Endeavour: secular idols

Nietzsche was mainly looking at modern cultures, but he observed that all cultures - even self-styled 'secular' ones - promote moral absolutes and transcendent values to which (they said) all people must conform if they are to have worth or meaning.  These cultural ideals are truly idols in the biblical sense;  they are not commended as simply good ideas.  Rather, they are treated as holy and unassailable, and promoted with religious fervour and passion.  They are said to bestow happiness and fulfilment (earthly forms of salvation).  All people are obliged to serve these ideals, and those who despise them are themselves to be rejected.  So while ancient cultures ostracised anyone who disbelieved in the gods, modern culture castigates anyone who is thought guilty of bigotry or appears to be an enemy of equality and individual freedom.

...Christians seeking to work faithfully and well must discern the shape of the idols functioning in their professions and industries so as to both affirm the beneficial aspects and offset the excesses ad distortions.

...Endeavour... p137

Endeavour: God using diversity of jobs

Ray Bakke...points out that God shows the diversity of people he uses by giving us three different books in the Bible describing how he restores the nation of Israel back to its homeland.  First, the book of Ezra is about a minister, a teacher of the word.  The Jews needed to be a reacquainted with the Bible so their lives could be shaped by what God said.  Second, the book of Nehemiah is about an urban planner and developer who used his management skills to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem and reinstate stability so that economic and civic life could begin to flourish again.  Last, the book of Esther is about a woman with power in the civil government working against racial injustice.  Here you have male and female, lay and clergy.  You have people working for spiritual maturity, economic flourishing, and better public policy, in cultures that defined and valued these ideas differently from the Jews. And God is using them all.

...Endeavour...p120.

Endeavour: all options can be heroism or shmuckdom

Many of those students seem to have a blinkered view of their options.  There's crass but affluent investment banking.  There's the poor but noble nonprofit world.  And then there is the world of high-tech start-ups, which magically provides money and coolness simultaneously.  But there was little interest in or awareness of the ministry, the military, the academy, government service or the zillion other sectors.  Furthermore, few students showed any interest in working for a company that actually makes products...

[C]ommunity service has become a patch for morality.  Many people today have not been given vocabularies to talk about what virtue is, what character consists of, and in what way excellence lies, so they just talk about community service...In whatever field you go into, you will face greed, frustration and failure.  You may find your life challenged by depression, alcoholism, infidelity, your own stupidity and self-indulgence...Furthermore...[a]round what ultimate purpose should your life revolve? Are you capable of heroic self-sacrifice or is life just a series of achievement hoops?  ... You can devote your life to community service and be a total schmuck. You can spend your life on Wall Street and be a hero. Understanding heroism and shmuckdom requires fewer Excel spreadsheets, more Dostoyevsky and the Book of Job.

David Brooks, quoted in ...Endeavour..., p107

we know the end of the space programme

My 5-year-old son is a space buff. Consequently, we have done a lot of reading with him about the U.S. space program. His favorite mission is Apollo 11, the first to land on the moon. My husband recently found himself wishing he could have been on that incredible mission. Then he realized how little he would have actually enjoyed it, because of the sheer terror of not knowing whether he'd get back to earth safely. He imagined it—being confined inside a tiny metal box, hundreds of thousands of miles away from his home planet, while any one of a million things could have gone wrong and killed him instantly—and concluded that his fear would have overshadowed any real appreciation of the adventure. The story of Apollo 11 seems nothing but glorious now, but that is only because we know how it ended. I suspect that Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins, and the late Neil Armstrong would have given anything to relive their mission with the knowledge that they would come home safely.

Jesus wants us to know the ending of our story. Otherwise, the terror of the unknown would distract us from living life to the fullest. Because we are united to Christ, when we look at him, we see the end of our story. We do get to come home safely. That changes our experience of this "mission" that is our lives. We can live them joyfully, as adventure stories and not tragedies in the making.

May we rest in the security of our union with Christ. We are tethered—to a strong character, to a settled plot—and will not disappear into deep space. Let us embrace our unpredictable seasons of life as those who are confident in the quality of the plot, committed to character development, and enjoying our relationship with the protagonist. Christ in us is "the hope of glory." And hope does not disappoint us (Rom. 5:5).

Sarah Lebhar Hall

Endeavour: frustration and vocation

Just because you cannot realise your highest aspirations in work does not mean you have chosen wrongly, or are not called to your profession, or that you should spend your life looking for the perfect career that is devoid of frustration.  That would be a fruitless search for anyone.  You should expect to be regularly frustrated  in your work even though you may be in exactly the right vocation.

Endeavour...p94

Endeavour: interconnectedness (paycheque)

[Our] paycheck turns out to buy us the use of far more than we could possibly make for ourselves in the time it takes to earn the check...Work...yields far more in return upon our efforts than our particular jobs put in...

Lester DeKoster, quoted ,,,Endeavour..., p76

Endeavour: why we're not better

This means, ironically, that Christians who understand biblical doctrine ought to be the ones who appreciate the work of non-Christians the most.  We know we are saved by grace alone, and therefore we are not better fathers or mothers, better artists and businesspersons, than those who do not believe as we do.  Our gospel-trained eyes can see the world ablaze with the glory of God's work through the people he has created and called - in everything from the simplest actions, such as milking a cow, to the most brilliant artistic or hisotric achievements.

Keller, ...Endeavour..., p74

Endeavour: choosing work

Christians should be aware of this revolutionary understanding of the purpose of their work in the world.  We are not to choose jobs and conduct our work to fulfil ourselves and accrue power, for to be called by God to do something is empowering enough.  We are to work as a way of service to God and our neighbour, and so we should both choose and conduct our work in accordance with that purpose.  The question regarding our choice of work is no longer "what will make me the most money and give me the most status?"  the question must be "how, with my existing abilities and opportunities, can I be of greatest service to other people, knowing what I do of God's will and of human need?"

Keller, ...Endeavour....p67


NB I like this quote, but it does suggest to me an observation about the book - which is it doesn't perhaps say so much about work as a means simply of providing for oneself/family;  and (though I think he mentions this somewhere) the freedom to choose one's employment depends also on one's geographical and social position.  Maybe. (great book though).

Endeavour: God and knowledge jobs

The current economic era has given us fresh impulses and new ways to stigmatise work such as farming and caring for children - jobs that supposedly are not "knowledge" jobs and therefore do not pay very well.  But in Genesis we see God as a gardener, and in the New Testament we see him as a carpenter.  No task is too small a vessel to hold the immense dignity of work given by God.

Keller, ...Endeavour..., p49

Keller - Endeavour: leisure

...Pieper argues that leisure is not the mere absence of work, but an attitude of mind or soul in which you are able to contemplate and enjoy things as they are in themselves, without regard to their value or immediate utility.

Timothy Keller, Every Good Endeavour, p41

Mumford: discipleship

The goal of discipleship is not education; it is capturing the heart with a deeper love for Jesus and a desire for His glory. Most Christians, if they are well taught, know how to be a disciple. The battle lies with the will and motivation – this is what the Bible calls ‘the heart’. Proverbs 4: 23 advises us, ‘Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.’

Kay Mumford. The Missing Generation (Kindle Locations 577-580). 10 Of Those.

Tissington: adrenalin lens

Mental attitude is like a lens to adrenaline. Optimism can focus the effects of adrenaline and produce intense energy and power. So...
Adrenaline + Optimism + Action = Courage and Strength
Adrenalin + Pessimism + Inaction = Fear and Lack of Resolve

Dr Patrick Tissington, quoted Fiennes,  My Heroes, p274

Quick review: My Heroes

by Ranulph Fiennes

It might better be titled " My list of harrowing things," as to a large degree his heroes all come from periods of atrocity (apart from mountain climbers and polar explorers who, from my perspective, don't seem quite so heroic when placed next to those who had no choice in nazi Germany or Rwanda etc).

Often brutal, it's not a bed-time book.  And my lasting impression is more on the awfulness than the heroes.  But there are stories here that make you wonder what you're complaining about in ordinary life.

One interesting facet he never comments on is that many of the heroes are religious - ranging from a passing reference about a Navy SEAL to the obvious and integral nature of Christianity to Gladys Aylward.  It would be interesting to know if he noticed this too, and what his conclusions are....

Quick Review: Midwinter

by John Buchan

In short:  an adventure set during the attempt of Charles to regain the throne in the 1740s.  We never meet him, and instead focus on the exploits of a man in his service - which largely involves haring around on horseback being double-crossed.  What is interesting is the character of Midwinter himself, of whom one is left to a large extent in mystery and longing for more information on his "old England" network.

Not Buchan's greatest, in my opinion, but a cosy way to spend a few winter's nights.

Keller: renewal/revival

On a personal or local church level, yes, I see evidence of renewal. Thankfully, there are always pockets of the world in which the Spirit at work. But in terms of an expansive movement where the church is growing at a faster rate than the population, I am unaware of such a movement today, at least in North America or Europe. Years ago, I read a volume of sermons on the New York revival of 1857-59, where 80,000 people joined the church during those years (ten percent of the 800,000 people living in the city). That is an example of gospel renewal. And while we may not observe it at present, we maintain that miracles from the past instill hope for the future, where good seed penetrates hard soil and dry places wait in expectation for a coming deluge.

Christianity Today

Everyone is (spiritually) different...

If we really want to help someone flourish, we have to help them in a way that fits their uniqueness.

Our great model for this is God himself, for he always knows just what each person needs.

He had Abraham take a walk,
Elijah take a nap,
Joshua take a lap,
Adam take the rap.

He gave Moses a 40-year timeout,
He gave David a harp and a dance,
He gave Paul a pen and a scroll.

He wrestled with Jacob,
argued with Job,
whispered to Elijah,
warned Cain,
and comforted Hagar.

He gave Aaron an altar,
Miriam a song,
Gideon a fleece,
Peter a name,
and Elisha a mantle.

Jesus was stern with the rich young ruler,
tender with the woman caught in adultery,
patient with the disciples,
blistering with the scribes,
gentle with the children,
and gracious with the thief on the cross.

God never grows two people the exact same way. God is a hand-crafter, not a mass-producer.

The problem many people face when it comes to spiritual growth is that they listen to someone they think of as the expert—maybe an author or radio personality—talk about what he does and they think that's what they're supposed to do. When it doesn't work for them (because they are a different person!) they feel guilty and inadequate, and often give up.

God has a plan for the me he wants me to be. It will not look exactly like his plan for anyone else, which means it will take freedom and exploration for you to learn how God wants to grow you. Spiritual growth is hand-crafted, not mass-produced. God does not do "one-size-fits-all."

John Ortberg, Leadership

Cymbala: weakness

That evening, when I was at my lowest, confounded by obstacles, bewildered by the darkness that surrounded us, unable to continue preaching, I discovered an astonishing truth: God is attracted to weakness.  He can't resist those who humbly and honestly admit how desperately they need him.  Our weakness, in fat, makes room for his power.

Jim Cymbala, Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire, p19

Just me and Him

Sometimes I wake up before dawn, and I love sitting up in the middle of the bed with all the lights off, pitch-black dark, and talking to the Father, with no interruptions and nothing that reminds me that there's anything in life but me and him.

Charles Stanley, CT

Quick-review: Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow

...by Peter Hoeg

I finally decided I would read a 'modern classic' no matter what.  So often I give up, because what actually transpires to be actually fairly ordinary is also laced with language and themes which I, as a benighted traditionalist, can't be bothered with (and such things generally have nothing to do with the story).  But this time I decided to finish it whatever....

Well, on the positive side he is a great writer: even in translation from the Danish, it's good prose.

Otherwise...it's, well, modern.  A very bleak book.  No one is happy (not for long anyway), pretty much most everything goes wrong, and most people have some kind of secret. The plot proves intricate as the reality of what has been happening is unfolded, but to be fair you could probably say that about Dan Brown - the gradual revealing of the big picture and who's connected to who isn't that unique I guess.  In that sense what sets it apart from Brownian stuff is the prose and the reflections on life and ice (there's a lot of ice).  But does it have a proper ending?  Not really;  and one can have enough of 'realistic' books that leave lots unresolved.  On top of this is the mandatory language issue - and the bizarre obsession with (often odd) sexual details which have absolutely nothing to do with the story.  But presumably prove you're a grown-up writer?

And though this is difficult to establish given I knew the writer was male:  to be honest I think you could tell Miss Smilla was being written by a bloke...

Sanders: strong leaders

The church has always prospered most when it has been blessed with strong and spiritual leaders who expected and experienced the supernatural in their service.

Spiritual Leadership, p17