Ron Johnson, the man who created the Apple Store with Steve Jobs, is scheduled to speak this Saturday to marketplace leaders, pastors, and anyone interested in learning how to integrate faith with work.
Nancy Ortberg, the Chief Executive Officer of Transforming the Bay with Christ (TBC), told The Gospel Herald that Johnson had given her the best definition of a leader that she's ever come across in 30 years, "It's creating a way for people to contribute to making something extraordinary happen."
"It's highly collaborative. It's highly engaging. It has an exponential result," said Ortberg. "It's very much the gospel. It's kind of what Jesus called his disciples to. I want you to contribute, and together we're going to make something extraordinary happen."
For the last year and a half, TBC, a ministry with the vision of "catalyzing the holistic gospel movement in the Bay Area," has been holding these large group gatherings, featuring high-profile Christian leaders like VMWare CEO Pat Gelsinger, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as speakers.
This Saturday's gathering will feature Johnson, former VP of Apple and CEO of Enjoy, David Miller, director of Princeton University Faith & Work Initiative, and Dave Gibbons, founder and chief visionary of NEWSONG Community. They will speak on the theme of the importance of work as an integral part of a believer's worship of God.
Ortberg explained that in the 60s and 70s church attendance was a social norm, and people who received an invitation to go to church would take the offer seriously whether or not they would attend. "Nowadays, it is almost laughable," she said.
"For a lot of people, it's going to be how do I lead differently in the marketplace so people will begin to see a different way of living that might eventually compel them to know Christ and come to church," said Ortberg. "How do we reshape to culture so people who might not come to church first can see and understand the Gospel firsthand."
The TBC CEO said that in a post-Christian culture, the best approach in reshaping the culture at work consists of asking these questions:
"How do we bring integrity to our work? How do we do decision-making in a very inclusive and collaborate fashion? How do we form a team and really treat it like a community? How do we develop people and give people feedbacks in both positive and negative in a really loving but truthful way? How do we have a vision for the work that we do and to have a vision and a purpose beyond ourselves?"
"I think those are at the heart of the questions that are going to reshape the faith and work conversation," she said.
For more information on the event, visit http://www.tbc.city/largegroupgathering.
