When friends learned I was studying lending in the Old Testament, some asked: What about “payday loans”? Let’s see how the Old Testament’s teaching about loan ethics applies to this controversial practice. As we have seen, one component of Old Testament generosity for the working poor is loans to support subsistence expenses; in such loans, […]
Seminary Spotlight: Sioux Falls Seminary
Previous articles on Sioux Falls Seminary have shared stories of how our innovative approach to theological education, Kairos, is enabling students to cultivate human flourishing in both ecclesial and non-traditional contexts of ministry. Since the Kairos model was launched in the fall of 2014, its success has required ongoing, overlapping processes of assessment, evaluation and […]
Seminary Spotlight: LABI College
Founded in 1926 by Alice E. Luce, LABI College is one of the oldest Hispanic Bible Colleges in the country. Over the past ninety-two years, LABI has trained and equipped thousands of pastors, ministers, superintendents and professional leaders. Recently, LABI has made new progress on a number of fronts, continuing our mission to prepare students […]
New ON Impact Report
At Karam Forum in Dallas, the Oikonomia Network presented its new 2018 Impact Report. This document introduces the mission and vision of the network, with an overview of who our partners are and what we’re doing; provides testimonies and statistics on the scope of our impact; and previews our needs and opportunities for the years […]
Our New Curricular Integration Page
As a new semester begins – and due dates for next year’s syllabi are coming up – it’s a great time to think afresh about curricular integration of oikonomia issues in your classes. The insights of whole-life discipleship, fruitful work and economic wisdom are not some separate subject over on the side for theological education. They represent […]
Karam Forum: 2019 Memories, 2020 Anticipation
Karam Forum 2019 was an unforgettable experience! We are sent by the Son with the Spirit, just as the Father sends the Son; we are called to our work with the same call that calls us to Christ; we must find the sacred in the church to find it in the world. We released our […]
Moses, Modern Finance and Poverty
What implications can be drawn from the Old Testament Torah teaching on lending and interest passages (Exod. 22:25, Lev. 25:35-36, and Deut 23:19-20)? The previous article in this series showed how access to loans without interest is an important component of generosity and compassion for the working poor in need of help with subsistence needs. […]
Seminary Spotlight: Covenant Theological Seminary
Covenant Seminary in St. Louis has increased its commitment over the past decade to viewing and delivering theological education that emphasizes and values all vocations as vital to God’s mission of redeeming and restoring all things in Jesus Christ as reflected in Colossians 1:15-20. Joining the Oikonomia Network at the end of 2017 both reflected […]
Seminary Spotlight: Criswell College
2018 was a banner year for Criswell College. We celebrated our one-year anniversary as an Oikonomia Network partner school, and we took steps to begin the largest and most comprehensive undertaking in the school’s nearly 50-year history. Ministry-Minded in All Vocations While many of our graduates in the past have gone on to work in […]
New Workshops at Karam Forum
This is it – our final announcement before Karam Forum this Janurary 3-4! Check out the scoop below on new workshops we’ve added. Register for Karam Forum today – don’t wait, space is limited and we are on track to fill it. Then reserve your room at the gorgeous Warwick Melrose Hotel in Dallas – the special conference price […]
Homiletics Curricular Workshops: Insights
This the latest in a series of articles sharing insights from a joint curricular development initiative of the ON, the Theology of Work Project and three ON schools (Asbury, Assemblies of God and Western). Check out the ON website’s new Curricular Integration page, with editor’s picks and other resources sorted by discipline. Among faculty teaching […]
God of the Second Shift
This is an excerpt of an article that first ran in Christianity Today in the October 2018 issue. We are grateful to CT and the author for permission to reprint it. Our group was white, college-educated, and passionate about helping people find meaning in their careers. We looked at Josué “Mambo” De León, pastor of a bilingual […]
Moses and Modern Finance
The question of what the Old Testament has to say about lending money at interest has engaged the attention of Bible scholars for centuries. In a recent series of articles in this newsletter, I presented a case that the three passages in the Torah on lending money at interest (Exodus 22:25, Leviticus 25:35-36 and Deuteronomy […]
Seminary Spotlight: Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
Times of transition are a good time for reflection. As Gordon-Conwell prepares for a new chapter in our history (a milestone anniversary and a new president), I’ve been reflecting on the big picture, and how we are to deal with events and circumstances beyond our control that challenge past assumptions and present us with uncertainty. […]
Seminary Spotlight: Grand Rapids Theological Seminary
At Grand Rapids Theological Seminary, we are seeking to discover in fresh ways how the gospel of Jesus Christ calls us to live as a multiethnic body of Christ. As an outgrowth of gospel faithfulness, we desire to integrate faith with the world of work, economics and justice in a way that recognizes the individual […]