Mental health: an economic issue, not just a health issue

Last updated on: August 19, 2014 at 2:03 pm By Mission:Work

Recently Danielle Kurtzleben had this to say for online publisher Vox Media about mental health and the economy: Only a limited set of topics bring mental illness into the news. Obamacare’s mental health coverage requirements briefly brought mental health into the spotlight. And every time there’s a mass shooting in the US (disturbingly regularly, as it turns out), it also sparks a conversation about mental illness. But another American crisis, the persistently weak economy, is also a mental health issue. And it’s a mental health issue that... Read more

Is anything too small for God?

Last updated on: July 8, 2014 at 8:35 am By Acton Institute

Recently at the Acton Institute’s Commentary page, Jordan Ballor was musing on C. S. Lewis, theology, and economics: At the conclusion of the first of his two chapters exploring the theological virtue of faith in Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis provides a brief illustration….Lewis wants to show that a key element of faith is the understanding of the divine origins of all things. “Every faculty you have, your power of thinking or of moving your limbs from moment to moment, is given... Read more

Three key lessons about busyness

Last updated on: August 19, 2014 at 2:03 pm By Mission:Work

We’re all busy, right? Yeah, me too. But I was pulled up short a few days ago by this post on the Chronicle of Higher Education‘s Vitae blog by Allison M. Vaillancourt: I work with someone who begins every conversation by telling me how busy she is. I don’t mean some conversations, or most conversations; I mean every single conversation. Whenever I am about to talk with her, I ask myself, “I wonder if she will tell me how busy she is?” And... Read more

“Are we putting people on a nicer plane to hell?”

Last updated on: July 4, 2014 at 2:33 pm By Made to Flourish

Yes–I sat up too when I read that headline over at the Kern Pastors Network blog. It was a sincere question asked to pastor Tom Olson who was recently participating in a forum on faith, work, and economics. He goes on to unpack the question–and his answer: During a Q&A session, one man who was really wrestling with the topic asked the speaker, “Are we just putting people on a nicer plane to hell?” It was shocking terminology – but... Read more

Are capitalism and Christianity incompatible? A debate

Last updated on: August 19, 2014 at 2:03 pm By Mission:Work

A debate on just that very question graced the pages of the New York Times in their “Room for Debate” feature last week, opening with the statement: Jesus drove money changers out of the Temple, calling them “a den of thieves.” Of the profit-centric world view, Pope Francis warned, “We can no longer trust in the unseen forces and the invisible hand of the market” to provide economic justice. Others call Christianity and capitalism inextricable. Is contemporary capitalism compatible with Christian values? The debate... Read more

What does “faith and work” mean?

Last updated on: August 19, 2014 at 2:03 pm By Mission:Work

This blog, and this whole channel at Patheos, are meant to help highlight helpful resources and thought-provoking questions coming out of what has broadly been described as the “faith and work” movement. But what does the phrase mean? Does it mean that faith and work are the same thing? Does it mean “faith and works?” Greg Forster of the blog Hang Together says “No” to both of those questions in a recent post: The most persuasive version of the concern that I... Read more

A five-minute guide to money (part two of a series on money management)

Last updated on: August 19, 2014 at 2:03 pm By Mission:Work

Yesterday in this space we shared a few tips that might help you get your finances in order. Very good advice–but as Christians, we have a larger framework to put that advice in. Recently on the blog of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship Drew Larson laid out those principles–aimed at college students, to be sure, but useful for all of us. He begins, Looking at your bank statement from last month is like meeting a stranger. Does anybody recognize the “Last Month’s... Read more

Five ways to stop living paycheck to paycheck (part one of a series on money management)

Last updated on: August 19, 2014 at 2:03 pm By Mission:Work

Part of being faithful to God in our work involves being faithful to God with our resources. But for many of us, we feel at sea here–how do we better take care of our money and handle that dreaded B-word (budget)? We’ve pulled in a couple of pieces of thoughtful advice on the topic from around the web. Today, some tips from a secular perspective that originally appeared in Money Talks News (we picked them up via the Christian Science Monitor) on “five... Read more

Three ways Dallas Seminary is helping its students wrestle with issues of faith and work

Last updated on: July 1, 2014 at 10:29 am By Oikonomia Network

On the Oikonomia Network recently, Dallas Theological Seminary reported in on some ways they are helping students–who are training to be future pastors and church leaders–wrestle with the issues raised by 9-to-5 work. They include: Podcasts about faith and work. You can access these from DTS’ “The Table” website along with other resources about Christianity and culture. Chapels and faculty meetings with time for interaction and discussion. A conference called “Your Work: More Than a Paycheck” which discussed four important themes:... Read more

A candid interview with David Green of Hobby Lobby

Last updated on: August 19, 2014 at 2:03 pm By Mission:Work

Today, as the media has been reporting at length, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Hobby Lobby in a highly watched court case about whether the company was required by the Affordable Care Act to provide certain forms of contraception for their employees: Washington (CNN) — Some corporations have religious rights, a deeply divided Supreme Court decided Monday in ruling that certain for-profit companies cannot be required to pay for specific types of contraceptives for their employees. The 5-4 decision... Read more