A Tentative Outline

David, Nathan, and I just wrote up a tentative outline of the whole book  (click the "read more" link below to see it). This all might change as we work with potential publishers, but it is formed enough that we decided to share it here with you.

Creating this outline required a substantial amount of effort. We read all the draft chapters we had received, looking for themes and grouping related chapters. Our initial instructions to the authors were quite broad, so we were not sure how thematically connected the chapters would be.

Between the three of us, we came up with several possible thematic structures, but eventually settled on three themes and this outline: (1) The Mystery of Calling, (2) Success and Ambition, and (3) God in the Work. We all word-crafted the titles of the sections, and David summarized them. It is exciting to see these themes so deeply explored in these chapters, and how they come together into a cohesive whole.

So, let us know what you think of our work-in-progress?


Faithful is Successful: Notes to the Driven Pilgrim

Introduction (Grills, Lewis, Swamidass)

The introduction to the book explains the origins of the book, why it is necessary, and introduces the vision for the book. The idea for the book originated out of the felt need and shared desire of the book’s editors to help Christians think about what it means to integrate faith and vocation, particularly in fields where Christians are underrepresented. Our common experience has been that Christians called to these fields face many similar issues and often feel quite isolated. While some have been fortunate enough to find older mentors and examples, these opportunities are rare. This book provides a vehicle to share the wisdom and experience of established Christians, with academic and professional credentials, with a broader audience.

The Mystery of Calling: To what has God called us and how can we know?

This portion of the book includes chapters that wrestle with the difficulties of discerning one’s calling. The chapters address the following questions: What is calling? Called to what? How can we know it? Does it change? How important is it?

1. Rejecting the “Final Vision” View of Calling (McGraw)
2. Fulltime Theology (Jukanovich)
3. What Does Calling Look Like? Diversity, Process, and Substance (Lewis)
4. Calling and the Meaning of Success (Louthan)

Success and Ambition: For what should we be striving and what should drive us?

This portion of the book addresses the difficult relationship between our faith in Jesus and ambition. The chapters force the reader to think consciously about their definition of success and how it squares with scripture. Authors also meditate on the place of ambition for vocational success and how it squares with God’s calling on our lives.

5. Failing Faithfully (Denholm)
6. Family Balance (Cabeen)
7. Faith and Ambition (Huber)
8. Success: Whose Will is Being Done? (Grills)

God in the Work: How can faith and work be integrated to make a difference?

The final portion of the book examines how faith and vocation can be integrated, using the insights of practitioners in diverse fields. Each author addresses what it means to participate in their field in a distinctly Christian way. Does it make a difference that a scientist or hedge fund manager or artist is a Christian? Chapters address misconceptions, share insights, and provide beautiful and surprising results of efforts to actively integrate faith into what they do.

9. Science: Science and the Four Idols (Swamidass)
10. Investing Firm: Discerning In Manu Dei at Discerene  (Tan)
11. Literary Criticism: What Counts as Christian Criticism? (Spencer)
12. International Development: Interruptions are Not Distractions (Yoder)
13. Religious Studies: Sacrificial Listening (Vishanoff)
14. Art: Identity: Christian. Artist. Stranger  (Awad)

Conclusion (Grills, Lewis, Swamidass)

In the conclusion the authors reinforce the primary conclusion of many authors that being faithful is being successful and also that true calling can best be known and realized by trying to be faithful. The conclusion also provides the editors and opportunity highlight some of the common and underappreciated lessons of the fourteen authors that emerge within and across sections such as:

• Discerning what vocation God has called us to is difficult
• Contrary to expectations, most authors did not end up where they expected
• God’s redemptive coherence in the arc of our careers may only be observable in retrospect
• Integrating of faith and vocation is possible, exciting, and happens in diverse ways