Resources

Note: The material below was first presented in an Asian consultation on marketplace theology which took place in Manila November 28-30, 2007. Much of the material on the Philippines was presented by Dr. George Capaque.

• How does a Filipino understand work?
• What meaning does he/she give to it?
• This is an attempt to develop a contextual understanding of work; a people’s theology of work using local materials (culture) mutually interacting with biblical faith

1. The Anthropological Dimension

(To develop a contextualized theology of work we must know how the human person is viewed; what makes persons “tick”; how persons see themselves in relation to family and community; how decisions are made; how the physical and spiritual aspects of personhood are related; sexual identity)

Note: the following article is a chapter from Setorwu Kwadzo Ofori’s D Min thesis for Bakke Graduate University entitled, “A Study of How Theology of Work Would Affect Theology of Preaching for the Practice of Business as a Calling: A Survey Conducted among Pastors of the Global Evangelical Church”, used with permission.

Historical Background

Introduction: The Bible reveals a Creation and the Redemptive Mandate. Despite the clarity of the Creation Mandate that sets the tone for a theology of work, the church has focused largely on the Redemptive Mandate.

Various Calls: Since the beginning of Israelis history, God has called people who worked and functioned in service to God and humankind. From Abraham, a pioneer leader called into Canaan, to Amos the man called from farming profession to become a prophet, from Joseph who represented Pharaoh, believed to be a son of the sungod, Ra, to Daniel whose support determined the heartbeat of Nebuchadnezzar, from Esther who served as queen in a heathen kingdom to Lydia whose handicrafts bore testimony to Christ, from Paul the tentmaker to the twenty-first century businessman who serves as witness in an Islamic country, God continues to call people from all walks of life to serve him through their work.

INTRODUCTION

The issue is not about women in ministry (which is generally acknowledged to be accepted, at least with children, young people, adult women, students and on the foreign mission field with both men and women). The issue is about women in leadership, especially as pastoral staff, public preaching and eldership. To clarify this, I note what are the underlying issues:

(1) Scripture. As I will show below Scripture is ambiguous on the issue, and both those who deny women leadership in the local church and those who support it have Scripture on their side. Scripture is not ambiguous on the subject of homosexual practice, premarital sex, the exploitation of the poor and marginalized. But it is also ambiguous, as well, on the subject of wealth, the Old Testament largely arguing that it is a blessing of God, and the New Testament calling (essentially) for voluntary impoverishment and declaring that the wealthy already have their “reward.”

(2) Marriage. This is a marriage issue as it is argued that if the husband is the “head” of the home, this would be essentially undone by having one’s wife in authority over him in the church. Leadership structures in the church should support the home, not undermine it, so it is thought...

Several prevailing misunderstandings make it difficult for us to come to the biblical data on their own terms without forcing on the material a grid of expectation formed by popular Christian teaching. It is popularly understood, for example: (1) that spiritual gifts are given at the time of conversion and do not change during one’s lifetime; (2) that Christian maturation is hampered if we do not know what our gift is; (3) that our gift defines our identity (“I am a teacher”); (4) that gifts are primarily linked to roles and offices in the church; (5) that the more extraordinary gifts are indications of advanced spiritual life; (6) that gifts have little to do with our natural capabilities (sometimes called talents); (7) that gifts concern the spirit of a person (generally people talk of spiritual gifts but not of Spirit gifts); (8) that gifts define the character of the personal ministry of each Christian; (9) that emphasis on spiritual gifts may threaten the unity of the church and (10) that the lists of gifts in the New Testament are definitive and exhaustive.