One of the executives on the committee was a fellow believer, attended the same church, and a member of my adult Sunday School class. I was thankful for one friendly face. Thankfulness was short-lived, however — he led the attack and was by far the most vicious in his questioning and derogatory comments. I was stunned, but then fought back and defended our people and their work.

Our staff function survived, but my relationship with this fellow believer did not. There was a short break after my ordeal, and he came up to me and asked how my family was doing. I was inwardly reeling and at first I didn’t answer. Finally, the only thing I could think to say was "I haven’t seen you in Sunday School lately." He turned beet red and walked off. He never spoke to me again. A year later, he was downsized from the company and ultimately moved away.

Our expectations of fellow believers in the workplace are different than of non-believers. They should be. Faith isn’t part-time, checked at the office door because "that’s the way you have to be to succeed in business."

Thanks for the article. I had forgotten the whole episode until I read it, and now wonder what, if anything, I should have done differently.