
The contributors to Faithful is Successful, Notes to a Driven Pilgrim are very much interested in feedback from and interaction with Emerging Scholars. That’s why they’re sharing their material with a volunteer ESN writer team to review and respond to via an ESN blog series. Andy Walsh kicked off the series with In Response to “The Difficulty Discerning Callingâ€. In Following Jesus in the “Real Worldâ€, Kate Peterson explored material from the first two chapters. Andy and I invite you to join our interaction with Interruptions are not distractions by Laura Meitzner Yoder. Note: In Seeking Environmental Justice in Southeast Asia (The Well), Laura Meitzner Yoder provides an inside look at some of her university teaching and field work. ~ Thomas B. Grosh IV, Editor.
First from Andy Walsh:
Laura Meitzner Yoder’s comments on interruptions reminded me of the NY Times profile of Adam Grant that Mike referenced in an earlier ESN post. There’s certainly a common thread of being open to interruptions and recognizing them as potential vehicles of success, rather than obstacles to it. Now, I suspect that Yoder and Grant might have different notions of what constitutes success, or at least the scope of their definitions may not overlap completely. But the more interesting difference to me is in discernment about the interruptions. Grant is depicted as essentially not exercising any discernment; he is shown to never say ‘no.’ Yoder proposes that “what differentiates God-given interruptions from distractions is whether they contribute to or detract from our overall purpose.” However, there isn’t much elaboration on how to make this distinction. Instead, there seems to be the typical post hoc analysis that frames whatever interruptions are encountered in terms of furthering God’s kingdom.
[Read more…] about Interruptions are not distractions for the driven pilgrim?