service

This post originally appeared at the Denver Institute for Faith and Work, where Mr. Haanen is executive director. It is republished here with permission.

By Jeff Haanen

Occasionally you meet somebody that shines with such virtue that you are, perhaps for the first time, made aware of your own poverty of spirit.

By Herman Bavinck

We are seeing a universal pursuit of equality, a yearning to eliminate all distinction based on birth or property and not on personal value, a strong push for independence and freedom. In church and state, in family and society, in vocation and business, each person wants to see their own rights defined, wants to cast their own vote, and wants to stand up for their own interests.

By Joseph Sunde

In our efforts to serve others and seek justice in the world, we have a remarkable tendency to fall short, no matter how carefully constructed or well intended our plans may be. Across our culture-making endeavors — whether in the family or work, politics and policymaking — we are easily lured by the contours of our own designs.

By Joseph Sunde

The American economy has undergone a range of transitions, from agrarian to industrial to information-driven. Given our new-found status, manual labor is increasingly cast down in the popular imagination, replaced by romanticized dreams about white-collar jobs, bachelor’s degrees, and ladder-climbing of a similar sort.

By Chris Horst

I pushed open the door of Center Court Barbershop and sat down, awaiting my turn. Center Court looked like a proper barbershop should look. Classic swivel chairs lined the mirrors. Longtime patrons, kids and adults alike, chatted about local news. Nobody rushed or hurried, despite the wait.

By Joseph Sunde

Despite the widespread complaints about the attitudes, ethics, and attention spans of millennials, it can be easy to forget the failures of generations gone by.

By David Wright

“In fellowship, alone, to God, with faith, draw near: Approach his courts, besiege his throne with all the power of prayer.” -Charles Wesley

Those who study what it takes to gain exceptional mastery of any given field have identified something they call the ten-thousand-hour rule. These experts have discovered that it takes ten thousand hours of practice to achieve mastery.

By Joseph Sunde

By Joseph Sunde

Across the realm of evangelicalism, we’ve seen a renewed focus on the deeper value, meaning, and significance of our daily work. Yet as easy as it may be for some to alter old attitudes and begin appreciating the gift of creative service, it can be extremely difficult for others — and often for good reason.

By Joseph Sunde

One day, while rowing down the Colorado River, Amber Shannon suddenly realized her vocation. “I really wanted to row little wooden boats down big rapids with big canyon walls,” she says. “That was the life dream.”

It may sound impractical to some, but tour guide John Shocklee calls being a boatman in the Grand Canyon “the most coveted job in the world.” “It’s definitely easier to get a PhD than it is to get a dory here in the Grand Canyon,” he says.