Inside Job: Doing the Work Within the Work - Softcover

Stephen W. Smith is the cofounder and spiritual director of The Potter's Inn, a ministry providing resources and services in spiritual formation. He is the author of Embracing Soul Care and The Lazarus Life.

"It is a sobering reality that many of us as leaders plunge ahead in the work we do, the relationships that we develop and the lifestyle that we adopt without a realistic perspective of what drives us. This subverts what ought to be joy, and makes us susceptible to failure or burnout. Stephen Smith offers us in Inside Job a path for proper self-examination. . . . Read this book with an open mind and heart and you will know God and yourself much better. The people around you will be glad for it." (Mel Lawrenz, minister at large, Elmbrook Church)

"As a physician, I encourage people to examine, evaluate and improve their physical, emotional, relational and spiritual health on a frequent basis. Stephen W. Smith's book is an inspiring and practical manual for those in the marketplace and ministry wanting to evaluate their vitality and resilience and the health of their leadership. I highly recommend this book!" (Walt Larimore, family physician and bestselling author)

"Steve is a prophet for our day, calling us from the idolatrous worship of success back to the worship of the true God who designed rhythm and rest. As a fellow traveler who has experienced the roughness of the journey, he invites us to journey within our own hearts―'to work within the work.' I heartily endorse this timely and very important book that calls us back to our hearts' true home." (Nelson Okanya, president, Eastern Mennonite Missions)

"Inside Job helps us grow the inner heart of leadership. We cannot be content with how we look to other people or the 'successes' we have in our life, ministry or work. We must give focused attention to our inner life. Inside Job guides us through the urgent journey each leader must take." (Stacy Rinehart, founder, MentorLink International)

"In most of my leadership training, including as a Harvard MBA, the focus was largely outward―on assessments, strategies, results, etc.―with very little focus on me, my character and my spiritual formation. I've learned through the years, however, and often the hard way, that my leadership effectiveness in both Christian ministry and the commercial marketplace has much more to do with my character than my ideas. Inside Job shows us the way to lead more effectively from the inside out." (Tripp Johnston, executive director, SIM's Sports Friends Ministry)

"We run as hard as we can in the pursuit of success and contentment only to find out that true success, contentment and transformation come from the 'inside job.' I highly recommend this book as a place for you to begin your inside work." (Mark Linsz, former treasurer of Bank of America, cofounder and senior managing partner of My Next Season)

"Inside Job provokes honest reflection and heartfelt response that invites the reader into a deeper walk with Christ―a journey of steadfast resilience toward a life of love. Quite countercultural in his approach, Steve Smith encourages the reader to consider traveling the descent of Christlike humility rather than the ascent of worldly success." (Stephen Macchia, Leadership Transformations, Inc., author of Crafting a Rule of Life)

"Stephen Smith understands that there's a big difference between living life in balance, and living in rhythm. The former leaves leaders stuck on a treadmill of stress and disillusionment. But the latter helps them truly discover their purpose and live within life's limits. Inside Job should be essential reading for anyone who is tired of the rat race." (Jim Daly, president, Focus on the Family)

"Like a laser beam, Inside Job penetrates to the heart of what Christian leadership is all about. In a day and age when much of leadership centers around an array of tips and techniques, Steve Smith takes us to the true focus of leadership―character. . . . His wisdom, insights and straightforward approach will lead you to understand that leadership success is truly an inside-out job. . . . This is a must read for those who truly want to lead in the way of Christ!" (Randy Rains, associate vice president, International Mission Board, SBC)

"With Inside Job, Steve Smith offers us a thirst-quenching read that gently but unflinchingly awakens us to the hard effort and liberation, the suffering and joy, of what it means to lead as Jesus leads―from the inside out. But more poignantly, my friend and teacher opens to us his own heart in all of its beauty and brokenness, hopes and fears―and ultimately with the necessary confidence in the inside job that God is already doing in each of us to bring this world to glory. The only question that remains is whether or not we will join him in that endeavor. Reading this book will make you want to more than ever. Read it and learn to lead like Jesus leads." (Curt Thompson, author of Anatomy of the Soul and The Soul of Shame)