Finding God at Work

Chris Easley
  • 5.0 (71)
  • Christianity
  • Semiweekly

Join Chris Easley, founder of Mission Central, as he explores the often complicated relationship between faith and work in this engaging podcast. Drawing from his experiences in both ministry and the marketplace, Chris delves into how to integrate our life with God and our everyday work. When we not only believe in Jesus but also experience him with us on the job, he transforms our understanding of work. He moves us beyond the limiting stories about work that we often live inside of and moves us into his mission in the world. As God uses our work to form us into the people we deeply long to be, we can reclaim our work life for his kingdom. Whether you're feeling stuck or seeking deeper meaning in your career, this podcast offers real hope and practical guidance to live out your faith on Monday mornings and beyond. Join us in finding God at work! Original music by Joel Nash. #FindingGodAtWork #FaithAndWork #SpiritualFormation #Mission #MissionCentral #LifeWithGod

  1. Episode 1

    A Guide on the Side

    Have you ever gone birdwatching? Those who are really adept birders often bring binoculars and know all of the names of even the obscure birds. They've trained themselves to be attentive to where the birds are, and know what time of year different birds come to their area. Chris and Katie aren't adept birders, but when they go on walks together in Aurora, they often see birds and point them out to each other. It's not uncommon for one of them to stop in the middle of a walk and say "Oh, look! There's a goldfinch!" Sometimes it flies away before the other is able to see it, but there's this hope that the bird will stay still long enough so that the other person will get to see it too.   This is a picture of what evangelism can be like in our everyday lives. When we think about evangelism, we often think about what we're saying to others, which can put a lot of pressure on us. However, it's important that we realize that we, as evangelists, are not a sage on the stage. We are a guide on the side.   We're coming alongside other people and saying, "Look! Isn't that beautiful?" We're pointing to the reality of God in Jesus Christ and hoping that they can catch a glance. This takes the pressure off of us. It's not about how perfect our words are. The point is that they see Jesus.   With this in mind, we also discover that we shouldn't take ourselves too seriously, because evangelism wasn't about us to begin with. Dallas Willard was sometimes introduced as a spiritual formation expert, and he said, "I want to fade into the wall at that point." Because there are no spiritual formation experts. All of us are learners. All of us are students. Jesus is the only true teacher. So that means that we're in a good place to help other beginners. We're in a good place to help other people who are coming to see the goodness of Jesus.   As we kick off this new series on evangelism, A Guide on the Side, we're going to talk about how to have joyful spiritual conversations. In evangelism, we are encountering Jesus for ourselves. And in that, there's joy. And as we soak up the radiance of Jesus's presence, we then look for opportunities where somebody else might be willing to come and see what Jesus is like too. We're just bringing people to Jesus. We are guides on the side, not sages on a stage.   If there's one idea about evangelism that you can take away from this, it's that you can do it. You can be a fruitful evangelist. You can be someone who proclaims the good news about Jesus in winsome and beautiful ways to the people around you who are open to it. Sources: John 1:35-45 (NIV) Matthew 14:25-33 (NIV) Dallas Willard, "Spiritual Formation: What it is, and How it is Done," Dallas Willard Ministries. Jerry Root and Stan Guthrie, The Sacrament of Evangelism (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2011).   Resources: Enroll in the Finding God at Work Course for Free: https://missioncentral.church/faith-at-work/ Downloaded the Finding God at Work E-Book for Free: https://missioncentral.church/finding-god-at-work-e-book/ Follow us on Instagram: @teammissioncentral Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TeamMissionCentral #FaithAndWork #SpiritualFormation #FindingGodAtWork #Formation #Evangelism #SharetheGospel #WorkplaceMinistry #Podcast #Christianity #Discipleship #Faith

  2. Episode 2

    Attending Well to God and Others

    How many notifications do you have on your phone right now? If you're like me, you likely have a dozen notifications at any given time, all competing for your attention.   We live in the attention economy, where powerful corporate interests have fine-tuned capturing our focus through our phones. It's scary that what we think about can be so easily influenced by private corporations. Our phones have become little distraction boxes, constantly diverting us.   As disciples of Jesus, one reason this dynamic should concern us is its effect on evangelism. Attention is the starting place for evangelism. We often think of evangelism as conversations we have with people, but before we can have those conversations, we have to notice people in the first place. We have to pay attention to them.   The question is, how are we attending to other people around us? Turning to Scripture, we find that attention is right at the center of our life with God. Our way of attending to God and our way of attending to other people are connected. Psalm 16:8 says, "I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken" (ESV). David is talking about attending to the Lord in his heart and mind.   Evangelism doesn't always happen during a scheduled time of 'going out and doing evangelism'; rather, evangelism is a way of being in the world. It's going through the world having set the Lord before you and paying attention to those around you, while being open to interruptions of opportunities to love people. Like the Good Samaritan in Luke 10, we can take time to see people who come across our path unexpectedly. Only then can we move from attention to action.   Sources: Psalm 16:8 (ESV)   Luke 10:25-37 (ESV) Leighton Ford, The Attentive Life: Discerning God's Presence in All Things (Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 2014). Mary Schaller and John Crilly, The 9 Arts of Spiritual Conversations: Walking alongside People Who Believe Differently (Carol Stream, Illinois: Tyndale, 2016).   C.S. Lewis, "The Weight of Glory," in The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses, 1-15 (New York: Macmillan, 1949).   Resources: Enroll in the Finding God at Work Course for Free: https://missioncentral.church/faith-at-work/ Downloaded the Finding God at Work E-Book for Free: https://missioncentral.church/finding-god-at-work-e-book/ Follow us on Instagram: @teammissioncentral Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TeamMissionCentral #FaithAndWork #SpiritualFormation #FindingGodAtWork #Formation #Evangelism #SharetheGospel #WorkplaceMinistry #Podcast #Christianity #Discipleship #Faith #AttentionEconomy #GoodSamaritan

  3. Episode 3

    Four Ways to Grow a Garden for Spiritual Conversations

    If you have any experience gardening, one of the first lessons you likely learned was the importance of healthy soil. When Chris and Katie first moved into their current home, Chris tried planting flowers that never grew well because of the poor condition of the soil. Katie suggested treating the soil with weed killer and fertilizer. But as Chris tried to fertilize their lawn, he accidentally dumped the remainder of the fertilizer mix onto one spot of the lawn, permanently killing that little patch of grass. Chris has not made his yard a hospitable place for growing things.   Before we think about having conversations about Jesus with people in our lives, it's good to assess if our life is a hospitable place for spiritual conversations to grow. Chris shares four things you can do to make the garden of your life more hospitable for spiritual conversations with people who don't yet know Jesus.   First, do your job well. If you don't do your job well, that's a terrible witness, and people likely won't pay attention to what you say about spiritual things.   Second, make an intentional effort to get to know the people around you. People often view work as a task they need to get done, and if they end up talking with someone during the course of their day, then that's great, but it's not a priority. This is not a good way to cultivate a hospitable environment for spiritual conversations! Make an intentional effort to get to know your coworkers. If you work remotely, this can look like asking someone how their weekend was as you're waiting for a zoom meeting to get started. Ask questions that show that you care about them.   Third, merge your universes. People often have two groups of friends that they keep separate: their Christian friends, and their non-Christian friends.  And in many cases, the number one reason our friends aren't Christians is that they don't have any other Christian friends. Something we can do to help with this is by introducing them to a community of Christian friends. Invite your non-Christian friends to join you when your Christian friends are hanging out. Slowly over time, your Christian friends and your non-Christian friends will become friends with each other.   Fourth, talk to your non-Christian friends the same way you talk to your Christian friends. If you say 'Praise the Lord!' around your Christian friends, say it around your non-Christian friends too. Share what God is doing in your life with your non-Christian friends. While you should use discernment to navigate what topics to share or if certain conversations should be avoided, don't censor your faith because you're around non-Christians.   As we commit to these four practices, we will naturally cultivate a hospitable environment for spiritual conversations with those around us.   Sources: 1 Kings 18:30-39 (NIV)   Mark 2:13-17 (NIV)   Acts 16:14 (NIV)   Ephesians 2:5 (NIV)   Sam Chan, How to Talk about Jesus (Without Being That Guy) (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2020).   Heather Holleman   Resources: Enroll in the Finding God at Work Course for Free: https://missioncentral.church/faith-at-work/ Downloaded the Finding God at Work E-Book for Free: https://missioncentral.church/finding-god-at-work-e-book/ Follow us on Instagram: @teammissioncentral Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TeamMissionCentral #FaithAndWork #SpiritualFormation #FindingGodAtWork #Formation #Evangelism #SharetheGospel #WorkplaceMinistry #Podcast #Christianity #Discipleship #Faith

  4. Episode 4

    Swing Dancing and Spiritual Conversations

    Have you ever gone swing dancing? When dancing with a partner, you don't just have to know the moves and the music; you have to know your partner! Both you and your partner have to know the moves, and then as you dance, you respond to each other in the moment.   Dancing is a great metaphor for evangelism. On the one hand, we need to know the moves, or the good news of Jesus Christ. But there's also an element of needing to know the person we're in a dialogue with. We need to know where they're at and how open they are to the Good News. So the question is, how do we do this?   There's a well-known phrase that goes, "Preach the gospel at all times. When necessary, use words." To be frank, this is terrible guidance for a life of mission! While it is important that we live lives that are reflective of the Gospel, it is also important that we're regularly using words to share the Good News of Jesus Christ.   In Luke 8 we see Jesus living His whole life in a way that reflected the Gospel. And as his followers, we should seek to do the same. Then in Colossians 4 and 1 Peter 3, we see this concept of 'responsive initiative', of being ready to share our faith as others ask us questions and engage in conversation.   So first of all, we need to evaluate if the way we live our lives is provoking questions from the people around us. On this, Dallas Willard says, "If you do not exhibit the presence of a life that is above this world, something that is coming into you and giving you joy, peace, and strength in a situation that looks very bad from the outside, there isn't going to be anything for people to ask about." Are we experiencing the Good News ourselves? Are we experiencing the transformative power of the Holy Spirit in our lives? If not, let's learn the Good News for ourselves, and then we'll have something to share with those around us.   Once we get to the place where people are asking us questions, what do we share? Tuvya Zaretsky (as quoted by Don Everts and Doug Schaupp) asks, "Would you pour out a whole pitcher of water if all they are holding is a little Dixie cup? No, you would only pour out a few ounces." Don and Doug agree: "We need to give people what they ask for instead of pouring out everything we know about God the first time they display a Dixie cup's worth of curiosity. . . . Try to assess your friend's curiosity and respond in kind. This approach is much more likely to result in the growth of their curiosity over time."   With this posture of responsive initiative, we're looking for opportunities. We're arranging our lives so we can have these kinds of opportunities come up. And then when someone's curious, we're responding with the level that's appropriate for their level of curiosity. And then, we go from there.   Sources: Luke 8:1 (ESV)   Colossians 4:5-6 (NIV)   1 Peter 3:15-16 (NIV) Dallas Willard, The Allure of Gentleness: Defending the Faith in the Manner of Jesus (New York: HarperCollins, 2015). John Ortberg, Soul Keeping: Caring for the Most Important Part of You (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2014). Don Everts and Doug Schaupp, I Once Was Lost: What Postmodern Skeptics Taught Us About Their Path to Jesus (Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 2008). Resources: Enroll in the Finding God at Work Course for Free: https://missioncentral.church/faith-at-work/ Downloaded the Finding God at Work E-Book for Free: https://missioncentral.church/finding-god-at-work-e-book/ Follow us on Instagram: @teammissioncentral Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TeamMissionCentral #FaithAndWork #SpiritualFormation #FindingGodAtWork #Formation #Evangelism #SharetheGospel #WorkplaceMinistry #Podcast #Christianity #Discipleship #Faith

  5. Episode 5

    Everybody's Got a Hungry Heart

    In his 1980 hit "Hungry Heart," Bruce Springsteen sings: Everybody needs a place to rest Everybody wants to have a home Don't make no difference what nobody says Ain't nobody like to be alone Everybody's got a hungry heart Everybody's got a hungry heart   The Boss speaks to the human condition. Everybody's got a hungry heart. We all have deep longings for connection, acceptance, love, purpose and meaning. But are people even aware of these longings? We often try to run away from our own sense of longing and throw ourselves into busyness or distraction.   Jesus wants to fill our hearts with his grace, his love, his joy—something that can satisfy us beyond anything else in the world. As disciples of Jesus, part of our role in the world is to help people remember how much they want. One way we can do that is by asking really good questions.   In John 1, when Jesus is talking with some of the disciples for the first time, he asks them, "What do you want?" Jesus is asking them a question about their whole lives. What do you want? What are you looking for? And then he invites them in. He begins to answer the hunger of their heart.   We as disciples of Jesus, for ourselves, need to be asking, What do I want? What am I looking for? And am I finding Jesus when I'm looking for love, meaning and purpose? And then as we have opportunity with others, provoking those same questions: Hey, what do you want? What are you looking for?   So, how do we ask good questions? Evangelist Sam Chan shares a framework he uses called Coffee, Dinner, Gospel. Imagine a target, with a center of Worldview. Then the next ring out is Values. And then the biggest ring out is Interests. Sam Chan says that in a friendship, you work your way towards the center over time.   So, coffee is the Interest layer. You're getting to know somebody over coffee: making small talk, asking how their weekend was, and learning what they're interested in.   Then at dinner, you go one layer deeper, to the Values level. Here, you learn what someone really cares about and what motivates them.   And then, the Gospel conversation. The Gospel conversation is at the level of Worldview. It centers on why someone believes what they believe. What do they want? What are they looking for?   Sam Chan shares what he calls "nudge questions" that can be used in this level of conversation.  Nudge questions are designed to give our friends permission to talk about their faith, spirituality, and religion. Some examples include:   What are you looking for in life? Why is this important to you? What is the one thing you absolutely must have in this life? What happens if you don't find what you're looking for? What do you think it all means? What do you believe about God? What do you think God wants from you? Do you have a faith? What religion did your parents raise you with? Do you pray? Tell me about some traditions, festivals, or celebrations that are important to you.   As you ask these types of questions, use discernment, showing curiosity and genuine interest in the other person.   Don Everts and Doug Schaup share a similar list of questions with the goal of nudging people towards spiritual conversations. They share the following questions as starting places: Have you ever had a spiritual experience? Would you like to have one? Have you ever felt like you received a sign from God? What would you do if God gave you a sign? What is your take on this whole God question? What do you think God is like? Why do so many people hide behind religion? What do you think is wrong with Christians today? What do you think life is about? Do you think you have a destiny? Do you think that people are more spiritually interested today than they were five years ago? What is the most significant thing that has happened to you in the last month?   As you prepare to ask these types of questions, remember that this is about practice. Practice thinking through which of these questions would feel authentic to you. As you begin to ask these types of deeper questions, you're actually serving your friends by creating space and permission for people to talk about the hungers of their heart. And as people begin to open up about those hungers, we will see natural opportunities to share how Jesus can satisfy them.   Sources: Matthew 5:6 (NIV, Living Bible)   John 1:36-40 (NIV, NRSVue)   "Hungry Heart," track 6 on Bruce Springsteen, The River, Columbia Records, 1980.   Sam Chan, How to Talk about Jesus (Without Being That Guy) (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2020).   Sam Chan's Interests, Values, Worldview diagram   Mary Schaller and John Crilly, The 9 Arts of Spiritual Conversations: Walking alongside People Who Believe Differently (Carol Stream, Illinois: Tyndale, 2016). Don Everts and Doug Schaupp, I Once Was Lost: What Postmodern Skeptics Taught Us About Their Path to Jesus (Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 2008). Resources: Enroll in the Finding God at Work Course for Free: https://missioncentral.church/faith-at-work/ Downloaded the Finding God at Work E-Book for Free: https://missioncentral.church/finding-god-at-work-e-book/ Follow us on Instagram: @teammissioncentral Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TeamMissionCentral #FaithAndWork #SpiritualFormation #FindingGodAtWork #Formation #Evangelism #SharetheGospel #WorkplaceMinistry #Podcast #Christianity #Discipleship #Faith

See All Season 9 (5)

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About

Join Chris Easley, founder of Mission Central, as he explores the often complicated relationship between faith and work in this engaging podcast. Drawing from his experiences in both ministry and the marketplace, Chris delves into how to integrate our life with God and our everyday work. When we not only believe in Jesus but also experience him with us on the job, he transforms our understanding of work. He moves us beyond the limiting stories about work that we often live inside of and moves us into his mission in the world. As God uses our work to form us into the people we deeply long to be, we can reclaim our work life for his kingdom. Whether you're feeling stuck or seeking deeper meaning in your career, this podcast offers real hope and practical guidance to live out your faith on Monday mornings and beyond. Join us in finding God at work! Original music by Joel Nash. #FindingGodAtWork #FaithAndWork #SpiritualFormation #Mission #MissionCentral #LifeWithGod

Information

  • Creator
    Chris Easley
  • Episodes
    172
  • Seasons
    9
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026
  • Show Website
    Finding God at Work

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