Is God absent in your leadership?

Eight years ago, I struggled with how to take Sunday and apply it to Monday. To this day, the burden has not let go. Back then, I noticed a gap between Sunday’s teaching and how I applied it to my leadership at work. The following verse resonated with me.

And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Colossians 3:17, CSB

In the Greek, whatever you do is in the present tense, active voice, and subjunctive mood. The subjunctive mood implies intentionality. The verse’s impact is not that every decision is formulaic, but that no part of life, including our leadership, is spiritually neutral or absent of God. We are working in His creation, so we are to be intentional in doing everything for the Lord. Our leadership needs to own this verse so it’s integrated all week, not just on Sundays.

Whatever you do, do it from the heart, as something done for the Lord and not for people, ²⁴ knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord. You serve the Lord Christ.

Colossians 3:23-24, CSB

Here, Paul argues that leadership is not exempt from discipleship, Christian character, prayerful dependence, or allegiance to Christ. It’s central to our work.

Fast-forward to last week. I met with a respected author, pastor, and, I would argue, a scholar of theology of work. That conversation captured what I couldn’t articulate theologically over the past eight years. I was struggling with being a functional Christian deist and, without realizing it, wanted to address it. I wanted my faith integrated with my leadership, and that’s what I was convicted to pursue. I also wanted to help others who were struggling with integrating their faith and leadership.

In the spirit that definitions matter, let’s define deism before we go further.

A philosophical view of God that posits God as a Creator who set the universe in motion and then stepped back, no longer actively engaging… Deism emphasized the use of reason over revelation for deciding religious questions.

Lexham Bible Dictionary, Deism

So, based on this definition, am I relying on secular wisdom and reason, and has God disengaged from my leadership decisions? Not because He stepped back as Deists believe, but because I did not invite Him into those situations and decisions. Did I try to use my wisdom while ignoring biblical wisdom? Have I sidelined the Lord in my leadership? That was the crux of my struggle with Sunday versus Monday application. Such an aha moment eight years later.

There can also be a false leadership dichotomy between the sacred and the secular, also known as dualism. Basically, your leadership in ministry (sacred) is different from your vocational leadership (secular). I have yet to find in Scripture support for this dichotomy, as our walk needs to be integrated and Spirit-led as followers of Christ. This fosters deistic behaviors.

Is This a Design Problem?

While my church experience has not been for decades, I think I have had enough exposure to in-person and online teaching that the church could be failing the body. A few faithful servants have been beating this drum and calling to action longer than my walk, but it seems the church is internally focused on developing leaders to serve them narrowly, rather than focusing on where the congregation has already been sent. Their respective workplace. But there is grace for church leadership, as most were probably not trained to do this either.

I have been in seminary for close to 6 years now, studying Christian leadership at both the master’s and doctoral levels. I have been trained to design a ministry, lead small groups, disciple, mentor, and coach, and to study every book of the Bible, along with systematics. These are all equipping contexts within the church walls to serve the body and the local church.

In my experience, Christian education at both the academy and the local church has not extended to workplace application. Being evangelical in the workplace is one thing, but having gospel-centered leadership that is biblically fluent in the workplace is another matter entirely. Leading within a church context might take up 2 hours of my week. What about the other 95% of my leadership that happens in the marketplace? How is biblical wisdom and application being taught for these contexts?

Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God–who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly–and it will be given to him.

James 1:5, CSB

Now What?

Okay, now that I have identified the problem, what now? I would first recommend seeking a mentor whom you believe is more theologically integrated in their leadership. While you might think they have it all together, they don’t. They struggle like the rest of us. So don’t be surprised when you see how the sausage is made. In the humility of their mistakes, they seek deeper insights and wisdom from the learning moment the Lord provided. We must remember that there is grace in this sanctification process.

In Luke 10, Jesus sent them out two by two, a model that we are not to go out into the world alone. Who is with you on this leadership journey, someone you can bounce ideas off? Discuss how the Lord showed up today. How can you invite the Lord into your decisions? What biblical wisdom can be applied to your current leadership challenge? More importantly, who is your prayer warrior, since we must be praying for wisdom every day?

But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peace-loving, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without pretense.

James 3:17, CSB

Grace and Daily Practice

My point is not to shame ourselves for every decision we have made without pausing to pray. Nor is the point to make leadership hyper-spiritual. We must recognize that Christian leaders also need competence, preparation, wise counsel, business acumen, or sound judgment. This invitation is simpler yet more challenging.

First, we must abide in the Word to know it. How can we submit to something we don’t know? It starts with understanding the Lord through his Word.

Integrated leadership is also cultivated over time. This begins with being intentional and pausing before a difficult conversation, a staffing decision, a critical budget meeting, or a strategic decision. We can ask God for wisdom.

Are we honoring Him through our leadership actions and decisions? We must examine our motives, seek counsel from believers who will tell us the truth, and consider whether the path before us reflects the wisdom James describes as pure, peaceable, gentle, merciful, fruitful, and sincere. James offers us a picture of the wisdom that should shape the leader seeking God.

The question is not whether God has abandoned us in the marketplace. He has not, for we must remember that He is omnipresent. The real question is whether we have learned to recognize our dependence on Him in the trenches of leadership. Sunday is not preparation for an independent Monday. It is part of the ongoing formation in which Christ teaches us to lead, work, decide, and serve Him throughout the week.