Mobile Ed: PD332 A Christian Perspective on Work and the Economy (7 hour course)

by Greg Forster; Logos Mobile Education

Publisher:

Lexham Press

, 2017

Overview

Explore why it’s important for us to understand our daily work as something intimately connected with our faith, and how this allows our faith to be a full-time way of life rather than something that we squeeze in for a few hours a week. Delve into how work is central to the image of God, and learn that all people are made to work together with each other as stewards of the world. Consider how the fall brought darkness, evil, and injustice into the world of work, and then look at how redemption and the Holy Spirit restore us to the image of God and empower us to persevere through toil and frustration in our work. Dig into the economic context of the changing global economy, and contrast our current world of work with what existed in biblical times. We are going to be looking at issues like poverty and justice and how we promote the dignity of all people, as well as how we can do our work in a way that brings flourishing to our communities. We will also look at the role of work in how the church can fit into a pluralistic culture.

 

Learning Objectives

Upon successful completion you should be able to:

• Demonstrate why connecting our faith to our work is a central concern in the kingdom of God
• Understand how all people are made to work and to work together as fellow stewards bearing the image of God
• Explain how the fall brought darkness and toil and injustice into the world of work, and how redemption and the work of the Holy Spirit are empowering us for restoration and for perseverance
• Describe the economic context of our work, i.e., the economic world that we work in every day, and describe how it shapes us and how we shape it
• Explain how the world has changed in dramatic ways since the time of the Bible, and define the benefits and challenges associated with those changes

Course Outline

Unit 1: Why Work Is Central to the Kingdom of God

• “Leisure-Time Christianity” vs. Whole-Life Discipleship
• Work Is Central to the Church’s Mission
• Work Is Central to Discipleship
• Work Is Central to Living the Kingdom in a Pluralistic Culture

Unit 2: The Stewardship Mindset

• What Is the Stewardship Mindset?
• What the Stewardship Mindset Looks Like
• The Stewardship Mindset Is Not Normal in Human History

Unit 3: The Stewardship Mindset and the Entrepreneurial Economy

• The Stewardship Mindset Creates the Entrepreneurial Economy
• What It Looks Like When a Stewardship Mindset Creates an Entrepreneurial Economy
• Love across Cultural Boundaries
• Benefits Created by the Entrepreneurial Economy
• Challenges Created by the Entrepreneurial Economy

Unit 4: The Image of God: Implications for Work

• God Is a Worker, and We Are Made in His Image
• Ruling the World as God’s Prophets, Priests and Kings
• Working within Limits—Obedience and Rest
• Ruling as God’s Stewards—Helping the World to Flourish
• A Naturalistic View of Flourishing Leads to Disaster
• A Spiritual View of Flourishing Centers on Right relationships
• Flourishing and Adversity
• Living in Community—the Image of God in Relationships, Society, and Culture
• Living in Generations—Creation Is a Project, Not an End Point
• Holy Love for God and Neighbor—because God Is Love

Unit 5: The Fall: Implications for Work

• Toil
• Futility
• Disruption of Identity
• Disruption of Motivation
• Disruption of Human Relationships and Injustice
• Disruption of Our Relationship with Our Environment
• Sloth and Laziness, Pride and Workaholism

Unit 6: Redemption, Hope, and the Holy Spirit: Implications for Work

• Redemption, Justification, and the Holy Spirit
• Redemption and Hope—a New Perspective
• Sanctification: Transformation and Perseverance
• Living and Working alongside Unbelieving Neighbors
• Redemption and Human Flourishing

Unit 7: Work as Holy Love

• To Work Well Is to Exercise Holy Love for Your Neighbor
• To Work Well Is to Exercise Holy Love for God
• To Work Well Is to Live within the Limits of God’s Holy Love
• To Work Well Is to Be Shaped by God’s Holy Love
• Work as Holy Love for a Dark World

Unit 8: Theological Problems Related to Work

• Ecclesiology: Koinonia vs. Oikonomia
• Ecclesiology: The Calling of the Pastor
• Eschatology: The Fate of the Widget
• Eschatology: Continuity and Discontinuity
• Soteriology: Redeeming the World?

Unit 9: The Local Church and Work

• Work in Sermons and Liturgy
• Work in Pastoral Care
• Work in Compassion Ministry
• Work in Efforts to Serve the Common Good
• Work in Youth and Family Ministry

Unit 10: The Economy: Work as Social and Cultural Activity

• Work Is Social
• Work Is Cultural
• Work and the Economy
• Materialistic Approaches to the Economy and Flourishing
• A Spiritual Approach to the Economy and Flourishing
• The Economy Is Social: Trust
• The Economy Is Cultural: Our Character Shapes the Economy
• The Economy Is Cultural: the Economy Shapes Our Character

Unit 11: Value Creation

• Value, Resources, and Priorities
• The Purpose of Work Is to Create Value
• Intrinsic and Instrumental
• How Work Creates Value
• How Exchange Creates Value
• The Insufficiency of “Enlightened Self-Interest”

Unit 12: Value and Money

• Value Is Not Money
• The Three Uses of Money
• Value and Wages

Unit 13: Treating Value as Both Moral and Personal

• Value Is Moral
• Value Is Personal
• The Difficulty in Treating Value as Both Moral and Personal
• Freedom, Responsibility, and Relationships

Unit 14: The Ancient Economy

• Economic Context and Reading the Bible
• The Ancient Economy—Wealth and Land
• The “Limited Access Order”
• Injustice and Paternalism in the Ancient Economy

Unit 15: Emergence of the Entrepreneurial Economy

• The End of the Old Order
• Medieval Developments
• The Reformation Challenge to Body/Spirit Dualism
• The Reformation Challenge to Injustice and Paternalism
• Technological Changes
• Theological and Philosophical Interest in Nature and Social Order
• The Industrial Revolution and the Institutional Revolution
• The Wesleyan Movement and the Industrial Revolution
• The “Open Access Order,” Impersonal Exchange, and Trusting Strangers
• Impersonal Exchange and Trusting Strangers
• The Entrepreneurial Economy

Unit 16: Revolutionary Changes Created by the Entrepreneurial Economy

• To Work Well Is to Exercise Holy Love for Your Neighbor
• To Work Well Is to Exercise Holy Love for God
• To Work Well Is to Live within the Limits of God’s Holy Love
• To Work Well Is to Be Shaped by God’s Holy Love
• Work as Holy Love for a Dark World

Unit 17: Challenges Created by the Entrepreneurial Economy

• The Increased Importance of Work Feeds Both Sloth and Workaholism
• Weakening of Important Cultural Institutions
• Fragmentation of Moral Language and Cultural Assumptions
• Fragmentation Challenges Belief and Spiritual Formation
• Shared Social Space and the Emergence of Secularism
• Systems Run Amok
• The Continuing Challenge of Poverty

Unit 18: Responsible Action

• The Church Must Take Responsible Action on Economic Issues
• Responsible Action and the Secularization of the Culture
• Responsible Action and Social Conflict
• Working within the Entrepreneurial Economy Rather Than Rejecting It
• Being Political without Being Partisan
• Cultural Entrepreneurship

Unit 19: Poverty

• Spiritual Poverty
• Material Poverty vs. Economic Poverty
• What the Economically Poor Need Most
• Helping That Hurts
• Why Our Help Hurts
• Two Kinds of Inequality
• New Approaches to Poverty
• Non-Price Allocation and the Poor

Unit 20: Church and Culture

• Different Models of Exile: OT and NT
• Starting with Shared Humanity
• Loving an Unholy World While Maintaining Holiness

Unit 21: Work and Economics in the Kingdom of God

• Renewing the Church and Serving the World

Product Details

• Title: Mobile Ed: PD332 A Christian Perspective on Work and the Economy
• Instructor: Greg Forster
• Publisher: Lexham Press
• Publication Date: 2016
• Product Type: Logos Mobile Education
• Resource Type: Courseware, including transcripts, audio, and video resources
• Courses: 1
• Video Hours: 7

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About the Instructor

Dr. Greg Forster is an author and scholar whose work covers theology, economics, political philosophy, and education policy. He is the author of six books, including Joy for the World: How Christianity Lost Its Cultural Influence and Can Begin Rebuilding It, as well as numerous scholarly and popular articles. He is the director of the Oikonomia Network at the Center for Transformational Churches at Trinity International University. He is also a senior fellow at the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice, the editor of the group blog Hang Together, and a regular contributor to various digital media outlets. He received a PhD with distinction in political philosophy from Yale University.