By Chris Armstrong, reprinted from Humanism as a Way of Life. See previous posts in this series starting here and continuing here, here and here. Is God’s vocational will for us really inflexible? We’ve noted that bad theology says our single, mysterious vocation is inflexible—that is, eternally fixed and pre-set in the mid of God. If we’ve picked this belief up on our journey, then we may…
By Ken Benjamin; reprinted from the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth…
By Victor Claar, reprinted from the Oikonomia Network. The Economic Wisdom Project is best known for our Economic Wisdom Project Talks, which are short, accessible, engaging and rich presentations suitable for use in classrooms and group discussions. But the EWP also features print resources, including our vision paper and our twelve elements of economic wisdom. Economic Wisdom for Churches, our…
Reprinted from the Chalmers Center; part two of a series. Poverty alleviation is complex, so principles are more helpful than blueprints for designing an effective poverty alleviation ministry. There is no one-size-fits-all solution to material poverty, and context matters, too. Ministry tools and strategies that work well to facilitate lasting transformation in a rural village in Togo might not work in an urban area in the…
By Demi Prentiss, reprinted from Living God’s Mission. Nearly 50 years ago, a Roman Catholic archbishop told his flock, “How beautiful will be the day when all the baptized understand that their work, their job, is a priestly work, that just as I celebrate Mass at this altar, so each carpenter celebrates Mass at his workbench, and each metalworker, each…
By Denise Lee Yohn; reprinted from the Bay Area Center for Faith, Work & Tech. Mike Robbins, author of Bring Your Whole Self to Work, says we should be able “to fully show up” and “allow ourselves to be truly seen” in the workplace. What does that mean for Christians? That doesn’t mean we have to go around loudly announcing…
By David Williamson, part two of a series. As Genesis 1 proceeds, God continues to form the earth-substance out of nothing, and we see new and expanding products and possibilities. God takes on additional work – new, specific forms of work. God continue to create – indeed, to innovate – and various forms of material, such as vegetation, come into being,…
Reprinted from the Theology of Work Project, lead contributor Alice Matthews. People everywhere have always worked. And when we turn to the New Testament we find women engaged in all kinds of employment. For some it was the work of bearing and rearing children. For others it was bringing aid to folks in need. And for still others it was as…
By Chris Armstrong, reprinted from Humanism as a Way of Life. See previous posts in this series starting here and continuing here and here. Too often Americans think vocation is… Summing up, probably the most common bad vocational theology I’ve found among Christian students is the lie that we must discover “the” one, mysterious vocation God has for us. For some students, even…
By Steve Rouse, reprinted from the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light…
The Green Room 