Sixth in a series. The epic of Babel points to the question: Where is our work taking the world? In the faith and work movement, we used to discuss all the time what Steve Garber has called “the fate of the widget.” Is our work shaping the material world to prepare it as much as we can for Christ’s return,…
Fifth in a series. We have seen that the biblical epic of Babel does not end with the original Babel account, but is central to the call of Abram and the agony of exile. And we have seen that the epic of Babel has much to say about our daily work: Good work done well is a temptation to pride and…
Fourth in a series. Israel’s exile in Babel (a.k.a. Babylon) is the next step in the big biblical epic of Babel that we can draw on to rethink our daily work. It’s become fashionable in the evangelical quarters of the faith and work movement to talk about exile these days. In fact, it’s been so fashionable for so long that I…
Third in a series. You can’t understand Genesis 12 without Genesis 11. Unfortunately, the biblical story of redemption has been cut off from the biblical story of Babel, and there is no clearer sign of this than the fact that we frequently read Genesis 12 (the foundational text for the story of redemption) without placing it within the indispensable context…
Throughout the Faith at Work 2018 Summit, people would ask me, “how’s it going?” I responded: “you tell me – how’s it going?” We had a record-breaking 434 summit attendees, and we’ve sent them a feedback survey, so we’ll find out soon enough how it went! But from what I’m hearing so far, it sounds like I’m not alone in…
Second in a series. God’s response to the rebellion of Babel is stunning. And it reveals much about our daily work – and the social nature we were made to work in. Surveying the disastrous wrong turn of humanity at Babel, here is what God says (Genesis 11:6): If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do…
Part one of a series. The story of Babel reveals many of the patterns of work in the fallen world. It reveals them in the Babel account of Genesis 11, which is what you probably thought of when I first mentioned “the story of Babel.” But the story of Babel is much bigger than that, for “Babel” is also “Babylon,”…
Eschatology isn’t the only theological issue the faith and work movement struggles with, although it is probably the thorniest one. Another issue has been soteriology. How big is the gospel? But I think increased theological awareness in the church has removed a lot of what used to be real obstacles here. And the tensions that remain are, I think, actually tensions…
Part four of a series. Eschatological continuity emphasizes joining with others to serve the common good of the community, going beyond the walls of the church to form civic community with those who believe differently in the service of common causes. Eschatological discontinuity emphasizes accepting differences and compromises, coping with the world’s rejection of the church’s message and the church’s work…
Part three of a series. Eschatological continuity emphasizes fighting for justice, bearing prophetic witness against the darkness of the world, and exercising kingly and queenly authority in rooting it out from our own domains of responsibility. Eschatological discontinuity emphasizes moderating our ambitions to see justice and mercy vindicated, and waiting patiently for the Lord’s judgment upon the overwhelming majority of evil that we are…
The Green Room 