Taking Your Soul to Work

Held on November 15, 2015.“Is there something more?” As the successful CFO of a publicly traded company, Barry Rowan found himself asking this question. He had achieved professional distinction, but after the global tele-com start-up he led failed, Rowan took a “purposeful pause” to ask: "Is there greater meaning in my work?"At roughly the same time, Tim Dearborn, a pastor a University Presbyterian Church in Seattle, learned after interviewing more than 100 members of his congregation, that most of their work days were dominated by three emotions: envy, loneliness, and fear. How could it be, he wondered, that my church has given so little support to business people, yet they live so much of their lives at work? How does the biblical story, he wondered, guide our souls in the workplace?Tim Dearborn and Barry Rowan spoke, at the beautiful headquarters of AMG National Trust, for “Taking Our Souls to Work.” Barry shared his quest for meaning in work, how he nurtures his spirit at work, and how he learned to seek God’s will in his professional life. Tim shared about his personal journey of discovering the vital role of business in God’s redemptive plan, and the role business leaders can have today in cultivating well-being, enabling justice, alleviating poverty, guarding creation, strengthening character, and releasing creativity.