'work' Tagged Posts
I Am With You – Inspired by the song: Your Labor is Not In Vain
There’s a song I love that gets to me every time it comes through my speakers. (Okay, there are a few that fall into this category, but bear with me.) It’s not only the music, which is lyrical and lovely. It’s also not only the words, though I find them to be thoughtful and powerful. The emotional trigger of the song comes down to one line, which I am convinced captures a truth at once so fundamental and so easy…
Matter-of-Fact Faithfulness & Whole-Life Discipleship (Donny Terenzoni)
Something I love about whole-life discipleship is how matter-of-fact it sometimes is. There’s no fanfare or fireworks for many of us, just simple day-in, day-out faithfulness in the spheres God has planted us. This faithful discipleship in the everyday makes me think of people like Donny Terenzoni. When Donny thinks about what ordinary faithfulness looks like lived out, he says, “The biggest thing for me is how you live and how you act.” Once, in the Navy Reserves, when a…
“God Is Here”: How to Provide Pastoral Encouragement for the Frontlines (Alison Gerber)
Each Sunday, Alison Gerber remembers that many people are coming to her church extremely tired. It’s one of the challenges of life on the frontline in her New England context, where productivity is put on a pedestal. It’s also a reality that points to the need for encouragement from the church community for everyday faithfulness. With this in mind, one of the ways that she encourages her congregation for their everyday Kingdom work is an awareness of people’s time. “I…
The “Great Outlet” – An overflowing work of God
A few years ago, Paul Ragusa had an encounter with God that changed his life. Though he had gone to church for most of his life, he found himself missing something critical. But then he had an experience he can only refer to as being “born again,” dramatically transformed into a new person in Christ. “I feel as though I have become an entirely different species of man with completely different capabilities,” he says. “All of the interactions that I…
What Does Discipleship Really Mean? Whole-Life Discipleship
What does discipleship really mean? It’s been a question Stephen Johnson has been on a journey to answer for years. “Whatever discipleship means,” he says, “it must be relevant to everyone, everywhere, at all times, or it isn’t real discipleship.” The model of whole-life discipleship has offered this all-inclusive vision of life to Fellowship Bible Church, where Stephen has pastored for the last eleven years. It has also made discipleship very relational and situational, inviting everyone to ask what the…
You Are Indispensable (Your Work Doesn’t Define You)
While I was standing in line the other day waiting to order my lunch, I heard an employee encouraging people to use one of the empty self-service kiosks. I looked over, and saw some customers who had just arrived take up the offer. It then dawned on me that they were now ‘ahead’ of me, even though I was there first! So I felt a little foolish as I continued to wait to place my order with the woman behind…
Commissioned for the Frontline (Everyday Ministry Matters)
Can you imagine a business where 70% of the employees can’t connect how their daily work contributes to the company’s overall mission? If that were the case, odds are that business would soon be out of business! Yet sadly that’s the state of the church in America today. According to recent research by Barna, “70% of Christians do not see how their work serves God’s purposes.” Yet 93% of pastors have said that helping their people integrate their faith and…
Jiro Dreams of Sushi – Christian Faith & Work Discussion Questions
Please use these questions to discuss the 2001 documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi from a Christian perspective. They are meant to help us all better integrate our faith and work. Questions 1) At the beginning of the movie, Jiro Ono says, “Once you decide on your occupation… you must immerse yourself in your work. You have to fall in love with your work. Never complain about your job. You must dedicate your life to mastering your skill. That’s the secret…
The Co-Missioned Church Series
The Co-Missioned Church Series Trailer from Chris Lake on Vimeo. Check out the trailer for The Co-Missioned Church Series by Chris Lake with the Vere Institute. Pastor Jonathan, Doreen, and our whole Cornerstone church got to participate in its making.
Workplace Commission
Leader (to congregation): Today we are commissioning anyone in our church who desires to dedicate their professional life to the Lord. In Scripture, we worship the Lord not just through prayer and song and the things we do at church, but through our everyday lives, including the time we spend and the things we do in our workplaces. 1 Corinthians 10:31 “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” (NIV) …