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Posted by on Jan 4, 2019 in Theology, vocation, Work | 0 comments

The Church in Public Life: Pastoring for the Public Good of Your Community

The Church in Public Life: Pastoring for the Public Good of Your Community

  The following is the talk I gave at Thriving Churches, Thriving Cities, Denver Institute’s annual gathering for pastors and ministry leaders. The topic: what does it mean for pastoral leaders and their churches to be involved in healing the public life of their communities?  Thank you again for coming today. I’d like to introduce our final set of conversations today by speaking to the topic of pastors and public engagement. Today we’ve spoken about pastoral wholeness and integrity, and, in the breakouts, growing in pastoral excellence through navigating change and conflict. What might it mean, then, for pastors to lead churches working toward the healing of their cities? Let me first tell you a personal story. My first pastorate after seminary was serving Iglesia Bautista Nueva Esperanza, a Spanish-speaking church in Brighton, Colorado. I preached in Spanish, led youth group in English, and, as the only white guy there, stuck out like a sore thumb. I realized a year into my pastorate that about 80% of my congregation...

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Posted by on Oct 16, 2018 in Nonprofit, Theology, Work | 0 comments

The 10 Characteristics of a Thriving Pastor

The 10 Characteristics of a Thriving Pastor

For years we at DIFW have focused on what it means to live out the gospel in supposedly “secular” work, like business, medicine, law, or the arts. But several years ago we came to the uncomfortable realization that there was one field we had overlooked: pastoral ministry. Now, we hadn’t completely overlooked pastors. But we had done two things. First, we assumed being a pastor was intrinsically “sacred.” But as my colleague at DIFW Brian Gray says, who was a pastor for 10 years, “It’s possible to wait tables very ‘sacredly,’ but pastor very ‘secularly.’” In our work with pastors, we’ve seen being a pastor, too, can devolved into just being a “job.” Second, I felt like we had started to look at pastors as a means to an end. That is, we hoped pastors would come to “get it,” meaning that they would teach their congregants to be missionaries and servants of God in society through their work. And once they “got it,” we wanted them to influence...

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Posted by on May 22, 2018 in Culture, Theology, Work | 0 comments

A Vision for Denver: Speech from “The Sounds of Work”

A Vision for Denver: Speech from “The Sounds of Work”

  Good evening. Thank you for coming tonight to experience the Denver Institute community and “The Sounds of Work.”  Thank you to our board and advisory board for bringing your friends tonight. Thank you to our 5280 Fellows, past and present, for your dedication to this experience. And thank you to Fellowship Denver for hosting us tonight. Many churches contributed to the formation of Denver Institute, but none were more instrumental than Fellowship Denver. I was asked to give a vision not only for Denver Institute tonight, but for our city.  Tall order! But I think I can do it succinctly. Actually, it’s printed in your program. Read with me this quote from author Os Guinness: “Grand Christian movements will rise and fall. Grand campaigns will be mounted and grand coalitions assembled. But all together such coordinated efforts will never match the influence of untold numbers of followers of Christ living out their callings faithfully across the vastness and complexity of modern society.” History is filled with grand campaigns,...

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Posted by on May 4, 2018 in Theology, Work | 0 comments

Looking Forward to Hearing Sandra McCracken May 19

Looking Forward to Hearing Sandra McCracken May 19

  This morning I woke up feeling a little sour. So I pulled out an old worship song I’ve loved, “Thy Mercy, My God,” only to see that it was originally written by Sandra McCracken, whom Denver Institute is hosting May 19 for it’s annual celebration. (And we’re also hosting a special gathering for pastors and worship leaders with Sandra that afternoon.)  I’m so looking forward to our time that evening, I thought I’d post some of my favorite Sandra McCracken songs on my blog this morning. Enjoy – and I hope to see you in a couple weeks....

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Posted by on Apr 17, 2018 in Faith and Work Movement, Theology, Work | 0 comments

7 Ways to Pastor Working Men and Women in Your Church

7 Ways to Pastor Working Men and Women in Your Church

  Here’s a recent presentation I gave at recent event for pastors in the DIFW article. This article appeared originally in the DIFW blog. I hope it helps you think about to ‘equip the saints for works of service’ in the rhythms of your church. Here are the slides.  Pastoring Professionals_Presentation Living out our faith at work looks different for doctors, lawyers, accountants, and professionals in various industries, and ministry leaders often struggle to fully understand the challenges their members face in the workplace. At a recent event for our Church Partnership Network, Jeff Haanen shared seven practical ways to disciple the professionals in our pews. 1.   Visit your members in the workplace. “Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.” (Ephesians 4:11-12) One of the easiest ways to learn how church attendees spend the majority of their time is to visit them where they work. It’s also the best way to understand the challenges...

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Posted by on Jan 4, 2018 in Economy, Politics, Theology | 0 comments

Loving Faithful Institutions: The Building Blocks of a Just Global Society (From Comment Magazine)

Loving Faithful Institutions: The Building Blocks of a Just Global Society (From Comment Magazine)

  Occasionally I’ll post on this blog an article I really like. And I really like this one by Dr. Jonathan Chaplin, who’s on the divinity faculty at Cambridge University. It’s about an unpopular topic that should be popular: the importance of institutions. One of my convictions at the founding of DIFW was that in order to change the conversation about faith and public life in Denver, we needed not just an event or a “network” – we needed an institution that can last for years, decades…generations. And that meant doing things like admin work, building a board, building long-term relationships, writing emails, and zillions of other unsexy tasks.   Happy reading – and I hope you’ll commit yourself to building strong, healthy institutions as well.  Postmodern Christians won’t get very far in transforming society until they learn to love institutions again. Institutions and organizations are out; networks and relationships are in—or so goes conventional “postmodern” wisdom on how to transform society, at least among those who hold out hope that societal transformation is still possible,...

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