Randy Hain - The Catholic Briefcase: Tools for Integrating Faith and Work

THE CATHOLIC BRIEFCASE

TOOLS FOR INTEGRATING FAITH AND WORK

Randy Hain

Foreword by Patrick Lencioni

Imprimi Potest: Harry Grile, CSsR, Provincial Denver Province, The Redemptorists Published by Liguori Publications Liguori, Missouri 63057 Copyright 2011 Randy Hain All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior written permission of Liguori Publications. Digital Edition ISBN 9780764861161
Print Edition ISBN 9780764820526 Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible , revised edition 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC. All Rights Reserved. Compliant with The Roman Missal , third edition. Liguori Publications, a nonprofit corporation, is an apostolate of the Redemptorists. To learn more about the Redemptorists, visit redemptorists.com .

Dedication

In loving memory of my mother, Sandi Hain.

Her wonderful example of faith, love, and selflessness inspired all who knew her.

Contents

Acknowledgments

OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS I have felt a growing desire to write a book on the subject of integrating faith and work. When Liguori Publications called me right after Thanksgiving 2010 with the same idea, that desire became a reality. I appreciate this opportunity to, I hope, shed a little light on one particular and largely ignored area where our Catholic faith is desperately needed: the workplace.

Writing this book was a labor of love, but it took discipline to finish it amidst my various other responsibilities. However, no book is truly written alone. I am blessed to have a number of people in my life who contributed something special to this project. The members of my Woodstock Business Conference group are an ongoing source of inspiration for me, and I am proud to know all of these fine Catholic business leaders. Their experiences had a great influence on my thinking as I wrote this book. I am very grateful to Lisa Guthrie of Grammar She Wrote and Lisa Tilt for their friendship and expert editing help. Matt Tovrog, Tom Peterson, Theresa Thomas, and Andy Hepburn also chipped in with helpful editing tips to improve the book and boundless enthusiasm for the project. It takes confidence to put your thoughts on paper for public consumption, but also a lot of humility to let your friends tear it to shreds.

The word gratitude doesnt do justice to how I feel toward Jennifer Baugh, Paige Barry, Dr. Paul Voss, Terry Trout, David McCullough, David Murphy, Andrew Mangione, Charlie Douglas, and Alex Muoz for their candid insights and fearless examples of living out their Catholic faith in the workplace. This book would not be possible without their selfless contributions.

I want to thank five of my favorite authors, whose writing has long inspired me to be a better Catholic, a better man, a better husband, a better father, and a better leader. Thank you to Pat Lencioni, Dr. Peter Kreeft, Chris Lowney, Jim Nolan, and Dr. Michael Naughton.

Price Harding, Glen Jackson, Dr. Ron Young, Dan Stotz, Dr. Phil Thompson, Lorraine Murray, Matt Swaim, the entire team at Bell Oaks, Cathy Bickerstaff, Ken Davison, my father, Steve Hain, and countless othersthank you for the incredible support and encouragement.

Deacon Mike Bickerstaff is a friend, mentor, and a frequent collaborator on ministry work related to promoting faith in the workplace. We also cofounded the popular Integrated Catholic Life e-magazine (integratedcatholiclife.org) in early 2010 to promote our passion for serving Christ and promoting the concept of the integrated life. His encouragement and ideas for the book were incredibly helpful in getting it completed.

My wife, Sandra, and our sons, Alex and Ryan, were a great encouragement in this process, and I thank God every day that I am blessed with such a wonderful family. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Most important, I give thanks to our Lord and pray that he will be glorified through this book, and that people will draw closer to him by living as faithful Catholics in the workplace.

Foreword

LETS BE HONEST. Its easy to look at a book like this one and think, I probably dont need to read that right now.

After all, when were working hard just to understand and live our Catholic faith in our personal lives, we can easily justify the postponement of trying to integrate it into our work. Its not that we dont think it would be a good thing to do some day, just not right now. I can hear myself saying, Ill get to that as soon as I get my faith life squared away personally.

Well, heres the thing, and its one of the most important lessons I learned from Randy Hain in this book: I am not going to get my faith life squared away personally until I make it the center of my life in every way, including at work. I can no more justify keeping my faith out of my job than I can my marriage, my family, or my Sunday Mass. As it turns out, being Catholic is as much a noun as it is a verb, which means I am not meant to simply practice my faith at certain times, but to be it all the time.

But rest assured, fully integrating our faith with our work is not nearly as uncomfortable as it seems. In fact, its the most natural, comfortable, and logical thing we can do. Thats because its not about going out and taking a public stand and pushing people mired in a secular world out of their comfort zones. At least not at first. Most of what it requires is a simple, but profound, internal change, one that will entail some private behavioral adjustments. Eventually, through these small and wonderful changes in our daily lives, our perspective on our faith will shift profoundly and we will find ourselves quietly witnessing to Christ in even the smallest details of our work. We will gradually emanate his love in ways that will make those around us wonder, and maybe even ask us, why we are the way we are. And trust me, when that happens well find it easy to witness to our faith, out of quiet confidence and love, not fear or defensiveness.

I must admit that my affinity for this book is not attributable solely to its content. Knowing who wrote it drives my enthusiasm for it, as it should for any work. Randy Hain has been a role model for me, and many others like me, in gracefully, lovingly, confidently living his faith at work. His discipline and commitment to his faith as well as his business makes me want to be a better person, a better Christian, a better Catholic in every way. He has confronted me around some of the most important, and difficult, subjects, and provoked me to take steps in my faith life that I wouldnt have done otherwise. And he has never, ever made me feel less than him along the way.

I guess thats the thing about a great book. It works not only because the content makes so much sense, but because the author has been living that content himself. I pray that you will benefit from Randys encouragement as much as I have.

Patrick Lencioni, president, The Table Group; author, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

INTRODUCTION

Why Do We Leave Our Faith at the Door?

MAKING THE TRANSITION from a compartmentalized life in which I had no faith and kept everything distinctly separate to an integrated life with Christ at the center was a daunting task for me. But I am not alone.

From the early days of my faith journey until now, I have come to learn that many people wrestle with this dilemma. In addition to my role as managing partner of a national executive search firm, I am deeply involved in ministry work that offers forums for Catholic business people and professionals to gather and hear great speakers, grow in their faith, and learn about how to lead integrated lives. Much of the writing in this book reflects real-life situations of Catholics in the workplace whom I have encountered over the last few years. And not surprisingly, it is in the workplace that our faith is most commonly called into question.

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