Finding God at Work

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

When you're at a significant career juncture, how do you involve other people in your decision-making process? It can get dicey. On the one hand, we want helpful counsel. On the other hand, we risk being judged or getting unhelpful advice. Parker J. Palmer writes about this tension that "we often privatize these vital questions in our lives: at the very moment when we need all the help we can get, we find ourselves cut off from both our inner resources and the support of a community." We can't assign the responsibility for our decisions to a committee. But what about gathering a committee to help us unearth what's going on inside of us as we're deciding? Sources: Acts 21:3-14 (ESV) Parker J. Palmer, "The Clearness Committee: A Communal Approach To Discernment," Library, The Center for Courage & Renewal, June 2022. #FindingGodAtWork #FaithAndWork #Meaning #Vocation #ParkerPalmer #Decisions #DecisionMaking #Discernment #CenterForCourageAndRenewal #ClearnessCommittee #Called #Passion #Need #Provision #Grace #Motivation #Engagement #WorkEngagement #HighEngagement #Calling #Formation #Service #Love #Vocation #Boredom #Mission #CommonGood #Character #DifficultWork #HardWork #EasyYoke #MeaningfulWork

It can be helpful to think about what God calls you to as the intersection of three circles: What You Desire (Your Deep Gladness) What the World Needs (The World's Deep Hunger) An Economic Engine (God's Practical Provision) Sometimes, a single brilliant job hits all three areas. More often, we need a combination of jobs, responsibilities, and projects that help us hit all three. And that's okay! We can give that over to the Lord and say, "Lord, here's my combination. Here's my job and my side hustle and my service at my church." He'll meet us there, even when things are less than perfect. Sources: Proverbs 13:12 (NIV) Ezra 7:27 (NIV) 2 Corinthians 8:16-17 (NIV) John 3:16 (NIV) Proverbs 13:4 (NIV) Kevin Miller, "Called," Work That Pleases God (sermon, Church of the Resurrection, Wheaton, Illinois, April 4, 2014). Jim Collins, "The Hedgehog Concept," Concepts, JimCollins.com. Originally published in Jim Collins, Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap ... and Others Don't (New York: Harper Business, 2001). Frederick Buechner, "Vocation," Quote of the Day, The Frederick Buechner Center, July 18, 2021. Originally published in Frederick Buechner, Wishful Thinking: A Theological ABC (Harper San Francisco, 1973). #FindingGodAtWork #FaithAndWork #Meaning #Vocation #KevinMiller #Called #Passion #Need #Provision #EconomicEngine #Grace #FrederickBuechner #JimCollins #HedgehogConcept #Passion #Motivation #Engagement #WorkEngagement #HighEngagement #Calling #Formation #Service #Love #Vocation #Boredom #Mission #CommonGood #Character #DifficultWork #HardWork #EasyYoke #MeaningfulWork

Dr. Karen Swallow Prior, a scholar and author focused on literature and faith, dives deep into her new book, discussing the pitfalls of the 'follow your passion' mantra. She redefines passion as a willingness to endure challenges and emphasizes the dignity of ordinary work in honoring God. Karen highlights the importance of seeking truth, goodness, and beauty in every vocation, irrespective of profession or pay. Her insights on how mundane tasks can illuminate lives remind us that all work can fulfill a greater calling.

The language and idea of "calling" sometimes gets thrown around a lot in Christian circles. Not everything we tend to think or say about calling in our particular Christian subculture is necessarily rooted in the witness of Scripture. In this episode, Chris tackles four myths about calling that sometimes surface: Myth #1: You only have one, lifelong calling. Myth #2: Calling is first and foremost about what God wants you to do. Myth #3: Calling and passion are the same thing. Myth #4: Calling is about what God wants, not what I want. When we take a critical look at these myths in the light of Scripture, we see that God is inviting us—and calling us!—into something better. Sources: Nehemiah 6:15-16 (ESV) Luke 1:30-31 (NIV) Philippians 3:14 (ESV) Romans 1:7 (NIV, ESV) Ezekiel 4 (NIV) John 21:17-19 (NIV) Nehemiah 2:1-2,12 (NIV) Geoff Horton, "Joan of Arc: I Was Born to Do This?" Fauxtations, January 6, 2019. Grace Thierfelder, "What Did Joan of Arc Mean When She Said, 'I am Not Afraid…I was Born to Do This'?" The Catholic Company, May 30, 2023. #FindingGodAtWork #FaithAndWork #Meaning #JoanOfArc #Nehemiah #Philippians #Romans #Ezekiel #Motivation #Engagement #WorkEngagement #HighEngagement #Calling #Formation #Service #Love #Vocation #Boredom #Mission #CommonGood #Character #DifficultWork #HardWork #EasyYoke #MeaningfulWork

We kick off a new series with this episode—Meaningful Work: Calling, Formation, Service, and Love. Work often feels meaningless. So what can we do both to find the meaning that's already there, and to make the work as meaningful as it can be? As disciples of Jesus, we mean something in the world; we communicate the reality of who God is when we live in love. "As he is so also are we in this world" (1 John 4:17 ESV). That high calling gives us a way in to find meaning in our work, too: Calling: The call of God on our lives imbues our work with meaning. Formation: God uses our work to conform our character to Christ's. Service: Our work itself serves human needs and good human desires. Love: The way we do our work and relate to others at work demonstrates God's love. When we step into work in this way, we find it forms part of the meaning of life, both for us and for the people around us. Sources: 1 John 4:16-19 (ESV) Michael Polanyi, The Tacit Dimension (Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1966). Bruce Barton, What Can a Man Believe? (Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1927). #FindingGodAtWork #FaithAndWork #Meaning #Polanyi #Michael Polanyi #TacitDimension #TacitKnowledge #Communication #Semantics #Grace #BruceBarton #ChristopherWren #Motivation #Engagement #WorkEngagement #HighEngagement #Calling #Formation #Service #Love #Vocation #Boredom #Mission #CommonGood #Character #DifficultWork #HardWork #EasyYoke #MeaningfulWork