In Fall 2019, I (Jeff) led an Adult Sunday School class on work and vocation. This is obviously a relevant topic for all of us. By request, I wanted to offer a partial bibliography of some of the most helpful books (and a few other resources) that I used in preparation for this class.
Work - Its Purpose, Dignity and Transformation by Daniel M. Doriani
This was the most helpful book I read on the subject and I highly recommend it for anyone. Doriani clearly and concisely covers the foundations of work, our faithfulness in work, and reformation at work. He also helpfully sketches the history of how work has been thought about. He sees the value of all kinds of work, but is not afraid to say that it’s possible some work is more valuable than other work.
Money quote: “Many people have trouble seeing the value of their work. In truth, work is the chief place where we love our neighbors as ourselves. At work, we have the greatest skill and training, we spend the most time, and we can bring the greatest resources to bear.”
Every Good Endeavor - Tim Keller & Katherine Leary Alsdorf
The church that Tim Keller led for many years (Redeemer PCA in New York City) has excelled at helping its members (and others) think through the intersection of faith and work. The book is broken up into three sections - God’s Plan for Work, Our Problems with Work, and The Gospel and Work.
Money quote: “You will not have a meaningful life without work, but you cannot say that your work is the meaning of your life. If you make any work the purpose of your life - even if that work is church ministry - you create an idol that rivals God.”
When the Kings Come Marching In - Richard Mouw
This is one of the more provocative (in a good way) books that I read in preparing for the class. Mouw looks at Isaiah and Revelation to try to discern what kind of work “lasts” into the new creation - the new creation that will come when Jesus returns one day. I’m not 100% I agree with everything Mouw says, but he will cause you to think about your own work and its significance.
Money quote: “God’s present attitude, then, toward these instruments of culture is an ambivalent one. As tools of human rebellion and objects of idolatrous trust, he hates them, and he warns people not to be contaminated by them. But he hates them because of their present uses. And his hatred will lead him to transform them into proper instruments of service.”
Work and Leisure in Christian Perspective - Leland Ryken
Ryken’s work is unique in that it points us to the God-given goodness of both work and leisure. It is easy for us to see work and leisure in competition with one another, but Ryken refuses this dichotomous view and seeks a redemptive perspective on both. Includes some interesting history of how work and leisure were viewed by different cultures.
Money quote: “An acquisitive and affluent lifestyle such as we currently have tends to take more and more of our time. As the volume of consumption of goods and services increases, so does the time that these things require of us. The net result is a loss of free time. The minimum prerequisite for leisure is free time, but what we increasingly face is a time famine.”
Work Matters - Lessons from Scripture - R. Paul Stevens
This is a clear, brief, straightforward book that walks through Scripture and shows what it has to say about work. Stevens breaks the book into “God-Given Work,” which focuses on the first five chapters of the Bible, “Stewardship Work" which focuses on the Old Testament’s historical books, “Soul Work” about what the wisdom books (Psalms, Proverbs, etc.) say about work, “Just Work” with examples from the prophets, and then finally “Kingdom Work” with examples from the New Testament.
Money quote: “The human calling in Genesis is not merely to work but that calling has three dimensions: to commune with God - the sanctuary garden; to build community - “male and female he made them”’ and to co-create with God.”
A Woman’s Place - Katelyn Beaty
As one reviewer said, this is an important piece of a difficult conversation. Beaty writes to encourage women that there are many different kinds of work (in and out of the home) that are good and pleasing to God. I wouldn’t agree with every one of Beaty’s assumptions, but overall found this to be helpful and challenging. Melissa Kruger has a helpful review of the book.
Money quote: “…your gender is a gift and not an accident, and also not the most important thing about you. Now go figure out what God wants you to do with it.”
Visions of Vocation - Steven Garber
This was a pretty transformative book for me. The central idea in Garber’s work is that of implication - that we are “implicated” in how things turn out in the world. And the more we know, the more we are implicated. his book will be especially helpful for younger people or people ready to start a “second chapter” of their career.
Money quote: “Perhaps the saddest face of the modern world is its anonymity, to live as if I am known by no one and belong nowhere. From road rage on freeways to the casually cruel crime of the city to the existential angst of being lost in the cosmos, when we are not in relationships that matter, it is almost impossible to see ourselves as responsible to and for others.”
Sherman bases much of her work on an understanding of who the “righteous” are in the Book of Proverbs. Basically, the righteous are those who are willing to disadvantage themselves for the good of others. Therefore, we are to be stewards of the vocations that God has given us. Sherman discusses the underpinnings for these ideas and then suggests different pathways to live this out.
Money quote: “We partner with God in the redemption of the world. This is not just an issue of theology or spirituality; it is an issue of a thoroughly reorienting missiology. It will provide God’s people with a new sense of purpose, a divine connection to daily actions.”
Creation Regained - Albert M. Wolters
This is not a book about work specifically, but it helps to lay a foundation for viewing work in a certain way. Wolters looks at Scripture through the lens of creation/fall/redemption - showing along the way that God is in the business of restoring the goodness of His original creation.
Money quote: “Evil is not inherent in the human condition: there once was a completely good creation and there will be again; hence, the restoration of creation is not impossible. Nothing in the world ought to be despaired of. Hope is grounded in the constant availability and the insistent presence of the good creation, even in those situations in which it is being terribly violated.”
The Other Six Days - R. Paul Stevens
I didn’t get as much out of this one as Stevens’ other book (see above), and disagreed on a few points, but it was still helpful. He shows the weakness of different historical views of work and shows us the many ways God works. Stevens then challenges assumptions about the divide between clergy and laity. Instead, he imagines the church as one people with leaders among that group of people. He then envisions vocation as being multifaceted - including our calling in the church, to our neighbor, to our family, to ourselves, to society, and to rest.
Money quote: “Work has extrinsic value: it is good for what it produces (money, provision for one’s family, etc.). Work also has intrinsic value: it is good in itself.”
Work - A Kingdom Perspective on Labor - Ben Witherington III
Witherington sets out to show the goodness of our work, especially when it is given towards a certain goal. When that goal is discovered, and meets up with the way we are built, we can flourish in our work. He also shows how our leisure life is important (calling for a “theology of play”). I did disagree with Witherington on a few theological points.
Money quote: “One thing is clear: when we find our calling, we are unlikely to find it boring, though it may be onerous in various ways. It is also unlikely that we will hate what we are called to do, though there may be days or even longer periods when difficulties or even dangers make us wish very strongly that we were called to something else.”
Besides these books, a few other helpful resources:
Greg Thompson’s Adult Sunday School at Trinity PCA Charlottesville is a good listen - especially the first class where Thompson helps us to see our callings in light of our communion with God and others.
Dorothy Sayers wrote an outstanding short essay entitled “Why Work?” I found many of the authors that I read citing Sayers, so you might as well read the original.
There are a few good groups that are thinking about this subject - here are two of them: