By Michaela O’Donnell Long, reprinted from Made to Flourish. It might not surprise you to hear that at Fuller Theological Seminary and its De Pree Center for Leadership, this year has been marked by change and uncertainty. After all, who hasn’t felt the turbulent effects of change in 2020? In the midst of this, we remain committed – perhaps more…
By David Chan, reprinted from the Salt & Light Australia Daily Devotional. “The people you work with are just people you were thrown together with. Y’know, you don’t know them, it wasn’t your choice. And yet you spend more time with them than you do your friends or your family. But probably all you’ve got in common is the fact that you walk…
By David Williamson, part six of a series. Genesis 5 begins by repeating the assertion that Adam, humankind, is made in God’s likeness, bears the “imago Dei,” both male and female. Here that honor, that identity, is transmitted from the first man to all successive generations. A similar expression is used in the birth of Adam’s son, Seth, who is…
By Luke Bobo, reprinted from Made to Flourish. A dear sister in Christ and friend recently told me she is “constantly working on the work-home-life balance.” I wanted to scream, No! because this kind of language can inadvertently perpetuate a false dichotomy, especially when it comes from pastors. This phrase, “striving for a work-life balance” is one of those phrases…
Reprinted from the Chalmers Center. If the local church is the primary place where God is at work in the world, then that means the local church has a key role to play in poverty alleviation. Whether it is a suburban megachurch, a house church, or the tiny local church in a village far off the grid, your local church is called to…
By Andrew Parris and Don Pope, reprinted from Christian Business Review. Citations have been omitted. Part five of a series. In this section, we explore some of the key Christian/biblical parallels to Lean principles that we expect many of our readers have already noticed…. 4. The Greatest Long-Term Gains Are Achieved Incrementally and Continuously This Lean principle is about personal and corporate growth.…
By Ryan Tafilowski, reprinted from the Denver Institute for Faith and Work. My favorite gift last Christmas was a pack of thermal socks. It’s funny how things change. I can still remember how I felt as a child upon opening a “present” from my grandmother comprised of a sweater and socks. Ten-year-old boys are not known for their self-awareness, so…
By Fletcher Lowe, reprinted from Living God’s Mission. Blessing the farms and the fields, blessing the boats and the bait…. So in more rural times, congregations gathered as a way of asking God’s blessings. What were our rural friends asking God’s blessings on, but the means of production: farms, fields, boats, bait, for a good harvest and a good catch.…
By David Gill, reprinted from The 313. Right now, after a year of pandemic-enforced distance-learning and distance-working for many of us, to speak of “hands-on” work seems more like a dream than a reality. It seems like most of the time our hands are on our keyboards while we sit in isolation. But how can we not recognize and stand up in…
By Jim Grubs, reprinted from Minding the Gap. The story is told about the little boy who was sitting on his grandpa’s lap when he asked, “Grandpa, when did we begin competing?” (This kid was very advanced.) Grandpa replies: “It all began at the very beginning of creation when the first people were playing in the field. They were having a…
