To stay at Wall Street or to stay at the Club of Rome, Christian economists cannot leave the debate on sustainability to the natural and social sciences only. Fruitful reflections from a critical, confessional, and life-seeking theology is needed. Despite Satan’s claim on being the prince of the world, both Wall Street and the Club of Rome belong to Jerusalem, which in its renewed, cleansed form will be eternally sustainable.

Paul's equipping of Timothy extends far beyond addressing isolated aspects of life; instead, it encompasses a holistic equipping approach that encourages Timothy to exhibit excellence in speech, conduct, faith, and purity. In this equipping relationship, Paul assumes the role of a genuine father figure, displaying sincere love and concern for the overall maturity of Timothy. The guidance provided by Paul transcends specific aspects of life. This all-encompassing approach to equipping, where every aspect of Timothy's life is considered, stands in sharp contrast to the often-fragmented approach observed in contemporary equipping practices.

I am an electrical designer, preparing the electrical circuitry for fire halls, schools and offices and supervising the installation. But I also teach the theology of work in churches, conferences, and seminaries. I have studied both theology from above and from below. My preference is for the latter. Let me explain why….Without minimizing the value of theology that starts with the revelation of God and God’s purposes, there is another way of constructing theology: “doing theology from below.” This approach starts with life and concrete experiences in the workplace and the church. It is that approach that I am anxious to develop.

For too long, the Church has had the practice of waiting for people to come to church to be equipped. The time is ripe for the Church to go and equip rather than wait for people to come. Discipleship can no longer be confined to the four walls of the church. It is not just in the gathered but also the scattered life of the church where discipleship needs to be practiced. Therefore, it can no longer just be about Sunday gatherings and a few other church gatherings, but should be inclusive from Monday to Saturday – be it at homes, coffee shops, or workplaces. The Great Commission (Matt. 28:16-20) is to be carried out to all ἔθνη (ethnē), which can be translated as race, a nation, and people groups. Today, it is in the marketplace where one can find a huge diversity of people from different nations and ethnic backgrounds.

Most Christians live and work in the world. A few, of course, work in the church as pastors, sextons, administrators, youth workers, and worship leaders. Some are immersed in Christian organizations where they have relatively little contact with the world unless their organization is truly missional. Some live and work in a monastery such as the one to which I visit every few months for prayer and reflection. And life is not easier for the monks, nuns, pastors and religious workers. Indeed it is in many ways harder as it has been said, and I quoted earlier, that there is nothing quite so debilitating as the constant handling of holy things. And there are profound dangers in living and working in the church gathered. It is all too easy to become like Job’s friends, talking about God rather than to God in prayer. This volume addresses the meaning of their life in the world first, in terms of ministry, as priests, prophets and princes in the workplace and the world, second, in terms of their mission, and third in respect to the trouble they have in the world through their engagement with the principalities and powers.

The wheel provides a helpful metaphor for thinking about carrying out the tasks of our work under God.  All work is sacred.  While some believe they are strong enough to get by with the occasional spoke, (that is, to connecting personally and through our church with God and handle the daily work ourselves) we are not.  The model extends to doing the planning for our work while being open to adaptation and redirection. 

Fortunately, wheels are everywhere:  on the cars, buses, or trains when we go to and from work, often on the office chairs and the factory vehicles, on toys and lawn equipment.  When we get the picture firmly in mind, we will encounter wheels everywhere, serving as a reminder. 

Every time we look at a wheel, we can see a focal reminder of God in our work

Throughout the development of Christian orthodoxy and orthopraxy, the church has continually battled with a tendency towards dualism. Christian dualism derives from a belief that created matter is distinct from and inferior to spiritual things. This idea was prevalent in the first century through ideologies such as Gnosticism and Manicheism, but also in the Middle Ages. Proponents such as the Cathari and Albigenses taught that matter is evil and created by the devil. What is the impact of this dualism on our work, and what does Christian theology say about dualism and our work?

The products of human enterprise bring blessing to the workers themselves – not only in provision but in spiritual growth. They bring blessing to God who is the ultimate recipient of our work. They are a practical way of loving our neighbours through provision, improvement, and adornment. Human work adorns society and is a major factor in developing community on earth, both locally and globally. And human work develops the potential of creation.

Work is tough. Work is also a source of joy. Is it one or the other or both? The products of work destroy the environment, hurt people, and do violence to the worker. At the same time, they can develop the potential of creation and improve human life. Work can evoke soul-sapping sins. But work can also be a means of spiritual growth. How can we live with this tension?

Relationships are often treated as personal and private. We have shown they are much more than this. They are vital to spiritual development, they are fundamentally important in our workplaces, and they even reflect on our relationship with God.

For the Christian in the workplace, the relationship issues take on an added dimension. The Christian is called to demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit, even at work! We know that every person is made in the image of God and is worthy of our respect. We also know that every person is deeply affected by sin, and we ourselves are so affected. In addition to all this, the Scripture reminds us that the way we treat another person reflects our relationship with God.

It is not an exaggeration to state that modern and ancient civilization would not exist without the development of trades and crafts throughout world history. From the building of cities and their infrastructure to the simple daily use of a spoon and bowl, crafts and trades are not only integral to our daily life but is evidence of what it means to be human and made in the image of God. And yet, too often we place this topic in the realm of the secular, failing to recognize crafts and trades are not only foundational to our very existence but are indeed at the very heart and character of God.

Let me introduce you to a strange word. “Ortho” in Greek comes from the word orthodoxos. We use a derivation of the word in English when we go to an orthodontist to get our teeth straightened. So ortho means straight. The Greek word doxos means glory and honour of the truth of God. So, orthodoxy means straight truth, straight belief, or straight doctrine—belief that lines up with Scripture. Orthodox belief is designed to be a blessing to everyday life, and, at the same time, to bless and worship God.

I always sensed some kind of a blockage in my ministry as a preaching pastor when seeking to communicate a missional vision to people in the marketplace. Despite my attempt in sermons to stress that the meaning of mission was not limited solely to evangelizing their peers who were conveniently trapped in the goldfish bowl of their workplace, inevitably someone would come up to me afterwards and say, “Great sermon, pastor, thanks for giving us a kick in the pants to evangelize more in my workplace.”

My reflection on 1 Thessalonians chapter four was preceded by Jim Hirtle’s two sons speaking movingly about their father. He was and is a beautiful person, filled with the grace of God and the fruit of the Spirit. He died in faith, hope and love. Of the three Christian virtues, faith hope and love, the one most possibly needed today is hope.

To achieve its God-sent purpose, a church must engage with its surrounding socio-economic and cultural environment. It does this mainly through its members who are immersed, by and large, in the world, Monday to Friday. It does this because the whole church is on a mission, and the mission of God is wholistic, or integral, as is commonly called today.

I, too, am technically a layperson “as people call it”—meaning unordained. Admittedly, this is a controversial title. Here is why: frankly, the church today, by and large, doesn’t get the fact that the laity has been abolished! It does not get what it means to say “we are his people,” his one people, and “the sheep of his pasture,” the world (Psa 100:3). The New Testament teaches the revolutionary truth that the people of God are living and working under the New Covenant rather than the more dualistic older covenant.

In this part 2, Adrian Di Franceso concludes that we would be wise to acknowledge both realities simultaneously—both a fruitless toil under the sun and a fruitful vocation under heaven, fluxing and flowing to various degrees in different seasons. Sometimes it becomes worse before it becomes better, and sometimes we need to leave where we are or persevere through it, but the principle remains no matter the brokenness, pain, and suffering, there is always the possibility for redemption and renewal in God’s Kingdom.

There are a myriad of reasons why work is broken but what if God offers us redemption and renewal for the present brokenness of work? What if we need a better theology and Christian vision of work that will help us reconcile this seemingly inescapable brokenness? Is it possible for all of us in our work contexts, broken as they are, regardless of industry, field, or practice, to experience our work as an enactment of God’s renewal in the world? My argument is that it is not only possible but a promise that all of us can experience God’s redemption in our work, no matter how tarnished or broken, made possible by Christ’s inauguration of his Kingdom in the world.

In this article, Dr. Stevens writes that the nature of true spirituality is that it is essentially gratuitous.  But the New Business Spirituality invites a recovery of the great theological truths which fired the entrepreneurship of Jews, early Christians, Catholics and Protestants, and all peoples of faith.