Soul Work: Finding God in Your Entrepreneurial Pursuits, by Lowell W Busenitz

A Review by Ron Johnson

Click here to view the book on Amazon.

This important book proposes a new framework for thinking about God in our daily work. Despite the subtitle, it has useful things to say to people in all walks of life, not just entrepreneurs. Busenitz argues that those of us involved in the “Faith at Work” movement have been going about it wrong: the point is not to bring our faith to work but rather to discover God already there, actively engaged and inviting us to join in. Our work can become a spiritual discipline (hence the title, Soul Work); indeed, the author sketches out five distinct “work disciplines” and shows us how to put them into practice. Instead of having our cups filled on Sunday and depleting them Monday through Saturday, the author suggests that we allow the Spirit of God to fill our cups Monday through Saturday so that we can respond in worship on Sunday. He offers a step-by-step approach to this as well, showing us how each of the five work disciplines can lead us to genuine worship.

I highly recommend this book, not only for working people but also (and perhaps especially) for pastors. The three appendices offer useful suggestions for ministers. There’s plenty of hands-on information here: questions to help pastors start conversations with working people in their congregations and outlines for sermons on the subject. The entire book is written from the practical side. It’s meant to be used. But its most important contribution is theoretical: a change of paradigm that we’ve been needing for a long time.

Ron Johnson is the author of Customer Service and the Imitation of Christ. Click on this link to learn more.