You Have A Ministry. Christian Laymen Are Called to Serve.

This book is addressed to the layman-businessman, carpenter, lawyer, doctor, crane operator, engineer, teacher, or laborer. It comes from an ordained minister who feels that if the church is to get out beyond its cloister into everyday vocational and family life, the ministry must be shared by all Christians.

If some of us have had special training and discipline in the field of theology and religion, or if our job is in some way different from that of others, we want it to give us greater perspective and help us appreciate more deeply all aspects of life, rather than allow it to crowd us into a narrow niche, thinking and speaking a language that the average man doesn’t understand or appreciate.

The church does need spiritual renewal. It needs a fresh relevance to life as the average or typical person lives and experiences it. There is a widespread sense of need to rediscover the nature of the church as “the whole people of God” and to give it expression, even rethinking our patterns of church work and organization. We are hearing and reading a great deal about the theology of the church and of the laity―and these two considerations belong together.

This is not intended to be a theology, however. It is intended to explore the ministry of the layman himself, as much as possible, from his viewpoint. It is more practical than scholarly.