Interest Areas

Restorative Justice

Movements for national and ethnic reconciliation, for transformation of the cirminal justice system, and for community renewal are all related aspects of restorative justice. With its related concerns for reconciliation and conflict transformation, this focus in ethics has become an integrative concept for my work on worship and ecology.

Worship, Symbolism, and Ethics

Earlier interest in symbolism and ethics has led to increasing focus on worship issues in the light of restorative justice. The Roundtable Project is the practical expression of these interests.

The OIKOS Project on Work, Family, and Faith

From 1984 to 1995 Sylvia and I conducted over 80 workshops and retreats, along with extensive research and video production about the interconnections of Work, Family, Faith and Land. Building on the ancient Greek concept of the household (oikos), we helped people re-live the ways these essential dimensions of our lives have become fragmented and disconnected in contemporary urban life. We then explored with them how they might develop a more vital integration of their lives. I continue to do occasional workshops for retreat groups and churches.

Covenant and Federalism

The covenant idea plays a central role in my work, leading into issues of constitutional federalism as well as the structure of families, organizations, and ecological relationships.

Ecclesiology

The way in which the actual organizational life of Christians shapes their ethics has been at the center of my ethics work since the beginning. This page contains a number of studies and reflections on church structures and their relation to law, economy, and family in various cultural settings.