Faith and Work News ~ Links to Interesting Articles

• Help! My Job Asks Me to Communicate Unbiblical Messages. Miranda Carls responds to the question “I have to write about unbiblical topics for corporate communications. Is that sinful?”
• Lies at Work. Howard Graham writes “Many people see their work as a grinding drudgery, often frustrating and sometimes humiliating. They see themselves as pawns in a system without much value or opportunity to make a difference. Others see work as a chance to get ahead. A means to build a future and a life.”
• How Can I Correct Employees Well? Fernie Cosgrove responds to the question “I have a hard time correcting and being stern with my employees. What should my tone and delivery look like?”
• Four Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me at Graduation. Hugh Whelchel writes “After a lifetime of work, here are four biblical truths that I wish someone had told me when I graduated.”

Click on ‘Continue reading’ for:

• More links to interesting articles
• The Top 10 Faith and Work Quotes of the Week
• Faith and Work Book Review:  The 16 Undeniable Laws of Communication: Apply Them and Make the Most of Your Message by John Maxwell
• Quotes from the book Agents of Flourishing: Pursuing Shalom in Every Corner of Society by Amy Sherman.

• How to Spend the Right Amount of Time Developing Relationships at Work. Russ Gehrlein writes “In my previous article, I asked the important question, “When building relationships among our team members at work, how much time is too much?” Then I discussed what Jesus and Paul did to build relationships. Here in part 2, we’re going to apply their lessons to our own work relationships.
• Called to Lead. My book Called to Lead: Living and Leading for Jesus in the Workplace is available in both a paperback and Kindle edition. Read a free sample (Introduction through Chapter 2).
• Working with Dan Doriani: Kelly Kapic. On this episode of the Working with Dan Doriani podcast, Dan visits with professor and author Kelly Kapic and they work through the implications of being human.
• Mentoring a Georgian-era Daniel: John Newton and William Wilberforce. Karen J. Ristuccia writes “Through almost twenty-two years of conversations, prayers, and letters, Newton and Wilberforce built a powerful mentor-mentee relationship. With their partnership, God furthered his purposes for a nation and an era. Newton was correct. God is in the business of raising up Daniels, and he does so in community. We need this lesson as much in our day as Newton and Wilberforce did over two hundred years ago.”
• What Pentecost Means for Our Work. Russ Gehrlein writes “In my Christian walk, I have observed several key truths about the Holy Spirit I would like to explore as we prepare for Pentecost Sunday. I discussed the first twoin this article, and I will look at the third and fourth here.
• How Pentecost Reminds Us That God is at Work. Joshua Nangle writes “If God is at work, we should be working too. Now is not a time to be idle because there is too much at stake.”
• IFWE’s Recommended Summer Reading List for 2023. Jacqueline Isaacs shares summer reading suggestions, including one of my favorites – Every Good Endeavor by Tim Keller. From her list I’m planning to read The Sacred Meaning of Everyday Work by Robert Tribken this summer.
• The Worthy Work of the Stay at Home Mom. Lara d’Entremont writes “Does your work pay as a stay-at-home mom? No. But is it good? A thousand times yes. What do you make financially? Nothing. But what is your work worth? The price of a soul. “
• Reflections on Tim Keller’s Contribution to Theology of Work. John Pletcher writes “With depth of insight and erudite skill, Keller’s teaching and writing advanced the realms of Faith at Work and Business as Mission on multiple levels. While numerous characteristics can be noted, three significant contributions stir my gratitude.”
• Mere Christians: Francis Collins. On this episode of the Mere Christians podcast, Jordan Raynor visits with Dr. Francis Collins, former Director of the National Institutes of Health about his response to death threats from so-called Christians during the pandemic, the theological root of many Christians’ dismissal of science, and what he’s currently writing in his first book in nearly 20 years.

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Top 10 Faith and Work Quotes of the Week

• Whether our lot seems humble or exalted, let us work with all our heart, for the Lord knows and rewards all faithful labor. Dan Doriani
• I sense quite often that I have been put in a position of trust where God works through me. This not only confirms that I have been called to work here at this time, but it gives me great satisfaction as well. Russ Gehrlein
• In nothing has the Church so lost Her hold on reality as in Her failure to understand and respect the secular vocation. Dorothy Sayers
• My house, my kitchen, my desk, my very body are meant to be holy places in this world for the eternal God. Elisabeth Elliot
• Our Savior Christ was a carpenter and got his living with great labor. Therefore, let no man disdain to follow him in a common calling and occupation. For as he blessed our nature with taking upon him the shape of man, so in his doing he blessed all occupations and arts. Martin Luther
• It is the business of the Church to recognize that the secular vocation, as such, is sacred. Christian people, and particularly perhaps the Christian clergy, must get it firmly into their heads that when a man or woman is called to a particular job of secular work, that is as true a vocation as though he or she were called to specifically religious work. Dorothy Sayers
• What seems to be secular works are actually the praise of God and represent an obedience which is well-pleasing to him. Martin Luther
• We ought not to be weary of doing little things for the love of God, who regards not the greatness of the work, but the love with which it is performed. And it is not necessary to have great things to do. I turn my little omelet in the pan for the love of God. Brother Lawrence
• Christ-centered, gospel-saturated and Spirit-filled churches need to embrace the opportunity to once again become ‘Christian leadership factories’, whereby the church defines Christian leadership, develops Christian leaders, and deploys them into the world. Harry Reeder

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FAITH AND WORK BOOK REVIEW:

The 16 Undeniable Laws of Communication: Apply Them and Make the Most of Your Message by John Maxwell. Maxwell Leadership 320 pages. 2023
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This book is the latest in John Maxwell’s “Laws” series (Leadership, Teamwork, Growth, and now Communication). I always learn something from Maxwell’s books, and do a bit of speaking and teaching, so I was excited to read this book. Maxwell tells us that he wrote the book to help anyone give a talk to others. He writes that if you apply these laws, then you will make the most of your message, no matter the purpose of your communication, the size or scope of your audience, or the environment in which you speak.

The book includes a lot of helpful information regarding communication. Maxwell states that the Law of Connecting is by far the most important idea in the book.

Here are the laws and a takeaway or two from each one:

THE LAW OF CREDIBILITY: Your Most Effective Message Is the One You Live

• If you speak words you do not live, you lack authenticity and your communication will not be successful.
• What you repeatedly do tells others who you are.

THE LAW OF OBSERVATION Good Communicators Learn from Great Communicators

• Each of us will have a unique history of observing and learning from other communicators who are better than we are if we want to become good speakers.
• I’ve learned a different lesson from every great communicator I’ve observed. But here’s the one lesson I’ve learned from all of them: Great communicators always connect!

THE LAW OF CONVICTION The Stronger You Believe It, the More People Feel It

• Having convictions changes your life. Communicating with conviction changes other people’s lives.
• If you want to be a great communicator, your motivation for speaking must be to make a difference in the lives of people.

THE LAW OF PREPARATION You Cannot Deliver What You Have Not Developed

• The purpose of communication isn’t to impress your audience. It’s to empower your audience.
• Spectacular performance is always preceded by unspectacular preparation.

THE LAW OF COLLABORATION Some of Your Best Thinking Will Be Done with Others

• When you ask, “Can I?” the answer might be no. But when you ask, “How can I?” the answer almost always leads to yes.
• If you want to become the best communicator you can, don’t try to do it alone. Seek out others to help you.

THE LAW OF CONTENT When You Have Something Worth Saying, People Start Listening

• If people are clear on what you said, know what to do, and are inspired to do it, you will have added value to them, and they will walk away feeling helped and empowered.
• If you’re continually growing, you will never run out of content, and you will always have something worth saying.

THE LAW OF CONNECTING Communicators Know It’s All About Others

• If you focus on others and adding value to them, while being confident in yourself and your ability to help them, you will be able to connect.
• If you want to become a great communicator, you need to focus on the people in your audience and give them your best every time you deliver a message.

THE LAW OF LEVERAGE Good Communicators Lead with Their Strengths and Use Them Often

• When you find your strengths, you find your voice. From then on, your communication fits who you are. It becomes natural.
• To become the best version of yourself as a communicator, you must start with your strengths, use your talent, and add skills, knowledge, and practice to the mix.

THE LAW OF ANTICIPATION When You Can’t Wait to Say It, They Can’t Wait to Hear It

• It’s one thing to communicate to people because you have something valuable to say. It’s another to communicate with people because you believe they have value. That is the audience perspective you want to possess.

THE LAW OF SIMPLICITY Communicators Take Something Complicated and Make It Simple

• No matter your audience—whether they want to be engaged. They want to understand you easily and be able to do something positive with what you tell them. Don’t try to be impressive.

THE LAW OF VISUAL EXPRESSION Show and Tell Is Better Than Just Tell

• Whatever people see must support what they hear. If there is a disconnection between the two, the audience will become distracted and be taken out of the moment. And they won’t feel what you feel, think what you think, or laugh when you laugh.

THE LAW OF STORYTELLING People See Their Own Lives in Stories

• Great storytellers become the best salespeople, the most memorable leaders, the most engaging speakers, the best mentors, and the teachers we will remember for a lifetime.
• Do your best to find ways to incorporate humor into your speaking, and especially in your stories, because humor can do so many things to improve your communication.

THE LAW OF THE THERMOSTAT Communicators Read the Room and Change the Temperature

• Each of us possesses intuition in our area of gifting.

THE LAW OF THE CHANGE-UP Sameness Is the Death of Communication

• Good communicators understand the power of interaction.
• If you can turn your communication from a speech into an experience, it will become unforgettable.

THE LAW OF ADDING VALUE People May Forget What You Say, But They Never Forget How You Make Them Feel

• People are reluctant to receive anything from people they don’t like, so it’s important to be likable as a communicator. If people like you, they will listen to you, and they will allow you to add value to them. If they don’t like you, they will ignore you or discount your message.
• When the race we run is about others, then when they finish ahead of us, that’s a win for us.

THE LAW OF RESULTS The Greatest Success in Communication Is Action

• If your motive for speaking is anything other than adding value to people and moving them to take positive action that will help them, you’re missing the boat.
• I believe the best communicators help people to feel empowered and encouraged to act.

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Faith and Work Book Club – Won’t you read along with us?

We are reading Agents of Flourishing: Pursuing Shalom in Every Corner of Society

by Amy Sherman. Sherman is also the author of Kingdom Calling: Vocational Stewardship for the Common Good, a book I first read in my “Calling, Vocation and Work” class at Covenant Seminary.

Every corner, every square inch of society can flourish as God intends, and Christians of any vocation can become agents of that flourishing. In this book, Sherman offers a multifaceted, biblically grounded framework for enacting God’s call to seek the shalom of our communities in six arenas of civilizational life (The Good, The True, The Beautiful, The Just, The Prosperous, and The Sustainable).

This week we look at Chapter 2: The Good Flourishing in the Realm of Social Mores and Ethics. Here are two helpful quotes from the chapter:

• God invites us to participate with him in his work in the world. This work is designed by God for men and women to undertake together cooperatively.
• There is a missional quality to ethical living: it is both a sign of God’s presence and a foretaste of his coming kingdom of righteousness.