Monday Manna

Have you wondered where to find good, relevant content for Bible discussions during your Connect3 or Trusted Advisor Forum meetings? Good news: You need look no further than the Marketplace Ambassador Advancement System (MAAS) on CBMC’s advance.cbmc.com website.

MAAS offers many excellent resources to help men and their CBMC teams become more effective in the mission of evangelism and disciplemaking in today’s marketplace. These include Operation Timothy in digital form; the 10 Attributes of a Marketplace Ambassador; Living Proof Adventure, video training in evangelism; and Becoming a Spiritual Reproducer, an interactive series about making disciples.

The most recent addition to this “toolbox” is “Monday Manna,” a weekly workplace meditation that was developed by CBMC International in 1997. Over the 25 years since, it has gained a vast global following, being translated into as many as 20 different languages. Initially distributed by fax, it now is sent around the world by email, often forwarded by recipients to friends and colleagues. It is estimated more than one million people receive it every week.

Each edition of Monday Manna addresses a common workplace issue, such as leadership, team building, decision-making, stress, anger, planning, and many others. It introduces the topic and then offers biblical perspectives that apply to it. The weekly devotionals are comprised by a concise commentary, followed by several open-ended questions designed for group discussion and personal reflection, and a listing of other pertinent Bible passages for further consideration.

From its inception, the focus of Monday Manna has been to communicate the timeless relevance of the Scriptures to the challenges of living for Jesus Christ in the 21st century workplace. Its distribution on Mondays is timed to remind recipients at the start of each work week that they are ambassadors for Christ in the workplace (2 Corinthians 5:20); they are to do their work “as for the Lord” (Colossians 3:23); and they are missionaries in the marketplace (Acts 1:8). A number of writers contribute to Monday Manna, offering different perspectives on how the Bible relates to the business and professional world. However, each edition reinforces the truth that God’s Word is as relevant and practical for the workplace as it is for any other area of life.

Some CBMC groups often use Monday Manna for the Bible discussion part of their meetings. Phil Gulley, a longtime CBMC leader in Southern California, says his group has been using it for a number of years.

“Roy Doty, who’s now with the Lord, got us started in using Monday Manna, and it’s been a very effective tool. Each week we read through it, then move on to the questions and other suggested passages from the Scriptures. It gets everyone involved.

“What we like most about it is businesspeople briefly telling their stories in ways that relate to our guys directly, rather than a generic Bible study. For men who are new believers, it’s the first time they’ve ever gotten into the Word to consider topics that apply to their work.”

Luis Cervino is a maxillofacial surgeon in Torreon, Mexico. Despite his professional and personal demands, he has faithfully translated Monday Manna into Spanish (it’s called “Mana del Lunes’). He became involved in CBMC soon after giving his life to Christ in 1997, and two years later discovered Monday Manna.

“I decided to translate and send it to a small group of friends, and some of them asked me to send it to other people. That was the beginning of a work that currently impacts thousands of Spanish-speaking readers. Beyond Mexico, I send it to CBMC headquarters in Venezuela and Brazil, expanding its outreach to many thousands of other people. I feel very blessed to be a part of it.”

Sergio Fortes, a consultant in corporate strategic planning in Sao Paulo, Brazil, became involved with Monday Manna, translating it into Portuguese, soon after it was started by thenCBMC International President Tim Philpot. “We soon realized here in Brazil that we had a ‘double-edged’ tool, serving as spiritual support for Christian business and professional people and as a resource to sensitize people in the marketplace who still did not have a personal experience with Jesus,” Fortes said.

“As Monday Manna was gaining credibility and the trust of readers throughout Brazil at all levels, we felt it was time to leverage this valuable tool to reach out to other language communities. Surrounded by Spanish-speaking countries, we began to pray for a Spanish translator. Then the Lord led us to translators for German, Italian, French, and even Japanese editions. It was challenging work.”

Fortes credited Samy Staschower, a native of Germany who had moved to Brazil, for first identifying the potential for translating and distributing Monday Manna, and Mercia Padovani, the first of numerous translators who have done the work voluntarily.

“I am grateful to God for the blessing of Monday Manna in my life in so many ways,” he said, “and for how He has used it to touch the lives of countless people over the past 25 years.”

MAAS has made Monday Manna available not only in English, but also in Spanish, Portuguese, French, Korean, German and Romanian, with other languages to be added. Editions from November 2019 are available. Simply visit advance.cbmc.com and click the “Monday Manna” tab.

On the CBMC International website, www.cbmcint.com, editions dating back to September 2012 have been posted. There is also a link there to subscribe to each weekly edition via email for free.

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