Coram Deo ~

Looking at contemporary culture from a Christian worldview

Category Archives: Faith, Work and Leadership

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Colossians 3:23-24


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FAITH AND WORK: Connecting Sunday to Monday

Faith and Work News ~ Links to Interesting Articles

  • Why Do We Practice Sabbath Rest on Sundays? In this video, Megan Hill explains why Christians worship and rest on the first day of the week instead of the last.
  • Daily Vigilance for Lifelong Productivity. On this episode of the Ask Pastor John podcast, John Piper responds to the question “Pastor John, I admire you. I look at your life, this podcast, the books you have written, the sermons you have preached, and the way you seem to use every minute for God’s glory. I want that. But I cannot have it right now. We have two little ones at home and I feel like I am constantly fighting off distractions just so I can get the bare minimum done. I read productivity books, but I feel like a sluggard compared to you. How do you stay urgent, Pastor John? How do you manage the daily grind without losing your passion?”
  • 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).

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  • More links to interesting articles
  • The Top 10 Faith and Work Quotes of the Week
  • Faith and Work Book Review ~ The Score Takes Care of Itself: My Philosophy of Leadership by Bill Walsh, with Steve Jamison and Craig Walsh
  • Quotes from the book Working for Better: A New Approach to Faith at Work by Elaine Howard Ecklund and Denise Daniels

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FAITH AND WORK: Connecting Sunday to Monday

Faith and Work News ~ Links to Interesting Articles

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  • The Top 10 Faith and Work Quotes of the Week
  • Faith and Work Book Review ~ Strike the Flag: The Significance of Surrender in Leading and Serving Others by Kirk Billiter
  • Quotes from the book Working for Better: A New Approach to Faith at Workby Elaine Howard Ecklund and Denise Daniels

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FAITH AND WORK: Connecting Sunday to Monday

Faith and Work News ~ Links to Interesting Articles

  • Disagreeing Without Losing Your Soul: Gavin Ortlund, Apologist and Podcaster. Podcaster, pastor, apologist, and author Gavin Ortlund joins Dan on this episode of the Working with Dan Doriani podcast to explore what it looks like to disagree with charity in an increasingly polarized world. Gavin unpacks the difference between persuasion and manipulation, why genuine listening requires openness to being wrong, and how to hold theological conviction with humility.
  • 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).
  • What Unique Platform Has God Given You to Glorify Him? Randy Alcorn writes “Whether you are a grocery clerk, an assembly line worker, a salesperson, a nurse, a flight attendant, a stay-at-home mom, or a professional athlete, or whether you have a primary ministry of prayer or encouraging people, God has given you a unique platform.”

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  • The Top 10 Faith and Work Quotes of the Week
  • Faith and Work Book Review ~ Pastoring for Monday: Help Your Congregation Integrate Faith and Work by Matt Rusten
  • Quotes from the book Working for Better: A New Approach to Faith at Workby Elaine Howard Ecklund and Denise Daniels

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FAITH AND WORK: Connecting Sunday to Monday

Faith and Work News ~ Links to Interesting Articles

  • Faith & Work: How Do I Affirm Goodness in the Workplace?  In this episode of TGC Q&A, Missy Wallace answers questions about why work matters.
  • When Your Boss Expects You to Lie. On this episode of the Ask Pastor John podcast, John Piper responds to the questions “My high-pressure job requires me to mislead clients to meet quotas. That’s the blunt reality. Jesus says in Matthew 5:37that my ‘yes’ should be a firm ‘yes.’ I should mean what I say. To mislead is evil, and I don’t think any good can come from being evil, as Paul says in Romans 3:8. And if I am a new creature in Christ, I should not lie to others, as Colossians 3:9 says it. I tell my children all these things. So, how do I live out this life of honest virtue in such a cutthroat industry that requires coercive practices? Is it permissible to be reserved and not always forthright with clients about what I know? If I refuse to compromise, I risk losing my job, and my family depends on my income. How do I navigate ‘small’ daily compromises without losing my integrity?”

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  • The Top 10 Faith and Work Quotes of the Week
  • Faith and Work Book Review ~ The Redeemed Man, edited by Joel Beeke, Richard Phillips and Paul Smalley
  • Quotes from the book Working for Better: A New Approach to Faith at Work by Elaine Howard Ecklund and Denise Daniels

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Are Business and Church Leadership the Same?


I spent nearly 38 years as a leader at a Fortune 50 organization and have been a leader in my church for nearly 30 years. Is leadership in the business world and the church the same? No, not exactly. How are they different and how are they similar?

Qualifications for church leaders (pastors, elders) that are listed in the Bible in 1 Timothy 3:2-7 and Titus 1:6-8, are almost all character traits, with only “able to teach” being a skill qualification. At the same time, many of the elders in our church have been business owners or successful in the business world. So, we have seen that there is a connection between leading in the business world and in the church. Continue reading →


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FAITH AND WORK: Connecting Sunday to Monday

Faith and Work News ~ Links to Interesting Articles

  • 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).
  • What Can We Learn from the Repair Shop? Russ Gehrlein writes “I pray that you will see the work of restoration that is done by others (or yourself) in a new light. My desire is that ordinary Christian workers experience God’s presence at work every day and that they remember that their work matters for eternity.”
  • 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).
  • Hints of Hope: A Conversation with Steve Garber. On this episode of the Faith & Work podcast, enjoy this conversation with Dr. Steve Garber as he explores the profound connection between story, vocation, and faith, using Tolkien’s hobbits and biblical narratives to illustrate how understanding our meta-narrative shapes our life’s purpose and resolve.

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  • The Top 10 Faith and Work Quotes of the Week
  • Faith, Work and Leadership Book Review – The Secret: What Great Leaders Know and Do (4th Edition Revised and Expanded) by Ken Blanchard and Mark Miller
  • Quotes from the book Working for Better: A New Approach to Faith at Workby Elaine Howard Ecklund and Denise Daniels

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FAITH AND WORK: Connecting Sunday to Monday

Faith and Work News ~ Links to Interesting Articles

  • Young Men, Don’t Let AI Steal Your Work Ethic. Seth Troutt writes “How might we disciple young men to embrace their identity as workers at a time when the future of work feels so up in the air?”
  • 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).
  • Help! My Coworkers Claim to Be Christians but Don’t Act Like It. Miranda Carls responds to the question “I work as an administrative assistant in a public school system. This has been challenging and often discouraging, but I’ve also been able to share my faith with non-Christian colleagues. My bigger challenge is actually fellow Christian colleagues, some of whom are so liberal I’m not sure what parts of the Bible they believe. Do you have any advice on how to share Christ with people who think they’re already walking with him?”

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  • The Top 10 Faith and Work Quotes of the Week
  • Faith and Work Book Review ~ How to Get a Return on Failure: Fail Smarter—Return Stronger by John Maxwell
  • Quotes from the book Working for Better: A New Approach to Faith at Work by Elaine Howard Ecklund and Denise Daniels

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Values-Driven Leadership: A Better Way to Lead

In his excellent book Lead Like It Matters to God: Values-Driven Leadership in a Success-Driven World, a book I feel should be required reading for Christian leaders, former World Vision President Richard Stearns writes that he believes that God is far more concerned about how a leader leads than he is about the success that leader delivers. The book is about why he believes the values Christian leaders embrace are more important than the success they achieve. He tells us that while our culture rewards success, God’s bottom line is faithfulness.
In the book, Stearns writes about seventeen values and leadership qualities that he believes are essential for a Christian leader to embody: surrender, sacrifice, trust, love, excellence, humility, integrity, vision, courage, generosity, perseverance, forgiveness, self-awareness, balance, humor, encouragement, and listening.
He believes that leaders who embrace these characteristics will lift not only their own performance but also the performance of their teams. Stearns writes with authority, having been a successful CEO at Parker Brothers and then Lenox, before being called to World Vision. Continue reading →


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FAITH AND WORK: Connecting Sunday to Monday

Faith and Work News ~ Links to Interesting Articles

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  • The Top 10 Faith and Work Quotes of the Week
  • Faith and Work Book Review ~ The Clay Pot Conspiracy: God’s Plan to Use Weakness in Leaders by Dave Harvey
  • Quotes from the book Working for Better: A New Approach to Faith at Workby Elaine Howard Ecklund and Denise Daniels

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FAITH AND WORK: Connecting Sunday to Monday

Faith and Work News ~ Links to Interesting Articles

  • In Working for Christ, There Are No Dead-End Jobs. Alistair Begg writes “Whenever you find Christians who don’t give their best to their work, you have found Christians who have forgotten who they’re working for.”
  • Lisa Slayton: Wisdom for a World in Flux. “Life under the sun has always been a life in flux. And yet, in our world today, we are experiencing change at a dizzying pace. On top of that- our awareness of the brokenness in the world feels limitless. But our limitations as humans remain. More than ever we must slow down and discern ever-more-clearly, the voice of God calling us to our particular places, causes and communities- and the work that is ours to do, today. On this episode of the Wisdom Series, on Faith, Work & Rest, Lisa Slayton offers rich wisdom from her many years accompanying leaders to do just that.”
  • 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).

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 ~ Church Planting Is for Wimps: How God Uses Messed-Up People to Plant Ordinary Churches That Do Extraordinary Things by Mike McKinley
  • Quotes from the book Working for Better: A New Approach to Faith at Workby Elaine Howard Ecklund and Denise Daniels

Continue reading →