In the Lion King, Simba, the main character, sings in his youth, “I just can’t wait to be king.” Some imagine that being in charge—and doing it well—is easy. But if you’ve had a bad boss, or perhaps have been a bad boss yourself, you know that being in charge is harder than it looks. In honor of National Boss Day this week, we’re highlighting four things that good bosses do. 1. Give genuine, specific, words of affirmation and appreciation.... Read more
We asked Professor Sean McDonough, professor of New Testament at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Massachusetts, about how to get the most out of the resources offered by the Theology of Work Project. Here are some of his thoughts on what’s been useful to him as he works with Christian students. TOW: The Theology of Work Project offers a full Bible Commentary, as well as articles about topics ranging from ethics to how churches are helping people integrate faith and work. What resources have you found the... Read more
Katherine Leary Alsdorf is the founder of The Center for Faith and Work at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City. She co-authored Every Good Endeavor: Connecting Your Work to God’s Work with Tim Keller and currently serves on the board of the Theology of Work Project. Prior to her work with Redeemer, Katherine worked for 20 years in the technology industry. In this interview, Katherine discusses the best moments of her career, dealing with failure, wrestling with calling and identity,... Read more
Max Schireson resigned as CEO of Internet database MongoDB last month so he could have more time for…work. Specifically, more time for his work as a parent. His resignation, posted on his blog and titled “Why I am leaving the best job I ever had,” went viral. “What I did was ordinary,” Schireson said in an interview, “but my position as CEO gave the decision a notoriety I didn’t expect.” The struggle for what’s often called “life-work balance” is nothing... Read more
On October 11, the Center for Christian Business Ethics will gather Christian business leaders and theologians to wrestle with the practical questions business people deal with every day. Through breakout sessions, they will explore topics including: Managing abundance The entrepreneur’s challenge: taking business risks with God’s money Five reasons why Christianity doesn’t = business success The Sunday-Monday problem Each session will pair a business person and a theologian to facilitate. Panelists and facilitators will include Peter Heslam (University of Cambridge... Read more
What does “your kingdom come” and “your will be done” mean? How can our everyday work be kingdom-work? If you’ve ever asked how everyday work might fit into the big picture of what God is doing, does, and will do, Exodus provides answers. The book of Exodus offers two major gifts to the theology of work. It tells us the purpose of our work within the context of God’s story, and how we should go about our work. The Ten... Read more
Work is an essential component of God’s kingdom. The book of Matthew recounts Jesus’ actions and teachings to show us how God intends us to live and work in his new kingdom. As followers of Jesus, we live in two worlds. Our work may be subject to unspoken expectations, which may or not be in accordance with God’s ways. At the same time, as Christians we are subjects of God’s kingdom, committed to his values and expectations. In telling the... Read more
Believe it or not, the book of Revelation made our list of five must-read books of the Bible to study for a theology of work. While Revelation is difficult to crack, it has a number of relevant lessons about the “big picture” of work. A quick word about interpreting the book of Revelation: Some scholars believe Revelation relates to events that happened in the past (late first century A.D., when it was written); others believe that it addresses future events.... Read more
Ever wonder if non-church work can contribute to fulfilling God’s plans? Here are five lessons we can take from Nehemiah about faith, work and calling. Lesson 1: God’s call is not limited to traditionally defined “religious” activities. Nehemiah was called to help rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. His call to rebuild the walls is just as important as Ezra’s call to rebuild the temple. Though one job is has a more obvious religious affiliation, both were sacred activities ordained for God’s purposes.... Read more
One difficulty pastors cite when trying to help people integrate faith and work is a lack of robust theology. We’ve selected five books to paint a comprehensive, Biblical, Christian view of work: Genesis, Exodus, Nehemiah, Matthew and Revelation.They answer the questions: What is the role of everyday work in God’s story for humanity? How should we go about our work? Is “church work” or ministry the only sacred work? Does God call people to other types of work? If you’re... Read more
Theology of Work Project
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