Blog - Grasping Vocation
Let's stop talking about “entering the ministry.” The way we use those words widens the false gap between “sacred” and “secular” and between “clergy” and “laity.” The phrase confuses Christians.
read more...You may now download from this website a 12-unit study guide for the book, Serving Christ in the Workplace. The free guide can be used in a variety of ways (for example, by adult Sunday school classes, home study groups, cell groups or individuals working alone).
read more...The meltdown of the USSR opened the door for a massive influx of western missionaries. But according to theologian Darrell Cosden, this burst of missionary activity communicated not only the Good News but also some bad news for Russian believers in ordinary jobs.
read more...Last week, I spoke with a multi-talented Christian woman. Daily work for her has included nursing, computer programming, administrative work for a mission board overseas, and contract administration here in the United States. Her story brings into focus a double-mindedness in the way our evangelical traditions have taught us to think about work.
read more...After reading the sentence, I stopped to scan it again. As one of a series of thought-stimulators in the study guide for a book, it asked readers to, “Describe three ways that you currently take God to work (or school) with you.” Hmmm. Does God really need me to take him to my workplace?
read more...Q: What's wrong with this picture?
Can you think of anything more powerful than the Word of God? Nine times Genesis 1 explains creation with the words “God said.” Psalm 33:9 sums it all up: “…he spoke, and it came to be.” Jesus, the God-Man, drove evil spirits out of people “with a word.” And he even now is “sustaining all things by his powerful word” (Hebrews 1:3). What could possibly stand in the way of such power?
read more...YOU HAVE HEARD: EVERYDAY NON-RELIGIOUS WORK IS SECULAR
This is the second in a series of articleson religious traditions that undermine the effectiveness of Christ-followers in the work world. The format for these articles echoes Jesus' method of exposing harmful religious traditions by saying, “You have heard…but I say to you….”
read more...You have heard: Everyday Non-Religious Work is Secular (Read Part 2)
But Scripture Makes Clear: God's World is Not Split into Sacred and Secular Zones.
Seeing the world in sacred/secular terms creates half-hearted and double-minded workers. This comes from defective vision comparable to diplopia—double vision. read more...YOU HAVE HEARD: WORK IS PART OF GOD'S PUNISHMENT FOR SIN
“Why Work?” asks British writer Dorothy Sayers in the title of an essay. How you answer that two-word question is crucial. Many look to Genesis 3:17-19 for the answer . . .
read more...YOU HAVE HEARD: WORK IS PART OF GOD'S PUNISHMENT FOR SIN
BUT SCRIPTURE MAKES IT CLEAR: GOD, THE WORKER, MADE US AS WORKERS BEFORE SIN ENTERED THE WORLD
You've seen those houses with lean-to's jutting from outside walls. A lean-to is merely an attachment, an add-on, not part of the original design. The tradition that work is part of God's punishment for sin teaches us to see work as a lean-to, something God tacked onto us after he made us.
read more...YOU HAVE HEARD: YOU ARE JUST A LAYPERSON
Sue Mallory, in her book, The Equipping Church, admits: “I put off writing this book for a long time because I wasn't sure I had an audience or a right to speak. After all, I thought, I'm just a layperson.” What had held her back? read more...
YOU HAVE HEARD: YOU ARE JUST A LAYPERSON
BUT SCRIPTURE MAKES IT CLEAR: YOU ARE SALT, LIGHT, SEED, AND MUCH MORE
Many words in the New Testament tell us who we are as Christ-followers. But nowhere does it call any of us by those disabling terms, “laypersons” or “laity.” R. Paul Stevens writes, “While we observe in the church today two classes of people [clergy and laity]…, we discover in the New Testament one ministering people….” read more...
YOU HAVE HEARD: GOD'S ONLY PURPOSES IN “SECULAR” WORK ARE WITNESSING AND MAKING MONEY FOR LIVING AND GIVING (Read Part 7)
This religious tradition concedes that so-called “secular” work can have some religiously redeeming value. Okay, it says, so you hold a job that does not qualify as work popularly called “full-time Christian service.” Not a total loss. At least you can use it as an opportunity to share the gospel, to earn a living, and to make enough to support your church and cross-cultural missions.
read more...YOU HAVE HEARD: GOD'S ONLY PURPOSES IN “SECULAR” WORK ARE WITNESSING AND MAKING MONEY FOR LIVING AND GIVING (Read Part 8)
BUT SCRIPTURE MAKES IT CLEAR: GOD SENDS YOU TO WORK TO REFLECT HIM AND HIS WORK
Why has God placed you where you work? He has done so not for just two but for a rich variety of purposes. This will be the first of several blogs on other reasons God deploys you into the work world.
read more...YOU HAVE HEARD: GOD'S ONLY PURPOSES IN “SECULAR” WORK ARE WITNESSING AND MAKING MONEY FOR LIVING AND GIVING (Read Part 9)
BUT SCRIPTURE MAKES IT CLEAR: GOD USES WORK-RELATED STRESSES TO FORM CHRIST IN YOU
Jesus tells us, “In this world, you will have trouble” (Jn. 16:33). Much of that distress occurs in the work world. Is it possible that encountering that trouble is one of God's reasons for sending us into that world?
read more...YOU HAVE HEARD: GOD'S ONLY PURPOSES IN “SECULAR” WORK ARE WITNESSING AND MAKING MONEY FOR LIVING AND GIVING (Read Part 10)
BUT SCRIPTURE MAKES IT CLEAR: YOU AND OTHER BELIEVERS AT WORK ARE TO SERVE EACH OTHER
read more...RELIGIOUS RUTS IN YOUR WORK WORLD: PART 12
YOU HAVE HEARD: GOD'S ONLY PURPOSES IN “SECULAR” WORK ARE WITNESSING AND MAKING MONEY FOR LIVING AND GIVING (Read Part 11)
BUT SCRIPTURE MAKES IT CLEAR: YOU'RE THERE TO MAKE THE GOOD NEWS APPEALING
A few years ago, during the boom years of real-estate sales, a new business emerged—home staging. A seller hires the home stager to put forward the best features of the house. According to one expert, “Staging a home can make a huge difference in how it's perceived by prospective buyers.” Is there a lesson here for Christ-followers in the work world?
read more...YOU HAVE HEARD: GOD'S ONLY PURPOSES IN “SECULAR” WORK ARE WITNESSING AND MAKING MONEY FOR LIVING AND GIVING (Read Part 13)
BUT SCRIPTURE MAKES IT CLEAR: WITNESSING—A SERIOUS (NOT THE SOLE) PURPOSE
For a toddler, Kai had a way of capturing hearts. We had known his family well before he was born. One Sunday, as my wife worked in the church nursery, she couldn't help noticing again his gentle, kind spirit. “Kai,” she said, “I love you!” Instantly his body recoiled . . .
read more...RELIGIOUS RUTS IN YOUR WORKPLACE: PART 15
YOU HAVE HEARD: GOD'S ONLY PURPOSES IN “SECULAR” WORK ARE WITNESSING AND MAKING MONEY FOR LIVING AND GIVING (Read Part 14)
BUT SCRIPTURE MAKES IT CLEAR: GOD APPLAUDS (NOT JUST ALLOWS) WORKING TO EARN
A flight attendant said, “The Great Commission is what we're called to. It is the number-one reason that God put us here. We need a job just to make our house payments and pay the bills.” In Your Work Matters to God, Doug Sherman and William Hendricks use this quotation to illustrate what they call the “Mainstream Model” of Christian thinking. In this view, the primary reason for working is to evangelize. The “just” in the quotation downgrades earning to a bothersome necessity.
read more...YOU HAVE HEARD: GOD'S ONLY PURPOSES IN “SECULAR” WORK ARE WITNESSING AND MAKING MONEY FOR LIVING AND GIVING (Read Part 15)
BUT SCRIPTURE MAKES IT CLEAR: GOD SENDS YOU INTO THE WORK WORLD FOR MANY REASONS
What difference does it make if you think you're in the work world just to witness and to earn? Peer through the eyes of Lisa, a bank teller who has come from a church tradition in which evangelism trumps all.
read more...YOU HAVE HEARD: TO REALLY SERVE GOD IN YOUR WORK, GO INTO FULL-TIME SERVICE
BUT SCRIPTURE MAKES IT CLEAR: ALL CHRISTIANS ARE CALLED TO SERVE GOD FULL TIME
"We shape our buildings,” said Winston Churchill; "thereafter they shape us.” In a similar way, we fashion religious terms that from then on have the power to mold our thinking for generations. Case in point: the phrase "full-time Christian service.” read more...YOU HAVE HEARD: STAY CLEAN BY AVOIDING THE WORK WORLD
BUT SCRIPTURE MAKES IT CLEAR: PENETRATE THE DARK WORK WORLD AS A LIGHT (Read Part 17)
"The workplace is no place for a Christian woman,” said one pastor. "It is too hard to be spiritual there. . . . Stay out of the world.” You don’t often hear this stance toward the work world expressed so openly. But even if not stated outright, the attitude continues to smolder in many places. Just the other day, I came across these words on a website:
YOU HAVE HEARD: TO GO TO CHURCH, ATTEND A WORSHIP SERVICE
BUT SCRIPTURE MAKES IT CLEAR: YOU REMAIN IN CHURCH WHILE YOU WORK (Read Part 18)
Ruts pose two hazards for a bike rider. One, they're hard to get out of. Two, they take control of the steering. The words "go to church” create similar risks for Christ-followers. read more...SUMMARY AND SIGNIFICANCE OF SERIES: PART 20 (Read Part 19)
Just over four months ago, I began posting these blogs on "Religious Ruts in Your Workplace.” Before we leave that theme for other workplace topics, let's briefly review what we've covered. These articles have identified seven religious traditions that affect our daily work. As I listed them for an overall look, a fresh insight emerged.
read more...Some welcome news came last week. The Bakke Graduate University (BGU), Seattle, accepted me as a D.Min. student. The full name of the program: Doctor of Ministry in Transformational Leadership for the Global City. I plan to specialize in the theology of work—a BGU strength. Why this—at my age?
read more...This question headlined the web page: "What is the purpose of working or holding down a job?” Naturally, given the theme of this website, it caught my attention. What kinds of answers would the readers of Yahoo! Answers come up with?
read more...You’ve just been introduced to someone you don’t know. Typically, he or she may open the conversation by asking, "What do you do?” In other words, "What is your work?” Some of us take the question in stride. Others see it as demeaning.
read more..."Most of us . . . have jobs that are too small for our spirit,” Nora Watson told Studs Terkel, who quoted her in the introduction to his book, Working (p. xxiv). "I think most of us are looking for a calling, not a job,” she said. Nora’s words must have struck a nerve, because other writers by the hundreds continue to quote them.
read more..."We shape our buildings,” said Winston Churchill; "thereafter they shape us.” It’s also true that we shape our words—and then they shape us.
read more...Believers from the work world gather Sunday after Sunday to listen to their pastors. What if pastors could listen to those believers describe the challenges, opportunities, frustrations, and questions they face on the job? For the past several weeks Leroy Hurt and I have been planning a county-wide forum to create just such an opportunity.
read more...Imagine the difficulty in doing your work wholeheartedly if you’re afraid focusing on the job distances you from God. To think that way pits your work against your walk with God. It seems as if the job competes with your faith for your attention.
read more...In recent conversation, a medical doctor mentioned how often he has seen those who retire from their work die shortly afterward. His comment was in line with a Shell Oil company study which found that people retiring early at 55 experienced twice the death rate of those who retired at 60. Why? Many factors probably explain this, but one of them may well be the loss of purpose.
read more...The other day, I googled on the phrase "jobs on everyone’s mind” and received 1,150 hits. When it comes to work, people worry about it, watch movies about it, spend their best waking hours doing it, love it, hate it, and politicize it. And people talk about work everywhere—except in most churches.
read more...A survey of 60 Christian employees made up the research core of my just-completed DMin. Dissertation. One of the 41 questions asked: "Are you aware of any resources that provide instruction and encouragement for believers in the 21st century work world?” More than 60 percent (37) said . . .
read more...In last week’s blog, I promised to review some of the books now available as resources for Christians in the work world. A day or so later, I received an email suggesting that I review The Integrated Life by Ken Eldred. That book is part of my library—so here goes. . . .
read more..."I think people don’t like to talk about this divide very much.” Those words from a student in response to a question I posed to two online classes on Work, Calling, and Human Dignity. The "divide” to which he referred is the gulf between so-called "sacred” and "secular” work. The question to which he responded: "What effect does the sacred/secular divide have on how Christians often perceive the dignity of work?”
read more...In the last blog, I focused on several responses of doctoral and masters students in my online classes to this question: "What effect does the sacred/secular divide have on how Christians often perceive the dignity of work?” This post continues on the theme of "loss” so often expressed in their answers to that question.
read more...The last two posts reported on how doctoral and masters students responded to the question: "What effect does the sacred/secular divide have on how Christians often perceive the dignity of work?” The word "loss” sums up their responses—loss not only to the gathered/scattered church and to the Kingdom of God, but also to individual believers.
read more...How can Christians in the workplace make the gospel attractive (Titus 2:10) to unbelievers? Think of it this way. The voice on a radio commercial urges you to spend $19.95 on a filter pitcher. An hour later you watch a TV ad that shows the same unit turning a rusty stream from a faucet into crystal-clear water. Which message are you more likely to trust? We’ve known since kindergarten that show-and-tell works far better than tell-by-itself.
read more...The virgin birth of Jesus was clearly the work of God. Yet he did this work within a setting prepared by the work of human beings. As we celebrate Christmas, the story of the God-Man’s birth can remind us that God uses our work in doing his work.
read more...How can you commune with God in a workplace full of people who don’t—and who may even oppose it? Is communing with God a good work best done in a "house of worship” where we enjoy the backing of everyone around us?
read more...Last week’s blog on building community raised a question for a reader. Beyond practicing good manners, she wanted to know, what should go into seeking to build community and shalom into the workplace. In his book, Joy at Work, Dennis Bakke has identified one important community-building element. Bakke co-founded and served as the CEO of Applied Energy Services, a Fortune 200 global power company.
read more...In our virtual-community age of Facebook and tweets, where do nearly half of us in America get most of our literal face-to-face time? On the job. There, we still read smiles and frowns, hear tones of voice, interpret gestures, and can actually touch each other. As those who recognize our God-assigned role of building community, we believers dare not overlook the opportunities right in our workplaces.
read more...Evangelism in the workplace. Some think it’s the only significant reason believers are there. No, say others, it’s out of place on the job. Is it all? Or is it nothing? Maybe it would help those taking either position to relate evangelism to the community-building called for in our original job description.
read more...In my early teens Dad delegated to me the care of a half-acre of his 31-acre farm. The land was still his, but on "my” plot I did the work of plowing, discing, harrowing, planting, irrigating, weeding, harvesting, and marketing. The crop: Marblehead squash. Why did I feel so honored? Because Dad had entrusted something of his own into my care. I experienced the dignity of manhood as I managed what belonged to my father. That introduced me to stewardship.
read more...This series of blogs has drawn its theme from the only time in the history of the planet when God’s will was done perfectly on earth as in heaven. That, of course, was the Genesis two-chapter account of the pre-sin era. In those chapters, we see our earliest ancestors getting—and beginning to carry out—our work assignments from God.
read more...Midway through my undergraduate years in Wheaton College, I married Sharon Cole of Seattle. The day after our wedding in her hometown, we started the 2,000-mile drive to Illinois. For the next three years, we made our home there. Sharon worked in Chicago, while I completed my college degree. After graduation, I worked as an editor/writer for Scripture Press Publications. We returned to the State of Washington in 1964. Let me hasten to add at this point that Sharon has read and okayed what follows.
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