Jeff Haanen
How Effective is the 5280 Fellowship?

“How do you measure your results?” It’s usually not the first question I receive from a donor interested in our work, but it is the second or third. And it’s not always easy to answer. Measuring impact in the nonprofit sector can be tricky business. In the business world, it’s much more straightforward: profitability is still […]

Jeff Haanen
The Changing World of Work (Part 2)

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble,” writes the author of Psalm 46. “Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth gives way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging…. Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts…. The Lord Almighty is with us; […]

Jeff Haanen
The Changing World of Work

It was the second week of the pandemic. Late March 2020. I was driving back home from the office, trying to figure out what this would mean for Denver Institute, and for my own work. As I headed south on Santa Fe, just across from Aspen Grove mall, I stopped at a stoplight. I could […]

Jeff Haanen
Why Faith & Work? (Part 1) – Gospel

It was a Sunday afternoon. I walked out my back garage to toss the trash. I opened the green can, heaved in the white plastic bag, and breathed in … the stench of smoke. As I shut the can I moseyed out to my driveway to investigate. I looked up in the sky. The sun […]

Jeff Haanen
What is Denver Institute for Faith & Work?

It doesn’t take much to make the case that the world is deeply broken. Even as you read this, my guess is that today – in your own experience – you can feel the fallenness of our culture all around. From anger and fear in the news to our day-to-day experience of broken relationships, we know […]

Jeff Haanen
Why Give? Kahlil Gibran on Generosity

Crammed in my drawer next to my bed are years of arts and crafts, given to me with almost ecstatic anticipation by my four daughters over the years. A Beauty and the Beast coloring page; a blue, yellow, and green woven bracelet; a pink and yellow glazed pot, just perfect for a few coins. In […]

Jeff Haanen
How Should Christians Think About Politics? 11 Insights from Reinhold Niebuhr

It’s hard to find the right metaphor for our current political moment. Are we in an echo chamber with megaphones? Are we, like a nuclear reaction, splitting atoms and roasting all our opponents? Or perhaps we’re more like vikings on social media: we land ashore, pillage and plunder all who oppose us, and then sail […]

Jeff Haanen
Race and the Gospel

The week after George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis, I got on the phone to call several of my Black friends to see how they were doing. One of our alumni from the 5280 Fellowship, a Black woman working for the state of Colorado, shared her devastation. “I’m not sure how to describe how I’m […]

Jeff Haanen
Culture is Changing

The Problem In the last 50 years, culture has drastically changed. As culture secularizes and young people increasingly claim no religion at all, the church is searching for a way forward. Today there are nearly 30 million more people who are “religiously unaffiliated” than just 10 years ago. The Christian Response The Christian response has […]

Jeff Haanen
The Coronavirus Sabbath: 9 Things to Do When Everything is Canceled

Everything is shutting down. Not just major league sports, but swim practices, rec centers, local libraries, and office buildings. In my home state of Colorado, even public schools are shutting down for at least a month.This causes lots of problems. For instance, how are workers like barbers, mechanics, and home health care workers – those […]

Jeff Haanen
Lessons Learned from the Global Workplace Forum

I recently returned from the Global Workplace Forum, a conference hosted in Manila by the Lausanne Movement. Started in 1974 by John Stott and Billy Graham, the Lausanne Congress for World Evangelization gathered people from around the world; last week, 850 leaders from 109 different countries met to discuss the next phase of the global […]

How should I choose a career?

Today most career counselors and well-meaning friends would respond to this question with: What are you good at? What do you love to do? What’s your personality type? Where do you want to live? What kind of lifestyle do you want? These are good, normal questions. Yet I have to wonder, are the goals of […]

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