Join us for an insightful and interactive look at an activity that occupies a larger part of our waking hours than any other. But what place does it (should it) play in our lives? Does it have any meaning for us beyond a pay-cheque that sustains our lives? What about all the work that receives no pay-checque? Does God care about our work? And what actually is work? Is work finished when you retire? Does Scripture have anything to tell us about our work?
Class Leaders & Participants
This class will be led by Derrick Bellows and Len Pauls, and is intended to draw heavily on the experience and insights of the class. Consider this: In a class of 15 there will be at least 500 person-years of hands-on work experience! Each person’s work experience is unique, and we have much to learn from each other.
Where Our Attitudes Come From
We will look at Creation Theology as a starting point; but also at how work came to be viewed through the history of the Christian church. We will look at how the negative attitude of the Greeks and Romans toward work came to dominate the thinking of the Western world; and how modern thinkers such as Adam Smith, Carl Marx, and F.W. Taylor brought us to where we are today.
Present Perspectives
But is there no Christian perspective on all this? We will look at Martin Luther, who was the first in the history of the church to deal with the subject in depth. But we will also look at some contemporary Christian writers and theologians, such as Miroslav Volf and Paul Stevens, who bring us some fresh (and challenging) insights into this topic.
Join Us!
Whatever your work experience is, or was, we invite you to share with us as we explore what God would say to us about it.
The class will run for six sessions, with a break for Thanksgiving.