The economics theme may seem at first glance to be dry, especially to those of us who are numbers-averse. However, Christ speaks more about money than perhaps any other day-to-day topic, and on deeper reflection, the way that we handle money and practise business is both a critical spiritual battleground and a strategic sphere of Christian witness. In our landmark 10th issue, we explore Christ-centred ways to work, invest, and manage workplace relationships.
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Christ Washing the Disciples’ Feet, Rembrandt van Rijn, c. 1640 (reed pen and brown ink), Rijksmuseum, Netherlands.
We have chosen this simple and expressive drawing for our economics issue, because in John’s Gospel, Jesus performs a slave’s task as a practical demonstration of how his own death might be appropriated by his followers. In this issue we explore the many ways in which our own work, whether majestic or menial, might similarly be Christ-shaped.
Craig G. Bartholomew
We mourn the loss of David Laing, an influential Christian businessman, chairman of the Kirby Laing Foundation, a friend and supporter of KLC.
Peter S. Heslam
Our guest editor explains how poverty is a theological as well as a socio-economic scandal, and business is the primary means by which, in God’s redemptive purposes, this scandal is addressed.
Amy L. Sherman
Profits have moral attachments. This is the challenge Amy Sherman gives us, calling us to view investing not only as a means of growing capital but also as a means by which our resources can empower the work of human flourishing.
Anonymous
An unnamed investor challenges the growth-for-growth’s-sake mentality that pervades most approaches to capitalism, and calls us to see our actions in the marketplace as missional activity that is capable of shaping business in Christ’s image and for his redemptive purposes.
Some of the highlights of Issue 10 have been turned into sharable posts. Share your favourite with your network and introduce The Big Picture to a wider community.
Denise Daniels
Daniels presents case studies of Christian businesses that embody key principles of business conducted for the common good.
Diana Salgado & Sofia Cortino
Ultra-processed foods are ultra profitable, but seemingly at a growing cost to global health. Astute regulations have led to better consumer choices and, thus, a market for better products, showing a possible way forward.
Kenman Wong
Our work patterns have a formative influence on us. One US tech firm puts principle before profit and has taken a lead in shaping its people and its home community for good.
Chris Wright
Chris Wright discusses the perplexing paradox of modern humans, capable as we are of launching cosmic missions to find water while vandalising precious fresh-water resources on the one planet it certainly does exist.
Steve Walton
Prof Walton is a widely respected commentator on the book of Acts and is the author of the Acts installment in our Preaching the Bible series.
Jason Myhre
Jason Myhre lays down the timely challenge for Christians to consider not just lowercase stewardship, but also the often-ignored capital-S Stewardship.
Benjamin Nicka
The story of Joseph’s administration of Egypt in Genesis offers some surprising lessons for how we use the financial opportunities God gives to us.
Kenneth J. Barnes
TrueFootprint is a company that works to empower those engaged in development projects to audit their own activities, root out fraud, corruption and mismanagement, and improve efficiency.
Antoinette Daniel
Antoinette Daniel challenges business owners not to outsource their values, but to partner with those who care about people and positive change.
Hannah Stolze
While researching the best practices of Fortune 500 companies, Hannah Stolze discovered that these often overlap with ethics taught in the Bible. Though it is counterintuitive in business, this suggests that doing good to others is often, in the long run, good for you too.
Jordan Pickering
Great literature is formative and plays an important role in training our sympathies and our moral reasoning. Read why Lord of the Flies is a misunderstood classic that is worth your time.
Richard Gunton
Economic theory is straining under the weight of current challenges to it. Richard Gunton argues that it is time for Christian economists to chart a new way forward.
Andy Hutchinson
First among the UN’s sustainable development goals is the commitment to eradicate all forms of poverty everywhere. Andy Hutchinson argues that affluent western societies are plagued by forms of poverty that we may not notice.
Derek C. Schuurman
Derek Schuurman describes his passage through grief, experiencing—in company with the Psalms—the presence of God and his hidden face.
Otto Bam
KLC’s home at Chesterton Mill reminds us of those structures that, like us, must be firm enough to withstand the waves while also yielding to the wind.
Holly Enter
This beautiful narrative reflection invites us to consider the deep implications of our longing for home.
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Preaching the Bible for all its Worth: Acts