By now it is almost a truism that the faith and work movement struggles with reaching blue collar workers. A number of very smart people have tried to do something about that. More than any I have seen so far, W. David Buschart and Ryan Tafilowski have succeeded with their new book Worth Doing: Fallenness, Finitude, and Work in the…
Category: History of the Movement
J. Fletcher Lowe (1932-2021), Faith and Work Leader
In 2016, Fletcher Lowe emailed me out of the blue. He wanted to meet Episcopalians who were going to be at the 2016 Faith and Work Summit in Dallas, and a chain of emails had led him to me and Will Messenger at the Theology of Work Project. (Will and I are both Episcopal priests, as was Fletcher.) We exchanged…
The ServiceMaster Story
Excerpt from Chapter 1, The ServiceMaster Story: Navigating the Tension between People and Profit by Albert M. Erisman, copyright 2020 by Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, Massachusetts. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Dave Aldridge had earned his MBA degree, and was working as a manager at ServiceMaster. Like other leaders, he participated in We Serve days, during which senior company leaders…
MLK on Work
To honor Martin Luther King’s contribution to the faith and work movement, we are reposting this article from our archives. It was originally part one of a series. Many in our movement have heard some version of Martin Luther King’s famous “street sweeper” illustration, which calls on workers to pursue excellence in their work and find dignity and meaning in…
Book Review – Immanuel Labor: God’s Presence In Our Profession
I have mentioned many times, probably too many times, the seeming Mount-Everest-height stack of books published over the last 7-10 years relating to the integration of faith and work. One could justifiably argue we do not need any more books, but rather to read the books already written and apply their principles to our work. But for good or ill,…
The Top Ten Books on Faith and Work—An Updated List for 2018
By Hugh Whelchel It’s been nearly six years since IFWE published our first “top ten” list of books on faith and work. Since then, we’ve seen additional great books published that we want to bring to your attention. We’ve updated our “top ten” list with books that powerfully and creatively explain the biblical meaning of work. They are all rooted in…
Reflections of a Summit Chair
Throughout the Faith at Work 2018 Summit, people would ask me, “how’s it going?” I responded: “you tell me – how’s it going?” We had a record-breaking 434 summit attendees, and we’ve sent them a feedback survey, so we’ll find out soon enough how it went! But from what I’m hearing so far, it sounds like I’m not alone in…
Book Review and Interview: Redeeming Capitalism
Note: This book will be launched tonight with a special event at the Chicago Faith at Work Summit. Many subjects can move a conversation in an unintended direction as the result of preconceived notions or baggage associated with the material. One topic that is often difficult to discuss for this reason is capitalism. I am pleased that Kenneth Barnes has…
Book Review: One Blood: Parting Words to the Church on Race
We have much to celebrate in the faith and work movement as individuals and organizations are drawn into and contribute to this conversation. Hearts and minds are being shaped by the truth that all of our work matters. God desires to use each of us to advance His Kingdom in this world. At the same time, an attitude of continuous…
Book Review: Workship 2: How to Flourish at Work
Kara Martin, author of Workship 2, is no stranger to our audience, as she has written for TGR previously. She is Project Leader with Seed, a lecturer with Mary Andrews College, and formerly Associate Dean of the Marketplace Institute at Ridley College in Melbourne. She has worked in media and communications, human resources, business analysis and policy development roles, in a variety of…
The Green Room 