Faith and Work News ~ Links to Interesting Articles

• Graves, Gardens & God at Work. John Pletcher writes “There is an oft-overlooked detail in the resurrection morning story. It’s a curious inclusion that holds potential for answering these questions. It might also bolster our faith at work.”
• Mere Christians: Scott Sonju. On this episode of the Mere Christians podcast, Jordan Raynor visits with Scott Sonju, Managing Director of TrailRunner International. They talk about why viewing sports as trivial diminishes God’s sovereignty, why we’re tempted to assign priority where God does not, and how Christians should think differently about free enterprise.
• Why Do You Love What You Do (And Not Something Else)? Tim Challies writes “One of my favorite questions for times of small talk is “Why do you do what you do instead of doing something else?”

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
• Quotes from the book Agents of Flourishing: Pursuing Shalom in Every Corner of Society by Amy Sherman.

• Love Before You Lead. Craig Thompson writes “Love before you lead. Love more than you lead. It really is that simple. If you love well, leadership can follow.”
• How God is Present With Us at Work. Our friend Russ Gehrlein reappeared on the syndicated radio program The Plumb Line, hosted by Jay Rudolph, on Tuesday, March 12. Russ and Jay discussed several of the faith and work concepts found in Russ’s excellent book, Immanuel Labor: God’s Presence In Our Profession. Here is a partial transcript of their conversation, which has been edited for length and clarity. You can also listen to the interview.
• 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).
• Mere Christians: Christy Wright. On this episode of the Mere Christians podcast, Jordan Raynor talks with Christy Wright, host of the Get Your Hopes Up They discuss how to honor employers you leave, how feelings of inadequacy often mask an arrogance toward God, and how to obey God when you have no idea what his purposes are.
• Carrying Out the Ministry of Reconciliation in Your Daily Work. Andrew Spencer writes “I encourage you to find the connections between your daily tasks and gospel reconciliation, then seek to carry them out in light of the hope that has been given to you through Christ’s greater work of redemption.”
• A Frequent Mistake: Seeking Meaning from Work. Renita Reed-Thomson writes “God created us to work, and in our work, we are to be the hands and feet of Christ. That means we bring value and meaning to our work. We do it with excellence, with integrity, with joy.”
• Mops, People & the ‘Soul’ of Your Firm. Greg Leith writes “How are you investing in your people? Have you “walked in their shoes” lately?”

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Top 10 Faith and Work Quotes of the Week

• Godly character is a compass that teaches us to navigate the landscape of work. Dan Doriani
• Once we are exempt from the nine-to-five job, we are free to make ourselves available to God and to others, serving them wholeheartedly with what remains of our bodies, minds, and time. Russ Gehrlein
• In all our work, we strive to bring credit to God’s name. Dan Doriani
• As an image bearer, we are to be fruitful, including in our work. Tom Nelson
• 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
• The problem of the workaholic, for example, is not that we love work too much, but that we love God too little, relative to our career. Tim Keller
• God calls every disciple to full-time service. We deny that some work is sacred and some secular. Dan Doriani
• We all have a limited duration on this earth to accomplish what God put us here for, and so we too should have some urgency about getting on with the job. Ben Witherington
• Wherever Joseph was, he did his work to the glory of God. No job was too menial or too low for him to apply his energy in this way. R.C. Sproul

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FAITH AND WORK BOOK REVIEW:

Working from the Inside Out: A Brief Guide to Inner Work That Transforms Our Outer World by Jeff Haanen. IVP. 152 pages. 2023
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The author is the founder of the Denver Institute for Faith & Work, and author of An Uncommon Guide to Retirement, a book I have read twice and recommended to others. In his new book, he tells us that many of us deeply enjoy our work, and yet we also feel lonely, anxious, tired, misunderstood, and undervalued at our jobs. Work can feel creative, impactful, and important. Yet it can also feel like toil.
The book is about asking honest questions about our lives and our work. It’s also about seeking a path of transformation that binds together our interior lives, our exterior lives, and our communities.
The author believes that faith lived out in our working lives is built around five principles: seek deep spiritual health, think theologically, embrace relationships, create good work, and serve others sacrificially. These five principles are a way forward for all of us working to integrate faith and work. And the order of transformation matters, as well as the inclusion of all five of the principles.
The author often contrasts professional versus working-class perspectives. He shares many helpful stories to illustrate his points throughout the book. Among the subjects discussed in the book were secularism, spiritual disciplines, self-awareness, long-term change, theology, relationships, healthy organizational culture and sabbath. Instructions are provided on how to download a free study guide for the book.
Below are some of my favorite quotes from the book:

• Vocation is a moment-by-moment relationship with God, for the benefit of our neighbors, and through our daily work.
• Our workplaces shape our desires, our desires shape our habits, and our habits shape our characters.
• It’s not the outcome of our work that God is most interested in. It’s who we become in the process.
• Healthy organizational culture is not formed by values written on a wall but instead by people with healthy relationships who know themselves and one another.
• Each moment of the day, whether with coworkers or kids, is lived from a single, comprehensive calling to respond to God’s voice in all areas of life.
• Work is meaningful because it is the form in which we make ourselves useful to others.
• Good work alone won’t make you happy, but it is one of the key ingredients to being happy with your life.
• What gives us spiritual satisfaction from work is the opportunity to use our talents to love our neighbors as ourselves.
• Meaningful work is found not in success or financial reward but in sacrificial service.

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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 17 Next Steps: A Roadmap for the Work of Flourishing Your Community. Here are a few helpful quotes from the chapter:

• It’s worth noting, though, two critical commonalities among the churches I have profiled in depth. The first is strong leadership. The second is a passion for the kingdom of God and the desire to foretaste that kingdom come in their cities.
• There are also at least three foundational principles of community ministry that cannot be ignored if that ministry is to be both faithful and effective.
• The first is that our ministry among our neighbors must imitate Jesus’ way of serving—through relational, holistic ministry.
• The second nonnegotiable involves embracing an asset-based approach to community ministry.
• A third key principle concerns the way we deploy our power.
• We are called to do ministry with, not for or to people. This requires embracing both our authority and our vulnerability.
• The body of Christ is a royal priesthood. Pastors and congregational leaders begin the work of flourishing the community outside the four walls of the church by first helping Christ-followers to understand and practice this identity within those walls.
• Each believer has opportunities within their spheres of influence to apply the healing, restorative work of priests and the culture-making work of kings.
• We are agents of flourishing. We’re to practice reigning—deploying our gifts in loving, sacrificial ways that bring flourishing to others.
• Prayer is vital to every missional journey. It is how we express our reliance on the Holy Spirit’s equipping grace.
• Asset-based ministry starts with a comprehensive inventory of the resources God has placed in your hands.
• Genuine commitment to seeking the peace and prosperity of one’s local community involves hard work and substantial time.
• Although difficult, pursuing ministry that genuinely makes a difference is completely plausible and doable.