In the latest issue of The Living Pulpit, Presbyterian pastor Neal Presa reviews Flourishing Churches and Communities, Charlie Self’s Pentecostal primer on faith, work, and economics.
Presa heartily recommends the book, emphasizing that Self provides a theological framework that not only challenges the church, but points it directly to the broader global economy:
Flourishing Churches and Communities is a welcome addition to recent books in my own Reformed tradition on an integrated and holistic theology of work, from the likes of Tim Keller (Every Good Endeavor) and Mark Labberton (Dangerous Act of Worship). Self beautifully brings together evangelism and justice, where, far too often in the church, persons or groups are labeled as emphasizing or specializing in one or the other; the Great Commission and Great Commandment call for evangelism and justice to work as glove and hand.
But Self goes a step further. He challenges pastors and local churches to equip and encourage believers to see their entire lives, everything that is done under the sun, as arenas fur God’s work, canvasses in which God is painting a wonderful tapestry. Caring for the wideness of human relationships means not merely writing a check and putting it in the offering plate or supporting a philanthropic cause; Self exhorts us to see that everything that we do necessarily has impact on other persons, and therefore, we need to do our work with excellence, integrity, and compassion. His theological framework brings the work and the conversation to the broader space of our global economy, the sacred responsibilities of Christ’s followers to live, move, and have our being within and from the life and heart of God. This is putting people over profit. It is being prophets in the workplace, in our communities, in our homes. It’s the Gospel over goods; it’s the Savior over services.
Read the full review here (login/subscription required).
