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…
Category: Diversity
Review: Workers on Arrival
By David Gill, reprinted from The 313. Workers On Arrival: Black Labor in the Making of America by Joe William Trotter, Jr.(University of California, 2019) Joe William Trotter, Jr., is distinguished professor of history at Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh. Workers on Arrival is a superb, meticulously researched account of the contributions and challenges of black workers throughout American history. The focus here is not all…
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…
“I Can’t Breathe”: George Floyd, the Gospel and Our Response
By Chris Brooks, reprinted from Made to Flourish; this article originally appeared at woodsidebible.org. Last week, I lost my breath. My breathlessness came because of watching the now viral video of a man gasping for the desperately needed air his lungs begged for. He pleaded with the police officer whose knee was crushing his windpipe as he moaned out the words,…
What Does Justice Require?
Excerpt from Economic Wisdom for Churches. THESIS 50: Christians should be taught that if the pope knew about the exploitation practiced by the indulgence-preachers, he would burn the church of St. Peter to ashes rather than build it with the skin, flesh and bones of the sheep. Martin Luther, 95 Theses Jobs, poverty, globalization, environment, debt, racism, trade – does…
Hearing Diverse Voices on the Secular-Sacred Divide
By Chigor Chike, reprinted from Everyday Faith. Adapted from an Inspiring Everyday Faith Webinar held on Wednesday 25 March 2020. Everyday Faith and the Secular-Sacred Distinction For the church it is important that in our gatherings and discussions we find opportunities to include people of black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) heritage. There is often a useful, different perspective that…
Beyond Charity: Churches Helping in Food Deserts
Reprinted from Made to Flourish. Like many pastors, Heber Brown III visits congregants from Pleasant Hope Baptist Church in Baltimore when they’re in the hospital. But unlike most pastors, he’s doing something more than praying for and visiting people. Over the past five years Brown has mobilized more than two dozen area congregations into the Black Church Food Security Network (BCFSN)…
Seminary Spotlight: Grand Rapids Theological Seminary
By Darrell Yoder, reprinted from the Oikonomia Network. The rhythms of life at Grand Rapids Theological Seminary are rooted in a vision of the gospel that is biblically holistic, prophetic, formational and deeply practical. Within our shared theological framework, we seek to hold space for difference – theological, cultural, ethnic, gender and otherwise – so that we can experience the richness…
Being White in the (White) Faith and Work Movement
To mark the occasion of Martin Luther King Day, we are reposting this article from our archives. It was originally part one of two; read part two here. The post originally ran on Feb. 6, 2018. “The American ideal of racial progress is measured by how fast I become white.” James Baldwin As a white person I’ve never been very cognizant…
MLK on Work
To honor Martin Luther King’s contribution to the faith and work movement, we are reposting this article from our archives. It was originally part one of a series. Many in our movement have heard some version of Martin Luther King’s famous “street sweeper” illustration, which calls on workers to pursue excellence in their work and find dignity and meaning in…
The Green Room 