You want to think of the workplace as a level playing field. But this is not always...
ServiceMaster is one of the great corporate stories of the 20th Century. The company grew from a...
Stories of sexual harassment continue to get top billing in the news. It seems that each day another prominent man—a leader in government, entertainment, business, news, or whatever—resigns or is fired or is...
No one wants to be treated unfairly. No one wants to be overlooked. We all want to find dignity in the work...
The kingdom of God is about community, and we choose whether to enter or not.
Home is a place, a concept, and an experience. Home is brick and mortar, and it is belonging. It is here and...
If dignity is fundamental, it makes sense that readers and commentators care whether Amazon and other organizations treat workers with dignity.
In a season focused anew on old symbols of ethnic pain, Jesus’ example reframes discrimination as a short-sighted and closed-hearted sin.
The EU migrant crisis is too big for any individual or community or church, but that does not mean we should do nothing.
Our tendency may be to see the poor as “different” or the poor themselves to be to blame for their poverty. How...
What happens when pastors try to help people see their work as a calling? Bob Robinson shares...
Through her business, Oikos Services, Cheryl Smith is helping previously-incarcerated women create new, sustainable futures for themselves. Along the way, Jesus sustains her--and her employees.
Roofing is unusually hard work. Second from the bottom on the job list ... one up from shark bait.
"The truth is none of us are in need of a savior just for our souls," writes Tara M. Owens. "If that were the case, the incarnation, Jesus in flesh-and-blood, wouldn’t have really...
When we believe--deep down--that God thinks we're worth knowing, receiving, and loving, we can reflect that same unconditional acceptance to others, writes professional communicator Margot Starbuck.
"Sometimes courage is born from a desire to avoid shame," but other times, "to give courage, we must find our own courage."
The prophetic and poetic task of imagining the world righteously is ever before us. Maybe it’s a joy set before us by others. You have to really want to see.
America has a problem with racism. American churches have a problem with racism.
Who, what, when, where, why, and how were the six foundational words of Amy Sorrell's writing career. Could those questions also be foundational words of her faith?
Usually we think about an inheritance in terms of money, possessions, or real estate, but these things can easily be taken away from us.
God’s people cannot help but exhibit the kingdom of God to the world around them.
Whether or not we realize it, we often give to gain. What if we thought differently about giving and gaining and how we view others? What if we gave to people who have...
As we traveled across the city to a home for disabled children, I tried to prepare my kids for what we were...
Bob was a route salesman for Dr Pepper. He shared a story about my dad’s early days as head of a growing grocery chain. Bob set up special displays in those stores.
What I learned from a cancer center doorman and the US Navy’s chief.
My desire changes as I walk with Jesus, closer to his suffering and mercy. He is better. The reach toward this small patch of dirt has become my want.
Do you feel like you’re stealing God’s praise if you say “thank you” when complimented for doing good work?
John Gardner, late President of the Carnegie Foundation, once said something about excellence that has stayed with me. He said, "The society that scorns excellence in plumbing because plumbing is..."
At her new job, Sue quickly caught on to the daily lunch conversation: barbecued bosses with a side of cut-up coworkers. ...
We tend to value work based on either how much money it earns or how much prestige it carries with it. Is that how God sees it? The Gospels seem to suggest otherwise.
We may be carrying something priceless without even realizing it!
Entertainer Bruce Springsteen’s music has always dignified the ordinary circumstances of life. He told The New York Times, “I felt that I saw a nobility in people. Not the kind you read in...
Author James McDermott recalls when he was a young boy at the train station. He saw a man on a departing train fiddling with his pipe. As the man waved goodbye, he removed...
Church leaders, rightly, have a primary thing on their mind: The mandate to see people come to salvation in Christ. Church programs...
When you grow up as the child of a pastor, there’s a certain expectation you will either become wild and wicked, landing yourself on the church prayer list every week, or you will...
While I was speaking to a gathering of young professionals, one of them raised his hand and said, “I am struggling to understand why anything in my normal routine matters. I know why...
This week we’ve been exploring the relationship between our church lives and our vocational lives and it’s been encouraging to see the...
It had been a weekly tradition for years. A circle of friends, lifting up our burdens together. One asked for prayer for her toddler’s health, another for an ailing grandmother, and yet another,...
In yesterday's reflection, we saw that the old self we are to put off as Christians is...
Not long ago, I spent some time in a professional and spiritual funk. The experience felt much like I envision the biblical...
In 2012 and 2013, I helped to lead a “Vocation Infusion Learning Community” composed of church leaders from 15 congregations nationwide. Our...
It is easy for a pastor to get “tunnel vision.” That tunnel vision comes from a semi-isolation factor inherent from the nature of the job. For years I had preached about holding out...
I remember the brilliant light igniting the eerie black mornings, the sun still fast asleep in the hay. The chocolate letters jumped...
"Would you like some help with that," he asked? ...
My friend sat across from me, twisting her hands in her lap. Our small group, made up of couples from our church, sat around us, discussing the heavy topic of living our lives...
Many of us tend to forget that Jesus spent a great deal of time in a carpenter shop.
"Work may be hard and by the sweat of our brow (Genesis 3:19). But rightly framed, our work can also be a form of worship, a way of honoring God and serving our...
Being direct and transparent is often the best managerial technique. It's also, in my mind, consistent with the remit that we have...
God created work as an integral part of the human experience. He sees the work we do as inherently valuable.
No one would call legendary Dallas Cowboys Coach Tom Landry a vain man. Yet he was one of the most successful coaches in any sport. His teams won two Super Bowls and played...
Is work a high calling? Andy said,“Yeah, if you’re Bill Gates or Bono. If you have millions of dollars to fight disease or feed the hungry.” From Andy’s perspective, work was work. Period......
...
The Eyes You see Mrs. Benevenudo’s beautiful eyes first—blue, smiling eyes pooled with tears. “Hello, honey. How are you today?” Her gracious Texas accent and comforting demeanor pull me in every time. But...
The lithadora spangles and sparks blue. Along the homeowner’s driveway, a phalanx of golden bamboo bows and hushes. Some summers it crawls with tiny red mites and managing the escapees involves kneeling on...
Recently my 7-year old son and I attended a special presentation of Buck at our local theatre. Buck is an award-winning documentary...
Transcript Bob was a quite a Christian. Sundays anyway. On Sundays, Bob led the junior high class. He was a deacon. People admired his zeal. Yes sir, come Sundays, the church could count...
Transcript Susanna Wesley bore 19 children—including John, who founded the Methodist Church. Her husband was often absent—and at times her only means to pray privately was to cover her head with her apron...
Transcript Jim pulled out of the company parking lot and headed home. The big meeting was tomorrow, and everything was ready. Or was it? In a few blocks, a cloud formed. A little...
Last week, I visited with three powerfully Christian women. None of them knew each other, yet they were united to one another by an incredible faith that embraced a courage and perseverance.
In 2008, Faith High School played football against Gainesville State School, a juvenile detention center team with no fans. Until that night. Faith High put 200 fans in Gainesville’s bleachers,...
Do you think of yourself as a minister? Ordained or not, every Christian believer is a minister.In second Corinthians, chapter 3, the Apostle Paul says a Christian is "like a letter written by...
When Ron called his buddy Jeff, it was almost midnight. "I've got a flat tire and no jack! It's pouring rain!" Ron said. What Jeff thought was, "Why are you out so late...
Meeting with Christian leaders who were fighting to end the slave trade, William Wilberforce asks if he should give up Parliament to enter full-time church ministry.
Gil's quick wit was the stuff of legend. The right crack at the right time? Gil had it. He was funny. No, he was hilarious. People shook their heads, amused and amazed.
In a second set during the Rome Masters clay court tennis tournament, Andy Roddick led 5-3. He had triple match point when Fernando Verdasco appeared to hit a double fault. The line judge called...
Human dignity is a precious commodity. Without it, people believe they have no personal significance—nothing that says they are to be taken seriously. Even in the extreme vulnerability of a serious...
In boiling water, carrots, eggs, and coffee beans all react differently. Carrots start out strong and hard but soon grow soft and weak. The liquid interiors of eggs harden. Coffee beans? Well,...
Transcript Recently, I had lunch with a friend, and we found ourselves talking business. He wanted to honor God openly at his advertising agency. He said, "It's humbling to see your spiritual work...
An older man died while sitting in his parked truck. For several days, his body remained sitting in the truck before someone found him. The irony is that after the man died—and two...
Sports Illustrated's annual NFL Preview also tackled the topic of quarterbacks. It said, "A good passer can turn losing cultures into winning ones. And part of a team's transformation is the...
A teenage girl in front of a mirror grew frustrated and wailed, “All the girls wear their hair this way, but my hair won’t do right!” ...
A 10-year-old boy entered a coffee shop and sat down at a table. ...
Fifty years ago in Montgomery, Alabama, an unassuming black woman decided that her dignity was nonnegotiable. Instead of relinquishing her seat to a white man and moving to the back of the bus, she...
The late Dallas Cowboys coach, Tom Landry, often spoke of winning and character. A sign in the Cowboys' locker room said: "The quality of a man's life is in direct proportion to his commitment...
Bill, a recent college graduate, called his dream company for an interview. The company had no openings but invited Bill to come in. On the day of the interview, Bill left home early...
Around the time of the U.S. Civil War, Henry Ward Beecher was a Congregational minister. Like his famous sister, Harriet Beecher Stowe—author of Uncle Tom's Cabin—Beecher was an ardent...
A friend of mine had a flat tire and stopped at a country gas station. The attendant patched the tire and put it back on the car. And as the fellow tightened the...
The great humanitarian had forgotten time, and he would not leave until all the towels were picked up.
