Listen! God is Calling! Luther Speaks of Vocation. . .

Listen! God is Calling! Luther Speaks of Vocation, Faith, and Work

”The Christian faith has implications for all of life. Yet, many Christians do not make the connection between the resources of their faith and the challenges they face in daily life and work. God's call to faithful living is often understood primarily in terms of being involved in church-sponsored ministries. In Listen! God Is Calling! author D. Michael Bennethum presents Martin Luther's teaching on vocation as a resource both for individual believers, helping them find deeper meaning in their ordinary daily labors; and for congregations, encouraging them to develop a climate that supports their members at work.”
-- publisher’s blurb

Endorsements
"Every pastor who has tried program after program to motivate members should read this book. Applying a central reformation idea to congregational life, not adding programs, holds much more promise of renewal. Members should read it, too, because it validates their faith-lived lives and they need to hear that over and over."
— Judith McWilliams Dickhart, Author, Denton, Maryland

"A 'must read' for all those wondering how to cross that great divide between Sunday and Monday—the relationship between their faith and their daily work. Pastor Bennethum's book is an excellent resource for developing the skills to listen for God's call in every aspect of one's life. Informative, practical, and provocative, the book is a great tool for all the baptized, both those whose ministry is in the world and those who are professional leaders in the church."
— Carol L. Weiser, Director of Communications, Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod, ELCA

Author Excerpt
”In each of the congregations I have served as pastor, it has been my experience that many members have little practical sense of how to connect the faith they profess with the lives they lead. Typically, they have a vague sense that God wants them to live morally upright lives. They hope, of course, that non-believers will do the same. They appreciate God's promise of forgiveness, particularly when they have a sense that they have failed. Trying times drive them to prayer. Otherwise, they find comfort in the knowledge that they are "as good as most and better than some." When it comes to the routines of daily life and work, however, their faith as Christians, expressed eagerly in worship and church-related activities, just doesn’t seem to play much of a conscious role. Listen! God Is Calling! is an attempt to understand why this is so and to propose a resource from the church’s heritage that I have found helpful for bridging the gap that exists between Sunday worship and weekday living among so many of today’s church members.”

Table of Contents
1. The Sunday—Monday Split
2. How the Split Came to Be
3. A Resource from Our Heritage
4. The Value of Luther’s Teaching for Today
5. Strategies for Supporting the Vocation of Christians at Work
6. Sunday and Monday in Sync