Why do we feel like we never finish working?

This gem from Alain de Botton’s The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work came our way today courtesy of the folks at culture is not optional: Our exertions generally find no enduring physical correlatives. We are diluted in gigantic intangible collective projects, which leave us wondering what we did last year and, more profoundly, where we have gone and quite what we have amounted to. We confront our lost energies in the pathos of the retirement party. How different everything is for the craftsman... Read more

Are you a dinosaur?

June 2, 2014 By Patheos Faith and Work Channel

In a recent article on the Christianity Today website, Art Lindsley of the Institute for Faith, Work, and Economics inaugurates an occasional series of articles at CT on issues of faith and economics. He does so with a famous story from C. S. Lewis’ Prince Caspian: In C. S. Lewis’s TheVoyage of the Dawn Treader, King Caspian encounters Gumpas, the Governor of the Lone Islands. Gumpas tells Caspian that the slave trade practiced in his domain is an “essential part of the... Read more

Why do we need relationships?

June 1, 2014 By Made to Flourish

In a post on the Kern Pastors Network (part 4 of a series KPN is running on relationships and poverty), Kyle Bushre ponders the movie It’s a Wonderful Life): The message that friendship is true wealth is captured clearly in the inscription of the book given to George by the angel, “Dear George, Remember no man is a failure who has friends.” But at the risk of ruining a Christmas classic, let’s focus on that money. George had no idea thousands... Read more

Redeeming work in the Twin Cities

May 31, 2014 By Patheos Faith and Work Channel

On June 12, 2014, Christian leaders from church and marketplace are going to meet in Minneapolis-St. Paul at the Art House North in an event sponsored by Leadership Journal’s “Redeeming Work” initiative to talk about how faith and work meet and how Christians can transform culture. Read more here, where you can also register for the event ($99 through June 11, $109 on site). And if you can’t go, the Faith and Work Channel’s own senior editor, Chris Armstrong, will be live-blogging... Read more

How do I find Jesus at work?

May 30, 2014 By Patheos Faith and Work Channel

Our friends at the Washington Institute for Faith, Vocation, and Culture recently posted some thoughtful reflections from Madison Perry on what believing in the resurrection means–and how it makes a difference as we struggle with the everyday issues of work and life: An eye for beauty enhances our appreciation of life’s tragedy, and gives the tragic a new place to make sense. Christ’s resurrection is a fact and gives us a way to realistically embrace the beauty and the hard realities... Read more

A bonus post for those of you who celebrate Ascension Day today

May 29, 2014 By Patheos Faith and Work Channel

What in the world does the seemingly obscure theological point of Jesus ascending into heaven have to do with our work? Laura Merzig Fabrycky of the Washington Institute for Faith, Vocation, and Culture puts it beautifully here: So, as you pour your coffee, perhaps reflecting on the fun or disappointments of the long Memorial Day weekend, gird your heart today for the work you will face and the tasks you will accomplish with this simple truth: Christ ascended into heaven and... Read more

How can I follow God in my work?

May 29, 2014 By Made to Flourish

Recently on the Kern Pastors Network blog Aaron Brockmeier reflected on his own foolishness. Moving from a very dark time in college to a saving encounter with the Gospel, there was still something missing: When I heard the gospel of Jesus, it was like fresh water, reviving my soul. The campus ministry that shared Christ with me was a wonderfully refreshing light in an otherwise dark and difficult season of my life. Although this college ministry provided a solid foundation... Read more

Are you “being good” at your job? Or just good enough?

May 28, 2014 By Patheos Faith and Work Channel

A recent article from the New York Times called “Being Good Isn’t the Only Way to Go” spotlights the fact that many people seek to volunteer outside of work because they are less than thrilled with their jobs. It begins: LAST September, the networking site LinkedIn added a feature that allowed its members to say whether they wanted to volunteer or serve on the board of a nonprofit. In just eight months, one million members raised their virtual hands. But here’s... Read more

Are we called by God to our jobs?

April 28, 2014 By The High Calling

How do you know if you are in the right place in work and life? Read more

Five myths about the millennial worker

April 26, 2014 By Institute for Faith, Work, and Economics

Millennials are rising from their futons, emerging from their parents’ basements, and stepping out of their dorms into a brave new world of employment and one of the most challenging economies in modern history. As a new generation is now entering the workforce, how should Christian employers prepare to hire employees that look and act like their own kids? Read more