That’s right. THE Mark Greene, author of Thank God it’s Monday (the profile pic for my xanga), is coming to give a talk at April's meeting of the HSBC Breakfast Fellowship. FYI, I did a review on Greene's book for one issue of the newsletter I help edit. See excerpt below.
I AM SO GOING. I’M GOING TO GET UP AT 5.15 AM IF IT KILLS ME.
Sign up asap (email, fb or call me). Limited spaces. Sorry for the late notice!
Venue: HSBC Main Building, 40th floor dining room (1 Queen's Rd Central, Central)
Date: 24 April (FRI)
Time: 7am-8.30am
Cost: $100 (but I’ll personally finance $20 if you’ll go). Includes a hot buffet breakfast.
Reasons why I recommend going to this:
1) Witnessing at the Workplace: Greene wrote a great book on this. What struck me most was his own personal experiences in witnessing to clients, his boss, his coworkers. There's even an incident in the book involving reclaiming a refrigerated chicken and inadvertently witnessing to his boss' boss. God clearly provided the opportunities for witnessing, when the author least expected it. With a stranded chicken, no less.
2) The Speaker: Mark Greene used to work in advertising. He writes brief, to-the-point, amusing copy. Grabs your attention. And hearing about witnessing in the workplace from someone who worked in the wild jungles of ad agencies will be nothing short of fascinating, I guarantee.
3) The Venue: Outside people rarely get to dine in HSBC's famous 40th floor dining room. The view from this glass-atriumed room is fab, esp. in the early morning. Hot buffet breakfast included. What more can I say??
It sounds brutal to be there at 7am, but my buddy and I have gone to the fellowship every month these last eight months (except once when we both overslept) and after each session, we'd grab each other by the arm and (quietly) shriek, 'THAT WAS TOTALLY WORTH IT. I AM SO COMING BACK NEXT MONTH.' God somehow seems to talk louder at 7am.
Or He sees you're hungry to hear Him and so He rewards you with a big, strong message, is how I see it.
Go ahead and give it a try. I'll guarantee you'll think it's worth it! Hey, I'm even offering to pay for part of it. THAT'S HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO ME THAT YOU ATTEND THIS.
BIOGRAPHY (from HSBC Breakfast Fellowship):
Mark used to work in Ogilvy & Mather in London and New York . He is now the Executive Director of the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity, having previously been the vice-principal and lecturer in communications at the London School of Theology. Mark has been a pioneer in workplace ministry for two decades and has spoken widely in both Europe and the US , including giving the keynote address at the inaugural CEO Forum at the Billy Graham Training Centre in North Carolina . Mark has also produced a number of workplace resources, notably Thank God it’s Monday and the widely distributed Supporting Christians at Work – without going insane. Both of which have been translated into Chinese. Mark has acted as a consultant for a number of organisations and is the regular culture columnist for Christianity, the leading UK Christian magazine.
BOOK REVIEW:
(excerpt, published December 2008 by Angie Mak in the EM Grapevine)
In Thank God it's Monday, Mark Greene points out that we put a lot of effort into evangelizing to our communities, in the highways and byways and far corners of the earth -- but are we “struggling to develop relationships with the strangers next door when our neighbor is just a desk away? This is a great tragedy, because Christians in work spend more time in the workplace than in any other place."
Day in, day out, the workplace is where people see and hear the believer’s testimony, whether they (and we) realize it or not. Looking for common ground? We’ve got it. It’s at work. Looking to build bridges and friendly relationships? They’re already set in place and ready to go -- at work.
I was touched by how his own experiences clearly point out that witnessing opportunities were given by the Father when Greene least expected it. Whether we see it or not, God’s hand is undoubtedly in our efforts to evangelize. When surrendered to Him, we are not the ones who decide the moment of witnessing. We’re used when we least expect it, so be prepared to let the Spirit labor in you as you march off to work, thankful for yet another Monday.
