When Chris was in the fourth grade, he traveled to Texas for a cousin’s wedding and experienced a minor ecclesiastical crisis. Having grown up in an Anglican tradition, Chris was used to robes, incense, and liturgy, and he was deeply disturbed to find the Baptist pastor at his cousin’s church wearing a simple three-piece suit. […]
S8E2: The Structure and the Substance Read More »
When Chris was growing up in the nineties, the shopping mall was a vibrant center of life. He remembers the special birthdays when his “adopted” grandmother, Louise, would take him to the mall to pick out a gift. He doesn’t remember the toys he chose, but he remembers the gift of her presence. Today, walking
S8E1: A Mysterious Business: Bringing Ministry and Marketplace Wisdom Together Read More »
A few years ago, Chris attended a retirement party for Mr. Clum, his childhood school principal. In a room filled with people celebrating a long career, they didn’t spend much time talking about enrollment numbers, new buildings, or administrative growth. Instead, they talked about how Mr. Clum loved people. They remembered how he, as a
S7E38: A Vessel for Love: Finding Eternal Meaning in Your Daily Work Read More »
Note: We had a one-time recording snafu for this episode, so the audio quality is not what we’d like to share. It’s back to normal in future episodes! When Chris was seven years old, his uncles John and Dan noticed something: he was a wiggly kid. He was always beating out rhythms on tables
S7E37: Joy Beyond the Paycheck: Reclaiming the Meaning of Your Resources Read More »
Is your “to-do” list gnawing at your soul? We all have a “Get-To / Have-To” mix at work. Even in a dream job, there’s a percentage of our day—whether it’s 10% or 90%—filled with tasks that feel tedious, repetitive, or even unfair. When we feel forced into work that drains our energy, the result
S7E36: Beyond Resentment: Finding Freedom in the Tasks That Drain You Read More »
When we’re in the middle of a painful stretch in our lives, it can be easy to turn inward, focusing on our own suffering while ignoring others. Or we can run away from the pain instead of facing it. But Jesus shows us a different way. In Luke’s account of his last night with his
S7E35: Loving Through Pain Read More »
It’s in his story of suffering that we see who Jesus is—the kind of person he is, and the kind of Messiah he is. In particular, we can learn about Jesus from his attitude toward his own suffering while it happens. Looking at the passages in Luke about Jesus’ betrayal, arrest, and passion, there are four aspects of his attitude toward suffering that emerge:
• I’m ready for this.
• I don’t have to fight this.
• I can love others in the middle of this.
• There’s something better on the other side of this.
How Jesus Responded to Suffering (Repost) Read More »
T.S. Eliot once wrote of “strained time-ridden faces / Distracted from distraction by distraction”. Do you ever feel distracted from distraction by distraction? Why is it so easy for us to get distracted? Part of it is our busy world. But perhaps the more important part is in us: Our tendency to become distractible. One
S7E34: Loving Through Attention Read More »
One of the most powerful ways we can love our teammates is praying for them. In this episode, we’ll look at four ways to pray: For the work For the workers Without words With your teammates God cares about the work and the ones who are doing it; he’s happy for us to come to
S7E33: How to Pray for Your Teammates Read More »
No one you work with is dealing with *too much* encouragement today. And you’re better positioned than most people on the planet to specifically encourage your teammates. When we look at the Bible, encouragement isn’t icing on the cake. It’s essential strength for the work God has given us. One of the most practical ways
S7E32: How to Encourage Your Teammates Read More »
