Archives: Books

Title: God at Work: Your Christian Vocation in All of Life
Published by: Crossway
Release Date: (Redesigned Edition August 2, 2011)
Pages: 176
ISBN13: 978-1433524479

Work can be a daily grind―a hard, monotonous set of thankless tasks. In the midst of the ongoing toil, many are plagued by a lack of purpose, confused as to what to do and who to become. And while some of our vocations may seem more overtly meaningful than others’, the truth is that most of us work because we have to. It is a means to an end―survival.

Given the enormous amount of time each of us spends working, we would do well to understand our callings and how God works through them.

Here culture expert Gene Veith gives us more than a simple understanding of work―more than a catchy slogan to “do all things for the glory of God.” He outlines a spiritual framework for answering questions such as:

• What does it mean to be a Christian businessperson or a Christian artist or a Christian lawyer, scientist, construction worker or whatever? 
• How can I know what I am supposed to do with my life? 
• What does it mean to raise a Christian family? And what if I don’t have kids? 

Unpacking the Bible’s teaching on work, Veith helps us to see the meaning in our vocations, the force behind our ethics, and the transformative presence of God in our everyday, ordinary lives.

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Title: Family Vocation: God's Calling in Marriage, Parenting, and Childhood
Published by: Crossway
Release Date: February 29, 2012
Contributors: Gene Veith, Mary J Moerbe
Pages: 256
ISBN13: 978-1433524066
ASIN: 1433524066

What does it mean to be called as a husband, a wife, a parent, a child?

How does the grace of the gospel impact how we carry out these particular callings?

How does God’s presence address the struggles that our own family faces?

Gene Veith joins forces with his daughter Mary Moerbe to explore these kinds of questions in light of Christian vocation and its applications for family life. They show how the Christian faith is lived out precisely in our ordinary relationships, and how a biblical understanding can equip us to move away from common confusions and dysfunctions to persevere in love.

Written with sensitivity and wisdom, Family Vocation addresses the perennial problems and joys of family life and provides a compelling paradigm for creating loving families in the face of cultural pressure.

Title: Working for Our Neighbor: A Lutheran Primer on Vocation, Economics, and Ordinary Life
Published by: Christian's Library Press
Release Date: March 5, 2016
Pages: 140
ISBN13: 978-1942503293

The Protestant Reformation was a catalyst for social mobility, universal education, and the rise of modern market economies. In his classic study The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, Max Weber showed the connections between Protestantism and the new economics.

Weber, however, focused on the Calvinists and Puritans and speculated that economic success became a way of proving one’s election. He thus posited, with little evidence, a spiritual self-interest that was parallel to economic self-interest, distorting both Protestantism and capitalism. Weber neglected the specifically Lutheran doctrine of vocation, which emphasizes the spiritual and moral value of economic activity.

According to Luther, God himself is hidden in vocation, as he providentially works through ordinary human beings to care for his creation. In their work—not only in the economy, but also in family, church, and community—Christians live out their faith in love and service to their neighbors. For Lutherans, the doctrine of vocation is nothing less than the theology of the Christian life. In its social impact, vocation gave a theological basis for the division of labor, social equality, and individual freedom.

In this elucidating work, Gene Edward Veith connects vocation to justification, good works, and Christian freedom—defining how the Lutheran contribution to economics can transfigure ordinary life, and work, with the powerful presence of God.