The Challenge of Translating Faith into a Secular Workplace

“These ideas are fine,” I’ve heard many people say during my tenure at Denver Institute, “but
I work in a very secular company. How am I supposed to share my faith in a context where
it’s not invited—or is even condemned as inappropriate or offensive?” It’s a fair response to the ideas in this book. Home health care or software development, construction or biotech, driving trucks and driving profit margin are worlds far removed from church or faith-based nonprofits.

For most, the objection is two-fold. First, the church has a language that isn’t easily
understood by the larger culture. Singing, Bible reading, sermons and liturgies contain
worlds like sin, salvation, redemption, sanctification, and eucharist, words mostly unheard of
in company policy manuals, Slack feeds, or break rooms. To make it worse, Christians often
unthinkingly adopt insider language – “How’s your heart, man?” “It was a total God thing,”
“Want to join my D group?” [iii] – that makes it even tougher to communicate faith to non-
Christian coworkers or neighbors.

Second, Christians often fear the consequences of speaking about their faith in the
workplace. One investor I know, who held a prestigious job at a large asset management
company, was quietly let go after sharing about his faith at a Christian conference. His boss
saw it as unprofessional and not in line with corporate culture. It’s no different in, say, a
hospital. Alyson Breisch, a scholar at Duke University who trains and teaches nurses, says
that one of the concerns for faith-motivated nurses is that bringing up faith will cross
professional boundaries, and that may even be inappropriate in a physician-patient
relationship.[iv]

The task is to take up not just the vocation of one’s work, but also the vocation of translation.
John Inazu, a legal scholar at Washington University in St. Louis and a Christian, knows this
well: “My vocation of translation means translating the university to some of my church
friends and translating the church to some of my university friends,” says Inazu. “Living
between these two worlds makes me a kind of bilingual translator.”

This work, he writes, often requires personal risk. One of Inazu’s faculty colleagues said, “I
don’t get you; you’re religious, but you care about poor people.” And those in his church
have said they can’t trust a “liberal law professor” like him. [v] Yet Inazu feels at home at the
university and in church. And he’s committed to helping to stand in the gap between two
disparate worlds as an interpreter between church and his workplace. John believes we are
“ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us,” (2 Cor. 5:20).

So how do we do it? How do people of faith translate their convictions about the biblical
story into the secular workplace? Here’s a place to start.

Discern what kind of environment you’re in.

Before you share the gospel at work, you must first discern what kind of work environment
you’re in.

David Miller, who leads Princeton University’s Faith at Work Initiative and is the author of
God at Work: The History and Promise of the Faith at Work Movement, has proposed four
postures companies usually take toward faith in the workplace.[vi]

Faith-Avoiding. In a faith-avoidant company, leadership has actively decided to avoid
topics related to faith or religion. “That’s not appropriate here,” is the message, either
explicitly or implicitly. On the more extreme side, religious employees fear being fired for
expressing their beliefs, whether a Muslim wearing a headscarf or an evangelical Christian
asking a co-worker to accept Jesus as Lord.
Faith-Tolerant. More common in companies, schools, hospitals and government agencies
that faith is tolerated, yet not embraced. Often, faith-tolerant organizations will provide
religious accommodation to employees through the HR department, under the banner of
diversity and inclusion. In larger companies, religious expression is often tolerated in
“employee resource groups,” yet it is rarely invited into the work or company culture itself.
Faith-Based. The third option, which is most often cited among Christian networks of
business leaders, is faith-based. In this model, the faith of company founders is woven into
day-to-day operations of the company. This can mean the CEO is overt about his or her own
faith in corporate communication, adopts religious symbolism in corporate culture, and
groups, Bible studies, or evangelistic meetings take place at the workplace. This is most
common in smaller businesses or organizations led exclusively by Christians.
Faith-Friendly. Miller advocates for a fourth option: faith-friendly. In a faith-friendly context,
everybody’s ultimate beliefs are welcome, whether those be Christian, Buddhist, or secular.

In these organizations, leadership neither avoids or tolerates faith, yet neither do they
assume employees share their convictions. Instead, it actively welcomes conversations
about beliefs, backgrounds, and faith that shape employee’s motivations.

In addition to Miller’s four postures, I’d add the category faith-persecuting. In closed
countries, such as Iran, or ideologically-closed cities, like Boulder or Berkeley, being outward
about your faith can have severe personal or professional consequences.

This four-part model can be helpful in starting to understand how faith can translate into your
workplace. For instance, if you work in a dentist’s office where all your co-workers are
Christian, it will feel very different from working at a secular foundation that supports
progressive causes. In one context you’ll want to make space for others to speak who don’t
share your faith; in the other, you’ll need to be covert about how your faith is expressed lest
you become a pariah to your co-workers. Generally-speaking, the larger the company you’re
in, the more it will slide toward the faith-tolerant or faith-avoiding side of the scale.

Should you find yourself in a context like this, you need to recognize two things: your
company is not actually secular, but it is actually a very “religious” place (Acts 17:22).
Theologian Lesslie Newbigin believes, as do I, that companies not under the lordship of
Christ are controlled not only by people, but by what the New Testament calls “the powers and principalities.” These powers, though created by Christ and for Christ, become corrupted
and become dark when they become absolute (Col 1:16; Eph 6). When Jesus disarmed the
powers and principalities at the cross, he didn’t destroy them but he did rob them of the
claim to ultimate authority (Col 2:15). Though some see these verses as a hierarchy of
demons and angels, language of power in the New Testament could also be applied to
organizations, institutions, markets or governments. This truth can help us see that when we
go to work, various “gods” and ultimate purposes are already there, and we are ultimately in
a missionary context.

Second, we need wisdom to be Christians inside broken systems. Again, Newbigin uses the
language of subversion to understand the Christian’s role in a company, industry or system.
For instance, when Paul deals with the runaway slave Onesimus, he does not call for an
overthrow of the system of slavery, but instead reorients Philemon’s relationship to
Onesimus in light of now being his brother in Christ. The gospel doesn’t destroy systems,
but it sets them aright. “But undercover agents need a great deal of skill,” Newbigin says. It’s
a real challenge to know what it means to be in consulting, psychiatry, or financial services
as a Christian, who recognizes that her industry or company is distorted by the fall.[vii]

So, first, determine what kind of posture your workplace has toward faith, and begin the work
of seeing what the ultimate faith or worldview of your organization truly is.

Reimagine your workplace culture in light of the gospel.

The next step requires a work of the imagination.

Ask yourself: What’s good about my workplace or industry? What is distorted or fallen? What
might it look like if it was healed? And what is God calling me to do about it right now?

These four questions mirror the four movements of the biblical story: creation, fall,
redemption, and consummation. And they’re worth asking regularly as you begin to consider
what’s good, broken, and possible about your company, school, firm, or clinic. (See Chapter
4, Think Theologically.)

Matthew Kaemingk, a scholar at Fuller Seminary in Pasadena, California, calls questions
like these taking an “industry audit.” We recognize that just like individuals, organizations are
often both a mix of good and evil, and it takes wisdom to discern what you can get behind
and where you must draw the line. Kaemingk believes asking these types of questions can
also help you discern how your industry is both forming you and deforming you. [viii]

For example, Trish Hopkins works as a real estate agent. “I’m astounded by whom God puts
in my path. From a young sailor and his bride purchasing their first home to a World War II
veteran selling his home after his wife’s passing, daily I get to participate in history-making
stories.” Trish sees the goodness of her industry in helping people buy and sell homes, for
many the largest and most significant purchase of their life. She also sees inflating home
prices, stress-filled house-hunting, and other agents who care little for their clients. She
imagines a world where people would “build houses and dwell in them, they will plant
vineyards and eat their fruit,” (Isaiah 65:21). Her calling in this larger vision of “home” is simply to be a thoughtful, Spirit-filled relational presence, patiently helping home buyers and
sellers navigate the process, and embrace an ethic of service, trust and compassion.

In the book of Genesis, Joseph knew the power of Egypt and Pharaoh to unjustly imprison
and persecute a religious and ethnic minority. But Joseph also believed that God could use
Egypt for good, including saving thousands of lives by providing food during a famine
(Genesis 50:20). He took a position of leadership in a corrupt government because he saw
that God can, and does, use broken systems as mysterious part of his redemptive plan.

Like Joseph, ask yourself: what role could even my broken, imperfect organization play in
healing a small part of God’s world? Einstein once said, “Imagination is more important than knowledge.” It is also central to seeing how faith may transfigure not just your own work, but your whole industry. [ix]

Decide what practices you’ll engage in and which you need to abstain from.

What are the distinctive activities or beliefs you want to champion at your organization as a
Christian? And what are the practices or policies you must refuse as one ultimately
committed to God’s kingdom? [x]

For example, the prophet Daniel said yes to government leadership, serving in two different
pagan empires. He believed his leadership as a Jew could be of service to God and witness
to nonbelievers. He was willing to learn the language and literature of the Babylonians, and
even take a foreign name. He also engaged in the regular practice of praying toward
Jerusalem on company time. Yet Daniel and his fellow Jews Hananiah, Mishael, and
Azariah also famously refused to follow the dietary practices of his peers, and he also
refused to worship the CEO (Daniel 1-2). Ultimately, he was so valuable to his employer,
Daniel’s religious views were broadcast throughout the corporation (Daniel 3:29). This came
through pursuing excellence in his work, and carefully thinking through practices of
engagements and abstention.

The wise do the same thing today. Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra, a journalist trained at
Northwestern University, has covered everything from local politics for the Daily Southtown
in Chicago to human interest stories for Christianity Today. Zylstra has seen journalism
transform in the digital age and social media turn up the noise and heat around political and
cultural issues. “The stories I write don’t necessarily…have anything to do with the headlines
of the day. We’re looking for where God is at work,” says Zylstra about what she chooses to
write. She believes the gospel changes “how we see our sources.” Because all people are
image-bearers, “We treat them very carefully. We want to have a lot of open communication
with them. We come alongside them to tell their story, so my sources see my stories before
they go up. It doesn’t get sprung on them when the rest of the public sees.” What she shares
with her secular peers is a commitment to getting accurate information and double-checking
facts. But in contrast to the never-ending anxiety-driven news cycle, she believes she can do
journalism in a counter-cultural way by focusing on local stories, where people tend to be
more hopeful about their communities and lives. [xi]

Deciding what practices to engage in and which to abstain from requires discernment. You
may see your co-workers in a tech company disengaging from their work and embracing an
“age of anti-ambition,” as one NY Times Magazine writer put it. Yet your response might be
instead to embrace a deep practice of sabbath rather than slack off in your work. Your
school may have strict, unspoken rules about sharing your faith with co-workers, but you
might instead choose to embrace intentionality with nonbelievers one month out of the year
as a spiritual discipline. Your financial services firm may be driven by greed or fear of
missing out on maximal returns, but you might instead practice contentment, or simply letting
your yes be yes or your no be no, resisting the temptation to twist language to close deals
for maximal personal benefit (Matthew 5:37).

To be a Christian in a secular age requires a form of civil disobedience, a refusal to comply
with the patterns of this world (Romans 12:2). It also requires Christians to offer alternatives,
finding practices that “give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the
hope you have, but always doing so with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15)

Embrace the power of language.

“What’s our motto? Practically, it’s profit, profit, and more profit,” Scott shares his story with
me over breakfast at Gracefull Café in Littleton, Colorado. Scott works at a large private
equity firm, a company that buys and sells other businesses.

As Scott finishes a breakfast burrito, his expression changes, and his countenance becomes
lighter. “But here’s what I do. On my white board in my office, I write my values which guide
how I work and serve in business: integrity, humility, excellence, grace and joy. I start
conversations about them with employees, CEOs I mentor, even partners at the firm.” For
Scott, the language he uses about his work is a bridge to conversations about faith. [xii]

Most of us aren’t CEOs who can just rewrite a company’s values. But we can intentionally
choose which values the company we work for we can get behind, and then we can carefully
“lead up” and challenge the company to live up to its own best version of itself. Language
can be a powerful way to do this.

For example, David Bailey leads a nonprofit in Richmond, Virginia called Arrabon, which
focuses on racial reconciliation. Rather than using language of diversity, equity and inclusion
to describe his work, which has become a source of tension in many communities, he
believes God calls us to form reconciling communities that lead to “proximity, empathy and
then unity.” He believes that the work of racial justice must first have a foundation in spiritual
formation.

Another exemplary leader using language to build value-oriented work is Steve, who started
Orbit, a fintech company in the mortgage industry. [xiii] He counsels other business owners to
look at the overlap between your “cultural why,” your “company why,” and your “kingdom
why.”

For Steve, he saw that in 2016, the net worth of a typical white family was nearly ten times
greater than that of a Black family, and home ownership was the difference between this
huge asset differential. Steve saw a cultural need, and his “kingdom why” was based on a desire to see shalom and justice in his community. So, he created a company that helps
small and medium size lenders efficiently process mortgages, offering both a competitive
advantage for local lenders as well as designing a product that can ultimately help get more
people, including people of color, into homes. The intersection of his three “whys” formed a
company built on the values of rigor, ownership, curiosity, kindness, and transparency.

Distinctive language in a secular culture focuses on the individual. Self-esteem, personal
empowerment, and various shades of self-aggrandizement dominate. Yet Christian
language is uniquely grounded in grace. Words like faith, hope and love – the three
theological virtues – draw listeners into a gospel-centered world. Language of thriving,
human flourishing, or the common good can become common ground that draw coworkers
into deeper conversation about the very purpose of work.

I personally tried this exercise. I wanted to see if I could translate our principles – think
theologically, seek deep spiritual health, create good work, embrace relationships, and serve
others sacrificially – for a broader audience. I wrote an article entitled “Designing
Workplaces to Be More Human,” (not more “Christian”) and encouraged readers to ask
these questions that could be transferred to any secular context:

Do we invest in deep emotional and spiritual health?
Do we encourage real friendship and relational wholeness?
Do we create conditions for people to do their best work?
Do we stimulate broad thinking about the key issues of our day?
Do we really care about our city, especially the vulnerable? [xiv]

Language is powerful. Think about the words you’ll repeat, the words you write, and the
words you speak as ways to create bridges into the biblical story.

This article is an excerpt from my latest book Working from the Inside Out: A Brief Guide to Inner Work that Transforms Our Outer World. It’s also available as an audio book. Click here for a free study guide.

[iii] If you’re reading these footnotes and just want to enjoy a good laugh, watch “Shoot Christians Say” on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Dxo0Yjno3I&t=50s.

[iv] Alyson Breisch, “Reimagining Medicine: Breakout Session_04.6.16,” Denver Institute for Faith & Work, 4 April 2016,https://vimeo.com/172969773.

[v] John Inazu, “The Translator” in Uncommon Ground: Living Faithfully in a World of Difference (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2021), 119, 125.

[vi] For more on these four models, including examples and what I believe to be challenges with each model, see: Jeff Haanen, “Faith in the Workplace: The Four Postures,” Denver Institute for Faith & Work, 17 November 2017,https://denverinstitute.org/the-four-postures-toward-faith-in-the-workplace/.

[vii] Lesslie Newbigin, Truth to Tell (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991), 83-84.

[viii] Two excellent resources to do this work are on Workplace Deformation and Workplace Reformation, by Dr. Matthew Kaemingk. They can be accessed online at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RDvCESUSEg&authuser=0 and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grgoMJF_Jyo&authuser=0.

[ix] For another perspective on how to understand your city’s (or company’s) culture, see Stephen Um and Justin Buzzard’s book Why Cities Matter, or my book review for Christianity Today: Jeff Haanen, “How to Change Your Company’s Culture,” Jeff Haanen, 13 May 2013, https://jeffhaanen.com/2013/05/13/how-to-change-your-companys-culture/.

[x] On this language of practices of engagement and abstention, see: Justin Whitmel Earley, The Common Rule (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2019).

[xi] From “Faith and Work in Journalism with TGC,” Denver Institute for Faith & Work, https://denverinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/S2E3_Faith-at-Work-in-Journalism-with-TGC.pdf.

[xii] Scott requested I not use his last name or the name of his company.

[xiii] At the request of “Steve,” I changed his name and the name of his company to protect his identity as a Christian in a secular industry.

[xiv] Jeff Haanen, “Designing Workplaces to Be More Human,” Denver Institute for Faith & Work, 17 March 2020, https://denverinstitute.org/designing-workplaces-to-be-more-human/.

Culture Work

Which Story Do We Believe About Work?

August 8, 2024

Culture tells us a story about work centered on our individual success. We will finally be
happy with the title, the job, the salary. Of late, the story has shifted: we will finally be whole
if we join the right cause and solve our world’s social issues, while also obtaining flexibility,
work-life balance, and a fun work environment (when I want to come to an office). Though
there are things to praise about this shift, it still centers on me, trading career climbing for
personal comfort.

Christians tell a different story about work. Christians say that since God himself works, and
Adam and Eve were called into the Garden of Eden “to work it and care for it,” work is
intrinsically noble (Genesis 2:2, 5, 15). Many others, particularly in Reformed communities,
also believe work is a charge to build and cultivate human civilization based on God’s
command to “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it,” (1:28). Work is
good and a chance to impact culture.

Having shared this story probably hundreds of times, I heard honest critiques of this story
about work as well. “Jeff, that’s just high-minded idealism for people who’ve never had a real
job in their lives.” So I tell the other half of the biblical story about work: “Cursed is the
ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life,” (3:17).
Genesis clearly paints a picture of the Fall and how it’s impacted our work, stretching from
the “thorns and thistles” of daily labor to the monuments to human pride like the Tower of
Babel (Genesis 11). Indeed, in the very field meant for farming, just a few verses after the
Fall, Cain kills his brother (4:8), God reiterates the curse of work (4:12), and the first
technology, tools of bronze and iron, were likely forged for mining…and warfare (4:22).
Work can feel creative, impactful, and important. Yet it can also feel like toil. “So I hated life,
because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me,” says the author of
Ecclesiastes. “All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind,” (2:17).

The truth is: The Bible tells us both stories of work. Work was created good, but is now
fallen. It is a way to cultivate the earth, yet can also corrupt the earth. Work is new business
creation, teaching children to read, and works of art; it is also conflict with co-workers, being
unjustly fired, and workplace injuries – both physical and spiritual. The challenge for us today is to look squarely and honestly at the realities of work, and ask
better, more honest questions.

Not only, “What work am I doing?” but “What is work doing to me?”

Cracks In My Armor

We used to live in a two-bedroom townhouse behind a shopping mall. Between my wife, three kids and myself, it was a tight fit. One baby usually slept in a Pack-N-Play in a bathroom. But we felt grateful, like that maroon, split level home with tile countertops was God’s gift to us early in our married lives.

For years I worked at a Christian school during the day, but by night, I plotted out in a wire-bound notebook my own dream: an organization that connects the gospel to the industries of our world. One evening in late 2012, I came home from work and my wife had rearranged our garage into an office, complete with a desk, lamp, printer, space heater, and peg board sectioning off storage bins from the computer. “Honey, I believe you can do this,” she said to me. “I’m for you.” The tears welled up in my eyes. Her affirmation was just what I needed to hear.

And so I went for it. I spent a year recruiting a board, fundraising, building a plan, designing logos and eventually launching our first event, a gathering on faith and technology in one of America’s most secular cities, Boulder, Colorado. In the first several years, even I was surprised by our success. We got our first grant, built a donor base, launched new events, developed a leadership program, and began to hire staff. From the outside, it looked all “up and to the right.” Our budget was growing, our brand was starting to get recognition, and people I had never met somehow knew me.

But about 5 years in, I started to notice cracks in my armor. I would come home exhausted, with very little in the tank for my family, and often fall asleep an hour or two before my wife. When my kids needed discipline, I would sometimes explode in anger, and then quickly apologize, genuinely not knowing where that outburst came from. I noticed a feeling of near elation when we were “winning” – landing a large gift, hosting a successful event – and severe disappointment bordering on despair when I was rejected, slighted, or one of my plans flopped. I felt drawn to unhealthy patterns and a growing coldness within.

I noticed a growing divide between my exterior self and my interior self. My work persona (and LinkedIn profile) was all about success: growing influence, recognition, and public impact. But internally, I felt thin, lost, and concerned.

One day I pulled up to a stoplight in our family minivan. Waiting to cross the street was a thin white man, mid-twenties, wearing baggy jeans, stained shoes, and a tattered tank top. He had buzzed hair, an unkept beard, bags under his eyes, and a cigarette hanging out his mouth. I said to my wife, who was sitting next to me, “Honey, I feel like that guy looks.”

Rather than allowing faith to form my work, as my organization was built around, I felt like I had let my work deform me. Was this a calling from God, or had I simply baptized my own ambition? The world was cheering me on, but inside, I felt myself disengaging, disconnecting, and growing ever-wearier. I felt a growing need to shield those around me. And I had to ask myself a hard question: was I a part of the solution for what’s gone wrong in the world, or was I a part of the problem?

I’ve come to the conclusion that “faith and work” is not first about impact, success, or even a way to advance the gospel in the world – it’s about who we’re becoming in the process of our working lives.

Could there be a way to neither disengage from work, nor fall prey to the illusions of success, but instead live a truly healthy, whole life? A life that integrated and healed my heart and my mind, my work and my relationships, and the world around me?

This article is an excerpt from my latest book Working from the Inside Out: A Brief Guide to Inner Work that Transforms Our Outer World. It’s also available as an audio book. Click here for a free study guide.

Nonprofit Theology Work

My Two Cents on Not Losing Our Hearts on the Job [Audio]

May 7, 2024

Since Working from the Inside Out has released, I’ve been honored to speak on numerous podcasts with hosts way smarter than me.

Here are a few of my favorite, where I share about everything from how to handle conflict with co-workers to spiritual rhythms that can infuse life into the workday.

Enjoy.

Women Scholar’s and Professionals – Intervarsity

Faith in the Workplace with Jeff Haanen on Christianity Today_Being Human Podcast with Steve Cuss

Live Faith First Podcast with Eliot Sands_Work Can Be a Good Thing with Jeff Haanen

Unhurried Living: 289: Working from the Inside Out (Alan w/ Jeff Haanen) on Apple Podcasts

E 354 How Inner Work Transforms Your Outer World with Saddleback Church on YouTube

A Brief Guide to Inner Work that Transforms Our Outer World with Apollos Watered on YouTube

Episode 274 – Working from the Inside Out with Jeff Haanen with Faith Driven Entrepreneur

Working from the Inside Out with Eric Most and Laurie Bossert on Generosity Now

God’s Story Podcast – Working from the Inside Out with Jeff Haanen

Episode 58 Manly with Andy – Working from the Inside Out with Jeff Haanen

Denver Institute for Faith & Work _ Working from the Inside Out featuring Jeff Haanen

Here’s the Full Audiobook on Audible: Working from the Inside Out: A Brief Guide to Inner Work That Transforms Our Outer World

Free Study Guide: Study Guide_Working from the Inside Out

Craftsmanship & Manual Labor Faith and Work Movement Work

Sacrificial Service & the Sapp Bros. Cheyenne Travel Center

March 28, 2024

It’s one thing to embrace customer service. It’s quite another to live a life of sacrificial service.

Jesus calls his followers to “take up your cross and follow me.” Peter wrote that serving as Christ did will entail suffering (1 Peter 2:21). It’s one thing to follow Christ when things are going well. But, in the words of biblical scholar Bruce Waltke, how many of us would qualify as the “righteous” – those willing to advantage others, even if it means disadvantaging ourselves?

People who commit to sacrificial service of a community through their work are rare. New York Times Columnist David Brooks wrote in his book The Road to Character that the median “narcissism score” has risen in the last two decades. When young people were asked about whether they agree with statements like “I am an extraordinary person,” or “I like to look at my body,” Brooks says, “Ninety-three percent of young people score higher than the middle score just twenty years ago” — they score about 30 percent higher, to be exact.[i] Behind the thin veil of careers with social impact is often the Almighty Self, ever ready to find the perfect mix of social impact, comfortable work hours, and financial reward in “meaningful work.” Especially since the pandemic, I believe the willingness to sacrifice for a cause greater than ourselves is diminishing.[ii] Especially if it costs us.

Yet, meaningful work is found not in success or financial reward, but in sacrificial service. When people struggle to find a cause worth sacrificing for, boredom and meaninglessness tend to creep in. “Far too many people in this country seem to go about only half alive. All their existence is an effort to escape from what they are doing,” writes author and dramatist Dorothy Sayers about how most people view their work. “And the inevitable result of this is a boredom, a lack of purpose, a passivity which eats life away at the heart and a disillusionment which prompts men to ask what life is all about.”[iii]

People need a reason to sacrifice for something beyond themselves. It’s what puts wind in sails, feet on the ground, and energy in a workday. Paradoxically, what we’re really looking for is the right cross to bear, not the best throne from which to rule.

We live in a cultural moment in which there are multiple issues calling for sacrificial work. Take, for example, the growing inequality in American society. In 1989, the Federal Reserve Reports that the bottom 50% held $22 billion in wealth while the top 10% held $1.7 trillion. Fast forward to 2021, and the bottom 50% held $260 billion in wealth while the top 10% swelled to $36 trillion.[iv] To make that clearer, the top 1% of US households has 15 times more wealth than the bottom 50% of households combined.[v] The simmering discontent and anger so prevalent in American society has its root, I believe, in millions of people seeing the wealthy get much wealthier — even in the last 20 years — while their standard of living stagnates or declines.

And yet, some decide that sacrificial love for others trumps personal comfort.

Julie (Sapp) Stone works as an investment director focused on family economic mobility at Gary Community Investments, a philanthropic organization in Denver. Before that she worked at Teach for America, an organization that places talented young teachers in low-income schools. Bright, energetic, connected, and committed, Julie was deeply formed by Catholic social teaching, which motivates her work on behalf of low-income families. When I asked Julie about her commitment to issues around justice, I was surprised to learn it didn’t come from academic study. Rather, it came from growing up at a truck stop on the Wyoming-Nebraska border.

Julie’s grandpa and his brothers were Depression-era survivors who bought a car dealership, which turned into car leasing and eventually into a small truck stop chain headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. Her dad became the general manager of Sapp Bros. Cheyenne Travel Center, and her mom the store manager. The establishment employed over 100 people between a motel, gas station, restaurant, and store. Julie grew up just a few miles away and started to work in the family business alongside her brother at just age five, picking up trash around the truck stop because of her parent’s pride in their work. As she grew, she waited tables, stocked shelves, and served the truckers. Her dad would famously pause mid-bite while eating in the restaurant to check out a customer after their dinner because “nobody should have to wait to pay.”

“I’ll pound the table in defense of truck drivers. They are an extraordinary community,” Julie says. “They’re hard working, responsible, God fearing, family centered, and make tremendous sacrifices for their work.” Julie pauses, with almost reverence in her voice. “My dad always trusted that I’d be okay at the truck stop, whether he was there or not. Truckers know that their actions reflect on other drivers, which creates a sense of shared responsibility. If there was ever a conflict or a tactless comment, without fail, another driver would step in and sort things out.”

Sapp Bros. was employee-owned, provided full healthcare coverage, and even paid for college tuition, which was practically unheard of in the 1980s. Julie’s parents believed that their job was to lead and serve their employees sacrificially. “I remember one Christmas my dad had it out with corporate. Since the combined portfolio of travel stations didn’t turn a profit that year, there would be no Christmas bonuses,” she recalls. “I watched my mom and dad divide their past and future paychecks to make bonuses happen for the Cheyenne employees.”

Julie believes her parents’ leadership was built on love. “At the end of the day Mom and Dad recognized that each employee was giving of their time and talent to help make our company successful. My parents were genuinely grateful for their people, which explains why so many who were hired on opening day in 1983 were still there when I graduated from college in 2003.”

Julie’s commitment to justice today isn’t abstract. She sees the faces of those who worked for her parents for 30 years in front-line jobs — people of enormous integrity. “I see working families first. They show up for the physical work. They provide services and make products the rest of us rely on, they almost always go unnoticed. These are the families whose sacrifices benefit us all.”[vi]

***

This is an excerpt from my new book Working from the Inside Out: A Brief Guide to Inner Work That Transforms Our Outer World (IVP, 2023). Buy a copy or listen to the audio book today.

[i] David Brooks, The Road to Character (New York: Penguin Random House, 2016).

[ii] See my article: Jeff Haanen, “Where Are All the Workers?” Comment, September 1, 2022, https://comment.org/where-are-all-the-workers/.

[iii] Dorothy Sayers, “Vocation in Work,” quoted in: William C. Placher, Callings: Twenty Centuries of Christian Wisdom on Vocation (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2005).

[iv] See: The Rationale, Ownership Works,https://ownershipworks.org/the-rationale/.

[v] Tommy Beer, “Top 1% of U.S. Households Hold 15 Times More Wealth than Bottom 50% Combined,” Forbes, October 8, 2020, https://www.forbes.com/sites/tommybeer/2020/10/08/top-1-of-us-households-hold-15-times-more-wealth-than-bottom-50-combined/?sh=3067585a5179.

[vi] Candidly, this was my favorite interview in the book. A special thank you to Julie Stone for sharing her story, and for her beautiful revisions.

Theology Vocation Work

Launch Day! “Working from the Inside Out: A Brief Guide to Inner Work That Transforms Our Outer World” (IVP, 2023)

December 12, 2023

God is working, I believe, “from the inside out.”

Big day! Today InterVarsity Press is publishing my second book: Working from the Inside Out: A Brief Guide to Inner Work That Transforms Our Outer World.

The book comes from my 10 years of experience leading Denver Institute for Faith & Work and the deepening conviction that “faith and work” is not first about impact, success, or even a way to advance the Gospel in the world—it’s about who we’re becoming in the process of our working lives.

The idea of the book is to give us a place to start this journey of living in a relationship with God in all areas of life. First, I believe we need to focus not on the world’s problems but on our own hearts and minds, seeking deep spiritual and emotional health and theological truth. Second, inner transformation impacts our core relationships and work. And finally, I believe we’re called to engage culture not as conquerors, but as sacrificial servants. God is healing the world first through our interior life, second through our exterior life, and third through our civic life.

What’s the book’s unique value?

● It’s a great intro on faith and work. Not sure where to start on all things faith, work, and culture? Here’s a good starting point.

● It’s blessedly brief. We’re all busy! This book has 10 brief chapters you could get through in a sitting or two.

● It offers a simple model for integrating faith and work. The book simplifies an otherwise esoteric and complex subject through five principles.

● It’s written for any believer. The book isn’t targeted exclusively to business leaders or professionals. It’s for any believer, from maintenance technicians to journalists to teachers to recent graduates to managers.

● It has 50+ stories and examples. The book is chock-full of examples, from working in restaurants and manufacturing to selling used cars and caring for patients.

● It’s holistic. The gospel changes all of our lives—our hearts, the way we think, our relationships, the work we do, and how we engage with the needs of the world. This book is a simple, brief introduction to whole-life discipleship.

Also, a couple bonus points: I’m personally narrating the audio version so readers can hear directly from me—about all the mistakes I’m hoping others can learn from! And all future royalties will be donated to Denver Institute, so sales will help to spur on the faith and work movement.

You can grab a copy today: https://rb.gy/smc90x

And I narrated the audio book(myself!), which will be available on December 19. https://lnkd.in/guqWrGZA

Not ready to buy yet? Here’s an excerpt: https://lnkd.in/gZm8BtzQ

For a 20% discount (from Oct 1 through February), put in the code IVPHAANEN at check out at Intervarsity Press.

What are people saying about Working from the Inside Out?

“Jeff Haanen is one of the foremost thought leaders of this generation on the topic of faith and work. In Working from the Inside Out, Jeff provides anecdotal and prescriptive insights that will inspire and move you to action. Jeff’s wisdom and perception are profound in helping readers bridge the sacred/secular divide. This book helps you understand how your work can serve as the most valuable tool Christians have to make a difference in the world. However, we must change internally before we can change the external world.”

David Stidham, Vice President of Business Affairs and General Counsel for The Chosen

“I can’t wait to give this book to some important people in my life! As the title suggests, Jeff Haanen’s most valuable contribution is his focus on our inner spiritual life and the promise that a life attuned to the hope, love, and grace of the gospel changes us. Work is a crucible; it forms and shapes us—for better or for worse. Jeff’s five guiding principles (seek deep spiritual health, think theologically, embrace relationships, create good work, and serve others), developed and tested during his decade with Denver Institute for Faith & Work, offer a way toward work forming us ‘for better.’ Read with friends; take this journey together.”

Katherine Leary Alsdorf, Founding Director of Redeemer Presbyterian Church’s Center for Faith & Work

“You don’t need this book—if you love your job, live a balanced life, can’t wait to get up in the morning, and feel content in your relationships with people and God. If not, consider this collection of deep wisdom from an expert in the crucial, but often ignored, intersection of faith and work.” Philip Yancey, Coauthor of Fearfully and Wonderfully: The Marvel of Bearing God’s Image and Where the Light Fell: A Memoir

“I cannot tell you what a blessing this book is. I cannot wait to be able to share this with others. The wisdom and guidance in this book is what I wish I would have had when I was graduating college and starting my career and starting out as a young professional. It is also the book that I, as a more seasoned business leader and fledgling entrepreneur, need to cut through the hardened layers that can calcify the soul. With every turn of the page, another piece was chiseled off, providing a fresh reminder for me of the calling I have as a Christian in the work God entrusted to me. I’ve been challenged, convicted, and blessed.”

– Josh Rogers, Head of Operations, Leif

Free Study Guide

Considering reading the book with a group? Here’s a free study guide anybody can download, thanks to our friends at Denver Institute: DenverInstitute.org/Working-From-the-Inside-Out. The guide is a great resource for church small groups discussing the book.

Theology Work

Why Faith & Work? (Pt. 1) – Gospel

December 23, 2020

It was a Sunday afternoon. I walked out my back garage to toss the trash. I opened the green can, heaved in the white plastic bag, and breathed in … the stench of smoke. As I shut the can I moseyed out to my driveway to investigate. I looked up in the sky. The sun was a dull yellow, filtered through an unnatural cloud that covered the horizon. Smoke from the worst wildfires in Colorado history hung like a lingering ghost. Ash slowly fell around me and the street in my neighborhood was completely empty.

As I turned to walk back inside I heard something. It was a song coming from a truck around the corner. As I paused and peered through the sullen glow, I saw an ice cream truck, driving as if children were going to happily skip outside, eager for an afternoon treat. Yet none emerged from their homes, sequestered by their parents from the pandemic. The truck jingled by, as if from the set of a post-apocalyptic movie.

What a fitting metaphor for our world today, I thought. Our society is burning and our consumer culture offers us an “ice cream cone” to forget our troubles. Of course, as we grow, the “ice cream cone” changes: new car, job promotion, dinner parties, binge watching endless movies in our homes. But each can be a thin veneer that masks what each of us senses: the world we live in is frightfully broken. So many of us live a life distracted by entertainment, but we sense internal emptiness and desolation, one that spreads from souls to jobs to cities.

We long for a deeper hope that can animate our daily lives.

Why faith & work? Of all the pressing causes in our world, why care about this one, especially in a time of growing economic disparities, decaying social trust, and the shrinking of the church? Why invest time, attention, and resources in a vision that prioritizes both historic Christian faith and its influence on our daily work?

In this first of three articles, let me suggest three theological truths that open up new horizons for the meaning of Christian faith for our work and world today.

Gospel. The word simply means “good news.” In the ancient Roman empire, Caesar had his own euangelion, whose reign through military strength was thought to be the guarantor of peace and prosperity. One ancient coin even called Caesar a “Son of God.”

Yet a small group of Jews said that there was another gospel. They claimed that a carpenter from Nazareth was the true Son of God, not Caesar. They said that though he was crucified as a criminal, he had been raised from the dead by God and freely offered forgiveness of sins and eternal life to any and all as free gift. And the essence of this “Son of God” was not power to conquer his enemies but love. Even for one’s enemies.

Fast forward to 21^st century America. Today we’re used to hearing the word “gospel” in reference to gospel music or to the notion of “getting saved.” In many conservative Protestant circles, believing the “gospel” means soul salvation: Jesus died, I receive forgiveness, and I go to heaven when I die. Yet this version of the gospel would have seemed very strange to the early Christians. The apostle Paul believed there were four essential elements to his “gospel”: the incarnation of God himself in the person of Jesus (Romans 1:2), the crucifixion of Christ for our sins (1 Corinthians 15:2-3), the resurrection of Christ for our salvation and the salvation of the world (John 3:16; 2 Corinthians 5:19), and the Second Coming of Christ to judge the world and ultimately restore the world as God had originally intended it (Romans 2:16).

In our modern world, we’ve reduced the “gospel” to an individual, private experience involving only me and God. But this is a severe reduction of the breadth of the historic Christian faith. The truth is that sin is much worse than we thought. It has not only infected my heart, but has spread like a cancer into workplaces, industries, cultures, and cities. But the good news, the gospel, is also much better than we thought: Jesus is healing not just our souls but also those same workplaces, industries, cultures, and cities (Colossians 1:20). Indeed, he is not just light for my heart, he is the Light of the World (John 8:12).

Why, then, should we care about work? Teaching kindergarten, practicing law, manufacturing air filters, serving tables: work is the public arena in which the breadth of the gospel can heal our fractured world. When George Washington Carver discovered new uses for the peanut, he listened to the voice of God for scientific discovery. When Bach wrote symphonies, he did so soli Deo Gloria — for the glory of God. And when the salesperson wonders if he’s wasting his life in retail, it’s the good news that crowns him with glory and dignity, even in difficult circumstances.

Christians have been entrusted with a spark of good news — one that claims salvation is far bigger and deeper than we had once thought.

Kingdom. The central message of Jesus’ own earthly ministry was about the Kingdom of God (Mark 1:14-15). To Americans who are used to electing their highest political authority to office, talk of kings and kingdoms can seem strange. Yet it’s a common theme in the Old Testament (Psalm 10:16; Isaiah 37:16; 2 Chronicles 20:6). And Jesus insisted on emphasizing it, even commanding his people for all generations to pray, “may your kingdom come, and your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).

What does the Kingdom of God have to do with our work? First, saying that Jesus is the very highest authority both in your life and in the world is a deeply political, and public, commitment. Every nation, as well as every company, school, or hospital, has a set of values. Immediately, the Christian comes into any work situation first being a citizen of another country (1 Peter 2:13-17). That means when working at Amazon or at the local gas station, some of your values align with your workplace; others are different. This stubborn declaration that Jesus is king over all means your work is a contested arena between His Kingdom and the kingdoms of this world (Revelation 11:15). Each meeting, each project, each task, each relationship takes on a new significance in an age-old battle between darkness and light (Colossians 1:13). Whether you’re in politics, business, or education, the Kingdom of God makes every Christian a reformer.

But second, and more importantly, Jesus is inviting us into a new reality. I’ve often heard Protestants speak of “building the Kingdom.” But this is not how Jesus speaks about the Kingdom. He simply calls people to enter and receive the Kingdom (Matthew 7:21, 23:13, 25:34). That means, in a sense, there is no work to be done. Simply receive the gracious gift of living in a new creation, partaking in the divine nature, and resting in the “easy burden” of the way of Christ. Work is the sphere of life in which we live, day-to-day, in the fullness of the life of God (John 10:10b). Rather than believing spiritual matters are just for church, spiritual depth and joy can spill over into your daily work.

Mission. Old Testament Scholar and framer of the Lausanne Covenant Dr. Christopher Wright popularized the term the Mission of God. When we hear the word “mission” we often think of missionaries overseas or paid Christian professionals sent by a church either to evangelize or serve the poor. Yet Wright makes the strong — and lengthy! — case that God himself has a mission. From the calling of Abraham and the people of Israel to the culmination of human history in the book of Revelation, God himself is initiating a grand project to restore his fractured creation (Genesis 3).

How, then, does this involve our daily work? The marvel of the grand narrative of Scripture is that God calls us — flawed, deeply broken human beings — into his purposes to heal and restore his world. This may include overseas work in microfinance. Yet it may be far closer to home. John Stott, the preeminent 20^th-century missiologist, pastor, and author, believed our vocations are the central way we partake in “mission.” Police officers protect and serve, farmers feed their neighbors, teachers educate the mind, janitors and mechanics clean and repair our buildings. It’s through our work that we reflect Jesus’ own high calling “to serve, and not to be served” (Mark 10:45).

So, why faith & work? Ultimately, we live in a story of good news. Death is overcome. The darkness does not win. And God summons all people first to himself, and then sends them back into the world as his ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20).

In a time when it feels like our culture is burning and sending smoke into our nostrils and lives, our spiritual lives can feel desolate like an empty street on a dull Sunday afternoon. Yet the breadth of gospel, the promise of a coming Kingdom, and a call to participate with God in his mission reframes how we live and work.

This is good news indeed.

This is the first article of a three-part series on “Why Faith & Work?” The next article will focus on the reality of our jobs and working lives.

Work

A Letter to the Denver Institute Community

April 9, 2020

Dear Friends,

In the last four weeks, our work and our world have changed dramatically. Millions are now unemployed, nearly 3.5 billion people are confined to their homes, and each of us is trying to adjust to what feels like a different world.

Two weeks ago, when I drove down Denver’s 17th Street, I was reminded of the prophet Jeremiah’s lament, “How deserted the city lies, once so full of people! How like a widow is she, who was once so great among the nations! … The roads to Zion mourn, for no one comes to her appointed festivals. All her gateways are desolate, her priests groan, her young women grieve, and she is in bitter anguish” (Lamentations 1:1, 4).

In the last month, I’ve been on calls with dozens of people in our community. Business owners are shocked that they must shutter the doors of what they’ve worked to build for a lifetime; young professionals have been fired from what seemed like promising careers; families buckle under the pressure of school, work, and isolation. All of us are bewildered by uncertainty. Last week, as I walked through King Sooper’s and saw empty shelves and people wearing face masks, I wondered: what is happening to our world? Anguish is the right word.

But it is not the final word.

Here at Denver Institute, we remain committed to forming men and women to serve God, neighbor, and society through their daily work. Our call — now more important than ever — is to love God, serve our neighbors, and demonstrate the gospel through our vocations.

As we think about this task, and each of us seeks to listen to God’s voice amidst such pain, it is my conviction that we must first begin not with society, but with ourselves. We must look squarely at the fear and anxiety clouding our senses, and then redirect our eyes toward Jesus, who is the Bread of Life (John 6:35). Each day, we must practice soul care for uncertain times and learn to give our anxieties to God, who cares for us (1 Peter 5:7). The Living Water is ever present to each of us, if only we will drink. We must first learn the spiritual practices and adjust our daily rhythms that will allow us to firmly rest in God’s unchanging love and care for each of us (Matthew 6:25).

Second, we must care for each other. As we all struggle with isolation, now is the time to be present, be vulnerable, and be hopeful. Whether it’s a coworker, a mother-in-law, or a single friend, we need each other. At Denver Institute, in the next 90 days, in lieu of events, we will host more online gatherings for business leaders, for women, for the brave souls in health care, and for those who work in a variety of industries.

Third, to the best of our ability, we must keep working. We were designed for work. And though we are confined to our homes, and many of us are struggling with grief over work that has been lost, we recognize that work is good for our souls. As such, each day provides opportunity for paid and unpaid service to the common good. Searching for a new job, delivering food to a neighbor, doing homework with children, and doing sales calls — all are needed. The economy — and our neighbor — needs us to inhale the peace of God and exhale the creative goods and services that this brave new world needs the most. Though it feels like we’ve been carried into exile, now is the time to “build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce” (Jeremiah 29:5).

Also, as we are bombarded daily with haunting news, we must aggressively limit our intake of media and learn to think theologically about our work and cultural moment. What is most needed in a situation without easy answers is wisdom. At Denver Institute, will continue to publish content and courses that reframe our work and our world in light of the biblical story.

Finally, now is the time to serve. Now is the time to double down our generosity toward the causes we care most about; now is the time to serve others while physically distancing; now is the time to find innovative solutionsto serve our coworkers, neighbors, and family members.

We are still here for you. If you have a need of any sort, please reach out to us. We are actively praying through how our programming might expand to better serve our city. In this season, we will commit to calling, praying, thinking, networking, teaching, learning, and finding ways to serve you in an unprecedented moment in our nation’s history.

This is a time to lament, but not to panic; a time to pivot, but not to stray from our core convictions; a time for public concern, but also a time to trust that Jesus is the savior of the world, and we are not.

As we head into Holy Week, I’ve chosen to fast on Good Friday as I pray for our city, our country, and our world. Yet on Easter Sunday, my family and I will also go outside to our front porch, dial into “zoom” church, and sing a song of resurrection as the sun rises.

The world has changed, but our joy is unchanging.

Your friend,

Jeff Haanen,
Founder & Executive Director
Denver Institute for Faith & Work

This letter first appeared in an email to the Denver Institute community. If you’d like to receive more updates from Denver Institute on articles, events, educational resources and other opportunities, please subscribe to the monthly newsletter.

Business Work

“I am not alone as I work in the world.”

March 6, 2020

This is what one brave woman wrote in a post-event survey after Business for the Common Good, our annual business conference. I decided to post it here simply so I wouldn’t forget her insight and courage.

“This was the perfect mix of addressing all different levels of how to follow Jesus by honoring him in our work. I loved that there was an emphasis on building a foundation of valuing our own mental health and bringing our shame to Christ. If we don’t allow God to reconcile ourselves – inside of us – it will be hard to bring kindness, patience, and lasting change to our neighbors, coworkers, and the workplace structures we seek to improve.

“As a woman, I have increasingly found myself facing fears of being discounted and undervalued in a society that historically does so to women in the workplace. At this conference, however, I found myself being moved to empathy toward men instead of defensiveness as the sessions pointed towards faith in Jesus as the ultimate redemptive force inside of humanity.

“Seeing so many Christian men in business sitting under this teaching at the conference gave me a sense that my fight is not against them, but rather injustice. And this fight I can only navigate when I am rooted in my value in Jesus, not the salary I successfully negotiate or the roles I obtain. He holds my concerns close to his heart, and he does for all of us, men and women, and I am not alone as I work in the world.”

Business Work

Faith & Co | Connecting Business and Beliefs (Jeff Haanen)

December 26, 2019

Recently I was honored to be a part of a wonderful series of videos spearheaded by Denise Daniels at Seattle Pacific University on faith and business.

Here’s one video (of several) in which I give my off-the-cuff thoughts on the big questions we need to be asking ourselves about business today, and why our biggest story about what it means to be human affects everything about business.

Vocation Work World

“A Fully Activated Workplace” (Global Workplace Forum, Lausanne Movement)

December 11, 2019

This last summer I was deeply honored to serve on a panel in Manila on “A Fully Activated Workplace.” I shared the stage with a clinical psychologist in Nairobi working with refugees, an electrical engineer in Canada, a manager at Apple, and a man doing church planting with nomadic tribes in central Asia. I shared about my research on the American working class.

Incredible what God’s doing around the world…Bravo Lausanne Movement. And bravo to all of you for stepping into God’s call in your life wherever you may be walking on the planet earth today…