Redeeming Law: Christian Calling and the Legal Profession,   ISBN:9780830825998

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Redeeming Law aids the Christian lawyer in transforming his view of his practice. Its best quality is emphasizing that work (vocation) is serving Christ and our neighbors; it is not distinct from "Christian ministry" within the local church. Our calling as lawyers must be integrated with the other aspects of our lives -- our callings as husbands, fathers, and church members. We serve and love God and our neighbors by doing our work in a biblical way and with a biblical mindset. The book is more theory than practice. Significant (though surface-level) practical applications don't come until the final 18 pages. It contains too many sentences like this: "We work out norms (through general and special revelation) in light of community (historical and present) existentially (in the context of our dignity as a human and in the context of calling, role, or office). It is uniformly humorless. But it has helped me recognize the significance (and the benefit if done right) of what I do as a lawyer, not on a global level, but on a personal and spiritual level).

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Mike Schutt pulls no punches in this provocative and inspiring challenge to those of us lawyers who claim to be followers of Christ. While undergirded by faithful optimism, this isn't some shallow feel-good book offering easy answers. To the contrary, Schutt calls Christian attorneys to a comprehensive and thoroughly transformative model of redemptive legal thinking.

To get a sense of how Mike cuts straight to the hearts of those who practice the profession of law, consider just one of the many blunt questions he asks: "How do we know that the lawyer's calling is - or can be - legitimate love of and service to neighbor rather than simply respectable prostitution?" Ouch.

If you, like me, are a lawyer honestly seeking to serve and honor Jesus in and through your legal vocation, then you need to open this book, the sooner the better. You will be blessed in your ongoing struggle to genuinely integrate your faith and your career.

While I might consider my own book, The Believer's Guide to Legal Issues, to be a "must read" for Christian laypersons facing common legal issues, "Redeeming Law" is absolutely a "must read" for Christian lawyers!