Job-shadowing Daniel: Walking the Talk at Work

JOB-SHADOWING DANIEL: WALKING THE TALK AT WORKby Larry Peabody

The Sunday-Monday gap can make it seem as if everyday work has little or no spiritual significance. As a result, countless working Christians lead "split-level" lives, unable to do their daily work wholeheartedly. Any work for God, they suspect, must be done in off-hours or on the weekends.

But as this book shows, Daniel's job in the work world says otherwise-making him an ideal candidate for job-shadowing, for mentoring contemporary working Christians. Most remember Daniel for the few hours he spent in the lions' den. Yet his career spanned some 70 years throughout which he continually served God and people.

Although Daniel lived more than 2,500 years ago, his work caused him to confront many of the same "lions" that intimidate contemporary Christians in the work world. He served God while on a non-religious payroll. The co-workers surrounding him included more unbelievers than believers. He worked in "Babylon," a term that speaks of ambition, confusion, and self-centeredness. And his faith sometimes made him the target of strong opposition.

A major difference from us today also qualifies Daniel as an excellent mentor. He lived and worked long before the centuries of church traditions that have conditioned us to think of work as either "sacred" or "secular." Daniel did not see himself as "just a layperson." He did not dream of quitting his job to go into "full-time service" for God.

By looking to Daniel as a workplace mentor, you can see that God calls people not only into church-related work but also into non-religious occupations. His experience will show you what "ministry" looks like in the context of the work world. Daniel's decisions display how to live by kingdom-of-God vision in the workplace. He demonstrates how knowing your identity produces stability under the pressures of the work world. And from Daniel, you can learn many secrets for staying spiritually strong in adverse conditions over the long haul.

Job-Shadowing Daniel: Walking the Talk at Work is a Scripture-based book. Modern examples from the workplace bridge the distance between today and Daniel's experiences in ancient Babylon.

The book naturally works as a study guide for use individually, by small groups, or in adult Christian education classes. Life-application questions conclude each chapter.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Larry Peabody has written this book from a unique perspective on the work world. He worked 11 years as a state government employee. While in that role, he wrote Secular Work is Full-Time Service (now under the new title, Serving Christ in the Workplace) published by Christian Literature Crusade. Self-employed for 17 years, he conducted business-writing seminars for a variety of corporations and public agencies. During that time he led a team that planted a church in which he served as bi-vocational pastor for eight years and then as senior pastor for 13 years.