Christian Faculty and Staff Fellowship meets October 9

 Christian Faculty and Staff Network gathering on 10/9 - Why can work seem pointless? 

Come to the Christian Faculty and Staff Network lunch gathering on Wednesday, October 9, at 11:45 AM (done by 12:45 PM). We meet at the Baptist Campus Ministries building (University Boulevard and 4th Avenue). 

More:

• It's the best meal deal in town: You can get lunch there for $1 thanks to the generosity of local churches. Don't forget to thank the church workers for what they do for the students. The first meal of the term is special, so you won't want to miss it.
• Our book for the term is Tim Keller's Every Good Endeavor: Connecting Your Work to God's Work. Here's a summary from the Amazon page: "With deep conviction and often surprising advice, Keller shows readers that biblical wisdom is immensely relevant to our questions about work today. In fact, the Christian view of work that we work to serve others, not ourselves can provide the foundation of a thriving professional and balanced personal life."
• You're welcome to facilitate one of our meetings as well. I pass around a sign-up sheet and invite all to participate. Some things you might want to do:
• Facilitate the discussion of the current chapter of the book we're going through. That involves asking questions and inviting responses.
• Giving a discipline talk about what you're doing in your area. It's a chance to get to know you and what you're doing at UA.
• Bring in a guest speaker (we can also dial up someone on speakerphone).
• Invite your pastor or college minister to chat about college students in your church.
• Etc. That's a catch-all in case you have a great idea about something else for our lunch gathering. 

We'll discuss Chapter 6, "Work Becomes Pointless." Even if we're successful and have achieved our dreams, we still may not find satisfaction in our work. The chapter suggests we tend to seek meaning along three paths:

• Learning (knowledge, expertise)
• Experiences (pleasure, adventure)
• Achievement (work, career) 

Speaking of having meaning, I found this short video of Dr. Melba Maggay, a highly regarded theologian from the Philippines. In the video, she discussed the People Power revolution in the Philippines that toppled Ferdinand Marcos. She described how evangelical Christians assessed that situation through the lens of the Bible. The analysis could be relevant to how we think about the workplace in light of the book's current chapters about our problems at work (fruitlessness, pointlessness, selfishness, idolatry). Her approach:

• Is the workplace analogous to Romans 13 (serving the people) or is it a workplace analogous to Revelation 13 institution (oppressing the people)?
• Christianity can create change softly. Using that analysis, how can Christians then act to redeem the workplace? 

On 10/9 back in:

• 1635. Roger Williams was banished by Massachusetts for his religious views. Later he founded Rhode Island.
• 1776 Spanish missionaries dedicated the 1st mission chapel at Yerba Buena in California. Today, we know that place as San Francisco.