I am a Jesus freak!”  Man, that guy’s temperature is off the charts!  I cannot wait to have another faith conversation with him.

Another colleague I spent time with in the break room had a different spiritual temperature.  She was watching a video on her phone.  I asked what she was watching.  She said it was a spiritually-based podcast and followed that by explaining she wasn’t a Christian but was open to different faith interpretations.  This gal was a little lukewarm, certainly not as hot as the previous colleague mentioned. 

I realized that but asked her permission to share my story about how I came to know Jesus.  She readily obliged, and I gave her a quick five-minute testimony about how my depression led me to find Jesus in the summer of 2012.  It was my generic version.  The raw version would have probably scared her.  But the generic version was perfect for that day, and by the time break ended, she thanked me for sharing, saying she looked forward to further discussions with me. 

Dare I share my story with you about the ice-cold spiritual temperature I discovered?  You may encounter the same thing, so why not?  This was the first guy I ever took out to lunch, and had I not paid for him, he would have refused.  Not only did he begin falling asleep as I shared my testimony, but I soon found out that the dude believed in reincarnation!  Needless to say, I placed my witnessing efforts elsewhere.

So, you have that relationship built, the spiritual temperature is now taken … what next?  That totally depends on the situation.  My first meeting with an Amazon driver led me to exchange numbers with him and invite him to a men’s breakfast at my church that next weekend.  Another younger colleague who was just getting back to church was a better candidate to share the one-verse gospel with (Romans 6:23).  There was another friend who didn’t believe in God at all, and my witnessing efforts to him are simply in the way I treat him.  As Jesus would.

This leads me into my final point … the best witnessing you can do at work is through the way you treat others and conduct yourself.  Live out the fruits of the spirit!  Be positive.  Be a team player.  Show mercy.  Love on others.  Work heartily, but do so for God, not for that pat on the back (Colossians 3:23). 

When Supergirl told me she wasn’t the best Christian at work, I told her to think again.  The way she conducts herself on the Amazon warehouse floor is absolutely textbook!  She works her tail off, and the smile on her face is always present.  Whenever we cross paths, she always greets me with a, “Hi, Uncle Clint!” and I return that by humming the Superman theme song, saying, “SUPERGIRL!!!” 

Man, that was a lot to digest!  But it is really not that hard.  Witnessing at work doesn’t have to be so complicated.  Break it down into three easy steps:

1. Build a relationship by asking questions.
2. Take their spiritual temperature.
3. Proceed to the next step based on how hot they are for Jesus.

All that being said, who does God want you to talk to this week?  I can’t wait to get back to work later tonight to begin working on three opportunities I have this coming week.  I get to share my testimony with one guy.  Another guy I want to ask about the book I recommended for him, and a third gentleman needs to hear the one verse gospel. 

Geez, I only work four shifts.  I had better get started!

Challenge: Who is ONE person you can talk to this week?  Think about who you could connect with.  You might be on any of the three steps, but feel free to share your experiences back to me in a reply below.  Whether it blows up in your face or produces fruit, we can all learn from hearing each other’s experiences! 

Song application: “My Story Your Glory” by Matthew West

The story of me was a story of shame
Wrong turns written on every page
So many parts that were so messed up
But I love the part where You showed up
Rewriting my past, rewriting my hurt
Line by line, word by word
And now my story is livin’ proof
There’s not a chapter that you can’t use

My story, Your glory
My pain, Your purpose
My mess, Your message
In all things, I know You’re workin’
One life, one mission
One reason why I’m livin’
All for You, not for me
My story, Your glory

Just for fun: I am bald.  My 8^th grade son didn’t believe that I could grow a beard, so I had to prove him wrong.  I grew it out.  It took a week, but it came in beautifully, and yes, I did shave it.  The funny thing was that a gal at work said, “Clint, I really like how you colored your beard!”  I had to explain to her I didn’t color my beard.  It was … uh … gray! 

Prayer: Lord, may I be a mighty witness to You in my workplace this week!  Guide my conversations, and work your magic!  Amen.