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 […]
Celebrating Karam Forum 2018 and Announcing Karam Forum 2019
Theological educators and Christian academics came together in Los Angeles for Karam Forum 2018 on January 4-5, a time of collaboration, encouragement and equipping. We thought together about the nature of flourishing, the connection between theology and daily life, how we can draw economic wisdom from the Bible, the challenge of reforming educational institutions and […]
Two New EWP Talks: Israel’s Land Laws and Our Economic Mission
We continue to release new EWP Talks as part of our flipped conference at Karam Forum 2018. These two new talks look at what we can learn for our own economic lives from the Mosaic land laws (and the prophets’ anger when those laws were broken), and how the mission of the church fits into […]
Greg Jones: Traditioned Innovation and the Back to Egypt Committee
At the 2018 ON faculty retreat, which took place just before Karam Forum, we were richly blessed by a keynote address from Greg Jones of Duke Divinity School. Reflecting on his 13 years’ tenure as that school’s dean, his experiences as provost of Baylor University and other sources of insight, Jones wove together a powerful […]
Recommended Assessment Tools
Your school has built in curricular elements dealing with all the “oikonomia” themes. Great. You’ve been talking about whole-life discipleship and stewardship, value creation and opportunities for the poor, vocation outside the church walls and responsible action. Fantastic. But how do you know your training is having an effect on students? In 2016, the Oikonomia […]
Seminary Spotlight: Sioux Falls Seminary
In fall 2014, Sioux Falls Seminary launched the Kairos Project, a unique approach to theological education. The Kairos Project is an outcome-based program that uses mentor teams to oversee students. Assignments are adaptable, and each program emphasizes contextually integrated educational moments. Students do much of their learning in their respective ministries. The learning process looks […]
Seminary Spotlight: LABI College/LATS
Founded in 1926 by Alice Luce, LABI College is the nation’s oldest Hispanic Bible College. Over the past ninety years, LABI has trained and equipped thousands of pastors, ministers, superintendents and professional leaders. Since joining the Oikonomia Network in 2016, along with our sister institution Latin American Theological Seminary, LABI has made strides to accomplish […]
Two New EWP Talks: Proverbs and the Great Commission
Following our new flipped conference format, we’re proud to release the next two talks for Karam Forum 2018. Check out these talks on money in Proverbs and the Great Commission as a mission for all of life; consider using them in future classes; then register to join us to discuss them with the speakers at […]
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. Biblical Studies or Theology Ask students to watch an episode of the Jesus and Your Job series by Sean McDonough at the Theology of Work Project and answer the following […]
Publisher Adapts Karam Forum Video
We’re celebrating here at ON headquarters! InterVarsity Press has adapted a video from Karam Forum 2017 to promote Tom Nelson’s new book, The Economics of Neighborly Love. It’s a win-win-win occasion. Tom’s book is a theologically rich exploration of the role of fruitfulness in the Old and New Testaments, and its consequences for the way […]