Keller's Every Good Endeavor - Chapter 7 - Work Becomes Selfish

I'll be facilitating a discussion on chapter seven (pages 113-128) of Keller's Work Thursday evening. Here are some questions I've pulled together for discussion.

One of the reasons work is both fruitless and pointless is the powerful inclination of the human heart to make work, and its attendant benefits, the main basis of one's meaning and identity. [113]

1. Keller opens the chapter with a focus on Genesis 11 (Tower of Babel), stating that we "make a name for ourselves" with our work both individually and as groups. When it comes to making a name for yourself, where do you turn? Individually or a group? What role(s) or group(s)?
     
2. Keller then moves to Esther, talking about the "power of the palace" and the compromises that often come with palace residence [118]. Did any of those stories resonate? Are there examples you can share in which you need to navigate "gray areas"?
      
3. How do you get a new name based on something other than the palace? [123]
    

Keller's Every Good Endeavor - Chapter 6 - Work Becomes Pointless

I'll be facilitating a discussion on chapter six (pages 98-112) of Keller's Work Thursday evening. Here are some questions I've pulled together for discussion.

1. The chapter is largely based on the Old Testament Book of Ecclesiastes, starting with a reference to Ecclesiastes 2:17, "So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind." When do you find your work most meaningless? When do you find your work most meaningful?
      
2. Keller says, "One of the reasons so many people find work to be unsatisfying is, ironically, that people today have more power to choose their line of work than did people in the past." Do you agree, disagree, why? What are important lessons learned from your choices?
       
3. Keller closes the chapter with another reference to Ecclesiastes (4:5,6):
   
   "Fools fold their hands
       and ruin themselves.
    Better one handful with tranquility
       than two handfuls with toil
       and chasing after the wind."
   
   What are some useful strategies to attain what many people today refer to as work/life balance?
   
    

Redefining Work Panel Discussion

This panel discussion on redefining work is a lot like the discussions several of us have been having around the book Every Good Endeavor... except in our groups I'm the "theologian" and in this one Tim Keller is the theologian. So... I guess this discussion might be a bit more rich :-)

Not Just Wheat and Grapes

I was talking with my friend Merlin a few weeks ago when he said something along the lines of, “I think it is significant that when Jesus instituted Communion, he used bread and wine; it requires a great deal of skillful work to make bread and wine.” I’ve been thinking about that ever since, and I think Merlin is right; there is something really significant there.

I suppose Jesus could have chosen wheat and grapes, or maybe even something found in the wild. He could have made his point without any objects at all, or He could have miraculously produced the bread and wine Himself, like He had with other miracles in other circumstances before. But Jesus picked up the bread and the wine from the table that was prepared before Him, the work of the hands of others.

While this certainly isn’t the main point of Communion, I’m glad that Jesus ordained this rich practice of the Gospel with these objects produced by human hands. In doing so, Jesus made a profound statement about the dignity of our work. 

Apart from the miraculous, I doubt Jesus could make bread or wine. He could probably apply the skills of a carpenter when needed, but the skills of a winemaker or baker were outside of His experience. In order for this Holy moment to take place, Jesus had to rely on the skill and labor of others. Skilled farmers had to produce the wheat and the grapes. Others had to prepare the raw ingredients, skillfully storing them and perhaps transporting them. And yet others had to apply the crafts they had learned, likely passed down through generations and practiced for years before perfected. Countless skilled hands, and hours of labor, were represented as Jesus took the bread and the cup in His hands. The work of hands like ours, then in the hands of Jesus, all present as Jesus taught His Disciples, as well as us followers through the ages, the glorious Gospel.  

And so it continues today. While I believe there is still room for the spectacularly miraculous, Jesus usually operates the same way, picking up the result of our work from the table prepared before Him. He takes it into His hands, and puts it into the work of the Gospel. We ought to consider all of our work like this. Whatever it is we work at, we should think of it as something that will ultimately be placed in the hands of Jesus for His good purpose.

Keller on Redefining Work

Tim Keller recently led a post conference that followed The Gospel Coalition conference. Here is his opening talk that wonderfully summarizes his work in Every Good Endeavor.



Other media from both the conference and the post conference is available here.

Keller's Every Good Endeavor - Chapter 5 - Work Becomes Fruitless

I'll be facilitating a discussion on chapter five (pages 83-97) of Keller's work Monday evening. Here are some questions I've pulled together for discussion.

1. Keller begins with a look of Genesis 3 and the impact of sin (under the subhead "Things Fall Apart"). Share some specific, recent examples from work about how things fall apart.
    
2. On page 95, Keller begins to sum up the chapter with this: "That is why so many people inhabit the extremes of idealism and cynicism -- or even ricochet back and forth between those poles." Do you sense the same extremes in those around you? Do you occupy one of those poles? Or ricochet between those poles?
    
3. How do we respond when work appears to be fruitless?

Keller's Every Good Endeavor - Chapter 4 - Work as Service

I'll be facilitating a discussion on chapter four (pages 64-80) of Keller's work Monday evening. Here are some questions I've pulled together for discussion.

1. The Apostle Paul wrote: "Nevertheless, each person should live as a believer in whatever situation the Lord has assigned to them, just as God has called them. This is the rule I lay down in all the churches." (1 Cor 7:17)  Have you ever felt like a new or renewed commitment to faith required a vocational change? What instigated the urge to change and how did it turn out?
    
2. Keller quotes Martin Luther [69]: "It is pure invention that Pope, bishops, priests, and monks are called the "spiritual estate" while princes, lords, artisans, and farmers are called the "temporal estate." This is indeed a piece of deceit and hypocrisy. Yet no one need be intimidated by it, and that for this reason: All Christians are truly of the spiritual estate, and there is no difference among them except that of office..." Do you believe that there is no difference in calling, no difference between ordained and laity, sacred and secular, etc.? How have your views changed over the years?
    
3. How does your understanding of God's grace shape your understanding of your work? How about the work of others?