How will the Church in the 21st century “equip the saints for works of service” (Eph. 4:12) for the vast challenges we face in the world today? This seems overwhelming at first blush. But then I remember that God’s people are touching every area of our cities through their daily work, and it’s the Church’s privilege and responsibility to send…
Author: Jeff Haanen
7 Ways to Pastor Professionals
By Jeff Haanen & Dustin Moody; reprinted from the Denver Institute for Faith and Work Living out our faith at work looks different for doctors, lawyers, accountants, and professionals in various industries, and ministry leaders often struggle to fully understand the challenges their members face in the workplace. At a recent event for our Church Partnership Network, Jeff Haanen shared seven practical ways to disciple the…
How To Start Your Own Faith & Work Institute
Over the years, I’ve often received the question How did you do that? That is, how did you start Denver Institute for Faith & Work? The founding of DIFW was a one part grace (both God’s and others’), one part luck, and one part perseverance. The great thing about our story is that we didn’t need anybody famous to make it work.…
Making a Permanent Impact on American Society
Dear peers in the Faith & Work Movement, I often imagine what collective impact between our ministries and churches might look like. What would it look like for us to partner together to make a permanent, generational impact on American society? When it comes to work, in many ways, our society is hemorrhaging. The labor participation rate for men age 24-55 is…
The Miracle of the Reformers: Why Teaching Your Kids Hymns is Good for the Economy
Perhaps the songs we teach our children are the most important legacy leaders in the faith and work movement can leave for posterity. This morning I sat down to breakfast with my wife and four daughters. After eggs and sausage, we listened to the classic hymn “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of Creation.” My wife educates our…
Collective Impact: The Missing Piece of the Faith-Work Puzzle
What will the faith and work movement look like in 2067? What are we doing today that could genuinely last for 50 years, and even reshape American culture? These are tough questions. Not only because 50 years is such a long time, but it forces us to think not only of our own organizations, but the larger networks across the…
Obsessed With Work or Just Bored? Bringing the Conversation About Work Across Acoma Street
It’s well past 1 p.m. From my desk I look across Acoma Street and see a woman in her early 20s wearing baggy sweat pants, a cigarette hanging out her mouth, tossing an empty Mountain Dew bottle in a dumpster that’s been parked in her driveway for months. She squints at the sun, as if it’s an unwelcome guest disturbing her slumber. Next…
Work, Profession, Job, Vocation, Occupation, Career or Calling? Getting Clear on Language About Work
“You don’t just have a job, you have a vocation!” Really? It feels more like I need a vacation. “Come to the Discover Your Calling class at church!” they told me. I was hoping to get career advice. Instead, I guess my calling was to be a greeter on Sunday morning. “Some people have a calling,” my father said to…
Should We Create More Vocation-Specific Faith and Work Resources?
One topic that continually comes up among faith and work leaders is this: should we create more vocation-specific materials? That is, instead of creating resources broadly about, say, work, Sabbath, calling, or caring for the poor, should we create experiences, books or small group studies specifically for those in, say, law, business, architecture or nursing? The topic came up at…
Broader, Not Deeper
By Jeff Haanen What will allow more pastors to see the importance of work for their church and its mission? How might the faith and work movement help pastors and seminaries to embrace ministry models that equip men and women to serve Christ in the wide array of professions in our culture today? And why is this so difficult? Last…
The Green Room 