In depth | Evangelicals Now

Honouring God in a really tough employment market

Cassie Martin

Youth unemployment is currently running at just under 16%, with the graduate job market being particularly hard hit.

Last year the Financial Times ran a story with the headline “It’s been a terrible year to graduate and find a job” where they highlighted that the graduate job application success rate is the lowest it has been for 30 years.

Should Christians strike?

Ben Chang

Industrial action has become a regular part of many of our lives in the past few years. The latest in a long run of resident doctor strikes called by the British Medical Association threatens to disrupt NHS care just days before Christmas.

Over the festive period we are also set to see strikes affecting national bus and train services, air travel, and even cinema-going.

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Honouring human creativity in an age of AI

Becca Nunes

I noticed a young artist’s face drop as she watched the projected AI-generated animation playing at the front of the church. It was a quick, fun animation made as part of a children’s talk. Most people hadn’t noticed it was AI, but the subtle tells were clear to anyone familiar with image creation.

AI-generated images and videos are increasingly appearing in our social media feeds, in advertisements, education, publishing and media – and now, it seems, even in our churches. And while we discuss how much ChatGPT should shape sermons or Bible studies, the use of AI in the artwork and design we use is often overlooked. It makes sense – when budgets are tight and time short, it’s tempting to use a tool that can turn a prompt into an image in moments. But what do we lose when we are too quick to do this?

Why awe of God matters on a Monday

Carolyn Lacey

Last Monday a friend sent a message that stirred up feelings of frustration and resentment.

I went for a run through the woods near my home, and although the sky was brilliant blue and the trees were bursting with life, my heart seemed to shrivel as I replayed a hurtful conversation in my mind—and rehearsed my lines for the encore!

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God, Covenant, and the meaning of work

Michael Chappell

Imagine receiving this from your new employer.

Dear new employee,

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Navigating the workplace as a Christian: When meetings are tense

Helen Thorne-Allenson

Every so often we have a meeting that does not end well – a meeting where tempers fray, division is evident and maybe unkind words are spoken.

Hopefully it does not happen often, but when it does it hurts. Chairing meetings like that can take it out of us. And, once home, it is easy to let ungodly thoughts go round our head.

At a standstill? Embrace it

Emily Lucas

Seasons of stagnancy come to us all: in our work, in our relationships, in our personal goals, and in our spiritual lives.

We can all be prone to feeling apathy, dissatisfaction, and a sense of standstill. Can you remember a time when you felt stuck in a rut?

Should we be aiming for our 'dream job'?

Graeme Shanks

‘The concept of work-life balance was invented by people who hate the work they do. So if you love what you do, you don’t need work-life balance - you need work-life integration.’

That was the advice that James Watt, the captain and co-founder of drinks company BrewDog, gave in a recent Instagram video.

Dream of Christ transforms would-be topless model

Milla Ling-Davies

Caught up in popular culture and dabbling with the supernatural, at age 17 Leah Levin-Martins was on her way to becoming a topless model – but meeting Jesus in a dream changed everything. Sixteen years later, she is a passionate champion for Christ – and for modesty.

In her teens, like most of the young girls around her, Leah Levin-Martins began to dress like the celebrities she looked up to. Memorably, she wore a mini skirt like the one Christina Aguilera wore in a music video for her song ‘Dirty’. Her peers started to notice.

Can a business be a place of worship?

Terry Young & Philip Hanson

When the idea of a ‘Christian Business’ is discussed, there are widely different opinions. Some would say a business can never be ‘Christian’ – it is a ‘thing’, not a person or soul. A business can’t be ‘saved’. Others argue that a business can be a platform for advancing God’s kingdom.

At the heart of every business are people working together. It is no accident that we call it a ‘company’ (cum panis – with bread). The people in a business are not simply human resources or assets, they are people in relationships with other people. Every business is community.

Can Christians use their conscience in secular jobs?

David Shepherd

For some public commentators on religion, the moral to the recent court judgment that went against ex-magistrate Richard Page is that taking religious zeal into one’s secular occupation does no favours for the Christian cause.

At the Court of Appeal, Richard Page’s legal team failed to overturn the Employment Appeal Tribunal judgment that upheld his sacking for forthrightly contradicting the assertion in the social worker’s report for a same-sex adoption case that same-sex couples make better adoptive parents than straight couples.

In Depth: work