Re-integrate

Can we be dedicated Christians and still indulge in the pleasures of this earthly life? Can we go to the beach, eat at a great restaurant, watch an exciting movie, play our favorite video game or sport, and still be pleasing to God? How do we reintegrate our faith into every aspect of our lives, even the stuff that we don’t think of as the "spiritual" aspects of life?
Or as today’s guest phrases it, “Can you serve Jesus and still enjoy your life?”
That’s the subtitle of Mike Wittmer’s book, Becoming Worldly Saints: Can You Serve Jesus and Still Enjoy Your Life? (Zondervan, 2015).

Michael Wittmer is Professor of Systematic & Historical Theology and the Director of the Center for Christian Worldview at Grand Rapids Theological Seminary. He is the author of lots of articles and several books, including his first two books, Heaven Is a Place on Earth: Why Everything You Do Matters to God (Zondervan, 2009) and Don't Stop Believing: Why Living Like Jesus Is Not Enough (Zondervan, 2009).

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Go to https://www.re-integrate.org/ for years worth of articles on reintegrating your callings with God’s mission, resources for further learning, links to the Reintegrate YouTube channel, and more. 

On Reintegrate's podcast page, you’ll find ways to email us or call us to comment on this podcast. 

Purchase Mike Wittmer's books from a trusted independent bookseller, Byron and Beth Borger at Hearts and Minds Bookstore.

Dr. Vince Bacote is our guest in this podcast. He has a lively conversation with Brendan Romigh and Dr. Bob Robinson on the multifaceted issue of racism, and how a biblical understanding of the gospel and of shalom (flourishing) can help white evangelicals think clearly about this issue.  

Vince Bacote is currently editing a 20-week series on Christianity Today’s website titled “Race Set Before Us” featuring 20 Christians of color addressing racial justice and what the church needs to know. 

https://www.christianitytoday.com/

Vince is Associate Professor of Theology at Wheaton College & the Director of Wheaton’s Center of Applied Christian Ethics. He’s the author of several books including “The Political Disciple: A Theology of Public Life” and a book based on his doctoral dissertation on Dutch politician and church leader Abraham Kuyper’s insights into how the Holy Spirit guides Christians to take their faith into the public sphere, titled “The Spirit of Public Theology.” 

He received his PhD from Drew University and has the Master of Divinity degree from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.

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Re-integrate Podcast:

How can we overcome the disconnect between our Sunday faith and the rest of our week?

Every week, join Brendan Romigh and Dr. Bob Robinson as they discuss the joys and frustrations of reintegrating every aspect of life with their faith and interview thought leaders and practitioners who are doing it. Bob is in his 50s and Brendan is in his 20s, so they offer an engaging dialogue from different generational vantage points.

If you desire insights into how to live an integrated Christian life, one in which you can better experience Jesus Christ and participate in what God’s doing in the world, this is the podcast for you.

Looking for Vince Bacote’s books or for books on racism and racial justice? Contact Reintegrate partner Hearts & Minds Bookstore: https://www.heartsandmindsbooks.com/booknotes/

Brendan Romigh and Dr. Bob Robinson compare and contrast the commencement speeches of Apple’s Steve Jobs (Stanford 2005) with Tim Cook (Ohio State 2020).

Jobs told the graduating students of Stanford “You’ve got to find what you love…Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle.”

Cook, in light of the Coronavirus, focused on what have been called “essential workers,” people whose vocations are not necessarily “satisfying” or work that is “loved,” but work that needs to be honored nonetheless, people working in fields in order to feed their families and ours, those who stock shelves, drive city buses, clean in hospitals.

How can we honor the vocations of our essential workers? How can people graduating from Stanford, Ohio State, or any other college use their agency and influence to make the work of those without as much agency better?

Steve Jobs Commencement Speech, Stanford 2005: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc

Tim Cook Commencement Speech, Ohio State 2020: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGuKhvDJWes

Book cited in the podcast: Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry Into the Value of Work by Matthew B. Crawford (The Penguin Press, 2009), available at Hearts & Minds Bookstore.

This podcast is from Reintegrate. The Center to Reintegrate Faith, Life, and Vocations. Go to https://www.re-integrate.org/ for information about the work Bob Robinson does for college students, churches, and marketplace leaders.

Brendan and Bob discuss the influence of "Critical Race Theory" on today's understanding of racial injustice. If it's based in Marxist theory, is it incompatible with Christian theology? Or can Christians hoping to understand the history of race in America learn truths from this academic line of thinking.