As the time approached for the day long prayer retreat, I started having second thoughts. There were so many important things that needed done. Also, as an introvert, I relish my quiet time with God, while corporate prayer is more of a struggle. Despite my reluctance, I went, and left grateful. The time of prayer was sweet, but the added ...
Over 1200 people were packed into the Iowa Governor’s Prayer Breakfast this year. One of the things I appreciate most about this event each year is that there are no denominational turf battles. Instead, it is an event for the capital C church. In John 17:20-21, Jesus said, “I pray also for those who will believe in me through their ...
Throughout my career, I believed that education was important for my advancement. I pursued advanced degrees to do my job and to better demonstrate to executives my commitment to my work. I pursued my faith in the same way, continually reading and studying to build my faith knowledge. But simply trying to get smarter has its limits. My pastor once ...
As a young banker, I had lunch with a friend whom I hadn’t seen since college. He was an aggressive new entrepreneur building a prosperous business. As we finished lunch he asked for my lunch receipt. When I asked why, he said, “I gather receipts to write off my taxes.” He laughed and said, “They never check whose receipt it ...
One of the benefits, Vermeer, an equipment manufacturer, discovered from integrating their faith into their culture came when they opened operations in a country hostile to Christians. Although Vermeer was limited in proclaiming their faith corporately, they marveled at how effective their employees were in modeling company values and their faith to their foreign employees. According to Vermeer’s President, Doug ...
Nehemiah had an amazing 52 days. He had cast vision for people who didn’t know him, yet he convinced them to rebuild the walls around Jerusalem. This impossible task was made even more difficult due to his enemies constantly attempting to distract and destroy him. Additionally, there was considerable infighting. But the work continued with God’s constant and miraculous help. ...
A fourth-century church manual, the Apostolic Constitutions, called Good Friday a "day of mourning, not a day of festive Joy." Historically, many have called Good Friday to be a day of sorrow and fasting. In our busy work activities, we rarely take time for reflection or sorrow for our brokenness and the brokenness of the world. We rarely mourn and ...
Our work generates value in many ways, but we need to guard how we let it define us. In a recent Substack post, pastor and author Scott Sauls cautioned against measuring our value by our work. We become anxious, he wrote, when “we believe our worth depends on what we produce, how visible we are, or whether we stay ahead ...
Many in business have learned the hard way the importance of hiring people with strong character. God’s view on integrity, however, is different from the world’s view. Many universities teach moral relativism, allowing you to decide right and wrong. God’s moral code, however, starts with the concept of fearing God. Fearing God is to show our heavenly Father both ...
If you have ever wondered if God values work, consider the number of jobs he has held. In “Workplace Grace,” authors Bill Peel and Walt Larimore list nearly two dozen occupations of God, including landscape architect, judge, farmer, environmental engineer, teacher, and inventor. The creation story in Genesis recounts God’s work. “This is the account of the heavens and ...
Equipping Others to Do Work Differently
