Author John C Knapp argues that, by and large, the church is ill-prepared for the woman who wonders what Sunday worship has to do with her hard hours as a hotel housekeeper. The tendency is for church leaders to unconsciously devalue ‘secular’ work and make it difficult for men and women like her to find support, encouragement and guidance from the Church.

John C. Knapp argues that the church's ambiguous teachings about vocation, money, and business have long contributed to Christians' uncertainty about discipleship in the workplace. How the Church Fails Businesspeople (and What Can Be Done About It) addresses the subtle and unintentional tendency to dismiss and devalue “secular” work. Drawing on his own research and expertise John C. Knapp offers a new theological framework for Christian life in the world of business.

In How the Church Fails Businesspeople, John C Knapp draws heavily on the example of nineteenth-century minister, Charles Sheldon, best known for his classic 'In His Steps: What Would Jesus Do?' Sheldon gleaned an immense amount of valuable material which helped him break down “the distrust that exists between the workingman and the church.”