The Life of a Boundary Pioneer

Certainly we have been set apart to develop a relationship with the Most High God through Jesus Christ and to allow ourselves to be used for the glory of God.   Because He is in us, He desires to express Himself through us.   Here's what 1st Corinthians 6 says:
19Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?20For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.

I think that means that, as we engage in worship to God in all that we do, we seek to glorify Him.  For instance, if we view our vocation as a calling from God, then we can depend on Him to use us in the workplace - to apply Godly wisdom to the tasks we undertake and to relate to the people around us in a manner that reflects the nature of Christ, who dwells in us.  This can not only apply to our work, but to other areas of life in which we're involved - we can depend on God for wisdom, relying on His truth, and we can seek to live in a manner that draws people to Jesus and that does not repel them.

As you approach your work or other activities of your day, you have access of God's peace.    That peace can be manifested as we view our work as a call from God and as follow what Colossians 3 says:
15And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.17And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

There has been debate about the compatibility of faith and science. If someone perceives that there are relatively few Christian believers working in the scientific fields, then a new survey conducted by sociologist
Elaine Howard Ecklund and her colleagues at Rice University and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) might call for a rethinking of that position.  Christianity Today reports on the results of survey of more than 10,000 people, including 574 self-identified as scientists, who responded to a 75-question survey. Among the scientists, 17 percent said the term "evangelical" describes them "somewhat" or "very well," compared to 23 percent of all respondents.

If you extrapolate these findings, you can conclude, as the article points out, that 2 million out of nearly 12 million scientists are evangelical Christians. If you were to bring all the evangelical scientists together, they could populate the city of Houston, Texas.

This is not the first time that Ecklund has researched the faith perspective of scientists.  In her 2010 book Science vs. Religion: What Scientists Really Believe, Ecklund surveyed 1,700 natural and social scientists at top universities and found that only about two percent identify as evangelical.

This new survey, by contrast, focused on "rank and file" scientists, including those in health care, life sciences, computers, and engineering.

In addition to religious identity, the new survey focused on perceptions people have about science and religion. About the same number of people in the general public perceive hostility by religious people toward science as perceive hostility by scientists toward religion—about 1 in 5. But among evangelical scientists, a strong majority (57 percent) perceive hostility from scientists toward religion, which may suggest Christians in scientific fields have negative experiences with fellow scientists in the workplace regarding their faith.

The survey also found that evangelical scientists are more active in their faith than American evangelicals in general. They are more likely to consider themselves very religious, to attend religious services weekly, and to read religious texts at least every week.  For instance, 54.2% of evangelical scientists attend church weekly, as opposed to 42.4% of all evangelicals.

Galen Carey of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) has said he would like to find out who these 2 million evangelical scientists are and to help equip them with the tools they need to build bridges between evangelical and scientific communities.

AAAS is partnering with the Association of Theological Schools to incorporate science education into seminary classrooms across the country so that future clergy will be better prepared to address questions regarding science, ethics, and religion with their congregations.

As scientists at AAAS gear up to engage in dialogue about science with evangelical Christians, they're hopeful that scientists who are evangelicals will be the ones serving as mediators.

"We ought to maybe think of them as a type of boundary pioneer of sorts, able to live well in both of these worlds," Ecklund said.

In a piece for the website, TheHighCalling.org, Elaine Ecklund is quoted as saying, “A boundary pioneer is a scientist who is well respected in the scientific community and does cutting edge research, but is able to openly discuss issues related to faith in their work. By doing so, they are able to break down what is sometimes thought of as a very concrete boundary between science and faith."  The writer of that article, Christine Scheller, states that, "I would argue then that a 'boundary pioneer' could be a leader in a non-scientific vocation like business, education, or law."

The CT story concludes by saying:

Even if the two sides may never reach agreement on certain issues, the data suggests that many Americans, including both scientists and evangelicals, believe that when it comes to science and religion, each can be used to support the other.

"Radical collaboration is not something that's likely to be a headline," Ecklund said. "But maybe it ought to be."

This information can help us to think about our approach to our work.  Our relationship with Christ and our occupation are not separate entities, and just as I believe that the sacred and the secular are not to be isolated from each others, so we can seek to integrate our faith into the work that we do.   And, there may be areas in our jobs where we are being called to be, to use Ecklund's term, "boundary pioneers."   If we view our work as a calling, then it's important that we explore ways in which we can live out our faith and apply our faith principles in our vocation.    We can ask ourselves how we can glorify God in the way we approach our work and in the application of His principles to what He has called us to do.

In exploring the boundaries and living on the edges, sort of speak, we recognize that not only can we be involved in the proclamation of truth, where appropriate, but in the demonstration of the validity of that truth.   We can lend credibility to the Christian faith by the way we relate to our co-workers - some ways we can do that would be: to show respect and courtesy, to demonstrate a strong work ethic, to walk in integrity and make sure that we are being honest, and to present ourselves as an encourager rather than a complainer.    The little things that we do can help to validate our walk with Christ.   I believe that we can seek to build bridges in the workplace, not in compromise, but with a dedication to project Christ.