Megan Monroe APP-190 Reflection #2- Ortberg and Rhee February 25th, 2014 John Ortberg discusses the

relationship between ones individual strengths and their role as Gods image-bearer. He encourages the reader to consider how God can use their own particular strengths, and that in helping others discover their strengths we are helping the image of God to be restored in another human being(221). He links individual strength to the concept of flow, which is a state of being in which a person is able to be absorbed completely and naturally in a particular activity. In the activities where we have a sense of engagement or oneness with what we are doing, our strengths are being employed. Considering in which activities I feel this phenomenon called flow, namely in Socraticstyle dialogue with others or when writing or speaking about a topic I care deeply about, it makes sense that my strengths involve an affinity for and competency with ideas, critical evaluation, and communication of vision. These themes are certainly captured in my StrengthsFinders results, which include Futuristic and Ideation. According to Gallups explanation of the Futuristic theme, people with this particular strength inspire others with their visions of the future. This strength explains why I feel flow when I am communicating a vision of the way things could be, or should be. Additionally, people with the Ideation theme are able to find connections between seemingly disparate phenomena. This explains why I feel flow when I am engaged in intense philosophical dialogue, an activity in which the ability to lasso together many varied iterations of general ideas into a unified synthesis is crucial. Since, according to Ortberg, our strengths reflect our status as Gods image-bearers, I must submit my particular strengths to the will of God and maintain a perspective in which I acknowledge that God gave them to me so I could use them to serve Him. I have indeed been able to witness the work of God

in my own work in this area. God has used the ideas that I am able to synthesize and transmit to others to plant seeds that changed the perspectives of people who listen. Friends, fellow students, and family members have often referred back to an idea that I suggested to them in the past. They often reveal that they were able to apply such ideas to their life in order to make sense out of seeming chaos. God has also used my love for analysis and synthesis to further my relationship with Him. Since my ideas are ultimately aiming at Truth, which belongs to God, by exercising the strength God gave me for pursuing ideas I experience the very pursuit of God. Ortberg also encourages us to integrate our daily work into our broader sense of calling by God. How does my work at Noozhawk honor God? A helpful metric Ortberg introduces for distinguishing whether our work honors God is whether we can pray for its success. He says, generally speaking, if you cant pray for the success of what youre doing, start doing something else!(226). Can I pray for the success of what Im doing at Noozhawk? Of course, I can and I should. It doesnt necessarily mean that I remember to do it, but I do believe that the work I accomplish in my role as a trainee writer and reporter is worthy of Gods support as a noble part of his Kingdom work. Like Ortbergs writer friend Zinsser, I know that the subjects I write about (even if they sometimes seem like trivial dirty work) matterimmensely to the people involved in the events I cover. My article can become an encapsulation of their experience, which they can share with others and keep for their own future reference. The information I share can be used to unify the community as individuals become more aware of the goals of people around them. Remembering to pray for my own success in writing about these local events can be an important means not only to my own spiritual development, but toward the end of benefiting others, those who should be blessed in reading my work.

Ortberg also asks his reader to think about how they would work differently if Jesus were their direct supervisor. In my case, how would I write differently if Jesus were my editor? I would pay more attention to the motivations behind my words that would appear when and omniscient and omnibenevolent being read my work. Am I writing in a way that suggests I am more intelligent and important than I truly am? Am I writing in a way that belittles the subjects or the readers of my articles? These are the questions that should be on my mind, since my works true purpose is to be used by God to bless others. In her presentation on the theology of work, Professor Helen Rhee discussed the way that the fall of man fundamentally changed the nature of work. It is important to note that God did not create work as a punishment, for it existed before the fall, as demonstrated in Gods command to Adam and Eve to care for all of His creation and rule over the rest of Gods creatures. This relates directly to Ortbergs idea that work is a gift given by God, which offers us the fulfillment that we actually long for. He says, We hunger for the experience of flow, and when it is present, something happens in our spirit as we connect with a reality beyond ourselves and partner with God. With this in mind, Dr. Rhees presentation laid a foundation for thinking about how Christians should value money when choosing a career. I think that it is clear that if money is the sole factor a Christian uses to discern what career they ought to pursue, something is amiss since they are ignoring the point of Gods creation and gift of work: the exercise of particular individual strengths and the enactment of good works to benefit Gods creation beyond oneself. Money is not intrinsically evil, but it is only instrumentally good. It is only a means, rather than an end in itself, so the Christians career path cannot be dictated by the drive to obtain as much of it as possible.

During the past two weeks of my internship, I have worked on two longer articles. I wrote a piece about Westmont Theaters production of Pirates of Penzance, for which I got the opportunity to interview people who were incredibly passionate about the piece they had poured their blood, sweat, and tears into. It was an opportunity to serve those involved with the production by celebrating their work and representing the experience through their eyes. I am currently working on a piece about Westmonts business class, Business at the Bottom of the Pyramid, and how the classs upcoming trip to Haiti to develop socially benevolent local businesses connects to the message of the Presidents Breakfast speaker, Nobel Prizewinner Muhammad Yunus. Working on the story has given me the opportunity to interview members of the Westmont community doing valuable work that I otherwise would never have known about. The article will offer insight into the benefits and drawbacks of microfinance, a development tool innovated by Yunus. It serves the community by synthesizing complex ideas about global development and economics into an article that should theoretically be accessible to anyone. It is particularly relevant as much of Santa Barbara has begun to think about microfinance in honor of Yunus visit to Westmont coming up this Friday.