In June 2018, the Acton Institute will welcome 50 Oikonomia fellows to Grand Rapids, Mi. to attend Acton University. Being awarded an Oikonomia fellowship is a unique opportunity for a cohort of evangelical seminary professors to network during a four-day conference in order to promote sound anthropology and economic understanding in U.S. seminaries and churches. […]
Seminary Spotlight: Bethel Seminary
Bethel Seminary joined the Oikonomia Network in 2012. Since 2013, the Work with Purpose Initiative of Bethel Seminary has intentionally worked with seminary students and ministry leaders as they develop and implement a robust theology of whole-life discipleship. Along this journey, we are grateful for the partners like the Oikonomia Network and Made to Flourish […]
Seminary Spotlight: Assemblies of God Theological Seminary
AGTS has been part of the conversation about academic integration of whole-life discipleship, vocation and economic wisdom for about ten years now. Starting with a small initiative, we began to conceive what might be possible for a Pentecostal seminary to embed itself in this milieu. Early on, the conversations occurred among just a few of […]
KF18: Poets and Prophets for God’s People and World
Charlie Self delivered the closing address at Karam Forum 2018, “Poets and Prophets for God’s People and World.” He cast a vision for theological and educational institutions to raise up Christians who can inspire and instruct in a polarized and embattled world. In seeking the shalom of the church and the nations, our institutions of […]
New Members Join ON Steering Committee
The ON is proud to welcome four new members to the network’s steering committee. Each has been a contributor to the ON community at large, as well as leading the way in theological education through their own teaching and scholarship. We also honor Gerry Breshears as he transitions off the committee, though not out of […]
Creation and Creativity
Note: This is an excerpt from the author’s book Creation and New Creation. Notes have been omitted. Whatever the precise meaning of the “image” language might be, it is clear that humanity plays a critical role in the furthering of God’s creation project: while the language of “co-creation” might be too strong, J. R. R. […]
Sample Assignments Across the Curriculum
Here are more sample assignments to help inspire fresh thinking about how to incorporate a concern for vocation, flourishing and economic justice across the curriculum. Church History Ask students to respond to the Apostolic Tradition’s list of unacceptable jobs for Christians (chapter 16 here.) What is the context for this writing? (It will help to […]
Seminary Spotlight: Indiana Wesleyan University
Indiana Wesleyan University (IWU) desires to promote conversations and curricular integration to move students and faculty into a more complete understanding and practice of what it means to steward one’s whole life for God’s glory. In previous ON newsletter articles, we have highlighted our workplace internship program for pastoral students and other initiatives. In this […]
Join Us for the Faith at Work Summit
The 2018 Faith at Work Summit, held in Chicago at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare on October 11th-13th, is now open for registration! The early bird pricing for registration is now available at $179 per ticket, so be sure to purchase soon! The ON has been a leading co-host and sponsor of the summit from the beginning. We’re proud […]
Join Us for the Faith at Work Summit
The 2018 Faith at Work Summit, held in Chicago at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare on October 11th-13th, is now open for registration! The early bird pricing for registration is now available at $179 per ticket, so be sure to purchase soon! The ON has been a leading co-host and sponsor of the summit from the beginning. We’re proud […]
New EWP Talk: Andy Crouch on Isaiah’s Posterity Gospel
We’re very excited to release our latest EWP Talk: Andy Crouch’s brief but powerful address at Karam Forum 2018. Drawing on the imagery of Isaiah 5, Crouch spoke about the challenge of separating real flourishing from transitory prosperity in the midst of economic growth and technological innovation. In a world where we can have instant […]
Teaching Historical Theology: Perspectives on Calling
Calling language has been pervasive in theology since at least Martin Luther. Sometimes we speak as if God only calls people away from ordinary secular work into church mission or ordained ministry. But does God also call some people to stay, and serve God in their current occupations? Many theological debates have centred on the […]
Brian Fikkert: The Church and Economics
Getting richer is not making us happier. At the 2018 ON faculty retreat, Brian Fikkert of the Chalmers Center for Economic Development spoke to why that is, why it represents a radical challenge to the narratives that dominate the discipline of economics, and how the church can help people recover a holistic anthropology as a […]
Seminary Spotlight: Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Southern Seminary’s Commonweal Project on Faith, Work and Human Flourishing recently completed our fourth year of initiatives designed to engage and equip faculty, students, pastors and ultimately churches with a biblical understanding of work and economic wisdom. It has been a good time to consider what we have done well, what we could do better […]
Person and Property in the Pentateuch
Note: This article spotlights the work of David Baker, who has been named an individual faculty partner in the Oikonomia Network. It is adapted from his article “Are Business People the Bad Guys? Person and Property in the Pentateuch,” Southwestern Journal of Theology 59 (2017): 133–154. Some biblical scholars present a market economy, if not […]