Faith and Work News ~ Links to Interesting Articles

• Is There a Retirement Crisis in 2024? Mark D. Roberts writes “Increasingly, what we once believed to be common about retirement is becoming uncommon. The standard narrative, which, in actuality, is only decades old, is now becoming less standard. For better or for worse, retirement in America is changing.”
• Uli Chi: An Interview with a Wise Leader. Chelsea Logan interviews Uli Chi, author of the new book The Wise Leader, which I plan to read soon. Here is Part 1 and Part 2.
• We Were Created to be God’s Coworkers. In this excerpt from chapter 3 of his book Immanuel Labor – God’s Presence in our Profession, Russ Gehrlein shares a critical topic in his theology of work. He emphasizes God’s original purpose for creating human beings. That intent applied to Adam and Eve and applies to us as well. Lastly, he describes what it looks like when God graciously chooses to use us.
• 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).

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 ~ Distinctively Christian Retirement: A Biblical Call to Serve Jesus Well in Older Age by Simon van Bruchem
• Quotes from the book Working in the Presence of God: Spiritual Practices for Everyday Work by Denise Daniels and Shannon Vandewarker.

• How Does Your Theology of Work Help You in Your Job Search? Russ Gehrlein explores some of the challenges that Millennials and Gen Z are facing, and then provides a biblical and theological perspective that may better prepare Christian students who will graduate this spring with a way forward.”
• How Can I Be a Christian in My Workplace? Alex Chediak writes “Everything we do matters because our every action, sentiment, and motivation are to be part of the spiritual worship to which we are called.”
• Work Hard, Rest Hard. Steve Graves writes “Work and rest are meant to go together. Work without rest does not allow for meaning and fulfillment.”
• This is What You Were Made For: Genesis 1 and Your Calling. Hugh Whelchel writes “The significance of all of our work, in our jobs, our homes, our communities, and our churches, is directly related to its connection with God’s work.”

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Top 10 Faith and Work Quotes of the Week

• What if you’re struggling under an unfair boss or a tedious job that doesn’t take advantage of all your gifts? It’s liberating to accept that God is fully aware of where you are at any moment and that by serving the work you’ve been given you are serving him. Tim Keller
• Do not be too concerned about what others may think of you. Be very concerned about what you think of yourself. John Wooden
• Leadership is not about being in charge, but about taking care of the people in your charge. Simon Sinek
• Work is one area where we show the world that Christ is our greatest treasure. John Piper
• Work is as much a basic human need as food, beauty, rest, friendship, and prayer; it is not simply medicine but food for our soul. Tim Keller
• The Fall means, we should expect to be regularly frustrated in our work even though we may be in exactly the right vocation. Tim Keller
• God has created us in his image so that we may carry out a task, fulfill a mission, pursue a calling. Anthony Hoekema  
• Whatever work we have, the greatest joy about the job is that we get to be there with God. He has come to us. He is with us every day. Whatever we are doing, he is there. He will help us. He will turn it for our good. John Piper  
• As a high-road leader, you should be thinking continually how you can serve the people in your life. John Maxwell

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FAITH AND WORK BOOK REVIEW:

Distinctively Christian Retirement: A Biblical Call to Serve Jesus Well in Older Age by Simon van Bruchem. Written For Our Instruction. 178 pages. 2022   
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This helpful book was written by a pastor who serves in Western Australia. His aim with the book is to help Christians think about what it means to live a life serving Jesus in retirement. He considers what serving Jesus might look like in the latter stages of life, with the time and resources we have, by looking at what the Bible has to say on the topic.
The book is broken into four sections:
Section 1: Retirement is not the paradise we are looking for
Section 2: Regaining a firm foundation: What the Bible says about age and maturity
Section 3: Practical challenges retirement poses
Section 4: Living out a godly life in retirement
The author tells us that retirement is not a Biblical concept, with no passage describing or encouraging a significant period of leisure in the latter part of life. He also states that retirement in the form we have today was simply unheard of as recently as a hundred and fifty years ago, though most people living in the Western world now see retirement as a fundamental right. He states that this view of retirement is proving to have severe consequences for society, our mental health, and the church.
The author tells us that work is essential for us. We were made to be workers. The empty feeling that many retirees experience could well be related to the fact that we were made to work as our God works, and not to simply spend time in leisure.
He tells us that if we base our self-worth on what we have contributed to society and what we have achieved financially, the transition to retirement will be very difficult. When people retire, especially in Western cultures, it is common to feel less respected and valued by others. However, if we trust in Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we are of infinite value in the sight of God. This is where our worth truly lies.
Throughout the book, the author often quotes from the biblical book of Ecclesiastes. Among the many subjects the author addresses are depression and other health issues, old age, loneliness, death, striving for godliness, “bucket list”, retirement as an extended vacation, money, serving God in the local church and wider community, evangelism, finishing well, and change.
This is a helpful book for the Christian to make their retirement years different from the rest of the culture, to see retirement not as an extended vacation, filled with only travel, hobbies and recreation, but as a great opportunity to serve God. Retirement from work doesn’t mean retirement from the service of God. Use your age and experience well for God’s glory and to build up God’s church.

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

We are reading Working in the Presence of God: Spiritual Practices for Everyday Work by Denise Daniels and Shannon Vandewarker. This book was recommended by the Nashville Institute for Faith + Work.

The Amazon description of the book reads in part:
“How do we invite God into our everyday lives? Working in the Presence of God discusses the incorporation of spiritual disciplines into the ordinary rhythms of everyday experience. God is already present and active, so by becoming aware of workday rhythms and focusing on where various spiritual practices might be implemented in our jobs, we can be transformed into Christ’s likeness through our work.”

This week we look at the Introduction: The Ordinary Rhythm of Work. The Importance of the Ordinary. Here are a few helpful quotes from this chapter:

• In many of our churches, we receive an implicit message that those who are pursuing full-time Christian ministry—missionaries, pastors, or parachurch workers—are doing “God’s work” while everyone else is doing “secular work,” which is somehow not quite as important.
• We are living in the midst of a great sacred/secular divide. But Scripture doesn’t split life into sacred and secular.
• The Creator is the author of work; so, whatever your work is, the Lord can communicate to you, use you, and transform you in the midst of it.
• By using spiritual practices in the workplace, we begin to be attentive to the ways in which God is already present—speaking and acting.
• Whether you find your work mundane or interesting, physical or intellectual, by incorporating spiritual practices into your daily working rhythms, you too can be shaped by God’s transforming hand.
• Whatever your job, the first step in engaging in spiritual practices at work is for you to become aware of the rhythms of your specific work.
• What we consider “work” is that which God has called you to do for his glory, in a particular place and time, for the sake of loving those around you.