20/20: A look and God and Us At Work

You just have to try this at your church! Our Faith and Work Ministry did some focus groups and found that people want to hear from their fellow church attendees about what they do Monday to Friday. Sure, seminars about leadership and life balance are cool, but what about the stories of real life people doing their faith and work thing?

So we created 20/20. Presenters got to talk with 20 slides that rotated automatically every 20 seconds. A tall order, I know. But people did really well. Of course, I’m the one that got lost on where I was! 

The goal was to have people talk about their work and make a faith and work connection in some way. We turned it into a Friday evening social event co-hosted by our church hospitality team. We put mood lighting around the room and hip music in the background. Nothing about this night felt like a learning opportunity, but oh was it ever. People are already asking when we are having the next event; some are even volunteering to speak at the next one (now that they know what the heck we meant by 20/20).

So here they are. Harbor’s first 20/20 speakers. We had to leave one speaker off the internet because his work is top secret. But I’ll just testify that turning algae into gasoline will be a restorative force someday in the not too distant future.

Phil Clark – Industrial Hygiene: Bovine Dentistry or Protecting the Workforce

Gracie Stanton – Find Your Expression at Maranatha Christian Schools

Michele Corbett – A Storm Trooper Finds Love

Nate Clark – Explorer of the Recently Available

If you do this at your church, you could give prompts to your presenters like:

a. Tell us about an exciting project you are doing at work (How does this work reflect the image of God?)

b. Describe a struggle you have at work (How does your faith inform the issue?)

c. What do you love most about your job? (What are the opportunities to be transformational in your work?)

d. What is going on in your industry right now? (What would your industry look like if the Kingdom took hold of it?)

e. How did you get into the job you have? (Are you able to use your gifts and passions in your job?)

f.   How does your job connect to caring for and maintaining the earth? (How could you engage in issues of mercy and justice through your work?)

g. How is the economy affecting your workplace? (Where are the opportunities for you to love the people right in front of you?)

Enjoy. And let me know if you have any questions about pulling one of these events off at your church.