Reprinted from the Chalmers Center; part four of a series. Resuming our journey through the Ministry Design Principles, we turn our attention to replacing destructive formative practices in our fundraising, in our relationships with stakeholders, and in our marketing strategies. A ministry working to walk in the path of God’s story of change pursues practices that treat all stakeholders as a community…
By Demi Prentiss, reprinted from Living God’s Mission. Greg Pierce’s book The Mass is Never Ended maintains that the most important moment in the celebration of Holy Eucharist is the dismissal—the sending out of the faithful into the world to be alter Christi, “other Christs,” in service to the world in Christ’s name. The Sunday celebrations of holy eucharist (“thanksgiving”) are not the…
By Stephany Baker, reprinted from the Bay Area Center for Faith, Work & Tech. Have you ever noticed how much importance we place on our professional connections? “It’s not what you know, but who you know,” they say. In networking events, we exchange business cards, drop names, and subtly position ourselves based on our associations. I recently found myself at…
By David Williamson, part four of a series. We are now somewhere in the middle of a deadly world-wide virus – a pandemic. As I read Genesis 3, I am aware that Genesis 3 introduces a deadly virus into the high view of work introduced in Genesis 1 and 2. Unfortunately, much of what people experience in their work, “reality now”…
Reprinted from the Theology of Work Project, lead contributor William Messenger. When Christians ask about vocation (or “calling”), we usually mean, “Is God calling me to a particular job, profession or type of work?” This is a significant question, because the work we do is important to God. If work is important, it makes sense to ask what work God wants us…
By Chris Armstrong, reprinted from Humanism as a Way of Life. See previous posts in this series starting here and continuing here, here, here and here. One source toward a “spirituality of vocation” Finally, I want to return to the idea that if we take Christian ideas of vocation seriously, we can bridge the sacred-secular divide that so many experience in their work in the modern…
By Steve Rouse, reprinted from the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity. And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I…
By James Thobaben, 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 three of a series. We’ve been sharing Ministry Design Principles in a series of posts (you can read last week’s here). All these principles can, in some sense, be bundled under 6 aspects of holistic poverty alleviation—1) forming the kingdom community, 2) addressing false stories of change, 3) addressing broken practices, 4) addressing broken individuals, 5) addressing broken…
By Pam Tinsley, reprinted from Living God’s Mission. Ever since a bald eagle flew over our son and daughter-in-law’s outdoor wedding – and a friend observed that eagles are a sign of blessing – I’ve been mesmerized when an eagle soars overhead. If I hear a murder of crows squawking fiercely, I’ll search the skies for a nearby eagle. Recently,…
The Green Room 