When I volunteered with Mother Teresa and the Missionaries of Charity in 1996 for two months, she basically told me that I did not yet know my call; she was right. I was 44 and a struggling new Christian, only three years old in Christ.Read more…
Devotions: Beatitudes (5) — Mercy
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. — Matthew 5:7 Probably next to love, no other character quality so defines God as that of “mercy”. And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you andRead more…
Finding Calcutta: An “Advent”-ure
Have you found yourself on an Advent-ure as we’ve considered Finding Calcutta? Do you find yourself longing for and waiting upon the coming of the Lord in your life, your neighborhood, your discipline, your campus, your nation, the creation?Read more…
Finding Calcutta: What is My Legacy?
How would you articulate the gulf between a secular legacy, one of the world’s primary measures of a life’s work, and faithful fulfillment of Christian calling?Read more…
Finding Calcutta: I’m not called to be Mother Teresa, but . . .
As Mother Teresa said, “You can do something I cannot do. I can do something you cannot do. Together let us do something beautiful for God.”Read more…
Finding Calcutta: “call awareness” w/o losing “Caller dependence”
Questions to explore: What is the definition of calling? What are biblical characteristics of “finding” one’s calling? Who comes to mind as examples of biblical characters who “found” their calling? What are sins that undermine our calling and we shouldRead more…
Finding Calcutta: Find yourself in doing, not criticizing
What are spiritual principles for our attitude and our actions in pursuing God’s calling? How are attitude, action and audience are part of our calling?Read more…
Finding Calcutta: Jesus’ Call to Us – “Follow Me.”
How do we identify and describe the various aspects of our Christian calling? What is the difference between the Christian understanding of calling to the popular secular use of the term?Read more…
Finding Calcutta: Prayer and Our Calling
How do we understand the role of prayer in seeking our calling with the Father? In what manner may the prayers, spiritual direction, and ministry of Mother Teresa, offer some guidance as we seek to understand and live our own calling by God.Read more…
Finding Calcutta: How do I get there? How should I prepare for the journey?
“Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage” (Psalm 84). . . . How do you recognize, articulate, and carry out the relationship of Christian calling for vocation with your life’s journey in Christ? Who holds you accountable in the daily grind across the various “spheres” through which you travel?Read more…
Finding Calcutta: To make possible true inner silence, practice
In follow up to “Finding Calcutta: Where is Calcutta? Somewhere beyond (just) ourselves,” below is a meditation for reflection upon our calling.Read more…
Finding Calcutta: Where is Calcutta? Somewhere beyond (just) ourselves.
Calcutta is … Calcutta is not …Read more…
Finding Calcutta: Where am I now? Is this my calling?
As we open “Finding Calcutta: What Mother Teresa Taught Me About Meaningful Work and Service” (Mary Poplin. IVP. 2008), let’s begin by wrestling with “Finding (my/your) Calcutta.”Read more…
An invitation to discuss “Finding Calcutta” by Mary Poplin
With our limited time, energy, finances, blog attention spans, why focus on Mary Poplin’s “Finding Calcutta: What Mother Teresa Taught Me About Meaningful Work and Service” (IVP. 2008)?Read more…
ESN: “An essential & growing movement”
In follow-up to The Unlikely Conversion of a Radical Scholar, below is a word from Mary Poplin, Professor of Education, Claremont Graduate University, regarding the value of the Emerging Scholars Network: The Emerging Scholars Network is an essential and growingRead more…
The Unlikely Conversion of a Radical Scholar
Over the course of the next several days, I have the privilege of working with Mary Poplin, Professor of Education, Claremont Graduate University, as she speaks for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship at a number of locations: Pittsburgh, PA (2/25-26),Read more…
Giggling and Mother Teresa
What does it mean to follow Christ? Is this a somber and serious thing, or a playful experience with surprises? These questions weren’t on my mind until after I heard Claremont Graduate University professor Mary Poplin speak Saturday afternoon. SheRead more…