Virtues and Character in Social Work Practice offers a fresh contribution to the Christian social work literature with its emphasis on the key role of character traits and virtues in equipping Christians in social work to engage with and serve their clients and communities well.
 Social work practitioners are social change agents who spend much of their time examining social structures and advocating for policies and programs to advance justice and increase opportunity. Social justice is central to the mission, professional development, and ethical decision making process in social work practice. However, the development of character traits and virtues for Christians in social work is equally important in furthering social justice and working with diverse populations. 
 A re-publication of the combined Summer and Fall, 2014 special issue of Social Work and Christianity (NACSW's quarterly journal), Virtue and Character in Social Work Practice brings to light questions about professional identity, relationships, and the ability to thrive and sustain social change through the understanding and development of a virtue framework. This framework combines philosophy, theology, and pedagogical practices to offer a holistic approach to professional development and explores the virtues of charity, faith, generosity, gratitude, and justice in social work practice. 
 Virtues and Character in Social Work Practice addresses a range of critical questions such as: 
<li>What character traits and virtues ought Christians in social work seek to nurture in their lives and work? </li>
<li>What sorts of dispositions, commitments, and practices should the social work profession seek to instill in social workers </li>
<li>What resources do Christian educators and trainers draw from to shape a vision for the type of social workers they hope to cultivate? </li>
<li>What is the role of the church in the character and virtue formation of Christians in social work? The purpose of this book is to explore how to form Christians in social work who love justice, who care deeply about people and their flourishing, who settle for nothing less than doing their work competently, and whose core posture toward their work is one of integrity.
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Virtues and Character in Social Work Practice

Terry A. Wolfer

Cheryl Brandsen

North American Association of Christians in Social Work (NACSW)

Why I Am a Social Worker describes the rich diversity and nature of the profession of social work through the 25 stories of daily lives and professional journeys chosen to represent the different people, groups and human situations where social workers serve.
 Many social workers of faith express that they feel called to help people - sometimes a specific population of people such as abused children or people who live in poverty. Often they describe this calling as a way of living out their faith. Why I Am a Social Worker serves as a resource for Christians in social work as they reflect on their sense of calling, and provides direction to guide them in this process.
 Why I Am a Social Worker employs a narrative, descriptive approach, allowing the relationship between faith and practice to emerge through the professional life stories of social workers who are Christians. As such, it provides a way to explore integration on personal, emotional and practical levels. Why I Am a Social Worker does not varnish the difficulties and struggles of this integration journey, but if you want to understand what social work is and how Christians live their faith from the experiences of actual social work, this book is for you.
 Why I Am a Social Worker has three main objectives:
 1) To describe the path of Christians into social work, how their work is an expression of their faith, and how their faith motivates, sustains, and is challenged by their work.
 2) To sample the breadth of social work as a profession, from public to private and from nonsectarian to religious congregational settings, and how faith finds a diversity of expressions.
 3) To serve as a resource for exploring the ethical integration of faith with professional practice. 
Why I Am a Social Worker addresses a range of critical questions such as:
 a) How do social workers describe the relationship of their faith and their work?
 b) What is their daily work-life like, with its challenges, frustrations, joys and triumphs? 
 c) What was their path into social work, and more particularly, the kind of social work they chose?
 d) What roles do their religious beliefs and spiritual practices have in sustaining them for the work, and how has their work, in turn, shaped their religious and spiritual life? 
Why I Am a Social Worker will provide you with a realistic view of the gritty realities of a profession that is at the forefront of serving those Jesus described as the least of these (Matthew 25).

Why I Am a Social Worker: 25 Christians Tell Their Life Stories

Diana R. Garland

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Books by North American Association of Christians in Social Work (NACSW)

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Virtues and Character in Social Work Practice

Why I Am a Social Worker: 25 Christians Tell Their Life Stories