Theos Report on Productivity

A new report from Theos has been published:

Nick Spencer, Hannah Rich and Nathan Mladin, More: The Problem with Productivity (London: Theos, 2024).

According to the blurb:

‘There is a relentless emphasis on improving productivity today – and with good reason. Productivity is, economically speaking, extremely important. But productivity is an unexamined idea, one of those words that “think for us”.

‘The challenge posed at the heart of this report is: Productivity of what? What are we trying to produce more of, and why?

‘Productivity at its deepest and most profound level is not a matter of creating more stuff but of forming better “persons”. Improving productivity levels can enable that, but it may not. In particular, when it comes to activities in which the human dimension is central, improving productivity can be counterproductive.

‘As developed economies become ever more service-based, this can become a serious issue. Encouraging people to become productive in such service interactions can undermine the personal, human good inherent in the activity itself.

‘And although AI can boost productivity in many sectors, including the service sector, it is not a solution to the problem of productivity outlined in this report and poses risks to essential human goods and values.

‘Ultimately, as we seek to solve our “productivity problem”, we need to avoid idolising productivity or allowing it to corrode what is most precious to us.’

A pdf of the full report is available here.

Mission Catalyst 1 (2024) on Theologies of Space and Exclusion

The current issue of Mission Catalyst, published by BMS World Mission, is now available.

This issue is devoted to ‘Theologies of Space and Exclusion’.

Here’s the blurb:

‘This issue of Mission Catalyst celebrates 75 years of the International Baptist Theological Seminary. Mike Pears addresses questions of space and exclusion, David Burau, Kieryn Wurts and Matt Norman think about why we need theology, and Marion Carson shares a story of grounded theology in a pastoral context. There’s shelf awareness from Ingeborg te Loo and Natalia-Nana’s regular column examines othering, while Malky Currie’s page designs expand your exploration of all these themes.’

Mission Catalyst is available as a free subscription, or this issue can be downloaded as a pdf here.

Christopher J.H. Wright

Chris Wright – noted biblical scholar, author, and speaker – now has a dedicated website, containing many resources: information about publications, links to sermons, videos, articles, and more besides.

Check it out here.

Adam Mabry on When God Seems Gone

Every month, The Good Book Company make available digital versions of one of their books at no charge. This month (September 2024) it’s When God Seems Gone: Finding Hope When Nothing Makes Sense by Adam Mabry, which is available in exchange for an email address here.

Mission Frontiers 46, 5 (September–October 2024)

The September–October 2024 issue of Mission Frontiers, published by Frontier Ventures, contains a number of articles devoted to the topic of ‘People Group Theory’.

Here’s part of the issue blurb, which sets the scene:

‘The commands to take the gospel to all the nations – and the ultimate result among all peoples – are familiar. But what exactly do we mean by “the nations”? Scripture couldn’t have had in mind today's nation-states, which didn’t exist in New Testament times. But neither did our modern concept of ethnolinguistic groups. So what does it really mean to take the gospel to all peoples?’

The issue is available here, from where individual articles can be downloaded, and the entire issue can be downloaded as a pdf here.