The weekly TGCvocations column asks practitioners about their jobs and how they integrate their faith and work. Interviews are conducted and condensed by Bethany L. Jenkins, director of TGC’s Every Square Inch.
Katherine Leary Alsdorf is senior fellow at Redeemer City to City, where she provides consulting support and develops resources to help churches equip Christians for cultural leadership. She founded Redeemer’s Center for Faith & Work in 2002 and served as its executive director until December 2012. Prior to this ministry role, Katherine spent 20 years in high tech in California and New York. She assisted Tim Keller in the writing of Every Good Endeavor and lives in New York City with her husband, John.
How did your work schedule change when you transitioned from corporate life to Redeemer?
I started my career as a consultant in the government sector, where I tracked every hour I worked for billing purposes. It was a good habit and hard to break, and I eventually came to see it as accountability for stewarding my time. I’m pretty sure, though, that I was the only one at Redeemer counting the hours she stopped and started. (She laughs.)
The biggest difference, however, was that I stopped flying to a new city every week. It was great to be “grounded” for ten years. Also, while I’d still typically work 12-hour days, Redeemer’s faith and work activity took place on nights and weekends. It was hard to figure out when to get down time. I switched from an early morning start time in Silicon Valley to a mid-morning start time at the church. Only then could I stay awake until our programs ended around 9:30 p.m. Our whole team worked hard because we really felt “called” to what we were doing.
What does a typical workday look like for you now?
For the last eight months, I’ve transitioned out of a management role to now working as a consultant, speaker, and coach. For the time being, I only have a hoteling space at the office and work equally from my home office. I’m also back on airplanes flying to cities around the country and world. So I don’t have a daily routine.
In your role as senior fellow of faith, work, and leadership at Redeemer City to City, what are your measures of success?
We’re still shaping this new ministry focus of City to City so “measures of success” might be overstating things. But my passion is to see our church plants and church networks around the world be outward-faced, fully embracing the gifts of their congregants to be leaders in their spheres of influence. This work takes good theological grounding, spiritual formation, vision, and the power of the Holy Spirit. I can’t wait!
In the faith and work movement, where do you think the greatest opportunities and obstacles are?
Churches are beginning to realize the potential and importance of equipping people to be missional about their work in a post-Christian world. The gospel gives our work a purpose in the bigger picture of life—something young people are longing for. I hope more churches will equip and mobilize their people to be the “church scattered” in every vocation and industry, bringing hope, truth, and love into those parts of our culture.
Since you’ve gotten married, how have you seen your work shift, if at all?
My work has changed a lot, although not only because I’m married. I’ve changed my role, and we’re working on how to make it work best for our marriage partnership. At this later season of my life and calling, I’m fortunate to have the flexibility to shape what I do. It’s working in part because my husband is retired from full-time work and has become involved in faith and work ministry himself. We’re praying for God to show us the shared work he’s calling us to for the next 15 to 20 years!
Is there enough evidence for us to believe the Gospels?
In an age of faith deconstruction and skepticism about the Bible’s authority, it’s common to hear claims that the Gospels are unreliable propaganda. And if the Gospels are shown to be historically unreliable, the whole foundation of Christianity begins to crumble.
