Working on a Book About Work

My son asked me recently whether I had posted anything on my blog about the book I am currently writing.  I replied that I do not think I had.  So here goes.

I have been working on a book about work.  The irony of that tickles me.

Specifically, I am writing a book about the theology of work.  If I could summarize this doctrine in one sentence, it would be something like this: God created people to be His coworkers in order to subdue, develop, and expand His kingdom, and to meet the needs of His creation for His glory; He is present in the work of His children.

I have been spending a ton of time finishing a manuscript that I started about a year and a half ago.  The title is Immanuel Labor – God’s Purpose, Plan, and Presence at Work: A Biblical, Theological, and Practical Approach.  I am up to 199 pages, and it is about 90% complete at this point.  I hope to have it done by Labor Day, about six weeks from now.  (For a brief overview of the meaning and significance of this unique concept of Immanuel Labor, check out my previous article.)

The greatest thing about this process is that I have truly and honestly experienced God’s presence while working on this book about God’s presence at work!

This book was put together like a quilt.  It was based on my two-hour PowerPoint presentation on the theology of work that I created as a final project for an independent study I took as my last class for my Master’s degree in the spring of 2015.  I started with a rough chapter outline, which I have modified over time.  I then copied all of the notes pages from my presentation into the manuscript.

About the same time, I began to adapt these notes on selected topics into several short articles I posted on my blog.  I continued to write more articles on various aspects of work over the next two years.  I have posted 45 total to date, 20 of which I have written over the last seven months.  Three of those articles were adapted and published by the LeTourneau University Center for Faith and Work and six articles were posted on the Institute for Faith, Work & Economics blog.

This book is much more than a compilation of my blog articles.  I spent the month of May 2017 carefully inserting a total of over 400 Scripture references throughout my manuscript.  Since then, I have gone page by page through the 15 books I read on this subject in 2016-2017, and have identified, typed, and placed numerous quotes in just the right spot.  I am now going back through the dozen books I read during my independent study in 2015, using quotes that I did not have room to use in my PowerPoint presentation notes.

In addition to this, I have been adding quite a few personal reflections and stories from my 40 years’ experience in seeking work and working as a Christ-follower.

My detailed 20-step book production plan that starts and ends with prayer tells me that I still have a lot of work to do over the next few weeks.  I have to read through my Immanuel Labor Facebook page I started in January 2016 and copy a few of my original reflections that I have not yet used.  I have to finish going through the transcript of my two-hour seminar presentation that my youngest son lovingly typed up for me and adding some content where I veered off-script occasionally from my written notes.  I want to dig into a few commentaries to see if I can add some more depth in my discussion of a dozen key Scriptures.

It looks like I have my work cut out for me.

I appreciate all the encouragement I have been given during this process from family and friends.  Please pray that I can finish well and that my book can get to the right publisher at the right time so that I can share these life-changing biblical principles about work with a wide audience.

Master Sergeant Russell E. Gehrlein (U.S. Army, Retired) is a Christian, husband of 38 years, father of three, grandfather of four, blogger, and author of “Immanuel Labor – God’s Presence in our Profession: A Biblical, Theological, and Practical Approach to the Doctrine of Work”, published by WestBow Press in February 2018. He received a B.S. in Mathematics from Colorado State University in 1980 and an M.A. in Biblical Studies from Grand Rapids Theological Seminary in 2015.  He is also a former junior/senior high school math and science teacher and youth pastor.  Russ currently works as a Department of the Army civilian at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.

The Value of the Arts from a Biblical Worldview

(Note: I wrote this article and posted it on my blog before my book, Immanuel Labor – God’s Presence in our Profession was published by WestBow Press in February 2018.  This topic was later included in the book.  I invite you to check it out.  This article was also published in the Center for Faith & Work at LeTourneau University blog.)

I have thought about this topic off and on for several months.  It is time I started to share some insights on the value of the arts from a biblical perspective.  This wide career field would include expressions of pure art in its various forms (drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, etc.), as well as music, dance, theatre, movies, television, and literature.

I personally have a love-hate relationship with the arts.  I am more of a science guy. (But I am nothing like Bill Nye!)  Some aspects of it I absolutely love, specifically music, theatre, movies, and television.  Although I truly appreciate a nicely composed photo, I have never been too excited about painting or sculpture.  I went to an art museum in LA a couple of months ago, and I swear, one of the exhibits should have been titled: “The scary things you don’t want to find under your bed”.

I am not a huge fan of dancing, either, as my family and friends will attest.  I don’t like to watch it and I do not like to do it.  However, I did dance with my daughter at her wedding to the song of my choice, which was “My Girl”.  Sigh.  And I also truly enjoyed watching high school productions of Singing in the Rain and Footloose that my son directed as a drama teacher.  (I cried when he made it rain on stage.)

I recently watched an inspirational video about the dancing profession.  Its main point was: “traditional careers aren’t for everyone.”  True statement.  They quoted a statistic that I find reasonable: “58% of parents discourage their kids from pursuing a career in entertainment.”  Later, they made the point that “More than half the nation attends a performance art event every year.”  I liked the message it was trying to convey.  Despite the difficulties in finding steady employment in this or any other field, in general, young people should be encouraged to pursue their passions persistently.  Plus, the arts make life enjoyable.

But if you think about it, God, as Creator, is an artist.  We read in Gen. 2:9 that “the Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground – trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food.”  There was both beauty and usefulness.  The stars, sunsets, snowflakes, flowers, mountains, bunnies, butterflies, etc., were not just created for our survival, but for our enjoyment and to reflect His glory.

Other art forms are mentioned throughout the Bible.  An OT verse (which was quoted in the movie and musical Footloose) tells us “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven. . . a time to mourn and a time to dance” (Eccl. 3:1, 4).

In Ex. 25-31, Yahweh lays out detailed plans for His tabernacle, a portable sanctuary where He would “dwell among them” (Ex. 25:8).  These holy specifications for the tabernacle, its furnishings, decorations, and attire for the priests included all kinds of artistic materials or mediums such as precious metals and stones, colored yarns, fine linen, goat hair, ram skins, hides from sea cows, and wood.

This communal art and construction project required a host of skilled and Spirit-filled men and women.  I discussed this in depth in a fun article I posted on my blog a little over a year ago.   It illustrates the power and purpose of excellent expressions of creative artwork that enhanced the Israelites’ ability to experience the very presence of God.

John, in Rev. 21:18-21, gives a detailed description of the New Jerusalem, which includes gold and precious stones adorning its walls.  Once again, we see a link between excellence in art and architecture and God’s presence.  Anyone who has ever visited a cathedral in Europe like I have on several occasions can attest to this.

In contrast to the value of art, which not all Christians can agree on, the undeniable value of music to enhance worship is nearly universal in all cultures.  The right music, combined with biblically based lyrics, can put us into the very presence of God.  I will never forget tearfully singing “Holy, Holy, Holy” with 50,000 brothers at several Promise Keepers conferences in the mid-90s.

In 1 Chronicles 6:31-32, we find musicians that David put in charge of music in the tabernacle.  It was said that they ministered with music, and performed their duties according to regulations laid down for them.  The Psalms is a collection of 150 songs used in OT worship.

I should also mention the value of literature.  Certainly the Bible clearly demonstrates its value.  It is a classic work of literature; the book of all books, which has been reprinted in nearly every language and is still a best-seller.  Jesus Himself was a master storyteller.  He used His parables to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.

Stevens, in Work Matters, says this:

We can create beauty not just in music and the visual arts, but also in a meal or a deal, a voice or an invoice, an operation or a cooperation, a community formed or an immunity created, a test or a quest, a swept floor or a forgiven heart, a canvas painting or a computer program, a plaything or a work-thing, a toy or a tool.  Is the Spirit’s presence just for the Church to sing spiritual songs and to worship and to build other Christians up?  No.  The Holy Spirit empowers us to do good and beautiful things in the world.

Andy Crouch, in his book Culture Making: Recovering our Creative Calling, offers some unique insights into humanity’s call to reflect the image of God through our creativity.  He teaches, “Culture is all of these things: paintings (whether finger paintings or the Sistine Chapel), omelets, chairs, snow angels.  It is what human beings make of the world.  It always bears the stamp of our creativity, our God-given desire to make something more than we were given.”  Creativity is what we were called to do.

Later, Crouch sets up a great example of the value of human creativity that builds upon what God has created in his description of the omelet.  He starts with the assumption that “the world should have an alternative to the blandness of plain cooked eggs.  The world should be multicolored, with green peppers and pink ham and white cheese contrasting with the pale yellow eggs; the world should have many textures, both crunchy and smooth. . . Even a simple breakfast dish encodes a whole set of assumptions and hopes about the world, which we could summarize this way: the world has eggs, but it should have omelets too.”

I believe that visual arts, music, and drama all have their proper place.  Like any field of work, art in its many forms can certainly glorify evil, and that is what makes a lot of Christians fear and disdain the arts in general.  In contrast, I often mention the example of my brother in Christ, Denzel Washington, Oscar-winning actor.  He plays both good and bad characters equally well.  But when he plays an evil one, he insists that the movie show the consequences of his bad choices, for example, in his film Training Day.

Far more often, art merely shows us the human condition in a way that catches our full attention.  It can help us to see that we are made in God’s image and that we are also marred by sin in our flesh.  It can vividly portray our brokenness, pointing to man’s need of redemption which can only be found in Jesus Christ.  Furthermore, when we create or perform art, music, and drama, we display the image of our Creator, which can put the spotlight on Him.

I hope that this reflection gives believers a new appreciation for the value that art, music, and drama can bring to our lives, and that we will see those who work in this field in a new light.

Master Sergeant Russell E. Gehrlein (U.S. Army, Retired) is a Christian, husband of 38 years, father of three, grandfather of four, blogger, and author of “Immanuel Labor – God’s Presence in our Profession: A Biblical, Theological, and Practical Approach to the Doctrine of Work”, published by WestBow Press in February 2018. He received a B.S. in Mathematics from Colorado State University in 1980 and an M.A. in Biblical Studies from Grand Rapids Theological Seminary in 2015.  He is also a former junior/senior high school math and science teacher and youth pastor.  Russ currently works as a Department of the Army civilian at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.