NLRB Rules that Adjuncts at PLU can Unionize — A federal labor ruling that gives the go-ahead for Pacific Lutheran University’s (PLU) adjunct faculty members to form a union may also clear the way for college instructors at other private colleges to unionize. The decision by the (NLRB) last week found that the private Tacoma […]
Items included on this page come from a variety of sources. The perspectives conveyed may or may not express a Lutheran ethos. They can serve our instruction as discussion-starters, examples (positive and negative), and illustrations of intersections between God’s two kingdoms, intersections sometimes characterized by tension, sometimes by congruence. Inclusion does not imply endorsement.
The Church Worker Housing Allowance
The Church Worker Housing Allowance — Lutheran pastor Dave Albertson revisits perennial questions about this tax benefit in his article, “How Rich Pastors are Getting Richer (While Poor Pastors Stay Poor),” following the recent U.S. Court of Appeals case that upheld this tax provision.
The Economics of Modern Death: How Money Shapes the End of Life
The Economics of Modern Death: How Money Shapes the End of Life — A brief starter piece for discussing the current norms and expectations about paying for the last of this life. In America, the entry-level funeral costs about $8000. But a funeral isn’t the biggest expense. Most of the money spent at the end […]
Making Payroll: Minimum Wage and Lutheran Non-Profits
Making Payroll: Minimum Wage and Lutheran Non-Profits — Many nonprofits, including some faith-based charities and social service organizations, find themselves in the unenviable role of fighting poverty while paying poverty wages. Mosaic, a Lutheran social ministry serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in ten states, exemplifies this dilemma.
Captialism and the Common Good
Capitalism and the Common Good — A discussion of market efficiencies, market externalities, market moralities, and theologies that ignore one kingdom or the other. This essay offers several themes for undergrad or non-economics grad student to consider.
Wielding the Word: Luther’s Two-Kingdoms Take on the Economy
Wielding the Word: Luther’s Two-Kingdoms Take on the Economy — A survey of Luther’s active two-kingdoms critique of economic trends and abuses in the church and civil affairs of his times with attention to misreadings of Luther in our times.
More on Health Care Sharing Ministries
More on Health Care Sharing Ministries — Apart from recent ACA disputes and court decisions, a little-known 4-year-old provision in the nation’s health care law allows for Americans to opt out of the insurance mandate if they object on religious grounds.
Got Religion on Campus? Leave It Off Your Resume
Got Religion on Campus? Leave It Off Your Resume — Two new sociology studies find new graduates who included mention of affiliation with a campus religious group on a resume were much less likely to hear back from potential employers. The researchers tested seven religious categories including: Roman Catholic, evangelical Christian, atheist, Jewish, Muslim, pagan, […]
The Story We Find Ourselves In: Nurturing Christians in a Consumer Culture
The Story We Find Ourselves In: Nurturing Christian Identity in a Consumer Culture –Consumerism has become society’s prevailing story, the story in which young people cultivate their identity. It is now important to help them shift from viewing themselves as objects within a consumer society to seeing themselves as subjectsand agents of God’s love.
Not Just For Profit
Not Just for Profit: An Expanded View on the Personhood of Corporations — The Supreme Court’s questioning of the government’s lawyer suggested that its attempt to distinguish between for-profit and other corporate forms did not make sense. American businesses have always been free to accomplish a variety of purposes—purposes, like Hobby Lobby’s high starting wage—that […]
