{"id":258,"date":"2015-06-13T12:08:42","date_gmt":"2015-06-13T17:08:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/workcited\/?p=258"},"modified":"2015-06-10T13:12:57","modified_gmt":"2015-06-10T18:12:57","slug":"why-do-you-want-to-work-every-good-endeavor-by-timothy-keller","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/workcited\/2015\/06\/why-do-you-want-to-work-every-good-endeavor-by-timothy-keller\/","title":{"rendered":"Why do you want to work?: Every Good Endeavor by Timothy Keller"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"keller\"<\/a>In the foreword to\u00a0Every Good Endeavor: Connecting Your Work to God\u2019s Work<\/em><\/strong>,<\/a>\u00a0Katherine Leary Alsdorf shares the story of how she became acquainted with Redeemer Presbyterian Church<\/a>\u00a0in Manhattan, through an invitation to attend from a colleague. When she found herself committing to a life of faith, Alsdorf\u2014a business leader\u2014worried about what such a decision might mean to her future.<\/p>\n

\u2026If I was going to really put God first I had to be open to him calling me to serve him\u00a0anywhere. And he did. A few weeks after my decision, I was stunned by the sudden illness of my boss, the CEO\u2014and his request that I take over leadership of the company. Given the circumstances, I took it as an indication from God that he wanted me to play my part not in the third world but in the world of business.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Alsdorf goes on to describe years of struggling with what it means to serve God through her work.<\/p>\n

I believed in the truth of the gospel\u2014that God created all things and created man in his image and then sent his Son to redeem all things that had been broken. And I believed God had a purpose for me as a worker and leader, along with many other people who could make a positive difference in the world. But in the competitive, win-at-all-costs workplace where I had to manage and lead, I had no idea how to live out God\u2019s plan.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is not a new struggle in our society. Over fifty years ago,\u00a0Howard Butt, Jr<\/a>.\u2014president of\u00a0Foundations for Laity Renewal<\/a>\u2014wrestled with these very same issues. As a young man, Mr. Butt was torn between running\u00a0a successful grocery business<\/a>\u00a0and leading a separate ministry in partnership with Billy Graham. After a difficult season in which he struggled with exhaustion and depression, Mr. Butt emerged with a vision of the importance of the laity in furthering the kingdom of God. He has dedicated his life to helping the world understand that God cares about the work we do.<\/p>\n

In his book\u00a0A Dream that Came to Life: The History of the Laity Lodge Retreat Center<\/a><\/em>,\u00a0Howard Hovde<\/a>\u2014Director Emeritus of Laity Lodge\u2014quotes Howard Butt, Jr.:<\/p>\n

We\u2019re prone to see the work of the church as only tied to the gathered, institutional church. But the scattered church\u2014the laity out in the world\u2014that\u2019s New Testament Christianity. That\u2019s where the really tough work of the church takes place.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Clearly, it\u2019s a complicated application, this serving God through our work\u2014one worthy of discussion. After all these years we are still trying to figure it out. \u00a0In a recent\u00a0interview with Faith and Leadership<\/a>, Katherine Leary Alsdorf\u2014who became founder and is director emeritus of the\u00a0Center for Faith & Work<\/a>\u00a0at Redeemer Presbyterian Church\u2014says,<\/p>\n

The gospel story of work says that we\u2019re made to work. And the reason we\u2019re made to work is do the work that God would have us do to help the world flourish. Apart from doing that kind of work, we\u2019re not fully human; we\u2019re not living the lives that God meant us to live.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Alsdorf and Timothy Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church, co-wrote\u00a0Every Good Endeavor: Connecting Your Work to God\u2019s Work<\/a><\/em>. The authors give us three questions this book addresses:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Why do you\u00a0want\u00a0to work? (That is, why do we need to work in order to lead a fulfilled life?)<\/li>\n
  2. Why is it so\u00a0hard\u00a0to work? (That is, why is it so often fruitless, pointless, and difficult?)<\/li>\n
  3. How can we overcome the difficulties and find satisfaction in our work through the gospel?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Check out more from our discussion on Every Good Endeavor<\/a> at TheHighCalling.org<\/span>.<\/em><\/p>\n

    Editor\u2019s Note: This post from TheHighCalling.org<\/a> by Laura Boggess<\/a>\u00a0is being shared here as part of a HighCalling series on Best Books for Business.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    In the foreword to\u00a0Every Good Endeavor: Connecting Your Work to God\u2019s Work,\u00a0Katherine Leary Alsdorf shares the story of how she became acquainted with Redeemer Presbyterian Church\u00a0in Manhattan, through an invitation to attend from a colleague. When she found herself committing to a life of faith, Alsdorf\u2014a business leader\u2014worried about what such a decision might mean […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1712,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[171,22,87,83,215,86,137],"class_list":["post-258","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-reviews","tag-bible-and-work","tag-discipleship-2","tag-every-good-endeavor","tag-faith-work-integration","tag-laity-lodge","tag-timothy-keller","tag-work"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy do you want to work?: Every Good Endeavor by Timothy Keller<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In the foreword to\u00a0Every Good Endeavor: Connecting Your Work to God\u2019s Work,\u00a0Katherine Leary Alsdorf shares the story of how she became acquainted with\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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