Christmas Truth in Star Wars

Last updated on: December 14, 2015 at 9:23 pm By Center for Faith and Work, LeTourneau University

By Bill Peel Forty years ago Star Wars hooked millions of people and became part of American culture. With most of the original-and-aged cast, The Force Awakens opens in theaters on December 18. My expectations are high although the story line is unclear. While the special effects are spectacular, it was the Star Wars story— extreme evil, great good, desperate danger, genuine love, hopeless odds, and costly sacrifice—that attracted me from the beginning. Story elements such as these captivate the imagination... Read more

Paralyzed by Grace? What We Can Learn From Monastic Discipline

Last updated on: December 8, 2015 at 6:32 pm By Chris Armstrong

Adapted from Grateful to the Dead. We wonder today why we are spiritually anemic. This post from the monasticism chapter of my forthcoming Medieval Wisdom: An Exploration with C S Lewis moves on from the first of the “principles of mastery”–passion–to the third–discipline. Holiness is not optional, and it requires effort All this talk of passion may make us think that what is required it the single big, heroic action: casting ourselves into harm’s way for the sake of our... Read more

Leading on Gratitude Road

Last updated on: December 8, 2015 at 5:02 pm By Justin Irving

This past week I had the opportunity to share briefly in a chapel service at our school. The theme was thankfulness and gratitude. Whether in the Thanksgiving season or beyond, learning the art of gratitude is important for leaders and followers alike. The Good and the Bad of Future Focus But nurturing a spirit of gratitude comes more naturally for some. As I consider my personal tendencies and strengths, one of the tendencies that can work against a spirit of... Read more

Advent and the grace of delayed gratification

Last updated on: December 8, 2015 at 4:56 pm By Guest Contributor

By Christopher Edmonston In our world of instant delivery and fast passes, the countercultural season of Advent offers no shortcuts. Instead, we must walk slowly alongside the expectant couple, beholding the ordinary and tuning our hearts to the Holy Spirit, writes a Presbyterian pastor. This post originally appeared at Faith and Leadership. Years ago, I had a friend who taught me about celebrating the deep grace of ordinary things. The insatiable marketing machinery that frames so much of our... Read more

From 20 cents to $2200: Adventures in Tithing

Last updated on: December 9, 2015 at 5:28 pm By Jennifer Woodruff Tait

Editors’ Note: This article is part of the Patheos Public Square on Charitable Giving. Read other perspectives here. When I was a little kid, I got an allowance of a dollar. I can’t tell you if that was above or below the average for the mid-1970s when I was a little kid, but I can tell you that it was a dollar. Why? Because every week I took my offering envelope, wrote my name on it in careful first-grader... Read more

What both Bernie Sanders and George Will Contribute to the Christian Debate on Income Inequality

Last updated on: December 8, 2015 at 10:28 am By Institute for Faith, Work, and Economics

By Anne Bradley Income inequality is one of the most hotly debated topics of the 2016 presidential debates, and an issue with which Christian voters are forced to wrestle. Bernie Sanders calls it the great moral issue of our time, while Washington Post columnist George Will disagrees. Those on both sides of the issue offer valuable insight to a uniquely Christian understanding of inequality. In an interview with Mother Jones, Bernie Sanders says income inequality is a moral issue rooted... Read more

The Peculiar Loneliness of the Entrepreneur

Last updated on: November 24, 2015 at 4:31 pm By Mission:Work

By Timothy Askew; reprinted from Inc. with the kind permission of Timothy Askew. Lonely. God, that word sounds pathetic. It’s not the first thing that comes to mind when pondering the entrepreneur. In fact, I don’t believe I’ve read any articles specifically about loneliness and the entrepreneur, yet I believe it’s a reality that exists ubiquitously. I know it certainly exists for me. Most folks think of owners and CEOs as hard driving, autonomous, tough and energetic. Kind of mini-masters... Read more

Challenges and ideas: a report from the first annual National Faith and Work Association Meeting

Last updated on: December 4, 2015 at 10:50 am By Guest Contributor

By Mikel Del Rosario A Report from the National Faith and Work Association Inaugural Annual Gathering – Oct 22-23, 2015 The gathering was held at the Whitfield Center for Christian Leadership on the beautiful campus of Charleston Southern University. I attended as a representative of the Hendricks Center for Christian Leadership and Cultural Engagement at Dallas Theological Seminary. I stayed at the Wingate Hotel on campus; Yes, this school has a fully functional (and often fully booked) hotel on campus!... Read more

NEWS: ReFrame Goes Global

Last updated on: November 25, 2015 at 10:25 am By Mission:Work

We just got this nice news from the folks at ReFrame about new foreign-language versions of this great curriculum for connecting Sunday faith and Monday work. Be sure to check it out and to tell your friends! Contact ReFrame for more information. Reframe Goes Global We are thrilled to announce the launch of ReFrame with French, Spanish, and English subtitles. Translations are now available in both digital and DVD formats on the ReFrame website. With courses running in 26 countries,... Read more

VIDEO: How Faithful Churches Create Flourishing Communities

Last updated on: November 24, 2015 at 2:01 pm By Oikonomia Network

Here’s an inspiring talk on a vision for churches and their communities delivered by Charlie Self at an Oikonomia Network event on June 19, 2015. For more, check out http://www.oikonomianetwork.org. Read more