Faith and Work News ~ Links to Interesting Articles

• Should My Construction Company Help Build a Casino? On this episode of the Ask Pastor John podcast, John Piper responds to the question “I was asked to join up with a construction partner I have worked with before, and one I really like and enjoy working with, to help complete one of their own projects. The project is a Mormon temple. Is this out of the question for a Christian who leads a construction crew to consider working on such a project like a temple like this, or even a mosque or casino or other things like that? How should I think through making this moral decision on behalf of the crew I lead?”
• Truth, Love & the Golden Rule. Our friend Russ Gehrlein was a special guest on the syndicated radio program The Plumb Line, hosted by Jay Rudolph, on Monday, June 17. Russell and Jay discussed the importance of truth-telling in work and life. Here is a partial transcript of part two of their conversation, which has been edited for length and clarity.
• 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 ~ Full-Time: Work and the Meaning of Life by David L. Bahnsen
• Quotes from the book Working in the Presence of God: Spiritual Practices for Everyday Work by Denise Daniels and Shannon Vandewarker

• How to Be a “NICER” Christian at Work. Roland Heersink writes “How can we better think about the relationship between our faith life and work life? It comes together in this idea: Just be NICER”.
• Working for a Bad Boss. Ryan Laughlin writes “We follow bad leaders because we know, down deep, we are sinners and failures like they are. When this feels impossible, we remember the good news.”
• The Courage to Choose. Ryan Goyer writes “Wanting meaningful work isn’t a bad thing. Work predates the fall, and only after the fall did work, like everything else, become corrupted, either elevated to a place of worship or denied its central place in a person’s life.”
• Place in This World. Russ Gehrlein writes “Discovering our callings is always going to be a spiritual journey for the Christian, whether we are talking about our careers, families, or ministries. It may be a long and somewhat painful process, filled with closed doors, missed opportunities, crying out for wisdom, settling for something less than you may desire or deserve, as well as some disappointment.”
• Breathing New Life Into Your Work. In this excerpt from his book Working from the Inside Out, Jeff Haanen writes “Work has a particular power when motivated not centrally by success or money, but by the biblical story.”
• How Christians Can “BLESS” Others at Work. Roland Heersink writes “We are not called just to go to work and set a good example. We are to be the hands and feet of Jesus at our workplace.”
• What Do We Mean by “Purpose”? Mark D. Roberts writes “As we get older, the experience of mattering less to people may open up for us the opportunity to discover just how much we mean to God. Your worth is not dependent on your productivity or reputation. It rests firmly and finally on the fact that God loves you and treasures you.”
• Authority with Integrity: How Jesus Guides Our Leading. Jonathan Leeman, author of Authority: How Godly Rule Protects the Vulnerable, Strengthens Communities, and Promotes Human Flourishing, joins Collin Hansen on the Gospelbound podcast to discuss why young men don’t want to be lead pastors, why leaders need accountability, and why leaders must learn to absorb anger, among other subjects.
• How Vocational Stewardship Leads to Human Flourishing. Amy Sherman writes “Churches need to do better at teaching their members about “vocational stewardship”—seeing their jobs also as God’s provision and deploying their talents through their work in ways that express love of neighbor.”

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Top 10 Faith and Work Quotes of the Week

• We must shine the light of Christ in dark places and become part of His work to bring common grace to all who are made in His image. Russ Gehrlein
• Wouldn’t it be great if one day every employee had the opportunity to go to work with enthusiasm and to come home more fulfilled as a result of being there? Patrick Lencioni
• Our character determines how we act when no one else is looking. Dee Ann Turner
• For Christians, work is fundamentally about contribution to others, not compensation; it’s an expression of our identity, but not the source of our identity; it’s about serving others, not personal success. Jeff Haanen
• Jesus came into this world not as a philosopher or a general but as a carpenter. All work matters to God. Tim Keller
• As this world grows darker, the gospel grows brighter. Steven Lawson
• Next to faith this is the highest art – to be content with the calling in which God has placed you. Martin Luther
• A calling is our contribution to society, the labor that makes our lives matter. At best, it draws on our gifts and experiences and becomes our life’s work, the task God prepared us to do. Daniel Doriani
• The measure of a leader is not the number of people who serve them, but the number of people they serve. John Maxwell

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FAITH AND WORK BOOK REVIEW:

Full-Time: Work and the Meaning of Life by David L. Bahnsen. Post Hill Press. 185 pages. 2024   

***This book was written by the son of the late theologian Dr. Gregory Bahnsen, to whom the book is dedicated. The book argues that work is the meaning of life. Many believers will have a different answer to the what the meaning of life is. For example, the first question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism asks what the chief end of man is. The answer given is that the chief end of man is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever. I have a very high view of work, and have written and spoken of it often. I believe we glorify God in our work, but I can’t go as far as saying that work is the meaning of life.

This is the first of the author’s books I have read. He writes in a bold, confident manner. The author writes that he believes it is abundantly clear from the plain teaching of Scripture that God created mankind for the purpose of work. He does write of one Hebrew word that can be used for both work and worship. His goal with the book is to help the reader see that work is good, work is important, and work matters to God. Amen! He approaches his subject from an economic, theological and ontological basis.

Among the subjects touched on in the book are achievement, productivity, man made in God’s image, alienation, social isolation, unhappiness, purpose, worklessness, wealth, Gnosticism, generosity, retirement, dualism, pietism, critique of pastors in their preaching about work, critique of the book Halftime: Moving from Success to Significance by Bob Buford, “work-life balance”, and working from home.

The book ends with an Appendix: “The Work-from-Home Craze as Part of the Anti-Work Movement” The author tells us that the excuses for the “work from home” aspiration can all be reduced to one fundamental thing: low regard for the work itself.

The author utilizes his knowledge from his private wealth management firm to include some information that you don’t usually find in books about a Christian view of work.

Here are some of my favorite quotes from the book:

• Purpose reverses a life where things are done for us, to a life where we do things for others.
• Sometimes work means doing what you have to do, not what you want.
• From the very creation of mankind, God intended us to be workers, producers, and agents of growth and dominion.
• Mankind’s ability to act as an image-bearer of God is directly tied to the mandate God gives: that they work to cultivate the potential of creation.
• Work was designed not only to meet the material needs of mankind but to provide fulfillment in our humanity.
• We work because we were created to do so, and because in our work we reflect the image of God, who transforms the ugly into the beautiful.
• God has called us to be image-bearers of Him in both work and rest.
• We work because God worked, and in working we find purpose and calling.
• Our work is quite literally worship—actual service—to God.
• A holistic understanding of work must integrate the practical and financial with the theological and spiritual.
• This is the evangelical dilemma: we want desperately to condemn entrepreneurial and vocational success without losing access to the rewards such success brings with it. This desire to condemn success is what needs to change.
• I am convinced that one of the greatest sources of a low view of work is a misunderstanding of economics.
• Our God-created purpose since the Garden of Eden is production. Work drives purpose, meaning, and wealth in a nation and society.
• Work builds personal and national wealth and offers the goods and services that enhance the quality of our lives.
• The oft-ignored problem with our present vision of retirement is that it cuts us off from the productive capacity of talented and experienced people.
• The underlying view that work is something we do in order not to do it anymore is wrong, and that retirement defined as several decades of vacation is unwise and ill-advised.
• While there is much I admire about Buford, this book (Halftime), and so many of its earnest adherents, I believe the book and its underlying message has done great harm in the cause of proclaiming a holistic view of calling, work, and vocation.
• If you aren’t taught that your work is inherently valuable to God, and is an integral part of His Kingdom, it’s no surprise that you’d panic upon finding yourself successful in a career you thought was existentially meaningless.
• We were created to produce, and that meaning is the meaning of life.

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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 Chapter 4: Reading Scripture at Work. Here are a few helpful quotes from the chapter:

• Reading Scripture in your work or office space, however, can dramatically change not only how you read Scripture but also how you think about and engage in your work.
• You could choose to read a passage of Scripture when first arriving at work.
• Another way of doing this is to read Scripture during a lunch break.
• Some people may have the opportunity to read Scripture with colleagues at work.
• While reading Scripture once is a great way to get God’s word in your mind, reading it multiple times allows it to sink deeply into your soul. An ancient practice called lectio divina (“divine reading”) can aid you in this.
• Reading Scripture in your workplace begins with intentionality. Forming a new habit can be difficult.