Kingdom Calling

Christianity Today Book Award winner
Imagine the scenarios:

- a CEO successfully negotiates a corporate merger, avoiding hundreds of layoffs in the process
- an artist completes a mosaic for public display at a bank, showcasing neighborhood heroes
- a contractor creates a work-release program in cooperation with a local prison, growing the business and seeing countless former inmates turn their lives around
- a high-school principal graduates 20 percent more students than the previous year, and the school's average scores go up by a similar percentage
Now imagine a parade in the streets for each event. That's the vision of Proverbs 11:10, in which the tsaddiqim—the people who see everything they have as gifts from God to be stewarded for his purposes—pursue their vocation with an eye to the greater good.
Amy Sherman, director of the Center on Faith in Communities and scholar of vocational stewardship, uses the tsaddiqim as a springboard to explore how, through our faith-formed calling, we announce the kingdom of God to our everyday world. But cultural trends toward privatism and materialism threaten to dis-integrate our faith and ourwork. And the church, in ways large and small, has itself capitulated to those trends, while simultaneously elevating the "special calling" of professional ministry and neglecting the vocational formation of laypeople. In the process, we have, in ways large and small, subverted our kingdom mandate.
God is on the move, and he calls each of us, from our various halls of power and privilege, to follow him. Here is your chance, keeping this kingdom calling in view, to steward your faith and work toward righteousness. In so doing, you will bless the world, and as you flourish, the world will celebrate.

Amy L. Sherman directs the Sagamore Institute's Center on Faith in Communities, which trains and consults with faith-based social service providers and religious congregations desiring to invest more effectively in their neighborhoods. She is alsothe founder and former executive director of Charlottesville Abundant Life Ministries and a senior fellow with International Justice Mission. She earned her BA in political science at Messiah College and her MA and PhD in international economic development from the University of Virginia. She is the author of Kingdom Calling: Vocational Stewardship for the Common Good.

Steven Garber is professor of marketplace theology and leadership at Regent College, Vancouver, and the principal of The Washington Institute for Faith, Vocation & Culture. A consultant to foundations, corporations, and schools, he is a teacher of many people in many places. His books include Visions of Vocation and The Fabric of Faithfulness, and he is a contributor to the books Faith Goes to Work: Reflections from the Marketplace and Get Up Off Your Knees:Preaching the U2 Catalogue. He is married to Meg. They have five grown children and several grandchildren.

Reggie McNeal enjoys helping leaders pursue more kingdom-focused lives. He currently serves as a senior fellow for Leadership Network and city coach for GoodCities. In his consulting and speaking, Reggie draws on his experience as a pastor, denominational leader, seminary teacher, and leadership development coach for thousands of church leaders across North America and the world. His books include The Present Future, Missional Renaissance, A Work of Heart, and Kingdom Come.