Table Of ContentEQUIPPINGHAITIAN CHURCHLEADERS
FORWORKPLACEMINISTRY AND DISCIPLESHIP
ATHESIS-PROJECT
SUBMITTED TO THEFACULTY OF
GORDON-CONWELL THEOLOGICALSEMINARY
INPARTIAL FULFILLMENTOF THEREQUIREMENTS FORTHEDEGREE
DOCTOROFMINISTRY
BY
FRANTZYDELPHONSE
MAY2015
Copyright©2015 byFrantzyDelphonse. All Rights Reserved.
To myfamily andHaiti.
iv
CONTENTS
PREFACE vi
ACKN"OWLEDGMENTS viii
ABSTRACT ix
CHAPTERONE: WorkplaceMinistryand Discipleship: TheHaitian Challenge.....1
Purpose & Goals 2
Methodology 3
HaitianPoverty & Corruption,Material & Spiritual .4
WhatCan and Should ChristiansDo? 7
StrategiesforHaitian-American Church Leadersto
Address SocioeconomicNeeds 8
AddressingHaitianPoverty & Corruptionwith BiblicalValues .13
Corruption in theHaitian Political and Legal System .14
From Material to Spiritual: TheImpactofVoodoo 16
Corruption in theHaitianWorkplace .19
Biblical Values to Benefitthe HaitianEconomy and Workplace .21
BiblicalTeachings as a Foundation for WorkplaceIntegrity .23
TeachingBiblical Values to Voodooists .25
Hope through WorkplaceMinistry .27
A Model for WorkplaceMinistry 28
FourKinds of"WorkplaceSalt" 29
BridgingtheFaith-WorkGap 30
Haitian Churches and Haitian-American Churches .33
v
CHAPTERTWO: Resourcesfor a New Haitian WorkplaceMinistryInitiative......35
LiteratureReview 36
Summary 52
CHAPTERTHREE: A BiblicalTheologyofWorkfortheHaitian Saints .55
Good Workand Labor: God'sDivineTaskto theHaitian Worker 59
WorkplaceEviland Corruption 61
Redeemingthe Workplace 64
CHAPTERFOUR: A WorkplaceDiscipleship Curriculum for
Haitian and Haitian-American Churches 69
LESSON 1: WorkplaceDiscipleship Vocabulary 70
LESSON2: WorkAs God IntendedItand AsItIs 75
LESSON3: OvercomingWorkplaceChallenges in Egypt:
TheLessons ofJoseph 79
LESSON4: DoingGod's Workin Babylon:
Learningfrom Daniel 83
LESSON5: Doingthe Right Thingin the Workplace:
Ten Commandments 87
CHAPTERFIVE: TakingStockand MovingForward 93
Conclusion 98
SELECTEDBIBLIOGRAPHY 99
VITA 102
vi
PREFACE
Fromthe sacred chamberofmyheartthroughthe epicenterofmysoul and with
all the strengthofmybeingcomes outa cry, 'homo natusest, dua res, etintellegendumet
agendum esse,' translatedas 'man isbornfortwo things, to thinkandto act.' Meanwhile,
Descartes whistles inthe background"cogito ergosum,"translatedas "Ithink, therefore I
am."!
Indeed, the neglectofWorkplaceMinistryand Discipleship inourchurcheshas
motivated menotonlytothink, butalso to actbywritingthesehelpfulpagesundermy
thesis-project, 'EquippingHaitianChurchLeaders for WorkplaceMinistryand
Discipleship.' Inthe GreatCommission, Mark 15:16,ourLordJesus Christcommands
Christiansto spreadthe GoodNews ofsalvationand makedisciplesalloverthe world
from Jerusalemtotheendoftheworld. In fact, ourJerusalemtoday isourworkplace,a
neglected mission field wheremostofus spend 8 hours aday, 40 hours a week, 1600
hoursamonth, and 6,400 hoursa year, andmorethan athirdofourlifetime.
Therefore, I amchallenging everyHaitian Christianworkerand leadertothinkof
the following questions: Haveweeverused anyofourtimeto impactcoworkers for
Christ?Haveweeverthoughtofthenecessityto connectour faith to ourdailytaskatthe
workplace?Do weknowthatourworkmatters to God?Havewe been awarethatour
workmustbea servicerenderedto Godeven attheworkplace? Howdo we integrateour
faith inourprofessionattheworkplace?Dowe knowthatwe arethe lightand saltofthe
! Rene Descartes, Discourse on the MethodofRightlyConductingthe Reason, and
Seekingthe Truth in theSciences (1637~ Project Gutenberg, 2008), ebook59,
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/59/59-h/59-h.htm#part4 (accessed April 8, 2015).
vii
workplace? Dowe know howto becomeaspiritual influence for ourcoworkers in the
workplace?Doweknow howto resistandovercometemptationsto do evil in the
workplace?Dowe know howto overcome barrierstothe expressionofourfaith atthe
workplace?Havewethoughtatchurchhowto copewithjob-relatedstress, physical and
emotionalmistreatment, sexualharassmentand abuse, injustice, racism, unfairness,
dehumanization, humiliation, exploitation, insecurity, hazardous environment, andthreat?
Thosearealsoethicalquestionsthathaveto dowiththe mannerwebehaveand
act, thewayweconductourdailybusiness, the fashion we perform ourtask, the waywe
relateto andtreatotherpeople inthe workplace. Dowetalkthe walkofsalvation inthe
workplace? Atthe sametime, do wewalkthetalkofsalvationinourplace of
employment?
There isalsoachallenge beforeeveryChristianHaitianchurch leadertothink,
u.s.
pray, andactuponthe sufferingoftheHaitianpeople inHaitiand inthe Howshould
the Haitianchurcheshelpthe Haitian peoplegetrid oftheireternalpovertythatthey long
endure inHaiti andabroad? Whatcanthe Haitian leadersdo betterto eradicatepoverty
amongthe Haitians inHaiti and inthe U.S? Howcanthe Haitianchurches andChristian
organizationsbettercontributetothe socio-economicdevelopmentofHaiti? Whatisthe
responsibilityoftheHaitianchurch leaders inall ofthese? Whatrole canthe Christian
seminaries and institutionsplayinthisendeavorto equipchurch leaders andthe saints for
workplaceministryanddiscipleship inHaitiand the U.S?
viii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Indeed, Iam indebtedto:
TheTriuneGodwho enablesmeto accomplish this opus forthe Haitian Christian
community inHaiti and inthe U. S.
*
To mybeautiful and lovingwifeand lifelongfriend, EdouardeM. Delphonse, who
supportsmewithourthree boys, FrantzDavid, EdMatthew, and JeremyFrantzy
Delphonse.
*
To myblood sistersand brothers: Claude, Josie, Benie, Guerdyand Vechel, Mimose, and
Solangefor prayingfor me.
*
To mybelovedprayerwarriorand supporter, Anointed BaptistChurch, L'EgliseBaptiste
des Oints inHyde Park, MA.
*
Tomyprofessors: Dr.AlbertErismanwho inspiresme, and Dr. David W. Gill whohas
beena sourceofconstant encouragementandwisdom for me.
*
To myDoctorofMinistrycohortand classmateswho fought alongside ofme to achieve
that goal.
ix
ABSTRACT
HaitianAmericanchurch leadersmustequipthe saintsto sharethe Gospel inthe
workplaceandto connecttheirfaith to theirworkto bridgethe faith-gap between Sunday
andMondaymorning.Thisthesis-projectexamineshowHaitianchurchescanapplya
biblicaltheologyofworkto helpthe Haitianpeoplemeettheir socio-economicneeds,
helperadicateHaitian poverty, andequipChristians for workplace ministryand
discipleship inHaiti andtheUnited States, andprovidesacurriculumwithfive well
structured lessonsonworkplaceministryand discipleshipand suggestions for
implementingaworkplace ministryprogram amongHaitians in the U.S. andHaiti.
1
CHAPTERONE
WorkplaceMinistryand Discipleship: TheHaitian Challenge
TodayWestern churches seemto showa lackofinterest in workplacetheology,
whichlargelymaycontributeto thehostilityinthe workenvironmentto workplace
ministryand discipleship. Atthe sametime, there hasbeenaprofoundconfusioninthe
wayChristians and church leaders conceivework inrelation totheirChristian faith, and
the secularvis-a-visthe sacred; this is particularlytrue inthe Haitiancommunitywhich
has inheriteda soberhistoryofworkslavery, and socio-economicand political
misfortune from the genesis ofthenationofHaiti in 1804until today. In anendeavorto
bridgethe gap between faith andwork, between Sundayand Monday, the following
thesis-projectwill address the challenge of"EquippingHaitian-Americanchurch leaders
forworkplace ministryand discipleship."
Haitian povertyhas long beena dominantpreoccupation forthe UnitedNations
and manynon-governmental organizations (NGOs), which seemunableto win the
povertybattleonthe ground inHaiti.
Alleviating povertyinHaiti shouldalso bethe burden ofChristian church leaders
in the Haitian Diasporain the United States as well as ofChristian church leaders in Haiti.
Haitian churches everywherehave human and material resourcesthatcould be
used in a commoneffortto help createorimprovejobsandfacilitate economic
development inHaiti. Beyond financial supportand humanitarianaid, sustainedeffortsto
disseminate Christianvalues could evenmore significantlyhelp the Haitian people
address corruption,unemployment, and otherevils invadingtheir societyandworkplaces.
