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O evangelho no trabalho: servindo Cristo em sua profissão com um novo propósito
Encontre o propósito de Deus para o seu trabalho Você é indolente no trabalho ou idolatra a sua profissão? Esses são dois extremos perigosos que fogem do propósito de Deus para a sua vida profissional.Neste livro, Sebastian Trager e Greg Gilbert irão ajudá-lo a transformar, pelo poder do evangelho, o modo como você enxerga o trabalho. Conheça uma ética cristã de trabalho baseada no serviço a Cristo e liberte-se de ser alguém viciado no trabalho ou que só bate ponto.Ache respostas para a sua vida Que fatores devem ser mais importantes na escolha de um trabalho? - Que princípios do evangelho devem moldar a forma como trato meu chefe, meus colegas de trabalho e meus funcionários?- Meu trabalho é menos importante que o de um missionário ou pastor?- É correto ser motivado pelo dinheiro?- Como equilibrar trabalho, família e igreja? Li cada palavra de O Evangelho no Trabalho e amei. Este livro sugestivo e prático faz e responde as perguntas certas da maneira certa. Mark Dever, Capitol Hill Baptist ChurchMuitos cristãos sofrem da inabilidade de conectar seu trabalho com o evangelho. Aqui, Sebastian Traeger e Greg Gilbert oferecem argumentos claros e fundamentos bíblicos sólidos para entendermos corretamente nosso trabalho e por que ele é importante para Deus. Dr. Albert R. Mohler Jr.,presidenteThe Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
226 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 28, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 124 reviews
January 15, 2024
This book is maybe the most pragmatic approach I read to the relation between faith and work. In the first part it touches on a number of theological assumptions that can lead to a healthy relationship to work (e.g. work is not the result of sin, but affected but it). The second part of the book is more practical, discussing principles in 1) choosing our job 2) balancing family, work, church 3) handling difficult bosses and co-workers 4) sharing the gospel at work.
There are 2 main ideas. The first one is to acknowledge that in our daily work we serve Jesus, not people: “with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ … as you were serving the Lord, not people” (Ephesians 6:5, 7). The second one is derived from the first one. Given we serve Jesus we can avoid the extremes: work as idolatry and work as idleness. Our ultimate meaning doesn’t come from work in itself, but by serving the Lord. At the same time, serving the Lord brings joy and purpose to our work, so we can’t fall into idleness. Work becomes the arena in which we can love the Lord and others as ourselves.
The book is pragmatic rather than idealistic because it places working using our talents and natural inclinations in the nice-to-have section. On the other hand, providing for ourselves and others is defined as a must-have. All in all a good and practical introductory book to the relationship between work and faith, though a bit simplistic. One of the authors is coming from a white-collar background, so I mostly understand his concerns. It doesn’t discuss systemic matters that I consider very important, like the relationship between modern workplace and economics, and the Christian faith.
There are 2 main ideas. The first one is to acknowledge that in our daily work we serve Jesus, not people: “with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ … as you were serving the Lord, not people” (Ephesians 6:5, 7). The second one is derived from the first one. Given we serve Jesus we can avoid the extremes: work as idolatry and work as idleness. Our ultimate meaning doesn’t come from work in itself, but by serving the Lord. At the same time, serving the Lord brings joy and purpose to our work, so we can’t fall into idleness. Work becomes the arena in which we can love the Lord and others as ourselves.
The book is pragmatic rather than idealistic because it places working using our talents and natural inclinations in the nice-to-have section. On the other hand, providing for ourselves and others is defined as a must-have. All in all a good and practical introductory book to the relationship between work and faith, though a bit simplistic. One of the authors is coming from a white-collar background, so I mostly understand his concerns. It doesn’t discuss systemic matters that I consider very important, like the relationship between modern workplace and economics, and the Christian faith.
February 12, 2025
After my first year in the postgraduate workforce, I've thought a lot about the Christian's place in and attitude towards an office job. This book pointed me to a lot of Scripture, answered some key questions about the Lord's purpose for work (i.e. avoiding idleness and idolatry), and challenged some attitudes I could improve.
January 15, 2018
This Book provided me with some much needed biblical focus on work at the start of 2018. I was particularly encouraged to read "God has purposes for us in our work itself" There was lots of practical application, which as always is easier said than done. Would recommend this to everyone as we all work, whether in paid employment or not.
May 25, 2021
I approached this book with an open mind, but several chapters in found that it suffered from many common pitfalls of Christian books written by conservative white male pastors, and ultimately I found it frustrating and badly constructed. At best, The Gospel at Work is an attempt to address several issues the authors see in how Christians might approach work, and an attempt to display the freedom followers of Jesus should feel in "working for the King." Some solid contributions, however, the authors cherry-pick scripture to make their points, and the lack of a meta-narrative about work was woefully apparent. (Check out Garden City by John Mark Comer for a much better read on the subject). Here is a breakdown of some of my main issues.
First, the book is written by two conservative, married, middle-to-upper class, white, male, southern baptist pastors (or former pastors). It is painfully obvious that women and people of color were not involved in a significant way in the making of the book (check the acknowledgements for exactly 0 women involved in the making of the book besides an honorable mention of their wives). From the examples to the choice of language, G@W was EXTREMELY male and white-collar centric. Most of the time they assume their readers are married and work a desk job. The only time women are specifically mentioned is in a chapter about balancing work and family where the authors highlight the importance of wives submitting to their husbands, which frankly seemed unnecessary and needlessly polarizing. *eye roll*
Secondly, the authors make a desire for socially-impactful work into a boogeyman rather than taking a closer look at the heartbeat of many followers of Jesus to make a difference with how they spend their time and efforts in the workplace. There was a huge opportunity to encourage readers to be creative in finding ways to be redemptive and impactful in their jobs that was completely missed, because the authors were too concerned with warning readers against the dangers of idleness or idolatry. The desire to have work that impacts people positively didn't need to be pitted against contentment in our jobs.
Thirdly, the authors ignore the reality of systemic injustice and poverty, and make constant blanket statements without vitally necessary caveats in almost every chapter, which drove me absolutely bonkers, to be honest. The authors encourage Christians to embrace God's call to love him and love our neighbors, but somehow exclude the work of seeking justice from basic neighbor love. The authors commentary on slavery in the NT made me cringe (pg 100-101) - at the end they basically assert that Jesus didn't address unjust systems in his ministry, and that was because of his focus on the human heart. Which... just isn't correct. They encourage and praise a man who stayed in a toxic workplace and endured abuse from his boss (yikes). They assert that all challenges in the workplace come from God's hand (so.. God is the one sending a manager to your workplace to abuse you?). I'm amazed it made it to publication in this form.
To conclude, I'll echo Jerry Hillyer's Goodreads review where he says of The Gospel at Work, "There are helpful moments, but there are not enough to outweigh the utter absurdity of much of what was written."
First, the book is written by two conservative, married, middle-to-upper class, white, male, southern baptist pastors (or former pastors). It is painfully obvious that women and people of color were not involved in a significant way in the making of the book (check the acknowledgements for exactly 0 women involved in the making of the book besides an honorable mention of their wives). From the examples to the choice of language, G@W was EXTREMELY male and white-collar centric. Most of the time they assume their readers are married and work a desk job. The only time women are specifically mentioned is in a chapter about balancing work and family where the authors highlight the importance of wives submitting to their husbands, which frankly seemed unnecessary and needlessly polarizing. *eye roll*
Secondly, the authors make a desire for socially-impactful work into a boogeyman rather than taking a closer look at the heartbeat of many followers of Jesus to make a difference with how they spend their time and efforts in the workplace. There was a huge opportunity to encourage readers to be creative in finding ways to be redemptive and impactful in their jobs that was completely missed, because the authors were too concerned with warning readers against the dangers of idleness or idolatry. The desire to have work that impacts people positively didn't need to be pitted against contentment in our jobs.
Thirdly, the authors ignore the reality of systemic injustice and poverty, and make constant blanket statements without vitally necessary caveats in almost every chapter, which drove me absolutely bonkers, to be honest. The authors encourage Christians to embrace God's call to love him and love our neighbors, but somehow exclude the work of seeking justice from basic neighbor love. The authors commentary on slavery in the NT made me cringe (pg 100-101) - at the end they basically assert that Jesus didn't address unjust systems in his ministry, and that was because of his focus on the human heart. Which... just isn't correct. They encourage and praise a man who stayed in a toxic workplace and endured abuse from his boss (yikes). They assert that all challenges in the workplace come from God's hand (so.. God is the one sending a manager to your workplace to abuse you?). I'm amazed it made it to publication in this form.
To conclude, I'll echo Jerry Hillyer's Goodreads review where he says of The Gospel at Work, "There are helpful moments, but there are not enough to outweigh the utter absurdity of much of what was written."
January 10, 2025
Super helpful resource, especially at this point in my life when I'm considering what life will look like after graduating college. The content covers topics like how to know what job to choose, avoiding idolatry and idleness in work, and sharing the gospel at work. They also had a chapter on the idea of "calling" which I found interesting and helpful. Each chapter had not only helpful principles but also extremely practical application points. Overall I found this super helpful and could see myself returning to it every few years to reevaluate my outlook on my job.
January 29, 2025
enjoyed this way more than I had expected to when we first started reading it together for young adult midweek! I've been very encouraged to work well in a biblical way (starting with even thinking about work with a biblical mindset), and it's been actually very applicable in my day to day life
October 5, 2023
This book was a very easy read, yet thought provoking when it comes to the topic of work. I appreciated how both men used diverse passages of scripture to explain what the Bible says about it, and how we as Christian employees and employers should behave.
As a bivocational pastor, I had a lot of questions on how to balance my work life and ministry life. This book reminded me that my ministry conduct should not be different from my work conduct and vice verse. Neither should be idols for me, but both are still important. Whether I’m preaching, or stocking shelves at work, I’m working for King Jesus, and He has ordained me to do this until He allows me to be in full-time ministry.
This is a primer for those who want to know how to understand their work from a biblical standpoint. Serving the Lord each day at work makes it much more delightful to work for a boss or coworkers who may be less than pleasant.
As a bivocational pastor, I had a lot of questions on how to balance my work life and ministry life. This book reminded me that my ministry conduct should not be different from my work conduct and vice verse. Neither should be idols for me, but both are still important. Whether I’m preaching, or stocking shelves at work, I’m working for King Jesus, and He has ordained me to do this until He allows me to be in full-time ministry.
This is a primer for those who want to know how to understand their work from a biblical standpoint. Serving the Lord each day at work makes it much more delightful to work for a boss or coworkers who may be less than pleasant.
June 6, 2016
https://anaslair.wordpress.com/2016/0...
Well, I felt it was time for something new, so I picked this one up, which had been sitting on my Netgalley shelf for well over a year.
The book puts things in perspective: do we idolize our work? Or, on the other hand, do we take it for granted and do as little as possible, giving in to idleness?
Can work be used to praise God? How?
I have to tell you, at times it didn't feel like this book was only 160 pages long. That is most likely due to the fact I am not used to read non-fiction. However, I also did find it a bit repetitive at times - particularly the verse that kept being quoted over and ove again - and I had a difficult time adjusting to the Americanized Christian language.
I also wish I could have seen more of Greg's experience; as far as I could tell, only Seb gave specific examples.
However, the fact is this book addresses several points in our relationship with work, what it means and how we should handle it, that people can relate to and does so in an unpretentious manner. It relates the statements to the scripture and in the end of each chapter there are a few questions that each individual can use to deepen the knowledge they've just acquire and do an introspection of their relationship with work.
I do believe any Christian should read it. It might just be what you need not only to help you deal with work but to actually find a new, wonderful meaning to it.
Disclaimer: I would like to thank the publisher and Netgalley for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Well, I felt it was time for something new, so I picked this one up, which had been sitting on my Netgalley shelf for well over a year.
The book puts things in perspective: do we idolize our work? Or, on the other hand, do we take it for granted and do as little as possible, giving in to idleness?
Can work be used to praise God? How?
I have to tell you, at times it didn't feel like this book was only 160 pages long. That is most likely due to the fact I am not used to read non-fiction. However, I also did find it a bit repetitive at times - particularly the verse that kept being quoted over and ove again - and I had a difficult time adjusting to the Americanized Christian language.
I also wish I could have seen more of Greg's experience; as far as I could tell, only Seb gave specific examples.
However, the fact is this book addresses several points in our relationship with work, what it means and how we should handle it, that people can relate to and does so in an unpretentious manner. It relates the statements to the scripture and in the end of each chapter there are a few questions that each individual can use to deepen the knowledge they've just acquire and do an introspection of their relationship with work.
I do believe any Christian should read it. It might just be what you need not only to help you deal with work but to actually find a new, wonderful meaning to it.
Disclaimer: I would like to thank the publisher and Netgalley for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
September 10, 2018
Este livro tem conselhos práticos muito bons e insights muito interessantes. Porém, falta-lhe aquilo que os autores expressamente se recusaram a fazer: uma teologia do trabalho que honre toda a revelação bíblica sobre o assunto. Algumas afirmações ao longo do livro denunciam a fraqueza dessa abordagem fragmentária, como quando os autores afirmam que "a Bíblia não nos dá um único propósito grandioso para nos motivar em nosso trabalho" (p. 80); ou quando falam da possibilidade de Deus chamar alguém a trabalhar "apenas para prover para as nossas próprias necessidades e as da nossa família" (p. 88).
É um livro do qual os leitores poderão tirar proveito, sem dúvida. Mas não é a obra que eu recomendaria para quem quer compreender de modo abrangente a doutrina bíblica do trabalho e da vocação.
É um livro do qual os leitores poderão tirar proveito, sem dúvida. Mas não é a obra que eu recomendaria para quem quer compreender de modo abrangente a doutrina bíblica do trabalho e da vocação.
November 16, 2024
I first listened to this book maybe two or three years ago when I was relatively newer to working. I remember thinking that it was insightful but not majorly impactful and didn't think too much of it.
Fast forward to 2024... and I knew something was broken about how I viewed work and thought it would be helpful to revisit this book. This book has made much more a splash the second time around, likely because I'm starting to relate a lot more to the different scenarios he describes at this point in my career. Listening to this book during my long commutes to work was definitely convicting and has pushed me to again reconsider work not as a necessary evil but as a joyful opportunity to do all things well in the name of our Lord and Savior.
Simple, yes... but sometimes simple is needed. Definitely have a lot to think about!
Fast forward to 2024... and I knew something was broken about how I viewed work and thought it would be helpful to revisit this book. This book has made much more a splash the second time around, likely because I'm starting to relate a lot more to the different scenarios he describes at this point in my career. Listening to this book during my long commutes to work was definitely convicting and has pushed me to again reconsider work not as a necessary evil but as a joyful opportunity to do all things well in the name of our Lord and Savior.
Simple, yes... but sometimes simple is needed. Definitely have a lot to think about!
September 23, 2024
This was an excellent read, that’s very practical and thought-provoking, as well as challenging the precepts of the purpose of work through the lens of the great Commandment. Would highly recommend for every believer and follower of Jesus to read this book.
March 11, 2021
The authors discuss work in a biblical context. While not a theology of work, the authors seek to make practical applications for persons in their jobs. The book probably applies most to those in white-collar settings although some parts apply to blue-collar employees as well. I found this book as unremarkable as many business books in today's market. The appendices provided the most unique and useful content, specifically the one drawing upon several chapters of the book of Acts and the one discussing the future of missionary endeavors.
August 13, 2024
The practicality of this book is great 👌. Looking for a book on how to see work in light of scripture and put it in practice.. This is is the book. Short, sweet, packed and straight to the point.
August 17, 2014
Title: The Gospel at Work: How Working for King Jesus Gives Purpose and Meaning to our Jobs
Authors: Sebastian Traeger & Greg Gilbert
Publisher: Zondervan
Year: 2014
Pages: 160
[Disclaimer: I was provided a free e-book copy of this work via NetGalley in exchange for my fair and unbiased review. I noted this in compliance with the rules that govern earth, Mars, and Neptune.]
Forward: David Platt
Twitter: David Platt
Secret Church
I was thinking as I started this book that I was going to have problems right away when David Platt referred to retirement as unbiblical. And I was not disappointed in my thinking. This book was a major letdown; a disaster of biblical proportions.
Don't get me wrong: a lot of important and well connected, celebrity Christians endorsed this book. I'm sure in some way they really thought they were helping. Either that or they have made an idol out of endorsing books and simply couldn't resist. Either way, it's just not a good book. It is riddled with cliches, full of step by step instructions, and seemingly goes out of its way to make work more of a chore than it already is (and I'm confused as to whether or not I'm actually allowed to enjoy my work and find personal satisfaction in it). When I wake up in the morning and go to my classroom to educated my kiddos, I really do not need to go through 160 pages of checklists or bullet points to make sure that I am 'doing it correctly' or to make certain I haven't 'made my job into an idol.'
The best advice we need is this: Just do it! Seriously. Work should in no way be as complicated as these two gentleman--fine gentlemen I am sure--have made it to be. Get up, be joyful, go to work, do your job, do it as best you can, come home and do whatever you have planned or whatever comes to mind. Be free! Live! Move about! Serve! Love! Be! I hardly think we need a treatise on what it means to work. I know, maybe I shouldn't have read the book. I seriously thought it was about something else.
There are a couple of serious issues I have with the book. I will note them briefly. First, there is simply no sustained, in depth exegetical arguments supporting their theology of work. The points the authors make are proof-texted. That is, they pull a passage from here or there and just because it uses the word 'work' they have assumed they can build an entire theological system out of it. Doing this, however, means that they have to ignore context and they also have to ignore the meta-narrative of the Bible. This is my biggest pet-peeve with the onslaught of books the Evangelical publishing world produces. There is a singular disregard for the Biblical narrative in order to produce 'principles'. And I don't care what word is used: 'motivations,' 'principles,' 'axioms,' 'truths,' 'steps,' or 'rules.' The Bible is not a book of principles.
Books that reduce the Bible to a set of principles frighten me. Couple this use of the Bible with phrases like 'minimum standard of faithfulness' and I start smelling legalism. If any aspect of our relationship with Jesus can be reduced to mere principles, such as the many found in this book, then there is something seriously wrong with the relationship or our understanding of Jesus. And all of this goes back to the utterly horrifying use of the Scripture and the way it has been reduced from narrative to verses.
This is my main objection to this book (and to all books like it.) It simply has no anchor in the meta-narrative. The authors even point out that there is nothing inherently Christian about what they are saying: "Yes, this passage is speaking about the local church, but we believe the same principles hold when we apply them to society at large" (140). Well, if there is nothing distinctly Christian about the principles, then it is unnecessary to use the Bible to make the points in the first place. And in the second place, there are better books to read to find said principles.
Now let me make it worse. When the authors do happen to quote large swaths of Scripture, and it's never more than a parable, it is again taken out of context and/or utterly misunderstood (e.g., Matthew 20:1-16, quoted in full, and then: "The point of this incredible story is simple." But they get it terribly, terribly wrong because they avoid the narrative context; 138-139). Let me give a couple of the more egregious examples. Over and over again the authors make reference to the New Testament's conversations about 'slaves' and 'masters.' Now, in all fairness, there is a rather lengthy section explaining that slavery is, among other things, bad. With that said, in my estimation it is simply unreasonable to take those passages where an apostle talks about slavery and apply it, in any way, to the relationship between me and my principal.
Another example is when the authors talk about Joseph, David, and Nehemiah. They conclude their conversation by saying, "We're going to guess you're neither the vice-regent of Pharaoh nor a king, but the principle is the same for you: authority rightly exercised leads to flourishing" (118). Well, I will leave aside the fact that this 'principle' is just unbelievably ignorant and simply point out that I don't know how anyone can say the 'principle' is the same when there is simply no evidence that story is intending to lay down a set of principles.
In conclusion, then, I will say this much: I'm not sure what the purpose of writing this book was. One author had a business, sold it, was unemployed for a while and all of a sudden he is an expert on what it means to get up every day and go to work as a Christian. Meh. Too many principles have no meaning because they speak only his experience. He had a couple of crisis moments in life (unemployment, birth of a child) but so what? Many of us have. That doesn't mean we were somehow, now, experts with books in the wings. And what's ironic is that his angst wasn't born out of his every day work, which he evidently did well, but out of his unemployment for a spell. And if that's not bad enough, he goes on to write, "Are you unemployed right now? Even then, you need to understand your assignment from God, right now, is to be unemployed" (90).
I spent 10 months unemployed once. I had lost three jobs in a span of 2.5 years. I cannot imagine a minute that that was God's assignment for me. It was the most miserable 10 months of my life. I cannot imagine why God wanted me to be that miserable. And if I'm reading this book, and I'm unemployed, and I come across those words...then I'm closing this book and never heading to the nearest church.
There is nothing earth-shattering or ground-breaking about this book. I detect a bit of Reformed Theology under girding the ideas in the book which is an issue as bothersome as their poor use of Scripture to make 'points.' There are helpful moments, but there are not enough to outweigh the utter absurdity of much of what was written. For example, I was unsure why it's OK to give up family time to be at church, but it's not OK to give up church time to be with family (see 94, 95).
I didn't like this book at all. From the very first pages when David Platt announced, without any justification, that retirement is 'unbiblical' I was bored. The book is not short on platitudes or cliches or hyperbole or legalism. Meh.
1/5
PS. On page 25, the authors make reference to 'little golden statues that Indiana Jones swiped from the Temple of Doom.' It wasn't the Temple of Doom that featured the scene of Indiana Jones swapping a small golden statue. It was the opening scene of Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Authors: Sebastian Traeger & Greg Gilbert
Publisher: Zondervan
Year: 2014
Pages: 160
[Disclaimer: I was provided a free e-book copy of this work via NetGalley in exchange for my fair and unbiased review. I noted this in compliance with the rules that govern earth, Mars, and Neptune.]
Forward: David Platt
Twitter: David Platt
Secret Church
I was thinking as I started this book that I was going to have problems right away when David Platt referred to retirement as unbiblical. And I was not disappointed in my thinking. This book was a major letdown; a disaster of biblical proportions.
Don't get me wrong: a lot of important and well connected, celebrity Christians endorsed this book. I'm sure in some way they really thought they were helping. Either that or they have made an idol out of endorsing books and simply couldn't resist. Either way, it's just not a good book. It is riddled with cliches, full of step by step instructions, and seemingly goes out of its way to make work more of a chore than it already is (and I'm confused as to whether or not I'm actually allowed to enjoy my work and find personal satisfaction in it). When I wake up in the morning and go to my classroom to educated my kiddos, I really do not need to go through 160 pages of checklists or bullet points to make sure that I am 'doing it correctly' or to make certain I haven't 'made my job into an idol.'
The best advice we need is this: Just do it! Seriously. Work should in no way be as complicated as these two gentleman--fine gentlemen I am sure--have made it to be. Get up, be joyful, go to work, do your job, do it as best you can, come home and do whatever you have planned or whatever comes to mind. Be free! Live! Move about! Serve! Love! Be! I hardly think we need a treatise on what it means to work. I know, maybe I shouldn't have read the book. I seriously thought it was about something else.
There are a couple of serious issues I have with the book. I will note them briefly. First, there is simply no sustained, in depth exegetical arguments supporting their theology of work. The points the authors make are proof-texted. That is, they pull a passage from here or there and just because it uses the word 'work' they have assumed they can build an entire theological system out of it. Doing this, however, means that they have to ignore context and they also have to ignore the meta-narrative of the Bible. This is my biggest pet-peeve with the onslaught of books the Evangelical publishing world produces. There is a singular disregard for the Biblical narrative in order to produce 'principles'. And I don't care what word is used: 'motivations,' 'principles,' 'axioms,' 'truths,' 'steps,' or 'rules.' The Bible is not a book of principles.
Books that reduce the Bible to a set of principles frighten me. Couple this use of the Bible with phrases like 'minimum standard of faithfulness' and I start smelling legalism. If any aspect of our relationship with Jesus can be reduced to mere principles, such as the many found in this book, then there is something seriously wrong with the relationship or our understanding of Jesus. And all of this goes back to the utterly horrifying use of the Scripture and the way it has been reduced from narrative to verses.
This is my main objection to this book (and to all books like it.) It simply has no anchor in the meta-narrative. The authors even point out that there is nothing inherently Christian about what they are saying: "Yes, this passage is speaking about the local church, but we believe the same principles hold when we apply them to society at large" (140). Well, if there is nothing distinctly Christian about the principles, then it is unnecessary to use the Bible to make the points in the first place. And in the second place, there are better books to read to find said principles.
Now let me make it worse. When the authors do happen to quote large swaths of Scripture, and it's never more than a parable, it is again taken out of context and/or utterly misunderstood (e.g., Matthew 20:1-16, quoted in full, and then: "The point of this incredible story is simple." But they get it terribly, terribly wrong because they avoid the narrative context; 138-139). Let me give a couple of the more egregious examples. Over and over again the authors make reference to the New Testament's conversations about 'slaves' and 'masters.' Now, in all fairness, there is a rather lengthy section explaining that slavery is, among other things, bad. With that said, in my estimation it is simply unreasonable to take those passages where an apostle talks about slavery and apply it, in any way, to the relationship between me and my principal.
Another example is when the authors talk about Joseph, David, and Nehemiah. They conclude their conversation by saying, "We're going to guess you're neither the vice-regent of Pharaoh nor a king, but the principle is the same for you: authority rightly exercised leads to flourishing" (118). Well, I will leave aside the fact that this 'principle' is just unbelievably ignorant and simply point out that I don't know how anyone can say the 'principle' is the same when there is simply no evidence that story is intending to lay down a set of principles.
In conclusion, then, I will say this much: I'm not sure what the purpose of writing this book was. One author had a business, sold it, was unemployed for a while and all of a sudden he is an expert on what it means to get up every day and go to work as a Christian. Meh. Too many principles have no meaning because they speak only his experience. He had a couple of crisis moments in life (unemployment, birth of a child) but so what? Many of us have. That doesn't mean we were somehow, now, experts with books in the wings. And what's ironic is that his angst wasn't born out of his every day work, which he evidently did well, but out of his unemployment for a spell. And if that's not bad enough, he goes on to write, "Are you unemployed right now? Even then, you need to understand your assignment from God, right now, is to be unemployed" (90).
I spent 10 months unemployed once. I had lost three jobs in a span of 2.5 years. I cannot imagine a minute that that was God's assignment for me. It was the most miserable 10 months of my life. I cannot imagine why God wanted me to be that miserable. And if I'm reading this book, and I'm unemployed, and I come across those words...then I'm closing this book and never heading to the nearest church.
There is nothing earth-shattering or ground-breaking about this book. I detect a bit of Reformed Theology under girding the ideas in the book which is an issue as bothersome as their poor use of Scripture to make 'points.' There are helpful moments, but there are not enough to outweigh the utter absurdity of much of what was written. For example, I was unsure why it's OK to give up family time to be at church, but it's not OK to give up church time to be with family (see 94, 95).
I didn't like this book at all. From the very first pages when David Platt announced, without any justification, that retirement is 'unbiblical' I was bored. The book is not short on platitudes or cliches or hyperbole or legalism. Meh.
1/5
PS. On page 25, the authors make reference to 'little golden statues that Indiana Jones swiped from the Temple of Doom.' It wasn't the Temple of Doom that featured the scene of Indiana Jones swapping a small golden statue. It was the opening scene of Raiders of the Lost Ark.
December 12, 2022
This book is a 3.75/5. I think it’s a great primer on the topic at hand that’s easy to read and digest. It skipped over some ideas I would’ve liked to dive more into, but hey, it’s less than 200 pages so I shouldn’t be too harsh.
Nevertheless, I definitely learned some new things and think this is worth a read! S/o Capstone Church for sending this book to me my senior year of college haha. Better late than never right?
Nevertheless, I definitely learned some new things and think this is worth a read! S/o Capstone Church for sending this book to me my senior year of college haha. Better late than never right?
January 20, 2019
É um livro que nos ensina uma base da visão do evangelho em nosso trabalho, enfatizando principalmente a ideia: "Não é o que fazemos que é realmente importante. O que importa é para quem o estamos fazendo."
Mas o seu maior destaque está nas suas aplicações, me mostrando o quanto posso melhorar nesse segmento.
Mas o seu maior destaque está nas suas aplicações, me mostrando o quanto posso melhorar nesse segmento.
August 21, 2024
Quick and easy listen with a simple yet powerful thesis: You work for King Jesus, so work like you’re employed by your King. I especially appreciated the insight about the temptation to make work an idol or to be idle in our work.
July 31, 2025
Really appreciated the way this book offered a more robust vision for secular work being purposeful in meaningful way beyond merely evangelistic opportunity. I’ll recommend this book to the college students I serve as they navigate career decisions!
June 19, 2018
I read the original 2014 edition of this book twice, including once with colleagues at work in a Faith and Work Book Club, and was excited to see this new updated and expanded edition. The book is written by a marketplace leader (Sebastian) and a ministry leader (Greg). In this book they help us to better understand what it means for Christians to be faithful workers, serving King Jesus in a secular world. Their hope is that the book will help some Christians to see more clearly why God has given them work to do and how they might be thinking about work in sinful ways. They hope that the book will help some Christians forsake both idolatry and idleness in favor of a more biblical way of thinking about work as service to King Jesus. At the end of each chapter, they provide several questions and Scripture passages for the reader to study that will help you to further reflect on and think about the ideas in that chapter. From experience, I know that this is an excellent book to read and discuss in a group.
The authors write that one of our greatest needs in the church is an understanding of how daily work according to God’s Word ties in with God’s ultimate purpose in the world. God’s intention from the beginning was for human beings to work. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s command and rebelled against him, work stopped being purely a reaping of God’s abundance. Work is necessary, work is hard, and work is even dangerous. For all that, however, it’s still clear that God cares deeply about how we think about and relate to our jobs. The authors tell us that our jobs are one of the primary ways God intends to make us more like Jesus.
The big idea in the book is:
“No matter what you do, your job has inherent purpose and meaning because you are doing it ultimately for the King. Who you work for is more important than what you do. No matter what you are doing, you are doing it to glorify Jesus.”
The authors tell us that if we keep that one big idea in mind, it will change the way we think about our work and engage in our work.
The book addresses two errors we can fall into in our work: making our work an idol or being idle in our work. Some people worship their jobs, making them an idol. An idol is something that you desire more than you desire Jesus. The authors tell us that if our pursuit of joy, satisfaction, and meaning centers on “what you do” and “what you are accomplishing,” you’ll find nothing but emptiness at the end of that road.
On the other hand, some of us under-identify with our work. We care too little about it and find ourselves being idle in our work. Knowing that you work for King Jesus and not for other people changes the way you approach your job.
The authors helpfully cover a few specific applications:
• How to choose a job. The authors tell us that if God doesn’t give you an opportunity to do a certain thing, then he’s not calling you to do that thing, at least not now.
• How to balance work, church and family. The authors tell us that God has given us a number of assignments in our lives. We are not to be idle or idolatrous in them, but to pursue faithfulness and fruitfulness in each.
• How to handle difficult bosses and coworkers. They tell us that the hardest thing about our jobs can be the people with whom we’re expected to work. A gospel-centered perspective on our work changes the way we think about our boss, as well as the way we think of our coworkers.
• What it means to be a Christian boss. The authors tell us that Godly leaders serve others, looking out for them and working for their good.
• How to share the Gospel at work. Some of the suggestions offered in this section may not work in your particular context, especially if you are the leader of the team.
• The value of full-time ministry vs. a job in the marketplace. The authors helpfully tell us that the value of our work isn’t finally found at all in the particular thing we do; it’s found in the fact that whatever we do, we do it for our King. They that what matters is doing the work your King has given you to do—and doing it well.
• Calling to a particular job. Most of us want to know what God has called us to do vocationally. The authors tell us however that if we are looking for that one big thing to name as your calling or if you think you’ve already found it, you’re adopting an idea that the Bible never uses. They go on to state that calling is not one thing in your life; it’s everything in your life, at any given moment. You are, right now, where He has called you to be. That calling may change, but for now, this is where the King has placed you.
The authors tell us that God uses ordinary people in ordinary circumstances to do his extraordinary kingdom work. We should have no idolatry nor idleness in oue work. Instead, we aim to be faithful to the King, who put us where we are. Our success is defined simply by giving our all for King Jesus.
The book concludes with three helpful appendices:
Appendix 1: Five Practices to Help You Live Out the Gospel at Work
Appendix 2: A Biblical Theology of Work
Appendix 3: How to Leverage Your Job for the Nations
The authors write that one of our greatest needs in the church is an understanding of how daily work according to God’s Word ties in with God’s ultimate purpose in the world. God’s intention from the beginning was for human beings to work. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s command and rebelled against him, work stopped being purely a reaping of God’s abundance. Work is necessary, work is hard, and work is even dangerous. For all that, however, it’s still clear that God cares deeply about how we think about and relate to our jobs. The authors tell us that our jobs are one of the primary ways God intends to make us more like Jesus.
The big idea in the book is:
“No matter what you do, your job has inherent purpose and meaning because you are doing it ultimately for the King. Who you work for is more important than what you do. No matter what you are doing, you are doing it to glorify Jesus.”
The authors tell us that if we keep that one big idea in mind, it will change the way we think about our work and engage in our work.
The book addresses two errors we can fall into in our work: making our work an idol or being idle in our work. Some people worship their jobs, making them an idol. An idol is something that you desire more than you desire Jesus. The authors tell us that if our pursuit of joy, satisfaction, and meaning centers on “what you do” and “what you are accomplishing,” you’ll find nothing but emptiness at the end of that road.
On the other hand, some of us under-identify with our work. We care too little about it and find ourselves being idle in our work. Knowing that you work for King Jesus and not for other people changes the way you approach your job.
The authors helpfully cover a few specific applications:
• How to choose a job. The authors tell us that if God doesn’t give you an opportunity to do a certain thing, then he’s not calling you to do that thing, at least not now.
• How to balance work, church and family. The authors tell us that God has given us a number of assignments in our lives. We are not to be idle or idolatrous in them, but to pursue faithfulness and fruitfulness in each.
• How to handle difficult bosses and coworkers. They tell us that the hardest thing about our jobs can be the people with whom we’re expected to work. A gospel-centered perspective on our work changes the way we think about our boss, as well as the way we think of our coworkers.
• What it means to be a Christian boss. The authors tell us that Godly leaders serve others, looking out for them and working for their good.
• How to share the Gospel at work. Some of the suggestions offered in this section may not work in your particular context, especially if you are the leader of the team.
• The value of full-time ministry vs. a job in the marketplace. The authors helpfully tell us that the value of our work isn’t finally found at all in the particular thing we do; it’s found in the fact that whatever we do, we do it for our King. They that what matters is doing the work your King has given you to do—and doing it well.
• Calling to a particular job. Most of us want to know what God has called us to do vocationally. The authors tell us however that if we are looking for that one big thing to name as your calling or if you think you’ve already found it, you’re adopting an idea that the Bible never uses. They go on to state that calling is not one thing in your life; it’s everything in your life, at any given moment. You are, right now, where He has called you to be. That calling may change, but for now, this is where the King has placed you.
The authors tell us that God uses ordinary people in ordinary circumstances to do his extraordinary kingdom work. We should have no idolatry nor idleness in oue work. Instead, we aim to be faithful to the King, who put us where we are. Our success is defined simply by giving our all for King Jesus.
The book concludes with three helpful appendices:
Appendix 1: Five Practices to Help You Live Out the Gospel at Work
Appendix 2: A Biblical Theology of Work
Appendix 3: How to Leverage Your Job for the Nations
November 17, 2020
A must read for anyone who works
October 27, 2024
Pretty simple yet powerful truths, a great way to reimagine what our jobs truly are about, serving Jesus.
February 10, 2025
Absolutely fabulous resource on how our identity in Christ frees us to work hard and love people well in a professional setting.
I would recommend to every Christian with a job 10/10 :)
📖
I would recommend to every Christian with a job 10/10 :)
📖
May 22, 2025
Well, I guess I will be a little more mindful about cleaning the drip tray inside the Kona Ice truck.
Still looking for that elusive character "I (Greg)."
Still looking for that elusive character "I (Greg)."
April 15, 2018
Tem uma resenha dele no meu canal só olhar https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCf-p...
January 11, 2025
This book should be required reading for every Christian! It helped shift my perspective on work by explaining the true purpose of work by reminding us of WHO it is we work for ultimately and also explaining the traps we can fall into when we have the wrong perspective. It is already helping me to approach work differently in 2025!
Here are a few of my favorite quotes (I could list 20 more but then you probably wouldn't read the book for yourself!):
"Working for myself and my own fulfillment will always end in dissatisfaction."
"In doing your work for Jesus, you have the greatest intrinsic motivator you could ever have - the power of your desire to please him because of all he has done for you."
"Wherever He's decided to deploy you, trust Him and serve Him well. It isn't what you're doing that really matters... it's WHO you're doing it for."
"Working for Jesus frees us from measuring success by the results we get. Instead, we define success simply by working well and trusting God with the outcome."
Here are a few of my favorite quotes (I could list 20 more but then you probably wouldn't read the book for yourself!):
"Working for myself and my own fulfillment will always end in dissatisfaction."
"In doing your work for Jesus, you have the greatest intrinsic motivator you could ever have - the power of your desire to please him because of all he has done for you."
"Wherever He's decided to deploy you, trust Him and serve Him well. It isn't what you're doing that really matters... it's WHO you're doing it for."
"Working for Jesus frees us from measuring success by the results we get. Instead, we define success simply by working well and trusting God with the outcome."
January 25, 2023
I read this book after hearing one of the authors, Greg Gilbert, speak at our church's Men's Conference on the topic. I have returned to this book multiple times since then, and it has been incredibly helpful each time. The main theme of the book is that our jobs are an arena for God's glory to be displayed. There is the ditch of idolizing work (climbing the success ladder, dog-eat-dog motivations) and the ditch of idleness at work (believing work is just something to get through each day and week until the real ministry of family and church). The authors do a masterful job fleshing out each ditch and where the Biblical balance is found.
March 3, 2020
While some of the practicalities of a work such as this can fall flat depending on what line of work you find yourself in, the overall theology and perspective of Traeger and Gilbert are compelling and useful. I would certainly recommend this book as reading for adult teaching in the church where a competent teacher could tease out deeper and more specific applications for the group.
July 3, 2018
By some estimates, Americans spend 90,000 hours on the job over the course of their lifetimes. That’s 45 years of 40-hour workweeks for 50 weeks of the year, minus two weeks of vacation, of course. In The Gospel at Work, Sebastian Traeger and Greg Gilbert offer a Christian understanding of the work that takes up so much of our time on earth. Their “big idea” is this: “You work for the King, and that changes ... everything!” Pastors discipling church members for their lives in the workaday world will find this book to be a helpful theological and practical resource.
Book Reviewed
Sebastian Traeger and Greg Gilbert, The Gospel at Work: How Working for King Jesus Gives Purpose and Meaning to Our Jobs (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2018).
P.S. If you found my review helpful, please vote "Yes" on my Amazon.com review page.
P.P.S. This review is cross-posted from InfluenceMagazine.com with permission.
Book Reviewed
Sebastian Traeger and Greg Gilbert, The Gospel at Work: How Working for King Jesus Gives Purpose and Meaning to Our Jobs (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2018).
P.S. If you found my review helpful, please vote "Yes" on my Amazon.com review page.
P.P.S. This review is cross-posted from InfluenceMagazine.com with permission.
September 23, 2024
First, I thought the office chair on the cover was a skull for some reason and I can’t unsee it.
Second, I thought that this book would be about the gospel being at work in our lives, not our jobs. Maybe this was because I didn’t realize the picture was an office chair.
Third, there’s this picture in the second chapter. I genuinely could not tell what was wrong with it for a long time.
With all that aside, I will get into my actual review of this book now. The Gospel at Work was a gift from our youth pastor when we graduated high school, and I read it with a group of friends. I’ve finished reading this book just as I am going through a job change, and everything that I read was helpful in examining my desires. I am thankful for God’s timing in that, and that I could be encouraged through these authors and the Word.
This book was a very good read and easy to digest, giving a lot of practical applications and organized points. There are reflection questions at the end of each chapter, which are great for group discussion or just probing things to consider and think/pray about. Greg and Seb talked a lot about the sins of idleness and idolatry, and I learned a lot from that because it helped me to realize my sins more - the ones that seem “less obvious” but are ever present. They also talk about choosing a job, balancing work, church, and family, handling difficult bosses/coworkers, and being a Christian boss. The last chapter was about calling, and I found this one particularly helpful in how I view my life and approach things.
Even though this book is mainly about work, all the principles still apply even if you don’t have a job. We should be living out the gospel 24/7 – at work, home, school, church, and anywhere and everywhere else. In every case, we should be serving the Lord, our King. He places us at our jobs for a purpose – to glorify Him.
Second, I thought that this book would be about the gospel being at work in our lives, not our jobs. Maybe this was because I didn’t realize the picture was an office chair.
Third, there’s this picture in the second chapter. I genuinely could not tell what was wrong with it for a long time.
With all that aside, I will get into my actual review of this book now. The Gospel at Work was a gift from our youth pastor when we graduated high school, and I read it with a group of friends. I’ve finished reading this book just as I am going through a job change, and everything that I read was helpful in examining my desires. I am thankful for God’s timing in that, and that I could be encouraged through these authors and the Word.
This book was a very good read and easy to digest, giving a lot of practical applications and organized points. There are reflection questions at the end of each chapter, which are great for group discussion or just probing things to consider and think/pray about. Greg and Seb talked a lot about the sins of idleness and idolatry, and I learned a lot from that because it helped me to realize my sins more - the ones that seem “less obvious” but are ever present. They also talk about choosing a job, balancing work, church, and family, handling difficult bosses/coworkers, and being a Christian boss. The last chapter was about calling, and I found this one particularly helpful in how I view my life and approach things.
Even though this book is mainly about work, all the principles still apply even if you don’t have a job. We should be living out the gospel 24/7 – at work, home, school, church, and anywhere and everywhere else. In every case, we should be serving the Lord, our King. He places us at our jobs for a purpose – to glorify Him.
April 25, 2014
Are you between jobs, or disgusted by the soul-withering one you’re in now? Are you a college student about to graduate and wondering where to go and what to do vocationally? Does your job act like an all-consuming beast? Is your present occupation a source of your being frantically frustrated and feeling fruitless? Have you reached the pinnacle of “success” with your company and unsure what the next step is? There’s good news for you, whatever your present professional position and it has come in the form of a 160 page paperback titled, “The Gospel at Work: How Working for King Jesus Gives Purpose and Meaning to our Jobs.” The authors, Sebastian Traeger, a proficient businessman who has co-founded several businesses like FiveStreet.com, Razoo.com, Christianity.com, and Silas Partners, and Greg D. Gilbert, Senior Pastor of Third Avenue Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky, have penned a valuable piece accessible to teens, twentysomethings, people in mid-career and beyond.
The first half of “The Gospel at Work” (Chapter 1 through 5) is the real meat-and-potatoes of the book. Here the authors unpack their main principle around which the whole work revolves; “Our jobs are one of the primary ways God intends to make us more like Jesus. He uses our work to sanctify us, develop our Christian character, and teach us to love him more and more and serve him better until we join him on the last day in resting from our labors” (15). In other words, who “you work for is more important than what you do” (16). By our being united to Christ and branded with him we become freed from building our meaning and purpose and identity on our vocational ventures. By remembering who we are and whose we are keeps us from falling into the double trap of idolatry and idleness in our occupations. Both of these grow out of the same misconception: if we are seeking our value and worth in our profession then we will (1) either turn it into an idol – something we sacrifice ourselves to and hold in as high regard as we do God; (2) or sink into frustrated and flummoxed disappointment and become idle in our work. As they observe, these two traps a highly prevelant in our culture; “Unfortunately, idleness in work and idolatry of work are both celebrated in our society” (18).
Traeger and Gilbert nicely display that no matter what our trade, or what our frustrating situation may be in our employment, we have a prime directive that infuses a stabilizing, sobering and stimulating purposefulness in our profession. In all that we put our hands, hours and sweat into we are to love God and our neighbor: “When you become a Christian, your overarching, overriding, life-driving assignment becomes crystal clear: you are to love God and love others” (49). This new mission you have helps you to keep from turning your job into your joy, or from slinking into the hole of depression thinking your job doesn’t much matter to God (49-53). You are deployed by God into this or that job setting to love God and others, no matter what the corporate-culture may be. Therefore work “hard, work smart, and trust God” (71). They further poignantly note that in all of our life as a whole, if there is idolatry going on in one area, then there is likely idleness going on in another.
The authors also discuss, based on their main principle, how to choose a new job. This chapter delightfully exposes the snares that litter our path, specifically the idolatry of finding the right job that will honor and glorify us. Traeger and Gilbert present a helpful pyramid that visually shows where to start when pondering a potential position. There is also a beneficial list of three “must-haves” in a job, and three “nice-to-haves.” What they put where will likely catch many readers attention, because it inverts what most people place as priorities.
The second half of “The Gospel at Work” (Chapter 6-10) gets more into the messiness of work. Building off of their main principle and mission statement, the authors walk the reader through balancing work, family and church; how to deal with work situations that have difficult co-workers and problematic bosses; what to do if you are the boss; sharing the Gospel at work; and finally, tackling the tension between which is more valuable – ministry or your job. This section is more pragmatic, but is, nevertheless, generally useful in showing how to work out the earlier material.
If there is any negative side to the book it would be these two things. First there was a general feeling I had that the authors, at times, weighed me down with “to-do” lists. By the end of the book I had a mixture of feelings. I was excited and refreshed by the principles they laid out early on, but simultaneously felt like I was failing because there was more to do. This comes out clearly in the chapter on balancing family, church and work. By the end of that particular chapter it came across to me that I was being told to suck it up and work harder to make all three areas work out. The other item has to do with the use of Scripture. There are occasions where the authors use a passage that has nothing to do with their topic, and draft it into their service, like 1 Corinthians 12. Their points are good and valid, but the particular passages they may use at times are the wrong ones.
“The Gospel at Work” is a perceptive, insightful piece. It should find its way into the hands of teenagers wondering about their vocational future, college students nearing graduation and already sending out resumes, people between jobs, men and women fraught with the gloominess of purposelessness in their profession, as well as folks in mid-career. And even though it is not primarily for Christian ministers, it is a must-read for pastors, especially those feeling overworked and grossly strained in their ministry. I happily recommend the book.
(Thanks to Net Galley and Zondervan for the free electronic version provided for this review. Feel free to post or publish this review, but as always, please give credit where credit is due. Mike)
The first half of “The Gospel at Work” (Chapter 1 through 5) is the real meat-and-potatoes of the book. Here the authors unpack their main principle around which the whole work revolves; “Our jobs are one of the primary ways God intends to make us more like Jesus. He uses our work to sanctify us, develop our Christian character, and teach us to love him more and more and serve him better until we join him on the last day in resting from our labors” (15). In other words, who “you work for is more important than what you do” (16). By our being united to Christ and branded with him we become freed from building our meaning and purpose and identity on our vocational ventures. By remembering who we are and whose we are keeps us from falling into the double trap of idolatry and idleness in our occupations. Both of these grow out of the same misconception: if we are seeking our value and worth in our profession then we will (1) either turn it into an idol – something we sacrifice ourselves to and hold in as high regard as we do God; (2) or sink into frustrated and flummoxed disappointment and become idle in our work. As they observe, these two traps a highly prevelant in our culture; “Unfortunately, idleness in work and idolatry of work are both celebrated in our society” (18).
Traeger and Gilbert nicely display that no matter what our trade, or what our frustrating situation may be in our employment, we have a prime directive that infuses a stabilizing, sobering and stimulating purposefulness in our profession. In all that we put our hands, hours and sweat into we are to love God and our neighbor: “When you become a Christian, your overarching, overriding, life-driving assignment becomes crystal clear: you are to love God and love others” (49). This new mission you have helps you to keep from turning your job into your joy, or from slinking into the hole of depression thinking your job doesn’t much matter to God (49-53). You are deployed by God into this or that job setting to love God and others, no matter what the corporate-culture may be. Therefore work “hard, work smart, and trust God” (71). They further poignantly note that in all of our life as a whole, if there is idolatry going on in one area, then there is likely idleness going on in another.
The authors also discuss, based on their main principle, how to choose a new job. This chapter delightfully exposes the snares that litter our path, specifically the idolatry of finding the right job that will honor and glorify us. Traeger and Gilbert present a helpful pyramid that visually shows where to start when pondering a potential position. There is also a beneficial list of three “must-haves” in a job, and three “nice-to-haves.” What they put where will likely catch many readers attention, because it inverts what most people place as priorities.
The second half of “The Gospel at Work” (Chapter 6-10) gets more into the messiness of work. Building off of their main principle and mission statement, the authors walk the reader through balancing work, family and church; how to deal with work situations that have difficult co-workers and problematic bosses; what to do if you are the boss; sharing the Gospel at work; and finally, tackling the tension between which is more valuable – ministry or your job. This section is more pragmatic, but is, nevertheless, generally useful in showing how to work out the earlier material.
If there is any negative side to the book it would be these two things. First there was a general feeling I had that the authors, at times, weighed me down with “to-do” lists. By the end of the book I had a mixture of feelings. I was excited and refreshed by the principles they laid out early on, but simultaneously felt like I was failing because there was more to do. This comes out clearly in the chapter on balancing family, church and work. By the end of that particular chapter it came across to me that I was being told to suck it up and work harder to make all three areas work out. The other item has to do with the use of Scripture. There are occasions where the authors use a passage that has nothing to do with their topic, and draft it into their service, like 1 Corinthians 12. Their points are good and valid, but the particular passages they may use at times are the wrong ones.
“The Gospel at Work” is a perceptive, insightful piece. It should find its way into the hands of teenagers wondering about their vocational future, college students nearing graduation and already sending out resumes, people between jobs, men and women fraught with the gloominess of purposelessness in their profession, as well as folks in mid-career. And even though it is not primarily for Christian ministers, it is a must-read for pastors, especially those feeling overworked and grossly strained in their ministry. I happily recommend the book.
(Thanks to Net Galley and Zondervan for the free electronic version provided for this review. Feel free to post or publish this review, but as always, please give credit where credit is due. Mike)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 124 reviews