In celebration of Labor Day and in preparation for Scholar’s Call, please take a few minutes to join me in considering how you define/embrace vocation and what resources you’ve found of particular value (please keep sending suggestions and filling out the writer survey).
For inspiration, Steve Garber offers in Visions of Vocation: Common Grace for the Common Good (InterVarsity Press, 2014):
The word vocation is a rich one, having to address the wholeness of life, the range of relationships and responsibilities. Work, yes, but also families, and neighbors, and citizenship, locally and globally — all of this and more is seen as vocation, that to which I am called as a human being, living my life before the face of God. It is never the same word as occupation, just as calling is never the same word as career. Sometimes, by grace, the words and the realities they represent do overlap, even significantly; sometimes, in the incompleteness of life in a fallen world, there is not much overlap at all (11).
AND Doug Koskela writes in Calling and Clarity: Discovering What God Wants for Your Life (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2015):
At its heart, vocation refers to the various ways in which God calls us to live. We have choices to make about how we will use our time, our energy, and our gifts. The various levels of calling guide us in making good and faithful choices (xiii).
Consider this post not only an invitation to reflect upon and share your insights/writing, but also a teaser of more quotes/resources regarding vocation (e.g., Steve Garber’s presentations at this summer’s Midwest InterVarsity Faculty Conference) as we develop Scholar’s Call. Stay tuned. To God be glory!
Thank-you to InterVarasity Press and Eerdmans for providing review copies of excellent campus ministry resources. Your partnership and encouragement in ministry is much appreciated.
About the author:
Tom enjoys daily conversations regarding living out the Biblical Story with his wife Theresa and their four girls, around the block, at Elizabethtown Brethren in Christ Church (where he teaches adult electives and co-leads a small group), among healthcare professionals as the Northeast Regional Director for the Christian Medical & Dental Associations (CMDA), and in higher ed as a volunteer with the Emerging Scholars Network (ESN). For a number of years, the Christian Medical Society / CMDA at Penn State College of Medicine was the hub of his ministry with CMDA. Note: Tom served with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship / USA for 20+ years, including 6+ years as the Associate Director of ESN. He has written for the ESN blog from its launch in August 2008. He has studied Biology (B.S.), Higher Education (M.A.), Spiritual Direction (Certificate), Spiritual Formation (M.A.R.), Ministry to Emerging Generations (D.Min.). To God be the glory!