Faith and Work News ~ Links to Interesting Articles
- Biblical Love and What it Looks Like at Work. Joshua Nangle writes “This is the second article in a serieson applying the fruit of the Spirit in the workplace, and our topic today is the relationship between love (the first characteristic mentioned in the fruit of the Spirit) and work.”
- 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).
- Who Are You Without Your Job? On this episode of the Faith and Work podcast, Ross Chapman and Brian Gray explore the complex relationship between identity and work from a Christian perspective.
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 ~ Both/And Ministry: Living and Leading Like Jesus by Gary Millar
- 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).
- Healthy Organization Isn’t Optional for Local Churches. Zach Cochran writes “Healthy ministry requires healthy organization. Why? Because bringing order out of chaos is a biblical norm.”
- When Your Job Becomes Your Identity. Scott Sauls writes “When your career becomes the central answer to who you are and why you matter, you have erected one of those altars. Your problem is not ambition or excellence. Your problem is that you’re asking work to bear the weight of your identity, a burden it was never designed to carry.”
- When Helping Hurts: A Conversation with Economist Brian Fikkert (Part 2 of 2). What happens when the very economic systems that lift millions out of material poverty also contribute to rising anxiety and depression? In part 2 of this 2-part episode on the Working with Dan Doriani podcast, Dan sits down with Dr. Brian Fikkert – economist and co-author of When Helping Hurts – to integrate theological insight with sociological research, pushing against the limits of economic theory to participate in the broader Christian call to promote human flourishing.
- Marks of a Godly Boss. On this episode of the Ask Pastor John podcast, John Piper responds to a question that reads in part “My question for you is about Matthew 20:26–28. How has Jesus’s radical redefinition of greatness, that ‘whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,’ challenged your own measures of success and significance?”
- God’s Will and Your Vocation. Your vocation is more than a means of fulfilling your desires or paying your bills. On this episode of Renewing Your Mind, R.C. Sproul explains how finding our calling serves the people around us.
- You’re Not Just Tired: 3 Warning Signs of Chronic Stress That May Be Leading You to Burnout. Arianna Molloy writes “In my research, I’ve found that chronic stress consistently produces three specific effects, particularly in our communication. These effects are subtle at first, but over time, they create disconnection, exhaustion, and ultimately burnout.”
- Arianna Molloy. In this episode of the Women & Work podcast, Courtney Moore, founder and president of Women & Work, and Courtney Powell, Director of Ministry Content, interview Dr. Arianna Molloy, author of their most recent book club read, Healthy Calling: From Toxic Burnout to Sustainable Work.
- Living from the Gospel at Work. In this article Roger Bray holds up a mirror to help us identify when our identity may be wrapped up in our work and what we can do to restore our roots to the soil of Christ’s love through disciplines that help us resist reactive cycles.
Top 10 Faith and Work Quotes of the Week
- The work we are called to do every day is one of the primary means the Holy Spirit uses to conform us to greater Christlikeness. Tom Nelson
- When we begin to realize that there’s dignity in every vocation, then we realize that every job has a purpose of serving others and bringing glory to God. Bryan Chapell
- All followers of Jesus are called and empowered by the Holy Spirit to bloom where they are planted. Tom Nelson
- Christian leadership is not about domination; it is about service. True greatness is measured by how much we pour out; not how much we control. Charlie Kirk
- All work – paid and unpaid – is good, but it needs to be boundaried by the practice of Sabbath. Peter Scazzero
- Our passion is to know that we are fulfilling the purpose for which we are here on earth. Os Guinness
- Your success stops where your character stops. You can never rise above the limitations of your character. John Maxwell
- Work is not a consequence of sin, nor is it to be despised. It is dignified, God ordained and essential to the moral order. Charlie Kirk
FAITH AND WORK BOOK REVIEW:
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The author, who for the past twelve and a half years, has been working to equip people for gospel ministry in Queensland, Australia, states that living a Christian life often involves embracing two practices, the “both” and the “and”. In this book, he looks at both/and with a number of different examples, such as God (transcendent and immanent), theology, relationships, salvation (chosen by God and the need to follow Him), the Christian life, leadership, repentance, etc. He tells us that there is a gap between what God calls us to and the actual shape of our lives.
The author tells us that in almost every case of leadership failure, both the person themselves, and many of those closest to them, had somehow managed to excuse clearly sinful behavior for a long time. Great giftedness—or great effectiveness—was valued over basic godliness.
He tells us that the book is written both for those who usually stand at the front, and those who prefer to serve in the background.
He writes that the sad reality is that if there is no desire in us to be godly (to aim high) and no willingness to face the gap between what Jesus asks of us and the actual shape of our lives, and above all no repentance and faith, then our lives will never display the kind of authenticity to which God calls us.
The author states that living a both/and life leads to our joy. He tells us that the great goal of our lives is to keep growing and to keep going to the end, continuing to live a godly, consistent both/and life, continuing to grow in Christ-likeness as we live in repentance and faith.
At the end of each chapter, the author includes “mirror” sections. They are there to help the reader to reflect on the issues raised in the chapter.
Here are five helpful quotes about leadership from the book:
- The only leaders in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ are servant leaders.
- Gospel-shaped leaders are marked by both patience and urgency.
- As leaders, we are engaged in a lifelong battle against both pride and self-pity.
- Only God can help us live and lead like Jesus.
- If we want to follow Jesus in all the ways outlined in this book, it’s about both “me” and “us”.
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.”
To complete our reading of this book we look at the second half of the Postscript: Worldview between Story and Mission by Mike Goheen and Al Wolters. Here are a few helpful quotes from this half of the chapter:
- The Bible demands that the people of God play a contributing role in the development of their culture.
- The early church recognized that they were not only to be at home in the culture, but also at odds with the controlling faith assumptions that undergirded and shaped that culture.
- The mission of the church is not first of all about organization and strategy—as good as these things may be. Rather it is about a healthy life of prayer and meditation, immersion in Scripture as the true story of the world, and active participation in the life of the local congregation.
- The Christian church is called to live out of the power of the gospel and make the kingdom known in all departments of human life. In part that means interpreting the world through the lens of the gospel.
- Worldview elaboration plays a channeling role, bringing the gospel to meet the life needs of the church in its mission in the world.
- Worldview articulation can play a mediating role between the gospel and the missionary calling of God’s people.
- Creation Regained is offered to the church to equip her in a world that desperately needs to see and hear the good news that God’s kingdom has come: God is renewing the creation and the whole of human life in the work of Jesus Christ by the Spirit.