The ministry of Grace@Work is now in its fifth year of existence. The ministry came into being as we entered the third millennium, in August 2000. It was birthed reluctantly. I was no ministry entrepreneur.
Grace@Work was born primarily because my complicated personal circumstances made it extremely difficult for me to be working in any of the usual evangelical organizations. I was on the verge of throwing in the towel on any sort of church/parachurch ministry and was seriously considering working in the marketplace.
But there were the few saints who kept telling me that my ministry, though changed, was not over. The Lord gave the name. Grace@Work.
An anniversary is a good time to relook at the work. I am only too aware of how easily it is for a ministry to gain a momentum of its own, cruising along, surviving, but no longer relevant, or linked to a clear mission.
What is Grace@Work all about?
A key passage of Scripture that has undergirded Grace@Work through the years is Luke 24:13-49, the account of Jesus? encounter with two of His disciples on the Emmaus Road. Three key words that come out of that passage are Transformation, Friendship, and Scripture.
1. Transformation
The passage begins with two people in despair. They had put their hopes in Jesus. Reluctantly perhaps, they had come to believe that He was indeed the promised Messiah. Now He was dead. And their hopes were crushed. But in their darkest moments, Jesus comes to them.
At the end of the encounter they were filled with joy (Luke 24:41), their hopes rekindled and alive. And they were now people who had a mission (Luke 24: 46-49). They were now people with purpose. The disciples had moved from despair, to joy, to mission. They had been transformed.
I can think of no greater need today. Never have the end times seem so obvious. Wars. Rumours of wars. Plagues of locusts. Other natural disasters. Leaders obsessed with power but who have no real love for people. There are so many reasons for despair. And it has never been clearer that human cleverness will not save the day.
We need hope that can come only from an encounter with the living God. Therefore we need people who have moved from despair to a solid joy based on real encounters with God. We need people committed to God?s programme of salvation and wholeness. We need to see people transformed by Jesus. Like the disciples on the Emmaus road.
This is the heart of the ministry of Grace@Work. Seeing lives transformed by Christ. Seeing people move from despair to joy to mission. I am familiar with this journey because it is my own. Despair to joy to mission.
But how will the mission be accomplished? How are lives transformed? Again the answers are to be found in Luke 24.
2. Friendship
Many of us know the destructive power of loneliness. It is hard not to be lonely. The pace of modern life means we do not have the time to nurture relationships. And so many of relationships we encounter on a day-to-day basis are functional. We connect with people because we need something from them, and/or they from us. Few relationships value people for who they are.
The disciples on the Emmaus road were not alone. They were in despair. But they were not alone. And that made the difference. We know that they were people who valued people because we see them inviting Jesus in to spend the night, to share a meal (Luke 24:28-30). They were people who created safe spaces for others. For their friends.
And because they were people who were committed to friendship, they also created a space for the ultimate Friend (John 15: 11-15) to enter their lives. And to save them.
Therefore Grace@Work is committed to seeing lives changed through intentional relationships. Through friendship.
The nature of friendship is such that it can take many forms. It can be more structured, as in the practice of spiritual mentoring or formation groups. Much of it will be ad hoc and unstructured. A commitment to be real and to care for the people we encounter on the road.
Our Triune God is a relational God. We should not be surprised that relationships lie at the heart of His agenda.
3. Scripture
The Luke 24 passage also gives us another clue as to how people are transformed. People are transformed as they encounter God through the Scriptures. People are changed when they encounter the Living Word through the Written Word.
Friendships alone, unanchored in truth will not be enough. The friendship of the disciples on the Emmaus road may have given them some degree of encouragement. And opened the door for Jesus to walk along side them.
But transformation occurred only when Jesus opened the Scriptures for them. Their hope and their joy were ignited because they hearts were strangely warmed by the biblical expositions given by Jesus (Luke 24: 25-27; 32).
Friendships are only one aspect of the transformation process. Truth is the other. In particular, God?s special revelation through His Word.
This must be said because a post-modern world may applaud a return to community. But it may not be that hot about truth, objective and divine.
But Luke 24 also reminds us that life transforming bible study does not take place in the classroom. It takes place on the road, where the truths of Scripture are in the dialogue with the realities of daily life.
Daily life is messy. Life in a fallen world is messy. Not quite as nice as the smell of a new bible commentary. Or as organized as a good theological library.
Unfortunately so much bible teaching is academic, untested in the crucible of life. Such teaching comes across as dry. Unreal. And often legalistic. Such teaching has limited power to transform.
Transforming bible study is true to the Word. And honest about life. Such bible study often takes place in the context of community. As was the experience of the disciples on the Emmaus road.
Grace@Work is therefore also committed to seeing lives transformed by Scripture.
What then is the mission of Grace@Work?
“Grace@Work is a Christian ministry that is committed to seeing lives transformed through spiritual companionship and biblical understanding.”
In short we are committed to:
“Transforming Lives through Friendship and Scripture”
Join us?
Your brother, Soo-Inn Tan