WM 760 Readings in Missions: Wealth Creation For Holistic and Societal Transformation

Peopled by larger-than-life heroes and villains, charged with towering questions of good and evil, Atlas Shrugged is Ayn Rand's magnum opus: a philosophical revolution told in the form of an action thriller--nominated as one of America's best-loved novels by PBS's The Great American Read. Who is John Galt? When he says that he will stop the motor of the world, is he a destroyer or a liberator? Why does he have to fight his battles not against his enemies but against those who need him most? Why does he fight his hardest battle against the woman he loves? You will know the answer to these questions when you discover the reason behind the baffling events that play havoc with the lives of the amazing men and women in this book. You will discover why a productive genius becomes a worthless playboy...why a great steel industrialist is working for his own destruction...why a composer gives up his career on the night of his triumph...why a beautiful woman who runs a transcontinental railroad falls in love with the man she has sworn to kill. Atlas Shrugged, a modern classic and Rand's most extensive statement of Objectivism--her groundbreaking philosophy--offers the reader the spectacle of human greatness, depicted with all the poetry and power of one of the twentieth century's leading artists.

New York Times bestselling author of The Prodigal Prophet Timothy Keller shows how God calls on each of us to express meaning and purpose through our work and careers. Tim Keller, pastor of New York's Redeemer Presbyterian Church and the New York Times bestselling author of The Reason for God, has taught and counseled students, young professionals, and senior leaders on the subject of work and calling for more than twenty years. Now he pulls his insights into a thoughtful and practical book for readers everywhere. With deep conviction and often surprising advice, Keller shows readers that biblical wisdom is immensely relevant to our questions about work today. In fact, the Christian view of work--that we work to serve others, not ourselves--can provide the foundation of a thriving professional and balanced personal life. Keller shows how excellence, integrity, discipline, creativity, and passion in the workplace can help others and even be considered acts of worship--not just of self-interest.

Why do poor countries remain poor? Why, after receiving billions of dollars, do poor countries remain poor? Why are failing foreign aid models utilized over and over again? After the devastating 2010 Haiti earthquake, authors Daniel Jean-Louis and Jacqueline Klamer observed first-hand the negative consequences of donations provided with the sincerest of good intentions--donations that ultimately undermined local industries and wiped out jobs. Based on primary research and in-depth case studies, and personal experience, From Aid to Trade offers practical, achievable solutions to help Haiti--and other developing countries--grow more viable economies by: - building on innovative businesses and existing market-based systems - equipping NGOs and governments to work with local businesses - recognizing that growing out of poverty requires entrepreneurial solutions that drive self-sustainable economic growth Ambitious and optimistic, From Aid to Trade confronts the inadequacies of current foreign aid strategies and offers a clear means of economic and personal growth for individuals seeking a positive future for Haiti and other developing countries.

Infant-Parent Research & Intervention A. Scott Dowling: Introduction Beatrice Beebe: Mother-Infant Research Informs Mother-Infant Treatment Tessa Baradon: What Is Genuine Maternal Love? Arietta Slade, Lois Sadler, Cheryl de Dios-Kenn, Denise Webb, Janice Ezepchick & Linda Mayes: Minding the Baby Judith Arons: In a Black Hole Alexandra Murray Harrison: Herding the Animals into the Barn Psychoanalytic Research Nick Midgley & Mary Target: Recollections of Being in Child Psychoanalysis Rona Knight: The Process of Attachment and Autonomy in Latency Clinical Studies Karen Gilmore: Play in the Psychoanalytic Setting Lissa Weinstein & Laurence Saul: Psychoanalysis as Cognitive Remediation Silvia Visscher Bell: A Girl's Experience of Disfiguring Trauma Psychoanalytic Perspectives on the Future and the Past Harold P. Blum: Psychoanalytic Reconstruction and Reintegration Cornelis Heijn: On Foresight

'The Hidden Form of Capital' presents evidence from several parts of the changing world about how the realm of the spirit affects the economy. The idea that societies have economic cultures as well as aesthetic, literary, and artistic cultures is well-embedded in a number of major studies attempting to identify the origins of national wealth and progress. This book provides an original contribution to the debate, by discussing the relationship between religion and the economy not via further theoretical speculation, but through the presentation of analytical evidence from real-life case studies in Europe, Asia, Africa, Russia, and the United States. There is currently a major re-assessment of assumptions about the foundations of societal progress, as the market rationality model is exposed for its moral weaknesses. The emergence of socio-economics as a scholarly field, as well as the embracing of complexity theory and the societal effect in economic analysis, brings the question of cultural effects to the forefront. This collection of studies offers more practical and tangible evidence, especially unique and useful for its comparative aspect. The book skilfully combines this comparative and descriptive character with an accessible writing style intended for a wide audience.

How can management be developed to create the greatest wealth for society as a whole? This is the question Peter Drucker sets out to answer in Innovation and Entrepreneurship. A brilliant, mould-breaking attack on management orthodoxy it is one of Drucker's most important books, offering an excellent overview of some of his main ideas. He argues that what defines an entrepreneur is their attitude to change: 'the entrepreneur always searches for change, responds to it and exploits it as an opportunity'. To exploit change, according to Drucker, is to innovate.　 Stressing the importance of low-tech entrepreneurship, the challenge of balancing technological possibilities with limited resources, and the organisation as a learning organism, he concludes with a vision of an entrepreneurial society where individuals increasingly take responsibility for their own learning and careers.   With a new foreword by Joseph Maciariello

This series addresses key issues in the discipline of biblical theology. Scholarly yet entirely accessible to students, pastors, and lay readers, these volumes avoid technical jargon, interact with the best, most relevant literature, and -- above all -- provide clear and creative insights that help thinking Christians better understand the Bible and its application to contemporary life. Few ethical concerns are as difficult for contemporary Christians to unravel as the relation of wealth to faith. This helpful exploration of the subject by Craig Blomberg illuminates the Bible's teaching on wealth and possessions and shows how it applies to Christians today. By surveying the whole of Scripture, Blomberg is able to trace the development of the biblical teaching on the place of wealth in the value system of God's people. While the Old Testament pictures a clear relationship between faithfulness and "material blessing", Blomberg shows that this theme does not carry over into the New Testament,where important new concerns are raised. Informed by a wide range of theological, ethnic, and economic perspectives, Blomberg's work provides

The Protestant ethic -- a moral code stressing hard work, rigorous self-discipline, and the organization of one's life in the service of God -- was made famous by sociologist and political economist Max Weber. In this brilliant study (his best-known and most controversial), he opposes the Marxist concept of dialectical materialism and its view that change takes place through "the struggle of opposites." Instead, he relates the rise of a capitalist economy to the Puritan determination to work out anxiety over salvation or damnation by performing good deeds -- an effort that ultimately discouraged belief in predestination and encouraged capitalism. Weber's classic study has long been required reading in college and advanced high school social studies classrooms.

With more than 225,000 copies sold, When Helping Hurts is a paradigm-forming contemporary classic on the subject of poverty alleviation and ministry to those in need. Emphasizing the poverty of both heart and society, this book exposes the need that every person has and how it can be filled. The reader is brought to understand that poverty is much more than simply a lack of financial or material resources and that it takes much more than donations and handouts to solve the problem of poverty. While this book exposes past and current development efforts that churches have engaged in which unintentionally undermine the people they're trying to help, its central point is to provide proven strategies that challenge Christians to help the poor empower themselves. Focusing on both North American and Majority World contexts, When Helping Hurts catalyzes the idea that sustainable change for people living in poverty comes not from the outside-in, but from the inside-out.   

This book connects Sunday worship to Monday morning by engaging the theological basis of God's plan for everyday work and giving readers practical tools for understanding their own gifts.

Business as Mission (BAM) is a growing global movement. Christians active in the arena of business, charity, and church are on a journey to integrate business and holistic mission. But what exactly is BAM? In this book, Gea Gort and Mats Tunehag explain the BAM concept through theory and theology, with stories to show what it looks like in real life. The authors explain that Business as Mission is an expression of a much broader movement. Ideas regarding mission, church, and charity are shifting, and a growing number of Christians are aiming for a missional way of living out the whole incarnated gospel in their daily lives where they work and live.The inspiring stories of 30 practitioners active on all continents provide insight into how gospel shalom can be shared in innovative and practical ways in challenging settings: in developing nations, secularised Western cities, or even closed countries. This book will not only capture your mind and heart as you learn about Business as Mission in theory and praxis, but it will also give you a broad overview of this remarkable movement.This book provides insight into this global movement and is of interest for a broad range of people: pioneers, early adapters and leaders within church, mission, and business, but also for Bible schools and universities.

Self-interest, economic efficiency and private property rights are among the most basic assumptions of market economics. But can an economic theory built on these assumptions alone provide adequate insight into human nature, motivation and ultimate goals to guide our economic life?John Stapleford says no, along with those economists who recognize the limits of their discipline. He insightfully shows us in detail how ethics are inextricably intertwined with economic life and analysis. Writing from a Christian ethical perspective, he interacts with seven standard introductory economics texts, exploring the moral challenges embedded in various macro-, micro- and international economic theories and outlining a faithful response to them.The third edition includes two new chapters on economics as a science and global poverty plus expanded discussions of entitlements, government debt, healthcare reform and immigration reform. Keyed to seven of the most widely used introductory economics texts--Gwartney, Stroup & Sobel; Mankiw; Mansfield & Behravesh; McConnell & Brue; Miller; Samuelson & Nordhaus; and Stiglitz--this book will be especially useful for introductory courses in economics.

Why do we work so hard at our jobs, day after day? Why is a job well done important to us? We know there is more to a career than money and prestige, but what exactly do we mean by "fulfillment"? These are old but important questions. They belong with some newly discovered ones: Why are people in business more religious than the population as a whole? What do people of business know, and what do they do, that anchors their faith? In this ground-breaking and inspiring book, Michael Novak ties together these crucial questions by explaining the meaning of work as a vocation. Work should be more than just a job -- it should be a calling. This book explains an important part of our lives in a new way, and readers will instantly recognize themselves in its pages. A larger proportion than ever before of the world's Christians, Jews, and other peoples of faith are spending their working lives in business. Business is a profession worthy of a person's highest ideals and aspirations, fraught with moral possibilities both of great good and of great evil. Novak takes on agonizing problems, such as downsizing, the tradeoffs that must sometimes be faced between profits and human rights, and the pitfalls of philanthropy. He also examines the daily questions of how an honest day's work contributes to the good of many people, both close at hand and far away. Our work connects us with one another. It also makes possible the universal advance out of poverty, and it is an essential prerequisite of democracy and the institutions of civil society. This book is a spiritual feast, for everyone who wants to examine how to make a life through making a living.

Business as mission (BAM) is a mission strategy whose time has come. As global economics become increasingly interconnected, Christian business people and entrepreneurs have unanticipated opportunities to build kingdom-strategic business ventures. But Christian companies and business leaders do not automatically accomplish missional purposes. BAM requires mastery of both the world of business and the world of missions, merging and contextualizing both into something significantly different than either alone.C. Neal Johnson offers the first comprehensive guide to business as mission for practitioners. He provides conceptual foundations for understanding BAM's unique place in global mission and prerequisites for engaging in it. Then he offers practical resources for how to do BAM, including strategic planning and step-by-step operational implementation. Drawing on a wide variety of BAM models, Johnson works through details of both mission and business realities, with an eye to such issues as management, sustainability and accountability. Business as mission is a movement with enormous potential. This book breaks new ground in how faith and work intersect and are lived out in crosscultural contexts, where job creation and community transformation go hand in hand. Come, participate in what may well be one of the most strategic mission paradigms of the 21st century.

Is business just a way to make money? Or can the marketplace a venue for service to others? Scott B. Rae and Kenman L. Wong seek to explore this and other critical business issues from a uniquely Christian perspective, offering up a vision for work and service that is theologically grounded and practically oriented. Among the specific questions they address along the way are these:What implications does the Christian story have for the vision, mission or sense of purpose that shapes business engagement?What parts of business can be affirmed and practiced "as is" and what parts need to be rejected or transformed?What challenges exist as attempts are made to live out Christian ideals in a broken world characterized by tight margins, fierce competition and short-term investor pressures?How do Christian values inform specific functional areas of business such as the management of people, marketing and environmental sustainability?Business can be even more than an environment through which individual Christians grow in Christlikeness. In this book you'll discover how it can also be a means toward serving the common good.

Grudem postulates that by engaging in business we glorify God because we are emulating God's own creative work. This book is a guide to imitating God during interactions with customers, co-workers, employees, and businesses.

Is capitalism Christian? Is there a Christian perspective on business? How should a Christian use power in the workplace? In addressing such difficult questions as these, Business Through the Eyes of Faith demonstrates how God can dwell at the center of one's life even in the secular marketplace. Here is pragmatic affirmation of the role that committed Christians can play in the business world. The authors stress the connections between Christian principles and good management and provide biblical passages that support their principles and relate them to the practical issues faced by Christian managers. Issues such as employee motivation, workplace communication, business leadership, the role of profit, and social responsibility are all addressed in concrete terms and reinforced by short vignettes, suggested biblical passages to explore, and commentaries from contemporary theorists and practitioners. Business Through the Eyes of Faith shows that business can and should be a reflection of God's kingdom. It is an invaluable resource for Christian business students, managers, and those who wish to understand the concerns and motives of Christians in the business world.

A renowned sociologist explains why capitalism is the most successful economic mechanism ever devised for improving material standards of large numbers of people

The Catholic Church has, for generations, been reluctant to come to terms with capitalism. Novak argues that a 100-year debate within the Catholic Church has yielded a richer and more humane vision of capitalism than that described in Weber's Protestant Ethic.

To help others understand the ups and downs of the market, an experienced businessman shows how the economic world works.

Christians have likely been struggling with the place of business in the life of faith ever since Paul’s days as a tentmaker. Just how do the spheres of private devotion and public business intersect in a meaningful way? Paul Stevens has been exploring this question since his earliest working days in his father’s steel business. His Doing God’s Business tells how readers can find lasting and satisfying meaning for marketplace involvement in the light of the Christian faith and tradition. Stevens explores the potential of business as a location for practicing everyday spiritual disciplines and as a source of creativity and deeper relationship with God.

Can the concept of "Spiritual Capital" actually ensure a company's success? Critics of capitalism view big businesses as insatiable masters of the universe with little regard for the public. They label those who create wealth as greedy, malicious, and unscrupulous. Doing Virtuous Business answers these charges head-on. In this insightful and original book, Theodore Roosevelt Malloch presents the bold idea that the creation of wealth by virtuous means is the most important thing that can be done for society. Doing Virtuous Business explains the true purpose of business and illuminates the connection between a free economy and religious liberty.  Drawing from the notion of "social capital," which has been developed by generations of scholars, Malloch adds the concept of "spiritual capital" as a foundation for social progress and also a necessity for responsible and successful enterprise. He details the virtues that sustain a business and a free market--virtues that build up a network of trust, which is critical to the global economy. Malloch reveals that a company's soul determines its "spiritual capital," an equally imperative foundation to success.  From Wal-Mart to IBM, Malloch demonstrates how companies that operate on ethical models informed by spiritual traditions have outperformed their competitors.  This book is a welcome moral defense of free enterprise and a sensible guide for achieving the ideal of virtuous business.  Besides making the world a better place, Malloch argues, virtuous enterprise makes companies far more successful and profitable than they otherwise would be. He presents case studies of virtuous business in the Judeo-Christian tradition as well as statistical analysis demonstrating how companies that operate on ethical models have outperformed their competitors over the long run.

"Richard John Neuhaus has been called a man with an instinct for the new things of the spirit. And the spirit, he believes, is calling for a very new thing: to make money - even lots of it. For too long, Neuhaus argues, Christianity has had nothing to say to Wall Street or to Main Street. Some churches have blasted the greed of the former or the bourgeois grasping of the latter. Others have insisted on a socialist alternative. But the time has come, Neuhaus says, to stop such silliness. Drawing on the writings of Pope John Paul Il, Neuhaus has written a spirituality of economic enterprise meant for the businessman and the intellectual alike." "There is nothing bad about hustling to make a buck, Neuhaus says. In fact, it benefits everyone if you do - yourself, your family, the people you can then hire. Moreover, it's only by taking care of such business that a healthy society can be built. With plain language, Neuhaus has written a groundbreaking work that unashamedly seeks to bestow a blessing on business. Evangelical Protestants have already done so, he notes approvingly. Now, he believes, is the Catholic moment to do likewise."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

This Reformed Christian primer on work and faith champions the glory of God in all of life's endeavors by tracing four key themes of economics in Christian confession and commitment and examining markers for human flourishing in the real world of economics, commerce, and markets. With scholarly passion and pastoral wisdom, tempered by the insight of economists, John Bolt presents a winsome case for how God uses the market economy to meet human needs. Written to raise questions and invite further discussion, Bolt offers a robust Reformed perspective on stewardship, property, capital, and morality. From this, he explores a variety of issues, including the human need for liberty, the challenge of consumerism, concerns about fairness and justice, and evangelicalism's mixed history in applying Christian compassion in politics and economics. What stands in the way of the human quest for improvement? How does the reality of sin affect the degree to which we can achieve economic shalom today? And despite every good intention, how do we avoid the horrific track record of failed utopias that have spilled oceans of blood and created mountains of misery? Read, learn, and respond as Bolt leads a rousing Reformed discussion of faith, work, and economics.

From Barefoot to Bishop is a compelling story of faith, from being saved to being of service. This memoir will inspire church leaders and laity alike, and it will appeal to those with a passion to living a life with a mission. In November 1959, Ethnic tensions in the East African Nation of Rwanda ignited what would become the first wave of deadly organized masacres against the Tutsi in Rwanda and a precursor to the horrific Genocide of 1994 in which a million or more Rwandans were killed in a hundred days. But on that day in 1959, a five-year-old boy named Laurent Mbanda knew only three things: first, that the air was filled with smoke; second, that his father was missing; and third, that his frightened mother was telling him they had to run and hide. Soon, Mbanda would become one of tens of thousands of Rwandan children literally running for their lives, one of the many children who would grow up in refugee camps amid dire poverty and hunger. From one refugee camp to another in Burundi, Mbanda and his family faced deprivation and near-constant discrimination because of their refugee status. Despite bitter hardships and setbacks, Mbanda never lost his faith.

You've heard people say "Who you are matters more than what you do". Does the Bible really teach that?  In Garden City, popular pastor and speaker John Mark Comer gives a fresh take on our calling and our purpose, with a surprisingly counter-culture take. Through his creative and conversational style, Comer takes a good look at Genesis and the story of a man, a woman, and a garden. He unpacks God's creation and his original intent for how we are meant to spend our time. Here, you'll find answers to questions like "Does God care where I work?"  "What about what I do with my free time or how much rest I get?" "Does he have a clear direction for me?" Practical and theologically rich, Garden City speaks to twenty and thirty-somethings who are figuring out next steps and direction in their lives.  Garden City is the Purpose Driven Life for the next generation--the book that helps us answer why we are here and what should we do about it.

What was once taboo - faith at work - is increasingly accepted in corporate America. From secretaries to CEOs, growing numbers of businesspeople today want to bring their faith to work. Yet they wrestle with how to do this effectively and appropriately in a pluralistic corporate setting.For help they turn not to their clergy, but to their peers and to a burgeoning cottage industry on spirituality at work. They attend conferences and seminars, participate in Bible study and prayer groups, and read books, blogs, and eNewsletters. They see their faith as a resource for ethicalguidance and to help find meaning and purpose in their work.In God at Work, David W. Miller looks at how this Faith at Work movement developed and considers its potential value for business and society. Done well, the integration of faith and work has positive implications at the personal level, as well as for corporate ethics and the broader economicsphere. At the same time, increasing expressions of religion and spiritual practices at work also present the threat of divisiveness and discrimination.Drawing on the insights of theological ethics as well as the sociology of religion, Miller analyzes the history of the modern day Faith at Work movement from its roots in the late 19th century to its modern formulation and trajectory. He examines the diversity of its members and modes ofexpression, and constructs a new framework for understanding, interpreting, and critiquing the movement and its future. Miller concludes that workers and professionals have a deep and lasting desire to live a holistic life, to integrate the claims of their faith with the demands of their work. Hedocuments the surprising abdication of this field by church and theological academy and its embrace, ironically, by the management academy.Offering compelling new evidence of the depth and breadth of spirituality at work, Miller concludes that faith at work is a bona fide social movement and here to stay. He establishes the importance of this movement, identifies the possibilities and problems, and points toward future researchquestions. God at Work is essential reading for business scholars and leaders, theologians and clergy, and anyone interested in the integration of faith and work.

Business as mission has emerged as a significant new model for mission in the twenty-first century. Today's globalized economy has created strategic opportunities for Christian business enterprises in some of the most unlikely corners of the world.In this landmark book, economist Steve Rundle and missiologist Tom Steffen offer their paradigm for the convergence of business and missions--the Great Commission Company. Such companies intentionally create businesses in strategic locations, pursuing profits while remaining unabashedly Christian in their purpose. By establishing authentic businesses that employ local workers among the least-reached peoples of the world, they contribute to the economic health of the immediate community and also provide avenues for both physical and spiritual ministry. In an era where multinational corporations have global influence and impact, the Great Commission Company opens up new possibilities for missions-minded entrepreneurs and businesspeople who want to change the world to the glory of God.This revised and expanded edition provides new and updated case studies of Great Commission Companies in diverse contexts around the world.

I don't want to go to heaven. Not that I'm lobbying for the other place . . .--Michael WittmerThis planet is more than just a stopover on your way to heaven. It is your final destination. God wants you to enjoy your earthly existence, and to think otherwise is to miss the life he intends for you.Exploring the book of Genesis, Heaven Is a Place on Earth gently but firmly strips away common misconceptions of Christianity and broadens your worldview to reveal the tremendous dignity and value of everyday life. Taking you from creation, to the fall, to redemption, and to glimpses from the book of Revelation, Michael Wittmer opens your eyes to a faith that encompasses all of life--baseball games, stock reports, church activities, prayer, lovemaking, work, hobbies . . . everything that lies within the sphere of human activity. To be fully Christian is to be fully human, says Wittmer, alive and responsive to the kingdom of God in all that you are and all that you do.Discover the freedom and impact God created you for. It starts with a truly Christian worldview. And its fruit is the undiluted gospel, powerful not only to save souls, but to restore them to a life that is truly worth living.Includes discussion/reflection questions after each chapter.

Does a person's day to day work have any ultimate value from the perspective of Eternity? Should our work be seen as a discipline through which we connect spiritually with God and others? Is ordinary work the primary way that people can participate in God's mission to make all things new? What is the heavenly good of earthly work? In this book Darrell Cosden takes us on a spiritual and theological journey of discovery exploring these questions. Creatively, constructively, and sometimes provocatively, he shows us that the heavenly good of earthly work really makes the gospel good news for ordinary people by offering the possibility of a genuinely purpose-full Christian life.

Why do so many Christians struggle to relate their faith to their daily work? In this book John C. Knapp argues that the church's ambiguous teachings about vocation, money, and business have long contributed to Christians' uncertainty about discipleship in the workplace. Drawing on his own expertise in business ethics and numerous interviews with Christians in diverse occupations, Knapp offers a new theological framework for Christian life in the world of business.

We spend 50 to 75 percent of our waking hours and 60 to 90 percent of the years of our lives working. Yet many of us never invest even a fraction of that time exploring the vision that drives our lives and work. We've lost the framework in which it is understood that our lives and work are in relationship - in relationship to God through worship, to others through service, and to creation through stewardship. Our lives and work have largely been separated from their mission, and this ultimately stems from a loss of the biblical worldview. LifeWork lays out the thought background for each of us to establish a meaningful, integrated understanding of our life and work. Whatever our work or vocation, God calls each of us to a new way of living - fully in His presence. In this follow-up book to Discipling Nations, Darrow Miller helps us - that is, every Christian - to reconnect our lives and work, our LifeWork, with God's plan for individuals, communities, and nations. This is a carefully researched, down-to-earth, life-altering book that every Christian should read.Contains:True stories of people who have successfully integrated their faith and work Informative graphics and illustrations Excellent study of worldviews, culture, and biblical economics Indexes and helpful resources

My Business, My Mission tells the story of a movement that is changing the lives of tens of thousands of people in the most impoverished nations on earth. It is also transforming business people in the northern and southern hemispheres by exposing them to a revolutionary paradigm: the idea that God has called them into mission through business. Through the work of a remarkable organization called Partners Worldwide, North American businesspeople and entrepreneurs in developing countries are joining together to fight poverty. Their mission is simple: to expand their businesses, create wealth, and provide jobs for the poor in Christ's name.

A compelling call to carry God's mercy and compassion to the hurting people of this world This eminently practical book by two leading experts in the field of poverty reduction offers a clear plan to help ordinary Christians translate their compassion into thoughtful action. Authors Peter Greer and Phil Smith draw on their personal experiences to provide proven solutions for effectively reducing poverty. With photographs by Jeremy Cowart included throughout, The Poor Will Be Glad examines the pitfalls of traditional approaches and outlines a new model of economic development aimed at breaking the cycle of dependency. Through microfinance and employment-based solutions, people who share God's heart for the poor can reorient their efforts from giving handouts to offering a hand up, helping others provide for their families and regain their dignity. This book provides straightforward guidance for individuals and groups eager to carry God's justice, mercy, and compassion to the hurting people in our world.

We can win the fight against global poverty. Combining penetrating economic analysis with insightful theological reflection, this book sketches a comprehensive plan for increasing wealth and protecting stability at a national level.

Do you want to make a true difference in the world? Dr. Ron Sider does. He has, since before he first published Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger in 1978. Despite a dramatic reduction in world hunger since then, 34,000 children still die daily of starvation and preventable disease, and 1.3 billion people, worldwide, remain in abject poverty. So, the professor of theology went back to re-examine the issues by twenty-first century standards. Finding that Conservatives blame morally reprehensible individual choices, and Liberals blame constrictive social and economic policy, Dr. Sider finds himself agreeing with both sides.  In this new look at an age-old problem, he offers not only a detailed explanation of the causes, but also a comprehensive series of practical solutions, in the hopes that Christians like him will choose to make a difference.

People of faith have always been in search of a homeland—from God’s first calling-out of Abraham to the Pilgrims who came to America to establish the “city upon a hill". Fundamental to this quest for a just, holy civilization—and one of the critical questions facing us today—has been the progress of humankind on the earth When has human progress served the vision of “seeking the [heavenly] city which is to come” (Hebrews 13:14) and God’s mandate for humanity to fill and rule over the earth? And in what ways has progress undermined that vision?
In Seeking the City, Chad Brand and Tom Pratt sketch out a biblical vision for how God providentially works throughout history as well as through society’s structures of politics and economy to cause His kingdom, the City of God, to come on earth. Complicating the pursuit of the ideal city is the fact that the ability to make a living is threatened and new pressures to conform to the rising world system will mount as Jesus has warned us. This book will help Christians to understand the times through the trifocal lens of the Bible, history, and theology and then to respond with wisdom to the many pressing issues of the day, including work, wealth, the size of government, taxation, welfare, the environment, and social justice.

In this book, Bruce W. Winter maps out the role and obligations of Christians as benefactors and citizens in their society. Winter's scholarly insight is enhanced through the selective use of important ancient literary and nonliterary sources. Contrary to the popular perception that early Christians withdrew from society and sought to maintain a low profile, this outstanding study explores the complexities of the positive commitments made by Christians in Gentile regions of the Roman empire.

Instead of regarding work as a diversion from the spiritual life, R. Paul Stevens and Alvin Ung are convinced that it is an arena and an incentive for spiritual growth. However, they acknowledge that this is not without its challenges. Work in Progress examines life in the workplace through an innovative exploration of both the seven deadly sins and the ninefold fruit of the Spirit. This approach provides a framework to reveal how the Spirit has given Christians powerful gifts to overcome struggles the face in the challenges of daily work in a globalized world. The authors interact both with one another and with the wisdom of great spiritual writers of history in order to draw out real-life dilemmas and to suggest practical tips for becoming vibrant disciples in the workplace. In addition to filling a critical need for a resource on spiritual growth at work, Work in Progress has an intercultural approach -- the authors are from Canada and Malaysia -- that is particularly dynamic and engaging.

A highly practical book looking at making the most of the time we spend at work. Examining our jobs, colleagues and bosses from God's point of view. Expanding the 'spiritual' part of life from the weekend to the workplace and understanding that God is at work there through us, in us, and in those we work with.

There Shall Be No Poor Among You is a careful and comprehensive but not overly technical study of the biblical portrait of the poor and poverty. Hoppe introduces the study with the socioeconomic structures of ancient Israel and Roman Palestine, then proceeds systematically to examine the biblical evidence, including that of the Old Testament, New Testament, Apocrypha, and rabbinic literature. The Bible describes the poor and poverty in a variety of ways. Sometimes poverty is a curse; other times it is a blessing. Sometimes the text is concerned about material poverty exclusively; other times poverty becomes a metaphor for another reality. Hoppe describes the various ways the Bible deals with the poor, but his fundamental conclusion is that the Bible never idealizes the reality of material poverty and the oppression of the poor by the rich. Even when the Bible speaks of "poverty of the spirit" as a positive religious metaphor, God requires humans to seek social justice. Hoppe suggests that just as poverty is not idealized in the Bible, so the poor should be a priority of every community of faith. Ancient Israel, early Judaism, Jesus, and the first Christians did not forget the poor, and if believers today wish to be faithful to their biblical heritage, neither can they. This book provides a practical background for scholars and is a primer for a significant theological motif. It will be useful in the classroom (in college and seminary courses in biblical ethics and social justice), as well as in serious Bible study. Study questions will help readers and students further probe history, theology, and application.

Written by a highly successful CEO with decades of real-world experience in corporate America, this book shares tips and principles for leading well and pleasing God both personally and professionally.

Aimed at a diverse reading audience, this book describes Brouwer's own struggle to comes to grips with the concept of vocation, incorporates inspirational stories of people and vocation from throughout his ministry, and includes discussion questions at the end of each chapter.

Most Christians spend most of their waking hours working, yet many regard work as at best a necessary evil -- just one more unfortunate by-product of humanity’s fall from grace. Not so, says Ben Witherington III, and in Work: A Kingdom Perspective on Labor, he considers work as neither the curse nor the cure of human life but, rather, as something good that God has given us to do. In this brief primer on the biblical theology and ethics of work, Witherington carefully unpacks the concept of work, considering its relationship to rest, play, worship, the normal cycle of human life, and the coming Kingdom of God. Work as calling, work as ministry, work as a way to make a living, and the notably unbiblical notion of retirement -- Witherington’s Work engages these subjects and more, combining scholarly acumen with good humor, common sense, cultural awareness, and biblically based insights from Genesis to Revelation. "Ben Witherington has given the whole people of God something desperately needed to make sense of Monday to Friday -- a theology of work that breaks down the heretical sacred-secular distinction. . . . Offers a work-view and life-view that, if embraced, would revitalize the mission of God’s people in the world. It’s that good.” -- R. Paul Stevens author of The Other Six Days and Taking Your Soul to Work "Conducting a critical dialogue with the theological voices of our day, drawing upon the wisdom of the Christian tradition, and offering a sensitive reading of New Testament parables, Witherington delivers sound counsel on the Kingdom meaning of work and its implications for our lives today.” -- Lee Hardy author of The Fabric of This World

Adam and Eve worked. Jacob and Joseph worked. So did Ruth, David, Daniel, Jonah, Martha, Priscilla and Aquila, Paul -- and most people in the Old and New Testaments. In Work Matters marketplace theology expert R. Paul Stevens revisits more than twenty biblical accounts -- from Genesis to Revelation -- exploring through them the theological meaning of every sort of work, manual or intellectual, domestic or commercial. Taken together, his short, pithy reflections on these well-known Bible passages add up to a comprehensive, Bible-based theology of work -- one that will be equally useful for seminars, classes, Bible studies, and individuals seeking to grasp more fully the theological dimensions of their daily labor.

Your Work Matters to God demonstrates just how important secular work is to God. Whether you are a man or woman, once you realize how many different ways there are to influence your coworkers for Christ without preaching a word, you'll be challenged to develop a lifestyle so striking and true, the people you work with will be eager to let you talk about what makes you different. Indexed for easy reference.