This article concludes the series sharing insights from a joint curricular development initiative of the ON, the Theology of Work Project and...
Sample assignments for seminary professors teaching Ecclesiology or Missiology.
Although theology and ethics are inseparable in the Bible, conversations with systematic theology and ethics faculty highlighted the way these have become...
Biblical Studies professor reports on attempts to integate work into his class on Ministerial Ethics.
Too many Christians understand “ethics” as something that only applies in certain areas of life.
Seminary assignments in theology that address workplace issues.
This interview with Kevin Kinghorn, professor of philosophy and religion at Asbury Theological Seminary, is part of a series of articles sharing...
Read and these Bible verses with kids to teach work ethic in your household.
Should unhealthy sodas subsidize healthy beef? The narrative arc of the Bible helped this CEO decide.
Dayspring Technologies is content to run a business as an expression of the gospel.
Teaching car salesmen to follow universal ethics.
Key Truths/Outline 1. Workplace faith is more than just ethics, more than doing the right thing. 2...
Scott Rae, Professor of Christian Ethics and Dean of the Faculty at Talbot School of Theology at Biola University, describes how he's...
When the Sermon Goes to Work, by Haddon Robinson. Does selling insurance, running a laundromat, driving a...
In the face of yet another devastating African famine, what is our responsibility? New member Deborah Jaeger eloquently wrestles with that question...
All the advertising in the world won’t help you if a customer has a bad experience with an employee who does not live out the values you espouse.
by David W. Gill Johnson & Johnson’s recent troubles are such a downer for those of us who have held the company...
by Jim Moats Want your company to be better than average? If you don’t, read no further. In recent posts, I’ve been raising the relationship between company growth, employee engagement, and customer value...
"Is there anything more beautiful than the body as it is, even when it’s broken, diseased, or decaying?" asks Charity Singleton Craig
“We’ll have to be careful. From now on that’s what we’ll have to be—very careful.”
Today marijuana shops reportedly outnumber Starbucks coffee stores in Denver.
It took courage to root out decades of favoritism, nepotism, and agreements that benefited everyone but the children of the school district.
We can ask of every kind of work we doing, "Am I loving and serving my neighbor, or am I exploiting and...
Herod faced an immediate conflict of interest. He couldn’t embarrass himself in front of his guests or violate his oath. Yet he understood, if his wife did not, that John spoke the truth.
Relationships are complicated. Add ulterior motivation, and they get downright strange. Sam Van Eman offers a few tips for finding normal again.
Forced repeatedly to choose between his father and his friend, Jonathan chose his friend.
What do we do when we find ourselves working in an institution that has slid down into a culture of questionable ethics?
God made us to work. And it’s only natural to identify ourselves with how we spend most of our waking hours. While mankind’s rebellion against God’s rule makes work frustrating, work is good...
My optometrist put a photographic scan of my eyes on a computer screen and began telling me all about the health of...
What would it look like to faithfully administer God’s grace with the gifts he has given you in the place where you...
Pulitzer prizewinning historian David McCullough loves history and loves quotations about history. He peppers his speeches with sayings such as: “Why is it that no one listens when history repeats...
"I think that whatever we do, we should do it as if we're serving God."
In yesterday's reflection, I suggested that we are to "expose" the "fruitless deeds of darkness" not by...
Once we were Gentiles living in darkness. But, we who have become children of light through Christ...
What does it mean to expose the deeds of darkness? How should we do this?
In 1994, Nelson Mandela became the first freely elected president of South Africa. Before that, he spent 27 years in prison for his struggle against apartheid. Apartheid was South Africa's system...
In your work experience, which common behaviors are plainly incompatible with faithful Christian living?
‘Twas the eve of my first job when all in my thoughts, ...
In the hopes of putting a stop to stealing, many managers have turned to surveillance systems. The best way to encourage trustworthy...
With Christmas just around the bend, gifts are on my mind. Sunday, my family will light the third Advent candle in church, reminding us of the gift chosen for Mary to bear. Last...
Seventeen years ago, I met an unusual college student. I had recently taken a job in campus ministry and we were hosting a back-to-school bar-b-que when this first-year kid walked up and shook my...
I know so little about power. I have it—as all of us do—and I use it, but it often feels like I...
Have you ever had a conversation like this? "So what do you do for a living?"
"Despite the fact that people who work for themselves earn less, work more, have fewer benefits and experience more on the job...
Editor's Note: The Young Professionals channel is exploring four obstacles that often hinder the integration of work and faith. This week, we're discussing Money. ...
In an interview with Katherine Leary Alsdorf, founder and former executive director of the Center for Faith & Work (CFW), she was...
"One of the things it means to love others at work is to have the best interest of those you work with...
About once a week, I’m asked the same question. “Don’t you hate your job?” A variation on the theme is, “How can you stand your job?” Well, I admit there are some days...
When you're making changes, big or small, it's important to communicate, and to help people understand the "why" behind what's happening.
So what do you do when you get mad with someone who matters in your life? Maybe it’s someone in your family...
Jane, whose business always remained small, frequently boasted about her independence. She would say, “I’m not in the business of passing out ideas for free.” She refused to join associations, and...
Do you ever get overwhelmed by the choices available to you? It's easy for us to take...
Are you familiar with the magazine called Real Simple?
In his last sermon, delivered at a Memphis church the night before he died, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. told his audience that he’d been to the proverbial “mountaintop.”
Employees in our fast-paced culture must possess both focus and determination to survive and thrive, say the folks at Crown Financial Ministries. In an article on the reshaping of the work world,...
We're called to glorify God in the work that we do, to actively seek the renewal and...
The Mediterranean diet is a popular, healthy eating plan. Olive oil is central to this diet. Now olive trees most often grow in marginal areas, like rocky hillsides, unsuited to other crops. While...
There might be a new reality. Am I ready to work until my very final breath?
Looking back, the High Calling pulled a vintage video of Dr. Michael Novak, Professor of Religious Studies, being interviewed on religion in...
Howard Butt, Jr. shares another message about faith and work, pointing out that unethical business practices are a sure path to problems. Acting with moral integrity is more than just good business...
Howard Butt, Jr. shares another encouraging message about the high calling of our daily work. Sometimes, the solution to being stuck with an uninteresting job is simply deciding to take an interest...
It's human to want rewards—even to envy—as others collect their prizes. But when other teams score, don't resent. Watch, learn, and sharpen your own game.
...
So I was standing in line at Starbucks, doing my usual coffee routine, and I saw one of the baristas, Carla, in...
My wife and I hadn't talked in days. I was in a depressed state of exhaustion and anger after months of unusual hours.
Transcript Tim McGuire was editor of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. When he retired, he overheard someone trying to explain what he intended to do next. A friend said, “Tim’s going to write about...
Transcript Todd blew past Karen’s assistant and threw open her office door. He let loose a verbal firestorm. He’d heard talk, and now HE intended to talk! Eventually, Todd ran out of steam...
Transcript John’s friend Jack grew up in a churchgoing home. But Jack lost his faith. Both men were equally brilliant . . . even if they disagreed on life's biggest issues: the existence...
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 Part 5 | Part 6 |...
Show your fear of God by not taking advantage of each other. I am the LORD your...
Transcript Can you imagine a pro athlete who would knowingly disqualify himself from a full year of competition? I'm thinking of a pro golfer who did just that: J. P. Hayes. The Q-School...
Ted had been coasting lately. And he knew it. After a couple of great years in his job, he’d taken his eye off the ball. His boss dressed him down, and Ted knew...
The original Hebrew of the ninth commandment reflects a judicial setting. Specifically, this verse refers to lying in the context of a...
"There are no atheists in foxholes." However, when times are really tough, there may be few genuine Christians in foxholes either. When...
The economy. It's on everyone's mind. Will I get laid off? Will I be able to find a new job? Will my...
Madeline wanted something unusual. The four-year-old repeatedly asked for "a white Christmas tree." She’d say: why QUIZ-mee twee. "Maybe next Christmas," her parents said, "they’d see about a...
In 2007, the Utah Jazz management agreed to release basketball great Derek Fisher from his contract. Fisher's 10-month-old daughter, Tatum, had cancer in her left eye. Her dad needed to...
A handyman and a mortgage broker built their businesses with a heart toward serving the Lord through their work. This was easy...
The project to build the world's tallest structure drew the team to beat all dream teams: the world's leading architects, builders, engineers, thinkers. And they erected a dazzling, towering...
Transcript Ted Benna is a retirement consultant who spends most of his time reading the Tax Code. His job is as tedious as it sounds, but because Ted stayed with it, he found...
From high in the church tower of their small town, Elsa Schiaparelli’s father taught his daughter an important truth. He said, “Look, Elsa, there is more than one way to the square.” ...
In 1814 an American lawyer, held on a Royal Navy vessel, viewed Britain’s assault on Baltimore.
In one of his sonnets, Gerard Manley Hopkins writes about kingfishers. These birds catch fish he says. It's what they're made to do. Likewise, a dragonfly draws the fish to the surface. We can...
On May 19, 1780—in the anxious days of the American Revolution—darkness fell at noon. Bats flew. Chickens roosted. The day abruptly lost all sunlight and many believed the world was ending.
Several years ago, the Peanuts creator cartoonist Charles Schulz wrote a brief quiz. It went something like this: Name three Nobel Prize winners; name the three wealthiest people in the world;...
At the end of World War II, General Omar Bradley held the highest rank in the United States Army. But when he was 18, he had developed little personal direction. Unable to afford college, he...
Political advisor Mary Matalin believes in using “simple valuable words,” and she tells why. During the 1992 presidential campaign, after a public disruption, Mary complained to then...
Heavy rains hammered the highway near an army base. Traffic was bumper-to-bumper. A monument near the highway honored those who died in the worst accident in the history of the 101st Airborne...
The great golf legend Bobby Jones lost the prestigious U. S. Open Championship when he penalized himself. The ball moved slightly. Only Jones saw it happen, but he knew he had to take...
Eunice and Shaun Meyers were driving to the grocery store when a car in front of them swerved—and crashed down an embankment. While Eunice called 911, Shaun jumped out and raced to help...
My granddaughter, Katherine, had a private, special place somewhere in the family home—a secret spot where she was free to be alone with her thoughts or a favorite book. Sometimes when the family...
Years ago, a taxi driver in Washington D.C. told me this story about his son. ...
One way of summing up the practical imperative of ethical competition would be this: As much as you can, let the pressures...
Explore biblical principles for ethical decision making, and learn how to apply them in the workplace.
Introduction A Christian view of work is distinctive in the way it insists that human work ultimately derives its meaning from God’s character and purposes. It is who God is and what God...
The word “ethics” comes from the Greek word ethos, which has two meanings in common Greek usage: habit or custom, and ordinance or law. Usage in the New Testament includes both of these...
AN OVERVIEW We need to locate our approach to Christian ethics within an understanding of different approaches to ethics and moral reasoning in general.[5] Most often, three different approaches are identified. These can...
Christians from most church traditions are agreed that the Bible plays an essential role in determining our understanding of such commands and...
A variety of attempts have been made to reduce the multitude of biblical commands to just a few overarching commands or principles. Some examples of this emphasize the importance of the Ten Commandments...
There is an undeniable attraction in reducing all the Bible’s moral imperatives to just one overarching command. For John Maxwell, this is...
For Alexander Hill, “the foundation of Christian ethics in business is the changeless character of God.”[22] The commands or principles that humans should follow are defined by the character of God. Note that...
The fundamental question the consequentialist asks is, “Will it produce good results?” or “Which choice will produce the best result?” Unlike the command approach (where the best option is determined by rules that...
Because so many people think of ethics in terms of the Ten Commandments and of the Bible as a rule book, it is perhaps surprising to discover how often the Scriptures themselves encourage...
Rather than asking how to decide “What are the rules?” or “What will produce the best results?” in each particular situation, the virtue approach asks, “What type of person should I become?” The...
Just as the command and consequence approaches have to determine which commands and consequences are truly good, the character approach has to determine which virtues are good. Aristotle emphasized the classical Greek virtues...
As Christians, we seek to become like Jesus (1 John 3:2). So we must be acutely aware of the danger we face...
So there we have it: Commands, Consequences and Character. Three different approaches to ethics. In reality, some combination of these approaches is often present in dealing with real, everyday situations. For example, it...
A lot of teaching on business ethics is built around exploring significant case studies and is developed in response to profound moral dilemmas; in particular, the challenges that come when important principles clash...
A second model recognizes that most ethical decisions in our daily lives and work are made instantly, often under pressure and without much room for forethought. They are the product of habits of...
So far we have been talking as if we have the ability to follow God’s rules, to seek the outcomes God seeks...
Click here if you would like to return to the beginning of the Ethics and Work article. The Case of the Broken...
As Wayne contemplates his dilemma with the car, he wonders if there is any simple rule or command that can help him decide the right thing to do. One starting point is obvious...
Wayne knows that the Consumer Guarantees Act (of New Zealand) gives customers six guarantees about a vehicle they purchase. The critical one...
In desperation, Wayne goes searching for help on his bookshelf. He spots a title that could be the very thing he’s looking for — The Businessman’s Topical Bible.[1] A quick glance indicates how...
Disappointed, Wayne puts the book back on the shelf. As he does so, he glances at another title that grabs his attention — Business By The Book.[4] Intrigued, he picks it up and...
Wayne is still struggling with his dilemma. He returns to his bookshelf to see what else might be of assistance. John Maxwell’s There’s No Such Thing as “Business” Ethics almost jumps out at...
Wayne is fast running out of books! But as he gazes up to his bookshelf again, he notices Alexander Hill’s Just Business.[1] Hill, a professor of business and economics, has attempted in this...
Until now, Wayne has been asking, “What are the rules I should follow?” — and looking for rules or principles from the Bible. But another way for Wayne to approach this is to...
Because so many people think of the Bible as a rule book, and of ethics in terms of the Ten Commandments, it is perhaps surprising to discover how often the Scriptures themselves encourage...
Considering the consequences should play an important role in our decision-making. However, as Wayne will discover, consequentialism raises four curly questions. They are: What is good? (How do we define good? For example...
Jesus claims that the situations we might feel aggrieved or sad about can be the very ones to make us blessed or happy.
An issue for consequentialist ethics is defining whose consequences are to be optimized. Self Interest There are those who use self-interest as the measuring stick. They take the approach that if the decision...
Consequences can be hard to measure and quantify; sometimes impossibly so. In some cases we know the consequences, but lack a way to measure them. Will you be happier if you get a...
Context is ethically important. Sometimes this is because actions mean different things among people of different cultures. Sometimes it is because people’s circumstances are different. One of the best-known examples of this from...
The two main approaches to decision-making that Wayne has made use of for analyzing his car-dealing dilemma so far — commands and consequences — concern themselves with the morality of the action/choice itself...
If developing character and virtue are so important, then there are several key questions we have to grapple with. They are: How do we define a virtue? Who actually determines what is virtuous...
All this talk about virtues has got Wayne a little confused. It’s hard to evaluate how your own character is developing. In...
The eighth commandment is another that takes work as its primary subject. Stealing is a violation of proper work because it dispossesses...
We all know people whose lives exude character. The way they work in the marketplace seems to have integrity or consistency with...
Virtue ethics has important lessons to teach us: Making ethical decisions in the marketplace is much more than developing a good decision-making...
Commands, Consequences and Character – three different approaches to making ethical decisions. And, as we have seen, there are plenty of variations within these streams. The truth is that in real everyday situations...
Sometimes major moral dilemmas require and allow for careful consideration over an extended period of time. In such cases, one way of going about this decision-making process is to:[29] Gather all the relevant...
We have already suggested that most ethical decisions in our daily lives and work are made instantly, often under pressure and without much room for forethought. They are instinctive, being the product of...
The book of Leviticus is grounded in the truth that God is holy. The word qodesh occurs over a hundred times in...
After Deborah, the quality of the judges begins to decline. Judges 6:1-11 illustrates what was likely a common feature of Israelite life...
At least two episodes during this period deserve our attention. The first, Obadiah’s saving of a hundred...
Nehemiah’s wall-building project was threatened, not just from the outside, but also from the inside. Certain wealthy...
The Book of Esther begins with King Ahasuerus (known to history outside the Bible as Xerxes) throwing a lavish party to display...
In the midst of Job’s second lament (Job 29-42), he unveils a significant treatise on ethical behavior, which in some ways anticipates...
For an explanation of the themes in and structure of Daniel, see the section "The Big Picture...
Jesus’ discussions with Nicodemus and his disciples hold innumerable treasures. We will begin with a verse that has profound implications for human...
“Welcome those who are weak in faith, but not for the purpose of quarreling over opinions,” begins Paul (Rom. 14:1). The “weak...
In 2 Corinthians 6:14–18 Paul takes up the question of being mismatched (literally “unequally yoked”) with non-Christians. This has implications for both...
Find Encouragement for Getting Through the Work Week in the Book of Ephesians (Click to Listen) The letter to the Ephesians encourages...
It is cruel for a master to force a slave to choose between obedience to the master and obedience to Christ. Therefore...
Paul’s advice to Timothy is balanced: Live in peace and cooperation with those around us. Seek to...
Although written under greatly different circumstances than James,[1] 1 John also challenges the notion that faith can live without “works,” that is, acts of obedience toward God. In chapter 2, John states that...
When you spend time examining your work/career, it is possible that so many issues arise for you...
This book is all about making decisions – ones that are consistent with our Christian faith - especially in the marketplace. Ones that are good, right, just, and appropriate.
We – Alistair and Wayne – are the authors of this book. Our friendship goes back a long way, and has helped us bring together several perspectives on life. Both of us –...
A single principle or command? Wayne is still struggling with his dilemma. Should he pay for the repair of his customer’s car...
Wayne is still wrestling with his customer’s request. Should he meet the cost of the repair? So...
“At crucial moments of choice, most of the business of choosing is already over.” (Iris Murdoch) The two main approaches to decision-making...
The past four chapters have had us leaping in and out of Wayne’s dilemma. Apart from turning his hair greyer, the exercise...
Loving God means loving people. Running a business means making a profit. Between these two lies a gap – or is it...
Larry was a financial advisor. He had worked in the industry for ten years and had completed a professional qualification in financial...
Case study: An employer’s struggle The August management meeting for Big Outdoors Ltd was in progress. A review of the winter sales...
We’ve covered a lot of ground over the previous few chapters. No doubt you’ve identified with at least some of the workplace...
Wayne’s Story Some years ago I became involved, somewhat unexpectedly, in the business of buying and selling cars. This chapter tells my...
Modern Christians profess that Jesus is Lord of all our lives. Yet it's not always easy to relate Christianity to our day-to-day...
Everyday life is a complex affair.
In modern Western culture the justification and acceptance of this practice has widened as women’s rights and reproductive rights have come to the forefront.
Abuse of any type occurs when someone has power over another and uses that power to hurt.
Accountability is not a new concept. Deeply ingrained in the prophetic mind of the Old Testament was the understanding that God holds the leaders of Israel accountable for the care and nurture of...
It is commonly believed that there is an underlying similarity among the entire spectrum of addictive behaviors—that all addicts desire a sense of well-being, a temporary heightening of self-esteem, a transient experience of...
Adornment is a mark of humanity. Seashells and lilies of the valley do not need decoration, and it is an affectation to clothe animals, who are never naked. Clothing is a gift of...
Given its pervasive and persuasive character, advertising is without doubt one of the most formative influences in popular culture, shaping values and behavior and telling people how and why to live.
To affirm is to endorse someone who needs consolidating or firm up what is crumbling.
Every species has a definite life span, and human beings are no exception. Aging is an inevitable concomitant of life.
As you cannot learn to read without books, you cannot learn how to handle money if you never touch it.
Ambition is normally associated with the ardent desire to have high position or a place of influence though it can, simultaneously, be a passion for excellence and improvement.
Remembering significant events on an annual basis is something as old as humankind.
Is all anxiety bad for us? Thirty years in the psychologist’s chair has taught me one important lesson: anxiety is intricately interwoven with the essence of living. You cannot expect to live and...
The first arresting image of urban architecture in Scripture is the tower of Babel—hardly a great beginning for a biblical view of the built environment.
For the Christian all of life is meant to glorify God. This fact has been used both to encourage and to discourage the use of art by Christians.
Authority is a major issue in the church today, as it is in society at large.
As one of the two sacraments ordained by Jesus, baptism has a direct relationship to the theology and spirituality of daily life.
Often when we’re standing before a breathtaking sunset or after we’ve heard the final notes of a great symphony, the word beautiful springs naturally to our lips. What exactly do we mean by...
To attend a birth is to be awakened with unimaginable wonder as you begin to rediscover the world with your child.
The day, and the annual anniversary of the day, on which any person is born calls for a celebration.
In recent times the word blessing has gone out of favor.
Blessing is one of the most powerful ways human beings can express love, especially in a family context.
God is the author and creator of our bodies.
People are bored with their marriage partners, bored with school, bored with sex, bored with work, bored with television, bored with church, bored with prayer, even bored with the thought of going to heaven.
Breast-feeding is the most cost-effective and health-promoting activity mothers can undertake during their children’s early years of life.
Business is often compared to a poker game. Both, it is argued, require nondisclosure and distrust in order to succeed, with only the naive showing their true intentions.
The English word vocation comes from the Latin vocatio, which means “calling”; they are the same thing, though this is not obvious to the people who use these words.
Camping is the experience of moving from a familiar environment into a new one, usually simpler and almost always in the out-of-doors or wilderness.
A career is an occupation for which people train and in which people expect to earn their living for most of their working years.
Ontologically, chocolate raises profoundly disturbing questions.
Chores are responsibilities, generally of a manual and regular nature, that are basic to our everyday operating.
The average churchgoer views the terms Christian education and Sunday school as being synonymous. Such is not the case.
We use the word church in a number of different ways. The word can refer to a building, the members of a congregation, worship services, a denomination, the church as an institution and...
It is only after we have admitted that the family takes many shapes and forms that we can ask what a Christian shape and form is and dream about how to better embody...
Churches that do not own real estate are often able to invest their resources in ministry more effectively and extensively.
All churches are vulnerable to conflict, perhaps especially evangelical ones because of their independence and emphasis on the individual’s personal relationship to God.
Church discipline is the traditional term for how the church corrects sinful behavior in the congregation or removes a sinful person from the assembly.
According to some leading observers of the Christian scene, the two fastest growing forms of church life today are the very large church, including the megachurch, and the church in the home
Renewal is difficult to define. It can mean different things to different people.
John Alexander says, “If you are a leader who believes in structure, brace yourself to receive criticism as a carnal stifler of freedom, creativity and the Holy Spirit” (p. 11).
In the Old Testament God adopted this West Semitic rite, depicted on statues of warriors from the early third millennium b.c., to show that the organ of procreation was consecrated to him.
To be a citizen is to hold a political office: not an elected office, to be sure, but an important office of public responsibility nonetheless. But what is citizenship? Where does it come...
The city is a fascinating, complex and dominating fact of contemporary life.
Civil disobedience means breaking the law nonviolently for conscientious reasons.
To be civil is to be courteous and respectful.
Biblical decision-making principles for tough situations at work.
9 case studies for Christian lawyers to discuss with biblical insight.
Sometimes our clients (or even other colleagues) have motives or objectives which do not align with our own. How do we act...
Sometimes we may be asked to act in a way which is ethically questionable. Nicola is chatting with one of the clients her partner Greg has had for years. He is explaining a...
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