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The Theology of Work Project consists of members from across the spectrum of
the Christian faith, working to explore, develop, record and disseminate a
Theology of Work that will serve as a scaffold for researchers, writers,
teachers and others to build upon.
The Theology of Work is intended to
be:
| 1. |
rooted in the entire Bible, rather than only isolated texts |
| 2. |
timeless, in the sense of elucidating truths about work in Christian
perspective that do not depend on particularities of the work or the
worker, which tend to change over time. |
| 3. |
timely, in the sense of providing processes by which reliable answers
can be developed for the myriad questions that arise in specific workplace
situations, which tend to depend heavily on the particularities of the
context in which they arise. |
| 4. |
understandable to all of its intended audiences without requiring
specialized theological terms. |
| 5. |
as broadly acceptable as possible, without departing from
orthodox/historical Christian theology. |
| 6. |
cognizant of the major published works in the theology of work,
whether in agreement or disagreement at various
points. |
The Need for the Theology of Work Project
Most people spend a
major portion of their lives working. Since God is Lord of all that is, visible
and invisible, then God must be surely also be the Lord of work. Therefore,
Christian workers urgently need to know precisely how God is present
and active in their work, or how God could be present and active in
their work. In recent years hundreds of books, papers, curricula, magazines,
courses, seminars and other materials have been produced to meet this need.
Regrettably, there seems to be little common theological perspective among these
materials. For example, some of them proclaim that a Christian's primary role in
the workplace is to evangelize the people among whom they work, while others say
that their primary role is to perform their job responsibilities excellently and
ethically. Some state that sin is the chief problem in the workplace, which can
only be remedied by confessing faith in Jesus Christ. Others barely mention sin
at all, portraying vision or growth as the chief benefits of applying the
Christian faith to the workplace. Writers in the field don't seem to hold a
common idea of what the Christian faith means in the context of work, let alone
how to apply it. Anyone perusing the faith-and-work shelf at the bookstore can
easily end up confused, misled, or simply soured on the whole endeavor.
Perhaps because of this confusion, practitioners and scholars in related
fields such as economics, management, and pastoral care, find it difficult to
engage theology as a potential contributor to their work. For example,
economists are increasingly aware that people do not always behave as rational,
self-interested actors. While a theological perspective could contribute to a
more accurate and complete understanding of economic behavior, an economist
seeking help could benefit greatly from a well-developed foundational theology
of work developed by people representing the breadth of the Christian
faith.
Even when common theological ground is discovered among work/faith
practitioners and theologians in one generation or one cultural context, the
consensus has seldom been transmitted to later generations or to different
cultures. Each generation and each culture has had to re-discover even the most
basic elements of the theology of work, without effective help from those who
have gone before, or those who labor with the same issues in other societies.
The Theology of Work Project is intended to offer a common theological
foundation for writers, teachers and others in the field to anchor their
particular research, development, application, writing, and teaching; not only
for the present generation, but as a building block for the next generation to
use, add to and strengthen. Fortunately, many of the beliefs and values crucial
for applying faith to the workplace are shared by most Christians across
generations and cultures, including such values as honesty, compassion, and
fairness in business dealings. The Audience for the Project
The Theology of Work Statement
is intended first of all for people who write or develop materials or teach or
guide Christians in non-church-related workplaces. Second, it is meant for
theologically-savvy Christian workers, for people of other faiths (or of no
faith) seeking to understand a Christian perspective on work, and for scholars
and practitioners in related fields, including economics, management, government
and law, who seek to engage Christian theology. Third, it is meant to offer
people in the traditional Christian disciplines-such as Biblical studies,
theology, preaching, education, pastoral care and counseling and missions-a
theological perspective from which workplace-related writing, teaching, and
practice can be conducted.
With this in mind, the Theology of Work
Project does not intend to answer every question that arises in the realm of
work, but rather to provide a foundational biblical perspective on work, answers
to key questions in the theology of work, and processes by which workplace
practitioners and those who assist them can find answers to particular questions
that arise in the contexts of their daily work. The Format for the Project's output
The primary product is
expected to be a website making use of open-source construction similar to
Wikipedia, thereby granting access universally to the document. However other
formats are possible: journal articles, a website, seminars or workshops,
electonic media and perhaps others. It may be that an ongoing community engaged
in the theology of work will also emerge form the Project. Criteria for the Project's work
The Theology of Work
Statement is intended to be:
| 1. |
rooted in the entire Bible, rather than only isolated texts |
| 2. |
timeless, in the sense of elucidating truths about work in Christian
perspective that do not depend on particularities of the work or the
worker, which tend to change over time. |
| 3. |
timely, in the sense of providing processes by which reliable answers
can be developed for the myriad questions that arise in specific workplace
situations, which tend to depend heavily on the particularities of the
context in which they arise. |
| 4. |
understandable to all of its intended audiences without requiring
specialized theological terms. |
| 5. |
as broadly acceptable as possible, without departing from orthodox
Christian theology. |
| 6. |
cognizant of the major published works in the theology of work,
whether in agreement or disagreement at various
points. |
The Project will conduct its work through three approaches, termed
Exegetical, Key Topics, and Contextualized Processes. Most of the results
produced by the Exegetical and the Key Topic approaches will have widespread
application and universal, unchanging validity. For example, research on Genesis
3 may lead us to conclude that all legitimate work between the Fall and the New
Creation is suffused with God’s presence, as well as marred by sin. Such a
conclusion is universal in the sense that it does not depend on circumstances of
particular work or workers. It is also constant or “timeless” in the sense that
its validity does not change over time. The Exegetical and Key Topics approaches
together are expected to lead to a relatively compact foundational theology of
work, with an emphasis on the timeless, universal aspect of the Project’s
criteria.
In contrast, the Contextualized Processes approach will
develop processes or methods for people to find answers to their own questions
arising in the workplace. A working Christian will face thousands of particular
decisions in the course of a career.
In the Exegetical approach, the
Bible is divided into a number of segments. Each section is assigned to a
researcher/writer, who reads the section closely and catalogs every passage that
might contribute significantly to the theology of work. The catalog will need to
keep track of several kinds of passages: those that contribute directly to the
theology of work, those that contribute indirectly, and those that provide
important background for the theology of work.
Besides the Exegetical
approach, the Project will also address Key Topics arising in the workplace. For
example, a Key Topic might be, “Does God call people to work and/or to
particular kinds of work or jobs?” a question asked by millions of Christian
workers every day. Each topic will be assigned to a researcher/writer, who
conducts the basic research and drafts the corresponding section of the Theology
of Work. Researcher/writers working on Key Topics will make extensive use of
books and articles in theology of work, business management and ethics
literature, biblical commentaries, systematic theologies, and historic
statements of faith. Because so many books and articles have been written
touching on each of the Key Topics, the researcher/writers will have much
material to guide — or misguide! —them. The most important part of their task
may be sifting and weighing these materials in light of a fresh reading of the
biblical passages relevant to their topic.
We recognize that it would be
impossible to analyze every possible workplace situation in advance and have a
prefabricated answer to every question that arises in the workplace. Therefore,
the Contextualized Processes approach aims to give workers (and those who
support them) one or more methods to find reliable, practical answers to
questions that continually arise in the workplace. Specifically, we will develop
models, frameworks, checklists, and/or methods that take the user step-by-step
through the process of developing their own biblically-grounded,
context-sensitive practical answer to any specific workplace issue.
Researcher/writers in the Contextualized Processes approach will make use of
theological methods and theology of work literature, systematic theologies, and
books and articles by workplace Christians, and will try to learn from groups
already engaged in similar processes in other fields.
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