Resources

Core Bibliography (some out-of-print)

Dennis W. Bakke, Joy at Work: A Revolutionary Approach to Fun on the Job (Toronto: Viking Canada, 2005).

Ray Bakke, William Hendricks, and Brad Smith Joy at Work Bible Study Companion (PVC: www.dennisbakke.com)

John D. Beckett, Mastering Monday: A Guide to Integrating Faith and Work (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006).

John D. Beckett, Loving Monday: Succeeding in Business without Losing Your Soul

Peter Block, Stewardship: Choosing Service Over Self (Koehler, 1995).

Darrell Cosden, The Heavenly Good of Earthly Work (Peabody, Mass.: Henrickson, 2006).

Darrell Cosden, A Theology of Work: Work and the New Creation (Carlisle, Cumbria, UK: Paternoster Press, 2004).

Os Guiness, The Call: Finding and Fulfilling the Central Purpose of Your Life (Nashville: Word, 1998).

Lee Hardy, The Fabric of This World: Inquiries into Calling, Career Choice and the Design of Human Work (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2006).

Richard Higginson, Questions of Business Life: Exploring Workplace Issues from a Christian Perspective (Carlisle, Cumbria, UK: Spring Harvest, 2002).

Richard Higginson, Called to Account: Adding Value in God’s World: Integrating Christianity and Business Effectively (Glasgow: HarperCollins, 1993).

Michael Novak, Business as a Calling: Work and the Examined Life (New York: The Free Press, 1996).

Michael Novak, Toward a Theology of the Corporation (Washington: American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, 1982).

Gordon Preece, Changing Work Values: A Christian Response (Melbourne: Acorn Press, 1995).

Alan Richardson, The Biblical Doctrine of Work (London: SCM Press, 1954).

Doug Sherman and William Hendricks, Your Work Matters to God (Colorado Springs, Navpress, 1987).

Gerry Schoberg and R. Paul Stevens, Satisfying Work: Serving God Nine to Five (Wheaton: Harold Shaw, reprinted, a 12 bible study guide on work).

Christopher Schumacher, God in Work: Discovering the Divine Pattern for Work in the New Millenium (Oxford, Lion Publishing, 1998).

R. Paul Stevens, The Other Six Days: Vocation, Work and Ministry in Biblical Perspective (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999),published in UK under the title: The Abolition of the Laity

R. Paul Stevens, Doing God’s Business: Meaning and Motivation for the Marketplace

R. Paul Stevens, ed. “Readings in the Theology of Work” (see below)

R. Paul Stevens and Robert Banks, Marketplace Ministry Handbook (Vancouver: Regent College Publishing, 2005).

Benny Tabalujian, God on Monday: Reflections on Christians @ Work (Melbourne, Australia: Klesis Institute, 2005).

Miroslav Volf, Work in the Spirit: Toward a Theology of Work (New York: Oxford University Press, 1991) or

_____________, “Human Work, Divine Spirit, and the New Creation: Toward a Pneumatological Understanding of Work,” Pneuma: The Journal of the Society for Pentecostal Studies (Fall 1987), p. 175 (173-193).

Additional Bibliography

   Helen J. Alford, and Michael J. Naughton, Managing as is Faith Mattered: Christian Social      Principles in the Modern Organization (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 2001).

Ray S. Anderson, Minding God’s Business (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1986).

Robert Banks, ed., Faith Goes to Work (Washington, DC: Alban Institute, 1993).

Robert Banks, "Work Ethic, Protestant," Robert Banks and R. Paul Stevens, eds., The Complete Book of Everyday Christianity (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1997), 1129-1132.

Robert and Linda Banks, Going to Work with God: Eight Flexible Study Guides for Use at, after, or Outside Work (Macquarie Park, Australia: Bible Society NSW, 2005)

Grace Preedy Barnes, Servant First: Readings and Reflections on the Practice of Servant Leadership (Indianapolis, Indiana: Precedent Press, 2006).

Karl Barth, ‘Vocation,’ in Church Dogmatics, trans. A.T. Mackay, T.H.L. Parker, H.  Knight, H.A. Kennedy, and J. Marks, vol 3, part 4:595-647 (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1961).

John A. Bernbaum and Simon Steer, Why Work? Careers and Employment in Biblical Perspective (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1986).

Peter L. Berger, The Capitalist Spirit: Toward a Religious Ethic of Wealth Creation (San Francisco: Institute for Contemporary Studies, 1990).

____________, The Sacred Canopy: Elements of a Sociological Theory of Religion (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1967).

H. Berkhof, Christ and the Powers, trans. J.H. Yoder (Scottdale, Penn.: Herald, 1962).

Klaus Bochmuehl, “Recovering Vocation Today,” Crux, Vol XXIV, No 3 ((September 1988):25-35.

Dietrich Bonheoffer, Ethics (London: SCM Press, 1976).

Richard C. Chewning, John W. Eby, Shirley Roels, Business Through the Eyes of Faith (HarperSanFrancisco, 1992).

Richard C. Chewning, ed., Biblical Principles & Economics: The Foundations, Vols 1,2 (Colorado Springs: Navpress, 1989).

_____________________, Biblical Principles & Economics: The Practice, Vols 3,4 (Colorado Springs: Navpress, 1991).

Christians in the Marketplace, Vols 1-2 (Petaling Jaya, Malaysia: Graduates Christian Fellowship, 1995, 1997).

S. Covey, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1989).

Peter Curran, All the Hours God Sends? Practical and Biblical Help in Meeting the Demands of Work (Leicester, UK: InterVarsity Press, 2000).

John Jefferson Davis, “’Teaching Them to Observe All that I Have Commanded You’” The History of the Interpretation of the ‘Great Commission’ and Implications for Marketplace Ministries” (South Hamilton, MA: Gordon- Conwell Theological Seminary, unpublished, 1998). 

William E. Diehl, Thank God It's Monday (Philadelphia: Fortress Press,1982).

_____________, The Monday Connection: A Spirituality of Competence, Affirmation, and Support  in the Workplace (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1991).

_____________, Christianity and Real Life (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1976).

William L. Droel, Business People: The Spirituality of Work (Chicago: ACTA Publications, 1990).

Peter F. Drucker, Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Practice and Principles (New York: Harper & Row,

 1985).

Jacques Ellul, Reason for Being: A Meditation on Ecclesiastes, trans. Joyce Main Hanks (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1972).

___________, Money and Power, trans. L. Neff (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1984).

___________, “Meditation on Inutility,” The Politics of God and the Politics of Man, trans. Geoffrey W. Bromiley (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1972), 190-199.

Richard Foster, Money, Sex and Power: The Challenge of  the Disciplined Life (San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 1985).

T.L. Friedman, The Lexus and the Olive Tree ( New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 1999).

Craig Gay, With Liberty and Justice for Whom? The Recent Evangelical Debate over Capitalism (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991).

Robert Girard, “Failure,” in Banks and Stevens eds., The Complete Book of Everyday Christianity (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1997), 363-366.

Emilie Dietrich Griffin, The Reflective Executive (New York: Crossroad, 1993).

E. Goodell, ed., Social Venture Network Standards of Corporate Social Responsibility (San Francisco: Social Venture Network, 1999).

Richard Foster, Money, Sex and Power: The Challenge of  the Disciplined Life (San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 1985).

Stephen R. Graves and Thomas G. Addington, The Fourth Frontier: Exploring the New World of Work (Nashville: Word, 2000).

Thomas H. Green, Darkness in the Marketplace: The Christian at Prayer in the World (Notre Dame, Ind.: Ave Maria Press, 1981).

R. Greenleaf, Servant Leadership (NJ.: Paulist Press, 1977).

Stanley Grenz, "Community as Theology Motif for the Western Church in an Era of Globalization," Crux Vol XXVIII, No 3: 10-19.

Emilie Griffin, The Reflective Executive: A Spirituality of Business and Enterprise (New York: Crossroad, 1993).

Brian Griffiths, The Creation of Wealth (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1984).

Os Guiness, The Call: Finding and Fulfilling the Central Purpose of Your Life (Nashville: Word, 1998).

__________, Winning Back the Soul of American Business (Washington, D.C.: Hourglass Publishers, 1990).

Pete Hammond, R. Paul Stevens and Todd Svanoe, The Marketplace Annotated Bibliography: A Christian Guide to Books on Work, Business and Vocation (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2002).

Charles Handy, Waiting for the Mountain to Move: Reflections on Work and Life (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1999).

___________, The Hungry Spirit: Beyond Capitalism - A Quest for Purpose in the Modern World (London: Hutchinson, 1997).  

Marc Gunther, “God and Business: The Surprising Quest for Spiritual Renewal in the American Workplace,” Fortune, Vol 144 (No 1): 58-80.

John Haughey, Converting Nine to Five: A Spirituality of Daily Work (New York: Crossroads, 1989).

S. Helgesen, The Female Advantage: Women's Ways of Leadership (New York: Doubleday, 1990).

Donald R. Heiges, The Christian’s Calling (Philadelphia: United Lutheran Church in America, 1958).

Bruce Hiebert, Good Work: How to Live Your Values in the Workplace (Kelowna, BC: Northstone Publishing, 1997).

Alexander Hill, Just Business: Christian Ethics in the Marketplace (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1997).

R. F. Hock, The Social Context of Paul’s Ministry: Tentmaking and Apostleship (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1980), p.166.

Joe Holland, Creative Communion: Toward a Spirituality of Work (Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1989).

James M. Kouzes, and Barry Z. Possner, Credibility: How Leaders Gain and Lose It, Why People Demand It (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1993).

Hendrik Kraemer, A Theology of the Laity (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1958).

Lake Lambert III, “Called to Business: Corporate Management as a Profession of Faith,” (PhD Dissertation, Princeton Theological Seminary, 1997, available through UMI Services).

Gregg Levoy, Callings: Finding and Following an Authentic Life (New York: Three Rivers Press, 1997).

Martin Luther, "Treatise on Good Works," in W.A. Lambert, trans., James Atkinson, ed. Luther's Works, Vol 44 (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1966), 15-114.

Paul Marshall, A Kind of Life Imposed on Man: Vocation and Social Order from Tyndale to Locke (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1996).

___________, Thine Is the Kingdom (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1986).

Paul Marshall and Lela Gilbert, Heaven is Not my Home: Learning to Live in God’s Creation (Nashville: Word Publishing, 1998).

David W. Miller, “The Faith at Work Movement: Its Growth, Dynamics and Future” PhD Thesis, Princeton University, 2003.

Laura Nash, Believers in Business: Resolving the Tensions between Christian Faith, Business Ethics and our Definitions of Success (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995).

Richard John Neuhaus, Doing Well and Doing Good: The Challenge of the Christian Capitalist (New York: Doubleday, 1992).

Lesslie Newbigin, Foolishness to the Greeks: The Gospel and Western Culture (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1986).

______________, The Gospel in a Pluralistic Society (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1989). 

______________, Unfinished Agenda: An Updated Autobiography (St. Andrews, 1993).

______________, Honest Religion for Secular Man (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1966).

Bruce Nicholls, Contextualization: A Theology of Gospel and  Culture  (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1979).

Michael Novak, The Catholic Ethic and the Spirit of Catholicism (New York: The Free Press, 1993).

____________, The Fire of Invention: Civil Society and the Future of the Corporation (Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 1997).

____________, “Human Dignity, Personal Liberty: Themes from Abraham Kuyper and Leo XIII, in Journal of Markets & Morality, Vol 5, no 1 (Spring 2002): 59-134.

Thomas Oden, Two Worlds: Notes on the Death of Modernity in America and Russia (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1992).

E. H. Oliver. The Social Achievements of the Christian Church (United Church of Canada, 1930, reprinted Regent Publishing, 2004).

William Perkins, “A Treatise of the Vocations or Callings of Men” in The Work of William Perkins, ed. and intro. By Ian Breward (Appleford, UK: Courtenay Press, 1970).

Gordon Preece, “Business as a Calling and Profession: Towards a Protestant Entrepreneurial Ethic” (unpublished manuscript delivered at the International Marketplace Theology Consultation, Sydney, June 2001).

Scott Rae and Kenman Wong, Beyond Integrity: A judeo-Christian Approach to Business Ethics (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996).

D. G. Reid, “Principalities and Powers,” in Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, ed. F.F. Hawthorne, R. Martin and D.G. Reid (Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1993).

John Renesch, ed. New Traditions in Business: Spirit and Leadership in the 21st Century (San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 1992).

Leland Ryken, Redeeming the Time: A Christian Approach to Work and Leisure (Grand Rapids; Baker, 1995).

Vinay Samuel, “Evangelical Response to Globalisation: An Asian Perspective,” Transformation (January 1999).

Edgar H Schein, Organizational Culture and Leadership: A Dynamic View (San Fancisco: Jossey-Bass, 1991).

H. Schleir, Principalities and Powers in the New Testament (New York: Herder & Herder, 1964).

Alexander Schmemann, For the Life of the World (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1988).

Peter M. Senge, The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of The Learning Organization (New York: Doubleday, 1990).

Ed Silvoso, Anointed for Business: How Christians Can Use Their Influence in the Marketplace to Change the World (Ventura, CA: Regal Press, 2002).

Erwin O. Smigel, ed. Work and Leisure: A Contemporary Social Problem (New Haven, Conn.: College and University Press, 1963).

Richard Steele, The Religious Tradesman (Trenton NJ: Francis S. Wiggins, 1823).

R. Paul Stevens, “The Spiritual & Religious Sources of Entrepreneurship: From Max Weber to the New Business Spirituality, Crux, Vol XXXVI, No 2 (June 2000), 22-33; reprinted in Stimulus: The New Zealand Journal of Christian Thought and Practice, Vol 9, Issues 1 (Feb 2001):2-11.

_____________, “The Marketplace: Mission Field or Mission?” Crux, Vol XXXVII, No 3 (September 2001): 7-16.

_____________, “Vocational Conversion: An Imaginary Puritan-Baby Boomer Dialogue” Crux, XXXVII (December 2001), No 4, 2-8.

_____________, The Other Six Days: Vocation, Work and Ministry in Biblical  Perspective (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans and Vancouver: Regent Publishing, 1999).

_____________, “Wealth,” in Robert Banks and R. Paul Stevens, The Complete Book of Everyday Christianity (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1997): 1102-1106.

_____________, Seven Days of Faith (Colorado Springs: Navpress, 2001), 49-50.

_____________, The Equippers’ Guider to Every Member Ministry (Vancouver: Regent College Publishing, 2000).

_____________, Down-to-Earth Spirituality: Encountering God in the Ordinary, Boring Stuff of Life (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2003).

William M. Sullivan, Work and Integrity: The Crisis and Promise of Professionalism in America (New York: Harper, 1995).

The Task Force on Issues of Vocation and Problems of Work in the United States Presbyterian Church (USA), Challenges in the Workplace (Louisville: Presbyterian Church [USA], 1990).

Ernst Troeltsch, The Social Teachings of the Christian Churches, trans. Olive Wyon (Louseville: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1992).

John E. Tropman & Gersh Morningstar, Entrepreneurial Systems for the 1990s: Their Creation, Structure and Management (New York: Quorum Books, 1989).

Elton Trueblood, Your Other Vocation (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1952).

William Tyndale, “A Parable of the Wicked Mammon,” in Treatises and Portions of Holy Scripture (1527; reprint, Cambridge: Parker Society, 1848), 98, 104.

Robert A. Wauzzinski, Between God and Gold: Protestant Evangelicalism and the Industrial Revolution 1820-1914 (Rutherford: Furleigh Dickinson University Press, 1993).

Max Weber, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, trans. Talcott Parsons (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1958).

John Wesley, “The Use of Money,” in Max L. Stackhouse, Dennis McCann, and Shirley Roels, eds. On Moral Business: Classical and Contemporary Resources for Ethics in Economic Life (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995), 197.

Lynn White Jr., "The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis," Science 155, no 3767 (March 10, 1967): 1203-1207.

Loren Wilkinson, "One Earth, One World, One Church," Crux (March 1992), Vol XXVIII, No 1:28-36.

Paul S. Williams, “Hermeneutics for Economists: The Relevance of the Bible to Economics,” (MCS Thesis, Regent College, Vancouver, 1995).

W. Wink, Naming the Powers: The Language of Power in the New Testament (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1984).

Siew Li Wong, “A Defence of the Intrinsic Value of ‘Secular Work’ in Tentmaking Ministry in the Light of the Theology Doctrines of Creation, Redemption and Eschatology” (MCS Thesis, Regent College, Vancouver, April 2000).

Walter Wright Jr., Relational Leadership: A Biblical Model for Relationship and Service (Carlisle, Cumbria, UK: Paternoster Press, 2000).

Christopher J. H. Wright, Living as the People of God: The Relevance of Old Testament Ethics (Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1998).

Stefan Cardinal Wyszynski, All You Who Labor: Work and the Sanctification of Daily Life (Manchester, NH: Sophia Press, 1995).

(In part inspired by Peter Hammond’s annotated bibliography on ministry in the marketplace)

BARTH, KARL. PROFESSOR . Church Dogmatics, paragraph 71, The doctrine of Creation. Ed. G. W. Bromiley & T. F. Torrance. T & T Clark, 1961.

Barth’s theology of vocation is integrated with the fundamental themes of the Trinity, theology and Scripture. In his section on reconciliation, (“The key to my theology, he subsequently wrote.”) he rejects any view that elevates human culture, warning that we should neither over-spiritualize nor elevate work to the level of worship. He vigorously disputes the way human dominion over creation has been used to provide a rationale for capitalism, the development of technology and the work ethic. Barth offers five criteria for defining proper work: (1) objectivity: setting ends and devoting one’s self to them, (2) worth: is it honest, constructive work? (3) humanity: the social and cooperative dimension of work, (4) reflectivity: the person must be the active subject and not just passive object of work, and there must be room for reflection, and (5) limitation: work must not become an absolute; rest is also commanded. Barth broadens the concept of vocation to go beyond the job and to include the work of caring for children, the sick, the elderly, the unemployed, and the work of mothers and housewives. Mission and witness are key themes in this paragraph of Barth’s notion of vocation.

CONGAR, YVES. THEOLOGIAN . Lay People in the Church. Christian Classics, 1985, 498 pages.

This work is the one of the earliest and most extensive theologies of vocation.  Congar looks at Jesus as prophet, priest and king as a source of thinking on the roles of the laity in society. First published in 1953, this Christian classic helped lay the groundwork for reassessments of Catholic laity at Vatican II, where Congar was an expert witness and counsel. Exhaustive in its coverage, several reprints attest to its indispensability as the rallying cry of the Catholic lay movement. The lay movement needs more work like this if it is going to avoid being just another church fad.

ELLUL, JACQUES. PROFESSOR. The Presence of the Kingdom. Seabury, 1967, 153 pages.

In this early work Ellul considers the problem of how to live as a Christian in the world—that is, in the domain of the Satan. He is concerned for the layperson who, though salt and light, is a sheep in the midst of wolves.

HOLMES, ARTHUR F. PROFESSOR . All Truth is God’s Truth, Eerdmans, 1979, 240 pages.

This foundation piece on how to integrate faith and life is rooted in the Christian tradition. “The early church claimed that truth is God’s truth wherever it is found. The focus here is on truth. But the ultimate focus of truth is God. If he is eternal and all-wise creator of all things, as Christians affirm, then his creative wisdom is the source of … all truth about everything….“The Scriptures and the church fathers clearly placed the focus on truth, they perceived its universality and they recognized the ultimate unity of all truth in God. They believed passionately that all truth is God’s truth no matter where it be found. But as Holmes states, “Yet today the Christian faith is too often seen as a private affair of the heart without reference to the larger scope of human knowledge and cultural affairs.” This books presents a clarion call to recapture the notion that, yes, all truth is God’s truth.

HOUSTON, JAMES M. PROFESSOR . I Believe in the Creator. Eerdmans, 1980, 275 pages.

Houston reminds us that how we integrate our Christian faith with life in the world is based on what we believe about God as Creator and about his creation. With great erudition he challenges popular worldviews with a radical Christian faith in God the Creator. He then draws out the implications of this faith for how we look at and live in the world.

PALMER, PARKER. EDUCATOR . The Courage to Teach. Jossey-Bass, 2009, 224 pages.

“This book is for teachers who have had good days and bad – and whose bad days bring the suffering that comes from something one loves. It is for teachers who refuse to harden their hearts, because they love learners, learning and the teaching life”, says Parker Palmer in the Introduction to this, one of the finest pieces that integrates the vocation of teaching with spiritual life.

STACKHOUSE, JOHN PROFESSOR .  Need to Know: Vocation as the Heart of Christian Epistolomogy (New York: Oxford University Press, 2014)

How should a Christian think? This book is a bold articulation of Christian epistemology rooted in vocation. “All (legitimate) work is blessed by God and vocation….is the divine calling to be a Christian in every mode of life, whether public as well as private, religious as well as secular, adult as well as juvenile, corporate as well as individual, female as well as male. And thus to be a Christian in every mode of life is to show something of what it means to be redeemed and renewed human being as well.” The book is a crystal clear model of responsible Christian thinking and living for today.

Coupled with Stackhouse’s lecture, Engaging the University: The Vocation of Campus Ministry, (available on his blog), these are two fine pieces to embrace the subject of authentic engagement with the university.