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The Hard Work of Reconciliation (Ramblin' Dan)

Dan Roloff — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 06:00:00 GMT

A terrific example of the church in action is the twelve step program. Originally, the steps were presented by Alcoholics Anonymous, but they have now been successfully introduced to many types of recovery programs. My encounters with people who attend regular sessions and take the steps seriously have shown these programs to be incredibly healthy. Of course, they’re healthy from an addiction standpoint. But there's more to it than that. Emotionally, they’re healthy. Spiritually, they’re healthy. These programs set the stage for real transformation to take place.

Recently, a friend shared his experience. His stepdaughter had been damaged by parental addiction and divorce. It had been ten years since my friend had any contact with his stepdaughter. Then came a letter. She poured out to my friend how he was the only real father she had ever known, and she wanted him in her life.

My buddy was excited and apprehensive at the same time. Even though his stepdaughter was an adult, my friend needed to get the okay from her mother before he did anything. To his great relief, his ex-wife thought it was a good idea to reach out to his stepdaughter. Then the hard work of reconciliation began.

Focusing on two steps from the twelve step program, my friend planned how he would go about his first face to face meeting with his stepdaughter in ten years. He looked at steps eight and nine:

8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed and become willing to make amends to them all.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

After making the thousand mile journey to visit his stepdaughter, my buddy was in the home of a young wife with her own baby girl. He confessed to her the wrongs he had committed that had such a strong impact on her life. Then he asked her if there was anything he had left out. She let him know that there were some things he failed to mention. After a difficult heart-felt exchange and considerable emotional toil, there came a point where my friend felt he could ask for forgiveness.

His stepdaughter granted that forgiveness. After a decade, the healing process could begin. My friend had his daughter back, and emptiness he’d carried with him for years was replaced with joy.

This is how Jesus taught us to relate to one another. Forgive one another. Love one another. In this example, I see the church and how it functions at its relational best.

Finding a Marketing Shoe That Fits (Personal Reflection)

Sam Van Eman — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 06:00:00 GMT

We live in the age of awareness. The world feels smaller, its problems are clearer, and its solutions—so they seem—are more manageable. No longer do I picture Africa as a distant place with insurmountable, unimaginable trials. I just see a $10 mosquito net. Creative framing and ingenious invitations have made getting involved a snap. And the sheer number of opportunities provides even the tiniest niche of people with something to do.

Since folks are in the market for buying causes, marketers are in the business of selling them. But not all cause marketing is created equal. Sometimes it misses, and sometimes the shoe fits just right. Here are three variations of cause marketing and why it matters that we know the difference:

Make the cause secondary
Make the cause solitary
Make the cause primary

(RED): Make the cause secondary

According to their website, “(RED) is a simple idea that transforms our incredible collective power as consumers into a financial force to help others in need. (RED) is where desire meets virtue."

Huge brands like Dell and Gap have partnered with (RED), and they claim to have helped 2.5 million lives so far. I like this. What I don’t like is making the cause secondary to the allure of becoming a celebrity.

Bob Garfield, Advertising Age ad critic, makes the following comment about Dell’s 2008 Super Bowl commercial: “The Dell commercial doesn't even try to sell people on charitable giving. It turns the (RED) laptop into a sort of chic magnet . . ., the aids crisis turned into an Axe commercial.”

This approach misses the mark.

15 BELOW JACKET: Make the cause solitary

You can't read the small text in that image, but here's what it says: "EMERGENCY BLANKET: An oversized (40" x 60") poster, printed on newsprint, is sent out to homeless shelters with each 15 Below jacket. As the poster unfolds, one side shows how the coat works with simple illustrations and instructions printed in multiple languages. The other side of the poster features a large image of a blanket. The idea is to tear the poster into strips and stuff it into the multiple pockets of the 15 Below jacket to act as insulation. Stuffed with newspaper, this jacket will insulate the body, helping to ensure survival through the night. In this sense, the medium is more than the message. For someone living on the street, it could be a lifeline."

In this very different example, the cause isn’t the secondary point or even the primary point—it’s the only point: Help the homeless. I don’t believe altruism exists, so I’d guess there are other reasons for this campaign. Nonetheless, it comes undeniably close to acting like Jesus and I like it. Marketing firm, TAXI, made this super cool, highly practical, well-made, necessary coat for the homeless. That’s it. No need to buy anything to get one. You can’t even buy one for yourself.

The campaign inspires me to be hopeful: “Then the King will say to the advertising agency on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For. . . I needed clothes and you clothed me . . .’ ” (From Matthew 25:34, 36).

Check out the site here and wait for it to load – it’s worth it.

TOMS SHOES: Make the cause primary

My third example shifts away from the selfish desires of the first and the more purely philanthropic nature of the second. TOMS Shoes, a for-profit shoe company, sells a product. But it makes a cause primary. Just read their blog. The cause fueled “Chief Shoe Giver,” Blake Mycoskie, to begin this venture, and it fuels his entire global team of employees, interns, and vagabonds. Their cause: “For every pair purchased, TOMS will give a pair of shoes to a child in need. One for One."

Like the (RED) example, TOMS relies upon our consumer power. Unlike (RED), however, it doesn’t depend upon our desire for stuff. It doesn’t make charity a residual effect to shopping. Rather, it comes first. Yes, you get your own pair of shoes, but more as a Thank You and not as an incentive.

I like this model because it shows a decent relationship between Jesus’ call to care and the room God makes for marketing in the created order. I don’t know how well Blake Mycoskie knows Jesus, but we can appreciate the way he’s found a marketing shoe that fits. And we can applaud his social media marketing agency for doing such a good job with the concept.

As your awareness grows, pick a cause (or causes) to stand on. Just don&

Living a Kairos Life in a Chronos World (Bible Reflection)

David Rupert — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 06:00:00 GMT

Everything we do is marked by the steady march of time. Seconds lead to minutes to hours to days to weeks to years to decades to centuries.

The problem for all of us is that the clock is always running the wrong way, and we simply cannot stop its precipitous crawl toward the next tick. We lose moments to the past, out of our reach, never to be regained.

Where did all the years go?

The kids have grown and gone. We're muddling along in a career, making a living, just existing out of habit more than anything.

Did I miss out on my chance to make a difference?

The Greek language has a couple of words that mean "time." The first is most familiar—chronos . It means the chronology of days, governed by the carefully calculated earths' sweep around the sun. God himself ordained this measurement of days on the fourth day of Creation, spinning the heavenly lights "for seasons, and for days and years."

Boy, do I know about time. The wrinkles etched on my face; the wrinkles etched on my heart are the visual reminders of chronos.

But another word for time is also used in the New Testament—kairos . This speaks more to specific, God-ordained times throughout history, sometimes called the "right time" or "appointed season" (Titus 1:3). Kairos is God's dimension—one not marked by the past, the present, or the future.

When Jesus came, it was a fulfillment of promises past, a cosmic collision of the sacred and secular. It was an intersection of the holy will of God and the stubborn ways of man. It was a perfect moment. John the Baptist said in Mark 1:15 that "time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand."

This godly kairos pierced its way into creation at just the right time, slicing through chronos with a cry of a baby in a manger.

The cross was another kairos moment. Romans 5:6 says, "For while we were still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly."

Kairos moments then—and now—allow us to get a glimpse of the "other side." We peek around the corner at eternity. We actually glimpse how God works.

As the omniscient, omnipresent Deity, God is not bound by the confines of space or time. That's why He flows into our existence when we least expect Him. When we ask for something right away, it might not always come. Or when we don't ask at all. But he shows up. It can be frustrating, "with the Lord one day is as a thousand years." It can also be surprising "a thousand years as one day." (2 Pet 3:8).

We should always live our days looking for those moments, those inexplicable times when His will and his way intersect with our daily walks.

And they can happen anytime! A friend calls you out of the blue to give a good word. A child's innocent joy pierces a long, hard day of struggle. A coworker takes a moment to lend a hand. God is always surprising us with his perfect, kairos timing.

Am I ready, waiting, and watching for him to move in my life?

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David Rupert is a communication professional who also blogs at www.redletterbelievers.com. He is a very active member of HighCallingBlogs.com, an online community that focuses on work and God.

Woman Made (Audio)

Howard E. Butt, Jr. — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 06:00:00 GMT

The First Chronicles genealogy for Ephraim, son of Joseph, lists 19 sons and one daughter named Sheerah. To survive with 19 brothers, Sheerah had to be one tough lady. In fact, the Bible says she built three cities.

In an age dominated by men waging wars and destruction, Sheerah built cities. And that's the point: God chose to highlight a woman—Sheerah, a builder of cities.

This is Howard Butt, Jr., of Laity Lodge speaking to people who daily build life into families, people, careers, legacies, and cities. When you feel discouraged, picture yourself alongside Sheerah: standing in history as a builder . . . in the high calling of our daily work.

The descendants of Ephraim: ...His daughter was Sheerah, who built Lower and Upper Beth Horon as well as Uzzen Sheerah. (1 Chron. 7:20, 24)

Religious Liberty (Ramblin' Dan)

Dan Roloff — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 06:00:00 GMT

As our nation’s 233rd birthday is upon us I wanted to ramble about one of its founding principles—liberty. Mostly this word gets reduced to a synonym—"freedom." Or it may be reduced even further to mean "being free," i.e. without restraint.

Liberty is something more than just being free. In the political context in which it used in the Declaration of Independence, freedom means being released from arbitrary governance by another political entity, England. The separatists or Puritans left England to establish a colony where they were free from the restraint of the Church of England. Their liberty came from the elimination of religious constraint.

While exercising their religious liberty, they did not establish freedom of religion. We can just look to Roger Williams for that evidence. Williams preached religious tolerance and the right for people to pursue God in their own way, and he was exiled from the colony. Eventually, he founded a new colony based on these principles of religious liberty at Providence, Rhode Island. This colony is the birthplace of the Baptist congregation in America.

Through this principle of religious liberty grew a founding tenet of the United States of America, the separation of church and state. It grew out of an understanding of liberty that allows the individual to throw off the shackles of an oppressor to pursue God in their own way.

Religious toleration is at the heart of our country’s founding, and it is very much alive today. Despite its abuses, this tolerance makes possible a forum for dissenting voices. Fifty years ago, the voice of the atheist was crushed in the United States. Today, that voice is allowed to be heard and is openly debated in many Christian media outlets. Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins have a voice in our country because the overwhelmingly Christian populace allows it. That's religious liberty.

The Problem with Obedience (Ramblin' Dan)

Dan Roloff — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 06:00:00 GMT

Here’s a quote from Howard E. Butt, Jr. It’s from a staff workshop in 1998:

To practice servant leadership as modeled by the Holy Trinity—God the Father is the leader, God the Son is the servant—that's where the whole idea of servant leadership comes from. To practice servant leadership as modeled by the Holy Trinity to renew ourselves, our families, our institutions, and society—now, that's our vision.

This is a reminder that Jesus lived out what Paul wrote to the Philippians.

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!

Jesus struggled with this type of obedience the same as we struggle with it. Being a humble, totally obedient servant is not easy. In Gethsemane, Jesus prayed, "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will." Not just once. He makes the same request a few verses later: "My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done" (Matt. 26:39, 42).

It’s comforting to know that God understands how difficult obedience is for us. Simple obedience, like following rules, can be difficult enough for us. But obedience that requires a blow to the ego or even suppression of the ego can be really hard. So when Jesus accepted the role of obedient servant in his prayer at Gethsemane, he understood the cost of that obedience. He knew he would face public humiliation, ridicule, and rejection. He knew his friends would abandon him. Obviously, it was painful.

The problem with obedience is that it’s hard. However, there is an up side. Obedience is what makes working together successful. If there is consistent or constant challenge to any idea anyone puts forward and no one is willing to follow or abide by the rules, then failure is certain. Someone has to follow in order to have successful leadership. Being a follower is difficult for most of us. We like to lead, or at least have others listen to us.

Another side to the problem of obedience is the fitness of the leader. A controlling, power-hungry leader who cannot share leadership is doomed to failure. The same is true of a leader who can’t step back and be obedient when appropriate.

There’s a sense of mutuality to obedience. A give and take between leader and servant is evident in healthy leadership and healthy service that encompasses obedience. Genuine care for the greater good or overall goal of the group is a mark of that healthiness. So Jesus trusted the Father. Regardless of the personal anguish Jesus anticipated, he knew that his goals and the Father’s goal were one.

Building a Reputation (Bible Reflection)

Andrea Emerson — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 06:00:00 GMT

The other day, I was reading a best-selling author's advice on how to keep a co-worker's incompetence from damaging your reputation: "Take him down publicly," the self-proclaimed expert advised, "a little humiliation goes a long way." Ouch. Sadly, that mirrors much of today's popular wisdom for making a name for ourselves. (Have you ever watched The Apprentice?)

The importance we give to what others think, and how that relates to cultivating a reputation as competent business professionals, is a pursuit that can easily be mishandled or get out of balance. Take me, for instance. Because I still resembled a high-schooler in my twenties and was often mistaken for an intern, I obsessed over getting the business hotshots I interacted with to view me as a peer.

So I devoured books like Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office and adopted a series of comical measures to appear wiser and more credible: wearing glasses when I didn't need them, getting a grandma-type haircut, lowering my voice pitch and mastering body language, which included "power postures" and fighting a hair twirling habit. I also emailed the "power players" at odd hours (say, Saturday at 11 p.m.) in an effort to showcase my dedication to my work. At the end of the day, the whole credibility-building business was exhausting.

Then, studying the Scriptures, I came across that famous "you know a tree by its fruit" bit:

By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. (Matt. 7:16-18)

It was one of those moments when a familiar verse hits you right between the eyes with fresh, new meaning. It occurred to me that if the internal make-up of a plant determines the fruit it produces with automatic, scientific precision, then it followed that my character and spiritual growth would be far better business investments than my outward personal presentation. Simply put, you can't force a harvest without cultivating the soil.

Henry and Richard Blackaby put it like this in God in the Marketplace:

Christian character [or a stellar reputation] is not something you have to work up to or put on. It's the natural result of the Holy Spirit's activity in a believer's life (Gal. 5:22-23). [Godly] character is Christ expressing life through you (1 Cor. 15:10; Gal. 2:20). It comes from abiding in Christ (John 15:5, 7-8).

Along these lines, Jim Gleason, one of my mentors, is known to harp tirelessly on the importance of integrity in our business dealings. And he's right to do so, considering "a good name is more desirable than good riches" (Prov. 22:1).

Jim says you and I can easily set ourselves apart, earn people's respect and loyalty if we do this one thing: Keep our word. (On that note, if Jim tells you he'll call on Tuesday, you can bank on it, even if he has to call from a hospital room–which he's done before.) As the Bible tells us, "let your ‘yes' be ‘yes' and your ‘no' be ‘no'" (James 5:12).

Since I'm still far from perfect (and, I'm guessing, so are you), it's important to note that God doesn't expect perfection from us. But he does expect progression and a heart that pursues his pleasure above all else. In Hebrews 5:11-14, we read that "though by this time [we] ought to be teachers," many of us are still stuck on the elementary teachings of Christ. Rather, we are told to move from God's "milk" to "solid food," which "is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves." The bottom line? Immersing ourselves in the solid food of the Word of God is precisely the ingredient that produces good fruit, without fail.

As I've learned where my true value lies—that is, in fulfilling God's purpose for my life and advancing his truth—I've quit worrying about what people think so much, except when it comes to how I reflect and represent the God I serve and love. As we fix our eyes on him, there's no need to worry about a reputation: "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (Matt. 6:33). As it turns out, producing fruit according to God's design is far easier and satisfying than trying to manufacture fruit without God.

Interview with Bill Yeargin, CEO of Correct Craft (Interview)

Christine A. Scheller — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 06:00:00 GMT

Bill Yeargin is the refreshingly down-to-earth President and CEO of Correct Craft, an 84 year old company that manufactures and sells the Nautique line of inboard wakeboard and water ski boats. He has been at the helm for just under three years, but is a well-known figure in the marine industry, having served on the executive team at Rybovich Yachts and on both national and international industry boards. Yeargin is the author of two books, Yeargin on Management and What Would Dad Say? and has published more than 200 management and leadership columns. He shares his practical advice in person at management conferences throughout the world. At home in Orlando, Florida, he boldly combines faith, service and work. Yeargin talked to TheHighCalling,org about how he does this and about leading his company with integrity in these challenging times.

My first question may be a silly one to ask a native Floridian, but here it goes: Do you and your family enjoy boating?

Totally! I wake skate and wake surf . . . and my family and friends all enjoy boating. My daughters are seventeen and eighteen. I truly believe one of the reasons we have a close family is because of boating. It is a great way to spend time with each other and one that everyone loves!

The Correct Craft mission statement is "Building boats to the glory of God." How do you glorify God in this type of business?

By loving God and others. Also, I believe we better demonstrate our faith when we show it through our actions, rather than our words. We are not afraid to be bold about our faith, but we are much more interested in living out our faith than sharing it through bravado.

What unique faith challenges do you face as a manufacturer of luxury goods?

We struggle with the same things as everyone else. I am not sure we have any unique challenges, even though they may feel unique when we are experiencing them.

We take our responsibility to develop and build good products very seriously. Our faith is one of the reasons that we do not cut corners. That shows up in the awards we have won; yet we don't do the right thing for the awards. We do the right thing because it is the right thing to do.

Tangible examples would be the modesty of our models and the lack of alcohol at our marketing events. I think it is fair to say that our models are the most modest dressers in the boating industry, for which we have been criticized some in the past. Our faith definitely impacts us in this area. We are not caught up in the "sex sells" mentality.

We also put a Bible verse in our brochure, but I would one hundred times prefer people know our faith is important through our actions and how we treat people rather than know it because we wear it on our sleeve.

You also told New Man eMagazine that it's more difficult to separate business and Christian principles than to integrate them, but that you, like all of us, fall short of your own ideals. How do you walk out failure, particularly in relationship with customers, peers, and coworkers who don't share your faith?

I stumble in my faith walk so often that I have a lot of experience walking out failure! First, I know that I will inevitably fall, so I don't try to hold myself up as an example. I try to communicate in our events that I am not any different than anyone else, and if you watch me long enough, I will let you down. (I don't mean to; it just happens because I am human.) Second, I try to be quick to confess when I mess up and never try to cover up anything. I think it is important that leaders don't set themselves up as super-human, because they will eventually just hurt someone by letting them down.

On a related note, you instituted voluntary Bible studies, community-service projects, and mission trips when you came to Correct Craft. Was there resistance to these changes?

None. We have done all of our faith-related activities on a voluntary basis, and we respect an employee's right not to participate. Shortly after arriving at Correct Craft, I implemented a weekly Bible study and soon thereafter the mission trips. We have taken employees on two trips to Mexico to build houses for the needy and one trip to Nicaragua to work at a shelter for homeless teenage mothers. The employees who went on these trips loved the opportunity to serve and were incredibly blessed.

Does Correct Craft pay for employees to do community service or mission trips?

Most times not. However, we have on a couple of occasions taken training days and used them for community service. In those cases, the employees were paid. Employees are not paid to go on mission trips, but we do subsidize the cost of the trip to make it easier for more employees to participate. I write a CEO blog, Nautique Insider, and have written a few times there about the trips and community service in which our company has been involved.

Do you have any suggestions for others who might want to offer voluntary faith-based activities in the workplace?

Don't hesitate; just do it. The key is to offer the opportunity, but also to make sure that there is no recrimination against those who choose not to participate. We go out of our way to make sure there are no negative consequences to not participating in our faith related activities. We love people to join us, but if they choose not to do it, that is their right.

It's been a challenging season for business. Instead of laying off employees, you initiated a program that combined scaled down boat building with training and community service. Can you tell me more about that?

At the start of 2009, we were beginning to experience a significant slowdown in the boating industry caused by the global macro-economic downturn and exacerbated by the severe credit crunch, both in our retail and wholesale operations. We knew we may have to make employment cuts, but we also wanted to obtain a clearer picture as to how long these environmental issues would impact us before making those decisions. For the first three months of this year, instead of sending our employees home when we did not have production work for them, we implemented a significant employee development program. This program provided training to our employees in many different areas such as teamwork, commu

Not My Job (Audio)

Howard E. Butt, Jr. — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 06:00:00 GMT

In an old sitcom, the running gag was a mechanic saying to his boss, "It's not my job." The expression became popular for shirking responsibility. When people wanted to avoid work, they would say, "It's not my job."

It's just the opposite with worry. Worry is the thing we're supposed to leave alone. Instead, we make it our job.

Jesus said firmly, "Don't worry about tomorrow." He compared worry to weeds that spring up and choke out the calming truth of God's word. He asked, "Who, by worrying, can add a single hour to his life?" He told us to replace worry with prayer and with trust.

This is Howard Butt, Jr., of Laity Lodge. Not only is worry no laughing matter—it really is not our job . . . in the high calling of our daily work.

Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life . . . But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matt. 6:27-33)

Using Technology to Lead and Love People (Personal Reflection)

Dustin Steeve — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 06:00:00 GMT

Editor's Note: In this article, Dustin Steeve refers to the upcoming Christian Web Conference. TheHighCalling.org is proud to be cosponsors of the 2009 Christian Web Conference with the Torrey Honors Institute. Register now to join us at the conference in Los Angeles this Fall and hear Mark D. Roberts (director of Laity Lodge) and Marcus Goodyear (senior editor of TheHighCalling.org) in person.

Near frenzy appears to drive the creation and adoption of web technologies. Just when one masters a blog, here comes a Twitter feed. When MySpace finally makes sense, Facebook changes the paradigm. If you’re a working professional you’re no doubt LinkedIn, check your Gmail on your BlackBerry, and periodically find your head in the tag clouds. As the Senior Director for GodBlogCon, now called the Christian Web Conference, it was my job to be aware of emerging web technologies and help you, the web savvy Christian leader, employ them effectively for the cause of Christ.

When I first was asked to assume leadership of the conference, I was excited. I am a leader at heart and have always dreamed of running my own company. I am especially attracted to the web industry. I observed that smart, trendy young people work for web-based companies. Many of our cultural geniuses and top CEOs reside on the top of mountainous tech companies. Tech is a booming industry and opportunity abounds. Who wouldn’t want the respect, power, and credibility of Microsoft’s Bill Gates? To this day, I really think that the web is going places. I see the web as our new social scene, our new town square. The web is full of useful tools that can plug us into its bustling commerce and social scene.

Through my work with the conference these past three years, I observed Christians giving mixed responses to the web. Some dismissed it as a source of porn and other unchristian indecency. Others saw frivolity or luxury in web based expenditures, preferring to reach people through time-tested, traditional media.

And yet to some Christians, the web appeal was strong. These Christians saw opportunity for local, national, or even global outreach via web technologies. Like these visionaries, I saw grand opportunity for Christians through use of the web. My head filled with ideas about employing web tools for evangelism. When I assumed leadership of the conference, I was hoping to help lead Christians to become masters of web technology, to create a place for themselves in the mainstream media of tomorrow. However, my early desires to conquer the web for Christ were put into a right perspective by the professors at my great-books general education program, the Torrey Honors Institute at Biola University, and Ken Myers of the Mars Hill Audio Journal.

At Torrey, my professors challenged me to think more deeply, to see through the glamorous digital façade of the web to consider the real-life people behind that façade. Professor John Mark Reynolds succinctly gave reason for this when he said,

“Virtual reality is dependent on plain old reality, so it cannot escape harming or helping the souls on line. Because it’s so dependent on the world of concrete, neon, electricity, and physical bodies, it will never replace them. People are not just minds, but minds in bodies. To really know me (all of me), you have to know my whole self which includes my physical self.”

Effective Christian use of the web cannot merely be gauged on site “hits,” awards, or even revenue. It must help people live more Christian lives on- and off-line. Ken Myers pushed me further in my thinking when he reminded me that technology often shapes one’s interaction with the world. “To a kid with a BB gun, everything becomes a target,” Myers said at GodBlogCon in 2008. Myers cited several media ecologists who remarked on the decline in young people’s ability to read deep, extended texts due to habits cultivated by their fast-paced, keyword-search-based web surfing. Myers challenged me to think about the consequences of shallow reading. If the web teaches us to be shallow readers, what does this mean for Christians’ ability to read the Scriptures well?

If we are to fulfill our calling to love our neighbors, then we ought to think beyond mere mastery of our craft to the lives of those who use our products and how those products shape a person’s interaction with the world and walk with God. In the case of the web, conferences like the Christian Web Conference provide a place where Christian leaders can come together, become aware of the latest technologies, but also be immersed in deeply Christian perspective on their impact on the lives of our neighbors. If Christians are going to be leaders using online tools, we cannot lose sight of the web’s potential; simultaneously we cannot be blinded by the flashiness of the web. A leader’s foremost consideration must be the people for whom the web can be useful and how the technology is shaping their lives.

How Important Are Relationships? (Ramblin' Dan)

Dan Roloff — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 06:00:00 GMT

L. L. Barkat’s article, “Personal Business," got my attention. It’s about personal information in emails at work contrasted with a doctor’s personal concern for his patients. L. L. reminded me about the importance of relationships and how often we overlook that importance in the workplace. Somehow we think relationships are a soft subject that has no place at work. Work is about work, and anything personal should be left at the door.

So let’s talk about a hard subject. Maximum security prisons are all about hard time. For the last twenty years or more, I’ve carried with me the images from a TIME article about these prisons titled "Living on Death Row" (unfortunately, the images aren't available online). The photos from death row showed inmates holding mirrors outside the cells trying to connect with other inmates. Another photo showed inmates using hand signals to communicate with prisoners they couldn’t see. What struck me was the desperate need to connect with others.

Sunday on 60 Minutes, I saw a report on a "supermax" federal prison. It is the federal government’s prison for the most notorious and violent criminals. A former warden refers to it as “a clean version of hell.” The worst part of being incarcerated at a supermax is the limited contact prisoners have with other people. Visitation is highly restricted. They receive only one fifteen-minute phone call per month. Even letters are restricted to approved senders.

A former inmate described his incarceration at supermax like this: “The connection to the outside, the phone calls to the outside, are pretty much stopped.” When asked about the brutality of isolation he replied, “It breaks down the human spirit, the human psyche. It breaks your mind.”

It seems obvious that we are meant for relationship with others. It’s a deep need within us. Yet we leave the action of building healthy relationships to chance. There is a treatise that we can consult. It’s Matthew 5. The entire chapter is an illustration of how we should live out healthy relationships. Our emotional intelligence requires it. The idea of emotional intelligence originated in the work of Peter Salovey of Yale and John Mayer. Then Daniel Goleman summarized the idea for a general audience in his book Emotional Intelligence.

Let’s think more deeply about everyday relationships and how we should respond appropriately. Take a look at these articles about being transparent with your coworkers to understand what appropriate working relationships can look like.

On a related side note, L. L. deserves some congrats this week! Last night she finished the manuscript for her next book as she explains in this blog post to her editor at Intervarsity Press. I'm sure meeting that deadline will be good for that relationship.

Good Knight Now? (Ramblin' Dan)

Dan Roloff — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 06:00:00 GMT

I was thinking about my earlier post, “Work Is Noble,” and the image of knights, squires, and pages has been flashing through my mind. Using that imagery of classic nobility helps me to see my role clearer. But it also helps me keep a healthy perspective on the role of manual labor and the idea of craftsmanship.

My brother was like a squire to our father. He assisted our father in mechanical functions. I was like a page, assisting in the most menial tasks such as handing over the appropriate tool. I never got close to the real action, not even in training. Those tasks were for the knight and his squire.

Aspiring to be a squire never interested me. Most of what I learned about all things mechanical came from junior high shop classes. There I learned enough to get by but never enough to make me in any way proficient. It became obvious that I should look elsewhere for my unique skills.

There were, however, two times where I developed enough mechanical proficiency to experience joy in the work.

First, I experienced the joy of manual labor while working on a KS-125 motorcycle that I modified enough to be a passable motocross bike. I spent hours working on the bike and learning the intricacies of the two-stroke engine. It was never enough to allow me the knighthood of being considered a mechanic, but perhaps enough to reach the level of squire.

My money and interest ran out about the same time, but I soon learned of another craft that captured my interest.

Second, I experienced the joy of craftsmanship while working on a pair of cross country skies. I enjoyed cross country skiing immensely. It was a great workout, and it got me out into the woods in the winter. I even had my own pair of classic wood skis which I learned to tar and wax for maximum performance.

In the basement of my parent’s home, I spent hours with a propane torch heating pine tar and spreading it across the bottom of the skis to seal them from moisture. Then I would apply the base coat of wax, for the glide. This provided a smooth surface for the skis to glide over the snow. Finally, I applied kick wax, a specific wax to grip the snow and meet the weather conditions for that day.

Alas, this craftsmanship was also short-lived as I soon moved to Texas. I left the skis behind and poured my energies into teaching and coaching. But the sense of physical labor and craftsmanship were an important part of how I defined myself.

Gradually, my identity shifted over time, and it was a frustrating process. I began to understand that the philosophical and theological questions of life were what motivated me and where my gifts were best suited. This was not an easy transition for a couple of reasons. Philosophy and theology tend to emphasize ideas and not products. Such intellectual pursuits conflicted with my understanding of what constitutes meaningful work.

I thought craftsmanship and physical labor were noble work. Philosophy and theology, however, were just glorified ways to describe daydreaming. This conflict took years or decades to resolve. The resolution has played out as a battle to remain faithful to what Christ was teaching me about who I was meant to be as opposed to what the world taught me about what I was supposed to be.

The first steps were the physical relocation that I described in “What You Might Become.” This latter phase of transformation has been more difficult and taken more time. I liken it to the Exodus and the uncertainty of wandering in the desert for forty years. There are times when it’s easy to become distracted and choose another direction. It’s harder to battle through the uncertainty on faith alone.

Joy of Forgiving (Audio)

Howard E. Butt, Jr. — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 06:00:00 GMT

Don't let anyone tell you forgiveness is easy. It's not.Christians know we should give up anger and resentment and hostility. But like leeches, we attach to dark emotions and feed on them. And feel righteous doing it! After all: we've been hurt.

Workplaces can be bruising—political and performance driven. We work the system, jockey for position, push for perks. We want recognition. But in the competition, we hurt and we get hurt. And the question is: how do we recover?

This is Howard Butt, Jr., of Laity Lodge. Alan Paton says "When a deep injury is done to us, we never recover until we forgive." Forgiveness is hard. But life without forgiveness is harder still—in the high calling of our daily work.

"Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive , and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." (Luke 6:37-38)

Personal Business (Bible Reflection)

L. L. Barkat — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 06:00:00 GMT

Is it okay to use business hours to email coworkers about personal things? I have a friend who's decided it is not okay. I don't know the details about the decision; maybe things were getting out of hand, and work was taking a back seat to what felt like play. But it makes me think about my new general practitioner.

Most doctors have you fill out a tedious form outlining your physical history. The nurse hands you the form. You dutifully fill it in and hand it back to her. The doctor reads it when you're not looking. But all he really knows about you is what's written on the form.

Recently, I went to a doctor who took a noticeably different approach. Before the physical exam, he sat with me for a long time, asking all sorts of questions I could have just as easily penned answers to on a form. Okay, the question about my hobbies probably wouldn't have been on the form; he was interested that I'm learning to play piano and cello. He took down the name of my book, and we had a very amusing conversation about one of the reasons I was privileged to write that book (I have 18 siblings—steps, halves, and otherwise—but that's a story in itself). We talked about the kinds of exercise I do. Oh, and that turned out to be unexpectedly important, as he had a theory that one exercise I'm doing might be aggravating my leg.

The book of Ezra reminds me of my friend's email decision, and it reminds me of my new doctor. Not long ago, I wrote in my journal, “Why is the book of Ezra in the Bible?” Usually when I ask myself a question, I try to be cordial and attempt to answer. In the case of Ezra, I decided that (issues of divine intent and inspiration aside) it's in the Bible because it's history—the personal history of Israel. At least three of the chapters out of 10 contain lists of names . . . of people who strayed, of people who agreed to make a journey home.

Ezra records that when the foundation of the temple was laid, “people could not distinguish the sound of the joyful shout from the sound of the people's weeping” (3:3). We hear not only about these emotions but also about fear, when “the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah, and made them afraid to build . . .” (4:4). Against the backdrop of all this history, we see business. Letters to and from the king and governor, exchange of goods like salt and silver, the appointment of magistrates and judges. And through it all, the hand of God quietly moving in halls of human power.

In its way, the book of Ezra is like my new doctor. Before talking salt and silver, it talks joy and tears, frailties and hopes. It weaves personal history with the execution of a major building project. Ezra suggests that maybe it's okay for my friend to talk about kids, music, or the latest cool fiction-read in a business email. Besides, “Researchers at IBM Research and MIT's Sloan School of Management [just] found that the average email contact was worth $948 in revenue.” (See Putting a Price on Social Connections.) Did those emails talk piano, cello, books, or 18 siblings? Maybe, maybe not. But my doctor, and the book of Ezra, suggest it might not have been such a bad idea.

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L. L. Barkat is the author of Stone Crossings. Her blog SeedlingsInStone.blogspot.com is a member site of HighCallingBlogs.com.

Working and Growing Backwards (Personal Reflection)

Jonathan Dodson — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 06:00:00 GMT

Mark Twain humorously noted that it would be better if humans were born at the age of 80 and worked backwards. This backwards growth would afford us all the wisdom we would need to navigate the challenges of life. Another great American author F. Scott Fitzgerald picked up this idea in a short story called The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, recently popularized by the film starring Brad Pitt and Kate Blanchett.

It is an interesting idea and curious story. It seems all of us are short on wisdom, but as the Curious Case proves, even being born 80 doesn't solve all our problems. Still, what if we approached work, family, and leisure with the wisdom of our elders?

Life-Maturing Wisdom

In his book The Making of a Leader, Robert Clinton identifies six stages of a leader. The stages include: Sovereign Foundations, Inner Life Growth, Ministry (or Vocational) Maturing, Life Maturing, Convergence, Afterglow. Clinton's comments regarding our "Life Maturing" stage got me thinking about growing backwards.

He notes that this phase of life, typically occurring in our 40s, begins with intentional and extended reflection on life. This period of reflection is often forced onto us by life circumstances, a major conflict, growing children, or life crisis. What would happen if we began to cultivate these patterns of reflection at an earlier age? What kind of people, families, or communities would emerge? We might become more concerned about how God can shape us through conflict and life—and less concerned about merely navigating our conflicts and challenges. Clinton writes:

During Ministry [or Vocational] Maturing, we attempt to constructively navigate conflict; during Life Maturing, we instead tend to focus on what our conflicts say about us. Overall, relationship with God starts to become far more important to us than ministry success [or workplace success]. Ironically, as we begin to care less about the results of our ministry [or work], our effectiveness, satisfaction, and attractiveness as ministers [or employees] suddenly begins to grow. Our lives become an object of imitation. We are not merely appreciated for our work, we are admired as people.

Reflecting, Not Just Navigating, Through Conflict

Are you driven by work, family, success? Are you more concerned with managing conflict than being sanctified by conflict? How can you begin to care less about results of vocation and more about discipleship through vocation? If we want to imitate Christ, periods of reflection and prayer will be important. Imagine if we became so obsessed with God's agenda in our conflicts, challenges, and vocations that others appreciate our Christlikeness more than our "work."

Reflecting through conflict instead of merely navigating it is not a popular process. In general, our culture values success, results, and output over sanctification, maturity, and reflection. Our busy lives run against the grain of such extended times of reflection. Turning around is hard. However, the result of becoming more process-oriented and more reflective will lead us into more fruitful living, parenting, and community building.

You could start by taking a weekly walk in the woods, alone. Go to a coffee shop without a laptop or PDA. Refuse to answer emails for a day—and journal instead. Have extended discussions with your friends and spouses about what God wants to teach each of you through the challenges and conflicts of your lives.

Reflection is inspiring. Cultivate time for it. Prayer can draw us deeper into communion with God who wants to fill us with wisdom.

Who Is Going to Do the Work? (Wisdom from Howard E. Butt)

Howard Butt, Jr. — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 06:00:00 GMT

Andrew Carnegie was a fabulous little Scotsman. He started in poverty and built one of the world's greatest business empires. Once, someone asked him what he believed about the future of his businesses.

He said, "You can take from me all my plants. You can take from me all my money. You can take from me all my equipment. But if you leave me my men, I will build it all again." Carnegie's genius was that he knew an organization is not finances or techniques or equipment. It is human resources.

God's method is always a person. When God chose to speak to human history decisively, to get under the load of human weakness and sin, his method was a person, Jesus Christ, God in flesh and blood.

But the principle of incarnation was not just used during the lifetime of Jesus on earth. It is the principle by which the church operates today. The church is the body of Jesus Christ. God works through flesh and blood, men and women who are committed to his cause. This is the reason that the laity is called today to be God's people wherever they are, whatever they are doing.

One of the critics of Abraham Lincoln's administration of the Civil War once said, "Mr. Lincoln you must throw General McClellan overboard." Lincoln asked who he should put in General McClellan's place, and the critic said, "Anybody." Lincoln coolly replied, "Anybody will do for you. But I must have somebody."

Who is going to do the work of Jesus Christ in deed and in word? You might say that anybody can do it. No, my friend, God must have somebody.

And God intends that somebody be you and me.

Don's story (Ramblin' Dan)

Dan Roloff — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 06:00:00 GMT

In an earlier post, “The Power of Story,” I suggested looking at colleagues through the lens of common themes in literature. This can be an interesting activity to help us understand those people we work with closely. I gave the example of Katie in another post.

The following is a story that deals with pain. How do we make sense of difficult times, and the pain they bring? One way we deal with it is through story. The following is about the pain of losing a colleague.

When I first met Don, his wife Pat was in remission from breast cancer. Shortly after Pat and Don came to work with us, Pat’s cancer came back. She fought well with dignity and bravery but finally succumbed to the disease. As death took Pat, Don entered an intense grieving process. He was a pastoral care professional himself and so quite familiar with grief and how to help others through it. Now Don faced the battle himself.

Don chose to work through the grief with a counselor friend. They sequestered themselves for about ten days, and the process drained Don. I encountered him briefly during the period of grief, and he looked defeated. The next time I saw Don, he was subdued but hopeful. He had lost the mother of his children, the grandmother of his grandchildren, but still he saw hope.

His clash with death took another turn a few short years later. He stood by his older daughter’s side as she delivered her first child, stillborn. Again Don faced the pain of death, and again he chose hope over despair. Not many years later, Don succumbed to cancer. He faced it with dignity and courage. His life and his life story are a beacon of hope for all of us who knew and loved Don.

Death is one of the common themes of literature. Applying this theme to my late colleague, Don, I am better able to cope with his loss but also more deeply appreciate his life.

Work Is Noble (Ramblin' Dan)

Dan Roloff — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 06:00:00 GMT

Growing up, I saw particular value in physical labor. One time when I was boy, I told my father that I’d never work in an office. I said, “I want to do real work.”

It’s funny how things work out. The only skills that I had in the area of manual labor were digging ditches and carrying heavy supplies. My brother was mechanical. He and my dad would work on cars. I stood there bored to tears waiting to fetch the next tool they needed.

I discovered through painful trials that working in the trades was not my forte. That didn’t stop me from trying to find meaningful work in factories. There was plenty of good work, but it just didn’t fit my core identity. So I struggled to find my calling and finally went back to college. What a painful decision that was. For me, the only thing worse than working in a factory was sitting in a classroom. But back to school I went.

I have a strong belief that work is noble. Books like Shop Class as Soulcraft by Matthew Crawford, The Mind at Work by Mike Rose, or Working by Studs Terkel reinforce this view. Work derives nobility from its concrete nature. Work is real, not abstract or conceptual. Work is true because I can feel its reality. Work produces something tangible. The material nature of things is good. Even God became corporeal.

Jesus is the Incarnate Word of God. He is corporeally human and fully God. Also he is logos, the fullness of reason.

"In the beginning was the Word [logos], and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.

Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it" (John 1:1-5).

Acedia, Rehearsals, and Me (Personal Reflection)

Dena Dyer — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 06:00:00 GMT

When we open a new show at the Rockbox Theater, the professional theater where I work, I thoroughly enjoy the audiences' reactions to the hours and hours of practice put in by our cast and crew.

What I do NOT enjoy is the rehearsal process itself. I've been involved in singing and acting for most of my life, and I still abhor rehearsals.

It's just so much work.

I admit it—I'm lazy. While I love the spotlight and the actual performance aspect of live theater, the long hours spent away from my kids, hobbies, friends, and home frustrate me. I have to keep reminding myself that without the "boring-ness" of repeated rehearsals, our crew of singers and musicians wouldn't be successful. Self, I say, God wants you to be a good steward of your talents. That means putting in gobs of time . . . mostly in obscurity. And I continually tell myself that excellence of any sort takes hard work and discipline.

The irony is, I abhor acedia when I see it in other people. Kathleen Norris has talked about this idea of spiritual apathy in her recent memoir, Acedia & Me: A Marriage, Monks, and a Writer's Life.

A few years ago, an aspiring actress who worked at a burger joint asked my hubby how to break into the arts. He suggested she audition for her local theater and take acting lessons. But she waved off his advice, saying, "I'm good enough already. I just need someone to notice me."

I was appalled at her attitude. And I have a feeling she's still selling burgers.

But I see the same tendency in my kids—especially regarding chores and schoolwork—and I know they're probably getting it from dear old Mom. I hate this bent towards laziness in myself, and I truly am praying about it.

After all, acedia is most definitely a spiritual problem. Proverbs is full of scriptures touting the blessings that follow discipline, and the hardship that results when it's absent. Hebrews 12:11 says, "No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it."

In our media-drenched society, a governor-turned-presidential candidate or aspiring singer can go from obscurity to fame in seconds. Hard work and discipline are no longer the only ways to achieve lasting success (Paris Hilton, anyone?). But in the spiritual realm and the other areas that really matter—parenting, marriage, friendship—the things that last are those that take the most time and effort.

I long for the harvest of righteousness and peace mentioned in Hebrews. But that harvest won't come if we're lazy, sitting around and hoping for it. Each day, we have to rehearse the truths God has given us. We must sit with the Word and meditate on (and with) our Savior. As we continually surrender to God's work in and through us, he will produce holiness.

This high calling takes hard work.

It takes my time.

It takes my discipline.

An Undivided Life (Audio)

Howard E. Butt, Jr. — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 06:00:00 GMT

Remember your cafeteria trays in elementary school? The large rectangle was for your main dish. The milk carton had its square. The silverware went in the long, skinny trench. Every serving had its place.

We tend to serve up life that way: church, work, home—all in separate compartments. But it doesn't work. We were made to be whole.

This is Howard Butt, Jr., of Laity Lodge. When the rich young ruler asked Jesus how to have eternal life, Jesus told him to obey the commandments and to sell his possessions. But his possessions were his compartmentalized idolatry! What Jesus told the young man, he's still telling us. Our faith doesn't fit into one compartment. It fills the whole tray . . . in the high calling of our daily work.

May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thess. 5:23)

Middle Managers Might Find This a Bit Scary (Bible Reflection)

Gordon Atkinson — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 06:00:00 GMT

People say they love the parables of Jesus, which is understandable. Jesus was a wonderful storyteller. But I sometimes wonder if anyone is actually reading them. I find many to be rather frightening. In fact, the harshest judgment is for those who call themselves children of God and do not live faithfully in their daily lives.

I sometimes think the parables should carry a warning. “Let the reader beware.” One such parable is found in Matthew 24: 45-51. It is often called “The Parable of the Faithful and Unfaithful Steward.”

"Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. But if that wicked servant says to himself, 'My master is delayed,' and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

The story is simple enough: A master leaves behind a servant, whom he puts in charge of the other servants. He is a steward of the workforce. He's the first century equivalent of middle management. Modern readers who exist in the business world on levels below and above middle management will probably enjoy this story. Middle managers themselves might find it a bit scary.

In the story, the steward is tasked with making sure the workers are given their proper allotment of food and drink and supplies. He has control of the schedule, keys to the supply room, and requisitions for new equipment and computers go through him. The CEO is often absent, sometimes for months. So this guy sets up quite a little kingdom for himself. He is abusive and cruel to those below him. He hogs new resources, using them for himself and his cronies, while others struggle to get their work done with aging computers and broken printers. He's pretty liberal with the petty cash too, taking himself and his friends out for long, expensive lunches. People in the office fear him and come to work each day filled with anxiety.

As you can imagine, the good times don't last forever. The manager thinks he knows when his boss is returning. Unfortunately for him, the CEO returns unexpectedly, and there is hell to pay. In the parable, literally.

There are numerous lessons in this wonderful story that have remained relevant for 2,000 years and will remain so as long as we have jobs and workers and people in charge. The abuse of power is, apparently, a thing that makes God quite angry. Woe to those who use positions of power for undue personal gain. The story also reminds us that much is expected from those to whom much is given by God.

The central meaning of the story is, however, faithfulness. God doesn't seem too concerned about what kind of job you have. Some have powerful jobs and others do not. What matters most to God is what you are doing with yourself on average days. On Tuesday mornings, say. And on Thursdays of uneventful weeks.

Happy are those whom the Lord will find obediently serving him when he returns. Happy are those who will be pleasantly surprised and filled with joy when they look up from their work and find that he has come. Happy are those who, being put in charge of others, are not seeking to benefit themselves, but instead carrying out their managerial tasks with grace and honesty and fairness to others.

Yes, happy are the faithful. For the day of the Lord always comes. In one form or another, it comes. And whether His coming is cause for celebration or trembling is determined, in part, by what happens in your life on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

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Gordon Atkinson is a pastor at Covenant Baptist Church, blogger at RealLivePreacher.com, and editor at HighCallingBlogs.com a network of Christians thinking about the relationship between work and God.

God Works Through Human Resources (Wisdom from Howard E. Butt)

Howard Butt, Jr. — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 06:00:00 GMT

The basic need of any enterprise is human resources. Similarly, the first essential for any program or ministry is human resources. As G. Campbell Morgan put it, "God's method is a man." God's message was a man, Jesus Christ, God in flesh and blood.

The incarnation is the unique genius of the Christian revelation. But the principle of incarnation was not abandoned when the earthly ministry of our Lord was concluded. It is the eternal task of the church to reproduce the incarnation, to clothe the spirit of the living God in human flesh. The Holy Spirit must live in the human clay of the Christian's experience and life.

God works through human resources.

A Colleague's Story (Ramblin' Dan)

Dan Roloff — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 06:00:00 GMT

Here is an example illustrating the power of story in the life of one of my coworkers. I’ve created a story about Katie's journey as I understand it. Some people may say I’ve projected a story onto my colleague. No matter, the following example helps me better understand my relationship with a colleague. And it’s a fun way to try to understand someone.

Katie came to work at Laity Lodge Youth Camp straight from college. She worked as an intern , then as an assistant director. And now she is an associate director. Working with Katie and observing her journey has always been a joy.
There exists in Katie an authenticity that is refreshing. She is earnest in her faith and open about her struggles as well as her triumphs. She is devoted to Christ and his leading in her life. In fact, Katie is so fervent about her faith, it is both encouraging and startling at the same time.
One day in our staff devotion, Katie shared some health concerns. She was in constant pain and doctors weren't sure what was causing the pain. Over the months as Katie continued visiting different doctors, her pain increased. No relief was in sight. Each new report she shared was bleaker than the previous report. When she did receive a diagnosis, the doctor said she had rheumatoid arthritis. Katie was only twenty-five.
Her medication included some difficult side effects. It was serious, but Katie’s outlook never changed. She remained upbeat and faithful even as she shared her fears. Eventually, doctors determined that Katie had suffered because of a virus that brought on symptoms like arthritis. After the virus finished running its course, Katie was perfectly healthy again.
For nearly two years, she struggled with pain and uncertainty. But then Katie was restored to full health. She moved forward with her plans to be married. After this summer, Katie moves to another adventure as she and her new husband, an Air Force pilot, take an assignment in Japan.

Journey or “The Great Journey” is one of the common themes of literature. Applying this theme to my coworker, Katie, I am better able to identify her uniqueness. I continue to marvel at her enthusiastic and encouraging spirit and the power of her faith. All life is a journey. Sometimes we encounter people who inspire us with their journeys. Katie is one of those people.

Katie's journey through illness isn't the end of the story though. Katie’s whole life will be a journey, and she is just at the beginning of that journey.

Now it's your turn. Think about two or three people you work with on a regular basis. Apply one or more of the common themes listed below to each of the people you selected. Create a story around their lives.

The Power of Story (Ramblin' Dan)

Dan Roloff — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 06:00:00 GMT

Here’s an idea. Have some fun looking at the people you work with on a daily basis and thinking about them in terms of common themes found in literature. View them from a story perspective. It’s a fun exercise that can provide fresh insights into your relationships with your coworkers. It may help you better understand them. It may help you better understand how you view others. Either way, it can improve the way you communicate with the people around you.

Start with these five common themes from literature: alienation, coming of age, justice, love, and death.

Alienation is being isolated or apart from the group. Do you work with someone who is alienated? Typical characters of alienation are Clint Eastwood in most of his westerns or in Dirty Harry as Harry Callahan, James Dean in Giant and Rebel Without a Cause, Denzel Washington in The Manchurian Candidate and American Gangster. In each of these examples from the movies, the characters are misunderstood outsiders who have decent hearts.

Coming of age stories such as Tom Sawyer, Harry Potter, and Jane Eyre are about young people growing up and coming to terms with adulthood. You can also think about the coming of age story as a loss of innocence when naïve outlook or idealism fall away. This is the case with Michael Corleone in The Godfather. Although Michael Corleone is an adult coming home from the war, he is still facing the cruel realities of his family for perhaps the first time.

Justice themes may include economic or social justice such as A Christmas Carol, Eight Men Out, The Invisible Man, or The Milagro Beanfield War. These stories contain deep moral principles and often have religious significance.

Love is an interesting theme because it is so multifaceted, even more than justice. There is romantic love like Romeo and Juliet; or family love such as Little Women, Great Expectations, and The Brothers Karamazov. Then there is brotherly love or friendship like Band of Brothers, Shawshank Redemption, and Of Mice and Men.

Journey is another theme with different variations. There are literal journeys like Around the World in Eighty Days or Journey to the Center of the Earth. Then there are journeys through time like The Time Machine or Back to the Future. Also there are journeys through life such as Long Day's Journey into Night. Often, stories with a strong journey theme will combine literal and metaphoric journeys. For example, The Grapes of Wrath combines a literal journey to California with emotional and spiritual journeys.

Everyone around us has a story. Telling the stories of the people we work with can help us develop a deeper understanding and appreciation for their lives. In the process, we may find that their lives have had a significant influence on our lives.

In my next post, I'll provide an example of this by telling you the story of Katie's journey.

Abundance and Service (Personal Reflection)

Mary E. DeMuth — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 06:00:00 GMT

Years ago, my husband and I met a friendly couple in our church who invited us to a party. As I put my coat away in their bedroom, I noticed charts everywhere tacked to the walls—proof the couple was gung-ho about a particular business venture.

"I think I know why they had us over," I whispered to my husband. He couldn't believe they would invite us just to introduce us to their business, and he smirked when they mentioned nothing of it that evening.

A week later, we received a phone call from the couple, imploring us to become a part of their amazing business. We declined. They never invited us over again.

Several years later, I sat at a church luncheon next to a woman I hadn't met. She asked, "What's your passion in life?"

Though I hadn't expressed it publicly, I felt God nudging me to say, "I want to be a writer."

She smiled. "Really? Do you know what one of my passions is? To help develop and train new writers!" The result? This professor and published author mentored me. Her servant's heart changed my professional life forever.

Two truths contradict each other when business and Jesus collide: To win in the business world, you have to market yourself, your product, your wares. Yet Jesus didn't come to earth to be served. He came to serve others without expectation of reciprocation. How do we reconcile marketing that appears self-serving with Jesus' admonition to serve others? By exploring fear and abundance.

Our friends' pressure to join their venture unmasked their fear. Worrying about making enough money, they leveraged each new relationship in the church to meet that goal—and then moved on to another church. But the author, who struggled financially, freely gave her expertise and time to someone who couldn't necessarily benefit her. She gave from a place of God's abundance, from her belief in an upside-down kingdom where eternal rewards resulted from simple obedience.

Fear will cause some people to exploit others, but recognizing God's abundance in the here and now, as well as the not-yet, compels us to bless others with our service.

In fact, forsaking fear and embracing God's abundance helps us serve others in four ways.

1)   God's abundance replaces insecurity with confidence.

John wrote, "Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight" (1 John 3:21-22). When we're insecure, we tend to see people as pawns for financial gain. This attitude does not please God. But when we start obeying him in every aspect of our lives, we have the kind of confidence we need to view customers as fellow image-bearers who deserve to be treated the way we ourselves love to be treated. Our settled confidence in God's goodness is contagious, spilling over into the way we treat people.

2)   God's abundance takes focus off yourself and places it on those you serve, making you both attentive and savvy.

Placing yourself in the customers' shoes gives you keen insight into their needs, their habits, their frustrations. When in those shoes, you create better products, services and technologies. You've heard it before, but customer service is ultimately about understanding customers and meeting their felt needs.

3)   Abundance gives you the long view.

Making an immediate sale is tempered by cultivating life-long loyalty. When you go out of your way to serve people, you connect with them. Even if they never buy anything from you, your service will be a gift to them.

4)   God's abundance puts marketing in perspective.

It's not that marketing or selling is evil, but like anything, it can consume us, particularly in this faltering economy. If we know we are ultimately provided for, marketing becomes more about enhancing someone's life, generating great service, and providing information or a product that benefits the customer. Having abundance actually enhances the marketing experience.

The couple that invited us to their party are a blip in our life story, but the author who gave of her time sacrificially is one of my best friends today. You can bet I buy every book she writes. She served me from the abundance of her heart. As a secondary result, she earned a lifelong customer. She typified Jesus' words, "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many" (Mark 10:45). Serving as Jesus did will produce surprising rewards and keep our hearts in the right place when we market.

God's Plan for Work (Bible Reflection)

Vera Jackson — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 06:00:00 GMT

Everyone might like the idea of taking a permanent vacation, but in reality work has been part of God's plan for mankind from the beginning.

The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the Lord God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden." (Gen. 2:15–16)

This interaction between God and the first man took place before sin entered the earth. The Lord has always intended for us to work and eat the fruit of our labors. Idleness has never been part of his will. In fact, "having nothing to do" is part of the fall of man. We know that Jesus came to save us from sin and bring us into the Kingdom of God. In Matthew 20, he tells a parable that illustrates his call for us:

He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard. About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. He told them, "You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right." So they went. (verses 2–5)

God is calling us to labor in His vineyard. He wants to rescue us from idleness by calling us to work, and he has enough going on to keep all of us busy. Not only that, he has promised to reward us for our labor. It just does not get better than that!

It is easy to imagine that we are laboring in God's vineyard when we volunteer for our church or do other ministry work. Yet God intends that the marketplace jobs we do every day be set apart for his glory just as much as if we were pastoring a church or traveling as an evangelist. God wants us to see all the work we do as a holy calling. Paul said it this way: "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men" (Col. 3:23).

Work is a blessing. We all understand this when we are out of a job and need to find employment to keep the bills paid. Yet God's purpose for our work goes so far beyond meeting our financial needs. Each job or "assignment" we receive from Him is part of His divine plan to expand His Kingdom. Unfortunately, there are still people—and some believers are among them—who stand idle in the marketplace just like the men in the parable. Some are lazy, but others simply do not understand why they are there. They do not know God's plan for work.

God wants to make sure we are fulfilling the roles he prepared for us before we were born. The Bible teaches us that God judges us based on our stewardship of what he entrusts to us in this life. When it comes to our professional lives, we know he is interested in how we spend the money we earn and how we treat the people we meet. Do we also realize that he is just as interested in the quality of the work we do?

Passport to the Lost

Think about the lives of missionaries. They leave the comfort of their homeland to take the Gospel to people who would never have the chance to hear it otherwise. Missionaries know when they enter a new land that they may be the only representatives of Jesus Christ that the people ever see. They conduct themselves in a way that is above reproach to avoid hurting their Lord's reputation. In short, they live their lives on the mission field exactly the way we should live our lives when we go into the marketplace.

The most obvious meaning of the word missionary is "someone on a mission." That is who we are! First and foremost, our work in the marketplace is a passport that affords us entrance into the lives of lost people we would never otherwise meet. They may be struggling in their families, suffering from past hurts, or simply searching for purpose and meaning in life. They are people made in the image of God, people whom he loves dearly.

Think of it—you may be the only real Christian that the people on your job ever get to see. With every breath you take and every step you make, he is calling you to fulfill the Great Commission. Certainly our Sovereign God does not need our help, yet in his mercy he has chosen to use you and me. When we cooperate with God's plan for us to live out our faith on the job, our lives become enormously full, joyous, and purposeful.

God is calling us to take the Gospel to those we supervise, to our coworkers, and even to our superiors. That is what it means to be salt and light in the marketplace! Just as God sends missionaries overseas to bring the Gospel to other cultures, he sends each one of us to our unique professional subculture to carry his Good News. When men and women see us as loving and compassionate people who set a standard for excellence in all we do, they will be drawn to the God we serve.

In order for us to accomplish our mission, however, we must understand the importance of the positions we hold and the professional roles we play. We must understand that God will give us the wisdom and strength to please our earthly bosses and our heavenly Boss! We do not need to compromise one for the other. When we are focused on faithfully representing Jesus in our character, conduct, and work ethic, we cannot help but perform on the job with excellence.

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Used by permission. Unauthorized duplication prohibited.
Excerpted from:
Taking Jesus to Work: Living Out Your Faith on the Job by Vera R. Jackson
Copyright © 2008; ISBN 9780800794613
Published by Chosen Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group

Our Goal is Love (Audio)

Howard E. Butt, Jr. — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 06:00:00 GMT

Some years ago, Henry Nouwen died of a heart attack. He was a Catholic priest and psychologist best known for his book The Wounded Healer.

Those words, "wounded healer," speak volumes. In our brokenness, we live under God's blood and blessing. Yet, Henry would say sadly, "Many people . . . think they are unloved and unsafe. When suffering comes, they believe it affirms their worthlessness."

This is Howard Butt, Jr., of Laity Lodge. Henry believed our great spiritual quest is to learn to live our brokenness under the blessing and not the curse. Where we stumble and fail, God's grace and mercy thrive. Our goal is not perfection, but love . . . in the high calling of our daily work.

Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. (Col. 3:13-14)

What Are You Doing to Transform Your Workplace? (Wisdom from Howard E. Butt)

Howard Butt, Jr. — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 06:00:00 GMT

Incarnational evangelism is sometimes called friendship evangelism. That's the phrase Young Life uses. Think about that for a minute.

Jesus said we are . . .

the light of the world
the salt of the earth
the yeast that makes the whole loaf rise

All three—light, salt, yeast—work by penetration, by permeation, by their influence spreading out. None of these call attention to themselves—they just silently transform, flavor, and lift their environment.

Think about your daily work. What are you doing to transform, flavor, or lift your workplace?

Small Business and Social Media (Ramblin' Dan)

Dan Roloff — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 06:00:00 GMT

I came across an interesting article this morning and wanted to share it with you. "Small Businesses Get Social" outlines how small businesses are using social media. Most of what I’ve seen written concerns large corporations and how they’re incorporating social media into their marketing plans. Here’s an article referencing a study of more than 260,000 small businesses.

Professional social networking sites such as LinkedIn haven’t been a focus of this blog. I’ve written mostly about general social networking sites. Another area I’ve given almost no attention to is wikis. These are powerful tools with tremendous potential. And it’s not just about Wikipedia either.

Take an area of expertise that you or your company is engaged in and ask if there might be an advantage to be gained through opening a wiki? Can shared experience and expertise help grow your business? If you think it can then perhaps a wiki is for you. Here are a few links to wikis that may illustrate how you can use or build your own wiki. Gospel Translations, wikiHow, and Wikispaces are just three examples that might help you see the power of wikis.

Professional social networking provides contacts with business associates through user-defined criteria. Wikis help us to gain and share knowledge. Social media is an effective tool if managed properly and it's just in its infancy. The future will connect us in new and effective ways defined by our needs. It's worth developing a strategy to engage it effectively.

Humility, Serving God's Will (Ramblin' Dan)

Dan Roloff — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 06:00:00 GMT

Benedict of Nursia, in the early sixth century, founded several communities devoted to living a godly life. Through his efforts, he developed his "Rule" for governing daily life. Benedict honored work and understood it to be a high calling. Today, The Rule of St. Benedict is growing in popularity.

Chapter Seven of The Rule is "Humility." Each person should strive toward humility. Benedict provides twelve steps in the process.

1.       Fear God and recognize your sins (Ps. 36:2).
2.       Love God and his will more than your own (John. 6:38).
3.       Be obedient to God and others in authority. (Phil. 2:8).
4.       Have patient endurance (Matt. 10:22).
   5.       Humbly confess (Ps. 37:5).
   6.       Be content in difficult times (Ps. 73:22-23).
   7.       Consider yourself lowly, being nothing without God (Ps. 22:7).
   8.       Submit to the common rule and the example of the elders.
   9.       Keep from speaking until asked (Prov. 10:19).
10.     Practice restraint in words.
11.     Speak gently and wisely.
12.     Be humble at heart and humble in all activities (Luke 18:13).