TUL560 Kingdom Economics

Co-operative Economics in the Midst of Collapsing Capitalism

Course Facilitator: Viv Grigg of Urban Leadership in partnership with the Baptist Tabernacle

Course Description

The course will explore 9 Biblical principles of economics (economic discipleship).  Different models of work uplifting the poor, of family finances, of engagement in business will be explored.  Reflection on collapsing capitalism, socialism and failed Marxism in the light of the scriptures. We will identify and integrate these into Bible Study materials for ongoing economic discipleship groups.  Attached to this course will be a consultation of leaders of ministries that are outworking these principles.

Target Groups 

• An integration of leaders who have sought to implement Kingdom Economics
• A training context for idealistic youth across the Auckland Baptist and CBD youth and Universities

Dates

Monday Nights from 6pm – 9pm.  Bring food. Feb 23^th – Apr 20^th

3 day summit conference to be arranged in April.

Registration

 Go to the moodle site at  www.urbanleaders.org/enrol

Cost

$40 to cover materials, admin etc on first night.

Conference to be arranged $100 plus accommodation

Expected Outcomes of Course and Conference

Leaders who have sought to implement Kingdom principles in their business, ministries among the poor, or NGO’s will:

• Network Building: Have established connection and synergy with other key Christian leaders in this arena across the city
• Collective Theology: Developed with those key leaders a common core of Kingdom Economic principles that can be commonly owned under the rubric of “Kingdom Economics”.
• Story-Telling: Will have contributed a presentation of their model, identifying core principles, values and best practices. 
• Materials Development for Multiplication: Synopsis stories of these presentations will be integrated into Kingdom Discipleship materials to multiply these principles outwards
• Theology and Economic Theory: Will have grappled with the sins of capitalism in contrast with these Kingdom principles in such a way that they can prophetically critique Kiwi economic structures.

Idealistic Youth and 30 year olds:

• Biblical Theology: Will have imbibed a comprehensive framework of Biblical principles under the rubric of Kingdom Economics.
• Praxis: Will have identified pathways whereby these principles can be implemented in Economic Discipleship in their lives including some of, but not limited to: family budgeting processes, a lifetime economic projection, a simple business plan, a savings and investment plan.
• Multiplication: Will have designed together a set of materials that can be utilized for Economic Discipleship across the churches of the city, with a multiplication, publicity and marketing plan.

Leaders and youth will make critical paradigm changes:

• Economic Discipleship as response to Reign of God over creation: From understanding discipleship as purely spiritual to understanding discipleship as involving economic, social, political as well as spiritual dimensions. 
• Centrality of Economics in Scriptures: ¼ of Jesus teaching is on economics, so economic evangelism, economic discipleship, the teaching of economic principles, working with the poor, doing business etc are a core aspect of Christian living.
• Nine core economic principle: creativity; productivity; cooperative economics; management; asset building, savings, and debt; land; ownership; redistribution; celebration; wealth and poverty, will be explored in detail from Genesis, Leviticus, the prophets, Jesus, the epistles.
• Economic theories: The rise and fall of contextual constructs of these principles such as European vs American capitalism, Communism, Helen Clark’s socialism will be evaluated against these principles.
• Praxis: NZ Business models and models of ministry among the poor will be explored on the basis of how they have implemented these principles.  Including but not limited to: microfinance, poor peoples bank, cooperative housing, budgeting and discipleship, Kingdom Trusts, businesses based on Kingdom principles.

Course Outline

1. Introductions

· Blessings & Introduction

· Theological Overview: 9 PRINCIPLES OF BIBLICAL ECONOMICS

2. Economics for the Poor

Theology:

• The Poor and Poverty in the Old Testament
• The Poor and Poverty in the Jesus
• The Poor and Poverty in New Testament
• Church and the Poor in the 1^st centruy

Praxis

• Sociological Analysis of Poverty in Your City
• Or analysis of church responses in your suburb to poverty

3. Cooperative Economics

• Theology

Jubilee: A Biblical Basis for Economic Discipleship

- Theology of cooperative economics

• Models:

- Communities and Economics – what has succeeded, why landed communities failed in NZ.

- Critical factors in the development of Cooperatives

- Cooperative critique of capitalism

- Cooperative economics transmuted into corruption in Pacific Island churches – How to balance this.

- A Baptist trust as a model of success and failure of redistribution

4. Church-Based Applications of Cooperative Principle

- Theology:

§ Incarnational Living as Key to Economic Transformation

§ Developing Deacons as Key to Church-based Economci Transformation

• Models:

-  9 Principles and Discipling into a Kingdom Bank

- Microenterprise principles applied to NZ – the 9 principles packaged for the poor

- Liberty Trust – Cooperative Principle and Breaking the Debt Cycle

- Economic Discipleship Syllabus

5. Practice of Church-Based Cooperative Economics

• Cash Flows in an Urban Poor Churchplant
• Budgeting and Training Others in Budgetting

6.  Business Level Applications of the 9 Principles

- The 9 Economic Principles and Business Practice

- 9 Economic Principles and Marketing

7. Public Policy and Biblical Economic Principles

- Christian Socialism (a la Helen Clark) and the 9 Christian Principles

- Rogernomics and the 9 Christian Principles.

- The Evangelical church of NZ and its historic Christian responses to economic policies

8. Ownership

- Kingdom Economics and Land Rights.

9. Public Policy

- Options for Public Engagement of the Nine Principles with Economic Policy

10. Strategic Planning

                        Publication Process and Networking for Societal Change

                        Vision Network and Strategic National Critiques

11. Small Groups to Accomplish Strategic Outcomes

Economic Discipleship Training Materials

                        Christian Economic Policy Think-tank and spokespeople

                        Cooperative Economics Workgroup

                        Denominational Leadership in Implementing Economic Discipleship Training

                        Publications Team of Materials

Some Readings

Some Chapters In Reader

Carolina Maria de Jesus, Child of the Dark, Diary of Carolina Maria de Jesus
de Soto, H. (1989a). Informal Housing (J. Abbott, Trans.), The Other Path (pp. 17-57). New York: Harper & Row.

Jocano, F. L. (1975). Round-the-Clock Activities. Slum as a Way of Life. Quezon City, New Day Publishers: 33-50.

Grigg, Viv, 2006  “Who Are the Poor?” In Companion chap 3.

Snyder, H. (1985). The Age of Jubilee. A Kingdom Manifesto: 68-76.

Etc, (others to be added as we evolve these topics).

Background Readings

The following are starting points.  We will work with the visiting speakers to develop a more up-to date and comprehensive listing.

Biblical Theology of Poverty and Oppression

Hanks, T. (1983). God So Loved the Third World: The Biblical Vocabulary of Oppression. Maryknoll, Orbis. 

Hengel, M. (1974). Property and Riches in the Early Church. Philadelphia, Fortress Press. 

Jacobs, J. (1984). "Cities and the Wealth of Nations." The Atlantic Monthly(Mar/Apr 1984). 

Kuyper, A. (1991). The Problem of Poverty. 

Mooneyham, W. S. (1975). What Do You Say To a Hungry World? Waco, Texas, Word Books

Myrdal, G. (1968). Asian Drama: An Inquiry into the Poverty of the Nations. 

Santos, M. (1979). Pobreza Urbana. Sao Paulo, Editora Brasiliense.  MATUL, Reality, Economics, Latin America

--- (1979). The Shared Space. London and New York, Methuen.  MATUL,

Sheppard, D. (1984). Bias to tbe Poor. London, Hodder & Stoughton. 

Sider, Ron, Ed. (1981). Evangelicals and Development: Towards a Theology of Social Change. Exeter, Paternoster. 

New Zealand and Economic Theology

Scrimgeour, F. (2008). Economics, Faith and the 21st Century. New Vision New Zealadn, Vol III. B. Patrick. Auckland, VisionNetwork. 

Randerson, R. (1987). Christian Ethics and the New Zealand Economy. Wellington, Department of Christian Education, Diocese of Wellington.  New Zealand

Kelsey, J. (1999). Reclaiming the Future: New Zealand and the Global Economy. Wellington, Bridget Williams Books. 

Green, D. P. (1996). From Welfare State to Civil Society, N.Z. Business Round Table. 

Mackenzie, A. (1997). Faith at Work. Dunedin, University of Otago.  Economics, Work

Grigg, V. (2000). Creating an Auckland Business Theology. P.O. Box 20-524, Auckland, Urban Leadership Foundation. 

Cooperative Economics

Kagawa, T. (1936). Brotherhood Economics. New York and London, Harper and Brothers. 

Microfinance

Yunus, M (1999). "The Grameen Bank." Scientific American(November 1999): 114-119. 

Bussau, D. and V. Samuel (1998). How Then Should We Lend? Oxford, Opportunity International. 

Work and Rest

Ryken, L. (1987). Work and Leisure in Christian Perspective. Portland, OR, Multnomah Press

Score, J. B. (1992). The Overworked American. New York, Basic Books. 

Catherwood, S. F. (c1967). The Christian in Industrial Society. London, IVP. 

Sherman, D. and W. Hendricks (1987). Your Work Matters to God. Colorado Springs, Navpress. 

Mackenzie, A. (1997). Faith at Work. Dunedin, University of Otago.  Economics, Work

Redistribution

Ringe, S. H. (1985). Jesus, Liberation and the Biblical Jubilee. Philadelphia, Fortress. 

Sider, Ron (1990). Rich Chnstians in an Age of Hunger. London, Hodder & Stoughton. 

National Conference of Catholic Bishops (1986). Economic Justice for All. Washington, United States Catholic Conference. 

Goudzwaard, B. and H. d. Lange (1994). Beyond Poverty and Affluence: Towards An Economy of Care. Grand Rapids, Eerdmans. 

Simplicity

Eller, V. (1973). The Simple Life, Hodder. 

Gish, A. (1973). Beyond the Rat Race. Scottdale, Pennsylvania, Herald Press. 

Taylor, J. V. (1975). Enough is Enough. London, SCM.

Sider, R. (1977). Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger. Downers Grove, IL, InterVarsity Press. 

Schumacher, E. F. (1973/1980). Small is Beautiful. London, Abacus. 

Biblical Critique of Capitalism

Novak, M. (1982). The Spirit of Democratic Capitalism. New York, Touchstone, Simon and Schuster. 

Thurow, L. (1996). The Future of Capitalism: How Today's Forces will Shape Tomorrow's World. 9 Atchison St., St Leonards, NSW 2065, Australia, Allen and Unwin. 

Torrey, A. I. (1979). Biblical Economics. Taebaek, Korea, Jesus Abbey. 

Wogaman, J. P (1986). Economics and Ethics:  A Christian Enquiry. Philadelphia, Fortress Press & London: SCM Press. 

Hodge, I. (1986). Baptized Inflation: A Critique of "Christian" Keynesianism. Tyler, TX, Institute for Christian Economics. 

Griffith, B. (1982). Morality and the Market Place: Christian Alternatives to Capitalism and Socialism. London, Hodder & Stoughton. 

--- (1984). The Creation of Wealth.  London, Hodder & Stoughton

--- (1985). Monetarism and Morality: A Response to the Bishops. London, Centre for Policy Studies. 

Christian Sources of Capitalism

Berger, P. (1987). The Capitalist Revolution: Fifty Propositions About Prosperity, Equality and Liberty. New York, Basic Books

Tawney, R. H. (1922/1948). Religion and the Rise of Capitalism. London, Pelican. 

Rostow, W. W. (1991). The Stages of Economic Growth: A Non-Communist Manifesto. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. 

Creativity and Production

Grant, G. (1986). In the Shadow of Plenty. Fort Worth, TX, Dominion Press. 

--- (1987). Bringing in the Sheaves: Transforming Poverty into Productivity. Fort Worth, TX, Dominion Press. 

Maslow, A. H. (1954). Motivation and Personality. New York, Harper and Row. 

McClelland, D. C. (1964). Business Drive and National Achievement. Social Change. A. E. Etzioni. New York and London, Basic Books. XL: 165-178. 

Christian Socialism

Atherton, J. (1992). Christianity and the Market: Social Christian Thought for Our Times. London, SPCK. 

Multiple Perspectives

Clouse, R. G., Ed. (1984). Wealth and Poverty: Four Opposing Evangelical American Perspectives. Downers Grove, IL, IVP

Ellul, J. (1964). The Technological Society. NY, Random House, Vintage Books. 

North, G. (1986). Honest Money: Biblical Principles of Money and Banking. Fort Worth, Texas, Dominion Press.