Part two of a series. Eschatological continuity emphasizes excellence in our work, setting the standard for which we strive. Eschatological discontinuity emphasizes comfort and hope when our work is painful and frustrating. In C.S. Lewis’ allegorical novel The Pilgrim’s Regress, Mr. Savage sneers at the inhabitants of Claptrap (who represent respectable, bourgeois Enlightenment society) because they spend their whole lives working and building, even…
Early in Practicing the King’s Economy: Honoring Jesus in How We Work, Earn, Spend, Save, and Give, written by Michael Rhodes and Robby Holt with help from Brian Fikkert, the authors talk about a method often used by the church to respond to needs in their communities: So often, the metaphor for our compassion becomes the soup kitchen. We line up on…
By Jeff Haanen & Dustin Moody; reprinted from the Denver Institute for Faith and Work Living out our faith at work looks different for doctors, lawyers, accountants, and professionals in various industries, and ministry leaders often struggle to fully understand the challenges their members face in the workplace. At a recent event for our Church Partnership Network, Jeff Haanen shared seven practical ways to disciple the…
By Wayne Schwab In The Episcopal Church (TEC), we are moving into a heavy emphasis on evangelism. But what is evangelism? Is it calling people to join the church? Or is it calling people to join the mission?? The Episcopal Evangelism Toolkit seems to say evangelism means calling people to join the church. A one-liner on the opening page reads,…
The purpose of the Faith@Work Summit is to gather active participants and leaders in the faith at work movement from every industry sector to learn from each other and work together to extend Christ’s transforming presence in workplaces around the world. The 2018 Faith at Work Summit, held in Chicago at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare on October 11th-13th, is now open for registration! Early registration is now available at $239 per ticket, so be sure to purchase soon.
Chris Brooks and Evangel Ministries have been faithfully seeking to address issues of urban poverty in the city of Detroit since 1998. In this talk from the 2016 Dallas Faith@Work Summit, Brooks shares some of the insights they have gleaned in efforts to bring a holistic understanding of gospel and vocation to bring restorative waters to an “urban desert.”
Check out this 15-minute video to learn how Brooks envisions seeing occupations not merely as means toward a paycheck, but as a “vocation” that can be utilized to fulfill God’s command to love neighbors in need. Multi-generational poverty in communities is a real problem demanding multi-sectored, interdisciplinary solutions. Rather than pitting social justice against gospel concerns, Brooks lays out a vision where “solving social problems is not a violation of the gospel, but actually a fulfillment of it.”
In my ecclesiastical neck of the woods (Anglicanism) we are fond of dividing holidays into civic celebrations set forth by the state, and liturgical celebrations making up the “church year” which derive from Christ’s life (and, in terms of lesser holidays, from the lives of his mom and the saints, but that’s another post.) Part of the way we view…
Part one of a series. A chance word from a friend has got me wanting to bicker about eschatology again. This has been a sore spot for our movement. But I wonder if we’re coming to the point where it’s time to start having this conversation again. The movement’s increasing maturity should be positioning us for mutual learning and edification…
This is an introduction to a new series from Made to Flourish about the importance of integrating faith and work conversations within our youth ministries and homes, including the how and why of talking to our kids about vocation and how it relates to our faith. We’ll be reprinting the next post shortly. For believers, whether 17 or 70 years…
See the first post in this series here. My students and I are not the only ones struggling to understand and experience a sense of agency with regard to the way we spend time. Political, economic, and technological developments of the past few decades have given us the illusion of control over our time while simultaneously, if slowly, stripping us…
In a diverse neighborhood in Pasadena, California, lattes are changing lives. Rev. Dan Davidson came to Pasadena as pastor of the First Free Methodist Church of Pasadena, CA, but when that church closed its doors, he stuck around. Commissioned and ordained to relaunch the church (now Rose City Church), Pastor Dan is committed to staying in their current neighborhood. .…
The Green Room 