{"id":16936,"date":"2018-03-08T21:12:48","date_gmt":"2018-03-09T05:12:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=16936"},"modified":"2018-03-08T21:12:48","modified_gmt":"2018-03-09T05:12:48","slug":"protestant-work-ethic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/protestant-work-ethic\/","title":{"rendered":"Protestant Work Ethic"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the past few weeks we have been reading books that were a challenge to me, not so much because they were difficult reads, but up until last week, I had a very hard time connecting with the books. Mainly because I have a hard time connecting with socialism as a viable method of government. The books we have read this semester, for the most part, have had a socialist mindset. I was excited to read the title of this weeks book because I have been looking forward to a book written from a different point of view. Max Weber’s treatise\u00a0The Protestant Ethic and the “Spirit” of Capitalism and Other Writings\u00a0<\/em>was an interesting take in that he argues the root of capitalism is protestantism.<\/p>\n

So who is Max Weber, well,, he was a German sociologist born into a household of conflicting ideas. The son of a liberal politician and strict calvinist mother, thus he was raised in a very authoritarian home. [1] He was a brilliant man who suffered from an incapacitating nervous breakdown during which time it is believed “led him to develop brilliant insights into the relationship of Calvinist morality and compulsive labour, into the relationship between various religious ethics and social and economic processes” [2]\u00a0 The idea that a protestant worldview would influence the rise of capitalism is the opposite conclusion that many other sociologists came to. Instead of seeing religion as the “opiate of the masses” as seen in Marx’s work, the idea being religion is what the elite capitalists use to control the workers and get what they want from them, Weber argues the “Protestant work ethic” is a result of, in my words, working to please God.<\/p>\n

An interesting aspect that Weber argues is the ” ‘spirit of labor’… which is customarily attributed to Protestantism,…be understood in an ‘Enlightenment’ sense. The old Protestantism of sum men as Luther, Calvin, Knox or Voet had little to do with what is today called ‘progress’. It was directly hostile to who aspects of modern life which today even the most extreme sectarian would not with to do away with”[3] His argument here is that the reformers would not have been on board with capitalism at all. Instead he argues his idea comes from a different source altogether. So where does this come from, this idea that religion, specifically protestants are the fuel for capitalism? Weber argues it comes from a desire to prove that God’s blessings are deserved because I have worked hard and my job is my callings in life. No longer is just ministry a calling but where ever one works is where one is called, and if one is called then we are to follow scripture and “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord” (Colossians 3:23). I have to do a good job for God so that he will bless me, or as Weber writes “sobriety and hard work in one’s calling throughout life”[4] is part of the Protestant ethic pushing capitalism.<\/p>\n

So where does that leave me in my research, why are Souther Baptist churches filled with people who are self centered. Why is it so important for the church one chooses to belong have the latest and the greatest of all the things that make a great stage show. Why are worship leaders more akin to rock stars than to Billy Graham. This is the thing that frustrates some pastors to the point of burn out. If you are not a pastor in a church where these things are not the norm many times you are seen as a failure and dropped for the next pastor who can take us “to the next level”. It seems it is no longer just enough to be a shepherd, you must also be a super star. Never mind the fact that 60% of churches in the U.S. are between 1-99 in attendance.[5] This puts undo pressure on pastors and the result is pastors in the Southern Baptist Convention is 6 years, and while that is up from approximately 3.5 years since 1996 [6], it still is frustrating for most pastors. In fact, as I have talked to many pastors, most feel that it takes at least five years to even feel like you are moving the church in a direction you feel God leading. As a youth minster for many years, I always found this to be true, most would refer to me as “the” youth guy until about 4-5 years in, then I became “our” youth minister.<\/p>\n

So how do I react to a book that says capitalism (which I believe to be the lesser of two evils) is the result of a protestant work ethic (of which I am a pastor) and still find a why to make church not about me. Well, I guess the answer lies in the leaders themselves. If the leader makes the church all about numbers then that is what they will strive for, the best and the biggest. If a leader strives to make Christ followers, they may have a big church, they may have a small church, but they will be at peace with what God has led them to do. I think it all comes down to be able to reconcile your own ego with where you are serving. Do your best as a pastor and leave the worrying about worldly things to others.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1]”Max Weber | Biography, Theory, & Books”,\u00a0Encyclopedia Britannica<\/i>, last modified 2018, accessed March 8, 2018, https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Max-Weber-German-sociologist.<\/p>\n

[2] Ibid.<\/p>\n

[3]\u00a0Weber, Max, Peter R Baehr, and Gordon C Wells.\u00a0The Protestant Ethic And The “Spirit” Of Capitalism And Other Writings<\/i>. New York [u.a.]: Penguin Books, 2012. p. 7.<\/p>\n

[4] Ibid. p 208.<\/p>\n

[5]\u00a0Fast Facts about American Religion. Accessed March 08, 2018. http:\/\/hirr.hartsem.edu\/research\/fastfacts\/fast_facts.html#sizecong.<\/p>\n

[6] Thom Rainer. “Six Reasons Pastoral Tenure May Be Increasing.” ThomRainer.com. June 19, 2017. Accessed March 08, 2018. https:\/\/thomrainer.com\/2017\/03\/six-reasons-pastoral-tenure-may-be-increasing\/.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the past few weeks we have been reading books that were a challenge to me, not so much because they were difficult reads, but up until last week, I had a very hard time connecting with the books. Mainly because I have a hard time connecting with socialism as a viable method of government. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":102,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16936","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","cohort-lgp8"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16936","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/102"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16936"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16936\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16984,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16936\/revisions\/16984"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16936"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16936"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16936"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}