The Institute for Faith, Work & Economics would like to honor, today, the work of our outgoing blog editor and communications manager, Greg Ayers. For more than four and a half years, Greg has overseen the daily publication of blog content at IFWE. Through his faithful service, he gave both his colleagues and his readers a living example of utilizing your talents for God’s kingdom.
Greg exhibited a godly character in dealing with his team of writers and steel-like perseverance in meeting a daily deadline for years. He pushed himself to grow as an editor, writer, and thinker. The blog writing became tighter, the ideas clearer. Greg goes on to a new position, but the legacy of his work remains on the IFWE blog.
In honor of Greg’s work, we’d like to give you a look at the top ten most-trafficked IFWE blogs since its launch five years ago this month.
1. Four Principles of Biblical Stewardship
Hugh Whelchel
With the help of Google, this blog remains the number one visited blog post at IFWE. Why? People online are actively searching for the definition of biblical stewardship. In this blog, IFWE’s executive director Hugh Whelchel reflects on the ideas from another leader in the faith and work movement, Bill Peel of the Center for Faith & Work at LeTourneau University.
2. Five Lessons for Our Lives from the Parable of the Talents
Hugh Whelchel
No topic at IFWE has had more interest than “the biblical meaning of success” based on Jesus’ Parable of the Talents. Christians are often confused between worldly success and biblical success. In this blog, Hugh recounts the main points from his longer article on the same topic that appeared on ByFaithOnline. Since its publication in 2013, the ByFaith article has regularly been listed as the most popular article on its site.
3. Top Ten Economics Books for Beginners
Greg Ayers
Integrating economics into a discussion of faith and work is what makes IFWE unique among organizations in the faith and work arena. Assembled by IFWE’s chief economist Anne Bradley, these books are less about macroeconomics and more about the economic way of thinking. Any Christian who is serious about wise decision-making will find this list a great place to start.
4. Why Are Working Women Starting to Unplug from Their Churches?
Sandra Crawford Williamson
This blog spread like wildfire on social media when first posted in 2013. Serving then as COO of 4wordwomen, an organization serving Christian professional women, Williamson challenged churches to think through how to better support working women. This post’s popularity continues today, as does the conversation.
5. You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know: Knowledge, Understanding, and Wisdom
Hugh Whelchel
In this post, Hugh looks at what economists call the “knowledge problem” from a biblical perspective. Only God has all knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. That is why we must work together and humbly look to God for direction.
6. A Biblical View of Dominion: Stewardship
Hugh Whelchel
“Dominion” has been commonly misunderstood from its biblical reference in Genesis 1:28. In this blog, Hugh explains God’s call to mankind as “the cultural mandate” and gathers insight on the topic from Justin Holcomb, Francis Schaeffer, and Nancy Pearcey.
7. Do I Need to Quit My Job and Attend Seminary?
Hugh Whelchel
New believers are passionate about devoting their entire lives to Christ. Some mistakenly believe this means leaving their so-called secular job to become a pastor or missionary. In this post (part of series of posts on the history of the Christian view of work), Hugh explains the view of work in the Middle Ages and the rise of the “sacred-secular divide.”
8. David’s Mighty Men: Stewardship in Action
Hugh Whelchel
What does whole-life stewardship look like in the Bible? Hugh discusses David’s stewardship decision in 2 Samuel 23 not to drink the water that his men sacrificed their lives to retrieve. Stewardship, Hugh writes, is not something more we have to do, but a different way of seeing what we already do.
9. Four Essential Elements of Economic Progress
Anne Bradley
In this blog, Anne lays out the biblical mandate for our work in Genesis 1 and explains four economic essential elements in working toward its fulfillment: trade, investment, innovation, and sound economic institutions.
10. Writing Your Personal Vision Statement
Hugh Whelchel
Many have an innate sense that they are called by God to do something meaningful, but are uncertain what to do. In this blog, Hugh continues a conversation about the importance of having a personal vision statement and provides specific tips and resources for developing your own.
Writing and editing a blog is an artistic enterprise for which our former editor was well-suited. It’s a balancing act of publishing content that is both relevant to readers and consistent with IFWE’s educational goals. As our blog continues this critical mission, please pray that we can continue to be transformational, stimulating, and unapologetically biblical in all that we publish.
