The desert, transition period following our ministry downsizing or position loss provides ample opportunity for reflection on our vocation. Through honest assessment we position ourselves to revision and revitalize our calling. In Chapter 6 (“Work Becomes Pointless”) of Every Good Endeavor Pastor Timothy Keller states that the writer of Ecclesiastes presents 3 ways people attempt […]
In the section of Chapter 5 entitled “Thorns and Thistles”, Timothy Keller (Every Good Endeavor) states that frustration and lack of fulfillment characterizes all work (and, I might add, looking for work) and human effort, part of the curse of work in a fallen world. Pastor Keller goes on to define fruitless work: “We mean […]
It’s late fall, 1965. My mother Elinor is standing at the kitchen stove, preparing dinner. Her persistent cough is not getting any better. She voices how poorly she’s been feeling. Concerned that whatever she has is contagious, mom takes many precautions to ensure that dad and I stay well. Around January mom receives her diagnosis […]
Pastor Timothy Keller begins Chapter 5 (“Work Becomes Fruitless”) of Every Good Endeavor by reminding us that while the Bible has a rich view of God’s design for work, that isn’t how we experience it. Because we live in a fallen, sinful world, the author emphasizes that we need to have some understanding of how […]
In Chapter 2 of Every Good Endeavor, Pastor Timothy Keller reiterates the idea that the Biblical view of work stands in stark contrast to ancient Greek thinking. Because we are made in God’s image, we have been given specific work to do. While the Greeks saw manual labor as ordinary work relegating humans to the level of […]
At the beginning of Chapter 2 (“The Dignity of Work”) of Every Good Endeavor, Timothy Keller states that the idea that work is a major component of human dignity is espoused by even the most secular thinking. Write Ayn Rand put it this way in her book Atlas Shrugged: “Whether it’s a symphony or a […]
Pastor Timothy Keller continues his discussion of God’s design for work in Chapter 1 of Every Good Endeavor by stating that to see work in our design is part of what it means to “grasp the distinct Christian understanding of freedom.” He notes that our modern society tends to see freedom as the complete absence […]
In Chapter 1 of Every Good Endeavor, Timothy Keller presents the striking truth that work was a part of Paradise. As Ben Witherington states in Work: A Kingdom Perspective on Labor: “It is perfectly clear that God’s good plan always included human beings working, or, more specifically, living in a constant cycle of work and […]
In concluding his Introduction to Every Good Endeavor, Pastor Timothy Keller lists 3 questions regarding the relationship between faith and work that his book seeks to answer, using God’s Word: 1. Why is work necessary to lead a full life? 2. Why is work so often pointless, fruitless, and difficult? 3. How do we overcome […]
Pastor Timothy Keller continues his discussion of vocation in the Introduction of Every Good Endeavor by noting 5 characteristics regarding the relationship of faith to work. 1. The ecumenical movement’s emphasis on social justice helps us to understand that we must apply a distinctly Christian ethic to our work. 2. In order to do faithful […]
In the Introduction to Every Good Endeavor, Pastor Timothy Keller cites Robert Bellah’s landmark book, Habits of the Heart, in noting that the major problem eating away at our culture’s cohesiveness is “expressive individualism”. Near the end of his book, Bellah proposes a solution to the crisis: “To make a real difference . . . [there […]
Pastor Timothy Keller (Redeemer Presbyterian, NYC) takes the title of his latest book, Every Good Endeavor, from the liner notes of a 1957 album by jazz legend John Coltrane (1926-1967). He described the album as “an attempt to say ‘THANK YOU GOD’ through our work, even as we do in our hearts and with our […]