Reviews
Searching for the sweet spot Work Matters: Connecting Sunday Worship to Monday Work. By Tom Nelson (Crossway, 2011, 221 pp. $15.99 U.S. $17.99 Cdn.)
That work, even if “ordinary,” is thick with purpose, says Nelson. It has intrinsic, not merely instrumental value. It is “not about economic exchange, financial remuneration, or a pathway to the American Dream, but about God-honoring human creativity and contribution.... our specific human contribution to God’s ongoing creation and to the common good.” Part of that ongoing contribution is to serve others by providing the goods and services they need — by helping sustain the world as God’s
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ucky are those who attend Tom Nelson’s congregation in Leawood, Kansas. Lucky because their senior pastor has an invigorating sense of what their daily work means to God. If your view of work needs a theological makeover, this book is for you. In Nelson’s hands, the daily job is not just a means to earn a paycheck, it’s a way to fulfill your spiritual destiny. Like many recent books of this type, Nelson roots daily work in God’s design for humanity, visible in the depiction of “God the worker” on page one of the Bible. The grand story of redemption includes our daily toil, and culminates in God’s eventual restoration of all things. We are created to work, Nelson says, and we are image‑bearers of “One of the primary God in both the work we do and how we do it. Work ways we tangibly is not something that exists aside from our love our neighbor faith but something that both expresses is to do excellent, and extends our faith. This doesn’t mean God-honoring we use our jobs as a pulpit but that we work in our various conduct ourselves in a way that brings honor to God. vocations.” Clearly, this lofty vision that vocational theology is part of an integrated Christian faith has been lost in a world where some people merely endure their work as drudgery and others worship it as an idol. Nelson tries to show a better way. He shows a biblical perspective that helps us make the most of our vocations and be a partner with God’s work. Like a good pastor, he speaks to the hearts in the pews, the same folks who will go back to the trenches the next day. He tries to answer the question, “what difference will it make?” By the time he is done, many readers may be eager to drop the book and hurry back to jobs that have been newly imbued with divine meaning. The Marketplace July August 2012
“yoked apprentice.” “One of the primary ways we tangibly love our neighbors is to do excellent, God-honoring work in our various vocations.... Your vocational work is your specific and invaluable contribution to God’s ongoing creation and an essential aspect of God’s Great Commandment to love your neighbor as yourself.... God is transforming us in our work and transforming the world through our work.” Nelson encourages workers to keep searching for their vocational “sweet spot,” that place on the racquet or bat where the ball can be hit perfectly for maximum power. “Your vocational sweet spot is that place where your creativity is most unleashed, your passions most engaged, and your work makes the greatest contribution to advancing the mission of the organization or business you serve. Identifying your vocational sweet spot is an ongoing process, requiring growing self-awareness through a good conscience and the coaching of wise counselors in your life.” He offers practical tips on ethics, temptation and burnout. “An exercise that I have found helpful is to regularly make a to-do list as well as a stop-doing list. Sometimes in my workplace I find myself doing things I really do not need to do — things that are not leveraging my workplace calling and contribution to the mission of the organization I serve.” 18
