John Teevan

After growing up in Chicago and graduating from Princeton (economics) where he became a Christian, John Teevan focused on ministry for 35 years. His interests in social action developed through that era, and now he leads in starting urban college sites, including one in Detroit, for Grace College. He also is the executive director of and has taught in Grace's Indiana Correctional Education program. Grace has contracts to provide education in the northern region of Indiana's state prisons. Fairly well-traveled because of his mission interests, he and Jane live in Winona Lake, Indiana. Their three grown son have lived and worked around the world.

Posts by John Teevan

March 27, 2015

The Smile Curve and the Future of the Middle Class

The smile curve is an idea came from the computer industry, but it applies broadly. It’s a recognition, in graph form, that there is good money to be made (or more value to be added) in research and development, and, at the other end, in marketing and retailing. Continue Reading...
January 13, 2015

Real Life is Much More Than Economic

I think it is important to keep in mind that it is not the world of economics that is critical to human life on earth. When I left the field of economics for what I still believe to be a more important life agenda, it was because I regarded economics as driving cross-country at 80 mph with my eyes firmly fixed on the rear-view mirror. Continue Reading...
December 23, 2014

Reflections on How We Approach God

We know how God approached mankind: the surprising incarnation as a baby at Christmas. But how ought we to approach Him? Here is a wide range of 14 ways we often try, along with a benefit for each: Love the right things and you will find your way home to God Think the right things and you will know the sovereign God Believe the right things and you will live at peace Obey, obey, obey and you will not go to hell Withdraw from the world and you will know God best Keep these sacraments and you will be part of the kingdom of God Feel the right things and you will be blessed in your spirit Follow these steps and you will prosper Serve the Lord your God by serving people and you will honor God Once you have suffered enough you will know God Meditation is the path to knowing God Go with the culture and God will go with you There is no God, but there ought to be one, so I’ll “believe” We are all God’s children so let’s be nice to everyone Continue Reading...
August 29, 2014

Happy Money

In his August 24, 2014 syndicated column Scott Burns tells of a study by Dunn and Norton who give five principles for having “Happy Money.” Buy experiences not things: go to Chicago rather than buy a new stuff. Continue Reading...
July 07, 2014

The Economic Legacy of World War I

The Great War began 100 years ago last week. From an economic perspective (from Pulitzer Prize economist Liaquat Ahamed) the European nations paid for WWI not with taxes, but with massive debts financed largely by America. Continue Reading...
April 17, 2014

Poverty Is Expensive

There are several ways to understand that poverty is expensive. First poor people pay more for the things they buy or they find that cheap stuff is not good. The poor find it hard to pay for housing which leads to having a harder time saving money even by cooking. Continue Reading...
January 08, 2014

The Bond of Fellowship

I was reading an essay that I found in an old book I bought in Vermont. Dr H.J. Laski (Oxford and Yale) wrote, “The less obvious the differences between men in the gain of living, the greater the bond of fellowship between them.” Continue Reading...
December 17, 2013

Liberty in Two Keys

When we think of our freedoms and how they are basic to our society yet freedoms seem to be out of control in so many ways since the 1960s, we probably need to pull back and consider those freedoms from a new perspective. Continue Reading...