I am not going to split hairs over Mattera's historical characterization. Just realize that when he wants to return the church to the way Jesus and His apostles intended it, he knows not of what he speaks. The NAR dominionist dream is to have the church take over all facets of carnal culture, including the workplace. This vision of a theocratic Shangri-La is not asked of us in scripture and is a bastardization of what God does want from His church. They believe in conquering seven cultural mountains to facilitate the second coming of Christ - as if he needed our help! Let us reason once more together through his ten reasons for releasing the church in our workplaces.
"1. Jesus chose 12 marketplace leaders, not 12 religious leaders. He chose people with practical leadership skills who knew how to manage their time, relate to people and create wealth as entrepreneurs. Two sets of brothers owned fishing businesses, one was a tax collector and knew how to handle money. At least one was a zealot involved in politics; even Judas had experience in managing money since he was the treasurer for the Jesus movement (John 13:29). Many of the most influential pastors in the world I have met have a business background." - Joseph Mattera
Amazing the disconnect people display when chasing something unbiblical. After bemoaning that the church today has become an enterprise, Mattera wishes that more pastors had business backgrounds! Then we get more inaccurate rewriting of history to achieve his narrative. The disciples were marketplace leaders? Are you kidding me? Fishing business? All the text tells us is they were fishermen. That's it! Matthew the Tax Collector was a marketplace leader? His own gospel account only says he was called and followed:
As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, "Follow me." And he rose and followed him. - Matthew 9:9 (ESV)
Tax collectors were hated by their own people for they routinely charged more money than what was owed. So, they were essentially robbing their own people, in the employ of the great oppressor, Rome. How does Mattera get marketplace leaders from this group? He simply makes it up. Take Simon the Zealot for example, who is mentioned four times, and always just in a list of the apostles. All we know is he was considered a zealot, which was a group of fanatics back in the days of Jesus. The were known to incite rebellion against Rome. If you want to consider that "involved in politics", go right ahead. As for Judas, the verse cited only says that he held the moneybag. Someone had to! That does not mean Judas was the treasurer. It doesn't mean he had a vast resume of financial business jobs. The assumptions Mattera makes here are sheer lunacy designed to prop up his theory.
"2. Jesus Called the church to plant the gospel in cities, not buildings (Acts 1:8-9). Jesus commanded the church to be His witnesses in cities, not merely in buildings on Sundays." - Joseph Mattera
No Joseph, just no. Acts 1:8-9 is regarding the apostles not the church. Now, we do have the great commission but again this is taking that and placing it on steroids. We are to represent Christ wherever we are, including the workplace. What does that mean? That means we always give the unbelievers a reason why we hope. That means we do not curse, lie, or steal. We do not do anything that might bring reproach upon our Lord and Savior. A practical example I always tell is years ago I had two women working for me. One was saved and let everyone know it. Radio always had sermons or Christian music on. Everything was greeted with a "praise Jesus." The other was essentially atheistic, angry and tried to get the Jesus lover into trouble with Human Resources. As a representative of Christ, she turned the other cheek to this woman no matter how much she tried to cause trouble in her life. She was always pleasant in the face of great anger and strife. When everything went sideways in the life of the unbeliever - who do you think she turned to for help? That's right. That is how we are to represent Christ in our workplace. The second point here is the dismissiveness in which Mattera deals with the "mere" church building on Sundays. Because he has the warped view of dominion, he gives no credence to the actual church as laid out in scripture. The primary purpose of church is not for the planting of the gospel in cities but for the edification and building up of the believers in that mere building on that Sunday. Realize also that my friend could have landed in trouble for her Jesus emphasis at work but thankfully the two were peers. Most workplaces prevent proselytization at work.
"3.We are called both kings and priests. Priests bring men to God; however, kings represent the government of God to people on earth. First Peter 2:8-9 calls believers a royal (kingly) priesthood. Revelation 1:6 calls the church a kingdom of priests (kings and priests in the KJV). We are called to reign in this life with Christ according to Romans 5:17. Thus, all believers are called as kings to represent God's reign in the marketplace, as well as priests who bring people to Christ." - Joseph Mattera