Date of Award
4-2022
Document Type
Project Portfolio
Degree Name
Doctor of Leadership in Global Perspectives (DLd)
Department
Seminary
First Advisor
Pablo Morales, DMin
Second Advisor
Julie Dodge, DMin
Third Advisor
Jason Clark, DMin, PhD
Abstract
My NPO looks at how the dichotomy of secular and sacred hinders North American Christians from embracing work as ministry. It was apparent that the dichotomy of secular and sacred was deeply engrained in each participant. They had a difficult time maneuvering around it during the NPO process. Christians look to the church to assist with the integration of one’s faith into their secular vocations. It clear that the local church doesn’t routinely discuss ways to bridge the dichotomy of the “sacred versus secular” gap.
I currently serve as an adjunct professor at Clearwater Bible College in Canada, while pastoring a small church and working as a real estate agent in the Seattle area. After teaching a course on the theology of vocation and serving as a pastor, I have observed that the widely accepted dichotomy between sacred and secular has hindered many Christians from embracing their jobs as expressions of their service to God.
My project is a book entitled Work: Does it Matter to God? This book introduces the reader to a theology of vocation through the framework of kingdom theology and the lordship of Jesus Christ. The book is divided into three sections. Section one looks at what kingdom work is and why it is important. Section two unfolds how Christians are created, redeemed, and gifted for kingdom work. Section three looks at the reality of being a kingdom worker in a secular culture. The book is designed to help equip undergraduate students at Clearwater Bible College to equip them to build bridges between faith and work. Many of these students come from a rural setting in Canada and are homeschooled. The majority of the students will engage in careers in the marketplace. A small percentage of them will become bi-vocational pastors of rural churches.
Recommended Citation
Reich, Gregory, "Work: Does it Matter to God?" (2022). Doctor of Leadership. 3.
https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/dld/3