Sunday 16th March 2008
Colin Mackay chats to Ken Costa, one-time anti-apartheid activist turned City investment banker and devout Christian, about whether there is space for God in the workplace.
BBC Scotland’s ‘A Life in Question’ invites individuals from all walks of life to reflect on their experiences and to reflect on two pieces of music.
Ken Costa was interviewed live on Metro FM (96.4) by chat show host Criselda Kananda in Johannesburg on 28th February at 7pm.
The show focusses on healthy body, mind and spirit on every Wednesday and Thursday evening 19:00 to 21:00 targeting 5.2 million listeners.
He was asked questions about his book God at Work, recently published in South Africa, and how he reconciles life as an investment banker, completing billion dollar deals with his life as a Christian. He then received questions from listeners.
Criselda Kananda has been actively involved in the fight for the rights of both the HIV infected and HIV negative people. She served as a Member of the Board of Trustees at the National AIDS Counsel (SANEC) 2005-2006 and in 2006 represented South Africa in New York during the United Nations General Assembly Special Meeting on communicable diseases, commissioned by Mr Koffie Annan. Criselda has also received an award from the First Lady Mrs Zanele Mbeki for her contribution towards the up-liftment of young women in South Africa as an ambassador for the Young South African Women in Dialogue.
A talk by Ken Costa will be broadcast on the ‘Holy Trinity Tonight’ show at 11pm on the 18th August and 7pm on the 19th August.
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Ken Costa was interviewed on Inspirit, BBC LONDON’s multi faith magazine programme, about religion in the office and whether God belongs at work.
The weekly Sunday morning show takes an ethical look at the week’s top news stories and tackles a wide range of religious subjects.
Discussing his book and personal experiences, Ken was joined by Christian GP Dr Mark Pickering and Muslim lawyer Aina Khan.
Ken Costa appeared on Jeff Randall’s Weekend Business show to chat about religion and the workplace. The weekly slot discusses the latest news and features from the world of business and finance.
Jeff Randall:
Now how do you reconcile the pursuit of great personal wealth with strong religious beliefs, well, that’s the subject of a book by Ken Costa, a senior director at the giant investment bank, UBS. Ken welcome to Five Live.
Now Ken, you are a devout Christian but as a city banker you earn more money in a week than some people earn in a year. Can you live comfortably with that?
Ken Costa:
Well Jeff, I think it depends on the attitude, it depends on how you view that prosperity and I love the remarks of John Wesley, you know, ‘Make all you can, save all you can and give all you can.’ And that’s been a pretty good guide for many people.
Jeff Randall:
So you’re saying it’s no sin to earn lots of money, but it’s what you do with it once you’ve got it.
Ken Costa:
Well it’s both that. I think it’s to do what you – you’ve got to be sure that what you’re working in is the right place, that you’re providing a service to the community and then what you do with it matters.
Jeff Randall:
So do you agree with Peter Hain, the government minister who said that he wanted people in the city to give their bonuses away…
Listen to show here.
Read a transcript of the interview here.
God at Work is developing a course, which will look at some of the issues discussed in the book, for use in small groups. Please contact us if you're interested in receiving more information about this.
Podcast episodes are available here or at iTunes.
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God at Work has been featured in The Times, Radio 5 Live, the FT and Business Day.
