Delivering Dry Mail

How does your faith make a difference in your workplace?

Sitting around the table with me was a public school teacher, a chemist, a retired engineer, a stay-at-home mom, a pharmacist, a nurse, a doctor, and a few others. The adult class met after church to discuss a small booklet entitled, Faith @ Work. We had previously talked about God’s original intention for work and how the fall changed work. On this particular Sunday, the topic was how work can be redeemed.

Kevin usually sat quietly and mostly listened, but I didn’t want to let him off the hook so easily on this question. Kevin was a mailman; I directed my question at him, “How about you, Kevin. How does your faith make a difference in your case? Is there a Christian way to deliver mail?” Kevin was thoughtful and never spoke quickly. Finally, he answered, “Yes. My faith makes a difference in how I work. I deliver the mail dry.”

Recently, I conducted a CSI Accreditation site visit at a Christian school in Michigan. I thought of Kevin when my team and I interviewed a group of parents and asked them why they chose to enroll their children at the school. Two of the parents were public school teachers and they both admitted to being hesitant about enrollment. They were suspicious about sacrificing academic rigor for faith development. What they ended up experiencing were high standards in the classroom along with attention to the spiritual nurturing their children were getting at school. They were very pleasantly surprised and extremely happy with their new school. I was not surprised. The school didn’t offer an excellent education despite their Christian focus. They offered an excellent education because of their Christian focus.

Years ago, I used to do admission interviews with potential new families. To determine how seriously a couple took their faith, I would often ask a question similar to the one I asked in that Sunday School class. I remember one couple who recently moved to the area from South Africa. The couple operated a local 7-Eleven store in town. “How is your faith evident to people who walk in your store?” The couple almost seemed to be anticipating the question. “Well, Mr. Baker. We’re pretty busy and really don’t have time to talk about Jesus, but when a customer enters, the bell on the door reminds us that a neighbor just walked in, a neighbor God expects us to love. That customer gets excellent service and the atmosphere in our place is happy, quiet, and calm. That’s why our customers return. Some have even commented about something being different, something inviting, special. When they ask what is different, that’s when we mention Jesus.”

The first way to do your work Christianly is to do your work really well. If the pipe still leaks when my Christian plumber leaves, I’ll find another plumber. If my mail is soaking wet because Kevin was witnessing to my neighbor, Kevin will not last long with the post office. The 7-Eleven operators won’t have repeat customers if their store is dirty, their service is slow, and their coffee is stale. Christian teachers in any school are called to love their students. Christian schools, in particular, must deliver education well. Our students and their parents are our neighbors. Loving our neighbor means giving them our best.

I wish I had learned that lesson when I started my teaching career. I was the mathematics teacher in a small high school. One day my principal came to me and said, “Larry, I’m going to visit your third-period class tomorrow. I want to see something Christian, something related to faith.”

My plan for the next day in my third-period Advanced Algebra class was to teach them how to use the quadratic formula. I thought to myself, “How do I work Jesus into this lesson?” I was stumped. I was a good math teacher, particularly for students who had previously struggled. I was usually able to take difficult material and make it understandable. And I did just that in class the next day. When my students left the class, every one of them had already demonstrated their ability to take an equation and find the solutions using the quadratic formula. On that day, however, I did not find a way to tell them about Jesus.

My principal asked to meet with me to discuss the lesson he had observed. I knew it was a good lesson, but I also knew he didn’t see what he was looking for. I was not ready to answer his challenging question about faith integration, “How did you demonstrate your faith in that classroom?”

I know how I would answer his question now: “I delivered the mail dry.”

Reprinted with permission.

Larry Baker is currently an accreditation regional coordinator for Christian Schools International. He retired from a 44-year career in Christian education. Serving schools in Minnesota, Michigan, Colorado, and California, his roles included high school math teacher, high school principal, and K–12 superintendent. You can find more of his blog here at Faith for Your Friday.

Christian Schools International has a visionary accreditation program focused on continuous improvement. To find out more about CSI’s accreditation program, contact Sheryl Jo.