Faith and Work News ~ Links to Interesting Articles
- Key Ways to Increase Our Awareness of God’s Presence at Work. Joshua Nangle writes “Proverbs 3:5-10provides timeless truths for raising our awareness of the presence of God in all of life, including in our work. Several principles can be gleaned from this passage, but there are three that call for attention here. When applied, these principles will help us work with God rather than only working for God. He is Lord, but he desires to work with us in our careers.”
- 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).
- Your Work Is an Apologetic. Jacqueline Isaacs shares the third installment in a series on work as an apologetic.
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 ~ Why Your Work Matters: How God Uses Our Everyday Vocations to Transform Us, Our Neighbors, and the World by Tom Nelson
- Quotes from the book Creation Regained: Biblical Basis for a Reformational Worldview by Albert Wolters
- Is My Gen AI Work Responsible for Job Loss? Jacob Anderson responds to the question “Should I work on a job that involves generative artificial intelligence? I feel responsible for artists (e.g., graphic designers) losing their jobs.”
- What Do Paul’s Letters to the Corinthians Teach us About Work? In this article, Russ Gehrlein collates over 20 excerpts from nearly every chapter of his book, Immanuel Labor – God’s Presence in our Professionthat highlight what the Apostle Paul teaches us about the theology of work in his two epistles to the Corinthians.
- Work Is Cursed. We Need the Gospel. Anton Ivanov writes “It doesn’t matter what work you do—if you’re a Christian, you’ll seek to do all things in a worthy manner.”
- 3 Beautiful Benefits in the New Book Faith & Work. John Pletcher writes “Upon reading and contemplating Faith & Work: Galvanizing Your Church for Everyday Impact, by Melissa Wallace and Lauren Gill, we discover three beautiful benefits that I’d like to explore.”
- Is AI Going to Take My Job? A Christian Response to Technological Disruption. Taylor Barkley writes ““We shouldn’t be naive about AI’s power or potential risks. But we can approach this technology with confidence rather than fear, wisdom rather than panic, and hope rather than despair.”
- Working and Abiding in the Presence of God. Joshua Nangle writes “The best way we can glorify God through our work is by seeking his presence in our work.”
- 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).
- Biblical Guidelines for You and Your Boss. Russ Gehrlein writes “If Christian employers and employees make efforts to do and say what God commands his people to do and say at work, I think we would experience a lot less of the nasty thorns and thistlesthat naturally come with the territory in this time in which we live, in between Jesus’ first and second coming.”
- Scottie’s Secret. Dan Darling writes “The world’s best golfer isn’t saying his vocation is meaningless. He’s sharing a powerful (and ancient) lesson on how to order our loves.”
Top 10 Faith and Work Quotes of the Week
- Christians have more in Jesus than just a spiritual leader; we have a practical and effective leadership model for all organizations, for all people, for all situations. Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges
- God does not need our good works, but our neighbor does. Martin Luther
- The only Christian work is good work well done. Dorothy Sayers
- There is wonderful hope beyond the weekend. It involves that very special assignment to which God has called us: our work. And it begins next Monday. John Beckett
- Not many of us claim to be God, but our unrealistic expectations for our work, our children, our bodies, our churches—for just about every aspect of our lives—show that we actually do imagine that we are God. We act as if we should never grow tired or weary, that we could and should always do more and be more. Kelly Kapic
- Every disciple of Jesus is called to be a minister of the gospel in his or her workplace. Wherever we are engaged in the efforts of his kingdom, we are acting as ministers administrating God’s goodwill on earth as it is in heaven. Dallas Willard
- Do not be discontented with your calling. Whatever God has made your position or your work, remain in that, unless you are quite sure that He calls you to something else. Let your first concern be to glorify God to the best of your ability where you are. Charles Spurgeon
- Our leadership legacy is not just limited to what we accomplished, but it includes what we leave behind in the hearts and minds of those with whom we had a chance to teach and work. Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges
- Sabbatical is a way to structure time in early retirement to heal past wounds, seek God’s voice, and find God’s call for the next season of life. It’s the time to ask the honest question “God, what are You calling me to do in retirement?” Jeff Haanen
FAITH AND WORK BOOK REVIEW:
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I have enjoyed each of the author’s books, including his 2011 book Work Matters. The author, a pastor and founder of the Made to Flourish organization, writes that much has changed in the world and in the world of work since the publication of that book which needs thoughtful reflection. In this new edition of Work Matters, the author has added some additional wisdom he has gained as a result of being immersed in, and having a voice in, the broader faith and work conversation.
The book is organized as follows:
Chapters 1-5 – The author explores God’s work story.
Chapters 6-10 – The author explores how your Monday world is a primary place of worship, meaning, and growth.
Each chapter closes with “A Prayer for Our Work” and helpful “Questions for Reflection and Discussion”. Throughout the book, the author shares illustrations from his experiences as a pastor and leader of the Made to Flourish organization.
Among the many topics addressed in the book are God as a worker, sabbath, work dualism, vocation, loving our neighbors, burnout, sleep, career formation, calling, giftedness, career maturation, retirement, unemployment, technology, artificial intelligence, and remote work.
Like Work Matters, Why Work Matters is a helpful book about our work and how to integrate it with our faith. The questions for reflection and discussion will enhance your experience when reading and discussing the book with others.
Below are 15 helpful quotes from the book:
- God could have initially revealed himself in Scripture in any number of ways, but he chose to reveal himself first as a worker, a creator of the heavens and earth.
- Our work, whatever God has called us to do, whatever it is, wherever it is done, whether or not we are paid for it, is our God-honoring, loving, beauty-making contribution to others and to the world.
- Work undertaken as God designed it is a form of worship.
- Sabbath is a space for delight and celebration, restoring the soul and fostering intimacy with God and others.
- When we wrongly distinguish one type of work from another, placing value on some types of work at the expense of others, we fall into the distortion of work dualism.
- There is no more sacred space than the workplace where God has called you to serve him as you love your neighbor and serve the common good.
- A large part of stewarding our vocational callings in the workplace is faithfully showing up every day and living out the gospel by doing good work and being exemplary workers.
- Your skills and abilities will not be wasted; they will be utilized and further developed in the future work God has for you to do in the new heavens and new earth.
- Having an audience of one means we practice the presence of God as we go about our day and enjoy an ongoing conversation with him in our workplaces.
- It is in our ordinary day-to-day lives of work, rest, and play that we are to flourish, to be salt and light, to be spiritually formed, and to be God’s redemptive agents in the world.
- Your workplace is holy ground because God is with you and because the work you do unto him and for the good of others is itself a beautiful act of worship.
- Your work is one of God’s greatest gifts for your spiritual formation and maturity.
- The most important place of your spiritual growth is where God has already placed you on Monday.
- The weekly Sabbath rhythm is an unhurried and undistracted time for nurturing relationships with God and others.
- Retirement is not about self-absorption; it is about God-honoring stewardship.
Faith and Work Book Club – Won’t you read along with us?
This book is recommended by the Center for Faith & Work. They write:
“Few contemporary books have been cited as often by those who are writing about taking up callings and vocations faithfully. This serious little book walks us through the key Biblical themes of the goodness of creation, the seriousness of the fall into sin, the decisive redemption gained by Christ, and the implications of working out the promised hope for a creation-wide restoration. With the keen eye of a philosopher and the passion of a Bible scholar, Wolter’s offers one of the definitive, concise books about a Christian worldview. One of the most important books for those of us in CFW and highly recommended to understand a uniquely Christian view of cultural and vocational engagement.”
As we read this through this book, we now look at Chapter 1: What Is a Worldview? Here are a few highlights from the chapter:
- This book is an attempt to spell out the content of a biblical worldview and its significance for our lives as we seek to be obedient to the Scriptures.
- For our purposes, worldview will be defined as “the comprehensive framework of one’s basic beliefs about things.”
- Everyone has a worldview; however inarticulate he or she may be in expressing it. Having a worldview is simply part of being an adult human being.
- Our worldview functions as a guide to our life.
- Our worldview shapes, to a significant degree, the way we assess the events, issues, and structures of our civilization and our times.
- Our worldview must be shaped and tested by Scripture. It can legitimately guide our lives only if it is scriptural.
- A good part of the purpose of this book is to offer help in the process of reforming our worldview to conform more closely to the teaching of Scripture.
- Testing our worldview against Scripture and revising it accordingly is part of the renewal of the mind.
- The plea being made here for a biblical worldview is simply an appeal to the believer to take the Bible and its teaching seriously for the totality of our civilization right now and not to relegate it to some optional area called “religion.”