Rather, they offer an ecumenical fellowship of kindred spirits that can reassure the faithful in secular surroundings. More frequently, I have seen Christians bring their workplace to the church. Sometimes work-related concerns make up the primary focus of an adult Sunday school class or other educational program. Discussions in these groups often move from workplace problems to the resources that faith can provide. I have seen Bible classes move just as quickly from the sacred text to members' life experiences.
Traffic goes both ways on the bridge between faith and the workplace.
Work-talk in church occurs not only in organized classes but crops up in informal conversations in the aisles and hallways, during the coffee hour and in the parking lot. These stories echo some of the classic themes of church life. Some are about the meaning of belonging in the community of the workplace. Church people talk about the leaders who make the rules, the brass who enforce them and the employees who get away with murder. When the bosses, like pastors, make fair rules and live by them, employees treat each other and themselves better.