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Presented by Lauren Stibgen
Who do you really work for and how do you face challenges at work? Missional living can truly show up in how you consider who you are working for each day and how you choose to handle challenges. My friend Jenn is focused on becoming more reliant on Jesus in these challenges, and her focus on living out her faith at work truly helps her as a leader each day!
Jenn is a Chief People Officer at a multifamily development and management company. She is responsible for people and culture, which means she is truly at the helm of how people feel about their work! From leadership development and coaching to hiring and strategic planning, Jenn has a pulse on every part of her organization!
To her, living out her faith at work is a mission that she measures by how she approaches her work each day in living out her actions and through her interactions with her team, customers and partners. Focusing on her gifts of leadership and hospitality, she knows she can impact people both at work and at home.
God has changed her thinking about work; she does it all for the Lord. All her work is ultimately for him and his kingdom. Framing her thinking in this way helps Jenn do her best work regardless of the circumstances or her feelings, and she does this by keeping Colossians 3:23 top of mind.
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters (Colossians 3:23).
God has moved most recently through her at work through the Holy Spirit calling her to share more of her own challenges vulnerably with others. She states she has found when she shares, others feel safe to share about themselves and genuine authentic relationships are built. Challenges have given Jenn an opportunity to rely more on Jesus knowing he cared for all people. Experiencing this feeling herself makes it easier for her to extend this to others.
She states, “We all face sufferings at one time or another and have an undercurrent that we are dealing with that others may not even know about or understand.” While Jenn is not thankful FOR all circumstances, she tries to be thankful IN all circumstances.
Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us (Romans 5:3-5).
For Jenn, and for me too, learning how to endure challenges is an ongoing work in progress, but she realizes how she responds in these times is a great example to those she leads and coaches at work. She leans on the grace and forgiveness we receive through Jesus when she falls short, which allows her to extend this grace and forgiveness to others.
Jenn believes work is a gift! She states “We get to work. Let’s rejoice in our ability to work for the Lord!”