So You Want to Be a Social Worker: A Primer for the Christian

Politics & Social Sciences

Keith-Lucas, Alan

Social Sciences

North American Association of Christians in Social Work

Hearts Strangely Warmed : Reflections of Biblical Passages Relevant to Social Work

Health, Fitness & Dieting

Lawrence E. Ressler

Diets & Weight Loss

Integrating Faith and Practice: A History of the North American Association of Christians in Social Work 1950-1993

History

Charitable Choice: The Challenge and Opportunity for Faith-Based Community Services brings together a significant collection of resources for faith communities and social workers on the important topic of Charitable Choice. It is a resource for social work practitioners, educators, and students, for leaders in churches and faith-based programs, and for advocates for the poor. 
Charitable Choice contains overviews of the Charitable Choice legislation itself and raises significant issues and questions regarding its implementation. It documents initial efforts by states to implement the law, provides examples of church involvement in community social ministry, looks at characteristics and attitudes of staff at faith-based programs, explores the experiences of volunteer mentors in social welfare programs, and it gives a rich qualitative look at how some rural churches respond to poverty and policy. 
Professional social workers are in a unique position to help bring people of faith and people in need together, especially if these social workers are persons of faith themselves. This book is a resource to equip us to help others in a way that really helps.

Charitable Choice: The Challenge and Opportunity for Faith-Based Community Services

The first edition of Christianity and Social Work (1998) was written to offer a Christian perspective on the social work profession as a whole, as well as on specific topics within the profession. For this second edition, editors Beryl Hugen and Laine Scales surveyed college teachers inquiring what new topics they felt should be added to keep pace with recent changes in the profession. The resulting 400+ page volume includes chapter topics organized around three themes: 
1. A Christian Worldview and Social Work - articulates a variety of Christian principles and encourages readers to relate a Christian worldview related to social work. 
2. Spiritual Dimensions in Social Work Practice - affirms that spirituality and religious beliefs are integral to the nature of the person and have a vital influence on human behavior. 
3. The Changing Environment in Social Work Practice - addresses issues surrounding faith-based organizations and the delivery of social services as well as the role of congregations in responding to social concerns. 
Christianity and Social Work is intended for a variety of audiences, including social work practitioners, educators, and students at the undergraduate and graduate levels. It is organized so that it can be used as a textbook or supplemental text in a social work class, or as a training or reference materials for practitioners. Readings address a breadth of curriculum areas such as social welfare history, human behavior and the social environment, social policy, and practice at micro, mezzo, and macro levels.

Christianity and Social Work: Readings on the Integration of Christian Faith and Social Work Practice, Second Edition

This extensively-revised third edition of Christianity and Social Work, 11 new chapters, is written for social workers whose motivations to enter the profession are informed by their Christian faith, and whose desire is to further develop Christian approaches to helping. It is organized around four themes: 1. A Christian Worldview and Social Work offers Christians in social work a variety of frameworks to help link their Christian faith, personal identity, and professional social work practice; 2. Exploring Foundational Christian Beliefs and Values for Social Work articulates how Christians social workers can relate or evaluate the values of the social work profession with the values and beliefs derived from a biblical perspective; 3. Spiritual and Religious Dimensions in Social Work Practice introduces the reader to differing models for incorporating Christian spirituality in a variety of practice areas; 4. The Changing Environment in Social Work Practice addresses the current call for community and faith-based organizations, as well as congregations, to take increasing responsibility for social and economic needs of their communities. Christianity and Social Work is intended for a variety of audiences, including social work practitioners, educators, and students at the undergraduate and graduate levels. It is organized so that it can be used as a textbook or supplemental text in a social work class, or as a training or reference materials for practitioners. Readings address a breadth of curriculum areas such as social welfare history, human behavior and the social environment, social policy, and practice at micro, mezzo, and macro levels.

Christianity and Social Work: Readings on the Integration of Christian Faith and Social Work Practice (3rd Edition)

On Becoming a Christian Educator in Social Work is a compelling invitation for social workers of faith in higher education to explore what it means to be a Christian in social work education. By highlighting seven core commitments of Christian social work educators, it offers strategies for social work educators to connect their personal faith journeys to effective teaching practices with their students. As David Sherwood notes in his foreword to this important book: Michael writes about what it means to take seriously the call to be a Christian social work educator, seeking to be a faithful, whole person one who authentically integrates faith, learning, teaching, and practice. . . Though grounded in research on student expectations and perceptions regarding faith integration in social work classrooms and a Christian worldview, this book is not a philosophical or theological treatise on integration and epistemology. The book is immanently practical. . . Some specific classroom components will be more applicable in explicitly Christian colleges and universities, but the overall framework of thinking about the vocation of the Christian social work educator can be applied by Christian educators in any setting.

On Becoming a Christian Educator in Social Work

Michael Sherr

Grappling with Faith: Decision Cases for Christians in Social Work (November, 2010), presents fifteen cases specifically designed to challenge and stretch Christian social work students and practitioners. Using the case method of teaching and learning, Grappling with Faith highlights the ambiguities and dilemmas found in a wide variety of areas of social work practice, provoking active decision making and helping develop readers' critical thinking skills. Each case provides a clear focal point for initiating stimulating, in-depth discussions for use in social work classroom or training settings. These discussions require that students use their knowledge of social work theory and research, their skills of analysis and problem solving, and their common sense and collective wisdom to identify and analyze problems, evaluate possible solutions, and decide what to do in these complex and difficult situations.
 Based on field research, the cases portray the actual experiences of real social workers. They are drawn from many different fields of practice and from both faith-based and public settings. They portray intertwined and sometimes conflicting client needs and values; social worker values and professional obligations; organizational dilemmas; and dilemmas related to Biblical, theological, and philosophical perspectives. The cases press readers to consider individual and organizational needs, contradictory policy requirements, the limits of professional intervention, value or ethical dilemmas, and the unintended consequences of decisions. They all include a social worker who identifies as a Christian, which will especially resonate with Christian social work students and practitioners.

Grappling with Faith: Decision Cases for Christians in Social Work

Terry A. Wolfer

Mackenzi Huyser

The fourth edition of Christianity and Social Work is written for social workers whose motivations to enter the profession are informed by their Christian faith, and who desire to develop faithfully Christian approaches to helping. 
Christianity and Social Work is organized around four themes: a) Christian Roots of the Social Work Profession; b) Christians Called to Social Work: Scriptural Basis, Worldviews and Ethics; c) Human Behavior and Spiritual Development in a Diverse World; d) Christians in Social Work Practice: Contemporary Issues. Chapters address a breadth of curriculum areas such as social welfare history, human behavior and the social environment, social policy, and practice at micro, mezzo, and macro levels. 
Containing over 20 chapters and more than 400 pages, this revised edition of CSW include six new chapters in response to requests by readers of previous editions, including chapters on issues of sexual orientation, Evidence-based Practice (EBP), models of integrating faith and practice, as well as an enhanced section on the role of Christianity in social welfare history. 
NACSW provides upon request (info@nacsw.org) an accompanying electronic resource entitled Instructor Resources for Christianity and Social Work (2012) by Mary Anne Poe. This resource offers outlines, suggestions regarding specific core competencies found in the Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards of the Council on Social Work Education, summaries of key concepts and terms, learning objectives, discussion questions, suggested class activities and assignments, and annotated bibliographies for each chapter. 
In organizing this 4th edition, NACSW has carefully considered the Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS) from the Council on Social Work Education. It is important for schools of social work to show how they prepare students to demonstrate specific competencies in social work practice. To help with this integration CSW includes Appendices with charts that guide readers toward potential connections. These tools will be a helpful guide for both instructors and students.

Christianity and Social Work: Readings in the Integration of Christian Faith and Social Work Practice - Fourth Edition

T. Laine Scales

Michael S. Kelly

Congregational Social Work: Christian Perspectives by Drs. Diana Garland and Gaynor Yancey offers a compelling account of the many ways social workers serve the church as leaders of congregational life, of ministry to neighborhoods locally and globally, and of advocacy for social justice. Based on the most comprehensive study to date on social work with congregations, Congregational Social Work shares illuminating stories and experiences from social workers engaged in powerful and effective work within and in support of congregations throughout the US. Congregational Social Work work includes chapters on topics such as: 
<li>What is Church Social Work? </li>
<li>Congregations as Context for Social Work </li>
<li>Social Workers as Congregational Leaders </li>
<li>Leading from Charity to Justice </li>
<li>And much more! Congregational Social Work(ISBN 978-0-9715318-8-8) is over 300 pages long and includes dozens of photos tracing the history of congregational social work.
</li>

Congregational Social Work: Christian Perspectives

Diana R. Garland

Gaynor I. Yancey

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Books by North American Association of Christians in Social Work