Resources

In light of the growing number of marketplace Christians in the congregation and the lack of relevant nurture materials targeting this group of believers, the author being a local church pastor desires to investigate their needs and the effective approach for the spiritual nurture of their company small groups for witnessing and transformation in the marketplace.

The research methods include literature review on various definitions of spirituality as well as church spiritual traditions and practices, the basis of evangelical spiritual theology and Christian books for the marketplace workers. Quantitative analysis of the result of survey questionnaires collected from the participants of church weekly white collars gospel luncheons was conducted and the results were used for identifying the Bible study topics to be explored in the group leader manual. The materials prepared for the manual was tested out in a pilot small group and feedback was collected to improve and refine the materials. It was concluded that the incarnation model should be adopted by company small group to provide the spiritual nurture for Christians and seekers of truth.

Paul Stevens applied Christ‘s threefold offices of prophet, priest and king effectively for believers to live out their God‘s ordained roles in the marketplace. The author of this dissertation built on this concept to develop an expandable framework for organizing the Bible study materials in the leader manual that can edify the believers to live out the fact that Jesus is the truth, the way and the life, which in turn will bring out the message of faith, love and hope to the commercial world. Working together with other pastors and lay leaders, it is the author‘s ultimate goal that a vibrant force of witnessing and transformation in the marketplace would take place!

Community transformation is urgently needed in the country of Myanmar. The purpose of this dissertation is to show how that ministry is achievable when churches and Christian businesspeople work collaboratively. At the same time, proposing community transformation has been a great challenge due to the country’s political regime and its isolation policy toward other nations; however, the current political changes and other changing factors of the country seem to be ushering in a promising and welcome scenario to do community transformation. The following open discussions enlighten the feasible situations of initiating community transformation in Myanmar. 

Myanmar is sandwiched between India and China, the two nations with the largest populations and fastest growing economies of the world. Geographically Kachin State touches both of these nations and has formal access to each. The Stilwell Road has been undergoing renovation and will revive trade between these nations in the near future. Kachin State also boasts tremendous natural resources that have the potential to be the source of great blessing for the local community. Used appropriately, these natural resources can provide a basis for business opportunities that can be managed for community transformation. The church, working across denominations, has an obligation to introduce biblically sound principles in the business place for the common good of the community. 

Having been left behind other developing nations of the world for centuries and after having extreme economic and political struggles, Myanmar has recently risen to become a more responsible member of the world community by restructuring her political regime through democratic reforms. The neighboring countries, as well as the xxi 

United States and the European nations have responded positively to the political reforms of Myanmar. India in particular closely watches every political and economic movement in Myanmar, hoping that her political regime will transition fully toward the democratic benchmark that will result in its being embraced by the world community. The government of Myanmar appears to be offering bright hope for the communities of the nation as it has been moving forward with democratic changes. 

The changing conditions mentioned above present unprecedented opportunities for emerging church and community leaders. Christian leaders are encouraged to seize the moment for implementing community transformation. At the same time, there are many potential hindrances that could derail the best intentions. One of the biggest challenges is Platonism, which teaches that the church’s role is restricted to the “sacred” realm, and purpose of business is purely secular. In keeping with this thinking, the church should not be juxtaposed with the business or other “commercial” concerns. Platonism weakens the church’s potential to bring about community transformation. Platonic teaching has become the most difficult obstacle to community transformation; hence, doing community transformation in Myanmar sometimes appears unbiblical and even unrealistic. 

It is no surprise that businesspeople are found in every local church. They are a God-given human resource purposely and rightly placed within the church to accomplish kingdom business by working with the church. The church and Christian businesspeople are different in nature, yet they share the common purpose of working together for God’s glory. 

The project reviewed the root causes of poverty and the impact of microfinance as one of the wealth creation models being implemented in the Philippines and in other countries. Microfinance along with the associated development-oriented services is one of the most promising solidarity economy models with the potentials to generate profit, emancipate the poor from poverty and conserve the environment.
The focus of the research was on how to expand and sustain the microfinance operations of the APPEND Network in order to provide quality of life to its target clients of five million poor people within the next five years. APPEND is one of the oldest and the largest microfinance providers in the Philippines. The project reviewed the impact of the APPEND's 'microfinance plus' being provided to poor communities, the health status and the satisfaction levels of the microfinance staff using the Joy at Work Staff survey. The project also firmed up strategies that will enable APPEND provide lasting solutions to poverty and develop microfinance as a functioning bridge to sustainable development and community transformation.
The APPEND Network needs to build up social enterprises that will effectively respond to both the financial and non-financial requirements of the poor communities; should enhance its HRD (Human Resources Development) to equip its people in handling growth and expansion and finally has to strengthen its relationship with the government in helping the poor for greater and deep impact. The lasting solutions to poverty through various wealth creation models are possible if there is unity and solidarity with God, with people and with the environment.

Introduction  générale

1. Problématique

Dans  le contexte de l’Afrique  en général et de la République Démocratique du  Congo  en particulier, il se pose un problème  lié   au travail  de  personne  vivant  avec le  VIH-SIDA.  Ces dernières  du moins  pour la  plupart, vivent encore dans l’anonymat dans  les  milieux  de  travail. Celles  qui  sont  en   quête  de l’emploi   ont  beaucoup  moins d’opportunité  d’être  recrutées  dans  le  travail. Il  est  rare  de  voir  ces personnes  s’exprimer  librement concernant   leur  état sérologique  sinon  dans  des cercles  fermés  de forum ou des  ateliers  et  conférences.  Et  pourtant  elles  sont  des  malades  en  possession  de leur  droit  au travail  et  au respect  comme  c’est  le  cas  de  ceux  et  celles  qui  souffrent du  paludisme. ...Lire la suite

The question of aid effectiveness has been bothering many participants in the aid arena for many years now. Despite Africa receiving the bulk of aid in the last fifty years, real development is yet to be seen. I am concerned about the ineffectiveness of aid and desired to find out from donors and recipients of aid their views of work and how those views affect the effectiveness of aid. I had three hypotheses and asked three questions. A literature review was undertaken with a number of scholarly works being reviewed. The views of work of both donors and recipients of aid agreed on the ineffectiveness of aid in Africa.

Seminars were arranged for donors and recipients of aid where I taught a theology of work. At these seminars, research instruments I designed were used to collect pre and post seminar data. The data collected were both quantitative and qualitative, although the research design was mainly qualitative. The context of the study was considered in the research and this context gave insight to the causes of the behaviors that influence the views of work and which subsequently affected the effectiveness of aid. A biblical and theological framework was also reflected on which a number of Scriptures and other scholarly work are cited.

The results from the seminars were analyzed. The hypotheses one and two were partly supported, while hypothesis number three was fully supported. Also recommendations as well as suggestions for future studies were made.

The purpose of this dissertation is to research how the church has responded to the perennial ethno-religious crisis that has engulfed the city of Jos, the capital of the Plateau State of Nigeria and its environs and possible approaches to respond and their theological implications. The study will seek to explore how the church can deploy its overwhelming presence in the region as a tool for positive influence in order to achieve the much needed peace and reconciliation.
The dissertation also hopes to proffer theological perspective for peace in a multiethnic and multi-religious context. This work will eventually become the design for The Centre for Transformational Leadership, which will provide resources for training and also engage in interfaith and other activities geared towards reconciliation in Jos City and its environs.

To find how theology of work would affect preaching for the practice of business as a calling, in the Global Evangelical Church, (GEC) in Ghana Africa, a survey was conducted among pastors of the church. A qualitative inquiry was carried out on a stratified sample of 50 pastors drawn from 106 seminar attendants. Literature review focused on several scholarly sources on the subject among which one scholarly work was chosen for critical examination. The purpose was to build on the chosen scholar’s unfinished works. Literary review of the scholar revealed that there were tasks that the institutional church had to execute to enable understanding of theology of work leading to the practice of business as a calling. In order to find how true the findings were with the GEC, data was collected. Data demanding objective and subjective responses were collected following a seminar purposed to give basic information about theology of work. Analysis of data and results, were presented as percentages as well as in descriptive form.  Analysis showed that in the face of preaching opportunities available to pastors of the GEC, they needed knowledge of theology of work coupled with stewardship structures and conceptual skills in order to affect congregants for the practice of business as a calling. Conclusions and recommendations drawn from the analysis appreciated the conceptual skills of pastors but encouraged the leadership of GEC to empower its pastors through the provision of study opportunities and organizational structures for GEC members to understand and do their work as calling from God.

The ministry problem statement discussed in this dissertation is how to integrate business into the local church ministry to create jobs for the church and the community to lead to the community’s transformation. In addressing the problem the study will examine God’s vision for the church and how it fits into the mission of God in the context of transforming the community through the application of integrating business into the church ministry.

Chapter 1 will introduce the problem the study wants to solve and will bring in some perspectives of transformational leaderships. Chapter 2 will examine other proposed solutions by reviewing some literature that sheds light on both the problem and other proposed solutions. Chapter 3 will outline my main dissertation: Theology of Work: A Case Study for the Integration of Church and Business for community transformation and its missiological implications, using water purification as a model for solving the problem. Chapter 4 will address the ministry problem’s biblical and theological basis. Chapter 5 will review the research I conducted in Ghana to find solutions to the problem. Chapter 6 will examine what would be the outcome of this study in the context of the church and the community life. In chapter 7 will draw a conclusion with regard to the impact of integrating business into church ministry.

This research work addresses the lack of integration between faith and work that affects work ethics and aggravates poverty in Ethiopia. The proposed solution is a holistic view of work whereby Christians are called to integrate their faith into all areas of life so that work is valued and serves as a means to address poverty.

There is a problem of disintegration especially among Ethiopian Christians who do not reflect their faith values in the work world. The traditional holistic culture tends not to be integrated with the modern lifestyle, and dualistic reasoning dominates the wider experience so that there are no significant differences between Christians and non-Christians.

A review of relevant literature is included, which presents work as God’s original intention for humanity. Building on the Protestant Reformation, work is seen as a calling and a divine assignment for humans created in the image of a working God. Work can result in wealth creation and a strategy for poverty alleviation by using God-given talents and gifts. The integration of faith and work also shapes one’s ethics to serve God and neighbor in a responsible way. The project also explores theological foundations, drawing on literature about the theology of work as well as the Bible. Through integration of work without classifying it into sacred and secular, people find their source of provision and fulfillment.

The research presents the Ethiopian context and the degree of poverty, the extent of disintegration, and corruption using statistical data. Through questionnaires, observations, and interviews the project analyzes the perception of work among a sample group of Ethiopians and suggests strategies to address poverty in Ethiopia.

This dissertation is a project intended to address the poor work ethic that currently exists among the Christians of West Ankole Diocese. Poor work ethics have resulted in poverty, family breakdown, and corruption among others. The major underlying factor has been assumed to be a lack of living the Christian life in the daily work life. Therefore this study suggests that if biblical values were taught to Christians, there would be a better work ethic and work attitudes. The problem statement was formulated around the observed work behaviours among these Christians. Due to some existing gaps in the Christian work life, the following outline of chapters was applied.
Chapter One introduces the geographical area of study, the status of the people, and the conditions surrounding their work behaviour.
Chapter Two presents a review of the literature that has been used as scholarly work to support the arguments advanced in this study, and to help find the strengths and weaknesses there in as well as try to bridge some gaps.
Chapter Three points out what is happening among the Christians' work life in West Ankole Diocese, making reference to specific examples drawn from other scholars.
Chapter Four deepens the biblical understanding of why people work and enhances insight on the theological reflections of how work is related to the creator and the created.
Chapter Five addresses the research methods that were used and why they were used. These included: Questionnaires; Observations; Interviews; Group discussions, and the development of a teaching curriculum.
Chapter Six discloses the desired outcome of the project and how it would be achieved.
Chapter Seven gives a general overview of the dissertation and provides some suggestions to be considered for further study and implementation.

The project sought to deal with the prevailing negative attitude towards works in light of the collapse of Acholi traditional cultural values, way of life, beliefs, and idiosyncrasies; scarcity of effective transformational leadership and the influence of the church on Acholi leadership worldview and practice; the importance of incarnational leadership and its impact on transformational change in transforming prevailing Acholi cultural values, beliefs, and attitude.

The result of the project is a professional pragmatic biblically based, contextually and culturally relevant curriculum on work ethic that can be easily taught to others within the context of local community setting; and a ministry to raise and equip Emerging Leaders in Acholi community to become societal transformers.  It is also designed to help equip leaders to know how to exegete their communities as a process of transformation.

There is a chasm that separates the Church from many First Nations people in Canada. As long as this chasm exists and continues to grow, both the Church and First Nations are weakened. In order for the gap to be closed, it is important to recognize and understand three facets of the chasm: its nature, origins, and dynamics. This issue can only be addressed when people are able to see the chasm, understand how it was formed, and see how it is being maintained. The focus of this study is on the chasm that will be the encounters between the Church and the Nuu-chah-nulth people. One cannot understand this chasm without first recognizing its existence on a broader scope. This chasm is not unique to First Nations and the church in Canada. It exists between First Nations and various levels of governments in Canada, between First Nations and industry, and increasingly between First Nations and other Canadians. This chasm is also reflective of the chasm that exists between the colonized and the colonizers around the world.

The project described herein seeks to bridge the gap between Sunday and Monday as evidenced by members of the Body of Christ who have difficulty believing that fixing potholes in a city street, flying a 767 jetliner, or painting an oil portrait can be as much 'the Lord's work' as what their pastors are doing.
This gap is largely the result of a platonic dualism in the Church, which has produced a religious worldview that falsely divides all forms of work into so called 'sacred' and 'secular' categories. Such a bifurcation is illegitimate and debilitating to the effectiveness of the Church and its total mission in the world.
This D. Min. project is based on the belief that the removal of this faulty paradigm would go a long way toward invigorating the workplaces of the world and transforming the communities in which these workplaces are found.
The persistent problem of dualism in the Church has been identified and lamented by many, yet efforts to remove this mental roadblock have been sporadic, with limited success. We have not yet reached a tipping point with respect to the massive paradigm shift necessary for a significant change in the status quo.
The proposed solution described here is an instructional curriculum targeted to the Body of Christ, called God's Pleasure @ Work: How a biblical worldview invigorates the workplace and renews the community. It is a multivi media, audio-visual, interactive workshop that incorporates fourteen hours of direct instruction (incorporating one-on-one dialogue and small-group discussion) and a personalized follow-up process done with the help of the Biblical Worldview Integration Discovery and Alignment Tool, or, the 'D.A.T.'
The workplace is the topic of this project because this is where most Christians spend 50-60 percent of their waking hours. Furthermore, if Christianity doesn't relate to life as it is lived in the workplace, then its benefits and blessings are severely truncated, and the community fails to be transformed to the degree that it can be. God's Pleasure @ Work was created to address this matter directly.

The purpose of this final project is to study the extent to which staff at Bakke Graduate University (BGU) experienced personal transformation through their work. As an under-resourced nonprofit engaging in a dynamic global mission, BGU has the potential for creating a work environment that could lead to staff burnout. In the article entitled 'Volunteer and Non-Profit Burnout - The Burnt Stick,' Bart Gragg explains, 'When a person starts down the path to burnout their performance begins to slip, and they know it. But they are tired. They get frustrated because they are not performing to their standards. And therefore they are not being fulfilled. Then they begin to have an attitude, either of anger or despair.' This attitude then affects donors, clients, and other employees negatively, which can then create even greater stress.
The personal transformation experience will look different for each individual, but as a general guideline it will include a sense of self-fulfillment when the individuals are able to use their God-given gifts and talents in a significant role as part of a larger community. This project will consider different factors and criteria that need to be present for this transformation to happen. Based on the study and presentation of information gathered, this project then will develop guidelines for BGU to implement and follow to create an environment where staff is more likely to experience personal transformation.
The scope of this project will include definitions for transformation, transformational leadership, and personal transformation as it relates to this study. Staff of BGU, both present and past, will be surveyed to gather information on BGU's work environment and the type of factors necessary for staff to experience personal transformation. This project will identify transferable principles that leaders of other nonprofit organizations can implement to create environments within their own organizations for their staff to experience personal transformation.
This project will be limited to gathering and analyzing data from existing and past BGU employees and will not be a broad-based survey of employees from other nonprofit organizations. In addition, this project will not include the actual implementation of guidelines that are developed by this study, but will simply be recommendations for BGU leadership to follow.

1 Bart Gragg, "Vounteer and Non-Profit Burnout - the Burnt Stick," Maverick's Mental Meals (2008). http://www.maverickbusinessadvisors.com/wordpress/2008/10/a-burnt-stick/ (accessed October 30,
2011).

This dissertation studies the responses of employees in non-ecclesiastical employment to discover what they face in living out the Christian faith on the job so that pastors, with the findings, may equip them with a biblical and relevant theology of work.

The responses were collected from sixty employees, who attend three churches (urban, suburban, and rural). Each completed a forty-one-question survey that asked for answers concerning demographics, scheduling, job suitability, spiritual preparation for the workplace, opportunities for serving others, and potential difficulties in the employee role. The questionnaire included both quantitative (multiple-choice) questions and an invitation for optional qualitative comments.

Quantitative findings were entered into an Excel spreadsheet to compile statistical data and to cross-reference responses to related questions. For the benefit of pastors and church leaders, the results were linked with recommendations on presenting a biblical theology of work to congregants.

This study focuses on ministry opportunities Christians have in the workplace. Further, this project provides a model for Pastors and other church leaders alike to become intentional about teaching laypeople principles for transformational workplace ministry outside the church within the sphere of their influence.

Pastors and laypeople were asked to participate in personal interviews, survey questionnaires, and a five-session curriculum of study. These methods were used to analyze attitudes and feelings of the laity of the church. The participants come from various backgrounds but all shared the common position in Christ.

The research standards were carefully chosen, including a qualitative and quantitative process. This process involved a substantial number of respondents across a range of backgrounds. The analysis focused and benefited greatly from such response.

The purpose of this project is to develop a small group discussion guide to be utilized by Christians that desire to live their faith more fully within the workplace. It was first observed that Christians throughout all levels of the workplace desire to feel it is important to live their faith more fully at work, but feel ill equipped to do so. Also, they feel alone in their desire. It was further observed in discussions that centered on having a personal Theology of Work that Christian often expressed their need with a question that very often begins with, “How do I…?” such as:

How do I find meaning in my work?

How do I share my faith at work?

One goal of the project was to validate twelve to eighteen “How do I…?” questions (HDIQ) that when answered would satisfy the questions in a cross-section of Christians. The development of the HDIQ revealed that there are numerous resources available that might answer the questions, but that people with full-time jobs rarely have time to digest the information in the form in which it is presented. Therefore, it was conceived to develop a small group discussion guide that would fit the time constraints of this population. So, as not to short those who would like to dig deeper a resource catalog has also been developed. The discussion guide for thirteen lessons is found in Chapter 6 and the Resource Catalog is in Chapter 3.

The first six lessons take the small group through development of a personal Theology of Work. Lessons 7 to 13 explore beginning transformations in the individual, the workplace, a community, and a church. These lessons contain the transformational concepts of shalom, justice, mercy, and addresses a city torn by racism and poverty. The issue of racism is an extremely important factor with regard to living faith more fully at work and transforming the community within the context of the Memphis culture. In the same sense that the workplace is the location of the church scattered, the workplace is also the predominate venue for the opportunity for racial interaction leading to reconciliation.

The purpose of this dissertation is to illuminate a growing global need for business as a context for mission and propose a model of business that holds promise for building sustainable spiritual movements. The premise is that God's biblical mandate is to take the gospel to all the nations. In this generation, however, those countries that are least-reached with the gospel tend to be those countries that are most closed to traditional missionaries and are becoming increasingly more stringent in their visa requirements. Furthermore, even countries previously open to Christian missionaries have closed their borders to religious activity (or what is perceived as religious activity) following the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks and the global war on terror. Into such a context of international fear and suspicion this generation of ministers finds itself thrown. God's historic mandate remains immutable, but the means to fulfilling it must adapt to this new global environment. Business as context for mission may be one tool to help fulfill the Great Commission and build God's all-nation Kingdom mosaic.
The academic piece of this dissertation will include this abstract, an overview, and proposal for a theology of work, a description of the current need for business as a context for mission ventures, a review of some of the literature which informs this issue, research specifications, and a postscript evaluation of the research project. Part two of the dissertation is intended to be a manuscript for a book entitled Movement-Building Businesses, which will hopefully be useful to individuals and missions agencies contemplating business as a means to facilitate mission. Chapters 1 through 3 of the book
will focus on God's missional mandate, globalization, and theology of work, which together reinforce the need to pursue business as a vehicle for twenty-first century mission efforts. Chapters 4 5 are an overview of the philosophy behind movement-building businesses and an examination of recent attempts to implement such missions. Chapter 6 presents a model for establishing businesses that promise to create sustainable spiritual movements. Chapter 7 is a detailed account of one business venture in a predominantly Muslim context, in which I was intimately involved. Chapter 8 highlights significant lessons learned through study and experience, and identifies transferrable concepts for other movement-building business endeavors.
It is hoped that readers will gain a greater appreciation for work as a conduit for sustainable ministry and the potential of businesses to create contexts for taking the gospel to today's least-reached nations. An even greater desire is that through this study and the experiential lessons learned, yet another avenue will be opened for God's Kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.