Andrea Baare

Studying Theology as an International Christian

While recognizing this tension, Andrea also discovered a scholarship program through the Reformed Council in Europe that would allow her to earn her Master of Theology degree at Western Theological Seminary in Holland, Michigan. She decided to relocate to the United States to see where this degree program might lead her. “That already was an eye opener that there are plenty of more options as a Christian who is a passionate theologian but who still feels there should be other venues to spread the Word of God,” Andrea says.

From Western, she felt called to follow one of her mission professors to Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California, where she obtained an additional Master’s degree in intercultural studies. This was a critical time in sharpening Andrea’s intercultural skills. While she was attending Fuller, the 1992 riots surrounding the death of Rodney King, fuelled by intercultural tension, exploded in Los Angeles. “That was a very, very tough time to be in Los Angeles to live in a situation where you just didn’t know what would happen the next day,” Andrea says. “But the Christians during that season were tremendous. We had tremendous, experiences with people during that time when it was really tough… it’s amazing what God does in critical situations.”

Additionally, in Los Angeles, Andrea met her husband. He was a South African pastor studying in the U.S. and part of the confessing movement in South Africa during apartheid. After they were married, they moved back to South Africa just as it was experiencing the end of apartheid. “I went to South Africa and then again entered a very new and different world of Christianity—Christianity that was really forged in the struggle,” Andrea says. “My husband was of Indian descent. He belonged to the social activist movement in South Africa. So did many of his friends. So it was a very adventurous Christian life.”

Andrea and her husband moved back to South Africa with the knowledge that he had been diagnosed with colon cancer. Returning to South Africa would allow them to seek the treatment her husband needed. Unfortunately, he passed away at the end of 1994. However, he passed just after witnessing his home country enter into a bright new chapter, one away from systematic racism and oppression. 

“I can’t even describe in words what the experience was like. It was when Mandela became president, a man I greatly admire and revere because he was such a wise and profound leader. And my husband died as a free man,” Andrea says. “He voted for the first time in his life. I voted. I was allowed to vote because I was married to a South African. So to have that experience of seeing so many people suddenly having a voice and putting their signature underneath… the person they wanted to be president of their nation and to move away from apartheid into a new period in their life, was tremendous.”

After her husband’s passing, Andrea needed to find work. The best option was to return to Germany and enter the business world there. Since 2000, Andrea has worked for Deutsche Telekom’s Information and Communications Technology branch, T-Systems International, in Bonn, Germany. Deutsche Telekom is a global market leader for internet and communication technology. One of its well-known subsidiaries is T-Mobile in the United States. “I currently serve as Sales Support in the Public Sector customer segment,” Andrea says. “My team works for the European Union, the European Aviation and Safety Agency, and the European Central Bank.”

After being in the business world for a few years, Andrea was no longer content with a faith-work split and a somewhat paradoxical lifestyle with two different sets of ethics, one for Sundays and the other one for workdays, nor did she believe in leaving work to meet God. Yet, she wondered how she was to blend her work with her faith.

D.Min. at Asbury Seminary and Deutsche Telekom

This struggle and her background as both a theologian and businesswoman led her to the D.Min. program at Asbury Seminary. Her friend was a professor at the Seminary at the time and highly recommended the program to Andrea. Andrea loved that she could continue to study theology while still working. Additionally, she credits her education at Asbury Seminary with opening doors at Deutsche Telekom. “After some research, I discovered Dr. David Miller’s model, the Integration Box, and his Faith@Work Initiative at Princeton,” Andrea says. “Using his and my findings, I developed strategies for implementing my Christian faith meaningfully at Deutsche Telekom.”

Since 2005, she has served voluntarily as a non-ordained Industrial Chaplain for Christians@Telekom. Deutsche Telekom is the co-founder of the German Diversity Charter. Hence, employees come from various educational and professional backgrounds. Her unique background made her a prime candidate to become an ambassador for Religion/Ethnicity. Other colleagues voluntarily cover the remaining Diversity Policy subjects, such as Gender and Age, Sexual Orientation and Disability. They now have about six internal networks that have become official employee networks and are all accessible via Telekom’s social network.

“Bonn’s core team of Christians@Telekom meets bi-weekly after work in our corporate headquarters,” Andrea says. “We offer contextualized Bible studies that interpret God’s word for everyday life in worker-friendly language. In addition, we pray for employees and management, invite guest speakers to share a biblical, work-life-focused message, and counsel colleagues who prefer a spiritual advisor.”

Past speakers include German Christians from various lay movements in Germany, including The Protestant and Catholic Entrepreneur’s Association, Christian Mail and Telekom Association and the Christian Police Association. Recently, the Protestant Military Chaplain shared his Faith@Work experience in Afghanistan. Andrea is amazed by the response to a Christian network in a secular environment.

The Future of Christians in the Workplace

Andrea’s vision is that this ministry expands to become part of a German institution similar to Corporate Chaplains of America in the United States. She believes that workplace chaplains have a future and will become increasingly important in a multicultural and multireligious society. “We all can contribute to the general well-being of a growing workforce that seeks wholeness and fulfillment in their job with a sense of calling and teleological purpose—work as worship,” Andrea says.

In the shorter term, Andrea hopes to help Christians at Telekom become more accessible. When part of a group with shared values, or in her case, a shared religion, it can be easy to become isolated rather than build bridges to other communities. Andrea is specifically trying to achieve this by influencing other Christians to use language that is more understandable and accessible for people who have no prior exposure to Christianity. “I would like us to find a language that makes it attractive to become a Christian,” Andrea says. “I feel there could be more effort in making Christianity an attractive way of finding peace, finding strength, finding self-confidence. To have that rootedness in God that we all share is something so beautiful, something so profound. And I feel we still lack that language.”

When reflecting on the many experiences and challenges she has faced, including the death of her husband shortly after gaining his freedom from apartheid, Andrea sees the privilege of those experiences and feels incredible gratitude. “God never promised us a rose garden,” she says.” There are good days and there are bad days, and that’s part of making us strong, profound Christians, I believe.”