Faith and Work News ~ Links to Interesting Articles

• Come to Jesus, All Those Who Feel Overwhelmed by Work. Kaitlin Febles responds to the question “Many scenarios could make the seasonal burdens of work feel overwhelming—think of an accountant in April, a teacher in August, or a pastor in December. But our work can also feel overwhelming on a more mundane level. A full email inbox, a big project, or even the regular daily grind can leave us tired and discouraged. What does God offer in the Bible when I’m feeling overwhelmed by work?”
• Leading Through Hardship: A Conversation with Mark Vroegop, President of The Gospel Coalition. What does faithful leadership look like when navigating organizational turbulence? On this episode of Working with Dan Doriani, Dan sits down with pastor, author, and current president of The Gospel Coalition Mark Vroegop to explore the hard-won lessons that emerge from leading through difficulty.
• Be Faithful At Work, Even When It’s Not Your Dream Job. Julianna Graeber writes “If you’re wading through a disorienting season of elusive career direction, remember this: God’s purposes remain trustworthy, even when they aren’t immediately revealed.”

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 ~ Leading with the Heart: Coach K’s Successful Strategies for Basketball, Business, and Life by Mike Krzyzewski and Donald T. Phillips
• Quotes from the book Creation Regained: Biblical Basis for a Reformational Worldviewby Albert Wolters

• 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).
• Do We Know How God Leads Us? (Part 1). Russ Gehrlein writes “To unpack how God leads his children vocationally, I will use several excerpts from my book Immanuel Labor – God’s Presence in our Profession: A Biblical, Theological, and Practical Approach to the Doctrine of Work, that are relevant. I will also expand on these concepts with additional biblical, theological, and practical considerations.”
• 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).
• We are Builders. Russ Gehrlein writes “I invite you to explore this topic with me as I briefly discuss God as a builder, highlight a biblical example of one who built things for God’s glory, contrast it with those who built with the wrong motives, and then provide some encouraging words for those in the midst of building projects now.”
• When Faith Goes to Work. On this episode of the Faith and Work Podcast, Ross Chapman talks with Matt Rusten of Made to Flourish about connecting faith and work, with added insights from The Flourishing Pastor Podcast.
• Deeper Reflections on Career Management. Russ Gehrlein writes “I challenge you to begin with total submission to God’s will for your career. He knows best what is best for His kingdom and for you. He will bless you in unimaginable ways as you fully trust Him.”
• The Creator, Creation & Christ-Centered Culture (Part 1). Peter Lillback writes “In terms of what we as humans create—such as history, art, beauty, and faithfulness—these are things that shape what we know as elements of aesthetics. Aesthetics lead us to ask how truth, goodness, and delight coalesce, pleasing our hearts, elevating our minds, filling our senses, and blessing our souls.”
• How Can I Avoid Pride While Striving for Excellence in My Work? Robert Plummer answers this question on this episode of Honest Answers.

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Top 10 Faith and Work Quotes of the Week

• All labor is honorable. No one ever needs to be ashamed of an honest calling. Whether a potter or a gardener, or whatever else one’s occupation may be, the workman need never blush at the craft or toil by which he earns his honest wage. Charles Spurgeon
• Work is not burdensome when you do what you love, for people you love. Dan Doriani
• The Lord is pleased with faithful work in every calling. Dan Doriani
• Success isn’t about comparing yourself to others or trying to be something you’re not. It’s about finding your unique path, your special contribution, and giving it your all. George Raveling
• All our work for God should be done thoroughly, and especially that part of it that lies lowest and is least observed by people. Charles Spurgeon
• The noblest thing we can do is to serve the Lord faithfully in the place God assigns us. Dan Doriani
• If you don’t want to serve, you cannot be a great leader. Ken Blanchard and Mark Miller
• When you have a leadership position, focus not on the power that comes with the position but on the people you have an opportunity to serve. Ken Blanchard
• As a Christian in the workplace, your faith is going to be challenged. Count on it and do not be surprised or shocked when it happens. David Goetsch

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FAITH, WORK, LEADERSHIP BOOK REVIEW:

Leading with the Heart: Coach K’s Successful Strategies for Basketball, Business, and Life by Mike Krzyzewski and Donald T. Phillips. Grand Central Publishing. 336 pages. 2010
**** 

I read this book back in 2001, when the original edition was published, and then again recently for a second time. The book is organized into four sections:

• Preseason
• Regular Season
• Postseason
• All-Season

Each section has four chapters, with each chapter beginning with three quotes from Coach K and ending with “Coach K’s Tips”. A new chapter of the book “Overtime: Fall 2004” was added to this edition, which dealt with changes in college basketball (players leaving for the NBA before playing their four years). Many more changes (NIL and Transfer Portal) have impacted college sports since that chapter was written.

This is an excellent book for leaders to read. Here are 20 of the most helpful leadership quotes from the book:

• Too many rules get in the way of leadership. They just put you in a box and, sooner or later, a rule-happy leader will wind up in a situation where he wants to use some discretion but is forced to go along with some decree that he himself has concocted.
• The only way you can possibly lead people is to understand people. And the best way to understand them is to get to know them better.
• In addition to a caring attitude, leaders instill respect for authority by being direct, by communicating regularly, and by being honest.
• Discipline is doing what you are supposed to do in the best possible manner at the time you are supposed to do it.
• Success is not a matter of just wanting to win. It’s a matter of preparing to win—which is much more important.
• Goals are important in leadership. They should be realistic, they should be attainable, and they should be shared among all members of the team.
• Communication skills are just as important as technical skills.
• In leadership, no word is more important than trust.
• Leaders should be reliable without being predictable. They should be consistent without being anticipated.
• A leader has to have the courage to make a key decision in a split second. And then he has to have the courage to live with it afterward—whether it succeeds or fails. Because if he doesn’t, he’ll be afraid to make the next key decision.
• When a leader makes a mistake and doesn’t admit it, he is seen as arrogant or untrustworthy. And “untrustworthy” is the last thing a leader wants to be.
• When you screw up, admit you are wrong. Apologize in front of the whole team. To admit a mistake is not a weakness, it’s a strength.
• A leader must be committed to helping people grow.
• My hunger is not for success; it is for excellence. Because when you attain excellence, success just naturally follows.
• The main job of a leader is to inspire.
• With accomplishment comes confidence and with confidence comes belief. It has to be in that order.
• The only way you lose is if you don’t try your best.
• Integrity is nothing more than doing the right thing no matter who’s watching you.
• You have a choice. You can either change with the environment or you will eventually fail. A leader has to find a way to win.
• Effective leadership does not rest in the development of a plan alone. It results in the adjustment of that plan to meet the needs of a changing environment.

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

Creation Regained: Biblical Basis for a Reformational Worldview by Albert Wolters

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 this book we look at the Conclusion. Here are a few helpful quotes from this chapter:

• To approach the phenomena of the world in terms of structure and direction is to look at reality through the corrective lens of Scripture, which everywhere speaks of a good creation and the drama of its reclamation by the Creator in Jesus Christ.
• The reformational worldview we have been considering itself calls for a reformational philosophy that can relate the basic insights of a biblical perspective to the groundwork of a systematic philosophy that is relevant to the special disciplines of the university. This book is meant as an introduction to such a philosophy and to such a program of academic renewal.
• All thoughtful Christians, in whatever area they are called to exercise their responsibilities, must take seriously the question of biblical worldview, and must guide both their thinking and their acting accordingly.