Christian Advertisement Says Your Work Has No Meaning

I was driving back to Philly from my brother’s house in Kentucky last week after the Christmas holidays when I ran into some dense fog right around the Maryland-Pennsylvania border. We were coming into the home stretch after about eight hours of driving, and I turned on the radio to see if there were any accident reports.

As I scanned the AM radio waves, I landed on a station that was playing a catchy advertisement. It caught my attention. The announcer’s voice sounded like the authoritative voice of God, and he was having a conversation with a guy about his job. I can’t recall it verbatim, but it went something like this:

God/announcer:  “How’s your job going?”

 Christian Schmuck: “Pretty good, I guess. I’ve made it to Vice President of Sales. I make good money, and have a bunch of people reporting to me.”

God/announcer: “Yes, but are you really fulfilled in this job? Does it give you meaning?”

 Christian Schmuck: “Well, I don’t know. I get up every day and do the same old thing. I don’t really feel like I’m having an impact on people.”

 God/announcer: “Maybe it’s time you look for a job that you can really believe in!”

 Christian Schmuck: “Gee, that sounds great! How would I do that?”

 God/Announcer: “Go to CHRISTIAN JOBS DOT COM! You’ll find hundreds of jobs working for Christ-centered organizations.

 Cut to tag line:   Isn’t it time that you found meaning in your work? Go to Christian Jobs dot com and find a job that you can believe in!

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So there you have it. If you are not working for a “Christian” organization, then you are not really doing anything meaningful.

This is why I do not listen to Christian radio.

Who comes up with this crap? I know it’s a tough economy right now, and lots of people are struggling to find jobs, but come on. This comes off as manipulative and seedy. Why do some Christians have to perpetuate this idea that unless you are working for a non-profit/ministry/outreach organization, then your work has no meaning?

Aside from demeaning every “real” job and organization that exists out in the “real” world, this type of advertising lulls Christians into burrowing deep into the safety and security of working with other Christians, under the pretext that they will now be “serving Christ.” But what I want to know is, how will we then have any influence in the world around us if all the Christians are huddled together in a white-washed sanitized corner called “ministry,” shuddering and shunning against all that is secular? Shouldn’t it be the other way around? I mean, aren’t we better off serving God by getting into the mix of the actual, true, dirty, real world and then being our best “salt and light” in the midst of it?

It disturbs me, this incessant need of certain Christians to insulate and protect themselves from the seemingly cruel, harsh, meaningless vapor of the evil secular marketplace.

When I got home, I logged on to the Christianjobs.com site, to learn more, to check myself on over-reacting. I called up the website, and sure enough, there was that tag line prominently displayed on the upper left corner: “Find a job you can believe in.” Once in the front page, I was immediately presented with a scrolling list of job opportunities: Houseparent. Handi-Camp Nurse Manager. A vague reference to “Oversees Teaching Opportunity.” I noticed many ministry and non-profit positions listed. All right, then. I will concede that if you are interested in MINISTRY, or if you have a hankering for the helping professions, this site might be a good place for you to find a job.

Hmmm. So are there any for-profit jobs? Real jobs? Okay, here’s one – “Termite Sales Inspector.” Great.  Wait – here’s one. An Outbound Sales Consultant for Group Publishing. I know those people. That’s a real company that sells curriculum to youth programs and Sunday Schools. A real, Christian company. One that makes money.

I moved on to the testimonials on the lower left side of the web page to see what kind of people are using this site, and what kind of success they’ve had. The feature quote is from “Brenda” of Deer Park, NY. “There are so many Christians that have various skills and talents that do not have a source of job and business opportunities availaable to them,” she gushes, with a typo on “availaable.” I guess Brenda thinks that if you are Christian, you can’t figure out how to use other job sources like LinkedIn and recruiters and networking and the want ads and career fairs, right? Lame. I looked for some more testimonials.

“Its just the vehicle that will allow me to utilize my skills in a meaningful and God-honoring way.” Says Georgia of Titusville, FL. Georgia apparently can’t manage to honor God unless she is under the halo of the safety and comfort of a ministry organization. Georgia’s testimonial had a typo, too. She forgot the apostrophe on the “Its” when she started her sentence. If I see a resume with a typo, I always throw it in the trash. It’s just not a good sign.

After reviewing this web site and considering their advertising spot, I have reached my own startling conclusion. Rather than promoting this site for what it is – a marketplace for ministry-oriented jobs – the advertising campaign of christianjobs.com is calling Christians away from the challenges, education, courage, creativity, and leadership required of “non-Christian” careers.

How timid, I’m thinking. How insular, cowardly and self-serving this appears, luring good Christians further and further into the fog and haze of a safe Christian environment.

That is not at all like the God I serve.

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Am I crazy? Am I being too harsh? Have I missed something? What do you think?