About the Book
Whether you're teaching children in a preschool, operating a cash register at a fast-food restaurant, or performing complex surgeries in emergency situations--you have the power to change the world. God knows the good you do when you serve him faithfully at work, even if you don't see it yourself. The product of twenty years of thought, Work ennobles and motivates men and women in their labors. Providing historical background and inspiring stories of God-honoring workers, Daniel Doriani explains the Bible's teaching on the nature, glory, misery, and eventual restoration of work. You will learn what it means to be faithful at work, even in risky places, and what steps you can take to transform your workplace and the world through the reformation of work.
About the Author :
Daniel M. Doriani (MDiv, PhD, Westminster Theological Seminary; STM, Yale Divinity School; Research Fellow, Yale University) is professor of theology at Covenant Theological Seminary. He is the founder and president of the Center for Faith & Work, St. Louis, and a member of the Council of The Gospel Coalition. He was a lead pastor for fifteen years and currently serves as interim senior pastor at Briarwood Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Alabama.
Review :
"A concise yet comprehensive must-read for the thoughtful and committed Christian embedded in the 'secular' workplace. Dan Doriani has masterfully captured the nuances of the twenty-first-century workaday world, covering a wide range of topics from discerning God's calling to dealing with difficult corporate situations and contemporary dilemmas, such as overwork and underemployment. Doriani skillfully explains pertinent theological principles in everyday language, lacing his narrative with compelling true-life illustrations and applications. Whether answering God's calling on the shop floor, in the corporate office, or in the home, the reader will find practical and theologically sound answers here."--Franz J. Wippold II, Emeritus Professor of Radiology, Washington University, St. Louis
"For everyone everywhere, our work is an expression of how we answer the most complex questions of life, of who we are and why we are. A historian, a theologian, an ethicist, a pastor, and (perhaps most profoundly) a grandfather, Dan Doriani takes up this complexity with seasoned wisdom born of years of paying attention to the life he has lived and the labor he has done. This volume is a unique contribution to the growing literature on the meaning of work for human beings. At one and the same time it is rooted in remarkably rich biblical and theological reflection and also pastorally responsive to the people Dan has known whose vocational questions have informed his writing. I know of no other book like Work. May it have a wide reading among those who wrestle with why we work, and why our work matters to God and the world."--Steven Garber, Professor of Marketplace Theology, Regent College; author, Visions of Vocation: Common Grace for the Common Good
"I am grateful for mentors such as Dan Doriani, whose insights draw us back to the truths that guide us in loving God and living well. In this latest volume, Dan reminds us that the first 'Great Commission' happened in Genesis, when God charged Adam and Eve (and us) to tend God's garden and exercise dominion over his creation. With characteristic wisdom and practical guidance, Dan paints a compelling vision for all good work. He also dismantles the false dichotomy between work that is 'sacred' and work that is 'secular'--for God has instilled creative and redemptive significance in the calling of executives, artists, sanitation workers, landscapers, and homemakers, just as he has done for pastors and missionaries. Together, we are all commissioned and 'sent' workers in God's field. For these and many other reasons, I highly commend this book."--Scott Sauls, Senior Pastor, Christ Presbyterian Church, Nashville, Tennessee; author, From Weakness to Strength and Irresistible Faith
"I love my friend's new book! Dan was teaching on the relationship between faith, work, and culture long before this topic became popular. So as I read these chapters, it was like savoring a vintage wine--the fruit of time, reflection, and distillation. With a high view of creation, a great love for the gospel, and the hope of Christ's kingdom stirring in his heart, Dan has given us a wonderful introduction to a biblical theology of work. It is accessible, practical, and brimming with Dan's wonderful personality."--Scotty Smith, Pastor Emeritus, Christ Community Church, Franklin, Tennessee; Teacher in Residence, West End Community Church, Nashville, Tennessee
"Only recently has the evangelical church begun to pay attention to the challenge of discipling Christians for their public life and, in particular, to the integration of their faith with their vocations and work lives. Dan Doriani's book makes an important contribution to this literature. Dan is an academic who wears his considerable scholarship lightly as he writes a theologically rich but accessible book on the Christian and work. His clear teaching on how faithful work leads to social reform is especially provocative and helpful."--Timothy Keller, Founding Pastor, Redeemer Presbyterian Church, Manhattan; Chairman and Cofounder, Redeemer City to City (CTC)
"The last few years have witnessed a flurry of books that treat a Christian view of work. This is the best of them. Well written, historically comprehensive, theologically informed, exegetically sensitive--this is now the 'must-read' volume on the subject."--D. A. Carson, Emeritus Professor of New Testament, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School; Editor, Pillar New Testament Commentary series
