In the nine months before October 2002, the date I began ministry at Faith Church, I worked at my denomination’s then seminary, Evangelical School of Theology, as the Director of the Annual Fund.* I had heard of the denomination, the Evangelical Congregational Church, and I had heard of the seminary, but this was the firstContinue reading “The bread that almost got me fired – 1 Thessalonians 5:5–11, Preview”
Tag Archives: employment
How to retire well – 1 Thessalonians 4:11–12; 5:14, Part 5
There are ways to retire well, and there are ways to retire wrong. Retiring well has nothing to do with how much money you’ve saved. When people think of retirement, they often think about making sure they have enough money to spend the time they will not be working on hobbies, trips, and entertainment. ButContinue reading “How to retire well – 1 Thessalonians 4:11–12; 5:14, Part 5”
Do you view your work as worship? – 1 Thessalonians 4:11–12; 5:14, Part 4
This week on the blog, we’re studying a few verses in 1 Thessalonians chapters 4 and 5 that refer to work. In this post, I want to mention 1 Corinthians 10:31, which is in another letter of Paul. There Paul writes, “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all to theContinue reading “Do you view your work as worship? – 1 Thessalonians 4:11–12; 5:14, Part 4”
How the quality of your work creates a picture of Jesus – 1 Thessalonians 4:11–12; 5:14, Part 3
This week in our study of 1 Thessalonians, we are learning what the Apostle Paul teaches about work. In the previous post, we studied Paul’s principle of working hard. That principle of hard work, Paul says, is for a very important reason. Notice in verse 12 that working hard and not being dependent onContinue reading “How the quality of your work creates a picture of Jesus – 1 Thessalonians 4:11–12; 5:14, Part 3”
People are watching how you work – 1 Thessalonians 4:11–12; 5:14, Part 2
It has become a fairly common experience of contemporary life, saturated as it is by devices that are tracking us, to say something in a conversation and within hours or days receive advertising about that very topic. How often do you think about the fact that people are watching you? I’m not talking about governmentContinue reading “People are watching how you work – 1 Thessalonians 4:11–12; 5:14, Part 2”
At its core, work is…? – 1 Thessalonians 4:11–12; 5:14, Part 1
How many hours do you work each week? Ever totaled up a close approximation of the hours you will work in your lifetime? If you work for 45 years, 50 weeks per year, 45 hours per week, you will have worked over one hundred thousand hours in your life. Perhaps the only activity we doContinue reading “At its core, work is…? – 1 Thessalonians 4:11–12; 5:14, Part 1”
What kind of workers (and retirees) does God want us to be? – 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12; 5:14, Preview
When I was working on my doctoral dissertation in 2020-2022, I began writing about organizations. My goal was to examine what the Bible has to say about organizations. One of my first hurdles was to define organizations. When you think of an organization, what comes to your mind? I think about an organization as aContinue reading “What kind of workers (and retirees) does God want us to be? – 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12; 5:14, Preview”
4 Faulty Viewpoints About Work – Colossians 3:22-4:1, Part 3
Each follower of Jesus, no matter their station in life, is called to work as unto the Lord. Working unto the Lord means that we will avoid a faulty view of work. There are at least four faulty views to avoid. The first faulty viewpoint is when people think “working as unto the Lord” is justContinue reading “4 Faulty Viewpoints About Work – Colossians 3:22-4:1, Part 3”
The 80% rule about work (school and retirement) – Colossians 3:22-4:1
I once heard that if you are working a job that you enjoy 80% of the time, you’ve hit the employment jackpot. Most people work jobs that don’t get close to that 80% satisfaction level, meaning that they are dissatisfied with their job more than 20% of the time. That might sound frustrating, to thinkContinue reading “The 80% rule about work (school and retirement) – Colossians 3:22-4:1”
School…Work…Retirement…Does God care about the places we spend so much time? – Colossians 3:22-4:1, Part 1
School. Work. And retirement. Three phases of life. Which are you in? Maybe a mixture of more than one. Which are you looking forward to? Think about how much time we spend in these three phases of life. At least 13 years in school, maybe more if you go to college and grad school. ThenContinue reading “School…Work…Retirement…Does God care about the places we spend so much time? – Colossians 3:22-4:1, Part 1”
Engaging Scripture 