When I taught theology, the doctrine my students found most offensive was neighbor love. The idea that you are obligated to love the person right next to you, regardless of anything they might have done to “deserve” your love, was patently absurd to them. Now I teach writing. You have to have something to write about, so my students write about…
Category: Future of the Movement
Unambiguously Bad Idea: The Universal Basic Income and the Wall
Second in a series. Our chapel series here this semester is on reconciliation. This week, among other things, the sermon invoked Bonhoeffer’s “cheap grace” and exhorted us not to seek a “cheap reconciliation.” I’m thinking about that as I sit down to explain why the universal basic income will not only give more power to racism, but also build the Wall…
Unambiguously Bad Idea: The Universal Basic Income and Racism
First in a series. A couple of speakers at the Faith at Work Summit presented the public policy idea of a Universal Basic Income as if it were unambiguously good and it had no downsides that needed to be mentioned, implying that all good people on both sides of the political aisle were, or should be, in favor of it.…
Old Testament Curricular Workshops: Insights (Part 2)
This the latest in a series of articles sharing insights from a joint curricular development initiative of the ON, the Theology of Work Project and three ON schools (Asbury, Assemblies of God and Western). Reprinted from the Oikonomia Network. My previous article provided an overview of the relevance of some broad Old Testament themes for exploring faith and work issues. This article, part two,…
Book Review: The Artist and the Trinity
On any list of my favorite authors, Dorothy Sayers is near the top. I’ve been a fan, especially of Lord Peter and Harriet Vane, for years. I still remember walking into a used book store Before the Internet to see if they had any more copies of her mysteries. When I told the proprietor what I was searching for, he…
Babble On: The Impossible Future of the Nations
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,…
Book Review – The Job: Work and its Future in a Time of Radical Change
A consistent pattern in contemporary books about work is the emphasis on the expected acceleration of changes in the job market. They put forth a similar argument: advances in artificial intelligence and automation are sure to undermine existence as we know it, undermine the very fabric of our society, and spell the end of work as we know it. Usually,…
Seminary Spotlight: Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
By Evan Lenow Reprinted from the Oikonomia Network Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary is located deep in the heart of Texas in Fort Worth. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex enjoys a bustling economy and steady population growth. As a result, we have a great opportunity to address the integration of faith and work within our community. Through the work of the Land…
The Faith and Work Summit: Looking Back and Looking Forward
Remember all those Faith at Work Summit posts from a few months ago? Recently we checked in with Greg Forster, one of the 2018 Summit’s organizers, about the impact of the Summit – and its future. TGR: Two months after the Summit, how would you reflect on its impact? GF: I think we have really put two huge issues on…
The Faith and Work Movement Has a Problem
Well, now that I have your attention, it has quite a few problems. Read all the way to the end for some possible solutions. First, it tends to be theologically nerdy. That is always a temptation with any spiritual topic of interest, but seems particularly ironic when it comes to something as practical as work, affecting almost every Christian. We…
