Review for Ministers-at-Work by Rob Fox October 2004

This is one of a series of “Lifewise” books on Discipleship. Jim Dunn is a senior HR manager at Corus Group (formerly British Steel), is a member of his local church Ministry Team and also works with the Steel Industry National Training Organisation, and, as a Trainer myself, it shows! This is one of the ‘easiest’ books to read and absorb I have picked up in a long time.

Set out like good training fashion of good training material, the introductory “Purpose of this book” sets out exactly what it is and what it sets out to achieve. This is followed by 11 chapters, the first 10 being the ‘meat’ in the sandwich (or cheese if you prefer!):

Identifying the main issues we face at work,
overcoming the sacred / secular mindset,
identifying what our work actually is,
what are our products / competitors / customers markets?
handling parts of the work culture that go against the grain,
how to live as a Christian at work,
overcoming the gap between faith and practice,
handling conflict,
balancing work and the rest of our life,
‘Let your light shine’

Each tackles an area of applying faith to work and vice versa, and finishes with questions and exercises to reflect on and consolidate the reader’s appreciation of what has been learnt. This modular approach means of course that it can be taken in convenient bites. There are also plenty of short stories to illustrate the issues under discussion.

The final chapter, Where do we go from here?, sums up the old trainer’s adage: “Tell them what you’re going to tell them; tell them; then tell them what you’ve just told them.” It is an effective summary and challenge to go forward. The bibliography is decent, and there is a final section on ‘Shortcuts’ that is also useful.

Although more of a faith and work book than specifically MSE, the latter will find much in here of value. It is particularly strong on work – life balance and lends itself easily to being used as the basis of group work. I heartily commend this one – especially at this price!