There has been a lot written recently about the Millennials – those born after about 1982. They have a particular approach to work that really values work/life balance. One company’s survey found 28% of Millennial employees said that the work/life balance was worse than they had expected before joining the company. 71% of the Millennials (vs. 63% of non-Millennials) said that their work demands significantly interfere with their personal lives.

But it’s not just millennials who value this. Across the board, 15% of all male employees and 21% of all female employees say they would give up some of their pay and slow the pace of promotion in exchange for working fewer hours.

That’s one kind of work life balance: having enough time at work and commuting, and enough time at home and rest, whatever that looks like. But what about life values?

One participant who took the Christianity 101 Course (offered live this fall in Whitby – http://bit.ly/13tjqfK for more info) was a telephone debt collector. He said to me, I’m interested in following Jesus, but my job is to call and harass people who haven’t paid, and I sometimes feel just awful, but need the work. Can I be a Christian and do this job?

This is not an uncommon dilemma in any industry: in business, real estate, social work, contracting, and more people have their days when they wonder if they are compromising an important part of who they are in order to work. Is there a better way – is there better work?

This week, we’ll look at good work as work that isn’t just balanced in terms of time and effort, but in terms of your values. What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus at work?

Question: Is your work ever in conflict with your values? Share that story with someone.

Ryan Sim - May 8, 2014

Thursday - Act On It - Pioneer Story

Pioneer Story

My wife and I sometimes reminisce about our university days, a time in our life we both had closeknit groups of friends, all living close to one another, all dedicated to some common academic pursuits. With so much more going on in our lives now, and living in so many places, we’ve maintained those friendships but not with the intensity of those early years. Those are some of the same characteristics of the early Christians we’ve been studying this week, who spent time living in close proximity, united, but for a very different purpose: praying to begin their work of expanding the kingdom of God. These were the early days, with the intensity and fervour that people are still talking about, and trying to replicate today. Every church community today is meant to be patterned after this one, and that’s why we’ll explore this in detail over the next few months. Not to say every aspect is to be copied…some things were simply cultural, or circumstantial. We have to differentiate those from the eternal aspects. I think the first thing for us to consider is their dedication to prayer. I know this is always a challenge for me – to be dedicated, and fervent in prayer like these first Christians were. Yet I know that prayer always precedes any great move of God. As we prepare for our community to take some big steps this fall, and start to meet together as this biblical community did, our small groups and individuals need to pay attention to prayer. Challenge: Pray with your group for this upcoming series. Pray that God will unite you through common experiences, and send you out in mission to include others and help them follow Jesus too. See you tomorrow, when we’ll spend some more time in prayer. See you then.

Related Topics: Church, Early Church, Pioneer | More Messages from Ryan Sim | Download Audio

From Series: "Pioneer Story"

We read through the Book of Acts as a Pioneer Story for the church.

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