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God at Work: Your Christian Vocation in All of Life
When you understand it properly, the doctrine of vocation—"doing everything for God's glory"—is not a platitude or an outdated notion. This principle that we vaguely apply to our lives and our work is actually the key to Christian ethics, to influencing our culture for Christ, and to infusing our ordinary, everyday lives with the presence of God. For when we realize that the "mundane" activities that consume most of our time are "God's hiding places," our perspective changes.
Culture expert Gene Veith unpacks the biblical, Reformation teaching about the doctrine of vocation, emphasizing not what we should specifically do with our time or what careers we are called to, but what God does in and through our callings—even within the home. In each task He has given us—in our workplaces and families, our churches and society—God Himself is at work. Veith guides you to discover God's purpose and calling in those seemingly ordinary areas by providing you with a spiritual framework for thinking about such issues and for acting upon them with a changed perspective.
Culture expert Gene Veith unpacks the biblical, Reformation teaching about the doctrine of vocation, emphasizing not what we should specifically do with our time or what careers we are called to, but what God does in and through our callings—even within the home. In each task He has given us—in our workplaces and families, our churches and society—God Himself is at work. Veith guides you to discover God's purpose and calling in those seemingly ordinary areas by providing you with a spiritual framework for thinking about such issues and for acting upon them with a changed perspective.
176 pages, Paperback
First published March 22, 2002
About the author
Gene Edward Veith Jr.
46 books171 followersGene Edward Veith Jr., is the Culture Editor of WORLD MAGAZINE. He was formerly Professor of English at Concordia University Wisconsin, where he has also served as Dean of the School of Arts & Sciences. He is the author of numerous books, including Postmodern Times: A Christian Guide to Contemporary Thought and Culture, The Spirituality of the Cross: The Way of the First Evangelicals, and God at Work: Your Christian Vocation in All of Life.
Postmodern Times received a Christianity Today Book Award as one of the top 25 religious books of 1994. He was named Concordia's Adult Learning Teacher of the Year in 1993 and received the Faculty Laureate Award as outstanding faculty member in 1994. He was a Salvatori Fellow with the Heritage Foundation in 1994-1995 and is a Senior Fellow with the Capital Research Center. He was given the layman’s 2002 Robert D. Preus Award by the Association of Confessional Lutherans as “Confessional Lutheran of the Year.”
Dr. Veith was born in Oklahoma in 1951. He graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1973 and received a Ph.D. in English from the University of Kansas in 1979. He has taught at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College and was a Visiting Professor at Wheaton College in Illinois. He was also a Visiting Lecturer at the Estonian Institute of Humanities in Tallinn, Estonia. He and his wife Jackquelyn have three grown children and live in Cedarburg, Wisconsin.
Postmodern Times received a Christianity Today Book Award as one of the top 25 religious books of 1994. He was named Concordia's Adult Learning Teacher of the Year in 1993 and received the Faculty Laureate Award as outstanding faculty member in 1994. He was a Salvatori Fellow with the Heritage Foundation in 1994-1995 and is a Senior Fellow with the Capital Research Center. He was given the layman’s 2002 Robert D. Preus Award by the Association of Confessional Lutherans as “Confessional Lutheran of the Year.”
Dr. Veith was born in Oklahoma in 1951. He graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1973 and received a Ph.D. in English from the University of Kansas in 1979. He has taught at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College and was a Visiting Professor at Wheaton College in Illinois. He was also a Visiting Lecturer at the Estonian Institute of Humanities in Tallinn, Estonia. He and his wife Jackquelyn have three grown children and live in Cedarburg, Wisconsin.
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September 16, 2017
I took some notes on calling/vocation and found them so helpful for me at this juncture in my life. I imagine they'd be helpful for others too, so I'm sharing them here.
1. Your calling(s) are for the sake of others.
2. Your job does not necessarily equal calling. You can be unemployed and still have a calling.
3. We can have multiple callings, even within one vocation (e.g., family as grandmother, mother, wife, etc.).
4. Callings change.
5. Callings are unique.
6. Callings can be confirmed and consist of particular gifts God has given us.
7. Our calling comes from outside ourselves. "Vocation comes from the outside, having to do with opportunities and circumstances, doors opening and slamming in our face. God works through means, he often extends his call through other people, by means of their vocations.
8. We do not choose our callings. By definition we are *called* to them.
9. Our calling is already here. "[S]trictly speaking, we do not find our vocation, as if it is something unknown, awaiting us in the future. Rather, our vocation is already here, where we are and what we are doing right now. . . . [O]ur Christian calling is to be played out in whatever our daily life consists of."
10. "Good works, for the most part, are done in vocation. Sin, too, takes place in vocation, in the myriad ways we violate our callings. . . . One way to look at sin is as a violation of one's calling."
11. God is at work within and through our vocations. We can rest from our work, knowing God is able to work.
1. Your calling(s) are for the sake of others.
2. Your job does not necessarily equal calling. You can be unemployed and still have a calling.
3. We can have multiple callings, even within one vocation (e.g., family as grandmother, mother, wife, etc.).
4. Callings change.
5. Callings are unique.
6. Callings can be confirmed and consist of particular gifts God has given us.
7. Our calling comes from outside ourselves. "Vocation comes from the outside, having to do with opportunities and circumstances, doors opening and slamming in our face. God works through means, he often extends his call through other people, by means of their vocations.
8. We do not choose our callings. By definition we are *called* to them.
9. Our calling is already here. "[S]trictly speaking, we do not find our vocation, as if it is something unknown, awaiting us in the future. Rather, our vocation is already here, where we are and what we are doing right now. . . . [O]ur Christian calling is to be played out in whatever our daily life consists of."
10. "Good works, for the most part, are done in vocation. Sin, too, takes place in vocation, in the myriad ways we violate our callings. . . . One way to look at sin is as a violation of one's calling."
11. God is at work within and through our vocations. We can rest from our work, knowing God is able to work.
September 14, 2013
This book stands opposed to the frenetic books "Not a Fan: Becoming a Completely Committed Follower of Jesus" by Kyle Idleman and "Follow Me" by David Platt. In those books you are left with the impression that unless you are preaching the gospel in some faraway land where your life is in constant danger because you are a disciple of Christ you are really not living a life sold out for Christ.
In Veith's book he brings a much needed voice of reason, much like Matt Redmond does in his book "The God Of The Mundane: Reflections on Ordinary Life for Ordinary People." Veith admittedly draws much from Gustaf Wingren's book "Luther on Vocation." He points out that the Reformers established the fact that we serve God best and love our neighbor best when we realize each of us is called to our occupation by God. It is there we can effectively serve Him and our neighbor. Not only does the book deal with vocation, but also with marriage, prayer, the church and even the 4th Commandment (The Sabbath Day.)
Although short, this book deals effectively with the subject and I would urge anyone who is depressed because of what they perceive to be a life of doing little that counts for God to read it. You will come away with a new attitude and a heart grateful to God.
In Veith's book he brings a much needed voice of reason, much like Matt Redmond does in his book "The God Of The Mundane: Reflections on Ordinary Life for Ordinary People." Veith admittedly draws much from Gustaf Wingren's book "Luther on Vocation." He points out that the Reformers established the fact that we serve God best and love our neighbor best when we realize each of us is called to our occupation by God. It is there we can effectively serve Him and our neighbor. Not only does the book deal with vocation, but also with marriage, prayer, the church and even the 4th Commandment (The Sabbath Day.)
Although short, this book deals effectively with the subject and I would urge anyone who is depressed because of what they perceive to be a life of doing little that counts for God to read it. You will come away with a new attitude and a heart grateful to God.
January 14, 2009
Very fine.
January 15, 2018
Wonderful!
January 12, 2023
Summary: A theology of vocation, rooted in the thought of Martin Luther, and covering God’s call over all of our lives.
It seems there are two extremes in the discussion. On one hand there is the notion of vocation as a religious calling that was the dominant idea prior to the Reformation, and there is the modern idea, which equates vocation with job–vocational training is job training. Gene Edward Veith, Jr. digs into the Reformers ideas of vocation, particularly those of Martin Luther, drawing extensively on Luther theologian Gustav Wingren’s Luther on Vocation. I found the book laden with insights giving meaning not only to our work but to all of life because Veith would insist that God’s calling extends to ever dimension of life, all the roles we fill as believer, congregant, spouse, parent, child, citizen, employee or employer.
One of the first was a subtle challenge to Weber’s Protestant work ethic. Veith proposes that the Reformed doctrine of vocation and its emphasis on encouraging the full expression of the individual’s unique gifts means we work not to prove our election but rather because we are elect, with a deep sense of the satisfaction and fulfillment that may come out of our work. Vocation is a place where we experience the love of God and act out of love and service in grateful response. He especially speaks of this in role relationships that the culture views as all about power. For the Christian, our vocation is lived out in prayer, in love, and service.
One of the basic grounds of vocation is that God sovereignly has chosen to work through human beings. He speaks to us, feeds us, heals us, and protects us through human beings faithfully living their vocations. When we speak of vocation, we speak of God’s “calling.” This is not singular. We have a number of callings. First of all, God calls us to himself through Christ. We all have callings to display God’s grace and mercy. We are called into families, into churches, into employment, into citizenship. Some have the calling for a period of being students. A significant aspect of calling, Veith insists, using the example of safety personnel who rushed into the Twin Towers on 9/11, consist simply in doing one’s job well. He devotes chapters to work, family, church, and society. In some of these he allows that one’s vocation as a peace officer or soldier, or judge or executioner, allows one to take lives lawfully that one could not do in one’s personal life. In others, like that of spouse, we violate our vocation if we join ourselves to any other than the person with whom we are covenanted in marriage, sinning against our vocation in the process. For pastors, he has challenging things to say about what does and does not fulfill pastoral calling, and how those with the ministry of the word, prayer, and spiritual care forfeit these to “run” the church.
He recurs to these ideas in the ethics of vocation. In many dimensions of life, sin is acting contrary to one’s calling. Often this means understanding our various callings–church work ought not draw us away from fulfilling our employment obligations and responsibilities well. In some seasons parenting takes precedence over some of the spiritual disciplines we might give ourselves to in other seasons. He speaks of the trials we face in our vocations and the practice of prayer and faith as we lean into these.
The concluding chapter focuses on resting in our vocations, accepting what we are rather than longing for what we are not, realizing we can please God in every good endeavor. And we look forward to our ultimate rest.
This book offers a whole of life perspective to calling, that recognizes that the same One calls in all of life. God is not just in church. He’s in the home, the kitchen, the bedroom, the shop floor, the laboratory, the crop-filled field, the city council chamber and the courtroom. God is at work through people in all of these places whether they recognize their calling or not. But for the Christian there is the great joy of knowing that as we “do our jobs” in each of these areas, often in ways little different from others, we know that we work alongside God. This is a wonderful book for enlarging our perspective on the significance of our lives. We are called.
It seems there are two extremes in the discussion. On one hand there is the notion of vocation as a religious calling that was the dominant idea prior to the Reformation, and there is the modern idea, which equates vocation with job–vocational training is job training. Gene Edward Veith, Jr. digs into the Reformers ideas of vocation, particularly those of Martin Luther, drawing extensively on Luther theologian Gustav Wingren’s Luther on Vocation. I found the book laden with insights giving meaning not only to our work but to all of life because Veith would insist that God’s calling extends to ever dimension of life, all the roles we fill as believer, congregant, spouse, parent, child, citizen, employee or employer.
One of the first was a subtle challenge to Weber’s Protestant work ethic. Veith proposes that the Reformed doctrine of vocation and its emphasis on encouraging the full expression of the individual’s unique gifts means we work not to prove our election but rather because we are elect, with a deep sense of the satisfaction and fulfillment that may come out of our work. Vocation is a place where we experience the love of God and act out of love and service in grateful response. He especially speaks of this in role relationships that the culture views as all about power. For the Christian, our vocation is lived out in prayer, in love, and service.
One of the basic grounds of vocation is that God sovereignly has chosen to work through human beings. He speaks to us, feeds us, heals us, and protects us through human beings faithfully living their vocations. When we speak of vocation, we speak of God’s “calling.” This is not singular. We have a number of callings. First of all, God calls us to himself through Christ. We all have callings to display God’s grace and mercy. We are called into families, into churches, into employment, into citizenship. Some have the calling for a period of being students. A significant aspect of calling, Veith insists, using the example of safety personnel who rushed into the Twin Towers on 9/11, consist simply in doing one’s job well. He devotes chapters to work, family, church, and society. In some of these he allows that one’s vocation as a peace officer or soldier, or judge or executioner, allows one to take lives lawfully that one could not do in one’s personal life. In others, like that of spouse, we violate our vocation if we join ourselves to any other than the person with whom we are covenanted in marriage, sinning against our vocation in the process. For pastors, he has challenging things to say about what does and does not fulfill pastoral calling, and how those with the ministry of the word, prayer, and spiritual care forfeit these to “run” the church.
He recurs to these ideas in the ethics of vocation. In many dimensions of life, sin is acting contrary to one’s calling. Often this means understanding our various callings–church work ought not draw us away from fulfilling our employment obligations and responsibilities well. In some seasons parenting takes precedence over some of the spiritual disciplines we might give ourselves to in other seasons. He speaks of the trials we face in our vocations and the practice of prayer and faith as we lean into these.
The concluding chapter focuses on resting in our vocations, accepting what we are rather than longing for what we are not, realizing we can please God in every good endeavor. And we look forward to our ultimate rest.
This book offers a whole of life perspective to calling, that recognizes that the same One calls in all of life. God is not just in church. He’s in the home, the kitchen, the bedroom, the shop floor, the laboratory, the crop-filled field, the city council chamber and the courtroom. God is at work through people in all of these places whether they recognize their calling or not. But for the Christian there is the great joy of knowing that as we “do our jobs” in each of these areas, often in ways little different from others, we know that we work alongside God. This is a wonderful book for enlarging our perspective on the significance of our lives. We are called.
October 8, 2021
So I’m trying to get over this terrible slump with theology books, the attitude of “ugh I already know all that crud I don’t want to read it” slump. The fact is, no I haven’t memorized all those supporting verses, Luther quotes, other theologian quotes. I’m better for having read them again.
I’m also making sure to take notes in a journal and summarizing important thoughts to aid in memorization and future teaching.
Vocation is such a fundamental part of Christianity that books like this seem passé to many Christian’s like myself. However, the problem is is that this book is so well written, organized, and honest. I actually found myself journaling about my current vocations and how I can better do them.
The book really shines in the final chapters when he talks about the theology of the cross. I never really made this link before through vocation…. Because I was too jaded to stop and think about it!
You, in your vocations, are serving others, not being served. This is so basic that Christian’s will roll their eyes. However, think about it. Your job will get weary, your marriage will get resentful, your book will never get written, if you are doing them for the purpose of you feeling good or becoming notable. When you do them purely to serve and address the true needs of others, your anxieties and fears and pompous anger begins to go away!
Daily daily daily deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Jesus through serving others and not yourself. That’s it! If you aren’t doing that, you’re a practical atheist, serving yourself, bound to grow weary!
Jesus gives meaning and dignity to suffering and difficulty. Your burdens become crosses, aka redeemable, when you push through and learn from them to fully rely on God to serve others.
Peace be with you all.
EDIT: the reason I docked one star is that all of a sudden in the family chapter, he ducks out of his consistency by making the Wife’s submission to her husband conditional on the husband being a good one. Does this mean a husband only needs to live his wife self sacrificially if she submits? Preposterous!
I’m also making sure to take notes in a journal and summarizing important thoughts to aid in memorization and future teaching.
Vocation is such a fundamental part of Christianity that books like this seem passé to many Christian’s like myself. However, the problem is is that this book is so well written, organized, and honest. I actually found myself journaling about my current vocations and how I can better do them.
The book really shines in the final chapters when he talks about the theology of the cross. I never really made this link before through vocation…. Because I was too jaded to stop and think about it!
You, in your vocations, are serving others, not being served. This is so basic that Christian’s will roll their eyes. However, think about it. Your job will get weary, your marriage will get resentful, your book will never get written, if you are doing them for the purpose of you feeling good or becoming notable. When you do them purely to serve and address the true needs of others, your anxieties and fears and pompous anger begins to go away!
Daily daily daily deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Jesus through serving others and not yourself. That’s it! If you aren’t doing that, you’re a practical atheist, serving yourself, bound to grow weary!
Jesus gives meaning and dignity to suffering and difficulty. Your burdens become crosses, aka redeemable, when you push through and learn from them to fully rely on God to serve others.
Peace be with you all.
EDIT: the reason I docked one star is that all of a sudden in the family chapter, he ducks out of his consistency by making the Wife’s submission to her husband conditional on the husband being a good one. Does this mean a husband only needs to live his wife self sacrificially if she submits? Preposterous!
July 27, 2022
I’m torn on this book. There is a lot of helpful info about vocation and the practical application.
But then we get to the logical inconsistency: in the chapter about vocation of a citizen, he makes the case that we shouldn’t have to obey a government leader that is causing us to disobey God’s law (which I fully agree with). But he goes on to affirm that those in law enforcement or armed forces are justified by their vocation to kill. Huh?? Consciously ending the life of one who bears the image of God is against His law, so wouldn’t that mean we should invalidate that vocation?
But then we get to the logical inconsistency: in the chapter about vocation of a citizen, he makes the case that we shouldn’t have to obey a government leader that is causing us to disobey God’s law (which I fully agree with). But he goes on to affirm that those in law enforcement or armed forces are justified by their vocation to kill. Huh?? Consciously ending the life of one who bears the image of God is against His law, so wouldn’t that mean we should invalidate that vocation?
February 17, 2024
A decent introduction to vocational theology. Veith summarises the idea in a very accessible way. However, find the book slightly repetitive, as he revisits the same points throughout the book. I also miss proper citations to the Lutheran confessions.
While I found his occasional repetition unnecessary, some readers may appreciate it as a helpful for understanding the key ideas better. As a book on a subject not widely known by many Christians, this book is a valuable resource. It's very much worth reading for anyone seeking to understand the connection between faith and vocation/calling more deeply.
While I found his occasional repetition unnecessary, some readers may appreciate it as a helpful for understanding the key ideas better. As a book on a subject not widely known by many Christians, this book is a valuable resource. It's very much worth reading for anyone seeking to understand the connection between faith and vocation/calling more deeply.
September 13, 2020
Content was excellent! Very good perspective on life and work. Only rated four stars because the writing style wasn’t my favorite, hope that’s ok :)
March 20, 2012
We Lutherans, I think we are often a bit ignorant of Luther’s work on the Doctrine of Vocation. I know I was! In this book, Veith presents an engaging overview for 21st Century audiences (though he bases his book on the older work by Gustaf Wingren: Luther on Vocation). I think this is an excellent read for all Christians.
Luther argued that locking yourself away to serve God was not some higher calling. From the beginning, God has called us to be Husbands and Wives as well as Parents and Children – so these are important callings. He has given us different talents. I have skills with Mathematics and Computers but am hopeless at Carpentry, Plumbing, Auto-repair and the like. By giving us different talents, we are reliant on one another. In fact, our different talents make it easier to be able to “Love your Neighbour” – and this is how we best serve God.
When we pray the Lord’s Prayer and ask “Give us our daily bread”, Luther points out that God answers this prayer through the vocations of the Farmer who grows the grain, and the Baker who makes the Bread – and we could add the Driver who delivers the bread, and all those in the Retail side of things that sell the bread. Hence all these people, even if they are not Christians, are having their vocations used by God to answer prayer. In similar fashion, God heals through the vocations of Doctor, Nurse, Dentist, Pharmacist, etc – and whilst we fully acknowledge God’s power to do great miracles – we tend to overlook His power to work through our vocations.
Early in the book, Veith looks at both “what is a vocation?” and “finding your vocation?” – however this is no cheesy “self-help book”. He sees (and argues that Luther sees) vocation as our calling from God. He then moves on to chapters covering our calling as a Worker; as a Family Member; as a Citizen; and as a Church Member. He concludes by an examination of “bearing the cross” in vocation and an excellent chapter on the Ethics of Vocation (eg God does not call you to be a Thief nor run Ponzi Schemes). The Epilogue is on “Resting in Vocation” – which is a great place to finish.
So often we get depressed that we don’t have the gifts that allow us to be the charismatic evangelist spreading God’s Word. Rather we should rejoice in the fact that God has called you to be a Husband; a Wife; a Father; a Mother; a Child; a Brother; a Sister; a Footballer; a Netballer; a Student; a Church Member; an Employee; a Boss; a Voter; a Tax Payer; etc… God is working through you in these various “hats” that we wear and since we all have many vocations, this book is worth the read to gain some much needed perspective.
Luther argued that locking yourself away to serve God was not some higher calling. From the beginning, God has called us to be Husbands and Wives as well as Parents and Children – so these are important callings. He has given us different talents. I have skills with Mathematics and Computers but am hopeless at Carpentry, Plumbing, Auto-repair and the like. By giving us different talents, we are reliant on one another. In fact, our different talents make it easier to be able to “Love your Neighbour” – and this is how we best serve God.
When we pray the Lord’s Prayer and ask “Give us our daily bread”, Luther points out that God answers this prayer through the vocations of the Farmer who grows the grain, and the Baker who makes the Bread – and we could add the Driver who delivers the bread, and all those in the Retail side of things that sell the bread. Hence all these people, even if they are not Christians, are having their vocations used by God to answer prayer. In similar fashion, God heals through the vocations of Doctor, Nurse, Dentist, Pharmacist, etc – and whilst we fully acknowledge God’s power to do great miracles – we tend to overlook His power to work through our vocations.
Early in the book, Veith looks at both “what is a vocation?” and “finding your vocation?” – however this is no cheesy “self-help book”. He sees (and argues that Luther sees) vocation as our calling from God. He then moves on to chapters covering our calling as a Worker; as a Family Member; as a Citizen; and as a Church Member. He concludes by an examination of “bearing the cross” in vocation and an excellent chapter on the Ethics of Vocation (eg God does not call you to be a Thief nor run Ponzi Schemes). The Epilogue is on “Resting in Vocation” – which is a great place to finish.
So often we get depressed that we don’t have the gifts that allow us to be the charismatic evangelist spreading God’s Word. Rather we should rejoice in the fact that God has called you to be a Husband; a Wife; a Father; a Mother; a Child; a Brother; a Sister; a Footballer; a Netballer; a Student; a Church Member; an Employee; a Boss; a Voter; a Tax Payer; etc… God is working through you in these various “hats” that we wear and since we all have many vocations, this book is worth the read to gain some much needed perspective.
March 7, 2017
My interest in this book came with my transition into a new career and my desire to serve God through my work, but I quickly found that the scope goes far beyond professional life and, as the subtitle promised, it helped me gain a greater understanding of my Christian vocation in all of life. The doctrine of vocation was a cornerstone of the Reformation, but has been largely lost in our culture where the Sunday to Monday gap has grown and people tend to compartmentalize life into categories like work, family, religion, recreation, etc. The author relies heavily on Gustaf Wingren's Luther on Vocation, and centers his understanding of the doctrine of vocation around two important truths about God. First, that God works through means, and more specifically that by his sovereign grace he chooses to work through people, even those who don't know him, in their ordinary, every day callings as workers, family members, citizens, and churchgoers. God hides himself in the bakers who make our daily bread, the parents who discipline and disciple their children, the representatives who helps establish order in society, and the pastors who preach the Gospel into our gritty lives week after week. The second central truth is that faith serves God, but works serve our neighbor. The purpose for all the roles God calls us to in life is to love and serve our neighbors. When Christians, by faith, trust that God is working in them and through them, and through their neighbors for them, the "result is a divine division of labor in which everyone is constantly giving and receiving in a vast interchange, a unity of diverse people in a social order whose substance and energy is love" (p. 40). The last few chapters deal with the ethics of vocation, the thorns and thistles resulting from the curse that still cause us trials and temptations even when we are living as we are called, the central importance of prayer and faith in vocation, and the ability of a Christian to rest in vocation, since ultimately it is God at work after all. I found this book very accessible, a pleasure to read, and edifying in my efforts in whatever I do, to work at it with all my heart as though for the Lord (Col. 3:23).
January 28, 2019
Such a great exposition on vocational living. Methodical and detailed in how he explains it all, but not at all dry reading. In fact, I teared up several times at various things he said about God’s work in our lives and the lives of others through vocation.
October 19, 2020
2020: Read again and again it was good.
2014: Such a good -and easy to read book. It is the first time I actually read about the doctrine of vocation and I was stirred up to keep pursuing the good calling of God in my life.
Some good words:
"The doctrine of vocation encourages attention to each individual's uniqueness, talents, and personality. These are valued gifts of God, who creates and equips each person in a different way for the calling He has in mind for that person's life." (p.21)
"The purpose of vocation is to love and serve one's neighbor." (p.40)
"In our life in the world, in the interplay of vocations, we are always receiving and we are always giving. This is the dynamic of love." (p.42)
"Vocation comes from the outside, having to do with opportunities and circumstances, doors opening and slamming in our face. Since God works through means, He often extends His call through other people, by means of their vocations. Our calling comes from outside ourselves." (p.55)
"Christians need to realize that the present is the moment in which we are called to be faithful. We cannot do anything about the past. The future is wholly in God's hands. Now is what we have." (p.59)
"Good works, which are primarily done within vocation, are the fruits of faith." (p.65)
2014: Such a good -and easy to read book. It is the first time I actually read about the doctrine of vocation and I was stirred up to keep pursuing the good calling of God in my life.
Some good words:
"The doctrine of vocation encourages attention to each individual's uniqueness, talents, and personality. These are valued gifts of God, who creates and equips each person in a different way for the calling He has in mind for that person's life." (p.21)
"The purpose of vocation is to love and serve one's neighbor." (p.40)
"In our life in the world, in the interplay of vocations, we are always receiving and we are always giving. This is the dynamic of love." (p.42)
"Vocation comes from the outside, having to do with opportunities and circumstances, doors opening and slamming in our face. Since God works through means, He often extends His call through other people, by means of their vocations. Our calling comes from outside ourselves." (p.55)
"Christians need to realize that the present is the moment in which we are called to be faithful. We cannot do anything about the past. The future is wholly in God's hands. Now is what we have." (p.59)
"Good works, which are primarily done within vocation, are the fruits of faith." (p.65)
July 1, 2015
Amazing book. The doctrine of vocation is terribly misunderstood in American Christianity, and the true doctrine of vocation is the answer to so many of the problems the church is currently having. This book was a breath of fresh air, even though talking about the things I do, because it puts them all in light of the Gospel and encourages me to consider what God has already put in my life as my vocation; no need to feel a higher calling to a great life work in order to be fulfilling God's plans for my life.
June 8, 2012
Veith's book is simple and straightforward, but filled with great reminders about the many practical vocations to which God has called so many of us. The vocation of family (whatever one's specific role) is particularly important, in my estimation. I appreciate how Veith emphasizes this vocation among many.
May 29, 2016
A good intro, some helpful gems but not necessarily thorough.
February 28, 2017
One of the best theological books I have read.
April 3, 2017
Everyone needs to read this book, Christian or not. I highly recommend it for a positive outlook on life and guidance.
August 30, 2021
A helpful book explaining the doctrine of vocation.
January 19, 2016
What is God’s will for my life? What is God calling me to do? I know that every Christian has asked those two questions a thousand times. What do those two questions reveal about the heart? It reveals that everyone, no matter if they are a follower of Christ or not, wrestles with this idea that they were born for a purpose. Many people spend their entire life trying to figure out their purpose. Why is that? A.W. Tozer would argue that we all search for our purpose, because God has innately wired us with a specific purpose in life, namely to worship Him(The Purpose of Man, Bethany House). The Protestant Reformers agree with that as well by stating that man’s primary purpose (or chief end) is to “glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” This is what Gene Edwards Veith, Jr. ties together in his book God at Work published by Crossway.
In the book Veith describes what he calls the “doctrine of vocation.” Namely, this is the biblical teaching on how God works in the world. He defines the doctrine of vocation as the way in which “God has chosen to work through human beings, who, in their different capacities and according to their different talents, serve each other.” This means that God has designed human societies to work in such a way that, when functioning properly, our individual gifts, skills, and abilities are used for the common good. Think about it for a moment. Our cities and communities function best when every citizen is doing their job well. That means everyone from the mayor, city council, teachers, doctors, lawyers, and business owners, give to the common good of the city for it to prosper.
However, to put it the way Veith does in chapter one, “sin spoils everything.” Now because of the Fall, human beings do not always seek to use their talents for the common good, but their individual gain. This causes crime and injustice to flourish. Yet, there is a better way. As followers of Christ who have been redeemed by His blood to live for His glory, we can help make a difference in our community by the way we live. The Lord has gifted and called every believer to glorify Him and serve others. He has given each of us specific talents, skills, and abilities in order to serve the common good.
Some might read the previous statement and assume that the Lord called every believer to serve in vocational ministry. That is not what Vieth is saying. He is actually advocating for the opposite. Biblically speaking, yes, every believer has been called as a missionary. But that does not mean that every believer is called to leave everything and go over seas to be a “missionary.” In fact, the Lord has gifted and skilled us to serve as missionaries in a myriad of ways. Wherever their is “work” to be done, the Lord has called someone to go as a missionary. This means that he calls people to be doctors, teachers, business owners, retail workers, lawyers, servers, and yes pastors. Where has the Lord called you to serve?
Vieth explores five ways every believer has been called to serve in the world. First, he explores our calling as a worker. In chapter five he argues that “a Christian and a non-Christian may labor side by side in the same job, and on the surface they are doing exactly the same thing. But work that is done in faith has a significant difference than work that is done in unbelief.” When we do our work in faith for the glory of God and the good of others, it helps put our work into the proper perspective. Yes, we have to work in this life to make a living and provide for our families. But, our work does not define us…it does not save us. As followers of Christ, we rest in His finished work and trust that he will and has provided for our every need. Our work then becomes not a way for us to succeed and make a name for ourselves, but a way we glorify God and serve others. A right perspective changes everything!
Second, he explores our calling in the family. For married believers, this means that the Lord has called us to lovingly serve our spouse. Husbands, God has called us to love our wives and point them toward the gospel. Wives, God has called you to lovingly serve your husband and point him toward the gospel. For married couples who are parents, the Lord has given you children to raise up as a new generation for Christ. Parents are called to lovingly nurture, guide, and discipline their children in the gospel. For children, God has called you to lovingly obey your parents and trust their leadership in the home. Truthfully, our family is the primary ministry to which we have been called.
Third, he explores our calling as a citizen. Biblically speaking God has called people from every nation, tribe, and tongue. So, the way in which we live out our calling a citizens looks different in every culture and society. For some people, the Lord will call them to be leaders in their local government. They are to serve the community well and lead toward justice. For regular citizens, the Lord has called us to humbly submit to the leadership he has placed over us according to the law of the land. However, this does not mean that we follow blindly. Sometimes leaders do not fight for justice. For citizens in free countries it is our responsibility as believers to fight against injustice and seek the wellbeing of our community. This means that unless our government leaders do not go against God’s law, we are called to humbly submit.
Fourth, he explores our calling in the church. Not everyone is called to be a pastor or church leaders. However, every believer has a way in which they can serve their local church well. Every local church needs people are willing greet people as they walk in the door on Sunday morning, work in the nursery, teach a class, help with administration, lead a small group, or help setup and break down (for church plants). But there is also need for encouragers, discernment, and pastoral care. The important thing is not what role you play, but the fact that everyone is need to help the church continue in its mission. There is nothing less God honoring than an apathetic church. The Lord has called every believer to play an important role without which the local church cannot properly function.
God at Work is a highly practical book! I recommend this book to anyone struggling with calling and ways they can serve in their job, family, community, and church. I recommend this book to pastors and church leaders to use as a way to disciple the whole church in the doctrine of vocation. Everyone in the church will benefit from reading this book.
I received this book through the Crossway Review program “Beyond the Page” in exchange for an honest review of the book.
In the book Veith describes what he calls the “doctrine of vocation.” Namely, this is the biblical teaching on how God works in the world. He defines the doctrine of vocation as the way in which “God has chosen to work through human beings, who, in their different capacities and according to their different talents, serve each other.” This means that God has designed human societies to work in such a way that, when functioning properly, our individual gifts, skills, and abilities are used for the common good. Think about it for a moment. Our cities and communities function best when every citizen is doing their job well. That means everyone from the mayor, city council, teachers, doctors, lawyers, and business owners, give to the common good of the city for it to prosper.
However, to put it the way Veith does in chapter one, “sin spoils everything.” Now because of the Fall, human beings do not always seek to use their talents for the common good, but their individual gain. This causes crime and injustice to flourish. Yet, there is a better way. As followers of Christ who have been redeemed by His blood to live for His glory, we can help make a difference in our community by the way we live. The Lord has gifted and called every believer to glorify Him and serve others. He has given each of us specific talents, skills, and abilities in order to serve the common good.
Some might read the previous statement and assume that the Lord called every believer to serve in vocational ministry. That is not what Vieth is saying. He is actually advocating for the opposite. Biblically speaking, yes, every believer has been called as a missionary. But that does not mean that every believer is called to leave everything and go over seas to be a “missionary.” In fact, the Lord has gifted and skilled us to serve as missionaries in a myriad of ways. Wherever their is “work” to be done, the Lord has called someone to go as a missionary. This means that he calls people to be doctors, teachers, business owners, retail workers, lawyers, servers, and yes pastors. Where has the Lord called you to serve?
Vieth explores five ways every believer has been called to serve in the world. First, he explores our calling as a worker. In chapter five he argues that “a Christian and a non-Christian may labor side by side in the same job, and on the surface they are doing exactly the same thing. But work that is done in faith has a significant difference than work that is done in unbelief.” When we do our work in faith for the glory of God and the good of others, it helps put our work into the proper perspective. Yes, we have to work in this life to make a living and provide for our families. But, our work does not define us…it does not save us. As followers of Christ, we rest in His finished work and trust that he will and has provided for our every need. Our work then becomes not a way for us to succeed and make a name for ourselves, but a way we glorify God and serve others. A right perspective changes everything!
Second, he explores our calling in the family. For married believers, this means that the Lord has called us to lovingly serve our spouse. Husbands, God has called us to love our wives and point them toward the gospel. Wives, God has called you to lovingly serve your husband and point him toward the gospel. For married couples who are parents, the Lord has given you children to raise up as a new generation for Christ. Parents are called to lovingly nurture, guide, and discipline their children in the gospel. For children, God has called you to lovingly obey your parents and trust their leadership in the home. Truthfully, our family is the primary ministry to which we have been called.
Third, he explores our calling as a citizen. Biblically speaking God has called people from every nation, tribe, and tongue. So, the way in which we live out our calling a citizens looks different in every culture and society. For some people, the Lord will call them to be leaders in their local government. They are to serve the community well and lead toward justice. For regular citizens, the Lord has called us to humbly submit to the leadership he has placed over us according to the law of the land. However, this does not mean that we follow blindly. Sometimes leaders do not fight for justice. For citizens in free countries it is our responsibility as believers to fight against injustice and seek the wellbeing of our community. This means that unless our government leaders do not go against God’s law, we are called to humbly submit.
Fourth, he explores our calling in the church. Not everyone is called to be a pastor or church leaders. However, every believer has a way in which they can serve their local church well. Every local church needs people are willing greet people as they walk in the door on Sunday morning, work in the nursery, teach a class, help with administration, lead a small group, or help setup and break down (for church plants). But there is also need for encouragers, discernment, and pastoral care. The important thing is not what role you play, but the fact that everyone is need to help the church continue in its mission. There is nothing less God honoring than an apathetic church. The Lord has called every believer to play an important role without which the local church cannot properly function.
God at Work is a highly practical book! I recommend this book to anyone struggling with calling and ways they can serve in their job, family, community, and church. I recommend this book to pastors and church leaders to use as a way to disciple the whole church in the doctrine of vocation. Everyone in the church will benefit from reading this book.
I received this book through the Crossway Review program “Beyond the Page” in exchange for an honest review of the book.
November 24, 2021
This is a wonderful modern application of Luther's understanding of vocation. This radically reshaped the terrain of the Christian church by elevating (restoring?) the importance of 'secular' vocation in the Christian life.
I personally profited from this book. I think it's all the stronger for showing how your work-vocation is only one of the vocations God has given you in your life. I think it's a very important book for college students and full-time ministry workers, in order to put other more 'worldly' concerns and responsibilities in their proper place--as part of what God has called you to be faithful in, and not a hindrance to 'real ministry'. I plan on getting more copies quickly and distributing generously.
I personally profited from this book. I think it's all the stronger for showing how your work-vocation is only one of the vocations God has given you in your life. I think it's a very important book for college students and full-time ministry workers, in order to put other more 'worldly' concerns and responsibilities in their proper place--as part of what God has called you to be faithful in, and not a hindrance to 'real ministry'. I plan on getting more copies quickly and distributing generously.
March 26, 2024
I thought this was a great read! Concise, but full of depth.
The doctrine of vocation is usually not one of great emphasis, but I believe it is essential if we are to understand the full calling on our lives given to us from the Lord.
Whether in work, church, or home, we all have vocations, and God is present in them all.
The doctrine of vocation is usually not one of great emphasis, but I believe it is essential if we are to understand the full calling on our lives given to us from the Lord.
Whether in work, church, or home, we all have vocations, and God is present in them all.
Want to read
October 7, 2020Something of a distillation of Gustaf Wingren's Luther on Vocation. Veith signed my copy in Fall 2014 when I read a paper at a conference at Patrick Henry College, where he was provost at the time.
November 10, 2019
Quite good.
April 28, 2021
In this helpful book, Gene Veith gives us an exposition of the doctrine of vocation, and then he applies that doctrine in a practical way to life in the twenty-first century. He begins by looking at the nature of vocation - what is the purpose of vocation, how to find one’s vocation, how God calls us to different tasks and how He is present in what we do in our everyday lives. He then addresses specific vocations and specific problems common to them all. His treatment of vocation is drawn mainly from Martin Luther’s understanding of vocation.
Veith tells us that God has chosen to work through human beings, who, in their different capacities and according to their different talents, serve each other. This is the doctrine of vocation. The purpose of vocation is to love and serve one’s neighbor. The doctrine of vocation encourages attention to each individual’s uniqueness, talents, and personality. These are valued as gifts of God, who creates and equips each person in a different way for the calling He has in mind for that person’s life.
Veith tells us that the Reformation theologians emphasized the equality of vocations before God, and that each Christian has multiple vocations. We have callings in our work, in our families, as citizens in the larger society, and callings in the church. In addition, callings change over time. And whatever our vocation is, and in the very way it changes, our callings are not completely under our control; rather, they come from the Lord’s hand. Despite what our culture leads us to believe, vocation is not self-chosen. We do not choose our vocations, instead, we are called to them.
Finding your vocation, has to do, in part, with finding your God-given talents (what you can do) and your God-given personality (what fits the person you are). The doctrine of vocation, though it has to do with human work, is essentially about God’s work and how God works in and through our lives. Our part is to carry out our vocations. The outcome belongs completely to the Lord.
Veith tells us that the Christian life is to be lived in vocation, in the seemingly ordinary walks of life that take up nearly all of the hours of our day. The Christian life is to be lived out in our family, our work, our community, and our church.
In addition to the doctrine of vocation, topics that the author addresses in the book are the origins of work, evangelism, callings in the family, society and church, rest and retirement. This is an excellent introduction to the topic of the vocations and callings of the Christian.
Here are some of my favorite quotes from the book:
• Work is a blessing; work is a curse. Work can indeed be satisfying, since it is what we were made for, but it can also be frustrating, pointless, and exhausting. Work is a virtue, but it is tainted by sin.
• Christians are engaged in the world by carrying out their vocations. This is how they can be a positive influence in the culture.
• It is in vocation that evangelism can most effectively happen.
• The family is the foundational vocation. Other earthly authorities grow out of the authority exercised in the family.
• Being a citizen of a particular nation is a divine calling.
• Being a Christian is itself a calling. That is to say, a person becomes a Christian by being called by God.
• Laypeople are especially positioned to reach people outside the church, by virtue of their secular vocations, which put them in contact with people who would never darken the door of a church.
• What surprises some Christians is that when all is said and done, the specific responsibilities of vocation are not any different, from the outside, for Christians or non-Christians. A Christian construction worker or a Christian physician does pretty much what a good non-Christian in those fields must do.
• We indeed have a calling to serve in our local churches, but it must be emphasized that our so-called “secular” vocations are actually “holy offices” where we are to serve our neighbors and live out our faith.
• The Bible tells us to work; it also tells us to rest. We are to pause from our work to worship God on the Sabbath Day. In vocation, we are to rest in Christ even when we are hard at work.
• Retirement from a lifelong vocation can be difficult, especially for those with Protestant work ethics. Properly, though, the laying down of a vocation after many years of work is a kind of Sabbath, a kind of reward for service rendered.
Veith tells us that God has chosen to work through human beings, who, in their different capacities and according to their different talents, serve each other. This is the doctrine of vocation. The purpose of vocation is to love and serve one’s neighbor. The doctrine of vocation encourages attention to each individual’s uniqueness, talents, and personality. These are valued as gifts of God, who creates and equips each person in a different way for the calling He has in mind for that person’s life.
Veith tells us that the Reformation theologians emphasized the equality of vocations before God, and that each Christian has multiple vocations. We have callings in our work, in our families, as citizens in the larger society, and callings in the church. In addition, callings change over time. And whatever our vocation is, and in the very way it changes, our callings are not completely under our control; rather, they come from the Lord’s hand. Despite what our culture leads us to believe, vocation is not self-chosen. We do not choose our vocations, instead, we are called to them.
Finding your vocation, has to do, in part, with finding your God-given talents (what you can do) and your God-given personality (what fits the person you are). The doctrine of vocation, though it has to do with human work, is essentially about God’s work and how God works in and through our lives. Our part is to carry out our vocations. The outcome belongs completely to the Lord.
Veith tells us that the Christian life is to be lived in vocation, in the seemingly ordinary walks of life that take up nearly all of the hours of our day. The Christian life is to be lived out in our family, our work, our community, and our church.
In addition to the doctrine of vocation, topics that the author addresses in the book are the origins of work, evangelism, callings in the family, society and church, rest and retirement. This is an excellent introduction to the topic of the vocations and callings of the Christian.
Here are some of my favorite quotes from the book:
• Work is a blessing; work is a curse. Work can indeed be satisfying, since it is what we were made for, but it can also be frustrating, pointless, and exhausting. Work is a virtue, but it is tainted by sin.
• Christians are engaged in the world by carrying out their vocations. This is how they can be a positive influence in the culture.
• It is in vocation that evangelism can most effectively happen.
• The family is the foundational vocation. Other earthly authorities grow out of the authority exercised in the family.
• Being a citizen of a particular nation is a divine calling.
• Being a Christian is itself a calling. That is to say, a person becomes a Christian by being called by God.
• Laypeople are especially positioned to reach people outside the church, by virtue of their secular vocations, which put them in contact with people who would never darken the door of a church.
• What surprises some Christians is that when all is said and done, the specific responsibilities of vocation are not any different, from the outside, for Christians or non-Christians. A Christian construction worker or a Christian physician does pretty much what a good non-Christian in those fields must do.
• We indeed have a calling to serve in our local churches, but it must be emphasized that our so-called “secular” vocations are actually “holy offices” where we are to serve our neighbors and live out our faith.
• The Bible tells us to work; it also tells us to rest. We are to pause from our work to worship God on the Sabbath Day. In vocation, we are to rest in Christ even when we are hard at work.
• Retirement from a lifelong vocation can be difficult, especially for those with Protestant work ethics. Properly, though, the laying down of a vocation after many years of work is a kind of Sabbath, a kind of reward for service rendered.
December 21, 2010
In evangelical Christian circles, you might often hear the encouragement to "do everything to the glory of God," an exhortation taken from 1 Cor. 10:31. But just what this means or how this is to be done more often than not goes unsaid and ends up coming across as a meaningless platitude. While Christians should indeed pursue the glory of God in everything they do, how to go about doing this can sometimes remain a mystery.
In God At Work, Gene Edward Veith seeks to help Christians in understanding what has been called the doctrine of vocation, crediting much of his writing to Gustaf Wingren who in turn wrote on Martin Luther's stance on the doctrine. It would be safe to say that this book is largely about how Christians interact with their culture and how indeed Christians find the presence of God in the ordinary, everyday activities of life.
For example, when we ask God to "give us this day our daily bread," Veith writes sensibly that in meeting this provision, God does not simply rain down bread from heaven, although this certainly isn't impossible as was shown during the Israelites' journey from Egypt. Rather, God provides our needs by the hand of the farmer who grows the wheat, the baker who put this and other ingredients together to make the bread, and the many other people involved in the process. Or when we are sick and pray for healing, while God may indeed choose to miraculously heal us without any human intervention, the more common method is using the knowledge of physicians to diagnose and treat the illness.
Vocation then, according to Veith, is seeing how we and those around us interact with one another through roles God has placed us in and how God is honored when we do so. Veith rightly and quickly points out that while our relationship to God is not based on how we live out our vocation, our relationship to our neighbors is. He quotes Gustaf Wingren in saying "God does not need our good works, but our neighbor does."
Chapters discuss how a person goes about determining what his or her vocation is, how we are to live within the vocations we have been given, and what certain vocations look like, namely in the family, in the citizenry and in the church. Veith provides an excellent discussion on how Christians interact with the culture around them in each of these areas, bringing it back to showing just how this does indeed bring glory to God.
Two areas are worth mentioning in detail, one good and one not so good. First, Veith excellently points out that the work that a Christian does most often will not look any different than the same kind of work a non-Christian does. As he puts it, "There is no distinctly Christian way of being a carpenter or an actor or a musician. Christian and non-Christian factory workers, farmers, lawyers, and bankers do pretty much the same thing." The key to recognizing the difference between the Christian's and the non-Christian's vocation is that "Spiritually the Christian's life is hidden with Christ in God" and that "just doing our jobs" is found in "ordinary men and women expressing their love and service to their neighbor."
The not-so-good detail is that in one section of the book, Veith argues that our vocations are not our choice and are out of control, yet later seems to imply just the opposite. I can understand that our backgrounds and capabilities (physical, mental, etc) control our options as well as the desires of others (in other words, I can't marry a girl who wants nothing to do with me!). The problem is that he then carries this forward to an illogical and incorrect assumption that ALL choices are outside of our control.
This last point aside, however, this is a great book for providing a framework in viewing how we as Christians interact with the world around us. Veith aptly points out that we are not called to be Christians who sit in a monastery, isolating ourselves from the world, but that it is our responsibility to reach out and serve those around us.
In God At Work, Gene Edward Veith seeks to help Christians in understanding what has been called the doctrine of vocation, crediting much of his writing to Gustaf Wingren who in turn wrote on Martin Luther's stance on the doctrine. It would be safe to say that this book is largely about how Christians interact with their culture and how indeed Christians find the presence of God in the ordinary, everyday activities of life.
For example, when we ask God to "give us this day our daily bread," Veith writes sensibly that in meeting this provision, God does not simply rain down bread from heaven, although this certainly isn't impossible as was shown during the Israelites' journey from Egypt. Rather, God provides our needs by the hand of the farmer who grows the wheat, the baker who put this and other ingredients together to make the bread, and the many other people involved in the process. Or when we are sick and pray for healing, while God may indeed choose to miraculously heal us without any human intervention, the more common method is using the knowledge of physicians to diagnose and treat the illness.
Vocation then, according to Veith, is seeing how we and those around us interact with one another through roles God has placed us in and how God is honored when we do so. Veith rightly and quickly points out that while our relationship to God is not based on how we live out our vocation, our relationship to our neighbors is. He quotes Gustaf Wingren in saying "God does not need our good works, but our neighbor does."
Chapters discuss how a person goes about determining what his or her vocation is, how we are to live within the vocations we have been given, and what certain vocations look like, namely in the family, in the citizenry and in the church. Veith provides an excellent discussion on how Christians interact with the culture around them in each of these areas, bringing it back to showing just how this does indeed bring glory to God.
Two areas are worth mentioning in detail, one good and one not so good. First, Veith excellently points out that the work that a Christian does most often will not look any different than the same kind of work a non-Christian does. As he puts it, "There is no distinctly Christian way of being a carpenter or an actor or a musician. Christian and non-Christian factory workers, farmers, lawyers, and bankers do pretty much the same thing." The key to recognizing the difference between the Christian's and the non-Christian's vocation is that "Spiritually the Christian's life is hidden with Christ in God" and that "just doing our jobs" is found in "ordinary men and women expressing their love and service to their neighbor."
The not-so-good detail is that in one section of the book, Veith argues that our vocations are not our choice and are out of control, yet later seems to imply just the opposite. I can understand that our backgrounds and capabilities (physical, mental, etc) control our options as well as the desires of others (in other words, I can't marry a girl who wants nothing to do with me!). The problem is that he then carries this forward to an illogical and incorrect assumption that ALL choices are outside of our control.
This last point aside, however, this is a great book for providing a framework in viewing how we as Christians interact with the world around us. Veith aptly points out that we are not called to be Christians who sit in a monastery, isolating ourselves from the world, but that it is our responsibility to reach out and serve those around us.
January 22, 2019
I found this work rather somewhat informative and simultaneously disappointing. Professor Veith, Jr. attempted to give a definition of vocation primarily from a Protestant perspective. He stated that "the term vocation comes from the Latin word for 'calling'" (Veith, Jr., 2002, p. 17). Although Professor Veith, Jr provided passages to support his claims, he failed to explain his method of interpretation. A major part of Christian scholarship pertains to the act of exegesis: the act of deriving meaning "out of" a text versus reading meaning into a text (Osborne, 2006; Robbins, 1996). When someone reads into a text one's theology or philosophical perspective, the person must admit that source of bias because the person's theology represents a type of subjectivity.
It is clear from Professor Veith's position that he practices evangelicalism combined with Lutheran theology. In fact, the two most cited works in this book were Luther's doctrines and a book by Gustaf Wingren called "Luther on Vocation". Throughout the book, the professor constantly referred to "Reformers" to defend his claims. He only cited one non-Protestant which was Saint Augustine. Unfortunately, none of the other Church Fathers or Doctors of the Church from Christianity's first 1,500 years received mentioning. In fact, Professor Veith, Jr. (2002) stated that "in the medieval church, having a vocation or having 'a calling' referred exclusively to full-time church work" (pp. 17-18). However, one should deeply study historical theology in connection with the meaning of vocations in order to grasp the whole truth about Catholic or Orthodox teachings on the subject.
I found that this author used the term vocation synonymously to the point that ambiguity occurred across the chapters. For example, he stated that "to 'call' someone literally means to address that person in human language, usually with a loud voice" (Veith, Jr., 2002, p. 118). However, our Lord Christ exerts Himself in several ways, not just through written Scripture. Through the oral traditions passed down to us according to St. Paul of Tarsus, sacred truths are revealed also through the sacred liturgy, the Eucharist, mental prayers, priestly dialogue, communities of believers, human beings, and through the traditional sacraments. In fact, the author stated that marriage was a vocation, not a sacrament. But, historical teachings illustrate the truth that marriage was, in fact, a sacrament and it is treated like one in the Scripture and in the ancient churches.
So, I appreciated this short book. But, I really urge readers to hold skeptical lenses toward this work due to its lack of rigor and poor scholarship.
It is clear from Professor Veith's position that he practices evangelicalism combined with Lutheran theology. In fact, the two most cited works in this book were Luther's doctrines and a book by Gustaf Wingren called "Luther on Vocation". Throughout the book, the professor constantly referred to "Reformers" to defend his claims. He only cited one non-Protestant which was Saint Augustine. Unfortunately, none of the other Church Fathers or Doctors of the Church from Christianity's first 1,500 years received mentioning. In fact, Professor Veith, Jr. (2002) stated that "in the medieval church, having a vocation or having 'a calling' referred exclusively to full-time church work" (pp. 17-18). However, one should deeply study historical theology in connection with the meaning of vocations in order to grasp the whole truth about Catholic or Orthodox teachings on the subject.
I found that this author used the term vocation synonymously to the point that ambiguity occurred across the chapters. For example, he stated that "to 'call' someone literally means to address that person in human language, usually with a loud voice" (Veith, Jr., 2002, p. 118). However, our Lord Christ exerts Himself in several ways, not just through written Scripture. Through the oral traditions passed down to us according to St. Paul of Tarsus, sacred truths are revealed also through the sacred liturgy, the Eucharist, mental prayers, priestly dialogue, communities of believers, human beings, and through the traditional sacraments. In fact, the author stated that marriage was a vocation, not a sacrament. But, historical teachings illustrate the truth that marriage was, in fact, a sacrament and it is treated like one in the Scripture and in the ancient churches.
So, I appreciated this short book. But, I really urge readers to hold skeptical lenses toward this work due to its lack of rigor and poor scholarship.
May 19, 2023
God At Work makes a fair assertion that Christians should live Christian lives, and that God can use His people in any way, shape, or form. However, the book suffers from an unfortunate commonality in many popular-level theology: mundane repetition. The thesis for this book is acceptable, but its continued reiteration with little to no elaboration is numbing at best, and self-contradictory at worst. Stretching the doctrine of vocation across the book's near 170 page count is not only unnecessary, but sometimes harmful, as some conflicting points are made seemingly to achieve a certain page count. There is rich content here regarding Christian vocation, and it is an important topic to discuss. But the primary theses of this book can be derived very early, making the remainder of the book fairly trivial.
January 28, 2019
I thought this book was very interesting, if not a bit simplistic (not that there's anything inherently wrong with being simple). I thought Veith touches on a variety of interesting points, but perhaps shies away from some of the more controversial topics. He kind of introduces them and & then moves on. Still, I think it's a valid response to why all Christians aren't explicitly missionaries (but also how they are missionaries in a sense). Anyhow, interesting read, fairly quick read, but I'm not sure if it's contributing something too significant to the conversation (again, not that it isn't nice to be reminded. I may just be getting disillusioned and more likely to be "meh" unless they're proposing something controversial and fun to talk about for three hours in seminar. Like, I can't imagine that the discussion on this book will be exciting, but rather "Everyone good on Veith? Everyone thinking about their specific vocation? Yes? Okay, let's talk about Christian subculture again." But if I'm wrong, I promise that you will be the absolute first to know.)
October 23, 2009
God at Work is a great exposition, very accessible to the general Christian reader, simply on work, or more specifically all the various ways that Christians are called to work in their lives. This is about the doctrine of calling, which perhaps, is initially understood by many as calling by God to exclusive spiritual work, like preaching or some other direct type of church ministry.
Gene Veith is an academic dean at Patrick Henry College, and a frequent writer on the importance of Christians seeing all of life under the Lord of all. He is a Lutheran, and as a result spends much of this relatively short text (about 200 pgs) expounding on Martin Luther’s writings on vocation, recontextualized for the 21st century. Part of the Reformation, which Luther helped to lead, was the near revolutionary approach to seeing the work of Christians outside of a sacred/ secular dichotomy, which is that some work was ministry, and other work was just ordinary drudgery. Not dividing work into a sacred and secular categories remains near constant struggle for many in the 21st century, and Veith aims to show how calling and purpose relate to anything that the Christian faithfully sets out to do.
Veith states that the motivation for every Christian, in everything he is called to is to reflect the common call that Christ demands in following him. Vocation is a matter of service and love, in everything here. So the Veith insists that way to spiritually determine value in work is can it express service and love to others. In a sense, he sanctifies all sorts of occupations with this general understanding, so that even mundane work, or work that does not appear particularly spiritual can be called up and drawn into the realm of Christ by expressing it with love and service.
Vocation in this book is not limited to ordinary work, but Veith shows how calling applies to family, citizenship and church relationships. In a strong sense, this book attempts to unite and integrate all of Christian theology into touch-points of a persons life, so that the recreating work of Christ can redeem a whole person, not just the outwardly spiritual side of an individual’s life. In an era of individualism and outward separation from traditional connections, this book is a strong advocate for individuals demonstrating, through actions, that the Christian life is a whole life, one that integrates into all parts, not just a narrowly spiritual side.
Veith, in his effort to point to and clarify Luther’s revolutionary teaching on vocation, draws a bit too much on quoting people quoting Luther. Other than that, this is a fine book that would be of value for individual or group study, for workers looking for purpose and calling in their careers and those looking to integrate their theology in all of life.
Gene Veith is an academic dean at Patrick Henry College, and a frequent writer on the importance of Christians seeing all of life under the Lord of all. He is a Lutheran, and as a result spends much of this relatively short text (about 200 pgs) expounding on Martin Luther’s writings on vocation, recontextualized for the 21st century. Part of the Reformation, which Luther helped to lead, was the near revolutionary approach to seeing the work of Christians outside of a sacred/ secular dichotomy, which is that some work was ministry, and other work was just ordinary drudgery. Not dividing work into a sacred and secular categories remains near constant struggle for many in the 21st century, and Veith aims to show how calling and purpose relate to anything that the Christian faithfully sets out to do.
Veith states that the motivation for every Christian, in everything he is called to is to reflect the common call that Christ demands in following him. Vocation is a matter of service and love, in everything here. So the Veith insists that way to spiritually determine value in work is can it express service and love to others. In a sense, he sanctifies all sorts of occupations with this general understanding, so that even mundane work, or work that does not appear particularly spiritual can be called up and drawn into the realm of Christ by expressing it with love and service.
Vocation in this book is not limited to ordinary work, but Veith shows how calling applies to family, citizenship and church relationships. In a strong sense, this book attempts to unite and integrate all of Christian theology into touch-points of a persons life, so that the recreating work of Christ can redeem a whole person, not just the outwardly spiritual side of an individual’s life. In an era of individualism and outward separation from traditional connections, this book is a strong advocate for individuals demonstrating, through actions, that the Christian life is a whole life, one that integrates into all parts, not just a narrowly spiritual side.
Veith, in his effort to point to and clarify Luther’s revolutionary teaching on vocation, draws a bit too much on quoting people quoting Luther. Other than that, this is a fine book that would be of value for individual or group study, for workers looking for purpose and calling in their careers and those looking to integrate their theology in all of life.
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