Discusses how the Christian worldview provides resources for affirming the dignity of work; guiding one's ethical decisions in work; reforming your vocation to have a Biblical perspective on humanity & creation; finding balance between work, rest, and other responsibilities; and showing how work has eternal value and reward.
Discusses the meaning and importance of worldview in general as well as the Christian worldview specifically, and introduces how the Christian worldview can be applied to the joys and challenges of work
Discussion of how the Christian worldview can help you find your calling, from City Vision University's Vocation, Calling, and the Purpose of Work class.
A theology of work presentation session twoEdward Bryant
Session two of a four part series on the Biblical Theology of Work. This session addresses the "why" of work, discussing the common and "better" motivations for work.
Discusses the meaning and importance of worldview in general as well as the Christian worldview specifically, and introduces how the Christian worldview can be applied to the joys and challenges of work
Discussion of how the Christian worldview can help you find your calling, from City Vision University's Vocation, Calling, and the Purpose of Work class.
A theology of work presentation session twoEdward Bryant
Session two of a four part series on the Biblical Theology of Work. This session addresses the "why" of work, discussing the common and "better" motivations for work.
Broad based training for church counsellors. Defines Christian Counselling and task of Counsellors. Effective training for Deacons, Christian educators and lay ministers.
I. Introduction:
There are many sacraments of forgiveness and reconciliation in the history of Catholicism.:
• Baptism: forgiveness of sins on the past and reconciled with God.
• Impose the hand of Bishop on heretics and schismatics who renounced
• Eucharistic liturgy was the sign of reunion with Christ despite their sinfulness- unite with other in faith and forgiveness.
o the bread and wine were often seen as a sin offering.
• Middle Ages: devout participation in sacrifice as a purification from personal sinfulness.
• anointing of the sick as an occasion of spiritual healing than physical
• indulgences as cancel the divine punishment
• throughout the history: prayer, reading of scripture, fasting and physical self- discipline, almsgiving and other charity work are as the sacramental actions.
All of these, there is one stood out. It combined an admission of guilt: interior and exterior acts and assurance of divine forgiveness.
o In modern church it was administered privately by a priest and received by Catholic perhaps one a year.
o In patristic period it was public presided over by bishop and for the notorious sinners and one in lifetime.
o In medieval ages the assurance can be given by a lay afterward by the clergy alone.
The works of repentance
o Presence time was the brief prayer
o ancient time were usually lengthy acts of mortification.
There are two elements that always found that were the confession or repentance and forgiveness.
1 John 2:3-10 Tests reveal where we are compared to where we should be in specific areas. Do you really know God? Do you obey God? Do you walk like Jesus walked? Do you love your brethren?
Spiritual Discipline of Evangelism.
Feel free to check out my Youtube channel ("Bible A to Z"):
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCksmizy3de-HTruLFkHDCMA
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/BibleAtoZ1
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Bible-A-to-Z-104071948506766
(Also on Instagram, BitChute, and Rumble)
Look at different models of christian counseling, pastoral care, and coaching... with special attention to the perspectives regarding goal (repair versus growth) and relationship between theology and psychology.
Broad based training for church counsellors. Defines Christian Counselling and task of Counsellors. Effective training for Deacons, Christian educators and lay ministers.
I. Introduction:
There are many sacraments of forgiveness and reconciliation in the history of Catholicism.:
• Baptism: forgiveness of sins on the past and reconciled with God.
• Impose the hand of Bishop on heretics and schismatics who renounced
• Eucharistic liturgy was the sign of reunion with Christ despite their sinfulness- unite with other in faith and forgiveness.
o the bread and wine were often seen as a sin offering.
• Middle Ages: devout participation in sacrifice as a purification from personal sinfulness.
• anointing of the sick as an occasion of spiritual healing than physical
• indulgences as cancel the divine punishment
• throughout the history: prayer, reading of scripture, fasting and physical self- discipline, almsgiving and other charity work are as the sacramental actions.
All of these, there is one stood out. It combined an admission of guilt: interior and exterior acts and assurance of divine forgiveness.
o In modern church it was administered privately by a priest and received by Catholic perhaps one a year.
o In patristic period it was public presided over by bishop and for the notorious sinners and one in lifetime.
o In medieval ages the assurance can be given by a lay afterward by the clergy alone.
The works of repentance
o Presence time was the brief prayer
o ancient time were usually lengthy acts of mortification.
There are two elements that always found that were the confession or repentance and forgiveness.
1 John 2:3-10 Tests reveal where we are compared to where we should be in specific areas. Do you really know God? Do you obey God? Do you walk like Jesus walked? Do you love your brethren?
Spiritual Discipline of Evangelism.
Feel free to check out my Youtube channel ("Bible A to Z"):
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCksmizy3de-HTruLFkHDCMA
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/BibleAtoZ1
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Bible-A-to-Z-104071948506766
(Also on Instagram, BitChute, and Rumble)
Look at different models of christian counseling, pastoral care, and coaching... with special attention to the perspectives regarding goal (repair versus growth) and relationship between theology and psychology.
The work of Fr Norris; a mitigated St Ignatius spiritual diary that leads people to a greater understanding of yourself and your relationship with others and most importantly with God.
The Emerging Church movement represents Satan's modern effort to confuse, weaken, and ultimately ruin God's people. It is a mixture of Christianity, New Age, Eastern religion, and mysticism. This presentation will provide a good introduction to this dangerous infiltration by the enemy of souls.
Making disciples who make disciples is at the heart of the call to follow Christ. Here are some notes on the gap between our intentions and practice (adapted from Greg Ogden's book, Transforming Discipleship).
Christian Ethics BA 616 Business Ethics Definiti.docxtroutmanboris
Christian Ethics
BA 616 Business Ethics
Definition of Christian Ethics
A system of values based upon the Judeo/Christian Scriptures
Principles of behavior in concordance with the behaviors of Christian teachings
Standards of thought and behavior as taught by Jesus.
Discussion
What are some of the “ethical” attributes presented in the teachings of Jesus?
What are some ethical attributes presented in the teachings of other religious persons?
Quotes about Christian Ethics
Quotes on Christian Ethics
Recognize the value of work
“And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, nor shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.” (Leviticus 23:22).
Do not give the poor the food, rather allow the poor to work for themselves
Discussion
What are examples of the value of work?
Today, some U.S. state governors are trying to get those “able bodied” individuals to work for welfare. They are meeting great resistance politically, why do you think this is?
The value of work
Confirmed by Elton Mayo
Fulfills social, psychological and economic needs of the individual
“If a man will not work, he shall not eat” (2 Thessalonians 3:10)
Christian Ethics
The fruit of a people that have inwardly committed their lives to Christ and are outwardly aligning their actions with His teachings.
“May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us— yes, establish the work of our hands” (Psalms. 90:17).
Employees with a Christian Code of Ethics
Welcome accountability
Happy to show their efforts
A system of checks and balances
Sees possible training moment
Fosters collaboration with management
“Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies have no sense” (Proverbs 12:11)
Employees with a Christian Code of Ethics
Not motivated by greed
Work is its own reward
Measure success in a non-monetary way
Seek payment for the work they do
Money is second to obedience
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters” (Colossians 3:23).
Employees with a Christian Code of Ethics
Are highly productive
Are work focused
Work hard throughout the day
Find value in completing assigned tasks
Understand that they are there to work
“Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in forced labor” (Proverbs 12:24).
Employees with a Christian Code of Ethics
Have a strong work ethic
Believe in a Biblical perspective of work
Reliable
Recognize the value of work
Relate their job to their faith
“All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty” (Proverbs 14:23)
Employees with a Christian Code of Ethics
Bring a cooperative spirit to the workplace
Supportive of management
Strong contribu.
These are the slides for our free course. You can find the course on Udemy at:
https://www.udemy.com/academic-program-development-and-accreditation/
and the YouTube Course Playlist at:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXa3JWoXGD0VhgBZxVBfZUmt49heXPnhh
Instructional Design for Online and Blended Learning Course SlidesCity Vision University
These are the slides for our free course on Udemy at:
https://www.udemy.com/disruptive-innovation-in-higher-education/
You can find the course videos at:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXa3JWoXGD0WFaRBmLZAyhGPII1SGMEaL
Here are how the course will work:
1. The course will start with a template for you to conduct needs analysis and research for your course.
2. You will then design learning outcomes and use our templates to develop a learner-centered syllabus to meet requirements of accreditors and a course introduction.
3. You will then use our Course Blueprint template to build each week of your course. While you do that, you will use the OSCAR course evaluation rubric to evaluate your course for best practices.
4. We will share all we know about how to use the latest technology, videos and screencasts to improve the engagement of your course.
5. For those who come from faith-based institutions, we will provide sections on how to integrate faith into learning in your course. For those who do not come from faith based sections, you can skip this section.
6. You will use the course blueprint you developed to create and publish your course using Canvas.
Disruptive Innovation and Accreditation in Christian Higher Education for the...City Vision University
Talk on Disruptive Innovation and Accreditation in Christian Higher Education for the Majority World at ICETE Panama on November 1, 2018 by Andrew Sears
What Disruptive Innovation Means for ABHE Schools Presented at Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE) National Conference in Orlando FL, February, 23, 2018.
Majority World Christian Leadership Development and Disruptive InnovationCity Vision University
This workshop was presented by Andrew Sears with ProMeta in Colorado Springs and William Carey International University. The focus was on how we need a new system for Christian education based around the needs of the majority world. You can also find slides on SlideShare.
GC4 and Alternative Models for Christian Accreditation for the Majority WorldCity Vision University
This presentation explains the purpose of the Global Christian College Credit Consortium (GC4) and looks at Alternative Models for Christian Accreditation for the Majority World.
It was presented as a part of the Aqueduct Project Webinar on "The Role of the Accreditation Agency in the Task of Global Pastoral Training” on Friday, April 21, 2017.
The Redemption of Technology Workshop (Theology of Technology) by Andrew SearsCity Vision University
This was a 5 hour workshop presented to the Boston Fellows program covering the following topics: Vocation, Theology of Technology, Theology of Work, Media Addiction and Life Balance.
Principles for Building a Modular Global Christian Educational EcosystemCity Vision University
As we move to a world driven by platforms, the strategy of Christian higher education needs to adjust. This presentation lays out a vision for how Christian higher education might adjust its strategy to compete in a global world dominated by platforms. Learn more at: http://www.globalchristiancollege.org and http://www.cheia.org
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdbfvMWl-_o
If this were a "flipped classroom," here would be my discussion questions:
Do you buy this vision and strategy? How can it be improved?
If you do buy this, how can we become change agents to get the larger movement of Christian higher education to adapt its strategy? Who are the key influencers that we need to reach? How can we help bring the change that is needed?
The intended audience for this presentation is change agents rather than skeptics. I realize that there would need to be a different presentation targeting skeptics, but honestly, I think the best way to win them over will be not through presentations, but by creating new wineskins that demonstrate that this works.
Learn how to balance your use of media and technology through this lesson using a media nutrition pyramid. This lesson provides templates that will help you log your media use, graph into a pyramid and then develop your own media nutrition plan. Available on TED Ed at: http://ed.ted.com/on/VoRBADci
Slides from Andrew Sears's presentation on What Disruptive Innovation Means for DEAC Schools at the Distance Education Accreditation Commission Conference in April 2016 .
This presentation shows how to use the TAPF method (Topic-Audience-Purpose-Form) to plan a piece of academic writing.
The presentation is used in the English Composition I course at City Vision University (www.cityvision.edu)
How to Make a Field invisible in Odoo 17Celine George
It is possible to hide or invisible some fields in odoo. Commonly using “invisible” attribute in the field definition to invisible the fields. This slide will show how to make a field invisible in odoo 17.
Synthetic Fiber Construction in lab .pptxPavel ( NSTU)
Synthetic fiber production is a fascinating and complex field that blends chemistry, engineering, and environmental science. By understanding these aspects, students can gain a comprehensive view of synthetic fiber production, its impact on society and the environment, and the potential for future innovations. Synthetic fibers play a crucial role in modern society, impacting various aspects of daily life, industry, and the environment. ynthetic fibers are integral to modern life, offering a range of benefits from cost-effectiveness and versatility to innovative applications and performance characteristics. While they pose environmental challenges, ongoing research and development aim to create more sustainable and eco-friendly alternatives. Understanding the importance of synthetic fibers helps in appreciating their role in the economy, industry, and daily life, while also emphasizing the need for sustainable practices and innovation.
Read| The latest issue of The Challenger is here! We are thrilled to announce that our school paper has qualified for the NATIONAL SCHOOLS PRESS CONFERENCE (NSPC) 2024. Thank you for your unwavering support and trust. Dive into the stories that made us stand out!
A Strategic Approach: GenAI in EducationPeter Windle
Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies such as Generative AI, Image Generators and Large Language Models have had a dramatic impact on teaching, learning and assessment over the past 18 months. The most immediate threat AI posed was to Academic Integrity with Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) focusing their efforts on combating the use of GenAI in assessment. Guidelines were developed for staff and students, policies put in place too. Innovative educators have forged paths in the use of Generative AI for teaching, learning and assessments leading to pockets of transformation springing up across HEIs, often with little or no top-down guidance, support or direction.
This Gasta posits a strategic approach to integrating AI into HEIs to prepare staff, students and the curriculum for an evolving world and workplace. We will highlight the advantages of working with these technologies beyond the realm of teaching, learning and assessment by considering prompt engineering skills, industry impact, curriculum changes, and the need for staff upskilling. In contrast, not engaging strategically with Generative AI poses risks, including falling behind peers, missed opportunities and failing to ensure our graduates remain employable. The rapid evolution of AI technologies necessitates a proactive and strategic approach if we are to remain relevant.
June 3, 2024 Anti-Semitism Letter Sent to MIT President Kornbluth and MIT Cor...Levi Shapiro
Letter from the Congress of the United States regarding Anti-Semitism sent June 3rd to MIT President Sally Kornbluth, MIT Corp Chair, Mark Gorenberg
Dear Dr. Kornbluth and Mr. Gorenberg,
The US House of Representatives is deeply concerned by ongoing and pervasive acts of antisemitic
harassment and intimidation at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Failing to act decisively to ensure a safe learning environment for all students would be a grave dereliction of your responsibilities as President of MIT and Chair of the MIT Corporation.
This Congress will not stand idly by and allow an environment hostile to Jewish students to persist. The House believes that your institution is in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, and the inability or
unwillingness to rectify this violation through action requires accountability.
Postsecondary education is a unique opportunity for students to learn and have their ideas and beliefs challenged. However, universities receiving hundreds of millions of federal funds annually have denied
students that opportunity and have been hijacked to become venues for the promotion of terrorism, antisemitic harassment and intimidation, unlawful encampments, and in some cases, assaults and riots.
The House of Representatives will not countenance the use of federal funds to indoctrinate students into hateful, antisemitic, anti-American supporters of terrorism. Investigations into campus antisemitism by the Committee on Education and the Workforce and the Committee on Ways and Means have been expanded into a Congress-wide probe across all relevant jurisdictions to address this national crisis. The undersigned Committees will conduct oversight into the use of federal funds at MIT and its learning environment under authorities granted to each Committee.
• The Committee on Education and the Workforce has been investigating your institution since December 7, 2023. The Committee has broad jurisdiction over postsecondary education, including its compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, campus safety concerns over disruptions to the learning environment, and the awarding of federal student aid under the Higher Education Act.
• The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is investigating the sources of funding and other support flowing to groups espousing pro-Hamas propaganda and engaged in antisemitic harassment and intimidation of students. The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is the principal oversight committee of the US House of Representatives and has broad authority to investigate “any matter” at “any time” under House Rule X.
• The Committee on Ways and Means has been investigating several universities since November 15, 2023, when the Committee held a hearing entitled From Ivory Towers to Dark Corners: Investigating the Nexus Between Antisemitism, Tax-Exempt Universities, and Terror Financing. The Committee followed the hearing with letters to those institutions on January 10, 202
Acetabularia Information For Class 9 .docxvaibhavrinwa19
Acetabularia acetabulum is a single-celled green alga that in its vegetative state is morphologically differentiated into a basal rhizoid and an axially elongated stalk, which bears whorls of branching hairs. The single diploid nucleus resides in the rhizoid.
Palestine last event orientationfvgnh .pptxRaedMohamed3
An EFL lesson about the current events in Palestine. It is intended to be for intermediate students who wish to increase their listening skills through a short lesson in power point.
Embracing GenAI - A Strategic ImperativePeter Windle
Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies such as Generative AI, Image Generators and Large Language Models have had a dramatic impact on teaching, learning and assessment over the past 18 months. The most immediate threat AI posed was to Academic Integrity with Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) focusing their efforts on combating the use of GenAI in assessment. Guidelines were developed for staff and students, policies put in place too. Innovative educators have forged paths in the use of Generative AI for teaching, learning and assessments leading to pockets of transformation springing up across HEIs, often with little or no top-down guidance, support or direction.
This Gasta posits a strategic approach to integrating AI into HEIs to prepare staff, students and the curriculum for an evolving world and workplace. We will highlight the advantages of working with these technologies beyond the realm of teaching, learning and assessment by considering prompt engineering skills, industry impact, curriculum changes, and the need for staff upskilling. In contrast, not engaging strategically with Generative AI poses risks, including falling behind peers, missed opportunities and failing to ensure our graduates remain employable. The rapid evolution of AI technologies necessitates a proactive and strategic approach if we are to remain relevant.
Unit 8 - Information and Communication Technology (Paper I).pdfThiyagu K
This slides describes the basic concepts of ICT, basics of Email, Emerging Technology and Digital Initiatives in Education. This presentations aligns with the UGC Paper I syllabus.
How Then Shall We Live? - The Christian Worldview Applied to Work
1. How Then Shall We Live?
The Christian Worldview Applied to Work
Vocation, Calling, and the Purpose of Work, Week 6
Evan Donovan
2. Five Resources Christian Faith Provides for Work
Creation
1. Life is more than work: faith as inner ballast
2. All work has dignity and worth
Redemption
3. Faith as moral compass in world of work
4. Christian world & life view guides the means & ends of work
Consummation
5. Faith provides hope of fulfillment in work, even in midst of work’s
disappointments
3. Life is More Than Work
Faith provides inner ballast to avoid the twin dangers of pride or
despair
The “work beneath the work” can drain us because we are either
deriving our value from work or just slogging through it to get to
something else
“I have learned in every state to be content.” ~Apostle Paul, Phil.
4:11
4. Who Are We: Starting with Creation
“Christianity is not just involved with ‘salvation’,
but with the total man in the total world.
The Christian message begins with the existence of God forever,
and then with creation.
It does not begin with salvation.
We must be thankful for salvation,
but the Christian message is more than that.
Man has…value because he is made in the image of God.”
- Francis Schaeffer
5. Work’s Dignity & Importance: Our Work as the “Masks of God”
Creator
◦ Participating in the work of creation – Adam naming the animals
Redeemer
◦ Reversing the effects of Fall – “far as the curse is found”
Sustainer
◦ Helping to keep the world in being and in order
6. Work’s Dignity & Importance: Four Key Institutions of Society
The family
Work
Church
Government
7. The Fall’s Effect on Work: Broken Relationships
Bryant Myers’ diagram of poverty as broken relationships, as adapted by Bryan
Fikkert & Steve Corbett of the Chalmers Center. Retrieved from
http://network.crcna.org/global-mission/getting-going-helping-without-hurting on
2/5/2016.
8. The Fall’s Effect on Work: Broken Relationships
Bryant Myers’ diagram of poverty as broken relationships, as adapted by . Retrieved
from http://network.crcna.org/global-mission/getting-going-helping-without-hurting on
2/5/2016.
9. The Fall’s Effect on Work: Three Dimensions of Evil
Personal - sin
Systemic / social - oppression
Cosmological (Satanic / demonic) – “principalities and powers”
Finding balance:
“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins [personal],
in which you used to live when you followed the ways of the world [systemic]
and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air [cosmological],
the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.” (Eph. 2:1-2)
10. Recognizing Work’s Brokenness
We must acknowledge the limitations to what we can accomplish
in this fallen world
We must neither “strive after the wind” (overwork), nor be idle
We are not called to selfishness, but service
Work reveals our idols if we try to find satisfaction in it rather than
in who we are already in Christ
Workplace can become a place of envy, jealousy, gossip, but this
really just reveals what was already in our hearts (Mark 7:20-23;
James 4:1)
11. Redemption: Christ’s Work and Ours
In Christ, the creation is reconciled, broken relationships restored
He has committed to believers the ministry of reconciliation
This means bringing people into right relationship with God, but it
also means working in God’s power to reverse the effects of the
Fall
Through Jesus’ ministry, He met both spiritual and material needs;
we must also
12. Redemption: Faith as Moral Compass for Work
Human rights are grounded in knowledge that people are made in
God’s image and in the Christian virtue of love
Throughout the Old Testament, we see the call to ethical living,
both as individuals and in society
“He has told you…what is good; and what does the LORD require
of you but to do justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly
with your God?” (Micah 6:8)
13. Redeeming Systems: Globalization & Capitalism
Globalization bringing the world closer together than ever before
Bringing up incomes in many parts of the world, yet…
Negative effects:
◦ Homogenization of culture, loss of cultural uniqueness
◦ Inequality within some nations
◦ Environmental harm
◦ Breakdown of traditional communities
Globalization rooted in capitalism, which has great benefits but
doesn’t necessarily operate by ethics other than profit
maximization
14. Redeeming Nature: Dominion as Stewardship
“The tree in the field is to be treated with respect.
It is not to be romanticized as the old lady romanticizes her cat (that is, she
reads human reactions into it)…
But while we should not romanticize the tree,
we must realize that God made it and it deserves respect
because he made it as a tree...
Christians who do not believe in the complete evolutionary scale have reason
to respect nature as the total evolutionist never can,
because we believe that God made these things specifically in their own areas”
and He made them for a purpose.
- Francis Schaeffer
15. Redeeming the Professions: Worldview in Work
Education
Psychology
Medicine
Community development
Law
Politics
16. Redeeming Art: Worldview as a Way of Seeing
Christian worldview can correct one’s vision, point to “the true, the
good, and the beautiful”
“Your beliefs will be the light by which you see, but they will not be
what you see and they will not be a substitute for seeing.”
~Flannery O’Connor
17. Christians in the Workplace: Four Roles
“Mole”: identify sins of the organization
Witness: compel people to accept Christ, attend church
Tentmaker: earn enough to support one’s church work
Servant / Steward: work well, “as to the Lord and not men” (Col.
3:23), seeking to transform the workplace as possible
18. Nature of a Servant Leader
Humble, yields decision-making authority to others
Retains responsibility but yields power
Serves a higher purpose than one’s own
19. Nature of a Steward
Pursue truth, goodness, and beauty
Live out God’s priorities: care for creation and the powerless
Recognize that all that we have is a gift from God
20. Putting on the Mind of Christ
“Do not be conformed any longer to the measure of this world but
be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Rom. 12:2)
God gives wisdom because He gives us the Holy Spirit to
transform our character (Keller)
Christ-minded people are salt and light in the world, people like
those whom Jesus calls blessed in the Beatitudes (Matt. 5:3-12)
21. The Church’s Role in Culture & Society
Church often:
◦ Opposes itself to wider culture, is isolationist
◦ Fails to affirm those in secular vocations
Church should engage with broader culture because God’s
common grace means things are not completely fallen (Keller)
Church calls people together in order to send them back in the
world: a place of worship, restoration, and equipping (Tink)
22. The Sabbath: Rest, Leisure, and Finding Balance
Sabbath is:
◦ Time for worship (prayer, preaching, praise, sacraments)
◦ Time for rest & renewal
◦ Time for community
◦ Time for service (“works of necessity and mercy”)
Leisure:
◦ Not sinful, but necessary
◦ Time for appreciating creation (Josef Pieper, quoted in Keller)
◦ Time for engaging in re-creation
Sabbath cycle shows that God knows our need for balance, so He
gives us rest
23. Consummation: Hope in the Midst of Work’s Disappointments
Illustration of “Leaf by Niggle” by Alan Lee, from Tales from the Perilous Realm.
Retrieved from http://www.dana-mad.ru/gal/image.php?img=708 on 2/5/2016.
“‘There really is a tree!’” – J.R.R. Tolkien, “Leaf by Niggle”
24. Consummation: The Reward of the Master’s Joy
Illustration of “Leaf by Niggle” by MirachRavaia
Retrieved from http://ladyanaire.deviantart.com/art/Leaf-by-Niggle-257403095 on
2/5/2016.
25. Conclusion: Beginning with the End in Mind
As you consider your calling, ask questions such as these:
What gets you out of bed in the morning? What inspires you?
Imagine your funeral & what people will say:
◦ How will you be missed? What vacuum will you leave?
◦ What kind of legacy do you hope to leave behind?
◦ Will anything have been transformed?
Given the limitations of your circumstances, how can you advance your
calling from what you are doing today?
26. For Further Study
Fletcher Tink, “Theology of Work for the STEM Professions,”
weeks 1-8 slides (http://www.slideshare.net/techmission/tow-
week1)
Tim Keller, “Every Good Endeavor” presentation (in course)
Tim Keller, Every Good Endeavor
R. Paul Stevens, The Other Six Days
Editor's Notes
Welcome to the final presentation on worldview and work.
In this presentation we’ll discuss:
How to find meaning & value in work
How your ethics & worldview affect your conduct at work
How you find balance between work and rest
How Christians can work in a secular workplace – “in the world but not of it”
These are taken from Keller’s book and the talk from last week. I’ve matched them up with the parts of the Christian story, the meta-narrative, that gives us these insights.
We serve a loving God who cares for us as individuals
He has placed us in multiple roles in life; we’re not meant to just derive our worth from just one - as Christians we’re supposed to derive our worth from Him, the one who created us in His image and is even now renewing us according to that image, as we have been joined to Christ by faith. “Our lives are hidden with Christ in God” (Col. 3:3)
Because God has created us in His image, as we discussed in the presentation on calling, we have a responsibility to live as representatives of Him in all of our life. We who are Christians are not just concerned with saving our souls or those of others, but of being faithful in whatever occupation we find ourselves in – whether that be an artist, a brain surgeon, or a sweeper. Participation in any moral occupation is participation in the work of God.
Christians are all called, of course, both to support missions and the work of the institutional church and to be a witness for Christ in their personal lives, but we also have a basic human calling – the Creation Mandate – in common with all other people, since all people have been created in the image of God. Because the image of God is not lost completely even when humanity has fallen into sin, everyone still has the potential to reflect some of the glory of their Creator, and Christians can partner in their work with those who do not share their faith. Theologians would call this an effect of God’s “common grace” as He makes His sun shine on the evil and the good alike (Matt. 5:45).
Creator –
Work has dignity because the material world was created good (Keller) - this is different than the Greeks, and many who followed after them
Sustainer - help keep things in being
Martin Luther – God uses us to feed others (his commentary on Ps. 145:16, quoted in Every Good Endeavor
this shows that not just “brain work” is valuable to God – all work has dignity and worth, as stated earlier
Luther - God uses rulers to make peace in the borders (Ps. 147:14)
Luther aimed to end the sacred/secular divide in work by proclaiming the priesthood of every believer – that all Christians have direct access to God and that there are not intrinsically better lifestyles in which to serve Him. As it says in 1 Peter 2:9, together we are all a “royal priesthood”.
We are called to a “ministry of competence”, as Keller says. Take pleasure in what you do and in doing it well, for the sake of the work itself as well as for the people who benefit from it. If you are a Christian pilot, Keller says, make sure to land the plane.
You can further see the dignity and importance of work by looking at four key institutions of society: the family, work, church, and government.
Only the first two of these existed prior to the Fall. Both were specifically mentioned in the Creation Mandate. This shows just how foundational work is to the Christian view of the world. What a contrast from the Greeks’ view that only the spiritual was important, as described by Keller, or the common view today that values only relaxation – “working for the weekend”.
Work itself has not been cursed in the fall, but the ground has been cursed (broken relationship with creation) and the people who work have become alienated from themselves, each other, and God. This has made work much more difficulty, and often seemingly futile.
There are several ways in which these broken relationships can play out, as shown here. Some (those in gold) are more of a problem in majority culture, others (those in red) in minority culture.
The story of the Tower of Babel in Gen. 11:1-9 shows that these have been a problem ever since the introduction of sin.
When people failed to steward God’s creation, it has caused environmental crises and social inequality. The failure to see people as made in God’s image has caused people to use power to control others, rather than serve them. Disconnection from how the self is meant to be in God has led people to based their identity on things and achievements. Ultimately, all this is rooted in a disconnect from God Himself, the source of every good thing.
The book of James refers to systemic evil as the “world”, personal evil as the “flesh”, and cosmological evil as the “Devil”.
Various Christian traditions have unfortunately focused on one of these to the exclusion of the others. Evangelicals have often focused on personal evil – conversion followed by cleaning up one’s life. Mainline Protestants today focus largely on systemic evil – addressing the systems of the world that have become corrupt and oppressive through prophetic advocacy. Pentecostals, on the other hand, retain a sense of cosmological evil that the others frequently forget, stressing the importance of spiritual warfare, expressed often through prayer and fasting.
The passage from Paul’s letters shown here illustrates that Christ’s redemptive work addresses all three simultaneously. [Read passage.]
“What comes out of a person is what defiles him. 21For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 23All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” (Mark 7:20-23)
“What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?” (James 4:1)
“For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” (Col. 1:19-20)
“[I]f anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come…All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.” (2 Cor. 5:18-19)
“For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration…in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.” (Rom. 8:19-21)
The laws of the Bible can help discern what justice and mercy look like in many situations, but, as Tim Keller points out, wisdom covers the 80% of life when what to do is not entirely clear. The Holy Spirit and our fellow Christians can help guide us as we evaluate God’s Word, our experience and our conscience to see what is best to do in a certain situation.
Fletcher Tink, in his original presentations for this course, offered 10 questions you can ask yourself that help point toward wisdom in personal and collective ethics:
Is it against the rules and professional values of your organization?
Does it feel right to do this?
Is it legal, not contrary to any law?
Can it reflect negatively on you or your organization?
Who would suffer most as a consequence?
Would you feel shame if others know of your action?
Is there an alternative that is less ethically problematic?
How would you action look if it had been described in the media?
What would a reasonable person think of your action?
Are you able to sleep contently if you were to do this?
Question for the 21st century: Can the West can discipline capitalism morally now that its roots in the Protestant work ethic have been lost and it is largely about hedonism and people pursuing whatever they can get, without a sense of vocation (Os Guinness)
globalization could be the Tower of Babel repeated, as humans try to build one uniform society without God; the alternative is Pentecost, one Spirit in many tongues, or the New Jerusalem, all peoples worshipping around the throne
capitalism and globalization can be “powers” in the New Testament sense and it is our calling to dethrone and discipline them when they step out of bounds.
Christians have a unique perspective that can provide answers in the disciplines that shape culture - “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ...does not cry, ‘Mine!’” (Abraham Kuyper, theologian & prime minister of the Netherlands, early 20th century)
Education - what does it mean to develop as a person?
Psychology - what is human well-being? is there a moral or a spiritual component?
Medicine - do we need to treat people as whole persons to heal them, or can we deal with them piece by piece?
Community development - what is a flourishing community? what is development anyway? (GDP vs. happiness index)
Law - what is justice?
Politics - what is a well-ordered society?
the Christian concepts of the image of God and of shalom, among others, help point us to answers in these fields, though it still takes wisdom to apply these insights
is there such a thing as goodness and beauty, and can art help point to it?
Lewis’ sehnsucht: the "inconsolable longing" in the human heart for "we know not what” - “That unnameable something, desire for which pierces us like a rapier at the smell of bonfire, the sound of wild ducks flying overhead, the title of The Well at the World's End, the opening lines of "Kubla Khan", the morning cobwebs in late summer, or the noise of falling waves.”
Christian worldview guides us in creating and appreciating art but it doesn’t dictate everything. Really it is a correction of vision, what we lost in the Fall
The last of the roles as the superior one. Being a witness or a tentmaker is not inherently bad, but it is not sufficient.
God is our power source. Power is not to benefit us as stewards but to accomplish the will of the power source.
Furthermore, the ultimate power is in giving power away, paradoxically, as Phil. 2:5-11 shows with Christ’s self-emptying of divine authority and death on the Cross
Here we see God, the power source, emptying Himself of power, since Christ is God. This is the mystery of perichoresis, in which the Father and Son delight in yielding to each other in mutual love (John 17:21)
Steward knows what to do with the resources that God has entrusted him or her with: “’Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time?’” (Matt. 24:45)
Stewardship is a collective goal as well as a personal one.
A successful organization will live out the values of stewardship, while sustaining itself (and making a profit, if it is a for-profit entity).
We are called to holistic stewardship in all the spheres of life: family, church, government, commerce, and non-profits.
Studying Christ’s teachings and imitating His actions in the Gospels can help us to reform our minds and our whole personality according to His likeness. This will help our faith to make a difference in all of life.
Fletcher Tink offers some characteristics of the Christ-minded:
Love the Father
Love and think of others first and build them up
Faithful stewards of God’s calling for their loves
Seek justice, love mercy
Forgive as they have been forgiven
Are pure in heart: honest, responsible, of highest integrity, vulnerable, and accountable to others
Are peacemakers
Rejoice in the Lord, knowing that He loves us, knows us by name and cares for us
Sabbath is not the cessation of activity, but rather the culmination of it.
Fletcher Tink notes that Adam and Eve experienced the Sabbath after their creation but prior to their work - the Sabbath precedes work, and is not just the reward at the end of work.
As Tim Keller discusses in Every Good Endeavor, we never manage to get done all that we want to get done in work. The cares and distractions of life creep in, the fallenness of ourselves and our colleagues, the brokenness of the world’s systems – all these limit our accomplishments. Sometimes this can lead to despair.
Yet the story by J.R.R. Tolkien that Keller retells, the story of a man named Niggle who has visions of a tree but only paints a leaf, ultimately gives us hope. For Christians can say with confidence, there really is a tree, there really is another world that fulfills what we only see dimly in this world.
The book of Revelation describes the world to come as the new Jerusalem and it is better than this world, but it is not a denial of it. It is a material world, just as this is, but without the effects of sin and the curse. And it says in Revelation that the nations will bring their glory into it (Rev. 21:26). Our work matters now and it matters for eternity.
In 1 Corinthians 3, Paul promises that anyone who builds in their work on the sure foundation which is Jesus Christ, their work will last. The fire of the last day will test the quality of our work and those who serve Christ in it will receive reward.
Sometimes, even in this life, we feel like we are doing exactly what we were meant to be doing; we are perfectly absorbed in our work. It is at times like these that we could echo the words of Olympic runner and missionary Eric Liddell, “When I run, I feel God’s pleasure.”
But God’s delight in His people is more than we can feel or know until Christ returns. C.S. Lewis called this the “weight of glory”, referring to what the Apostle Paul speaks of in 2 Cor. 4:17 when he writes, “Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For our momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
We should never deprecate that which is seen, or stop seeing, but we should know, when we are suffering or when we are frustrated in our work, that there is a reality beyond what we can see now that satisfies our longing for truth, goodness, and beauty completely, since in it we are united with the Source of all truth, goodness, and beauty.
Whether you agree with the story presented here or not, I hope that this has been helpful in getting you to think about the story, not just of your life, but the story behind the story.
The questions on this slide are intended to provoke you into deeper thought about your calling.
Christians are continually encouraged to live lives “worthy of the calling to which we have been called” (Eph. 4:1). We have a great calling offering an eternal weight of glory.
As you seek to discover the story of your own life, my hope is that you find a calling worthy to be answered.