About the Book
People have always been keen to figure out their place in the scheme of things. This book helps by providing a "theology roadmap" for the journey. These great biblical truths, when held together in our minds, will take us where we need to go in a healthy way.
About the Author :
Charles D. Drew (BA, Harvard University; MDiv, Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia) serves as the senior pastor at Emmanuel Presbyterian Church in Manhattan. He and his wife, Jean, have two grown children.
Review :
A Journey Worth Taking is a winsome invitation to take seriously the mystery of your life. "Why am I on this earth?" may be one of the most important questions you can ponder if you want to live a life of more than quiet desperation or cul de sac mediocrity. Charlie Drew calls us to the glory we can know and the beauty we can author if we heed the invocation to live into the story written for us to reveal. This is a book for any person of any age who is courageous enough to ask: How shall I live?--Dan B. Allender, Ph.D. President, Mars Hill Graduate School Author, To Be Told, The Healing Path, The Wounded Heart
Calling is first of all a journey towards self-discovery, the kind that opens your eyes not just to yourself, but to the Caller who made you. Drew shows that the idea of vocation without a "Caller" is a non-sequitor. So, if you think that vocation is a specific job that - if you don't get it - will make you a failure, you have another guess coming. Work is a far more complex and wonderful thing than doing a job. It's a life-long venture in which we discover ourselves as God made us, with all the uniqueness, giftedness, and wonder that makes us who we are. Whether you are setting out in early life to make your mark, or taking time off in midlife to reassess where you've come, this book will help you recover the dynamic of purposeful desire and will add zest to the process of living a directed life in tune with the One who made you.--Rev. Peter C. Moore, D.D.
Charles Drew has given us a great book to give away--especially to those who want a purpose-driven life and want to dig more deeply into the mysteries of that purpose. It is at once clear, personal, culturally up-to-date, and theologically rich-- a perfect combination. Drew takes us a step beyond the literature that is presently available on the subject. Highly recommended.--Timothy Keller, Founding Pastor, Redeemer Presbyterian Church, Manhattan; Chairman and Cofounder, Redeemer City to City (CTC)
Drew's knowledge of the literature on "calling" is extensive. What makes this book more than worth the price is the fact that he puts this knowledge at a level that anyone can grasp. Writing with a story-teller's gift, Drew invites you to find out who God really made you to be.--Rev. Peter C. Moore, D.D.
Find a group of others who are seeking direction in life and read this book together. The questions at the end of each chapter are worth the price, and you'll find yourselves drawn into a dialogue that will change your life.--Rev. Peter C. Moore, D.D.
Have you ever learned a foreign language, or watched someone else become fluent? When you think about it, the process is quite amazing. You repeat syllables that initially sound meaningless: amo amas amat amamus amatus amant. (That's about all I remember from 7th grade Latin, in which I remained decidedly unfluent.)You labor mechanically to connect familiar meanings in your native tongue to unfamiliar words from the new language. You slowly start to put words together, and your initial sentences have all the profundity of "Dick said, 'Look Jane. See Spot run.' But something happens along the learning curve. Gradually, when the process works, as you immerse yourself in literature, in culture, or in conversation, a wonderful transformation occurs. You start to get the hang of it. It all begins to make sense. You're no longer making a tedious translation in your head. You find yourself beginning to read, to think, to dream, to answer spontaneously in new words. The world even looks and feels different when you can put it in different words. This book bids to teach you a new 'language' for thinking about your life and identity. It's not about amo amas amat, of course, or the Chinese and English equivalents. Perhaps we could say that it's in the universal language of... reality. That's not our native tongue. It's in the language of indestructible hope. That's not how any of us naturally thinks. It's in the language of the one life purpose worth living for and dying for. They don't teach us that in school. Your life looks and feels different when you can put it in different words. Charles Drew makes some astonishing promises. If this book were in tabloid form (it's not, I assure you. I'm exaggerating to make a point), it would contain headlines like these: Find your true self! Live a wonderful life!! Begin a journey of self-discovery!!! No exaggeration, Charles Drew fulfills exactly these promises. But he does so in a most surprising, sensible, and human way. You find your true self... as you stop thinking so much about yourself. You live a wonderful life... as you learn to do mundane things well. You discover yourself... as you discover someone who is far more fascinating than you. Inspirational pep talks, techniques and strategies can never get you to any of these good places. Instead, you need reasons. And Charles Drew gives you reasons. Good reasons. Those reasons deserve bold print and exclamation points. But I think you'll find that they sneak up on you quietly and take you by the hand. Listen well as you read. Think hard. Take it to heart. It will be a bit like watching as predawn darkness lightens and brightens into sunrise and then full day. A slow and quiet happening... mundane... and wonderful beyond telling when you think about it. This is a book to take slow, so it sinks in. You might even want to go back and reread the previous three paragraphs, so you'll know what you're getting into.--David Powlison, Ph. D. Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation
I was moved to tears by this beautifully written, honest and comprehensive perspective on life calling. Charles Drew presents a realistic but hopeful view - one solidly grounded in the reality of the Triune God. This is a great book for anyone wanting to reflect on the purpose and direction of their life's work.--Chris Keidel InterVarsity Christian Fellowship Metro Philadelphia/Delaware Area Director
If you thought that becoming a missionary was more spiritual than being a concert pianist or a pro athlete or a car salesman - read this book. It will widen your horizons and challenge your everyday life to become what God meant it to be.--Rev. Peter C. Moore, D.D.
If you're tempted to substitute busyness for purposeful activity, you'll have a rude awakening some day. Better to have read this book first and spent some time wrestling with the unique person God made you to be, and the special calling he has for you.--Rev. Peter C. Moore, D.D.
In A Journey Worth Taking, Charles Drew has written a well researched, thought-provoking guide which offers a meaningful analysis of the unique stages of calling. A highly recommended read for anyone who has ever wondered 'Why am I here?'--Jane Hyun Leadership Strategist and Executive Coach Author, Breaking the Bamboo Ceiling
What's the difference between finding a job or making a living and discovering a mission that grips and re-directs one's whole life? Drew guides the reader gently but firmly towards finding that mission that gives all life meaning - whether one becomes a policeman or a professor.--Rev. Peter C. Moore, D.D.
With sometimes astonishing honesty Charles Drew takes you on a journey that he has gone himself inviting you to embark on a similar quest. The goal? Nothing short of finding out who you really are, and who God made you to be. What you discover is that what you do in life should be an expression of who you are. It's how to integrate the two that is the challenge of this excellent book.--Rev. Peter C. Moore, D.D.
Writing from his base in the sophisticated urbane world of young New York professionals, Charlie Drew manages to bring biblical, sociological, pastoral and apologetic resources to work in order to help you become yourself - truly and lastingly. This is not only a good read, but a great resource to you and those whom you might help towards purposeful living.--Rev. Peter C. Moore, D.D.
