Reintegrate

N. T. Wright is perhaps the most influential New Testament scholar of our generation. He is the author of over seventy books, many of which are highly regarded as top academic scholarship. But his influence on regular run-of-the-mill Christians is greatest through his many books written at a more popular level, including the three books "Simply Christian," "Simply Jesus," "After You Believe," and, of course, "Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church."

In "Surprised by Hope," Tom Wright dismantled the narrative we all assumed was the gospel story: that we are saved in order to go to heaven. He wrote that our hope for the future is our physical resurrection to live with God in the New Heavens and New Earth.

This new book, "God’s Homecoming: The Forgotten Promise of Future Renewal" (HarperOne, 2025), almost serves as a sequel to that. He returns to the grand narrative of the Bible and explains that God’s promise has always been that he would dwell with humans in a renewed creation.

In this podcast episode, we discuss how God’s home has been, and always will be, with us. We go through several scripture passages that seem to say we go off to Heaven to live forever, instead of God coming to Earth to live with US forever. What a great conversation.

N. T. Wright: The Gospel of God Making His Home with Us

“The way we are, we are members of each other. All of us. Everything. The difference ain’t in who is a member and who is not, but who knows it and who don’t. “
- Wendell Berry

The Joy and Challenges of Today's Work (podcast) with Dr. Chip Roper.
God did not create work to be drudgery, but due to the effects of the Fall and our sinfulness, work can definitely not be what it should be. But that does not mean that work is all bad.

In fact, work is where we often find purpose and joy.

Dr. Chip Roper is the Founder and President of the VOCA Center. The VOCA Center is a faith-based organization that brings God's wisdom to your work through teaching, coaching, and leadership development.

It recently partnered with the Barna Group to conduct a research survey to discover what brings joy and what brings challenges in the contemporary workplace.

Our conversation with Chip:
> We discuss practical strategies to increase joy at work for both workers and leaders.
> The study discovered that the majority of U.S. adult workers (7 out of 10) say that they experience joy more than half the time they’re at work.
> What brings us joy at work includes (1) work relationships, (2) our achievements and purpose, and (3) helping others and making a difference.
> Workers who derive their primary satisfaction from helping others are nearly 3 times more likely to experience high levels of joy compared to those motivated primarily by financial rewards.
> Gen Z and Millennial workers seek meaning beyond the paycheck and find joy in helping others in and through their work.
> While relationships with people bring joy at work, what’s ironic is that this is the same category that scored high on what creates challenges at work.

https://open.substack.com/pub/bobrobinsonre/p/the-joy-and-challenges-of-todays?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

The Joy and Challenges of Today's Work (podcast) with Dr. Chip Roper President of the VOCA Center.

Some people are lucky enough to get paid to do what they love. But many are not.

In her book, "You Have a Calling: Finding Your Vocation in the True, Good, and Beautiful" ( Brazos Press, 2025), award-winning author Karen Swallow Prior has encouraging news: If you pursue the good, true, and beautiful in all your work, you will find your greatest fulfillment.

In our podcast conversation, we discuss:
> The difference between passion and calling. How does this help us make vocational decisions?
> What are the various callings we have, not just in our 9-to-5, but in all of life?
> How does our context determine our callings, including when and where we live, who is in our lives, and what needs arise?
> How are our callings from outside ourselves, often in the service to others?
> How can we find meaning in every role, regardless of what our career is?
> How can we reintegrate our vocational lives through truth, goodness, and beauty?

Our discussion will help anyone and everyone who wants to know that our daily work, ordinary though it may be, can fulfill a higher calling to God. You will gain a renewed sense of purpose, knowing you are created for virtue in all that you do.

Find Your Callings in the Good, True, and Beautiful (podcast) with Karen Swallow Prior Vocations, Passions, and Living the Reintegrated Life