I am originally from Michigan, which means I have blessed (and cursed) my children with being Detroit sports fans. In 2000, my oldest was turning 14 and all he wanted was to go to a Tigers vs Yankees game for his birthday. It was Comerica Park’s opening season, but the Tigers were woefully bad. So, […]

In my last post I pointed out that spiritual formation is a gift of grace. And for us to mature requires that we live from the story of the crucified Christ. That’s not easy. We are surrounded by a choir of voices who sing endlessly to woo us away from the centrality of that narrative. […]

Mahatma Gandhi once said, “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” He is not alone, and his comments speak to the crisis of formation in the Christian church. Since our vision is to see everyone formed into the image of Christ in work, at work, […]

You don’t have to work hard to build a case for the value of clear mission and vision statements. We need them to guide our organizations and our personal lives. But sometimes it’s good to pause and ponder, “What sits beneath those well-crafted sentences we put on our website and hang on the wall?” We […]

I haven’t met anyone who hasn’t spent time working in the in-between. Let me give you a few examples. Maybe you: – in a part time role as you finished college. You are working in the in-between of student and professional. – in an apprenticeship. You are working in the in-between of laborer and skilled […]

When I was in elementary school my grandparents sold their farm and moved to the city for health reasons. Fortunately for my cousins and me there was a great park within walking distance from their new house. One day, my parents and I were visiting grandma and grandpa and I asked if I could go […]

In our last post, Jessica probed the nagging question that most of us face at one time or another, “Am I stuck?” and the implied question that follows, “What do I do if I feel stuck?” Then she gave four practical steps that we can take right now. She also referenced the Workmatters Institute and […]

I have a complicated relationship with goals. I don’t like them and yet I concede that some are necessary. It’s not wise to dismiss the need to measure components of our ‘doing’ by setting short and long-term aims bound by the metrics of time and degree of completion. I do have some goals. A few […]

Six years ago, I saw a job posting that intrigued me. It was for the Director of the Workmatters Institute. I didn’t know much about Workmatters at the time, but the description of the role sounded like a combination of everything I had ever done vocationally. From the first week of January 2019 through mid-March […]

At Workmatters, we take seriously the fact that we spend over half our lives at work, and work is a deeply formative experience. The question isn’t, “Am I being formed at work?” but rather, “How am I being formed at work?” Or, as the Apostle Paul might ask, am I being “conformed to the pattern […]

Spiritual formation is not new. It’s not a passing fad or a market strategy. Spiritual formation is the lifelong process of responding to God’s grace to be shaped into the image of Jesus, for the glory of God and the sake of the world. We can trace this idea and language back to the writers […]

As promised in my last post I gave an historical overview of the Faith and Work Movement and the circumstances that created the need for it. Today my goal is to zoom into the last 40 years of our movement. The trends of the modern era of the Faith and Work Movement are not as […]

As we relaunch the Workmatters blog, I think it is fitting to recognize the major events that we’ve experienced since we last communicated with you. We watched conflict arise in the Middle East, and between Ukraine and Russia. But we’ve also witnessed incredible resiliency around the world as communities pulled together in the face of […]

Galatians 5:22-23 gives us a beautiful picture of the fruit of the Spirit being produced in our lives. Like apples on a tree – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control naturally flow from us. It’s such a stirring image that we often stop there. However, if we read on, we see […]

When talking about integrating your faith and work, we can’t over-emphasize Jesus’ words in John 15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” Abiding with Christ is critical for the Christian leader. Many of […]

It should be no surprise that leaders who follow Jesus prioritize serving, and they serve at work. The New Testament is filled with examples of how he humbled himself to meet the needs of those around him, but I want to focus on two passages that you are probably familiar with. I’d bet you have […]

We were posed a great question after last week’s blog, “Should we talk about our faith more at work?” I’ll respond with a very solid, “Maybe, but it depends.” Here are a few things I’d encourage you to consider: Before you utter a word, first consider, “What is my life already saying?” In the Sermon […]

The Christian story is anchored in the ancient story of Abraham, a story of leaving everything that was familiar and going to the place God would show him. Hebrews 11 commends Abraham and others for this type of faith: a trust in God that anchored them in reality and moved them toward the unseen possibilities […]

Last week I shared the story of a community that I’m extremely grateful to be part of and how God uses our annual gathering to breathe life into me. I also challenged readers to pay attention to their own need for rest and begin to dream of convening a group of fellow pilgrims. This week […]

Last month I had the privilege of meeting up with thirteen other nonprofit leaders from across the country, each outstanding in their fields. It was the fifth year we gathered under Montana’s big sky to fly fish on the Bighorn River, but this is not just a fishing trip. It is a pilgrimage. “A pilgrimage […]

I have a hunch that you can do a lot of things. I bet you can teach and train, administrate and organize, reach out to potential clients, and follow up on current ones. I don’t doubt that you have acquired enough knowledge to weigh in on most of the topics that come up at work. […]

When you think about your faith (or spiritual life or Christian walk or whatever you tend to call it) are you building a machine or growing a garden? I ask because words and metaphors are more than ways to identify objects and label ideas. Over time our language shapes us as much as the people […]

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!  Most people don’t know much about St. Patrick’s Day beyond; you’d better wear green or you’ll get pinched, at some point we’ll see a clip of the Chicago River dyed green, and the places we go for lunch or dinner will be serving corned beef and cabbage. So… Why do we […]

This probably doesn’t happen to you, but I can go for days, maybe even weeks, thoughts racing, digressing from topic to topic, bouncing from one thing to the next, spinning plates and juggling tasks and living in a constant state of reaction. Can I be honest with you? I know it’s not just me. It’s […]

Over the holidays I was able to reconnect with the man who has influenced me more than anyone outside of my parents. We hadn’t seen each other in person or even spoken on the phone in years. Thirty years ago, Jim was my boss, but also my mentor and friend. He did not treat me […]

You can feel it in your team meetings, one on one’s, strategy sessions, and even when you are scheduling appointments. Time is ticking away. Christmas is almost here, your final PTO dates have been approved, and the year is quickly coming to an end. Some types thrive in the final push to the annual finish […]

I don’t know about you, but my own spiritual formation was once focused solely on hope and vision, that my value as a follower of Christ and a leader was in my ability hold onto them tightly. The people of God are a people of faith, inspiration, and problem solving. I was pointed forward to […]