Faith at Work edited by Samuel M. Shoemaker

Faith at Work edited by Samuel M. Shoemaker.

This book was first published in 1958. This book has annotated printing number. The book comes with the original dust jacket.

About this book from the dust jacket:

“Can life be made as great as God meant it to be?

The fifty persons whose experiences have contributed to the making of this book not only agree that life can be great, but insist that it is great. They have had one experience in common—a dynamic faith at work in their lives.

They come from many backgrounds; they are ordinary people. There are house-wives, business and professional men, teach-ers, laborers, clerks, nurses, mechanics.

With a few exceptions, they are not professional writers and therein lies the great value of what they have to say. There is a new quality about their lives which they could not keep hidden if they wanted to do so. These people are touching the lives of other men and women about them and bringing new hope to many whose hope had faded away, a breath of fresh air into the cob-webbed souls of some who are spiritually dead.

These are stories of faith-faith at work every day in the lives of everyday people.

These are stories that show irrefutably that faith is not a special faculty of a rare or gifted type of personality. It is not reserved for the great and denied to the average; faith is for everyone. These are stories of people any one of whom could be you.

These are stories that bring the hope and the truth that the humblest reader can find the full and productive and satisfying life which is theirs-through faith.

It is not the concern of this book, or these people, to offer faith as a key to wealth, popularity and success. It makes no attempt to prove that, through faith, life can be made easy. Rather, it tries to make clear that, through faith at work, life can be made great.

Skeptics are inclined to ask: "Can faith really make any difference?"

This book is the answer to them—an answer in clear everyday language, an answer that will suggest to every reader original and fruitful ways of acquiring faith and putting it to work, an answer that faith can work and does work!

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FAITH AT WORK tells the stories of such people as:

The Communist Party leader who escaped from political slavery and spiritual bankruptcy..

The young wife who sought stolen happiness but found instead new happiness at home .

The retarded child who was helped back to normality because her parents opened their hearts to God . .

The motion-picture script writer who found that the greatest story of all was in the Bible.

The railroad porter whose fame resulting from his work for God has spread around the world

The nurse who thought herself too old to be useful but found that "with God all things are possible"

The doctor and his wife who sought one kind of relaxation but found another kind that offered permanent and exciting release

The school-teacher whose nervous breakdown spelled "the end" until she learned the new "lesson of life"

The infection-wracked woman who found healing through the medium of spiritual insight.

The educator who had grown up without religion and who successfully made his own search for God

The newspaperman who disclosed the secret of mutual helpfulness by a group of businessmen...

The business woman who suffered loss after loss, but found a new life through confident faith ...

The telephone technician and his wife whose children showed them how they could speak to God...

The alcoholic businessman who found a renewal of life because somebody was interested in helping

The Air Force chaplain whose discouragement led countless people to a reborn love of Christ...

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Samuel Shoemaker was a prominent American Episcopal priest and a key figure in the Oxford Group movement, which later influenced the development of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and other Twelve Step programs. Born on December 27, 1893, in Baltimore, Maryland, Shoemaker was raised in a family with a strong Christian background.

Shoemaker studied at Princeton University and later attended Virginia Theological Seminary, where he was ordained as an Episcopal priest in 1917. He served in various parishes before becoming the rector of Calvary Church in New York City in 1925, where he remained for over twenty years.

In the early 1930s, Shoemaker became involved with the Oxford Group, an informal Christian fellowship founded by Frank Buchman. The Oxford Group emphasized spiritual principles such as honesty, purity, unselfishness, and love, and it sought to bring about personal transformation through spiritual practices such as self-examination, confession, and surrender to God's will.

Shoemaker's involvement with the Oxford Group profoundly influenced his ministry and preaching style. He became known for his dynamic sermons, which emphasized the need for individuals to experience a personal encounter with God and to live out their faith in practical ways.

One of Shoemaker's most significant contributions was his role in introducing the principles of the Oxford Group to Bill Wilson, co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). Shoemaker and other members of the Oxford Group had a significant influence on the early development of AA, particularly in shaping its spiritual foundations and emphasis on personal transformation. Bill W. wrote: “Dr. Sam Shoemaker was one of A.A.’s indispensables. Had it not been for his ministry to us in our early time, our Fellowship would not be in existence today.”

Throughout his life, Shoemaker remained dedicated to ministry and spiritual renewal. He authored numerous books and articles on Christian spirituality, including "Realizing Religion." He also played a key role in the founding of the Spiritual Mobilization movement in the 1940s, which sought to promote spiritual values in American society.

Samuel Shoemaker passed away on October 31, 1963, leaving behind a legacy of spiritual insight and compassionate ministry. He is remembered as a pioneer in the field of Christian spirituality and as a guiding figure in the early history of Alcoholics Anonymous.

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This book is in very good condition. There is normal wear to the book and dust jacket.

Please view all of the photos for the conditions.