I’m encouraged that Amy Sherman’s book Kingdom Calling has won a 2013 Book Award from Christianity Today. Hers is a welcome voice in providing a biblical understanding of our work and vocation. In an interview outlining the message of the book, she made the following observations about the integration of work and faith:
We have had a too-limited understanding of what the integration of faith and work really looks like. We have talked about the “three Es”: ethics, evangelism, and excellence. Being people of good character, witnessing to our co-workers, and doing our work with excellence are all important parts of integrating faith and work. But there is much more to be said beyond the three Es. When we begin to understand this invitation from Jesus to join his mission of restoring all things, our enthusiasm for integrating faith and work will be heightened.
The church has suffered for a long time from a dualistic mentality, what we’ve often called the sacred-secular divide. For much of its history, the church has inadequately equipped its parishioners in this whole area of vocation. We haven’t done a good job helping people connect Sunday to Monday. Many leaders realize that if we want people to bring about restoration in the fields of business, law, the arts, and media, we need to think about what it means to be a Christian businessperson, a Christian lawyer, or a Christian journalist.
…Many believers have begun figuring this thing out without much help from their churches. Individuals in a variety of vocations are asking the right questions about what faith-work integration looks like and how it can go beyond just being a nice person at work.
