37 Barriers to Change

November 4, 2015 By Justin Irving

Change is an unavoidable reality in organizational life. Like death and taxes, change is part of life whether we like it or not. Continuity & Change One of the key thought leaders on managerial theory in the 20th century was Peter Drucker. Peter Drucker regularly emphasized the importance balancing continuity and change in thriving organizations. Organizational leaders have the responsibility of guiding their organizations in such a way that communities both benefit from time-tested practice (continuity) as well as creativity... Read more

“Their prayer is concerned with their trade:” attempts to separate church and real life go WAY back

November 3, 2015 By Jennifer Woodruff Tait

I bumped into this passage from the Apocrypha (Ecclesiasticus 38, to be specific) yesterday. Looks like the tension between head-work and hand-work, and between church-work and everyday-work, goes back a long way. And looks like somebody could have used some reminding that sustaining the structure of the world is important. 🙂 24 Leisure gives the scribe the chance to acquire wisdom; a man with few commitments can grow wise. 25 How can the ploughman become wise, whose sole ambition is... Read more

For #allsaints: the ultimate goal of our faith and work

November 1, 2015 By Jennifer Woodruff Tait

For all the saints, who from their labors rest, Who Thee by faith before the world confessed, Thy Name, O Jesus, be forever blessed. Alleluia, Alleluia! Thou wast their Rock, their Fortress and their Might; Thou, Lord, their Captain in the well fought fight; Thou, in the darkness drear, their one true Light. Alleluia, Alleluia! For the Apostles’ glorious company, Who bearing forth the Cross o’er land and sea, Shook all the mighty world, we sing to Thee: Alleluia, Alleluia!... Read more

What do faith and work have to do with #Halloween ?

October 31, 2015 By Jennifer Woodruff Tait

That question was answered for me profoundly by an interview that appeared on our channel last year over at The High Calling called “Serving God in the business of death.” Funeral director Caleb Wilde, who blogs at Confessions of a Funeral Director, had some penetrating things to say to Christine Scheller about his occupation, and all of our mortality: Christine A. Scheller: You take death seriously, but also include a lot of humor in your writing about it. Why do you... Read more

Yearning for soul

October 30, 2015 By Guest Contributor

In a culture where technology is starving our souls, Christian institutions ought to be ready to focus on human flourishing. This was first published in Faith & Leadership. By L. Gregory Jones The best leaders engage with the deep trends shaping cultures and our broader world rather than reacting to fads and symptoms. Nathan Jones and I wrote about seven of those trends several years ago, and we still believe they are crucially important for Christian institutions. Each of them requires... Read more

Follow my passion where, exactly?

October 28, 2015 By Guest Contributor

This post originally appeared at OnFaith. Ask Laura appears every Tuesday at http://www.faithstreet.com/onfaith and features responses to your questions about religion, relationships, and the mess they often create. You can submit questions to Laura via Twitter (@lkoturner) or email her at asklaura@faithstreet.com. By Laura Turner Dear Laura, I graduated from a college a few years ago and after a series of part-time jobs at coffee shops and restaurants have finally gotten a job in the field I majored in. The problem is that even... Read more

4 Lessons About Overcoming Obstacles from R. G. LeTourneau

October 26, 2015 By Center for Faith and Work, LeTourneau University

Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome. –Booker T. Washington By Bill Peel R.G. LeTourneau was one of America’s best-known Christian businessmen in the mid-twentieth century. He made and gave away a fortune during his lifetime, and he founded a university. Although he had only seven years of formal education, LeTourneau died with 300 patents in his name and a degree in... Read more

Riverdance Changed My Life: Or, How I Learned to Love Being Bored

October 24, 2015 By Guest Contributor

By Jordan Dillon Riverdance changed my life. Yes, THAT Riverdance: the gazelle-leaping, non-arm-swinging, inexplicably line-segmented, Irish-based, quickfooted rhythmic troupe. I was in my mid twenties and complacent at work. I was bored. I was discontent. To pass the time I would drown my sorrows in 6-8 hours of non-stop NPR programming. On one particular day they were interviewing the traveling Riverdancers and this particular interviewee was talking about how normal it all was. She was discussing how they would... Read more

Chasing problems is a key to social innovation

October 23, 2015 By Guest Contributor

Innovation begins with carefully listening to a community and defining the problems it’s facing. Then social innovators act, learning from failure and building on success, writes the executive director of Leadership Education at Duke Divinity School. This post was first published in Faith & Leadership. What fuels the minds of people pursuing innovations to make the world a better, more just, more livable place? Problems. Many of my colleagues like to talk about opportunities. I love the hopefulness and energy... Read more