The Dome @ AMG Denver, CO
Taking Your Soul to Work
Sunday, Nov. 15 6:30 p.m.
$25.00
USD/Ticket
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.
Contributors
Barry Rowan spent over thirty years building technology companies across a range of industries and has served as the CFO of four major public companies. He is currently the EVP and CFO of GoGo, an inflight internet provider. Previously Rowan served as EVP, CFO and Chief Administrative Officer for Vonage Corporation, a $900 million internet communications company where he helped lead a successful turnaround of the company. From 2003-2006, Rowan was EVP, CFO and Treasurer of Nextel Partners, which grew from start-up into a Fortune 1000 company. Rowan has been a director for multiple public companies, including ICO Global Communications and ARIS Corporation, has served on the boards of privately held companies, and is a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors. Rowan earned his MBA from the Harvard Business School and his B.S. in Business Administration and Chemical Biology summa cum laude from The College of Idaho.
Tim Dearborn, Ph.D. is director of the Ogilvie Institute of Preaching at Fuller Theological Seminary. Previously Dr. Dearborn served for a decade a as director and then vice president for Christian commitments at World Vision International, which included responsibility for the spiritual formation of 45,000 staff around the world. Tim has also served as dean of the chapel at Seattle Pacific University, founding director of the Seattle Association for Theological Education, and a faculty member in Practical Theology for Fuller Seminary, Regent College (Vancouver), University of Aberdeen (Scotland), and the Faculté de Theologie Evangelique near Paris, France. He also was the associate pastor for urban and global mission at University Presbyterian Church in Seattle, Washington, and is ordained in the PC (USA). Tim holds a B.A. from Whitman College, an MTS from Harvard University Divinity School, a Th.M. from Fuller Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. from the University of Aberdeen (with a thesis on the Trinitarian nature of grace). He is the author of several books, including Beyond Duty: A Passion for Christ, a Heart for Mission and Business as a Holy Calling?: A Workbook for Christians in Business and Their Pastors.
Andrew Arndt is a Teaching Pastor at New Life Church, in Colorado Springs and co-hosts the weekly Essential Church Podcast with New Life's Senior Pastor Brady Boyd. He's passionate about helping the Body of Christ understand how the claim of Christ upon their lives applies to the workplace. He was formerly the Lead Pastor at Bloom Church.
Steven Strott moved to Denver after earning an MBA from Harvard and serving a successful stint with the prestigious Boston Consulting Group. His success and growth is due in part to a mentor, Barry Rowan of Cool Planet Energy Systems. Through their friendship, Steven says, “I began to see the way business contributes to Shalom. I now see work as a means to draw out the potential in creation as well as people.”
Jeff Haanen is a writer and entrepreneur. He founded Denver Institute for Faith & Work, a community of conveners, teachers and learners offering experiences and educational resources on the gospel, work, and community renewal. He is the author of An Uncommon Guide to Retirement: Finding God’s Purpose for the Next Season of Life and an upcoming two-book series on spiritual formation, vocation, and the working class for Intervarsity Press. He lives with his wife and four daughters in Denver and attends Wellspring Church in Englewood, Colorado.