Serving God in the Diaspora

Scripture — James 1:1 (NRSV)

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
To the twelve tribes in the dispersion:
Greetings.

Devotion

In my next few devotions, I would like to focus on the book of James. While there are many reasons to choose this book, my interest lies in its emphasis on practical theology. Practical theology undergirds a lot of the work we do at the De Pree Center, like our Road Ahead cohorts and our Doctor of Global Leadership degree. We believe practical theology is a necessary tool for Christians to live out their call to follow Jesus in their work and leadership.

By practical theology, I don’t mean a focus on practice instead of theology, or on the practical application of theological principles. Instead, following the definition of Joel Green in his commentary on James, I understand practical theology as “critical reflection on the personal and corporate practices among communities of Christ-followers.” Practical theology takes a hard look at the practices Christians embrace (or neglect) and seeks to discern whether such practices align with God’s kingdom or with values and social conventions that are antithetical to our faith in Jesus. The goal of practical theology is the faithful expression of the Christian faith in ever-changing contexts.

While many people understand the book of James to be full of wisdom sayings (like Proverbs, but in a New Testament key), it’s helpful to understand James as engaging in this kind of theological reflection for the communities entrusted to his care. I believe close attention to how James engages in practical theology for these communities can help us do the same for our own personal and corporate lives.

In this short opening to the letter—only one sentence with 15 words in Greek—James sets the stage for the life of those who follow Jesus. First, he identifies himself as a servant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ. His primary identity, and that of the communities he writes to, is rooted in allegiance to Israel’s God and Lord, Jesus Christ.

Second, he addresses the twelve tribes in the Dispersion or Diaspora. The Diaspora can refer specifically to Jews living outside of the land of Israel and Palestine, or more broadly, to any people who no longer live in their ancestral homeland. While the experience of living in the Diaspora can vary greatly—from those living as vulnerable refugees to those voluntarily joining a fairly established expatriate community in another country—life in the Diaspora requires constant negotiation to live faithfully in a setting that does not share the same values and practices. The opening, though short, sets the stage for the life of faithful discipleship: the need to let our identity as servants of God and Jesus shape who we are and what we do as we live our lives in spaces and places that do not share this allegiance.

Without pushing the metaphor too hard, I find it helpful to think of our workplaces as a Diaspora, not because work or workplaces are inherently negative, but because it names the reality that workplaces have the power to form people. As Christians who lead and work in a variety of places, a key aspect of our discipleship is to reflect on the values and practices of our workplaces, to discern what kind of formation is happening to us and those around us, and to let our allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ shape the way we live and lead.

To illustrate this point, I think of an interview our center recently conducted with Nikki Daniels, who is the Head of School at Monte Vista Christian School in Watsonville, California. Nikki became the Head of School in a tumultuous time in the school’s history, when previous leadership had overworked teachers and staff, leading to a toxic work culture. For a variety of factors, the school had become a place of negative formation, one that worked against the patterns of life and practice advocated by the gospel.

When taking the role, Nikki could have let this toxic culture impact her in destructive ways. Instead, she worked to stay connected to her identity as a follower of Christ, led with vulnerability and openness, and set an example of modeling healthy boundaries of work and rest. Over time, Nikki helped change the culture of the school by exposing the harmful patterns and slowly working to implement new, life-giving ones that aligned with the kingdom. Whether she knew it or not, Nikki was engaged in the work of practical theology for the sake of Monte Vista.

Wherever God has placed you, your calling is not simply to adapt to the culture, but to be shaped first by your allegiance to Jesus. From that place of faithful identity, you can become someone through whom God brings renewal to workplaces and communities.

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: Perseverance, Wisdom, and Spiritual Growth (James 1:1–5).