Video: Business Declares the Glory of God

A biblical worldview requires a biblical view of work: It is a blessing, not a curse, and we can use it to glorify God.

Here is a new, short video from the magazine Christianity Today about a businessman in Phoenix, Arizona who is revitalizing and blessing his city through his propensity for business.

If you liked this story, you may also enjoy From hobby to calling: An artist discovers the purpose for his talent. Also, check out DNA’s book on this subject: LifeWork: A Biblical Theology for What You Do Every Day.

LifeWork now available on the Kindle e-reader

If you have a Kindle, you may want to check out the new e-version of LifeWork: A Biblical Theology for What You Do Every Day, by Darrow Miller. It’s just $9.99 USD (and no shipping charges!).

Click here to see the Kindle version on Amazon.com.

Some comments by readers:

“The book challenges one’s mindset in what work is–a blessing from God–and the way to really live out what we say we believe.” -Cherish

“Clear concepts and simple graphics help communicate the application of a biblical perspective.” -Jill Thrift

“I especially appreciated how the Christian Worldview reveals the need for balance in the task of ‘doing good.'” -W. Switzer

From hobby to calling: An artist discovers the purpose for his talent

“Whatever art you produce, it’s for My glory.”

For most adults, a year and a half of unemployment could be recorded as a low point in life–a time of wandering, disappointment, perhaps even depression. But God is with us in the valleys, as Colombian artist Luis Sanin can attest, and sometimes that time of waiting is when God sculpts us more into his likeness.

A civil engineer for 22 years, after Luis was laid off, he returned to his long-held hobby of art.

“Reposo Salmo 23” (“Rest, Psalm 23”), oil on canvas, 2010.

“I started painting again,” he says, “and it was like if I would have caught a virus.”

Luis felt the Lord tell him very clearly, while in church one day, that this gift was to be used for the glory of God–an instruction he took seriously.

While developing his skill in the studio, Luis wrestled with just how to marry his talent with his faith in a way that would impact the world. He needed his abstract pieces to tell a story, to share an important message.

After much research, Luis became inspired by Makoto Fujimara, a Christian artist who shares his biblical worldview through his work. Luis then began to connect with other Christian artists in his home of Medellin, Colombia, and found the connection between the arts and worldview while serving as a language interpreter for Darrow Miller.

“I thank God for allowing people to intersect my life and end that drought I went through,” says Luis, whose “flood of ideas” has led to local art shows and the sale of various paintings.

“Lluvia Acida” (“Acid Rain”), acrylic on canvas, 2009. Some of Luis’ pieces speak to the biblical command of environmental stewardship.

For him, however, it’s not about the sales and the critics. “I can have communion with God when I paint,” says Luis. “It’s a way of worship. I can have communion with the Trinity reflecting on how they brought about creation, inspiring and calling us to be culture makers in their image and likeness and advancing it through the span of our lives.”

Luis says Darrow Miller’s book LifeWork has been foundational in giving purpose to his passion. “Whenever I paint something,” he says, “I ask the question, ‘What am I trying to paint here? Can fellow Christians and non-Christians relate to this, and will it resonate with their lives?’”

He echoes chapter eight in LifeWork, saying Christians are called to create Kingdom culture in the world, as culture is simply a reflection of what a society worships, and his art is a tool to help the Church assume that calling.

“Una Mano” (“A Hand”), mixed media on cardboard, 2010. Luis created this piece after being laid off; he says he felt God taking care of him and picking him up.

After a year and a half, Luis found a new job, but the journey to get there set his life in a whole new direction.

Luis lives with his wife and two daughters in Medellin, Colombia. Peruse his blog at luissanin.blogspot.com, or contact him by e-mailing saninforero@gmail.com.

Towards a Wholistic Life and Ministry … New Book Release

Scott Allen’s newest Bible study book, Beyond the Sacred-Secular Divide: Towards a Wholistic Life and Ministry, was recently released by YWAM Publishing.

See a sample chapter and purchase it at the Beyond the Sacred-Secular Divide website. You can also order it at the DNA store.

The Bible reveals God as the Creator and Lord of everything. Yet for many people, including many Christians, this comprehensive worldview has become obscured. But God is leading a generation back to an undivided understanding of the kingdom of God and the earth.

Beyond the sacred-secular divide lies a fulfilling, integrated life that unites the spiritual and the physical.

God cares about every part, and we have the incredible opportunity to join him in his all-encompassing, redemptive plan for our world. What are we waiting for?

Go here for more information, including multiple endorsements.

Darrow Miller Teaches on Three Continents

Darrow filed the following report about his teaching schedule this fall.

The first venue was in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I was there to serve my good friend Dr. Bob Osburn at the Wilberforce Academy’s Worldview for World Healing conference. There were some 150 participants and I had the opportunity to teach from my book Nurturing the Nations: Reclaiming the Dignity of Women in Building Healthy Cultures. Most

Teaching in Puerto Rico

people were challenged by hearing the plight of women around the world, especially the sobering reality that over 100,000,000 fewer women are alive in the world because of the war being waged against women around the world.

The second venue was the Youth With A Mission base in Puerto Rico. This is one of my favorite places to teach, because the young men and women at this base are very creative and they apply the things that I teach almost immediately. Each year when I travel to the base I am excited to see how they have applied what I taught the year before.

Yarley Nino (Photos by Brian Barrett, Arizona Lifestyles Photography)

This year, Yarley Nino, the base director, wanted to show me the seven-minute promotional video for a week-long training program for children ages 4-14. This training program was created for a global movement, The 4/14 Window, that seeks to challenge the global church to engage and disciple children. The week-long training that these young Puerto Ricansdesigned is done through the telling of a story about “The Lost Seals,” employing children as characters in the story. The story introduces the concept of the Biblical worldview as a tool for impacting the different sectors of society.

Student at Puerto Rico base

In addition to the week of teaching the LifeWork workshop, I had the privilege of having four good friends from the USA join me in Puerto Rico. Each evening the five of us met together with three young Puerto Ricans from the base – Miguel, Nelson and John Rey – whom I have been discipling. What a wonderful time of discovery and fellowship we shared each evening.

The third venue was at a Leadership Training School in Tijuana in Baja, California. Marilyn joined me for this week. There were 70 students from over 30 countries. What a rich environment of young leaders. I count myself so privileged to be able to engage with a school like this. Each day we had a time of Q & A. With people coming from Africa, Central and South America, North America, Europe, and Asia, the questions and discussion were very engaging.

The fourth venue was a university town in Sweden, where there were two events. One was teaching each day in a Discipleship Training School, about two dozen staff and students at this school from 10 different countries. On Friday night and Saturday morning, I had the privilege of teaching a group of 40 university students from the local university. Half way into the week, I realized that I had taught in Eastern Europe and the Post Soviet Union, as well as in developing countries, but it had been years since I taught in Western Europe. This was a very different environment. Many of the students came from Northern Europe; their nations were born out of the Reformation. This meant that they had come from a country that valued hard work, thrift, cleanliness, beauty, and the redemption of time. These virtues are sorely lacking in most of the countries where I normally teach.

Next was my yearly “hardship” assignment at the University of the Nations in Kona, Hawaii. I had the privilege of teaching with Bob Moffitt, the co-founder of the Disciple Nations Alliance. We were with a group of 100 staff and students from Korea. What a delight it was to be with these “big hearted” people.

My last stop was Joao Pessoa, Brazil where I had the privilege of engaging with a group of young professionals to help them see how they may connect their vocations with the coming Kingdom of God.

Darrow says it was “a delight to see God’s hand at work in the lives of so many young people from around the world.”