By Kenneth Barnes, reprinted from the Oikonomia Network Times of transition are a good time for reflection. As Gordon-Conwell prepares for a new chapter in our history (a milestone anniversary and a new president), I’ve been reflecting on the big picture, and how we are to deal with events and circumstances beyond our control that challenge past assumptions and present…
Arleen Westerhof initiated the European Economic Summit. Since 2014, Christians active in the area of business, economics, and policymaking have gathered yearly in Amsterdam. Before starting the EES, Arleen prayed fervently for influential Christians to rise up. She now witnesses answers to these prayers: “I see skilled and anointed followers of Jesus Christ all around the globe involved in social…
Third in a series. I’ve already argued that a universal basic income would empower racism and build the wall in the short term. Some further reflection on why it would do these things will help us imagine what it would do in the long term. We are already moving rapidly in the direction of a future in which large, impersonal bureaucracies…
Reprinted from Made to Flourish. Made to Flourish editor’s note: Barna Group just released a new study, Christians at Work, which explores how Christians relate to their workplace lives, and how their faith intersects with the rest of their lives. One main theme of this research centers around vocational discipleship. Made to Flourish executive director, Matt Rusten, sat down with Barna…
Have you ever noticed what stupid questions we ask little kids? Like this one: What’s your favorite color? How does a kid answer that question? Let’s say she’s a girl, and let’s say she chooses pink. Maybe an adult responds, “That’s a pretty color, just like you!” Or say she chooses blue. Someone responds in a confident tone, “That’s a…
By Barry Creamer; reprinted from the Oikonomia Network. 2018 was a banner year for Criswell College. We celebrated our one-year anniversary as an Oikonomia Network partner school, and we took steps to begin the largest and most comprehensive undertaking in the school’s nearly 50-year history. Ministry-Minded in All Vocations While many of our graduates in the past have gone on…
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…
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…
Soon after the Berlin Wall fell, Georges Dubi saw the need to initiate, support, and encourage business in Eastern Europe. Swiss-based Christliche Ostmission gave him the opportunity to do so in Romania. Ever since, the mission has been involved in helping develop the business sector, also in other developing countries. “So much more is possible,” says Georges, “If we are open to be inspired by…
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.…
The Green Room 