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Transform your work life
Transform your work life: Turn your ordinary day into an extraordinary calling. by Dion Forster and Graham Power.
Download a few chapters of the book here.
  • What are we thinking? Reflections on Church and Society from Southern African Methodists.
    What are we thinking? Reflections on Church and Society from Southern African Methodists.
    by Dion A Forster, Wessel Bentley
  • Methodism in Southern Africa: A celebration of Wesleyan Mission
    Methodism in Southern Africa: A celebration of Wesleyan Mission
    by Dion A Forster, Wessel Bentley
  • Christ at the centre - Discovering the Cosmic Christ in the spirituality of Bede Griffiths
    Christ at the centre - Discovering the Cosmic Christ in the spirituality of Bede Griffiths
    by Dion A Forster
  • An uncommon spiritual path - the quest to find Jesus beyond conventional Christianity
    An uncommon spiritual path - the quest to find Jesus beyond conventional Christianity
    by Dion A Forster
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You can purchase copies of 'Transform your work life:  Turn your ordinary day into an extraordinary calling' in most book shops in South Africa (Exclusive books, Wordsworth Books etc.) - or you can order the book online here (it is shipped overnight in South Africa, and anywhere in the else in the world).

Download a few chapters from the book here.

Entries in worship (3)

Saturday
May082010

Satire on Sunday Church Services

Yup, I've been to a few of these kinds of services, they simply seem to miss the point!  Watch the video below - it's funny!  But, also quite sad!

"Sunday's Coming" Movie Trailer from North Point Media on Vimeo.

I am thankful for people like John van de Laar and his ministry 'Sacredise' that helps Churches and Christians to engage effectively in worship that doesn't get stuck 'fluff' and 'performance'.  

Of course I appreciate well directed worship.  I love contemporary music and have often encountered God in such settings.  However, I have an equal affinity for liturgy, silence, and simple worship.  I suppose the point is that it should be about God first, then an encounter between the community and God, and somewhere right towards the bottom of the list should be 'personal taste' in style and music.

(from @Scott McKnight)

Monday
Feb082010

21 Ways to Pray at Work

A friend on facebook (H-K-R) shared this great link from beliefnet - 21 ways to pray at work.  

There are some wonderful resources here to add a new level of significance and purpose to your daily work life! Remember that Paul admonished the Colossians saying, “Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.” (Col 3.23).

We spend so much time and energy in our work environment, why not invest that time wisely by taking the hours you spend at work to a deeper level of commitment? 

Here's my input on some of the steps they share:

 

  • The workday doesn’t start when you walk into the office, it starts when you wake up. Start by thanking God for the job you have.
  • Ask God to bless the people among whom you work, and the place in which you work.
  • Pray that God will make you a good steward of your time and resources of your company.  As Christians at work we should offer a clear witness through our commitment to our work.  Mark Twain once commented that you should "live such a good life that when you die even the undertaker will be sorry!"
  • Pray that God will use your communication to communicate God's love and care for the people you interact with (whether that be your manner on the phone, the way you deal with a difficult client, or the tone of an email).
  • A simple exercise is to choose to pray through your 'address book' or phone list. I do this - I take just 10 minutes each day and pray for a few persons on our company phone list.  Amazingly I pray for each of our office staff by name every second week. It changes my interaction with them, and I trust that God uses my prayer to bless and help them.
  • Be willing to pray for those who lead your organisation.  Pray not only for them, but for their family and home lives.  Executives often face great pressure.  God can use you to transform their lives (James 5:16)
  • Before meetings ask God to guide you and give you calm and peace.  Let God guide your thoughts, your words and your interactions.  During the meeting listen for God's guidance through the words and inputs of others.  Be sensitive enough to hear God's voice, and brave enough to speak.  Your voice mayy be the one that God wishes to use to change a situation or bring a solution!
  • It is worthwhile praying that your organisation will be a just and good steward of the resources they have been entrusted with.  Ask God to guide your leadership to make wise and generous choices that will help to transform society.
  • Practice MBWA during your lunch break.  What is MBWA?  It is different from an MBA (Masters in Business Administration), MBWA stands for 'management by walking around'.  Try to connect with as many people as possible in a sincere and significant way during your free time (remember not to steal time from your employer, so use our time wisely!)  Friendships build trust and allow you to offer care, help and prayer to those in need.  I can bet you there are many people in your sphere of influence who are longing for someone to connect with!
  • In God's Kingdom few things happen in isolation - we were made for community.  So, find likeminded colleagues to pray with during the week.
  • When you have to travel for work pray that God will protect your family and give them patience.  Pray that God will protect you and keep you from any form of sin or temptation, returning you quickly and safely to your loved ones.

 If you have any ideas or inputs to share I would love to hear from you!  How do you make the most of your workday as a  Christian? 

 

Monday
Jun182007

The future of worship... Just realised that I never posted my presentation.

I have been contacted by a few persons to ask for copies of the closing plenary presentation I made on the future of worship. I just realised that I never posted that little talk to my blog.

Here's a reminder about when, where, and what, took place at the Jubilee worship seminar at Alberton.

I was asked to do a workshop on an approach to a theology of worship. You can download the powerpoint slides for that workshop here. The handout for the workshop can be downloaded here. The theological reflection document (used with a clip from the movie 'Yesterday' 1h09 mins to 1h20 mins) can be downloaded here.

I was also asked to do the closing plenary slot for the workshop, it was an incredible honour! However, I was exhausted by the end of the day, and certainly was not on form. Regardless, it went OK (by that I mean, it could have gone better).

This is not intended to be scholarly work. Rather, it was an attempt to think what worship may be for the generation after mine, those young people who are in school now. You can download the text for the closing plenary session here - in some ways I repeated quite a lot of the 'theology of worship' session in this presentation.

I would strongly recommend that you make contact with Rev Barry Marshall for a copy of his opening plenary address. It was an incredible challenge, setting the scene for a remarkable day.

Thanks to Rev Rowan Rogers for arranging the day and taking such good care of us.

Here is the