A measure of divine Glory

If you’ve been following along and read the The Image of God in Man post, or have been able to attended the Maximizers meetings, you may remember that we identified the Image of God by four primary distinctions:

• Our manifestation of His attributes
• Our ruling as His regents
• Our ability to relate to him and others
• Our investment with glory from Him, by Him, and for believers, to Him

God invests man with a measure of divine Glory

• Glory in the “likeness” of God – Ezekiel 1:26-27
• What is man that you are mindful of him? – Psalm 8:4
• 1 Cor 11:7; 2 Cor 3:18

Considerations of the Glory of God

• It is universal
  • People of all races, ethnic groups, nationalities, etc. are made in the image of God
  • With regard to the image of God, there is no gender difference
  • Mental and physical ability has no bearing on “imageness”
  •  The Image of God is essential to man, it is not something that can be lost
  • What does this universality mean in the workplace?
    • Equal respect of mankind regardless of ability or appearance
    • Prejudice and glass ceilings have no place
    • Form and Function
      • We are all the same FORM, being made in His image (who we are)
        • This is how Jesus can tell us to love everyone
  • We are all different in FUNCTION(what we do)
    • We do different things, have different levels of contribution
• We mess it up when we confuse (rather than correlate) form and function; when we assign value to people by their function rather than their form

Where do we see the Image of God most clearly?

• In Jesus Christ
  • Wholly directed toward the Father (John 4:34)
  • Wholly directed toward others (John 15:13, Mark 10:45)
  • Ruled over nature (Acts 2:22)
  • Mirrors the three-fold relationship in Gen 1:26-28

How do we accommodate these three axis of relationships in the workplace?

• When we work for someone, we should be stewards of what the employer has given us – and remain wholly directed toward the Father
• If the direction of the company is distressing, you have the ability to speak out in concern while still understanding that we are subject to authority (Colossians 3:22 and 1 Peter 2:13)
• If you are talking out of turn because you cannot align with the direction of the company, then you should move on

Related Posts:

The Image of God in Man

A great master of disguise: greed

Last week, we spent some time talking about a great master of disguise: Greed.

Greed is a funny topic, and somewhat emotionally and politically charged as of late. But, if we set aside our leanings for a minute and look at how greed is defined:

greed

noun: excessive or rapacious desire, especially for wealth or possessions.

What kinds of greed do we see today? As a group, we called out examples such as:

• Monetary gain: WIIFM (what’s in it for me?)
• Get rich quick approach/mentality
• Stepping on others to get ahead
• Market share/monopolize by driving competition out of business
• Squandering of resources

Are any of these examples familiar in your world?

Ever feel guilted into giving?

Why is that we do not make giving decisions in the same way we make spending decisions?

We justify spending for tangible things, even stretch and rearrange our finances to obtain the new car or appliance. But, when it comes to giving, we justify the reasons to hold on to what we have or give just a little.

Why do we do this?

As Christians, do you ever feel guilted into giving to the building campaign or the missions fund? Do you give out of guilt instead of joy?

How do you get your heart engaged so that you are giving out of joy?

Where your treasure goes, you heart follows

Our heart is in the right place – we want to do it right. In fact, if there was a magic prayer to recite that would help us all bypass greed, we’d all recite it, and then we’d call our wives and our friends and have them do that same!

“Watch out – be on your guard against all kinds of greed… a man’s life does not exist on the abundance of his possessions.” – Luke 12:15

If you’re looking at the definition of greed and trying to figure out how to identify it, look no further than your own heart:

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” – Matt 6:19-21 (NIV)

Ask yourself, not out of guilt, but out of awareness – where is your heart?

 

The Image of God in Man

Over the past few weeks, we’ve continued to explore the concept of a Theology of Work with David Dickinson. Recently, we discussed the Image of God in Man; both before and after the fall. Having been created in God’s image, Adam and Eve had relationship with God while in their perfect form.

Even after the sin of man and the wrath of the Great Flood, we remained in God’s image, yet somewhat separated from him because of sin.

The Four Main Ways

As we look at the four main ways that we can see the image of God in man, there are some definitions, and there some questions.

The questions for each section are intentionally left open-ended, as they were group discussions in the Maximizer’s meeting.

Try to reflect on how you might answer or have an understanding for each one.

You are invited to post your thoughts in the comments section at the bottom.

In Attributes

By our attributes, we mirror the image of God. In this likeness, we have our emotional, mental, and physical capacity. No other creature has all of these attributes at the same level as ours as humans. Believe it or not, there are few direct references or explanation of this in the Old Testament.

If the image of God is reflected in these capacities, what does it mean for us in the workplace? And, is someone with less ability or attribute, are they then any less of the image of God?

In Regency

From the garden, man was given ‘dominion’over the Earth. In regency, ruling in a foreign land on behalf of a King, we can also see the image of God in man.

What does it mean for us in the workplace if it is our role to have ‘dominion’ and to ‘subdue’ the Earth? What does it mean for us in our personal and social relationships?

In Relationship

All living creatures have some form of relationship or companionship with their fellow beings. But where we are like God in relationship is that we can have relationship with each other, and we can have relationship with Him.

What does it mean for us in the workplace if we are unique in our relational ability? What about in other areas of our lives?

In Glory

As a group, we have yet to discuss this way in which you can see the image of God in man. On Friday 2/17, we will cover this final section.

Join us on Friday morning (if you’re in the Michiana area, click here), or subscribe to our posts to stay engaged as we continue our journey through these topics.

Seek the Welfare of the City

Last Friday at Maximizer’s, we were joined by guest speaker Edgar Cabello, Senior Pastor at Southgate Church. Edgar shared his vision as expressed by the local church, and told his own story of impacting the community for the Kingdom.

Edgar sums it up very simply with one specific verse found in Jeremiah:

“… seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” – Jeremiah 29:7

At Southgate, they have done just that with one specific area of ministry: their partnership with The Crossing Educational Center. The Crossing works with at-risk, drop-out teens. It’s more than just a GED track program.

These are kids that have nothing else – no future – no support system – no family pushing them forward – and sometimes, no real home.

Watch the video here.

Southgate, being large in footprint, had extra space in their facilities. Edgar and his staff “wanted to have a church that does things that matter to the community.” Church often does things that matter to the church… or to the church people. For better or worse, it’s easy for churches to seclude themselves, even when unintentional.

The church was able to lend its unused space and give The Crossing its own permanent home. Every day, these kids are not only learning the necessary scholastics, they are also exposed to the Gospel.

They are experiencing opportunities to serve and even work in their community. Through a partnership with a local tree trimming business, they are learning how to budget for tools and other equipment.

If you ask Edgar what makes this ministry so successful, he will say that being faith-based is the key. Anyone can fund and teach a GED program – but this is more. This is real impact. This is changing lives.

“The role of the church is motion. If we do what Jeremiah wrote to the people, we will make an impact like never before. Don’t look for an escape hatch. Let’s engage wherever we are. The world is desperate for us.” – Edgar Cabello

Our responsibility as Christians in the workplace and in the community is to make it a better place to live.

We are called to seek the welfare of the city.

What exactly is a… Theology of Work?

So what is a “theology of work?” First, theology is derived from the Greek theos for “God” and logos for “word.” Theology proper is the study of God Himself, but more broadly, according to Thomas Aquinas, “Theology is taught by God, teaches of God, and leads to God.”

Defining “work” is a little more difficult. In one sense everything we do is work of some sort if we define it as “any effort directed toward a goal or end.” It is more than just work we are paid for.

First, we all have a theology of work, or at least a philosophy of work, already. We make decisions, act, reflect, and guide our work using a grid of values that is derived from a variety of sources.

Second, what that theology work is matters to God, since he tells us that “whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God,” (1 Cor. 10:31) and that “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him . . . work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” (Col 3:17, 23-24)

So the question is not whether we all have a Theology of Work, the question is whether it is a good one. That is what we’ll be exploring.  Join us this Friday morning!

*Excepts taken from One Theology of Work blog.

Let’s get it started!

We were snowed in last week. Many of you held the Pray for a city as a city from your couches or dining room tables.

Now it’s time to get it started. On Friday 1/20, we’re getting into the Theology of Work with David Dickson.

We’ve been talking around this topic for some time – now we’re diving in head first.

Here’s what the schedule looks like for the next few weeks:

Michiana Maximizers: To avoid confusion, we’re going to follow PHM Schools for weather closures. If they are closed due to inclement weather, we will be canceled.

 

 

Digging Out!

By now you’re probably looking out the window and calculating the time it’s going to take to dig yourself out of your drive way.  To promote safety and allow appropriate time for snow removal, we are CANCELING today’s meeting.

As you may remember, today was scheduled to be our day of prayer as we kick off this new season.  We encourage you to spend time this morning and over the next week praying for our city, our leaders, our churches, our neighbors and co-workers, each other, and of course – this group.

Starting Friday 1/20, we’re going in deep with the Theology of Work.  See you there!

 

Time to get Series-ous

If you read our prior post, you’re may remember that we are setting aside intentional time to pray for our city as a city. Anyone and everyone is invited to join – doesn’t matter how you pray, what church you attend, or what denomination you claim.

Starting this week, we are diving deep into the Theology of Work:

 

 

 

 

 

Join us Friday mornings at 6:30 am.

We’ll keep the coffee warm!

When is the last time we prayed as a city for our city?

When is the last time we prayed as a city for our city?

Maximizers has been on break for the holidays. We’re going to regroup next Friday, January 13th.

For those who attended any Maximizers session during the fall, you knew to expect a select moderator who shared their version and vision of personal leadership concepts. We broke out into small groups to discuss the application and challenges of these concepts in our daily lives, and then took on the challenge to go out into our worlds and insert the practice and principles into our daily routines. It’s like the Andy Stanley quote that Matt Meyer shared with us during one of the sessions: “… like paint in a can; its value is in the application.”

Starting next week, we’re going to change things up a little and dive deeper into purpose within our work. Back in December, we started chewing on a concept called the Theology of Work with David Dickinson. The more we chewed, it became clear that this is EXACTLY why we exist. Over this next session, we’re going to explore this further through several series.

Check back often for the schedule of topics. This is definitely something you’ll want to explore with us.

In the meantime, next Friday is the kick-off. What better and more purposeful thing to do than to pray for the season ahead? There’s so much going on in our communities, our country, and our world – when is the last time we prayed as a city for our city?

Where will you leave your mark?

We wanted to share the sample design we’re working on for the postcard handouts and digital invite cards. Thanks to our friend Brittany Riblet for putting the concept to paper.

What do you think?

2012 is upon us, and the question we’re asking ourselves as we look ahead is: Where are we going to leave our mark?

How will we make our communities and workplaces better through our interactions and actions?

One of the things we’ll be working on over the next few months is the Theology of Work with David Dickinson. We’ll plug in an learn to be effective and God-honoring with our every day efforts.

Still think you need a big title to make a big ‘belly flop’impact? Join us Friday mornings at 6:15am, or follow this blog.  Click here for directions.