Stephen Bloom admits he had no romanticized notions of being a justice fighter or peacemaker when he started his career as a lawyer. He attended Dickinson School of Law in Carlisle, Pa., for purely mercenary reasons – because he knew he had the required skills and could make a good living. But God had other plans.

Although Bloom had no exposure to Christianity while growing up in New York, Michigan and Pennsylvania, and didn’t even set foot inside a church until he was 18, he began to feel God’s “prevenient grace – God reaching out to you before you are ready to reach out for Him,” during his second year in law school.

“I wasn’t looking for Christianity, but I was starting to be drawn to it, sort of inexplicably,” Bloom says. “I would pray the ‘agnostic’s prayer’ – ‘God if you exist, show me a sign.’ I realized I had been blessed in so many different ways; that was the sign. That got my attention.”

With encouragement from his wife, Sharon, and his pastor at Grace United Methodist Church in Carlisle, Pa., the only church he has ever attended, Bloom became a born-again Christian two years out of law school while he was practicing as an attorney at a large, secular law firm. Then the uneasiness set in.

“Your job as a secular attorney is assumed to strictly be a zealous advocate for your client, no matter what the situation, no matter what the morality of the client’s cause,” Bloom says. “I wasn’t happy with that at all. I felt like I was undermining the kingdom of God by sometimes working for causes I felt were absolutely improper, that were detrimental to the overall well-being of society and a poor witness for Christ.”

Although he began to envision starting his own private, Christian law practice, the realities of leaving such a secure job while trying to raise his three children, Nick, Anna and Katy, hindered his desire to leave the firm.

“My wife and I were constantly praying about it. I would get to the point where I decided I had to make a change, but then the practical realities would flow back in and I would think ‘I need to be a witness where I am. Isn’t that the right thing to do?’”

Watershed moment

At a crossroads, Bloom prayed God would give him guidance while at a Promise Keepers men’s convention in Philadelphia, Pa., in 1998. Amidst the prayers of the other 40,000 men in the stadium, Bloom experienced what he calls his “watershed moment.”

“I sensed God speaking to me. It wasn’t like I could hear it with my ears, but it was clear as can be. I heard God saying to me, ‘You know what you have to do.’ I realized right then and there that I was going to have to leave that law firm and I was going to have to strike out and do a so-called Christian law practice. I didn’t know what that would look like and I still don't know for sure; it’s a work in progress.”

Stephen Bloom guesting on "The Harvest Show," an internationally broadcast Christian television program, with hosts Kelly Morgan and Stefan Radelich.

Eight months later and with his wife as his administrative assistant, Bloom launched his solo practice out of his home in Carlisle, Pa., later hiring two paralegals. Although he took a titanic leap of faith in leaving the secular law firm, Bloom still faced challenges in adjusting to his work as a Christian lawyer.

“It was a lot of unlearning old habits and trying to think outside the box. I had to really ask myself the question, ‘How can I be an advocate for Christ in these situations?’”

Sitting on a gold mine

Stephen Bloom signing copies of his book, "The Believer's Guide to Legal Issues" for patrons at the International Christian Retail Show in Orlando, Fl.

Bloom often turned to his Bible for guidance on handling legal issues from a Christian perspective, finding verses such as 1 Corinthians 6:1: “If any of you has a dispute with another, dare he take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the saints?” He began keeping notebooks to record the verses, later sharing his newfound insight with Central Pennsylvanians on a radio show, “Practical Counsel – Christian Perspective.”

After two and a half years of writing scripts for the radio show, Bloom realized he was “sitting on a gold mine of knowledge and had to get the word out.” He began writing “The Believer's Guide to Legal Issues,” a book containing practical legal advice for lay Christians, appropriately filled with Bible verses.

Book launch for Stephen Bloom's "Believer's Guide to Legal Issues," after men at his church symbolically outfitted him in the full armor of God (Ephesians 6). Left to right: Anna (daughter), Sharon (wife), Stephen, Katy (daughter).

With the book ready to be published and an opportunity to teach economics and finance part-time at Messiah College in Grantham, Pa., Bloom realized he could no longer manage his Christian law practice on his own. In 2007, he merged his solo practice with Irwin & McKnight, a Christian law firm in Carlisle, Pa. After previously working at the secular law firm, Bloom marveled at the “huge differences” evident at Irwin & McKnight.

“We look at things from a perspective of how we can honor Christ in what we’re doing,” Bloom says, noting even the staff meetings reveal the gaping contrasts between secular and Christian law firms. “We start our meetings reading from the Bible, discussing our prayer needs and the prayer needs of our clients, and praying.”

Christian law firm, Irwin & McKnight Front row, left to right: Matthew McKnight, Macus McKinght, Roger Irwin, Douglas Miller, Stephen Bloom; Back row: Sharon Schwaim, Jean Rice, Cheryl Cleland, Karen Noel, Marti Noel, Traci Smith

Above all, Bloom delights in his newfound role as peacemaker, based on one of the Beatitudes in Matthew 5:9: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.” He often shares the Matthew 18 principle of reconciliation with clients, who ultimately resolve their conflicts on their own without divisive legal action.

“That’s just the most exciting thing I think I can do. Those are the cases that don’t make headlines and no one even hears about it. It was just a matter of rather than throwing gasoline on a fire, I was able to be a peacemaker.”

Stephen Bloom teaching economics at Messiah College where he serves on the faculty as a Lecturer in Management and Business

Bloom plans to continue “working with God, not against God” and is currently drafting a proposal for a new book about a Christian’s right to religious freedom in America. As he continues in his work as a Christian lawyer and part-time professor at Messiah College, he ardently reminds his peers, students and fellow Christians that God can be glorified under all circumstances, even in the cut-throat legal arena.

“No matter what your profession is, you can be a witness for Christ in that profession. Look at the Scriptures and see how you can bring God’s wisdom to your work, and then do it.” 

You can purchase “The Believer’s Guide to Legal Issues” at www.amazon.com and www.christianbook.com. For more information on the book and Stephen Bloom, visit www.istherealawyerinthechurch.com and www.practicalcounsel.com.