Faith and Work News ~ Links to Interesting Articles

The Power of Your Words at Work. Russ Gehrlein writes “The Bible is full of commandments and observations about how we use words. Since this topic is highly relevant for Christians who want to work in such a way that they abide in God’s presence and work for His glory, let me address this from a biblical perspective. I think all of us can use some reminders of how we can use carefully chosen words to convey respect, caring, and truth.”Business and the Local Church. Joshua Nangle writes “Effective leadership and business practices should be incorporated in local churches, but not at the expense of robust, biblical ecclesiology. The church as a whole has a God-given design and purpose, and any human attempt, no matter how well-intended, that alters its core characteristics and practices will ultimately hurt it.”

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More links to interesting articlesThe Top 10 Faith and Work Quotes of the WeekFaith and Work Book Review ~ Redeeming Work: A Guide to Discovering God’s Calling for Your Career by Bryan DikQuotes from the book Creation Regained: Biblical Basis for a Reformational Worldviewby Albert Wolters

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).Three Leadership Lessons Learned from Work. Joshua Nangle writes “With all the wonderful resources available, there are some leadership commitments that appear more neglected than others, and these include the art of brevity, staying power, and resting well.”Man’s Plans Versus God’s Intentions. Russ Gehrlein writes “Forty years ago last month, I was let go from my youth ministry position. It changed the course of my career. Now, I can rejoice in God’s leading, provision, and care as He graciously brought my family and I through that tough time.”How Does God Lead Us To Our Calling? Russ Gehrlein writes “Every so often, it still amazes me when I think that I could have easily missed God’s path for me from math to ministry and the military. I could not have planned it this way.”A Good Education Prioritizes Character. As the school year starts up around the country, parents and educators are hoping, working, and praying for good educational outcomes. On this episode of Working with Dan Doriani, Dan is joined by Elizabeth Zurlinden and Josh Crane, who lead independent schools in very different contexts. Dan, Elizabeth, and Josh discuss unique challenges schools are facing today and how parents and educators can partner together for the good of our children.Wisdom for the New Job. Randy Berg writes “Launching into work and starting your professional career come with unique challenges. This pivot to your first season of employment presents one of life’s greatest and most rewarding transitions, but it starts with a necessary period of learning and adjusting.”Is There a Water Cooler in a Virtual Work Environment. Russ Gehrlein writes “Even without the proverbial water cooler, there will always be opportunities to minister to our co-workers, customers, and supervisors in a virtual environment. We just have to open our eyes.”Why The Work We Do Matters. Maria Currey writes “In whatever profession, position, place, or walk and work of life to which you are called, you are not ultimately serving earthly masters but serving Christ alone.”What We Are Learning About the Theology of Work in 2025. Jacqueline Isaacs writes “We asked some of our regular IFWE blog contributors to share what God has been teaching them about the theology of work lately. Here are their responses.”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).

Top 10 Faith and Work Quotes of the Week

Any vocation that meets the need of God’s world can be considered a divine calling. R.C. SproulA calling is our contribution to society, the labor that makes our lives matter. At best, it draws on our gifts and experiences and becomes our life’s work, the task God prepared us to do. Daniel DorianiJesus came into this world not as a philosopher or a general but as a carpenter. All work matters to God. Tim KellerFor Christians, work is fundamentally about contribution to others, not compensation; it’s an expression of our identity, but not the source of our identity; it’s about serving others, not personal success. Jeff Haanen We give the bulk of our energy to ordinary work. We make a difference when we do ordinary work well. Daniel DorianiThe biblical worldview has the highest opinion of the most menial of work. Tim KellerThe greater our gifts and opportunities, the more the Lord expects of us. Daniel DorianiWe were built for work and the dignity it gives us as human beings, regardless of its status or pay. Tim KellerWe are to see work as a way of service to God and our neighbor, and so we should both choose and conduct our work in accordance with that purpose. Tim Keller

FAITH AND WORK BOOK REVIEW:
Redeeming Work: A Guide to Discovering God’s Calling for Your Career by Bryan Dik. Templeton Press. 224 pages. 2020
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I was introduced to this book in Tom Nelson’s new book Why Your Work Matters. The purpose of the book is to give practical, actionable advice to Christians seeking to discern their callings and live out their faith within their careers. The book draws from wisdom derived from Scripture and vocational psychology. It walks the reader through how you can discern and live God’s calling within your career path, leaning on points of convergence in the foundation of Scripture and the findings of psychological science.
The author tells us that as Christians, we want to glorify God in our work. We want to feel confident that we are following God’s will in our career decisions. But it is not easy.
The author tells us that everything in the book has built on a Four-Act (creation, fall, redemption, and renewal) Story foundation. Readers of the book can utilize PathwayU, an online career assessment system. The book includes a number of helpful stories and covers a variety of subjects including calling, individualized interpretation, feedback, career interventions, gifting, personality traits, informational interviews, job search, career adaptability, planned happenstance, and work in eternity.
An Appendix “The Four-Act Story of Scripture: Our Foundation for Redeeming Work” goes into more detail of a subject the author introduces in chapter one of the book.
This will be a helpful book for Christians who wish to clarify their callings so that they can find work that aligns with their giftings.

Here are a few of my favorite quotes from the book:

A calling is a pathway through which we can express our gifts for the common good, and for God’s glory.Living a calling is an entire lifestyle of serving faithfully while also listening to the Spirit’s promptings, often communicated through new skills and new opportunities for service.Discerning God’s will for our work and lives requires wisdom and effort.A calling is not a thing to be discovered once and for all. Living a calling is a dynamic, continually unfolding process.Gaining a clearer sense of your gifts helps you understand what makes you unique within the world of work and serves as a key prerequisite to evaluating the fit of particular career paths.Discerning and living a calling are ongoing processes, a lifestyle of striving to serve faithfully while also looking for new ways to use your gifts within God’s kingdom.A key way to discern your calling is to identify your gifts and explore opportunities that fit them.Our callings transcend any particular job title; a job is simply a vehicle through which we can express our gifts to glorify God and serve the common good.Whatever work we do, if done for Christ, is not in vain; it will last into eternity.

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 through this this book we now look at the second half of Chapter 2: Creation: The Law of Creation. Here are a few helpful quotes from this section of the chapter:

An implication of the revelation of God in creation is that the creation order is knowable.There is a spiritual discernment necessary if we are to know God’s will.The whole world of our experience is constituted by the creative will and wisdom of God, and that will and wisdom—that is, his law—is everywhere in principle knowable by virtue of God’s creational revelation.We can discern creational normativity best in the light of Scripture.We are called to participate in the ongoing creational work of God, to be God’s helper in executing to the end the blueprint for his masterpiece.Creation before and apart from sin is wholly and unambiguously good.