InterVarsity's Emerging Scholars Network
Brendan: A Novel, Frederick Buechner. New York, NY: Harper Collins, 1987, 2000.
Summary: This is a fictional account of the life of St. Brendan, often known as the Navigator. Buechner traces his life from being taking by St. Erc at one through his early years, the establishment of his leadership in founding Clonfert and in making kings, and most of all his marathon journeys, one lasting seven years. [Read more…] about Book Review: Brendan: A Novel, by Frederick Buechner
A few weeks ago, my friend and colleague Nan Thomas got in touch with me, wanting to discuss Chaim Potok’s 1972 novel My Name Is Asher Lev. According to Nan, I had once recommended this book for discussions of calling and vocation among faculty and graduate students. I couldn’t remember making that recommendation, but it made perfect sense to me — the novel had served that exact role in my Christianity and the Arts degree at Regent College.[1. Many thanks to Loren Wilkinson, Maxine Hancock, and Dal Schindell for introducing me to this book.].
In addition to her role with InterVarsity Faculty Ministry, Nan also works for the Center for Faculty Development at Union University, and she had just finished reading My Name Is Asher Lev with a group of Union faculty. My conversation with Nan confirmed that this novel can be a powerful resource for considering calling and vocation.
If you haven’t read this wonderful novel, let me start by providing some context. I’ll do my best not to give away any of the important plot points, in case you want to read it yourself (as, of course, you should).
Chaim Potok, who passed away in 2002, was an American Jewish novelist (and, briefly, Army chaplain) who wrote several critically acclaimed novels about the world of American Judaism. Set in Brooklyn during in the 1950s and 60s, My Name Is Asher Lev follows a Hasidic boy (and later young man) named Asher Lev, whose artistic gifts and desire to become an artist creates problems within his family and their tight-knit, highly religious community.[2. Asher and his family belong to a fictional Brooklyn-based “Ladover†movement of Jews, which was based on the real-life Lubavitcher Hasidic movement.] Asher’s parents, Aryeh and Rivkeh, work for the Rebbe (the leader of the community) by rescuing and relocating Jews from the Soviet Union and other Communist countries and, later, by establishing Hasidic communities throughout Europe. [Read more…] about Calling, Vocation, and Asher Lev
As Kent Annan, co-director/co-founder of Haiti Partners and author of two InterVarsity Press books, wrapped up his visit to South Central PA, I asked him to share a brief reflection of his campus tour. Below’s what he shared. Thank you, Kent!
———
All week I’ve been speaking with university students (undergrad and grad), faculty, and staff on six campuses in South Central Pennsylvania. My public speaking schedule has increased a lot in the past two years, with two books coming out. At first when I went to campuses, I was unsure on what to talk about; it had been seventeen years since I graduated from college.
I told my stories, what I was experiencing and thinking about, in Haiti, with development work, and in the life of faith (and doubt). But I also loved listening to them, hearing what was on their minds. One element that I needed to integrate quickly became clear because it was almost always the first question that came up: vocation.
Of course. Should have thought of that.
[Read more…] about What gives Kent Annan focus as he shares on campus?
Introduction
Since I only had one respondent to Do You Have a Mission Statement?, maybe this topic is even more important than I thought (or maybe it’s been overdone. Feel free to comment on this topic if you desire). As you may remember, I’m sharing my notes from a presentation by a physician who spoke to the PSU-Hershey Christian Medical Society. Good material! My purpose is to stimulate conversation/thought on:
“Do you have a personal mission statement? If so, how did you come about one? Was this a part of (or separate from) your undergraduate/graduate academic community, adviser’s mentoring, campus ministry, “journey,†training?
If you haven’t explored this territory in the past, I hope that this post encourages you to do such.
Review
As I noted last week, the physician began by pointing out the incompleteness of success defined as
“‘Be smart + work hard + be nice’ plus some God.”
He focused upon how we must be open and available to God integrating into all aspects of our life, even the good ones. Imagine a Calculus integration problem. Furthermore, cultivate a vision for life: a single image which captures your imagination, as it is inspired by God, in movement toward an ultimate goal. For more visit Do You Have a Mission Statement?
New material