GJM: Welcome David, thanks for joining us on Frontlines. Tell me first of all, which industry are you working in and what’s the nature of your job?
David-Isaac: Hi Gavin, good to meet you! So presently I work with Glasgow City Council, as a project officer within neighbourhood regeneration and sustainability – so I deal a lot with housing. In my current role as a project manager, I am building data ‘dashboards’ which manage the delivery of ‘affordable warmth’ though external wall insulation right across the city. That means a huge amount of home-improvements and ‘retrofits’.
GJM: That’s important work! How long have you been in post?
David-Isaac: I have been here for seven months now, I was up in Aberdeen prior to that.
GJM: So you have moved from the dryest city in Scotland to the wettest!
David-Isaac: Yes!!!
GJM: So when you think about your job, what’s the best part of your job? What brings you joy in your work?
David-Isaac: Really the best part of my job is creating solutions in the projects I work on. I especially like the fact that I can do things to improve the work environment and improve how my colleagues even do their own jobs! That’s what gets me really excited about the job.
GJM: Thanks – and what about the challenges you face in your job on a day-by-day basis, what are those? Secondly, how does your faith in Christ help you to face the challenges of daily work?
David-Isaac: Well, the project I came here to work on in Glasgow was a big challenge, because I was told ‘this is something we have been trying to sort out for ten years and we’ll see if you can help us work on it!’ They had been trying to build this data-dashboard to be able to predict and track areas within the city where improvements were needed. I was given that task to do, even though I had never worked on anything like that before! So, it was challenging and really very stressful for me when I started. I was given something to do which other people had tried and failed to accomplish, and this was my first work in this area. One of the critical things I realised at that time was that this challenge was an opportunity to show that there is superior wisdom which comes from knowing God. Even if other people had tried before and been unable to achieve what they had set out to do, I could do it and it would be successful. So, I think that in developing the solution, I would say that not just my faith in God but my experience of working with The Holy Spirit did a lot for me.
I count it back now as part of my Christian testimony because the data dashboard has been built, and was built within about six months when they had been trying to build it for ten years and were not able to accomplish it! I was able to do it within six months because there was a partnership I had with The Holy Spirit, in which He was literally teaching me what to do. I was prayed through the development of that dashboard until completion. And when people saw it at the first presentation, they said to me, “this is far beyond what we were expecting”. That reminded me of the scripture which says that “God is able to do exceedingly more than we ask or imagine” (Eph3:20). And it was beyond expectation because something beyond me had been involved in it! The Holy Spirit helped me with my work, so developing that solution with excellence, has been a critical part of me sharing my faith at work. It’s become easier because people at work ask me ‘how did you do this, how have you manged that?’ and it creates a level-playing field for me to be able to share my faith.
GJM: That’s fascinating, and I love your emphasis that God is interested in your daily work. Some Christians think that God only cares about what you do on a Sunday, but I love your emphasis that God also cares about what we do Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and all week; living the whole of life for Him.
So do the people at work know that you are a Christian? And how do they react to that when they find out?
David-Isaac: Yes, I am very bold with that! Sometimes I wear lapel [badges] that say “King Jesus. I think because of the work culture of trying to accommodate everyone, people are generally willing to accept the fact that I have a belief. In a local council setting, everyone expects diversity and people are comfortable with that especially in conversations. Sometimes I start conversations which will tilt towards sharing the gospel. People seem to be comfortable with that because I am not just throwing something at them, but develop a conversation which leads to it. For instance we were discussing religious buildings, so I showed them some pictures of religious buildings from my home country of Nigeria and showed them that the largest buildings in Nigeria belong to the church. So, I used that to explain to them how the church grew to that level, and what God had done in the Nigerian revival. They were so interested and started to ask me about the decline of the church in Scotland and why so many church buildings were being repurposed for other uses. So, I explained to them that the decline they see is because people have left the faith and stopped trusting in God, but then I told them that the foundation of life is God, Jesus Christ. If a civilization has been built on Christianity, then if we go back on that understanding then that civilization starts to crumble. And if you look at our society then you can see the proof, and you can prove this statistically, because you can measure the decline of the church and the decline of society. The subsequent conversations are what I love to engage in at work!
GJM: And when you speak like that at work, what have reactions been like? Are people interested, angry, apathetic, do they say, “you do you, I’ll do me”, or do they raise objections? And how do you respond to the reactions you get at work when you are so open about your faith and about the way you believe the world works?
David-Isaac: Well, I’ve had some feedback that I have not expected [laughs]! Some people really buy into the idea, some people say they agree. One colleague says she believes there is a God but she does not worship Him but agrees that Christianity is culturally good for society. Some other people dispute my argument and say that there is development in some other nations which are not Christian. But I try and take them back to the idea that it is not just about development in terms of infrastructure, but it’s about the quality of life of the people. So yes, there is sometimes a backlash, but it is just about being open, not to take offence, but to understand that everyone is at different phases of their lives and so accepting their criticism graciously.
GJM: So are there any other Christians in your workplace or are you on your own? Is there a community of Christians or are you out there ‘flying solo’?
David-Isaac: So, right now I am trying to find other Christians because I am wanting to build a Christian workplace group within the council. That’s one of my goals this year. I haven’t found anyone yet although I believe that they are there. Maybe they are not vocal, maybe they are timid, but hopefully they will be able to open up and share more about their faith.
GJM: You are clearly very motivated to be a Christian presence there in the Council. What motivates you to want to be open about your faith, to talk about Jesus, not to ‘hide your light under a bowl’? What drives you to be so open about these things in your day-to-day work?
David-Isaac: I have understood that when I go to work I am more deployed than employed! I understand that I am in that place for a reason for the season that I’m there, to shine as light; I am not just there to get a job done and get paid at the end of the month. Like Jesus said, “My meat is to do the work for which the father sent me, and to finish it”(Jn 4:34), so that is the bread that I eat daily. I am here for a purpose, I am here for someone to experience Jesus, and for a life to be transformed, and that just keeps me going every day and makes me even more courageous about my faith.
GJM: “I have been deployed, not just employed” I love that, that’s a great quote!
Finally, if you were to get a question from a young person who said, “I am going to start work in a local authority” and they are about to enter the field of work that you are in. What advice would you give a young Christian about to step into your work environment for the first time?
David-Isaac: The first thing I would say is, when you are going in there, you should understand who you are. Whatever role you take up does not define your identity. As a matter of fact, your identity should define your role. So first, understand who you are in Christ and learn to stand on that. Secondly, I have always loved the story of Daniel, because he remained relevant across three different kingdoms in Babylon! And under those different regimes there was one single testimony about him, that “an excellent Spirit was found in him, of knowledge and understanding” and he solved problems! So be open to problems so that you can be a solution to them. Be that person who steps up and says, “I want to solve this problem”. Because once you start to solve problems, you begin to get people on your side. And once you have people on your side, it becomes easier to preach the gospel to them. That would be my advice.
GJM: And I love the way in which you have brought your experience and stories from the Bible together so seamlessly. That’s fantastic! Thank you David.
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