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Author: The Green Room

Ever heard of a “green room”? It’s the room in a theater where actors and speakers can relax when they’re not on stage….talk to each other about what they really think, fix their makeup, get some coffee, and otherwise prepare for their next moment “on.” Well, this blog is the green room for the faith and work movement, where its leaders can kick off their shoes, grab a cup of coffee or a mug of tea, and talk heart-to-heart about where the movement’s come from, where it’s going, what’s working, and what’s not working. We hope you’ll join the conversation.

The “Little Saints” of Vocation at Christmas

By David Williamson. My favorite Christmas nativity scene comes from the French region of Provence. I first discovered this scene in the lobby of a local French hotel. At first glance, it looked like another Christmas nativity scene or crèche. But at a second glance, I stopped in my tracks and noticed something very different from all the traditional crèches…

Welcome to the Metaverse

By John Wyatt, reprinted from the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity. Mark Zuckerberg, like many other tech entrepreneurs, is driven by a dream – turning science fiction into reality. Not content with connecting 2.9 billion Facebook users across the planet, Zuckerberg is now focusing on the metaverse, a 3D virtual reality world in which it is claimed we will soon be…

Seminary Spotlight: Criswell College

By Joe Wooddell, reprinted from the Oikonomia Network. The big news at Criswell College this year is twofold, and the two stories combine in our vision of whole-life discipleship. First, the college was blessed to open its first-ever residence hall. And that building serves as a launchpad for our second piece of big news: Criswell 360°, a four-year undergraduate common…

Learning Hard Lessons

By Michelle Koh, reprinted from the Salt & Light Australia Daily Devotional. There I stood, wondering if I would get sacked on my first job out of university. It had only been a few weeks at this job and I did not realize the gravity of the mistake I made. By changing a setting on a piece of computer network equipment during office…

Bending Your Hiring Toward the Poor

Reprinted from the Chalmers Center. Adapted from Practicing the King’s Economy: Honoring Jesus in How We Work, Earn, Spend, Save, and Give (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books 2018), 90, 130-31; 153-54 Connecting people with good work is a crucial component of any long-term, sustainable poverty alleviation strategy. For most of us, supporting job-seekers looks like advocacy, providing references, and helping out with things like…

Discernment and Team Formation (Also a Webinar)

On Nov. 11 at 4pm EST, CityGate will host a free webinar with Tracy Mathews of Attune: Receptivity, Discernment and Formation  Listen. Discern. Go. It seems so simple. Yet in practice, it is challenging and sometimes painful. We live in a fast-paced world with so much information, challenge, and opportunity swirling in our orbits that it can feel impossible to…

Laicizing the Church

By Demi Prentiss, reprinted from Living God’s Mission. For the church in the 21st century, this definition of “laicize” [see image] is missing the mark, What’s needed is a word that speaks of laity assuming their rightful place in the church, as the “first order“ – both historically and in terms of numbers. I’m searching for a term to describe the laos –…

Review: The Work of Our Hands

By David Gill, reprinted from The 313. Randy White is  the founder (2012) and executive director of the Center for Community Transformation at Fresno Pacific University. After his BA at Sacramento State University, he earned his Master of Christian Studies at New College Berkeley, his MA in Urban Sociology & Community Development at Fresno Pacific, and his DMin in Transformational Leadership in the Global City at Bakke Graduate University.…

The Heart of Business

By David Williamson. The Monday morning section of the StarTrib had this title for the lead article: “Ex Best Buy CEO’s Quest for ‘Human Magic’.” The article was about Hubert Joly. It attracted my attention for four reasons: Because Best Buy has made a significant turnaround, from edge of failure, to strong retail and service company in the high-tech arena.…

Karam Forum 2021: Reviving Reconciliation

Reprinted from the Oikonomia Network. Chris Brooks will speak at Karam Forum 2021 on “Reviving Reconciliation,” and folks from leading investment firm Eventide will join us to talk about the tough theological questions raised by modern finance. That’s on top of David French and Michael Wear on justice and the church today, Jennifer Powell McNutt, Gavin Ortlund and more on justice and the church in…