Joy At Work Bible Study Companion

by Dennis W. Bakke, William Hendricks, Raymond Bakke

Back in the Garden, work was fun. Yet, in today’s fallen world, joy and work are rarely used in the same sentence. But God really does intend for us to find joy in our work. Join Raymond Bakke, Brad Smith, and Bill Hendricks as they explore what the Bible says about the purpose of business and our right to a joyful workplace. No matter where you spend those 50 or 60 hours during the week—whether it’s in business, government, or the nonprofit sector; in church, at home, or anywhere else—God intends for you to find joy in your work.

This 10-week study accompanies Joy at Work , a book by Dennis W. Bakke, co-founder and CEO of AES, a worldwide energy giant with 40,000 employees in 31 countries. Shaped by his faith, Bakke recounts his quest to create the most fun workplace ever—using principles established in the Garden. This study provides the biblical map that he used as he charted and led that journey. Starting with the Genesis record of creation and moving through Revelation, this Bible study supplements Joy at Work

Biblical readings that unveil the principles behind each chapter in Joy at Work A synthesis of theological principles
Reflective questions to prepare readers for small-group discussion
Questions for small-group discussion
Guidelines for immediate and long-term application for business and nonprofit leaders at all levels of corporations and organizations.

The Joy at Work experience has the power to profoundly change your workplace and your life.

Genres: Business

216 pages, Paperback

First published March 8, 2005

About the author

DENNIS W. BAKKE was raised in the foothills of Mount Baker in rural Washington State. He graduated from the University of Puget Sound, Harvard Business School, and the National War College.

Bakke co-founded The AES Corporation in 1981 and served as its president and CEO from 1994 to 2002. He helped build AES into a Fortune 200 global power company with 27,000 people in 27 countries. He is now president and CEO of Imagine Schools, a non-profit charter school network that operates schools in 12 states and the District of Columbia.

Prior to 1981, Bakke worked in the Federal Energy Administration and was deputy director of the Energy Productivity Center at Carnegie-Mellon University.

Bakke is the author of the New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller, Joy at Work: A Revolutionary Approach to Fun on the Job. The book is about two of Bakke’s passions: To create the most fun workplace in human history, and to teach the world the real purpose of organizations, including businesses. Bakke has discovered that it is when we are given the chance to use our ability to reason, to make decisions, and to take responsibility for our actions, we experience joy at work.

In The Decision Maker: Unlock the Potential of Everyone in Your Organization, One Decision at a Time, a leadership fable loosely based on Bakke’s experience, Bakke shows us how giving decisions to the people closest to the action can transform any organization.

He lives with his wife, Eileen Harvey Bakke, in Arlington, VA.