The Original 30 Moments of Truth …

Click on Book to go to Randy's Publishers site

I’ve received so many great comments and thoughts in the last few days from folks that I need to expound on some footnotes in the book.  The 30 Moments of Truth paradigm really started with my mentor the late Dan Smick of Marketplace Network in Boston, which faded into non-profit corporate history a couple of years ago.   I owe my own awakening about theological integration to him and Pete Hammond during my days at GCTS.  I’ve built on that foundation with my own unique work, as have many others who have gone through the GCTS marketplace theology track since then.

One of those who paralleled my time with Marketplace Network is Randy Kilgore who currently (with his wife Cheryl) oversees another marketplace and worklife oriented ministry madetomatter.org

He has a great devotional that goes out all over the world, and in fact is sent to more subscribers in China than the U.S. now …. hey there’s a statistic for you.  He was recently on a speaking tour in Hong Kong!

“What makes our labor holy, what makes it eternal, is not just the work but the state of our hearts while performing that work. When we comprehend that truth, then we realize washing dishes is as significant to the Kingdom as operating on a patient; driving a truck is as eternally triumphant as leading a company. Then, even in the zig-zags of our careers, when life seems more random than ordered, when it feels like we’re running in thick mud with heavy boots, we can rest in the knowledge we’re serving God as we labor faithfully and diligently.”

— Randy Kilgore, Made to Matter

Two things I want to draw your attention to (in addition to the website) are his book “Made to Matter: Devotions for Working Christians” which works well within the 30 Moment of Truth framework he and I were taught under, as well as postings of free pdf workbooks that take your through a similar framework. (Both he and I have modified versions of the original framework that Dan mentored us under for our own preferences…. something Dan encouraged us to do … he always noted that the moments are symbolic and that in a persons career people would come up with similar case studies or ethical dilemmas that paralleled the original thirty.)

Made to Matter is aimed at the popular audience, while Professionals is more of an academic approach for the undergraduate / beginning graduate population for Christians at both (1) historically Christian Colleges where integration work is “mandatory”  and (2) students at secular institutions (if there are such things) who need integrative help because theological framworks are almost never mentioned in the classroom.

Randy went on to write for Marketplace Network and startup Made to Matter, and following that portion of my career at Boston Gas (I was part time student, part time executive at the time, as well as my internship at Park Street Church to kick off their marketplace Sunday School track with the help of Dan and Pete… ) I went on to be full time business executive in the marketplace helping fight off hostile takeovers by Enron and helping start up dot-coms.  After ten years – even now – I’m doing similar stuff, but on the staff of a church…balancing out being a teacher and practitioner.

So the workbooks are the early fruit of Randy’s career and the anecdotal stories in Professionals are mine.  God has woven all of this and the work of many others mentored by these two men (Dan and Pete) into a broader tapestry that He is creating  and beautifying … may He continue to be glorified in all of it.

Blessings-

Rob