Resources
The books listed here are either free to download or can be purchase by going to the link provided. All documents are free to download.
Click on the + sign next to the title to find the links to download or purchase.
| Title & Author | Language | Links | Tags | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Hope: Making Our Mark on Heaven by R. Paul Stevens [Provided by] |
Sample HOPE: MAKING OUR MARK ON HEAVEN
"How can Christianity call itself catholic if the universe itself is left out?"
Simone Weilxxiii
"I cannot think of a greater tragedy than to think that I am at home on earth...."
Malcolm Muggeridgexxiv
"Only the heavenly-minded are of any earthly use."
C.S. Lewisxxv
Years ago Leslie Newbigin said that "mankind is without any worthwhile end to which the travail of history might lead."xxvi A few believe we are heading into a new world order and paradise on earth but most people nurse a deep foreboding about the future, or refuse to think about it more than they must. The seeming resultlessness of history erodes the nerve of modern persons including, I must add, Christians who have more reason to embrace the future wholeheartedly than anyone. Whether world-weariness and future fright comes from the terrifying prospect of ecological doomsday, or, as is often the case with Christians like the Thessalonians, from the conviction that Jesus will probably come tomorrow, the result is the same for Christians: all work in this world except the so-called "ministry" is viewed as not very significant or enduring. |
English | Download full article (pdf) | |
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Love: Recovering the Amateur Status of the Christian by R. Paul Stevens [Provided by] From Chapter two, Disciplines of the Hungry Heart (Harold Shaw, 1993) |
Sample LOVE: RECOVERING THE AMATEUR STATUS OF THE CHRISTIAN"To discover God in the smallest and most ordinary things, as well as in the greatest, is to possess a rare and sublime faith. To find contentment in the present moment is to relish and adore the divine will in the succession of all the things to be done and suffered which make up the duty to the present moment." Jean-Pierre De Caussaude "What you do in your house is worth as much as if you did it up in heaven for our Lord God." Martin Luther "Does God work?" Willie MacMichael asks his father in George Macdonald's book for children. His father answered biblically: "Yes, Willie, it seems to me that God works more than anybody - for He works all night and all day and, if I remember rightly, Jesus tells us somewhere that He works all Sunday too. If He were to stop working, everything would stop being. The sun would stop shining, and the moon and stars; the corn would stop growing; there would be no apples and gooseberries; your eyes would stop seeing; your ears would stop hearing; your fingers couldn't move an inch; and, worst of all your little heart would stop loving." |
English | Download full article (pdf) | |
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On Being Kingdom People: Regents of Our God and King by R. Paul Stevens [provided by] |
Sample REGENTS OF OUR GOD AND KING"Today we cannot claim to know the end and goal of history. Therefore the question of meaning in history has become meaningless."
Rudolf Bultmanni
"Now the situation of the Christian in the world is a revolutionary situation. His share in the preservation of the world is to be an inexhaustible revolutionary force in the midst of the world."
Jacques Ellulii
Now we must turn to the intriguing and usually neglected first-half of the phrase "royal priesthood." The kingdom of God is the master thought of Jesus (used over one hundred times in the Gospels in comparison with only three references to the church). The kingdom ministry of all believers expresses the exteriority of every member ministry--how the people of God express the redeeming and life-giving will and influence of God not just in the church but in the whole of creation. |
English | Download full article (pdf) | |
| Curing Sunday Spectatoritis by Larry Peabody |
 Book Description: New Book Helps Church Leaders Make Church Meetings More Participatory TOW defines the Church in terms of the Gathered Church (on Sundayor whenever the church meets) and the Scattered Church (sent out to work in all sectors of society the rest of the week). However, when the church gathers on Sunday seldom is there any learning from or active participation by or informative reporting about what God has done through the scattered during the week. Dr. Larry Peabody, who wrote his first book about Theology of Work in 1976 has written an insightful book on how Pastors could involve the scattered church on Sunday mornings in practical and meaningful ways. If you want to begin merging these two arms of the church on Sunday, this book will give some ways to make that happen. Millennials, and many older Christians, are not responding well to the sit-watch-and-listen format of so many church meetings. A new book, Curing SundaySpectatoritis, confronts that issue head on by offering examples from 25 church leaders who are finding ways to include more participation in church meetings. One long-time believer compares the Sunday experience to “going to see a good movie where the professional musicians and professional speakers put on such a good show.” He recently stopped participating in the organized church. The term “spectatoritis” in the book’s title speaks for itself. No dictionary needed. Like arthritis, bronchitis, and appendicitis, spectatoritis brings on a measure of disability. But unlike those and other inflammatory “-itis” conditions that ache and throb, Sunday spectatoritis typically leaves its victims quite pain-free, even comfortable. And who among us, including church people, will seek a cure if unaware of any disabling symptoms? But this book shows how spectatoritis can be cured. This book is for all who love the Body of Christ and work for its well-being. It is for pastors, church leaders, and church planters in all kinds of communities—in urban, suburban, exurban, and rural congregations. It is for Christians who seek to encourage increased congregational participation and to support leaders as they pursue that objective. Curing Sunday Spectatoritis is available from Amazon.com in both paperback and Kindle editions. (see links below) |
English | Purchase paperback on Amazon.com, Purchase kindle version on Amazon.com | |
| A View from the Ground: The Great Commandment Company in the Philippines by Jon Escoto |
Sample A VIEW FROM THE GROUND:The Great Commandment Company Journey in the Philippines[An Advent Season Reflection on the Philippine Market Place]Jon Escoto I don’t have exact figures. This is not an extensive research on the “state of work” in the Philippines. Points below, however, are not at all an ignorant man’s unfounded conclusions based on uncritical and gullible perceptions. I used to be the Market Development Manager of an American multinational company SC Johnson and Sons, then the Regional Business Director of the British multinational company Danka, then the National Sales and Marketing Manager of the Australian office CDT Asia, before finally becoming my own janitor, utility man, messenger, maintenance engineer, marketing and sales, customer relations person, and president, all at the same time, of my own company. |
English | Download full article (pdf) | |
| Joy at Work Bible Study Companion (Russian) by Anatoliy Glukhovskyy |
 Book Description: The Joy at Work Bible Study Companion by Raymond Bakke, William Hendricks, and Brad Smith has been translated to Russian by Dr Anatoliy Glukovskyy |
Russian | Free to Download (1.6MB) | |
| Reading the Bible in the Global Marketplace by R. Paul Stevens |
Sample Reading the Bible in the Global MarketplaceR. Paul Stevens
Professor Emeritus, Marketplace Theology,
Regent College
“What do you teach at Regent College?” This seemingly innocent question was broached by the guest master of an Orthodox monastery. I had undertaken a four-day pilgrimage on Mount Athos, the monastic peninsula of the Eastern church. In the course of praying my way from monastery to monastery I struck up a soul friendship with one of the guestmasters. “Marketplace theology is what I teach.” “What’s that?” - his inquisitiveness now aroused by something foreign, he thought, to the spiritual life. “It is the integration of Christian faith with work in the world.” “It’s not possible,” he retorted. “That’s why I am a monk.” I can understand how he came to that erroneous view. It has to do with how we read the Bible, how we regard the spiritual life and whether the God-coming of Jesus was really into the work-a-day world that we inhabit. |
English | Download full article (pdf) | |
| Joy at Work (Russian) by Anatoliy Glukhovskyy |
 Book Description: This is the e-book (pdf version) of Joy at Work by Dennis Bakke, translated into Russian by Anatole Glukhovskyy |
Russian | Free to Download (1.5MB) | |
| God Loves Your Work by Larry Peabody |
 Book Description: "Why did I write the book and create the website? Perhaps Chris Armstrong, Professor of Church History at Wheaton College, best sums up my reason: “After a lot of searching, I have reluctantly concluded that American Christians of my generation have largely given up on finding any spiritual meaning in our work.” (from Chapter 12, Work: Theological Foundations and Practical Implications, edited by R. Keith Loftin & Trey Dimsdale). My book, God Loves Your Work, helps believers find that meaning. It lays a biblical foundation of truth about our daily work without using theological jargon. And—in this era when many are rethinking the whole idea of working—the book offers at least seven Kingdom-of-God-related reasons for getting up and going to work. While writing the book, I kept four groups in view: students about to enter the work world, newcomers to that world, seasoned employees, and those not paid for their work." Visit also his website at larrypeabody.com to learn more about this book, read his blog and find other Theology of Work resources. This book is available in Kindle, Hardcover, Paperback, and Audiobook versions through Amazon.com. |
English | Get your copy here | |
| The Decision Maker by Dennis Bakke |
 Book Description: Who makes the important decisions in your organization? Strategy, product development, budgeting, compensation—such key decisions typically are made by company leaders. That’s what bosses are for, right? But maybe the boss isn’t the best person to make the call. |
English | Free to Download |