Life@Work: Marketplace Success for People of Faith (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Stephen R. Graves (Author), Thomas G. Addington (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Beginning with Charlie, a hard-charging businessman and recent Christian convert who feels himself torn between "Charlie Love" and "Charlie Money," the authors lament that the church, looking on the secular workplace with distance if not suspicion, has little to offer the Charlies in its midst. The authors—Graves and Addington are producers of Life@Work Journal and Maxwell is the foremost leadership guru among evangelicals—deploy a wealth of quotations and illustrations, loosely organized around themes of skill, calling, service and character. Although the book seeks to inspire Charlie and those like him to "reforge" their work and faith selves into a double-edged sword, it runs long on cheerleading but short on insight or practical guidance. Discussing the important and difficult subject of calling, the authors assert without apparent irony, "Like a giant job-match service in the sky, Jesus pairs His children up with His kingdom tasks." Among the book's frequent references to Jesus, his teaching is rarely discussed; most curiously, his comment about the incompatibility of serving God and Mammon is never mentioned. Although team authorship can produce excellent business books, the approach stumbles here as uneven quality and multiple authorial "I" 's give the text a cut-and-paste feel. (Aug. 18)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Product Description

People of faith need to be comfortable and intentional in two worlds-the world of the kingdom and the world of the commercial-blending and balancing their roles in each. Authors John C. Maxwell, Stephen Graves, and Thomas Addington identify the basic tools followers of Jesus should always have in their work toolbox: Calling, Serving, Character, and Skill.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (August 16, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785211705
• ISBN-13: 978-0785211709
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #877,212 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Disregard Publisher's review, May 15, 2006

By	Rodger (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Life@Work : Marketplace Success for People of Faith (Hardcover)

Thank God I did not focus on the review from Publishers Weekly, otherwise I would have missed a great book. This book is about work and not about the sayings of Jesus. The book takes you back to the stories from the Old Testament showing how work life should and should not be. Maxwell often does not give the entire story, but just enough about the biblical situation to apply it to your work life. He explains how your God-given "skill" can be enhanced by God, to have more than a career (rat race). He shows that even your work life can be pleasing to God. Maxwell explains "As Christians, we know our work has purpose because we are serving a God whose purpose is bigger than us...Our work and life are part of His bigger plan (which) supplies an inner joy and satisfaction that can come from nothing else."

Maxwell explains why we work and to listen to God about your profession. Listening to God has to be experienced and is not something that can be described practically as Publisher's Weekly wants.

This should be required reading for any Christian seeking a job or dissatisfied with their job and any Christian in college. This book should be called the Purpose Driven Working Life.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Challenges you to look at your job as your calling from God..., June 2, 2007

By	Thomas Duff "Duffbert" (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

John Maxwell has written a number of outstanding books on leadership and personal improvement. In Life@Work: Marketplace Success for People of Faith (with co-authors Stephen R. Graves and Thomas G. Addington), he tackles the question of where the matter of your personal faith fits in to what you do at work. It's a book that should make every Christian think hard about their personal "calling"...

Contents:
Reforging Our Fragmented Life@Work; Working in Paradise
Section 1 - Skill@Work: Skill Is Important to God; God Is Important to Skill; Discovering Your Greatness
Section 2 - Calling@Work: Called by Whom, and for What?; Called By Name; Called by Desire; Called by a Path; Which Calling Plan Am I On?
Section 3 - Serving@Work: Serving Nine to Five; It's Not About Me; Everyday Samaritan
Section 4 - Character@Work: The Art of Etching Character; No Overnight Delivery on Character; Constructing a Moral Warehouse
Conclusion - The Church@Work
Notes; About the Authors

For far too long, the matters of your work life and personal calling have been treated as separate and distinct entities. Unless you're a pastor or monk, the issue of serving God with your gifts in the workplace isn't something that gets the attention it should. The authors examine a number of Scripture passages in light of serving in the secular workplace. The conclusion is that you can indeed be called to serve in your daily job without being secluded in a monastery away from society. The book will challenge you to exercise your skills to the highest level possible...

4.0 out of 5 stars Life @ Work, September 30, 2007

By	Marc L. Ward "bsksu89" (Wichita, Kansas USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Life@Work : Marketplace Success for People of Faith (Hardcover)

I have enjoyed this book as a bible study with three other guys. The book has some great examples but sometimes Maxwell repeats himself throughout the book. As a bible study this lesson can get long!