For some time I have been wrestling with the issues of money, care for the poor and how our present western economic system seeks to support people in need. As a community at Antioch, Llanelli we have a focus on ‘God’s presence and the poor’ and over many years see the day to day pressures of folks who are increasingly struggling financially in these challenging times.

So much talk about the economy, but what is the economy? Is it just pounds and pence? Dollars and Euros and cents? The Cambridge dictionary defines it as “the system of trade and industry by which the wealth of a country is made and used.”

“So the business leaders of today are not capitalists in the sense in which Arkwright and Rockefeller were capitalists. Modern titans derive their authority and influence from their position in a hierarchy, not their ownership of capital. They have obtained these positions through their skills in organisational politics, in the traditional ways bishops and generals [...]

There has been some discussion on these boards regarding disconnect between what some people get paid and the contribution they make to society. I thought the article by John Kay in todays FT might be interesting to some of you. Full article here ft.com. Extract: “Two broad economic theories describe the allocation of income and [...]

This is a topic that has been on my mind for some time. It is a very strategic issue, in that the key factors may not come in to play for some time, or may not combine in a world-changing way for some time, but sooner or later they will and the effects will be [...]

Just wanted to throw some thoughts out there about the health cost of some current business practice. We all know of the Erin Brockovich type stories, where big companies have had detremental effects on the health of whole communities and ecosystems and how this continues to happen all over the place. As a GP, I [...]

I was reading a post by Prabhu Guptara regarding the values taught (and needing challenging) by business schools. It is from a lecture on ‘The role of business schools in promoting values in business’. Here is a substantial part from the closing part of the post (found at:

The headlines inspiring the Occupy Wall Street protestors currently (and inspiring many blog posts here) have much to do with increasing income disparity that is apparent in most parts of the world presently. It is clear that the proportion of total income going to the richest ten percent or so has risen sharply over the [...]

Issues of finance, ‘making money work’ for us and the like is very problematic to discuss. There is a minefield of facts, figures and conflicting ideologies. So this is simply a starter discussion. A basic understanding of shares in public companies in theory makes them accountable to the shareholders. So far so good… however, in [...]

When coming to this gate the first thing that probably needs to be said is not some clever exposition of the nature of the gate but an apology for the way that those who have or who currently handle significant finances have often been treated by church. Too often church leaders have seen those people as economic resources for the vision of the church. This effectively can communicate that they do not have intrinsic value…