Whatever You Had For Breakfast This Morning

One way to be cured of SSD [that mental virus called the Sacred-Secular Divide] is to fully recognize God at work around us every day. I’m not just referring to Him keeping the earth spinning at 1,038 mph at the equator, but the fact that whatever you had for breakfast this morning was the result of God at work, too.

I’m not just referring to Him providing the sunshine that enabled your cornflakes to be. I’m also thinking of how He worked through so many people to get it to your bowl. You see, God could have chosen to deliver your food to your front door by Himself, fully prepared. But instead, we see a long human chain that links the farmer to the soil, the truck driver to the marketplace, and the grocery clerk to the cash register. All along the way, from one end of the chain to the other, humans are engaging in the First Commission, whether they realize it or not.

If we continue to follow the chain out the grocery store door, we find men and women who spend 40-80 hours a week at thousands of jobs that generate the dollars paid at the cash register. If we go back to the other end of the chain, where the farmer meets the soil, we discover things that only God can do (like creating sunshine, plants and water), but this doesn’t mean His work is done through photosynthesis alone. God does His work through truck drivers, grocery clerks and bankers.

As humans, we were created to co-work with God, by ruling over raw materials He alone sustains, shaping and molding them (as only image-bearers of God can do) into cornflakes, oatmeal and french toast. Milk comes from cows and grass that God alone sustains, but the process God uses to give you your breakfast is a delightful dance between Himself and human beings.

God sustains the milkman, and the truck. The butcher and the baker, too. These are all means by which God fulfills His purpose for food, His love for people, and His intention for human beings to govern over creation, using the gifts and abilities He provides. That’s what work is all about.

Secular jobs? Think again. The Hebrew word for "work" and "worship" is the same word. Click: avodah.

Ahhhhhhh...

I don’t think we’ll know the complete answer to why God created humans until we cross through to the other side. Then I think we’ll all look back and say, “Ahhhhhh….”

Thanks to Scripture, we know how we came to be. (Yes, I do believe God formed Adam out of dirt. That doesn’t sound very flattering. The “dust of the earth” sounds better. But not by much.) Yet, this doesn’t answer the really big question: Why did God create humans?

The answer I have heard all my life is: “We were created to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” But this answer has never fully satisfied me. So, I’d like to tweak the question a bit: What role did God have in mind for humans when He created us?

This is much easier to answer, because the Bible tells us exactly what role God had in mind for us to play. His intention from the beginning was for us to govern [steward, rule, have dominion] over Earth and all it contains. Genesis 1:26-28 doesn’t tell us much about the why, but it sure does tell us the what!

This is truly mind-boggling. God created human beings to rule over His creation! I like the way Chuck Colson put it: “On the sixth day, God created human beings—and ordered them to pick up where He left off!” That’s quite a responsibility—and a great honor. Talk about purpose!

This satisfies me. It gives me purpose in mowing my lawn, and ridding it of moles (one of the greatest challenges to human governance known to man, and a sure sign of the curse). It brings meaning to taking trash to the garbage cans, and cleaning drains on the roof. It gives me joy in writing, speaking, consulting and coaching. When I do these things rightly, I feel God's pleasure, like Eric Liddell running a race.

Of course, not every moment is a pleasure. Sometimes I bump into pain that comes with a broken world. Sweating isn't fun. Nor are moles. But I always come back to the realization that I was made for a reason, and I can engage in the call of the First Commission with satisfaction, when building a backyard chicken coop with a friend, or collecting eggs the fowl produce.

Farewell SSD.

Stewarding our four faithful egg-makers.

Which came first? The chicken!

A sure sign of the curse: moles.

The Earthiness Of The Great Commission

To be cured of SSD [the Sacred-Secular Divide], it helps to take another look at the Great Commission of Matthew 28:18-20. Revisiting the Great Commission is a healthy thing to do now and then, because it defines the missional identity of the Church.

The Great Commission has a very “earthy” focus. That is, its focus is more on the here-and-now than life-hereafter. Yet, as a child growing up in the church, I translated it this way: “Go everywhere to save souls, so people can go to heaven when they die.”

The Great Commission doesn’t say “make converts,” although baptism certainly implies this necessary step. What it says is: “make disciples.” It doesn’t talk about teaching people to ask Jesus into their hearts, but “teaching them to observe all that I [Jesus] have commanded you.” This observation takes place on Earth, as we are "going."  

In the Great Commission, Christ doesn’t say, “I’ll see you in heaven,” but “I’m with you on earth—‘till the end of the age.” It is the earthiness of the Great Commission that links it so powerfully with the First Commission of Genesis 1:26-28. The Great Commission of Matthew 28 focuses on what happens here, where God wants His will to be done—as it is in Heaven. Jesus is Lord of both realms at once [v. 18].

God has an earthly intention for human beings, and this intention is stated in the first chapter of the Book: to rule over all creation. This involves flying helicopters in logging operations, managing salmon, manufacturing light bulbs, designing software, cutting hair, rearing children, and making breakfast.

The Great Commission is about people everywhere [all nations] observing all He has commanded, in the context of wherever we go. For half our waking hours, this is where we work.

One of the best writings I have seen on the unity of the two commissions [the First and the Great] is in Chapter 6 of Liberating the Laity, by R. Paul Stevens: “Because man failed to keep the first mandate [Genesis 1:26-28], God gave us in Jesus the missionary mandate [Matthew 28:18-20]…But what is seldom understood is that God gave us the second mandate in order to restore the first…We are saved in order to fulfill God’s original intention.”

This leaves no room for the Sacred-Secular Divide.

The Most Important Occupation Jesus Could Have

When it comes to ridding ourselves of SSD [the Sacred-Secular Divide], it would be helpful if the First Commission [Genesis 1:26-28] was given as much weight by Christian writers, singers, teachers and preachers as the Great Commission [Matthew 28:18-20]. Yet, making this suggestion may cause me to be viewed by some as a heretic.

I can hear it now: “Which is more important, Overman? Flying helicopters to lift trees out of forests so logs can be cut into lumber for building homes, or saving souls?”

But positing this question dichotomously as an "either-or" proposition is like asking, as Al Erisman, co-founder of the Center for Integrity in Business, does: “Which wing of an airplane is more important?”

I still hear push-back: “Which is more important, a house built of wood, or mansion in heaven?”

My response is: “More important to whom?”

If I answer the question from the perspective of my own self-interests, a mansion in heaven is more important than a house on Earth. But if I consider the question from the perspective of God’s wholistic interests, I come up with a different answer.

What am I getting at? I suggest we remember Mary’s words to the servants at the wedding of Cana: “Whatever He tells you to do, do it.” Isn’t that our sacred task? As those servants filled pots with water, were they not doing the Lord’s work? 

For eighteen years, the most important occupation Jesus could have was to build furniture and plows, because this is what His Father showed Him to do. Justin Martyr, in the second century, said plows made by Jesus were still being used in Martyr's lifetime. Good workmanship!

The work God wants us to do includes earth-tending and culture-creating. For some, the work of God may be preaching, for others it may be sawing logs into lumber. That's because God wants people to be protected from the elements, and He uses humans to make the shingles. He wants lumber to be moved from point A to point B, and uses truck drivers to do the transporting.

Perhaps the most helpful thing in ridding ourselves of SSD is to view the First Commission and the Great Commission as a single unit. As Paul Stevens wrote in Liberating the Laity: “God gave us the second mandate in order to restore the first.”

We’ll pick up from here next week.

How Flying Helicopters Is A Way To Really Serve The Lord

Not long ago, I had a conversation with a young man in my office I’ll call “Jason.” He is in his early 20s, a committed follower of Christ, and a graduate of Bible school.

Jason loves to participate in street evangelism. His greatest thrill in life is to lead someone to the Lord. Wonderful! A remarkable young man.

When I ask him what profession he wants to pursue, Jason turns his head to the side, looks up at the ceiling, utters the words "Forgive me Lord,” and then (looking me straight in the eye), declares: "I want to fly helicopters."

Flying really interests Jason, and he's particularly fond of helicopters. He loves everything about them. He tells me he wants to lift logs out of forests, in logging operations. Yet, it is evident Jason feels tension in his life because he doesn’t see how flying helicopters is a way to really serve the Lord.

I ask Jason if he is aware of the First Commission. He says he hasn’t heard of the First Commission, so I turn his attention to Genesis 1:26-28. Here is how it reads in The Message:

God spoke: "Let us make human beings in our image, make them
      reflecting our nature
So they can be responsible for the fish in the sea,
      the birds in the air, the cattle,
And, yes, Earth itself..."
     He created them male and female.
God blessed them:
     "Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge!..."

The Amplified Bible translates verse 28 like this: “And God blessed them and said to them, Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it [using all its vast resources in the service of God and man]…”

I shared with Jason how flying a helicopter in logging operations fits beautifully into the fulfillment of our job description, to steward God's creation. He could directly serve God and indirectly love people by lifting trees from forests so they can be hauled to mills and cut into lumber for building homes.

Jason's face lit up. He had an epiphany. "I never thought of that!" he said. He suddenly saw a way to participate in the First Commission of Genesis 1:26-28 and the Great Commission of Matthew 28:18-20. Both. 

He seemed to shed 420 pounds in an instant.


Using all its vast resources in the service of God and man...Take charge!



Like Shooting A Few Sacred Cows

The Sacred-Secular Divide is a mental problem that affects us more than we realize. Mark Greene calls it, “SSD.” Sounds like a disease, doesn’t it? Dr. David Scott, a professor of theology at Southern Evangelical Seminary, calls it a “mental virus.” See his essay, A Church Without A View.

It doesn’t sound very nice to say it, but we really do have a mental problem. The “virus” is so deeply embedded in our brains that we assume the Sacred-Secular Divide is a normal, natural, and even necessary way of thinking.

This is a huge part of the problem. We think this way of thinking is normal! Some may even like the Sacred-Secular Divide. It might feel good to be known as a person who is “in full-time Christian ministry.” It has a nice ring to it. Many have done a lot, given up a lot, or paid a lot to earn that distinction. Others dream about it. “Someday,” they think, “I will quit my job (or retire) and go into the ministry.” 

Go into the ministry? What does that mean? Aren't we "in the ministry" wherever we go?

Was Jesus "in the ministry" during the eighteen years He spent as a carpenter? Was He doing what His Father showed Him to do during those years as much as the last three? Actually, Jesus was in the ministry of carpentry. And this is no joke.

Nearly 500 years ago, Martin Luther tried to rid the church of the notion that some people have “special” calls: “Monastic vows rest on the false assumption that there is a special calling, a vocation, to which superior Christians are invited to observe the counsels of perfection while ordinary Christians fulfill only the commands; but there is simply no special religious vocation since the call of God comes to each at the common tasks.”

For Luther, such common tasks included milking cows and changing babies’ diapers. These things, too, are “the Lord’s work.” But if you or I were to ask one hundred Christians to give six examples of “the Lord’s work,” I doubt if milking cows would be mentioned.

Speaking of cows, I’m convinced that ridding ourselves of SSD requires some hard decisions, like shooting a few sacred cows. While the thought of shooting cows may be unpleasant, I think it's necessary.

To be continued.

The Most Important Talk At Lausanne

"We honor, celebrate and tell stories about pastors, preachers, worship leaders, missionaries and social activists,” Mark Greene told his audience at the Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelism, in Cape Town last October, “but we almost never hear stories about cleaners, or bus drivers, or lawyers, or bankers, or politicians."

Why is this the case?

Greene, a leader in the marketplace movement, told his Cape Town audience that we have a “systemic” problem: "The good seed of the marketplace movement,” he declared, “is being planted in poor soil. So it will not matter how much we water that soil, or how diligently we seek to nurture the seed, how we protect the plant from disease. The soil is deeply affected by the Sacred-Secular Divide."

This is the truth. The church has been so infected by “SSD,” [Greene's shorthand for the Sacred-Secular Divide], that no matter how much we try to nurture the marketplace movement, it can’t blossom as long as the soil in which it is planted is leached of nutrients.

“We may know in our heads that the Gospel embraces every area of life,” Greene said, “but this is not the Gospel we have been teaching people to live, or celebrating when they do.”

"There are two strategies to reach the world,” Greene maintains. “The first one is to recruit the people of God to use some of their leisure time to join the missionary initiatives of church-paid workers. And the second one is to equip the people of God for fruitful mission in all of their life.”

The first strategy has been the predominant approach of evangelical churches for decades. The second is in need of reformation through elimination of the "SSD" problem.  

Greene, the author of Thank God It's Monday, is the Executive Director of the London Institute of Contemporary Christianity. This organization, founded in 1982 by John Stott, is based on the premise that “every part of our lives comes under the Lordship of Christ, and that all of life is a context for worship, mission, ministry and active Christian engagement."

Bill Peel, co-author of Going Public With Your Faith, and Executive Director of the LeTourneau Center for Faith and Work, says Geene’s Cape Town speech, “may be the most important talk at Lausanne.”

Watch an edited version here: People At Work.

The Neverland Of Our Times

When Luke (under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit) wrote, "He is Lord of all" (Acts 10:36), I don't think he meant to imply that Jesus is just Lord of all who believe He is Lord. The fact is, Christ's authority applies to everyone, whether His authority is recognized or not. 

Christ is the Head of the University of Washington whether the Board of Regents acknowledges Him as such or not. If the Board has any authority at all (and it does), it is only because God grants it authority. Jesus made this clear at His own trial, when He said to Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea, "You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above." (John 19:11)

So when we add up the fact that the universe is held together by the command of Christ, and that everything and everyone on the planet is owned by Him, and that all authority is given unto Him in heaven and earth, the only thing I can conclude is, the "secular world" is the Neverland of our times. We have talked about it so long we think it is actually there. But where exactly is this place?

The word secular comes from the Latin word saeculum, meaning an "age," or "long period of time." At one time, this word may have distinguished the temporal, time-bound realm from the eternal, but today the word goes far beyond that. It connotes things detached from God's business, existing outside the realm of His affairs, interests and authority. But the truth is, we can't get away from His business, interests or authority, no matter how hard we try. Even, as King David said, if we dwell in "the uttermost parts of the sea." (Psalm 139)

I suggest we drop the word "secular" altogether, and substitute the word "secularized." While we don't live in a secular world, we do live in a world that has been secularized by humans. There are no secular jobs, but many secularized jobs. The University of Washington is a secularized place, but not really a secular school.

Words can send unintended messages. Every time we use the word "secular" we reinforce the idea it exists. This makes it hard to eliminate the "sacred-secular distinction," as Nancy Pearcey describes it. So let's quit making the distinction altogether. 

See Where Exactly Is The Secular World?: http://youtu.be/gPPh3FCRlnc

I Saw Walking Miracles

As a young man attending the University of Washington, I was one of 35,000 students. While our minds were busy with academic pursuits, inside every chest was a pump that expanded and contracted 100,000 times a day without a thought. Made of tiny vibrating loops of energy first set in motion by the voice of God, these fleshy little drivers kept us going even during sleep, whether in class, or in bed. 

Every professor's brain contained more cells than stars in the known universe. The electrochemical communication that flowed among 100 billion neurons allowed each instructor to do their work. Whether atheist, agnostic, or saint, each was continuously held together by the sustaining power of Christ's word (Heb. 1:3). He gave us all breath, 14,000 times a day.

Christ kept sustaining us, quarter after quarter (Heb. 1:1-3; Col. 1:16-17). God owned us, professor and student alike (Psalm 24:1). All around me at the University of Washington, I saw walking miracles, each created in the likeness and image of God (Gen. 1:26-27). What is secular about all this? Nothing.

And then there was the campus itself. Evergreen trees and rhododendron plants were everywhere. Cherry trees pinked each spring like clockwork. And the buildings! They, too, were made of vibrating loops of energy set in motion by Christ's voice, reverberating since the beginning, as a continuous symphony.  

I have never seen a secular building in my life. Ugly ones, yes, because we live in a fallen world where people do some hideous things with God's stuff, but never secular ones. Each one is made entirely of God's stuff alone, sustained through Christ's command, put together piece by piece by image-bearers of God.

I spent about six years at the University, earning two bachelor's degrees. One in music, and the other in German language and literature. Neither subject was a secular subject. Why? Because God created and sustains sound waves and eardrums. He also gives humans the amazing capacity to think abstractly, speak and write language. Music was His idea, and so is language. What's secular about that?

There is no secular subject at the University of Washington, because if it has anything to do with time, space, or matter, it's all the stuff of God. Furthermore, the University of Washington can never be a "secular school," because its Head is Christ.

Say what?!!

I'll pick up from here next week.

The best thing that happened during my time at the University of Washington was meeting a remarkable walking miracle by the name of Kathy Marie. She earned her Mrs. degree in just two years! (Brilliant woman.) This photo was taken on the U.W. campus, about four months before we tied the knot, nearly 41 years ago.

Where Exactly Is The Secular World?

As a footnote to last week's post, let me add something here: to say that God is continuously sustaining all the elements of the universe is not to say He controls every human act.

To sustain and to control are two different things. If I punch you in the nose, I trust you won't think God made me do it. While He will sustain my fist if I choose to connect it with your face, don't assume He is causing me to swing, or that this particular act was planned by Him from the foundation of the world. God gives His image-bearers, as Thomas Aquinas put it, "the dignity of causality."   

While God is in a position of absolute control (that is to say, if He wanted to, God could turn my arm into Jello before impact, or send an angel to divert my aim), He does not control every act of humanity absolutely. I know I'm wading into controversial waters here, but the idea that everything that happens is "the will of God" is fatalism.

Back to the "sacred-secular split."

The second big help I've found in shedding the "sacred-secular distinction," is the acceptance of God's universal ownership. That is, the earth and everything in it belongs to Him. Not just the mountains, the rivers and the apple trees, but the ring on my finger, the shirt on my back, and the roof over my head. All the oil in every reserve, all the gold in Fort Knox, and whatever you may have in your checking account is His, along with all the cars on the freeway, the jets in the sky, and every person who drives or flys them.

"The earth is the Lord's, and all it contains, the world and those who dwell therein." [Psalm 24:1] This is God's world! Furthermore, He gives every human breath (Job 12:10), and "in Him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:24-28)." 

So where exactly is the secular world?

Yet, as a student at the University of Washington, I attended a "secular school," didn't I? When I worked during the summers unloading box cars on the Seattle waterfront, I had a "secular job," didn't I?

Well...no. I'll explain why next week.

String Theory And The Voice Of God

A good starting point for ridding oneself of the “sacred-secular split” is to accept the premise that the entire universe is sustained, day after day, by the command of God. Not only did Christ make everything out of nothing, but He continues to maintain every atom through time. 

Col. 1:16-17 tells us, “In Him, all things consist [cohere, are held together].” In Hebrews 1:1-3 we read how the Creator-Sustainer does this. It says that Christ, "through whom God made the world," upholds all things "by the word of His power.”

“By the word of His power?” What’s that all about? Is the Bible saying that the power holding all things together is Christ’s command? His utterance? His speech?

Hummm....

In Genesis 1, we read the universe was spoken into existence: “And God said, ‘Let there be…,’ and there was…” Sounds like God created everything via His voice to me. But, some may ask, “Isn’t that just poetic language?”

Maybe so. Maybe not. Maybe both.

Scientists tell us if you break matter down to its smallest components, you'll find atoms. If you break atoms down, you'll find quarks. It’s just a theory, mind you, but some scientists tell us if you break down quarks, you'll find “vibrating loops of energy,” called “strings.” The rate at which these “strings” vibrate determines the specific quality of the particular element in which the vibrating loops reside.

Could these vibrating loops of energy be the continuing reverberation of the voice of God, vibrating since His first creative command?

Einstein tried to formulate a “unified field theory” that would encompass both big-world physics (gravity and galaxies) and itty-bitty-world (sub-atomic) physics. A theory that would unify the diversity and complexity of everything. He never did figure it out.

I’m no Einstein, but this formula makes perfect sense to me:

U = (v + i) p

Where U = the Unified Field, v = the voice of God, i = the intelligence of God, and p = the purposes of God. It reads like this: the Unified Field is equal to the voice of God added to His intelligence multiplied by His purposes.

God has unified the entire cosmos through a single voice, emanating from one intelligent mind with guiding purpose. And He's still speaking―everywhere, all the time!

Please watch String Theory and the Voice of God: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TtJSv5ojbU

This Should Be Fun!

Ridding oneself of the "sacred-secular distinction" is like shedding 420 pounds. If you weigh 600, it probably means there is a long and significant history behind the matter, unless you have a glandular problem. Losing 420 is no quick and easy fix. But neither is losing 20 pounds! And keeping it off requires radically different mind-and-fork habits.

The reason shedding the sacred-secular distinction is no quick and easy fix is because 2,500 years of Western history are hard to buck. That's a lot of weight. Keeping the sacred-secular distinction "off" requires radical changes in thinking and doing.

When presenting live instruction on this topic, I tell my audiences, "the secular world does not exist." I'm convinced some people think I've lost a screw or two. The fact is, I know I have.

Dr. Albert E. Greene did "brain surgery" on me many years ago. Bless him! He took the necessary time to explain the problem in such a way that I was able to shed it.  

Helping people to shed the sacred-secular distinction has a long Christian history. Luther and Calvin fought it, as did the Apostle Paul.

The Apostle Paul? I think this is the best place to start. So, let's begin with his letter to the Colossians.

In Chapter 1, verses 16-17, Paul (led by the Holy Spirit) asserts that Jesus Christ "created all things that are in heaven and on earth." All things. Including everything we see and don't see. The visible and invisible. Mountains and angels: all things were created through Christ and for Christ.

And Paul doesn't stop there. He says, "In Him, all things consist." The Amplified Bible puts it this way: "...in Him all things cohere, are held together."

Let's camp here for a moment. Right now I am typing on a keyboard made of plastic, connected to a computer made of chips created out of sand and other elements from the earth. Is Christ holding together my keyboard and LCD screen as I type? Is He holding together the electronic signals going through the air that allow you to read the words I wrote? Is He holding my fingers together, and your eyes? Is He holding my chair together? Your house? Your office?

Stay tuned. This should be fun!

The 800-Pound Gorilla In The Room

Leland Ryken, Christian writer and professor at Wheaton College, says, "Nancy Pearcey is unsurpassed in the current generation of Christian thinkers."

In 1999, Dr. Pearcey co-authored How Now Now Shall We Live, with Chuck Colson, and Total Truth came out in 2004. Her latest book, Saving Leonardo, has been met with critical acclaim. J.P. Moreland, professor of philosophy at Biola University, calls it, "her best effort yet . . . a must read." Gene Edward Veith, author and provost of Patrick Henry College, calls the book, "brilliant."

Nancy Pearcey is a voice worth listening to.

A couple of years ago, I did a telephone interview of Dr. Pearcey, and included it in my book-and-DVD, The Difference One Life Can Make: Experiencing God's Pleasure At Work. 

Very succinctly, Dr. Pearcey articulated why so many Christians fail to see their work in politics, business, education, the arts, and science as truly valid and authentic ways to serve God. They think, "if I really wanted to serve God, I would be in the ministry [as a pastor or missionary]."

The critical problem, she maintains, is that such people are "operating under the sacred-secular distinction."

When I asked her what the solution is, she replied, "We have to attack it at the root...the very idea of a sacred-secular split." 

Nancy Pearcey's analysis is spot on. But when was the last time you heard a sermon on getting rid of the sacred-secular split?

Holding on to the "sacred-secular distinction" neutralizes God's very purpose for the body of Christ in the world. Yet it continues to be the 800 pound gorilla in the room that many don't see.

I believe getting rid of the sacred-secular distinction is the single most pressing need for the overall health of the body of Christ (and the nations of the world) today. I say this because if this hairy animal can be eliminated, a host of other ailments will be mitigated, like when a 600 pound man loses 420.

With the understanding that the sacred-secular distinction is as dangerous to the health of the Church as 420 extra pounds to a human, I am compelled to devote several posts to shedding (and shredding) the ugly ape. 

To hear an excerpt of my interview with Dr. Pearcey click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypID1NXF2Bw

Nancy Pearcey

I Discovered A Gold Mine!

Research by George Barna demonstrates that a person’s worldview has a powerful effect on human behavior. Furthermore, his studies indicate that "a person’s worldview is primarily shaped and is firmly in place by the time someone reaches the age of 13...Such studies underscore the necessity of parents and other influencers being intentional in how they help develop the worldview of children."

Age 13? Yes, 13.

I'm convinced that many adults have a challenge making connections between Christian faith and work because they have not had the benefit of a well-developed biblical worldview from pre-teen years. This is not to say that a person who did not have this benefit can't integrate Christian faith with work, but an early start in "thinking Christianly" helps. Barna's studies also underscore the critical role of parents (and other influencers) in this shaping.

Occasionally I'm asked if I know of resources for biblical worldview development for pre-teens. Until recently, I knew of  little to recommend. But then I found a new series on biblical worldview development targeted to pre-teens, and I can't say enough about it! I discovered a gold mine! 

The series is called, What We Believe. Volume 1 is titled, Who Is GOD? And Can I Really Know Him?, and Volume 2 is called, Who Am I? And What Am I Doing Here? Two more volumes are in process. These books are written by John Hay, of Summit Ministries, and David Webb, of Apologia Educational Ministries.

These remarkable resources now make the development of a biblical world-and-life-view accessible to thousands of busy families. We bought three copies of Volume 1 for our three married children, to use with our grandkids. I recommend you consider doing the same for the benefit of your own kids or grandkids. Or for yourself! It's great reading!

To order, visit https://apologia.securesites.net/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=136.

To understand how intentional some parents in the past have been about building a biblical worldview into the minds of pre-teens, listen to Max DePree, former CEO of Herman Miller (second largest producer of office furniture in the world), as he explains how this was done by his own parents: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxFxOc3QeX8

Today, few families sit down for three meals together, let alone use this time to develop a biblical worldview. But as an adult, Max DePree was intentional about applying his biblical worldview to the Herman Miller Company in ways that made it a world-class company.

Volume 1 of the What We Believe series.

A Place To Focus On The Future

The current coaching movement emerged in the 1990s, and is gaining momentum. The term "coaching," however, conjures up different meanings for different people, and requires definition.

When some people hear the word "coach," they think of a person who blows a whistle to tell you when to start running in place and when to stop, and makes you do 50 push-ups when you mess up. This is not what "coaching" is about, as the term is used by professional organizations specializing in this growing field.

As a Christian faith-integration coach, my job is to pose questions that help my clients hear what the Holy Spirit is saying to them, and to bring my clients to a point of clarity about specific action steps they feel they should take. I help clients shape their objectives, not the objectives I design for them.

This is much different than the role of a consultant. A consultant diagnoses problems, comes up with solutions, and tells people what to do. I don't tell my clients what to do. They tell me what they are going to do. Thankfully, my doctor is a consultant, not a coach!

A coach is not a mentor. A mentor has expertise in a particular area, and passes on that expertise to a mentee through a teacher-pupil relationship. We need mentors. However, coaching is not about teaching, imparting information, or bringing someone up to a mentor’s level. A good coach can work effectively with a politician yet know little about politics, or work with a plumber yet know diddly squat about the plumbing business. The person being coached is the expert in his or her own field. 

A coach is not a counselor or a therapist. Counselors and therapists discover issues in a client's past that are blocking progress, and help them to get past these issues. As a coach, I do not provide therapy.

Coaching is a place to focus on the future. My particular coaching practice helps people to clarify goals and experience growth in the context of God's call in the workplace. Whatever kind of workplace that may be. My role is to listen, ask questions, encourage, challenge, and always be supportive.

For more, read What is Meant by Coaching?

To find a faith-integration coach, go to http://www.firstcommission.blogspot.com/

Faith-Integration Coaching

Tony Stoltzfus, in Leadership Coaching, wrote: "...one study I've seen found that learners who practiced a skill retained 700% more than those who simply read about it. Reading or teaching can give us the conceptual knowledge to use a skill, but only practice and feedback provide the confidence most of us need to apply it in real life."

Tony's words explain why I believe one-on-one coaching is vital for taking the Faith at Work movement from great concepts to great practice, and from "ideas that stimulate thought," to transformed lives, transformed workplaces, and transformed communities.

Imagine a world in which millions of followers of Christ actually lived out the implications of their faith through co-worker relationships, marketing practices, salary/benefit issues, work environment, policies and procedures, product development, sales, production, pricing, service, management, profit distribution and community service!

Sounds great, doesn't it? Yet, people who are unintentional about these things can expect little growth in these areas.

So let me ask you a personal question: Are you ready to get 700% more out of what you are reading with respect to the integration of faith and work? A personal faith-integration coach can make all the difference in the world.

Several years ago, I sensed the Holy Spirit leading me to "spend more time with fewer people." I held on to this directive, but I did not know exactly how to put it into practice. 

Then I took a course in Core Coaching Skills from Creative Results Management (founded by Dr. Keith Webb), and things fell remarkably into place for me.

With today's post, I'm going public with my faith-integration coaching practice. Hurray!

I invite you to explore Faith-Integration Coaching, and then contact me for a test drive. The "test drive" will give you a feel for what faith-integration coaching is all about, and it will allow both of us to see if our coaching relationship is a good fit. There is no fee for this "test drive."

Geographic proximity is not an issue, because I coach via telephone or Skype. But I am limited in the number of clients I can take.

To view a sample agreement, click here. If you have further questions, feel free to e-mail me at "coach."

Want to get 700% more? Consider a faith-integration coach!

My Personal Board Of Directors

I invite you to take out a clean piece of paper, and write the following at the top: My Personal Board Of Directors. (Yeah, I know it sounds like you’re back in school, but humor me. I think you’ll be glad you did this exercise.)

In the middle of the page, draw an oval to represent a large conference room table. Print your own name at one end of the table. Around this table, print the names of others who currently influence you the most, in a positive way. They may be living or deceased. They may be people you have not met, such as authors, media personalities, sports figures, or musicians. These are the voices you turn to, listen to, and learn the most from. These are the voices you take seriously when you want counsel, ideas, motivation, companionship, guidance, or a boost of confidence. Limit the number of Board Members to six or seven.

Now write a short description by each name that identifies the reason he or she is on your Personal Board of Directors. For example, “He always makes time for me,” or, “She never makes me feel like my ideas won't work.”

Finally, write a short personal note to one of your Personal Board Members (a living one), thanking this person and letting him/her know that he/she is on your Board, and why. Better yet, write a note to all of your living Board Members.

I was taught this wonderful exercise by my friend Dr. Kathy Koch (pronounced cook), Founder of Celebrate Kids, Inc. (http://www.celebratekids.com/). With her permission, I have shared it with many others.

Several of my Personal Board Members have sat at my table for more than 30 years. My wife has been on my Personal Board for over 40 years!

What a difference these people have made in my life! They are the friends I cannot afford to live without.

Who is on your Personal Board of Directors? Maybe you cannot limit it to six or seven. Get a bigger piece of paper. Thank at least two of them today, and be sure to let them know why they are on your Board. You will be glad you did, and they will be glad, too.

Oh...one more question: Did you include Jesus on your Personal Board?

He's been on mine for 53 years.

Thank you, Lord!

John Taylor (left) and Bill Laney (right) have been on my Personal Board of Directors for 30+ years.

The People We Can't Afford To Live Without

Tom Rath discovered something surprising that goes against common thinking about the workplace. He discovered that a person having a "best friend at work" is seven times more likely to be engaged in his or her job.

Rath, the best-selling author of How Full Is Your Bucket? and StrengthsFinder 2.0, writes about this in his book, Vital Friends: The People you Can't Afford to Live Without.

The value of Rath's book, in my mind, is that he puts meat on the term friend. He identifies eight different kinds of "vital friends." As I summarize his eight types below, think about people in your own life who fit the various categories: 

Builder: a person who motivates you to accomplish things you would not otherwise accomplish.

Champion: a person who sings your praises to others.

Collaborator: a person who has similar interests, and shares those interests with you.

Companion: a person who is always there for you.

Connector: a person who introduces you to others (without being asked!).

Energizer: a person who gives you a boost.

Mind Opener: a person who challenges you to think outside the box.

Navigator: a person who provides guidance for you.

As I read Vital Friends, I couldn't help but think of the people in my life who have filled the roles described by Rath. It was easy for me to see why he calls these friends the people we can't afford to live without. I became especially thankful for them.

Here's one more important thing I thought about as I read Rath's book: whom am I a vital friend for? 

Reading this book made me aware that I have a great privilege to be a vital friend for others, and that others need me as much as I need them.

Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their labor;
If either of them falls down,
one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
and has no one to help them up.

Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?
Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Please watch John Beckett, author of Loving Monday, as he shares about a significant group of business leaders he meets with on a regular basis: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvzPQMGuTpw.

It Wasn't Imposed By The NFL

The most effective accountability is the self-imposed kind.

Last week, I heard a great example of self-imposed accountability. A friend and I attended an early morning gathering of about a thousand men in our area who had come to hear a professional football player share how his Christian faith intersects with his personal life, and with his work as a quarterback.

For the past seven years, this player has been part of a group of four men who share their lives with one another, encourage one another, ask questions of one another and know themselves so well they can tell when they are lying to one another. He calls this group his "covenant group."

Not a bad idea. They hold each other accountable in specific ways.

For example, when he is on the road, this football player takes a cell phone video of himself disabling the porn channel on the hotel television, and then e-mails that video to his friends by 7:30pm. If the other guys don't get the e-mail, they contact him.

The speaker didn't mention how his "covenant group" got started. One thing's certain, it wasn't imposed by the NFL. Although his wife must feel it's a great idea, I'm certain she didn't impose it on him either.

Would a "covenant group" even work if it was imposed by an outside force, through some form of compulsory participation? Forget it.

How about making people who don't have a "covenant group" feel guilty, to get them to have one? Would that work? Give me a break.

A person needs to have a strong internal "want to" in order for self-imposed accountability like this football player described to work. A person needs to have the kind of "want to" that comes out of a pure motive. Like the motive to be "a man after God's own heart," as King David was.

David had his own need for self-imposed accountability. "Woe to him who is alone when he falls." These words, written by David's son, in Ecclesiastes 4, say it all.

Although it is sometimes quoted at weddings, Ecclesiastes 4:10-13 speaks specifically to the workplace: "Two are better than one," writes Solomon, "because they have a good reward for their labor."

"For if they fall, one will lift up his companion....Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken."

The System Inside

The question is not whether accountability is needed. The question is by what means.

The Reformers of Geneva understood that all humans have a "bent" to go astray. It comes naturally, whether we call ourselves Christians or not.

The propensity to sin is real. While some of us may have a propensity toward certain vices that do not affect others in the same way, we are all in the same boat. Even the apostle Paul called himself "the chief of sinners." There is no room for finger-pointing. As someone observed, the moment we point our finger at someone else, there are three fingers pointing back at us.

The ramifications of the "sin problem" are huge in the work world. Although Colonel Sanders' recipe is an exception, not every recipe concocted in secret is good for business.

Fortune magazine named Enron "America's Most Innovative Company" for six consecutive years. What Fortune apparently did not know, was that Enron was more "innovative" than anyone imagined! Enron's "success" was sustained by an elaborate, creative and fraudulent form of accounting. This huge company, which employed 22,000 people, went bankrupt in 2001. In response, Congress enacted the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act, in an attempt to keep such frauds from occurring in the future.

While accountability measures for the corporate world may be enacted by Congress, such legislation is ineffective when it comes to "personal secrets." The kind of secrets that don't even make it to the back room.

In the work world, safeguards are frequently put in place to discourage people from making bad choices. Requiring two signers on checks, having an independent auditor examine the books once a year, and turning in receipts with requests for personal reimbursements are common safeguards.

While such company policies are necessary, the most effective form of accountability is the self-imposed kind. No matter how many policies a business may put in place, there is no way to have a system of accountability that addresses every possibility for "going astray." The only system that can address it all is the system inside.

In their zeal to transform Geneva from "the smelliest city in Europe" to "a city set on a hill," the Reformers approached accountability in ways that produced unintended consequences that were...well...less than aromatic.

Self-imposed accountability, on the other hand, smells ambrosial.

More to come.