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Charlotte Fellows 11/18/15 Charlotte Fellows 11/18/15

3 Practical Ways to Integrate Your Faith & Work

Studies have shown that the average person will spend over a third of his/her waking life at work. Since most Christians are not engaged in full-time vocational ministry, how do we integrate our faith into one of the biggest portions of our lives–our work?

This blog post was written by Mark Casper, former Charlotte Fellow class of 2014. Mark is a writer and graphic designer who lives in Charlotte, NC with his wife Laura. Note: this blog post originally appeared on Mark's blog, Sons & Orphans, where he writes about books, films, stories, and the gospel.

Recently I attended a seminar at my church on that very subject entitled Work & Identity. The conversation was led by our pastor and a member of our church who had a long and successful career working for a Fortune 500 company.

Note: most of what follows is a summary of the teaching from the seminar mixed in with other teachings from my time in the Charlotte Fellows Program.

All Work Matters to God

The first concept they explained is foundational to a solid theology of work: the idea that all work matters to God. Most believers (including myself, for a long time) hold the misguided notion that some work is “spiritual” and other work is “secular,” the former being more pleasing to God than the latter. We assume that God cares far more for the work of the pastor than the work of the plumber. But the biblical view on work is totally different. Martin Luther, the famous German reformer, had this to say on the subject:

“…the works of monks and priests, however holy and arduous they may be, do not differ one whit in the sight of God from the works of the rustic laborer in the field or the woman going about her household tasks…all works are measured before God by faith alone.”

All work possesses dignity, because work is integral to what it means to be made in the image of God. In the Genesis account of creation, we see God working, creating, and then declaring it all “good.” He then gave the work of cultivating the garden to Adam and Eve as a gift. Indeed, when God himself came to Earth clothed in humanity, he worked as a carpenter for the majority of his life.

It is crucial we understand first and foremost this notion that all work matters to God. If we do, it brings a totally new energy and dynamic to our work. Though it may seem hard to believe, the amazing truth is this: the work of the janitor can be just as pleasing (if not more) in the sight of God as the work of the youth pastor. The same is true for bankers, accountants, lawyers, teachers, doctors, nurses, and electricians. Imagine how our work would be transformed if we actually believed this truth.

‘The Kings and Their Glory’

But simply saying that all work matters to God still does not offer us practical answers to the issue of how we integrate our faith and our work.

The answer to that question is much more nuanced, and to find it we must turn to the conclusion of the Biblical narrative, the book of Revelation.

Another commonly held misconception is the idea that heaven will be an ethereal, airy place where believers will float around in ghost-like form. But the Bible makes it perfectly clear in Revelation 21 that the New Jerusalem will be a redeemed city filled with redeemed people doing redeemed work. But that’s not all. Consider this passage from Andy Crouch’s book on faith and work calledCulture Making:

“But God’s handiwork, artifacts, and people alike, are not all that is found in the city. Also in the city are the ‘glory and honor of the nations’–brought into the city by none other than ‘the kings of the earth.’”

This means (incredibly) that in the New Jerusalem there will be buildings, streets, architecture, art, science, music, economics, and other cultural artifacts–many of which were created by humans in this life. Undoubtedly they will experience the same refining process that our bodies will go through, but nonetheless, do you see what this means? The products, services, and cultural goods we make today could make it into the New Heavens and the New Earth!

3 Ways to Integrate Your Faith & Work

As believers, we’re called to anticipate this coming Kingdom. And how do we do that with our work? To find out, Christians in every industry must ask themselves: what would a redeemed version of our industry look like? What does it mean for us to be Christian bankers, doctors, lawyers, or teachers? How will we work in a distinctly Christian way?

The answer will look a little different for everyone, but at the very least it will include these three components:

Work with Integrity

As believers, it goes without saying that we must hold ourselves to the highest standards of ethical behavior in our work, knowing that we work not just for human bosses but for the Lord (Colossions 1:21). This means we will not cook the books, take shortcuts that might harm the environment, our employees, or our customers. It means we will not take advantage of our customers by overcharging or overpromising. It also means honoring our employers’ time by not slacking off or browsing Facebook or Buzzfeed for hours on end.

Work with Excellence

When Martin Luther was famously asked by a cobbler who had just become a Christian what he should do with his life, Luther responded by saying: “make a good shoe and sell it at a fair price.” We should seek to be excellent in all that we do because we serve a God who is excellent in every way.

Also, as Andy Crouch says again in Culture Making: “We should ask the same question about our own cultural creativity and cultivating. Are we creating and cultivating things that have a chance of furnishing the New Jerusalem?”

Furthermore, being excellent at our jobs is a big part of earning the right to be heard by our coworkers.

Work with Love

Above all else, we must seek to love our bosses, coworkers, and employees to the best of our ability, knowing that as fellow image-bearers of God they deserve to be treated with the utmost dignity and respect. Practically, this means caring for our coworkers by forming relationships with them. It means getting to know them, their problems, their fears, and their dreams. If you’re a business owner it means compensating your employees generously or at the very least fairly.

My Faith + Work Manifesto

As I listened to the seminar, I realized that I hadn’t answered a lot of these questions for myself and my vocation. Therefore, I decided to write up a little faith + work manifesto. Hopefully it will inspire you to think through your answers for your vocation.

Question: What does it look like for me to be a Christian writer and designer?

-I will seek to tell the truth, no matter how ugly or inconvenient.

-I will seek to communicate everything with clarity, simplicity, and beauty.

-I will not overpromise what I know can’t be delivered.

-I will treat every person and their story with the dignity, time, and energy it deserves, knowing that God cares about every person’s story, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem.

-I will do everything in my power to encourage, inspire, inform, and challenge my audience to think, pray, and do what is most honoring to God and for the flourishing of humanity.

-I will not be a part of any piece of communication that explicitly endorses or encourages behavior that is against the will of God as revealed in the Scriptures.

-I will seek to find creative ways to “tell of all the wondrous things” (Psalm 9) that God has done and is doing.

Why We Celebrate Labor Day: A Call to Remember the Dignity of Labor

The following post comes from Dr. R. Albert Mohler Jr.'s popular podcast The Briefing, a daily analysis of news and events from a Christian worldview.

The following post comes from Dr. R. Albert Mohler Jr.'s popular podcast The Briefing, a daily analysis of news and events from a Christian worldview.

As we go into the weekend and think of Monday, we are reminded that for over a 100 years we've had the holiday of Labor Day. We need to be reminded historically this holiday emerged from the great labor movement in the United States. That's a very important movement, and it played a very important role in American history.

But what we're looking at right now with Labor Day is the fact that most Americans simply see it as a holiday. They're really not thinking about the dignity of labor, whether that's tied to the historic movement in America or to labor just in terms of the general human activity of work.

This is where Christians would rightly look at Labor Day as an opportunity to remember that labor is a reflection of the fact that we are made in God's image. The imago Dei, as the Scripture defines it, is the image of God in us. God made us in his image, and one crucial dimension of that image is the fact that we are made to work.

Thus for Christians, work is never merely work. We come to understand that every Christian indeed has a vocation, which in its essence means a calling. Every one of us has the opportunity by the calling God gives to us to show God's glory in a fallen world in a way that can only be shown by the fact that made in his image, we work.

Work can be exhausting. Work can be tedious. Work can be tiring. But work always has an inherent dignity. One of the things that is clear from the Christian worldview is that even as Francis Schaeffer once said, "There are no little people and there are no little places," there are also no little jobs.

Every job that makes a contribution to human civilization is a job that has dignity. And every worker should know the dignity of that work. In terms of the Biblical worldview, work is not itself a symptom of the fall. The fact that work is so difficult–-now that's a symptom of the fall. Adam was not told that as a result of his sin he would have to work; he was just told that his work was going to be far harder.

The Bible affirms that in the truest possible sense we were made to work, and our work is a reflection of the fact that we are made in God's image. And thus our faithfulness in work should be seen as the fulfillment of a vocation, a calling that is given to every one of us.

We also as Christians then need to remember that a job is not always tied to a paycheck; it's not always tied to a job title. We come to understand that being a mother is also a vocation; that there are dimensions of human labor to the glory of God that will never have a job description and will never have a title. And for Christians, Labor Day should afford us the opportunity for reflection on the Biblical command that in all things we are to do all things to the glory of God.

So as you gather together with friends and family for Labor Day, you might have a picnic. But just remember: life wasn't supposed to be a picnic. We were made for work and until Christ comes, that work is to his glory.

Charlotte Fellows 9/1/15 Charlotte Fellows 9/1/15

The Gospel Changes Everything: 3 Takeaways from My Time as a Charlotte Fellow

In nothing has the Church so lost Her hold on reality as Her failure to understand and respect the secular vocation. She has allowed work and religion to become separate departments, and is astonished to find that, as a result, the secular work of the world is turned to purely selfish and destructive ends, and that the greater part of the world’s intelligent workers have become irreligious or at least uninterested in religion…. But is it astonishing? How can anyone remain interested in a religion which seems to have no concern with nine-tenths of his life?

-Dorothy Sayers

I came across this quote by Dorothy Sayers in a sermon by Dr. Timothy Keller and believe it highlights some of the misconceptions we often hold about work. During my year as a Charlotte Fellow I began to see the way these errors played out in my own life and understand how the Gospel of grace totally transforms our understanding of vocation.

Chris Townsend, former Charlotte Fellow class of 2013, reflects back on his life and lessons learned from his Fellows experience. Chris currently lives in Charlotte with his wife Laura and works for a wealth advisory firm.

“In nothing has the Church so lost Her hold on reality as Her failure to understand and respect the secular vocation. She has allowed work and religion to become separate departments, and is astonished to find that, as a result, the secular work of the world is turned to purely selfish and destructive ends, and that the greater part of the world’s intelligent workers have become irreligious or at least uninterested in religion…. But is it astonishing? How can anyone remain interested in a religion which seems to have no concern with nine-tenths of his life? ”

— Dorothy Sayers

While I grew up in the church, I did not allow my faith to impact the way I pursued my interests during the week. Sure, I tried to be a “good” person, but everything from school work to athletics were simply a means to an end of building a life full of worldly success. From the outside, things seemed to be going well. I was still involved at church, played on multiple sports teams and even received a partial academic scholarship to a top twenty-five university. However, once I arrived on campus my constant resume building kicked into high gear as I fixated on landing a job on Wall Street. By senior year, I achieved my goal. I accepted an offer with an investment bank in New York City, but I was totally blind to how my idol of achievement was affecting every area of my life.

During Christmas vacation the Holy Spirit changed everything. I was given the grace to see I was living a double life: I had a spiritual/moral life that was submitted to the Lord, but most of my time and energy was devoted to living for myself and my own glory. I felt called to lay down this idol and turn down the job offer in finance, and while I felt peace, I had no idea what type of career to purse next.

Unfortunately, I fell into the trap Dorothy Sayers described and decided all “secular” work must be of second-rate importance to God. Since I was trying to follow Jesus wholeheartedly, I obviously needed to work full-time for (a) a campus ministry, (b) a church, or (c) a non-profit. Ultimately I decided on the latter and spent the summer after graduation with a large faith-based non-profit. It was a great organization, but I still wrestled with what to do next. By the grace of God I was introduced to the Fellows Initiative through a friend and eagerly stepped into the opportunity to spend a year with great mentors and community that showed me how the Gospel should transform every aspect of my life.

Here are 3 of my biggest takeaways from my time as a Charlotte Fellow:

1. There are no Varsity/Junior Varsity Christian distinctions

After giving up the job in investment banking, I began to think my only career options were either full-time ministry or working for a faith-based nonprofit. I had this idea that Christians in secular careers were “JV” and if they were really committed they would be doing something with a specific ministry focus. While this is a common view, I now understand there truly is no distinction between “sacred” and “secular” vocations. While the brokenness of sin is evident in our jobs, work itself is a gift from God given to us before the Fall (Genesis 1:28, 2:15). As image-bearers of God, we can take satisfaction in our daily work, even if it has no specific “ministry” value. We all possess different gifts and we can serve God by being good stewards of our abilities, regardless of our particular vocation (1 Peter 4:10).

2. Work as Worship

Another misconception I held was viewing work as a necessary evil, something I had to get through so I could focus on the “important” things for God. Since we spend most of our time at the office, this mindset was quite self-defeating. It led me to either a) try to be a good witness at work or b) try to start a bible study with co-workers. I was totally missing the fact that my actual day-to-day work could be done as an act of worship out of my love for God. What a freeing idea! I can go into my job on Monday, be it typing numbers into a database or serving the poor, and worship God using the abilities he gave me to his glory! (1 Corinthians 10:31)

3. God desires my heart, not just an external change of behavior

I naively thought my struggles with money or achievement would end once I stepped away from a high intensity finance career. However, through the Fellows I realized that while I had taken an important first step, I still needed to let Jesus transform the posture of my heart. If I continued to find my self-worth and affirmation from others, it wouldn’t matter if I was in banking or ministry: I would still give too much importance to what others thought of me! By understanding the depth of God’s loves for us displayed on the cross we can focus less on seeking man’s approval and begin to rest in the love of the Father.

After graduating from the Fellows, and in God’s perfect timing, I actually accepted a job with the same bank I turned down as a senior in college. While I am far from fully living out of these principles, I know I can rest in the finished work of Jesus on the cross and trust him to complete the work in me (Philippians 1:6, 2:13). Perhaps more importantly, I have continued to be a part of a gospel-centered community that can remind me of these truths when my heart starts to stray.