Faith and Work News ~ Links to Interesting Articles
- Work Matters. Here is Bryan Chapell’s sermon from Ephesians 6:5-9.
- A Leader Worth Following. My new book A Leader Work Following: 40 Key Leadership Attributes and Applications to Masteris available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle editions. Read a sample of the book (found under the book cover in the above link).
- Beware Toxic Servant Leadership. Jacob Crouch writes “A view of servant leadership that strips the actual authority of the one leading removes the truest service of the leader.”
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 Charismatic Leader: 21 Skills to Connect with People by John Maxwell
- Quotes from the book Working Blessedly Forever, Volume 1: The Shape of Marketplace Theology by R. Paul Stevens
- Work as a Context for Heart Change and City Impact. Missy Wallace and Lauren Gill share this excerpt from their book Faith & Work: Galvanizing Your Church for Everyday Impact.
- Why Faith is Good for the Workplace. In this article, Chris Heinz explores how religion enhances wellbeing, boosts motivation, and offers practical implications for organizations.
- 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).
- Millennials, Entitlement, and the Christian Vision of Calling. John Stonestreet writes “While the biblical picture of calling and vocation includes our giftedness, it also includes things like sacrifice, persecution, and an awareness of the needs of my neighbors.”
- Transparency, Integrity, Urgency. A team that works well together likely has a good leader—and a poor leader can destroy an extremely talented team. This is true within the church as well. Listen to Alistair Begg’s message on Acts 20:17-24, as he teaches on what it takes to be an effective spiritual leader.
- Finding a Mentor at My First Job. The world of work is hard to navigate; what do you do when you’re learning the ropes? Todd Carlisle joins Dan on the Working with Dan Doriani podcast to talk about his first job out of college and how mentorship plays a vital role in helping us thrive.
- How Do We Care for Our Teammates at Work? Russ Gehrlein writes “As we engage with those with whom we work, we may see unexpected “divine appointments” to love our neighbor in practical ways. Perhaps this is one of the reasons God placed us here.”
- A Balanced Work Life. Paul Tripp writes “Do you have a healthy “work-life” balance? Would those closest to you define you as a workaholic? Is it possible that you are asking your job and career to provide for you what only Christ can?”
- Will Believers Work in the New Earth? Hugh Whelchel writes “It is clear from the Bible that we will work in the new earth. Work was something Adam was made to do: “God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it” ( 2:15).”
Top 10 Faith and Work Quotes of the Week
- All work done well has a dignity in the eyes of God. Tim Keller
- Nothing in life is as rewarding as fulfilling your calling – nothing. Wealth, fame, achievement, recognition: all of them fall short. John Maxwell
- Monday work an extension of Sunday worship. Sunday worship is not a ‘moment’ of worship; it is the beginning of a whole week of worship. Matthew Kaemingk and Cory B. Willson
- Our calling is the gift we give the world while we are still alive. Our legacy is our gift to the world after we die. John Maxwell
- Any work that is useful to others and done with excellence is deserving of honor. Tim Keller
- There is no ideal place for us to serve God except the place He sets us down. Charles Spurgeon
- In the Christian view, the way to find your calling is to look at the way you were created. Your gifts have not emerged by accident, but because the Creator gave them to you. Timothy Keller
- All vocations are intended by God to manifest his love in the world. Thomas Merton
- As a Christian how can you work in the most Christ-pleasing way? The answer is, just do your job really, really well. Tim Keller
FAITH AND WORK BOOK REVIEW:
The Charismatic Leader: 21 Skills to Connect with People by John Maxwell. HarperCollins Leadership. 172 pages. 2025
** ½
First things first. I was under the impression that this was a book of new material by John Maxwell, who I have learned from for nearly 25 years. Instead, the book is “Derived from material previously published in 25 Ways to Win with People, a 2005 book that Maxwell wrote with Les Parrott and I had previously read. So, that was a disappointment.
Maxwell writes that having charisma makes people want to spend time with you, work with you, and accomplish worthwhile objectives together with you. He tells us that charisma is like leadership. It can be learned and developed. The secret to charisma is simple, it is focusing on others. You just need to care about people and make them feel important.
In this book, in short chapters, Maxwell walks the reader through twenty-one simple ways to develop charisma by interacting positively with people. You learn skills in three phases: Becoming Interested in Others Becoming Invested in Others Becoming Interesting to Others.
The book is not one of my favorite leadership books by Maxwell. Still, I had a few takeaways. Here are six of them:
- At the core of my being, I believe that nothing in this life is more important than people, and we should do everything in our power to add value to people.
- Remembering a person’s name and calling them by it tells them you care about them as an individual.
- Every good leader I’ve ever met was a good listener.
- The fundamental cause of nearly all communication problems is that people don’t listen to understand; they listen to reply.
- Whenever you have the opportunity to praise another person publicly, don’t let it slip by.
- Passing the credit on to others is one of the easiest ways to connect with people and make yourself more attractive to them as a leader.
Faith and Work Book Club – Won’t you read along with us?
We are reading through Working Blessedly Forever, Volume 1: The Shape of Marketplace Theology by R. Paul Stevens. In this volume, the first of three, Stevens explores the shape of marketplace theology, its posture and methodology. Marketplace theology is the science of working blessedly forever.
This week we look at Chapter 10: Work and Worship. Here are a few helpful quotes from the chapter:
- The most amazing thing about our work in the marketplace is this: through it we can bless God.
- It is important to note that the Hebrew word avodah means both “to work” and “to worship.”
- Work in Christ is now a way to bless God, a priestly and royal act. It is pleasing to God, exalting God as the owner of creation and the proper object of all we do in this world.
- Essentially work is a sacrament through which men and women in the workplace are offering their work-service to God and neighbor as a sweet and pleasing gift.
- There is no such thing as secular work for the Christian. They either view their work as a sacrament with themselves as royal priests offering up their work to God or they are defaming their work.
- So go to work to worship God. And join in the gathered life of the congregation to continue to worship, but also to be mutually edified in the integration of faith and work.
