By David Williamson. Being “house bound” or “grounded” by Covid-19, I started cleaning out old files and came across two newspaper articles that I had been saving, about shoes. The two articles had two very different vantage points: one, a manufacturer; the second, a shoeshine provider. This led me to remember a familiar old spiritual about shoes, and how all…
By Denise Daniels and Mark D. Roberts, reprinted from Made to Flourish. Over the past three years, I (Denise) have been working on a research project called Faith at Work: An Empirical Study, which collected data from individuals across the United States. My colleagues and I wanted to understand how everyday people think about faith and work. We also sought to learn…
By Sarah Heynemann, reprinted from the Salt & Light Australia Daily Devotional. It’s a pretty difficult time to be giving bad news to patients in the hospital at present. A young patient presents with a seeming innocuous musculoskeletal complaint and leaves hospital the recipient of an advanced incurable cancer. How do you relay this news with compassion and empathy at any…
By Lisa Slayton, reprinted from The Wholeness Journey. There is a marvelously breathtaking moment when we watch the trapeze artist flying through the air as she releases one swing and looks suspended, seemingly weightless, high above the ground before she reaches to grab onto the next swing or the hands of her partner. While it fascinates us to watch, we…
By Fletcher Lowe, reprinted from Living God’s Mission. Over two thousand years ago, Paul said it this way: “Equip the saints for ministry.” (Ephesians 4:12) Sixty-six years ago, the Second Assembly of the World Council of Churches, fleshed it out: The real battles of faith today are being fought in factories, shops, offices, and farms, in political parties and government agencies, in countless…
By David Gill, reprinted from The 313. Ellen Ruppel Shell is professor of journalism at Boston University and a widely-published author. The Job is one of the very best books (of many dozens) assessing the changing work and employment scene. Part One is about “Our National Jobs Disorder.” It used to be argued that technology is flattening organizations and has liberating, empowering…
By Jim Grubs, reprinted from Minding the Gap. If you are a person who is active in the pursuit of integrating the beliefs and principles of faith, and specifically those of the Christian tradition, into work, then I’m guessing you’ve likely run into some significant opposition at your worksite. In fact, this may almost be a daily occurrence for you.…
Reprinted from the Oikonomia Network. I’m grateful to write this seminary spotlight on behalf of The Commonweal Project at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. I benefited from The Commonweal Project as a new student at Southern, grew with it through my MDiv, and now, get to serve it as its managing fellow. I started at Southern in fall of 2014, and…
By Michelle Koh, reprinted from her blog; via the Salt & Light Australia Daily Devotional. Recently, I found myself needing some medical care urgently on the weekend. Unfortunately, there were outside my regular doctor’s work hours, so I proceeded to call a service that provided a call out service. When that doctor arrived, I was shocked. Not simply because he didn’t…
By David Williamson. “He was Toro Company’s ‘Servant Leader’” was the headline in the morning’s business section of the local newspaper (the Minneapolis Star Tribune), announcing the death of Ken Melrose, who had been president and CEO of Toro for nearly 25 years. Ken was a brother in Christ and friend, whose Christian faith was “under the radar.” Yet it…
The Green Room 