Reprinted from the Chalmers Center. We used to send teams into communities asking, ‘How can we help?’ Now, influenced by the Chalmers Center’s insights, we enter with a different question: ‘What can we learn?’ That shift has been profound, allowing us to engage in ways that honor the dignity, strengths, and leadership of the communities we serve. Jonathan Wiles, Chief…
By Brandon Beck, reprinted from Living God’s Mission. Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the people; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you. Isaiah 68:1-6 Do you remember the camp…
By now it is almost a truism that the faith and work movement struggles with reaching blue collar workers. A number of very smart people have tried to do something about that. More than any I have seen so far, W. David Buschart and Ryan Tafilowski have succeeded with their new book Worth Doing: Fallenness, Finitude, and Work in the…
By Denise Lee Yohn, reprinted from the Bay Area Center for Faith, Work & Tech. How do you maintain integrity when your workplace doesn’t share your values? It’s a question I hear constantly from Christians in tech, finance, healthcare, and beyond. The software engineer asked to ship an unready product. The data scientist told to optimize algorithms that push users…
By Greg Forster: part two of a series. In a talk on Sending Disciples to a Pluralistic World, Vincent Bacote said: “Many Christians live in an imagination desert, unable to connect faith to vocation.” That’s a deep insight – that it takes imagination to make the connection between faith and work. And Bacote draws the work/imagination connection tighter when he…
Reprinted from the Theology of Work Project. Introduction to the Issue Because they are human and subject to the effects of the Fall, bosses can be arrogant, self-centered, or even abusive. Dealing with a bad boss requires extra tact and forethought. Here is a case study from the bible on one bad boss. A Bible Hero with a Bad Boss…
By Chris Armstrong, reprinted from Humanism as a Way of Life. Part one of a series. Ordinary Work Author Michael Horton says, “Ordinary” has to be one of the loneliest words in our vocabulary today. . . . Who wants to be that ordinary person who lives in an ordinary town, is a member of an ordinary church, and has ordinary friends and works an ordinary job? Our life has to…
By Jo Trickey, reprinted from the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity. I am saying this so that no one may deceive you with plausible arguments. Colossians 2:4 In his letter to the Colossians, Paul expresses a deep pastoral concern: that believers should not be misled by teachings that sound great but are ultimately false. ‘I am saying this,’ he writes,…
Reprinted from the Oikonomia Network. Our vision paper “A Christian Vision for Flourishing Communities” lays out how we see the challenge of renewing theologically formed Christian wisdom for the common good and human flourishing in the advanced modern world. En Español: “Una Visión Christiana para las Comunidades Florecientes“ Inside, you’ll find: While the Twelve Elements usually get most of the…
Reprinted from the Chalmers Center. Local churches are designed by God to be on the “front lines” of proclaiming His love to a hurting world. But churches often make a significant mistake when it comes to helping those in poverty. They sometimes create divisions in their efforts that aren’t really necessary, according to Scripture. When we split up the act…
The Green Room 