Finding God at Work

Chris interviews Pastor Daniel Small about his unusual vocational journey, his experiences dealing with workplace anxiety (including at least one unexpected bout of sleep-talking), how practices like prayer walks and the prayer of examen help him spiritually ground his work, and how he's seen people in his community discover the spiritual meaning of their "secular" jobs. Daniel Small is Community Groups Pastor at Christ Community Church in the Illinois Fox Valley area, where he also leads their Faith at Work ministry. You can check out the Faith at Work podcast for interviews and prayer exercises to help you practice your Christian faith in the workplace every day. You can also find Daniel's writing on Medium. #FindingGodAtWork #FaithAndWork #Meaning #Vocation #Consulting #Church #Pastor #PrayerWalk #ScriptureMemorization #Anxiety #Examen #FoxValley #Writing #TheTallSmall #IntrinsicMotivation #ExtrinsicMotivation #Calling #Formation #Service #Love #Vocation #Boredom #Mission #CommonGood #Character #DifficultWork #HardWork #EasyYoke #MeaningfulWork

What if the mild annoyances we face from our coworkers can build a spirit of forgiveness in us over time? If we engage them as "little weights" of forgiveness to lift, we build our muscle. Low weight, high repetition! Eventually, we may get strong enough in God's grace to forgive even more serious wrongs. After all, Jesus calls us not just to love our friends, but also our enemies. What could help us become the kind of people who genuinely root for the well-being of those who have insulted and hurt us? It's not just practice that makes the difference. It's reckoning with how much God has forgiven us. Sources: Matthew 5:43-45 (ESV) Luke 23:34 (ESV) Matthew 18:15-17 (NIV) 1 Peter 4:8 (NIV) Matthew 18:21-35 (NIV) #FindingGodAtWork #FaithAndWork #Meaning #Vocation #Forgiveness #StrengthTraining #LoveYourEnemies #Coworkers #Cross #ForgiveThem #IntrinsicMotivation #ExtrinsicMotivation #Calling #Formation #Service #Love #Vocation #Boredom #Mission #CommonGood #Character #DifficultWork #HardWork #EasyYoke #MeaningfulWork

God is crafting your soul, like a woodworker in a shop. What if God is using the abrasive experiences in your life like spiritual sandpaper, sanding down the rough edges of your character? The minor inconveniences of our working life may have value in helping us become more patient, gracious people. And even in more serious moments of suffering, we can find grace to grow through it. Sources: Luke 9:23-24 (ESV) 1 Corinthians 3:6-15 (ESV) Romans 5:3-5 (ESV) #FindingGodAtWork #FaithAndWork #Meaning #Vocation #TakeUpYourCross #Luke9 #1Corinthians3 #Romans5 #FellowWorker #IntrinsicMotivation #ExtrinsicMotivation #Calling #Formation #Service #Love #Vocation #Boredom #Mission #CommonGood #Character #DifficultWork #HardWork #EasyYoke #MeaningfulWork

Sometimes God calls us to do things that are pretty unstrategic. As Gideon is leading his soldiers to battle, God has him *reduce* the number of troops. And then reduce them again. When Gideon courageously obeys, God still carries the day. Could it be God is asking you to do something unstrategic in your career? What would it look like to let him carry the day in your work? Sources: Matthew 13:44 (ESV) Judges 7:1-8,16-22 (NIV) "All about Hokie Stone," History and Traditions, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Wikipedia contributors, "Hokie Stone," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia (last edited April 24, 2025). #FindingGodAtWork #FaithAndWork #Meaning #Vocation #Strategy #StrategicDecisions #Unstrategic #CareerDecisions #Parables #Matthew13 #TreasureInAField #Gideon #Judges7 #IntrinsicMotivation #ExtrinsicMotivation #Calling #Formation #Service #Love #Vocation #Boredom #Mission #CommonGood #Character #DifficultWork #HardWork #EasyYoke #MeaningfulWork

You've been on a journey your whole life long to become the kind of person who can do the things that you are doing today. God has been at work on you to prepare you—in your heart and in your character—for the challenges you are facing today. Jesus teaches that God doesn't judge us based on how impressive the results of our efforts are. Instead, he's concerned with the quality of our response to his invitation. Each day, when we say yes to what God has entrusted to us that day, we take one step closer to becoming the kind of people we're meant to be. Each day's small obedience adds up to a lifetime of fruitful growth and work in God's kingdom. Sources: Matthew 25:14-30 (ESV) Tom Nelson, Work Matters: Connecting Sunday Worship to Monday Work (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, 2011). Dallas Willard, as quoted in John Ortberg, "The Barnacles of Life," Leadership Journal / Christianity Today, Winter 2015. #FindingGodAtWork #FaithAndWork #Meaning #Vocation #Matthew25 #Obedience #Formation #Mission #Unimpressive #DailyFaithfulness #DailyBread #TomNelson #DallasWillard #IntrinsicMotivation #ExtrinsicMotivation #Calling #Formation #Service #Love #Vocation #Boredom #Mission #CommonGood #Character #DifficultWork #HardWork #EasyYoke #MeaningfulWork

Is a sanitation worker called to their job in the same way that a classroom teacher is? How do we make sense of the idea of calling in jobs that people don't often dream of getting? Our egalitarian impulses may lead us to say that "Every job is a calling." But it doesn't seem quite true that every job is a calling in just the same way. Maybe it's not so helpful to ask, "Is this job a calling?" Instead, we can ask, "In what way is this job a calling?" Even if a job is primarily about putting food on the table, you're still fulfilling the call of God to provide for your household. Some jobs provide more extrinsic motivation. Others provide more intrinsic motivation. Some jobs are impactful right there on location. Other jobs are impactful beyond the workplace and the community. We can be honest about those differences—and about whether we dislike our job or not. But within whatever job we have, let's see how the callings (plural!) that God has on our life might be fulfilled in different ways within that job. We can find the meaning that's already there by God's grace. Sources: Galatians 3:28 (NIV) Elaine Howard Ecklund and Denise Daniels, Working for Better: A New Approach to Faith at Work (Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 2025). Ways of Understanding Work as Calling (Figure 3.1 from the book). Copyright © 2025 by Elaine Howard Ecklund and Denise Daniels Barwell. Used by permission of InterVarsity Press, P.O. Box 1400, Downers Grove, IL 60515, USA. www.ivpress.com #FindingGodAtWork #FaithAndWork #Meaning #Vocation #Egalitarian #AllJobs #DirtyJobs #Sanitation #GoodJob #BadJob #BlueCollar #WhiteCollar #Meaning #WorkingForBetter #ElaineHowardEcklund #DeniseDaniels #Research #Religion #ReligionAtWork #IntrinsicMotivation #ExtrinsicMotivation #Calling #Formation #Service #Love #Vocation #Boredom #Mission #CommonGood #Character #DifficultWork #HardWork #EasyYoke #MeaningfulWork

Chris interviews Dr. Elaine Howard Ecklund about her new book, coauthored with Denise Daniels, Working for Better: A New Approach to Faith at Work. Hear about how less than half of Christians view their work as a calling, how there can be more than one dimension to our calling at work, what standing up for coworkers of other religious traditions can look like, and how we can influence the systems of our workplaces for better. Elaine Howard Ecklund (PhD, Cornell University) is the Herbert S. Autrey Chair in Social Sciences, professor of sociology, and director of the Boniuk Institute at Rice University. She is the author of numerous books and research articles, including Science vs. Religion: What Scientists Really Think. You can find her work at her website. Sources: Psalm 46:10 (NIV) Elaine Howard Ecklund and Denise Daniels, Working for Better: A New Approach to Faith at Work (Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 2025). Ways of Understanding Work as Calling (Figure 3.1 from the book). Copyright © 2025 by Elaine Howard Ecklund and Denise Daniels Barwell. Used by permission of InterVarsity Press, P.O. Box 1400, Downers Grove, IL 60515, USA. www.ivpress.com #FindingGodAtWork #FaithAndWork #Meaning #Vocation #WorkingForBetter #ElaineHowardEcklund #DeniseDaniels #Research #Religion #ReligionAtWork #IntrinsicMotivation #ExtrinsicMotivation #Pluralism #PrincipledPluralism #Conviction #ChristianConviction #ChristianDistinctives #SystemsThinking #Calling #Formation #Service #Love #Vocation #Boredom #Mission #CommonGood #Character #DifficultWork #HardWork #EasyYoke #MeaningfulWork

Think about making career decisions like preparing a soup. The questions you ask while discerning what's next are like the different ingredients that mix together to form the final product. One key ingredient that we sometimes leave out is this question: Who is God calling me to love? Sometimes God gives us a "who" that's even more important than the "what" of our career. Sometimes it's a family member, but sometimes it's someone else that we're called to stick with. Sources: Ruth 1:15-17 (NIV) 1 Timothy 5:8 (NIV) Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra, "Died: Robertson McQuilkin, College President Praised for Alzheimer's Resignation," Gleanings, Christianity Today, June 2, 2016. #FindingGodAtWork #FaithAndWork #Meaning #Vocation #Ruth #Naomi #PheTomenon #Love #Family #Relatives #Sacrifice #Loyalty #Faithfulness #Household #Called #Passion #Need #Provision #Grace #Motivation #Engagement #WorkEngagement #HighEngagement #Calling #Formation #Service #Love #Vocation #Boredom #Mission #CommonGood #Character #DifficultWork #HardWork #EasyYoke #MeaningfulWork

When we think about callings, we often ask, "What is God calling me to do?" But some other questions are just as important: "Where is God calling me to go?" "Is God calling me to stay?" In Scripture, we see examples of God sending people to specific places, sometimes with no substantive change in what they were doing. Sometimes, the *where* matters more than the *what* to God's purposes. We also see examples of God telling people to work for the good of the city where they find themselves, even when it's not home. Sometimes the place God "sends" us is the place we already are. Sources: Genesis 12:1 (NIV) Acts 13:2-3 (NIV) Jeremiah 29:4-7 (NIV) St. Benedict of Nursia, St. Benedict's Rule for Monasteries, trans. Leonard J. Doyle (Collegeville, Minnesota: The Liturgical Press, 1948). #FindingGodAtWork #FaithAndWork #Meaning #Vocation #Place #Geography #StBenedict #RuleOfStBenedict #VirtueOfStability #Stability #Abraham #Sarah #AbrahamAndSarah #Paul #Barnabus #PaulAndBarnabus #Jeremiah #Exile #Called #Passion #Need #Provision #Grace #Motivation #Engagement #WorkEngagement #HighEngagement #Calling #Formation #Service #Love #Vocation #Boredom #Mission #CommonGood #Character #DifficultWork #HardWork #EasyYoke #MeaningfulWork

Chris interviews Zack Wilson about his experience helping start LINK Kalamazoo. On a few prayer walks during the pandemic, Zack started asking, "Why couldn't something great happen here?" An initial idea for networking events evolved into a group that's helping make Kalamazoo a more vibrant place, from business partnerships to influencing the city's ten-year master plan. LINK Kalamazoo is helping answer the questions young professionals are asking: Where is my future? Where are my people? How can I make an impact in the community? Zack shares, "Christians should be the most passionate people on earth about transforming their communities, because we believe people are inherently valuable and created by God, and we have purpose and meaning when we get to participate in God's redemptive plan." Zack Wilson works in IT for the healthcare industry and lives in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Find him on LinkedIn. Sources: Colossians 3:23 (NIV) #FindingGodAtWork #FaithAndWork #Meaning #Vocation #City #Urban #YoungProfessionals #YoungUrbanProfessionals #Kalamazoo #Michigan #StrategicPlan #CivicEngagement #CityPlanning #Called #Passion #Need #Provision #Grace #Motivation #Engagement #WorkEngagement #HighEngagement #Calling #Formation #Service #Love #Vocation #Boredom #Mission #CommonGood #Character #DifficultWork #HardWork #EasyYoke #MeaningfulWork