On the Job Faith: Part 1 (5/23/08)

Of course I was kidding about the archeological find (yes, I was asked if it was a true story). But I do think it’s useful to imagine what Jesus would be like in the workplace.

I didn’t talk about this, but one of the problems that Christians face is that so many churches don’t help them put their faith into practice at work. So many clergy don’t understand the workplace, and quite frankly, many clergy have anti-business sentiments. A pretty good book that explores this bias in detail is “Church on Sunday, Work on Monday” by Laura Nash and Scotty McLennan.

As I was watching the video, I realized an interesting distinction. First, I talked about the unique “challenges and opportunities” presented by the workplace. Later, I asked you respond to the “treasure trove of opportunities” to reflect Christ? See the difference? Without even realizing it, I concluded that temptations and challenges were in fact opportunities.

I hadn’t really thought of it that way before. But how do you view temptations and challenges? As bad or unfortunate things that somehow must be overcome….or great opportunities to witness, influence the world and reflect Christ? Put differently, if you were never put in tempting situations or had any hardships in your life, would this be a good thing? It’s easy to say “yes” to this question. But these occurrences really do give us a chance to show the world how Christ followers are different. In some ways, I can imagine a committed Christian saying “bring it on” when faced with challenges.

I don’t know. I’m not saying we should wish these things on ourselves. But when they do occur, maybe an attitude shift (for some people) could be beneficial.

A Tale of Two Hospitals (5/9/08)

This was a hard video to shoot because my mom and I were very close. After my dad died in 2001, I was extra concerned and involved in her life in various ways. And near the end, she was a gigantic priority. And even when you know death is imminent, it’s still difficult when it’s a parent that you dearly love.

Anyway, my mom and son were both hospitalized in February. And at the time, the two different forms of love—both very powerful—-really stood out to me. And it got me thinking about God. How God views us….and how we should love God in return. I think this is a great basis for a group study or personal reflection. What can we learn about God’s love from looking at great examples of human love? You can even take virtually every comment I made (about my Mom and son) and use it as a starting point for talking about God.

One other point. I blurred out my son’s face in the hospital pictures because I was just uncomfortable showing his face on the Internet. I know the video is more interesting when you can see a face, but I just didn’t think it was worth a risk (even a small risk). Hope you understand.

Thanks for watching.