Work may be overvalued by a workaholic culture, undervalued in an entertainment culture, made a paradigm for life by Marxist thought or the worker may be devalued and regarded as all other factors in production. All are attempts to build self-image apart from God's work in restoring his image in us.

The social thought and outreach philosophy of the Emergent Church offers a revolutionary take on global Christian mission. In particular, according to this new paradigm, the mission of the church requires nothing short of a radical revision of today’s economic system. A review of writings by leading emergent thinkers such as McLaren and Chalke, however, raises questions about the extreme economics being proposed. There are also deep concerns from an evangelical theological perspective.