The Value of a Field Guide

As I’ve grown older, I’ve come to appreciate a good field guide.

Whether in regard to all things health related, the TV show Alone, or, especially, my Peterson Field Guide to Mushrooms of North America, a good field guide helps me to navigate and better understand certain topics or endeavors. 

In nature, I am continually amazed by the variety and splendor of God’s creation, be it birds, trees, or mushrooms.

When my kids were young, I remember taking Sunday drives through the winding roads of the Catoctin Mountains and urging them to lift their heads from their Game Boys to look around. My son would say, “It’s just more trees, Dad,” which was heartbreaking to me. However, as they got older and we went hiking or camping, I would point out the unique characteristics of nature, and they gradually became more interested.

At some point in my life, I began to yearn to understand “more” about the world and God’s creation. I wanted to grasp the differences between cap shapes, gills, and spores. I was fascinated by how mushrooms could be grouped and identified by color.

Over the past several years of working with Christian CEOs and business owners, I’ve come to realize that oftentimes, “more” is also desired when it comes to our faith at work. Many great books are available on this topic, such as The Call, by Os Guinness, and Every Good Endeavor, by Timothy Keller. Other more recent works include At Work as in Heaven, by my friend Scott Ryser, and The Sacredness of Secular Work, by Jordan Raynor. However, none offer the features of a field guide.

Three benefits of a good field guide include the following:

• Awareness: Seeing a side-by-side listing of the 3,000-plus varieties of North American mushrooms immediately heightened my appreciation and desire to learn more about them.
• Identification: While I’m no expert, knowing the characteristics (or markers) of different mushrooms has brought a new level of joy to my outdoor adventures.
• Safety: Although I’ve never been dependent on foraging, I’m intrigued by the idea. Even so, I can’t imagine attempting it without being able to positively identify the good mushrooms from the bad, the life-giving from the toxic.

The same concepts apply to how we incorporate our faith at work.

Are we aware of what God’s Kingdom looks like in the workplace? Do we know the many wonderful ways the gospel and his Kingdom manifest themselves in the context of work? Are we equipped to distinguish between “good” and “God”? 

The biggest misconception I hear in my conversations with otherwise mature believers is that incorporating one’s faith at work is limited to the golden rule. Author Jim Collins once came to speak to the leadership team I would later join when they hit $1 billion in global sales. In reference to this accomplishment, he remarked, “It’s a good start.” Likewise, the golden rule is a "good start" but we shouldn’t stop there.

Additionally, we don’t need to have a degree in theology or ministry to take our faith further. As a lover of nature, I’m not looking to get my PhD in mushrooms and trees; I just want to benefit from them and appreciate them intelligently. Likewise, for the busy Christian business leader, Jesus’s own leadership makes it clear that he’s not looking only for biblical scholars to do his good work.

In the Kingdom Culture Field Guide, you’ll find a collection of strategies for transforming your workplace to look, feel, and operate more like the Kingdom of God than the kingdom of this world. Using a writing style described as “smart brevity,” the field guide is designed for action-oriented business leaders, helping them build and operate from a personal foundation of biblical values, know what values to look for (i.e., the markings of Kingdom principles), and quickly activate suggested strategies with tips to ensure success.

As recorded in Luke 17:20–21, Jesus said that, through his life and the gift of the Holy Spirit, his Kingdom is currently in our midst (or "within you" in the King James Version).

Confession: When I started to feel convicted about bringing my faith into my work, I saw it as being dependent on me and my actions rather than on God and what he was already doing in and through the people around me. Shame on me! However, I didn’t have someone to help me understand and identify the Kingdom of God in the context of work. Sadly, most of us don’t.

Ultimately, a good field guide gives us something to look forward to and makes the seeking and finding so much richer. My hope and prayer is that the Kingdom Culture Field Guide rekindles your sense of joyful anticipation when it comes to seeing and pursuing God at work. It certainly has for me.

Because I’m a dad and can’t help myself, let me close by sharing what my kids have rolled their eyes to a thousand times: “Have ‘fun guy,’ but be careful.”