What people are saying about
Calling
Brantleys book provides a strong foundation for anyone searching for meaning in work. He challenges readers to be free of lesser purposes while pointing them toward honor, purpose, and altruism. Readers will appreciate Brantleys clear and literary writing style, strong faith-based teaching, and honest and helpful personal examples of finding success in a career. This is a book to study, learn from, and enjoy.
Marcus Brotherton,New York Times bestselling author
Many of us are going through life wondering if there is something better, missing out on the purpose God has for us right where we are, and right where we are headed. Calling: Awaken to the Purpose of Your Work by Pierce Brantley offers us a changed perspective on what it means to have a called career.
Jonathan McKee, author
CALLING
Published by David C Cook
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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked CEB are taken from the Common English Bible. Copyright 2012 by Common English Bible and/or its suppliers. All rights reserved; KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible. (Public Domain); NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible, copyright 1960, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org); NIV are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright 1973, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide; NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. The author has added italics to Scripture quotations for emphasis.
Library of Congress Control Number 2019948091
ISBN 978-0-8307-8073-0
eISBN 978-0-8307-8076-1
2020 Pierce Brantley
The Team: Michael Covington, Jeff Gerke, Megan Stengel, Kayla Fenstermaker, Jon Middel, Susan Murdock
Cover Design: Nick Lee
Cover Photo: Getty Images
First Edition 2020
For Tim, my father.
Thank you for your example, consistency, and spirit.
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
This book, like everything in my life, is an outcome of Christs unshaking love in my life. I am so grateful for Jesus original work that made this book and my new life in him possible. To my wife, Kristie, thank you for standing by me, making me coffee, and letting me mull over the meanings of words out loud. Youre a trooper and I love you. To Nick, thank you for taking a chance on me, answering endless questions, and for your wisdom. Im so grateful. To Michael and my tribe at Cook, youre incredibly talented. Ive loved working with you. To Joe, thank you for your friendship and for encouraging me to write the book to begin with. You play a part in this. Mark, thank you for teaching me to live in reality. God bless you. To my mother: thank you for baseboards, baskets of laundry, and for bringing me books at an early age.
Introduction
Work. Our jobs. What we do to pay the bills. Its part of life.
But theres a secret to work that most Christian men havent discovered. Paul knew this secret. Elijah and David too. But most men never discover it. Many can identify the itch, but they simply cant scratch it.
The itch troubles you like a gentle prod, a niggling little thought that the work you do during the day isnt everything its meant to be. You feel as if youre missing something when you clock in and clock out. Your work doesnt get the job done spiritually, you could say. Nor is it very fulfilling.
Thats the itch, and it can lead to a great discovery. But its also really easy to dismiss.
So men continue to endure the daily grind, missing out on the faith and secret strength that could overflow in their work. This results in whole generations of Christian men who work hard but dont know why. Orworsewho never learn the real work they are called to do.
Which is a tragedy. There is so much at stakeand so little time to stake a claim on a calling.
There is hope, however, for the man who wants to know what God might give him to do with the few days he has. So long as you havent stopped working, its never too late to find the purpose of your work.
Its no mistake that youre reading this book now. If its in your hands, a new work life is around the corner for you.
Our ancient fathers of the faith knew the secret of meaningful work. They knew what was required of them. They could see the purpose in their work a mile away. This faith gave them a life of biblical proportions. In part, because they knew how to focus their energy. They knew the work they were meant to do. This assurance gave them all the courage and foresight they needed during the day. It helped men like Moses, Daniel, and Joseph be diligent in everyday jobs and participate in more eternal outcomes than the average Joe.
The secret can be yours as well. The principles of work they employed, described in this book, are available to you. My prayer, brother, is that you learn them, love them, and use them to partner with the Almighty in incredible new ways.
You will discover the special and specific work God has for you. Best of all, you can move into your calling at any job, with any boss, at any place in life as well.
Were talking about vocation here, which is based on the Latin word vocare, meaning to call or summon. Whether youre aware of the calling in your vocation or not, God is calling you to it.
God hasnt passed you by. He has a race for you to runand thats true even if you feel disconnected from the race. Neither is God upset by your circumstances. Just because you might feel hopeless now or unsure about the future, it does not mean that the Almighty doesnt have a great work life for you.
He is for you, after all.
So take courage: you are about to learn how to work in and through your calling, which you will find within the working day. Youll receive the benefit of laboring alongside the Lord and the special blessing that can be for a man such as yourself. This blessing is a life rich in stories of partnering with God, seeing his kingdom advance, and knowing, for certain, that youre living out your calling. If you ask me, there is no other way to live.
There is no end to Gods kingdom, no shortage of his strength. God has a massive treasury of power and goodness, and he draws freely from that supernatural bank account to support his sons and daughters. These riches are meant for more than Sunday mornings or a few mountaintop moments over a lifetime. The goodness of God has practical nine-to-five implications for every man who wants to know what it looks like to live in partnership with the Lord.