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Every Waking Hour: An Introduction to Work and Vocation for Christians
Pastors and chaplains aren't the only ones in ministry--every Christian is called to be a minister through his or her work in the world. But in order to fully understand what this entails, we must look to the Bible and develop a fuller understanding of work as any way we interact with God's creation. Doing so may transform our view of how Sunday morning impacts our work-a-day lives--and vice versa.
In Every Waking Hour, Benjamin Quinn and Walter R. Strickland develop a biblically and theologically rich view of work, vocation, and how we may glorify God through everything we do.
In Every Waking Hour, Benjamin Quinn and Walter R. Strickland develop a biblically and theologically rich view of work, vocation, and how we may glorify God through everything we do.
144 pages, Hardcover
Published April 6, 2016
13 people are currently reading
67 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 1, 2017
The second volume of the Cultural Engagement Bundle from Lexham Press takes one aspect of cultural engagement and expands on it. Walter Strickland and Benjamin Quinn’s book, Every Waking Hour: An Introduction to Calling, seeks to provide a biblical basis for how Christians can best apply their faith to their work and vocation.
Strickland and Quinn begin by forming a theology of work from which they can evaluate how one’s faith influences the things they do. As with Ashford’s text, Strickland and Quinn use the “Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Restoration” framework to set their argument. In Creation, we know that work is good because not only God worked, but He commanded Adam to work as well. After the Fall, the work that man was called to do was made harder because sin entered creation. But the Lord did not leave man in this position alone. Strickland and Quinn argue that through Christ’s work on the Cross and in a future, physical kingdom, “work” will be made good again (Loc. 175-184).
The authors expand the idea of work and redemption throughout the rest of the text. They discuss various points in both the Old and New Testaments where work is discussed. In each chapter, they point to how a proper view of work demonstrates both a vertical view as well as a horizontal one. By this, they mean that one’s vocation is not simply a means to have access to unbelievers with whom one can share the Gospel. They argue that thought is only vertically minded. One’s vocation allows an opportunity where attributes of God can be demonstrated by the believer to the watching world. This includes not only presenting the Gospel, but also doing your work well and recognizing the redemptive aspects in one’s work.
I would recommend this book to anyone who works. When I say “work,” I mean what Strickland and Quinn do as well. If you engage with the created world, you should read this book to help understand how your work should be fulfilling and God honoring, even if it’s not your “dream.” For example, I am an insurance agent. My dream is not to stay an insurance agent forever. I am pursuing a Ph.D. so that I can teach. That is my passion. However, my work as an insurance agent allows me to show others a strong work ethic, as God did in creation. I can do my job well so that others are protected from missing coverage that they would need reflecting how God cares for His creation. There are many other aspects as well, but I hope that you pick up a copy to see how your view of work should be shaped by Scripture.
Like Ashford’s book before it, and the final book in the bundle as well, Every Waking Hour is arranged as a workbook. At the end of each chapter there are action points with space to provide an answer. A few books listed as Recommended Reading at the end of the chapters as well. The book is an introductory work, but does a great job of presenting biblical arguments for how Christians should view work and how this should impact how we do our work.
Strickland and Quinn begin by forming a theology of work from which they can evaluate how one’s faith influences the things they do. As with Ashford’s text, Strickland and Quinn use the “Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Restoration” framework to set their argument. In Creation, we know that work is good because not only God worked, but He commanded Adam to work as well. After the Fall, the work that man was called to do was made harder because sin entered creation. But the Lord did not leave man in this position alone. Strickland and Quinn argue that through Christ’s work on the Cross and in a future, physical kingdom, “work” will be made good again (Loc. 175-184).
The authors expand the idea of work and redemption throughout the rest of the text. They discuss various points in both the Old and New Testaments where work is discussed. In each chapter, they point to how a proper view of work demonstrates both a vertical view as well as a horizontal one. By this, they mean that one’s vocation is not simply a means to have access to unbelievers with whom one can share the Gospel. They argue that thought is only vertically minded. One’s vocation allows an opportunity where attributes of God can be demonstrated by the believer to the watching world. This includes not only presenting the Gospel, but also doing your work well and recognizing the redemptive aspects in one’s work.
I would recommend this book to anyone who works. When I say “work,” I mean what Strickland and Quinn do as well. If you engage with the created world, you should read this book to help understand how your work should be fulfilling and God honoring, even if it’s not your “dream.” For example, I am an insurance agent. My dream is not to stay an insurance agent forever. I am pursuing a Ph.D. so that I can teach. That is my passion. However, my work as an insurance agent allows me to show others a strong work ethic, as God did in creation. I can do my job well so that others are protected from missing coverage that they would need reflecting how God cares for His creation. There are many other aspects as well, but I hope that you pick up a copy to see how your view of work should be shaped by Scripture.
Like Ashford’s book before it, and the final book in the bundle as well, Every Waking Hour is arranged as a workbook. At the end of each chapter there are action points with space to provide an answer. A few books listed as Recommended Reading at the end of the chapters as well. The book is an introductory work, but does a great job of presenting biblical arguments for how Christians should view work and how this should impact how we do our work.
April 12, 2019
This book came across my desk as part of our survey of faith and work literature. It's a primer style book introducing the perspective shift of work as one of the spheres where we need to connect with our faith. I would say this is one of the more accessible books on understanding vocation and calling. It's a quick and short read with good biblical foundation that is comprehensive but doesn't get too heavily theological. What I enjoyed that sets it apart from other similar primers is the way it walks through "work" as portrayed through stories and people in the Old and then New Testament. It lacks a breadth of modern day examples though, and it really only gets to giving a few ideas of actionable next steps to connect to real life at the very end.
October 14, 2019
Fantastic and insightful look into our daily work
Very quick and to the point, theologically. And the appendices provide excellent application points. The list of further resources show the authors did their homework well!
Very quick and to the point, theologically. And the appendices provide excellent application points. The list of further resources show the authors did their homework well!
February 22, 2022
Great little introductory summary to a theology of work
March 11, 2023
A great primer on work from a Christian perspective.
July 21, 2016
Really enjoyed the first couple chapters. Chapter on work in the OT is much better than the chapter on work in the NT (almost just a word study). I appreciated the rubric with questions about vocation at the end.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews