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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.

Seminary Spotlight: Criswell College

By Brandon Seitzler, reprinted from the Oikonomia Network. Five nouns, which we call our Graduate Profile, drive our teaching at Criswell College: Ambassador, Cultivator, Peacemaker, Problem-Solver and Professional. When students walk across the stage on graduation day, we intend that they will be these five things. We introduced our new Graduate Profile this academic year as a promise to our…

Gearshifts: From Return to Work to Realign to Work

By Lisa Slayton; part one of a series. Reprinted from The Wholeness Journey. I learned to drive a stick shift in 1976 in a light blue 1969 Volkswagen Beetle. For anyone who remembers learning to drive a four- or five-speed, you know that sound that occurs when the gears grind. It is a bad sound, kind of sets your teeth on edge.…

Why Did Jesus Come to Earth?

Reprinted from the Chalmers Center; also see the Chalmers Center’s statement on racial injustice and call to prayer and lament. So what is the church supposed to do about racial injustice? Many responses to this cultural moment have emphasized that racism (and injustice in society, more generally) is ultimately a spiritual problem, so the church’s response should be to focus on…

Women at Work: What COVID-19 Reveals

By Joanna Meyer, reprinted from the Denver Institute for Faith and Work. Have you seen the ad Microsoft Teams created for Mothers’ Day that shows moms juggling childcare and work-related web calls during the quarantine? Kids sword fight in the background and brush mom’s hair while these harried professionals fight to keep their composure in front of their colleagues. Maybe you can…

At Play in Eden

By David Williamson. It is now June – summer is here, finally! Perhaps this year, the arrival is appreciated even more. Covid-19 and the closing of restaurants, gyms, retail stores, etc., began in March – the tail end of winter. There is lots of pent-up anticipation for summer and being outside, doing fun summer-like activities. It is starting to happen!…

Travel and Make Money

By Robert Martin, reprinted from the Salt & Light Australia Daily Devotional. Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a…

Review of Jordan Raynor’s Master of One

By Chris Robertson, reprinted from Made to Flourish. I’m sure you have heard the phrase “a jack-of-all-trades, master of none,” referring to an individual with knowledge of many jobs while lacking expertise in any of them. This quote came to mind as I read Jordan Raynor’s new book, Master Of One: Find and Focus On the Work You Were Created To…

Trinitarian Ministry in Daily Life

By Demi Prentiss, reprinted from Living God’s Mission. Trinity Sunday – observed across many Christian denominations last Sunday – usually focuses on the ineffable trinitarian identity of the God we worship. “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God almighty” is often the theme song of the day’s observances.  It’s unusual to hear any reference in Trinity Sunday liturgies to the oh-so-everyday-ness of…

David Gill’s Review of Redeeming Capitalism by Kenneth Barnes

By David W. Gill, reprinted from The 313. Ken Barnes is Mockler-Phillips Professor of Workplace Theology and Business Ethics at Gordon-Conwell Seminary in the Boston area. Ken has an impressive record of academic study and achievement in both theology and economics – and an equally impressive track record “in the trenches” of leadership in both the business world and the church world.…

Order Out of Chaos

By David Williamson. I was reflecting on the early chapters of Genesis from a faith and work, theology of work perspective this past week, thinking about how God uses our work to bring order out of chaos, when we began experiencing racial unrest across the globe. I thought of another, perhaps more basic way of understanding the process of God…