TrueWorks: Recent Episodes
TrueWorks
TrueWorks exists to help you understand how the gospel can transform your life, vocation, and community. We live in disenchanted time where meaning and value have been eliminated from our outlook on life and work. TrueWorks aims to reenchant your work--indeed, your larger life--by looking to God's creative and redemptive purpose and applying it to communal, professional, familial, and individual spheres. Join us to start your journey!
In this episode Joshua and Doug introduce the Faith & Work Intensive podcast and course hosted throughout the city in Houston, TX. They discuss expectations in the course, the content, some of their background, and what is to come later in the season.
On this episode we walked through some of the ideas presented in James K. A. Smith's book "You Are What You Love" regarding our desires and shifting to desiring the Kingdom by building habits and pivoting our mindset ultimately to desire the things that God loves.
In this episode, we get to explore the ideas of what heaven might potentially look like based on scripture. We have the opportunity to explore, compare, and contrast some of the thoughts between our world through the lens of living a standard life, and then the idea of what the afterlife may entail.
Most people, whether Christian or not, have enough sense to know that we should not exploit one another. Instead, we should treat one another with respect and morality. Christians often think that "being moral" is all that God calls Christians to in their personal life and the workplace. This is wrong. God calls Christians to much more, and it is such a relief (for everyone) that he does. Join us as we discuss this and how it applies in our context.
Most of us do not consider ourselves "artists" and under one definition of artists, most of us are not. Yet, everyone makes things. Christian believe that humans are made in God's image and that all humans are makers. Fujimura uses this imagery and his expertise as an artist to present a life vision characterized by beautiful making--even for those who are not artists. Join us as we dive into this wonderful topic.
Join us as we dive into a discussion about sovereignty and the works of Abraham Kuyper — who's intelect inspired much of the work we do at TrueWorks. Discover that when we love God and order our loves well, the byproduct is an immense freedom, shorn of restrictions.
Jesus changed the entire world and he asks his followers to do nothing less. But what does this mean and how are Christians supposed to go about doing it? Some think that "love is all we need"--as long as Christians love people, cultural change will follow suit. Others disagree and think that Christian need to be strategic in influencing cultural institutions. What do you think? Join us as we discuss this topic!
How are Christians to accomplish good objectives in the market place and the public square? God works through various means and Christians must find common ground to achieve goals with those who do not share their worldview. In this episode, we talk about the pitfalls and benefits of this approach and how we we think Christians can prayerfully and cautiously pursue goals with others.
Why do we work? Most of us work but rarely do we reflect on why we work. Upon some reflection, we see that work is necessary to make a living. Of course this is true, but does the answer stop there? As the second world war came to an end, new vocational and economic possibilities showed themselves. Dorothy Sayers provides a Christian answer to why we work and argues that work, and working well, is in our nature and forms part of a well-lived life. Join us as we discuss Sayers and apply to our current context.
God is at work in all things that are good in the world, whether those things are explicitly Christian or not. This work is by God's grace, his common grace. This theme influences how we live, the recreation and the work we pursue, even what we think is worth pursuing. Join us as we discuss this and other related topics!
Love is perhaps the most profound of all human experiences. From romantic love to friendship, from our loved hobbies and activities. Love takes several different forms. Does the form change when we turn to God's love or the love that God expects of his followers? In this podcast, we look at two authors who describe God's love as, paradoxically, conditional and the greatest virtue. Join us as we discuss this and other related topics! You'll love it.
It is neither a common purpose nor an idea that binds Christians together. Instead, it is Christ himself. Dietrich Bonhoeffer argues that Christians have forgotten their common bond and have emptied the Church's vitality. Even though Bonhoeffer wrote three-quarters of a century ago, his admonishments remain relevant. Join us as we discuss them!
There are several diverging perspectives on life. Progressivism thinks that humanity is getting better. Nihilism proposes that there is nothing worth getting better at. For Christians, Easter defines all of life. Easter shows us that our current life is intimately connected with the eternal life to come. Christians have yet to understand this or act as if it is true. Please join us as we look at why and the solution to address it.
What difference does Christ make to how we live in our day-to-day lives? Most think that if Christ even makes a difference, it is simply by providing a rulebook of "do's and don'ts." Jon Calvin suggests otherwise. It is not a rulebook that Christ gives us--he gives us his very self. This giving of himself results in Christians being mystically "united" to Christ. Our union with Christ serves not only as guidance for our day-to-day actions but transforms our entire life. Please join us as we discuss the transformative power of this union.
What is our duty to our neighbor? Does the gospel obligate us to serve him? Martin Luther argues that the Christian is not obligated to his neighbors since the gospel sets him free. Instead, the Christian is the free servant of his neighbor. Join us as we discuss this paradoxical idea and its implications.
"Our hearts are restless until they rest in God," Augustine of Hippo said in the 5th century. The temporal distance of Augustine does nothing to eliminate the relevance of his insight into the human condition. Join us as we discuss this critical thinker's enduring importance for us today.
A believer's work does not achieve redemption--his work lives out redemption. In this episode, we explore the nature of Jesus Christ's redemption and its significance for the believer. We discuss the believer's union and glorification in Christ and its implications for our professional lives.
In this episode, we put the concept of worldview into practice. We consider three worldviews in Western history: Plato of Athens, Niccolò Machiaveli, and Benjamin Franklin. After analyzing these historical figures, we offer tips on how to use worldview analysis in everyday life.
We all see the world in a particular way. We bring beliefs, feelings, history, and assumptions to each moment of our life. This series of assumptions about “the way things really are” is called a "worldview"--the basic lens by which we come to understand the world and our place in it. Join us as we discuss worldview in this episode.
In this podcast, we talk about the aspects of earthly existence that are intimately connected to the renewing of creation that is to come. Richard Mouw's little piece "The Ships of Tarshish" serves as the discussion material.
In this episode, we continue exploring Sandra Richter's book, Epic of Eden and unpack the methods of interpretation.
TrueWorks exists to help you understand how the gospel can transform your life, vocation, and community. We live in disenchanted time where meaning and value have been eliminated from our outlook on life and work. TrueWorks aims to reenchant your work--indeed, your larger life--by looking to God's creative and redemptive purpose and applying it to communal, professional, familial, and individual spheres.
In this inaugural episode, we explore the journey from chaos to covenant through a conversation on Sandra Richter's book, Epic of Eden.