Faith and Work News ~ Links to Interesting Articles

• Education and Vocation Belong in the Village. Gregory Thornbury writes “Everyone loves a comeback story. And for people of faith who sometimes feel in exile in contemporary society, nothing fires the imagination as much as someone reconnecting to their vocation through their trust in God.”
• Christian Vocation Disrupts the Culture. Jay Kim writes “A job is necessary, but what most people are seeking is vocation—their voice(from which the word is derived) into the world, their unique contribution to the ongoing conversation of human history.”
• When Motherhood Feels Invisible. Kira Nelson writes “There’s no such thing as an invisible mom or a supermom. But there are moms who are fully known, fully forgiven, and fully loved in Christ.”
• The Case for Taking it Slow. Abby J. Perry interviews Michaela O’Donnell and Lisa Pratt Slayton about their new book Life in Flux: Navigational Skills to Guide and Ground You in an Ever-Changing World.

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 ~ Shepherds for Sale: How Evangelical Leaders Traded The Truth for a Leftist Agenda by Megan Basham
• Quotes from the book Working in the Presence of God: Spiritual Practices for Everyday Work by Denise Daniels and Shannon Vandewarker.

• Truth That Defines Our Relationships & Our Lives. 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. Below is a partial transcript of their conversation, which has been edited for length and clarity. We invite you to read part one and part two of this conversation or listen to them here. The final part of this conversation can be heard here.
• 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).
• All Who Labor Will Be Heavy Laden & Need Rest. Russ Gehrlein writes “Every job has various thorns and thistles that are common to all fields of work, i.e., bad bosses, disgruntled customers, unreasonable deadlines, or equipment breakdowns. Also, each job has its own unique challenges.”
• Defining Success in My 9-to-5 Job. On this episode of the Ask Pastor John podcast, John Piper responds to the question “In Colossians 3:22–24, Paul exhorts his readers to ‘work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.’ Does this mean that any work not done in excellence is sinful? And how do we apply God’s view of work to cleaning our house, writing a paper for school, or working a 9-to-5 job? I have been feeling guilty about the way I handle these things for months now, and I’m not sure if I’m just being lazy, self-righteous, or am I disobeying the Lord?”
• How the Dignity of Work Transforms Lives. Sam Brownback writes “Without the opportunity to achieve independence through the dignity of work, we cannot fulfill our God-given potential.”

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Top 10 Faith and Work Quotes of the Week

• Although every career field has its own temptations, each will also have its unique opportunities for men and women of God to be and to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. Russ Gehrlein
• Servant leadership means putting others before yourself. Dee Ann Turner
• Your career is never going to die for you. If you don’t fulfill its dictates, it will punish you all your life. Tim Keller
• Lord, help me today to use my gifts, talents, time, energy, and enthusiasm for the good of others and the glory of your name. Tim Challies
• We give the bulk of our energy to ordinary work. We make a difference when we do ordinary work well. Daniel Doriani
• Whatever our specific calling, God has uniquely and divinely equipped each of us to perform this work assignment to His glory (Colossians 3:23-25). Luke Bobo
• Retirement is the chance to pick up the strands of your calling that might have been latent during your career and develop them more fully into your life’s work. Jeff Haanen
• One of the great challenges of motherhood is the lack of a job description. Moms don’t keep normal business hours because their children don’t. Moms don’t have workplace boundaries because they live at work. The tasks are always there waiting to be done. The children are always there needing attention, love and training. Courtney Reissig
• A job is a vocation only if someone else calls you to do it and you do it for them rather than for yourself. Tim Keller
• The place to which God calls you is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet. Frederick Buechner

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FAITH AND WORK BOOK REVIEW:

Shepherds for Sale: How Evangelical Leaders Traded The Truth for a Leftist Agenda by Megan Basham. Broadside Books. 352 pages. 2024
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A few weeks ago, I started hearing a lot about this book. My first thought was that it was probably a “hit job” on evangelical leaders by a non-Christian, but then I saw that those who endorsed the book included many individuals that I respected, including John MacArthur, Rosaria Butterfield, Voddie Baucham and Mollie Hemingway. Those endorsements convinced me to read the book.
In this book, the author, a cultural reporter for The Daily Wire, tells us that with nearly every issue that represents a key priority for progressives, even when all other major demographics have signed on, Christians, and evangelicals in particular, represent the most formidable roadblock. Progressive strategists complain that evangelicals have been the toughest nut to crack despite the tens of millions of dollars they have spent promoting elite church influencers who voice their preferred views.
The author, herself a Southern Baptist, tells us that none of the pastors, theologians, or Christian influencers included in this book are associated with the political left, though they have been pushing progressive ideologies. She states that every name she puts forward as evidence of liberal drift and infiltration is commonly trusted and welcomed by orthodox American Protestantism. She writes that the book focuses on false or misguided shepherds. Her ultimate purpose is to confirm for average evangelicals in the pews that the uneasy feelings many have been having that their pulpits and institutions are being co-opted by political forces with explicitly secular progressive aims are justified, and that it is indeed happening.
The book looks at hot topics in the culture and church such as climate change, illegal immigration, abortion, Christian media, COVID propaganda, critical race theory, #ChurchToo, and the LGBTQ movement.
The author writes that where shepherds and teachers are compromising the Word for the sake of worldly approval, where they are belittling their sheep and defaming the Church for the applause of the important and influential, we should not reward them by remaining in their churches or buying their books.
The is a well-researched book with approximately 75 pages of footnotes. Among the individuals that take the most criticism are current or former Southern Baptists such as Russell Moore and Beth Moore (both of who are no longer Southern Baptists), J.D. Greear, and Danny Akin. Other individuals or organizations that are mentioned in the book are David French (who has changed his views considerably over the past few years), Christianity Today magazine (Russell Moore is currently Editor in Chief), The Gospel Coalition, Religion News Service, Trinity Forum, Cru, Gavin Ortlund, the denomination I belong to – the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) – Tim Keller, Scott Sauls, Andy Stanley, Karen Swallow Prior, Revoice, Greg Johnson, Rick Warren, Matt Chandler, Francis Collins, and others. As I read the book, I was most concerned with the actions of Russell Moore, J.D. Greear, and Francis Collins. Some, like Andy Stanley, I already had serious concerns with. A few of those mentioned (Gavin Ortlund, J.D. Greear), have already responded, feeling that they were misrepresented in the book.
Basham is an excellent writer and tells this sad story well in this important book. She tells us that now is our moment, laypeople as well as pastors, to stand in defense of the Gospel against foreign doctrines that have come into the Church.

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

Working in the Presence of God: Spiritual Practices for Everyday Work

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 brief introduction to Part Two: Engaging in Work. Here are a few helpful quotes from this section:

• You need to see your occupation in the light of the God who called you to this work—to see it as a vocation, a divine call.
• Your identity as a worker, whatever the job, is shaped first and foremost by whom God calls you to be.
• By engaging in work, we become co-creators in the work of subduing creation—making something new, as artists, craftspeople, and problem solvers.