Mueller at Chapel: 'Go at your work with your heart,' as if working for God

Photos by Ralph Freso / Slideshow / Livestream

“Biblical Heroes of the Faith” is the Chapel theme for the 2025-26 school year, and Grand Canyon University President Brian Mueller used the dramatic transformation of Paul the Apostle to convey what he would tell GCU students.

“No. 1, the God you worship is a creative worker,” said Mueller, who shared that he read Paul’s Letters before leading the first Chapel of the fall semester at a packed Global Credit Union Arena. “You can encounter Him daily through His Word.

“Second, you are God's handiwork, created to do good work, which was planned in advance for you to do.

“Third, go at your work with all your heart, as if working for the Lord. Your work right now is primarily to be a student. Give it everything that you've got.

“Finally, God wants to transform the part of the world you touch through your work. Your work is your ministry."

Mueller listed Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses and David as members of the Hall of Faith because they each had personal encounters with God. Paul’s transformation was extremely special because he was educated and wealthy, yet he possessed a zealousness about the spread of Christianity and was even persecuting Christians.

That stopped when Jesus confronted him about his actions. Paul went blind for three days before seeing the purpose for why God put him here.

Paul embarked on three major missions, started churches while traveling about 15,000 miles by foot and on ships, despite relentless whippings, beatings and stonings during a 15-year period.

“He went through things that would probably turn most of us back,” Mueller said. “I can't think of anything that would demonstrate more commitment than the level of commitment that this person had.

“But you have to remember he had a personal encounter with Jesus, and that seems to be the thing that ties heroes of the faith together.”

That meant a full understanding of the Great Commission, in which Jesus told His followers to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit.

“There's nobody that heard that Jesus said those words and took it more seriously than Paul did,” Mueller said.

Mueller believes that Paul would address GCU students by emphasizing that they’ll find out whatever they’re thinking today might not be where they’ll be 10 or 15 years from now, but to perform their work with all their heart, as if working for the Lord, not for human masters. As Colossians 3:24 states, do so because “you know you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward."

Mueller said that statement could sound shocking if taken literally, but it stresses that “work is a big part of what God has for us ... We spend more time doing it than anything else that we're going to spend our time doing.

“And He wants us as a testimony to the world to work with all our heart as if we're working every day, every hour, every minute for Him now, just to make sure that we're not misled, that we get this right.”

This might not happen overnight, “But God has a purpose for your life, and in time, he’s going to reveal it to you,” Mueller said.

Speaking to an audience that included many first-year GCU students, Mueller said God didn’t create the earth as a finished product. He provided it with natural resources that, blended with the brain power of a human, would cause the earth to flourish.

Genesis 2:7 tells us about how God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed life through his nostrils. According to Genesis 2:15, Lord God put the man in a garden to work and take care of it, since it wasn’t a finished product.

“Work is a big purpose for which He created man to begin with,” said Mueller, who added that in Mark 6:3 that Jesus came into the world as a carpenter and spent most of his life building things."

Mueller also shared the accomplishments of several people, including Strive Mashiwa, an electrical engineer who returned to his native Zimbabwe after earning his high school and college degrees in Scotland to start a telephone company despite 75% of Africans not even hearing a telephone ring in the 1990s.

Mashiwa won a lawsuit against the government after a five-year battle, and his Econet telephone company now operates in 11 countries, and 75% of Zimbabwe and African residents now have telephones and internet access.

“This is an electrical engineer-turned-entrepreneur that has completely changed the future and the direction of thousands of Africans,” Mueller said.

In an interview, Mashiwa said he accomplished this by spending a minimum of two hours a day encountering Jesus.

“Some days are very busy, and I can only spend two hours, but I spent at least two hours a day in the Word,” Mueller recited Mashiwa as saying.

Mueller acknowledged the telecommunications industry, the internet and AI could create potential problems. But, “We've got to get over that as Christians, because with every scientific advancement and every technology advancement in the world, the opportunity is greater for good than it is for evil.”

GCU has its share of heroes in alumni Nathan Cooper, Levi Conlow and Weston Smith.

Cooper directs CityServe, which recently refurbished more than 975 computers and Chromebooks to distribute to underprivileged K-12 students. Conlow’s Lectric Ebike company has donated more than 650 eBikes, which have been refurbished and distributed. And Smith has generated more production from his Lux Precision Manufacturing company, hiring local high school graduates who don’t intend to enroll in college but can succeed as machinists.

“What are we trying to do at GCU? We’re trying to make sure you find your purpose," Mueller said. "That you find your purpose and tie it to a daily encounter with God. A daily encounter with Jesus. But we want the world to know it’s not just about us. That God is allowing us to touch this part of His world.

“And as we touch this part of the world, it becomes part of His kingdom. It becomes part of what He wants. And if we can accomplish that, then Paul would say, we’re saved by grace. But we’re saved for that purpose.”

Before delivering his theme, Mueller praised the faculty for spending the summer preparing programs and classes on schedule, as well as the Spiritual Life and Student Life staffers for their preparation.

He extended his appreciation to student leaders who have been on campus for three weeks, and police and security staffers for keeping the campus safe.

And, “I get compliments all the time about how beautiful our campus it is,” Mueller said. “It's our maintenance group. The way they do their work is an incredible testament to their work being a ministry.”

GCU News senior writer Mark Gonzales can be reached at [email protected]

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