Jonathan Malesic, one of our bloggers, recently sent out a note alerting his mailing list to a paper he’s written for the Journal of Religious Ethics on resources from Thoreau for dealing with the “suckiness” of work (TGR’s term, not Malesic’s). The paper is behind a paywall, but if you belong to an academic institution you may have access to the…
Chris Horst is the vice president of development for HOPE International. He is passionate about issues of faith and entrepreneurship. He is also the author of Mission Drift and Entrepreneurship For Human Flourishing. He blogs regularly and has recently posted an article reflecting on his early jobs and the importance of work. Horst discusses a job he had at a friend’s…
By Greg Forster; part seven of a series. In his masterpiece, Work: The Meaning of Your Life, Lester DeKoster said that work is the primary way in which we, empowered by the Spirit, form ourselves into Christlikeness. “God has so made us that through working we actually sculpt the kind of selves we each are becoming, in time and for eternity.” That’s…
By Greg Forster; part six of a series. This is a post about ruling the world. This series on suffering began with the two horns of the dilemma facing the faith and work movement: we want to help people suffer but without helping people suffer. Then it went through the three major theological areas where there is, in general, a…
By Greg Forster; part five of a series. You don’t work in this movement for long without hearing about eschatology. But we don’t connect eschatology to suffering as often as we should. If we did, I think we might find that our differences over eschatology can be fruitful rather than destructive. So, let’s bicker about eschatology! (The previous post in…
By Greg Forster; part four of a series. If you’re suffering, there is power in saying that you’re suffering. That, or something very close to it, was a comment made about blues music in Ken Burns’ documentary series “Jazz.” One way we can help people suffer without helping them suffer is simply by telling the truth about suffering in work.…
By Greg Forster; part two of a series. How do we help people suffer without helping them suffer? That is, how can we help people persevere through suffering, and even “rejoice in our sufferings,” without becoming complacent about their suffering or even – God forbid! – contributing to social conditions that increase suffering? This is a paradox the faith and…
The Green Room 