Here, we share a response and prayer for those impacted by the devastating fires in Los Angeles. Join us in lifting up the first responders, those who have suffered loss, and the community as they navigate this challenging time, praying that God’s grace and provision will be evident in the midst of darkness.

Advent is the season leading up to the birth of Christ. During this season Christians are called to enter a posture of hopeful anticipation as they re-enter the long-expected arrival of the Messiah. This is a season of hope—a season where we experience the power of anticipation. But Advent is not unique to the Christmas season. And hope is not merely a driver for religious people. The truth is, we are all narrative creatures living with desired outcomes (“hopes”) and, whether we see it or not, these hopes are the engines that drive our lives. 

Continue reading as Robert Covolo illustrates why we should reflect on the power of hope this Advent season.

Here, Robert shares a prayer from our recent Reimagining Work event. Join us in prayer over our public servants and the important work they do for the flourishing of our communities.

Labor Day is seen by most Angelinos as the last gasp of summer; a three-day weekend serving as summer’s conclusion—the bookend to Memorial Day’s launch of summer.  It is well known that Memorial Day honors those who died in the armed forces defending our country, but less is known about the significance of Labor Day. Is it a secular holiday—a materialist nod to the role workers play in building the economic prosperity of the United States? Or should we include Labor Day among holidays Christians take note of? 

Read on to hear more as Robert Covolo explores why Christians have good reason to enter Labor Day with celebration. 

Here, Steve shares a prayer for students. As they are being ushered into the new academic year, join us in prayer over them, that while each student's mind is being sharpened, a strong, Christ-centered, foundation will be instilled within them.

I’m just coming out of a very intensive season of work with many overlapping activities and needs. We recently experienced several mountaintop-like signs of God’s goodness and fruitfulness through our work this past year with great encouragement. Included in all this, however, is a sense of exhaustion and burnout. I need to slow way down, reflect, get some deep rest, experience beauty and joy, be with family and friends, and listen well to what God is calling me to in the coming season.

Read on to hear more as Steve Lindsey explores why work-life balance is a myth we mistakenly chase.

Easter is upon us. For many Americans, Easter means little more than bunnies, candy eggs, and Sunday brunch with the family. For those of faith, Easter is a day to dress up for church and celebrate Jesus rising from the dead. In short—for believers and unbelievers alike—Easter is associated with Sunday. But what does Easter tell us about our Monday? In other words, does Easter inform our work life?

Read on to hear more as Robert Covolo explores the picture the Gospel of John is offering us of what it means to live as followers of the risen Christ at our work.

Modern Americans might love “Dirty Jobs,” but the show would have found little traction in the Ancient World. We would find the same “consumer trend” when it came to religion in the ancient world. The gods of the Ancient Near East were noted for their lives of luxury. In stark contrast to these gods is the God of the Bible. Read on to hear more as Robert Covolo explores God’s dirty jobs and the ultimate expression in the birth our Savior.

Earlier this month at Reimagining Work Vol. 11: Biblical Equity at Work, Myesha Reynolds, Founder of Equity Lens Consultants guided attendees through a conversation on understanding equity from a Biblical perspective—specifically in the workplace—and how can we confront misconceptions about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Read on as Myesha shares with us a prayer of encouragement and blessing when navigating this topic in our lives.

My surfing career reached its zenith in graduate school wherein my school schedule afforded surf most days. To top it off, I would celebrate the end of a semester by taking a solo surf trip in my VW camper up the coast. I met a lot of interesting people as I hit various surf spots from LA to Portland. It was on one of these trips while catching some early Sunday waves, I invited a guy I had met to go with me to church. His response was classic, “Nah brah, the ocean is where I worship.” 

In my last blog (see “Working for the Weekend”) I explored work’s relationship to the weekend. There I argued that we were made to embrace both work and rest as those made in the image of the God who works and rests. In passing, the blog touches on the fascinating and rich Biblical concept of the Sabbath. And here in Part II, Robert Covolo concludes his series with this second installment’s sights set on what the Bible teaches about the Sabbath.  

In 1981 the rock band Loverboy immortalized the line “Everybody’s Working for the Weekend.” The line was written by band member Paul Dean. According to Dean, one Wednesday afternoon he noticed the beach was empty and concluded, “Well, I guess they're all waiting for the weekend." It took well over three decades for the band Dirty Heads to respond to Dean’s lyric with their own infamous line, “A-a-ay, I'm on vacation every single day 'cause I love my occupation.” 

Do we work for the weekend? Or do we make our vocation our vacation?

Read on as Robert Covolo begins a two-part series on the sabbath, starting with a personal account of seeking rest in the San Bernardino Mountains.

I grew up in a nominally Catholic home. My family rarely darkened the doors of the church, save Midnight Mass. This singular experience of church stood out in my young mind. Nowhere else did I find myself in an entirely other-worldly space. The architecture, the art, the strange crowd reciting things I didn’t know—it all struck me as odd. But most striking were the priests dressed in their ornate vestments. Who were these ominous people?

What comes to your mind when you think of a priest? Do you conjure up long beards and clerical collars? And what comes to your mind when you think of the work of a priest? Do you picture someone hearing a confession, performing a Mass, or standing before an altar with a sacrifice? For most of us, a priest is an austere individual, and their work is about as different from our own as we can imagine.

But is it? What if I told you that every Christian is a priest? Read on as we dive into how God’s people can learn to reclaim their priestly callings for Monday through Friday.

People often say they are in search of “meaningful work.” But what exactly makes for “meaningful work”? Michaela O’Donnell-Long’s new book, Make Work Matter, suggests that finding “meaningful work” may not be what we thought it was. Here are some great takeaways that CFWLA’s Robert Covolo held onto from her book regarding our elusive search for meaningful work.

The Reformer Martin Luther is well known for his life-changing views on salvation—salvation is a gift to be received, not a work to be achieved. Less known is Luther’s life-changing views on vocation.

To rectify this, Michael Berg’s Vocation: The Setting for Human Flourishing, introduces Luther’s paradigm-shattering views on salvation, vocation, and the relationship between the two.

One of the most fundamental and sweeping claims of the Christian faith is found in the very first words of the Bible: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” It is not hard to see that this claim involving God and everything else is far reaching.

Less obvious is how this sweeping claim relates to something as mundane as work. Thankfully, help has arrived. Bruce Ashford and Craig Bartholomew’s recently released volume, The Doctrine of Creation, is a fresh, in-depth exploration that shows the rich connections between a God who made everything and our everyday work.

After spending some time with Andy Crouch’s book, Playing God: Redeeming the Gift of Power, I found it helpful to reflect on some of Crouch’s lessons in the book and see the overlaps with our daily work. Crouch focuses his work on the heart of power: its inherent goodness, its corrupting nature, and the Christian’s role as an image bearer of God in redeeming and reimagining the way they steward the power they are entrusted.

How does one combat hurry in an age of busy? In Justin Whitmel Earley’s book The Common Rule readers get a glimpse of redeeming “hurry” that invades life—specifically in the way we approach work. Rather than falling into the bootstrap, self-help category, Earley’s work helps open our eyes to the habits, liturgies, and rhythms that are directly and indirectly shaping our lives.

As part of our mission to transform our relationship to work, we desire to pass along recommended resources in the faith and work field when we come across new materials. Below are a few books and podcasts we’ve been listening to lately that we think can encourage you in your day-to-day work.

Alan Noble’s Disruptive Witness has been a hot topic in some evangelical circles. I appreciate the book because it breaks down the complex and often quoted ideas of Charles Taylor into manageable pieces that I can actually understand.

Recently the research firm Barna Group released a massive study on the current state of faith and work integration for Christians. Below we have distilled a few major takeaways from the study as you contextualize this data and apply it in your churches, workplaces, and public squares.

God loves people and humanity’s migration toward densely populated urban areas has been accelerating dramatically the past 20 years. So what can we do to best love God and our neighbor through our cities? Pastors Stephen Um and Justin Buzzard offer some very helpful guidance.

I recently came across a wonderful book by Stephen Um and Justin Buzzard called Why Cities Matter: To God, the Culture, and the Church, which builds off Tim Keller’s Center Church and is helping me see God’s heart and plan for the city.