Emerging Scholars Blog

InterVarsity's Emerging Scholars Network

The Call

Next Steps for the Emerging Scholars Network (ESN) — Part 1

The Call by Os Guinness
The Call: Finding and Fulfilling the Central Purpose of Your Life by Os Guinness

Calling is the truth that God calls us to himself so decisively that everything we are, everything we do, and everything we have is invested with a special devotion and dynamism lived out as a response to his summons and service. — Os Guinness, The Call: Finding and Fulfilling the Central Purpose of Your Life (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2003), 4, 29.

As some of you know (may even remember), 5 years ago I became the Associate Director of the Emerging Scholars Network (ESN). What a privilege it has been to be part of connecting, encouraging, equipping and mentoring a growing network (4,200+) of those on the academic pathway (undergrads, grad students, postdocs and early career faculty) via blogging, facebook, ministry/conference partnerships, paper.li, and twitter. Note: If you have not already joined ESN’s dynamic network, please do such 🙂

When launched on March 1, 2004, ESN offered to help every member, at whatever career stage, to ask — and formulate answers to “The Four Questions”:

  • Why should I consider pursuing an academic vocation, for my entire career or a significant amount of time?
  • What do I need to learn about Christian thought and practice to be faithful within my academic calling?
  • How do I navigate the various stages and transitions of an academic vocation?
  • Who can help me at each stage of my professional development, and whom can I help?
Enjoyed an evening listening to Philip Yancey at the American Scientific Affiliation’s Annual Meeting (2017). 60 students were part of this year’s conference. “Thank-you!” to the STEAM Project for their assistance with funding our endeavors.

Exploring “The Four Questions” led members of the ESN staff team and partners in ministry (including a strong contingent of faculty) to

When asked what ESN does, I typically turn to stories and illustrations drawn from a list such as the above, but when engaged in planning next steps I have found the below list of benefit.

  • Building/encouraging/publicizing networks of Christians within academic fields
  • Connecting students in transition to InterVarsity events/campus groups and resources beyond the academy
  • Producing material to support groups and individuals exploring their academic vocation and sharing it on our blog
  • Providing emerging scholars opportunities to connect with peers and mentor figures online and at conferences
  • Providing emerging scholars training and opportunities to grow as public intellectuals and bless the church and the world through blogging and speaking opportunities
  • Engaging InterVarsity alumni with a desire to serve emerging scholars

Stay tuned, much more to share in future posts about ESN’s history, next steps, and very specific stories as to how we have served students, recent graduates, and faculty at important times in their academic journey. Your prayers, partnership (as the Lord enables), and encouragement in this Kingdom work is much appreciated. To God be the glory!

Connecting with ESN has really enriched my experience at Urbana because it expanded my mind to see that God called me into the engineering field for a reason. Missions and academic/vocational pursuit are not two separate ideas, but rather beautifully intertwined to fulfill a piece of God’s bigger story for my generation. — Galina, ESN Urbana 15 participant, currently a grad student

Best Books on Calling and Vocation?

I recently wrote about themes of calling and vocation in Chaim Potok’s My Name Is Asher Lev. This got me to thinking:

What are the best books on calling and vocation?

Here are a few that occur to me. What books would you add to the list? These below are all Christian nonfiction books, but novels, secular guides, poetry, anything, is welcome as suggestions.

The Call by Os Guinness
The Call by Os Guinness

Os Guinness, The Call: Finding and Fulfilling the Central Purpose of Your Life One of the classics on calling and vocation, this book is made up of many short, reflective chapters that make for good meditative reading. It also features a passage that I’ve quoted more than probably anything else I’ve read:

Our primary calling as followers of Christ is by him, to him, and for him. First and foremost we are called to Someone (God), not to something (such as motherhood, politics, or teaching) or to somewhere (such as the inner city or Outer Mongolia).

Our secondary calling, considering who God is as sovereign, is that everyone, everywhere, and in everything should think, speak, live, and act entirely for him. We can therefore properly say as a matter of secondary calling that we are called to homemaking or to the practice of law or to art history. But these and other things are always the secondary, never the primary calling. They are “callings” rather than the “calling.” They are our personal answer to God’s address, our response to God’s summons. Secondary callings matter, but only because the primary calling matters most. (The Call, p. 31)

Courage and Calling by Gordon Smith

Gordon Smith, Courage and Calling: Embracing Your God-Given Potential. If Guinness is reflective, I would characterize Smith as analytical. I go to Smith when I’m looking for a good definition for a concept, or a discussion of some specific issue, such as matching your personal calling with the corporate calling of an organization or business.

<em>Culture Making</em> by Andy Crouch
Culture Making by Andy Crouch

Andy Crouch, Culture Making: Recovering Our Creative Calling. The two books above deal directly with an individual’s personal calling. Crouch’s, in contrast, deals the questions of human calling in general: Why do we work? How do we approach culture? Do the artifacts of human culture have eternal value? Editor’s note (12/7/2013, 6:18 pm): Click here for a post focused on Culture Making.

The Fabric of Faithfulness: Weaving Together Belief and Behavior by Steven Garber

Steven Garber, The Fabric of Faithfulness: Weaving Together Belief and Behavior. Someone — I think it was David McNeill — gave me this book when I transitioning from college to career, and it had a profound influence over my life for many years. Garber explores the issue of living a consistent life, in which our actions, decisions, career, etc., match what we say we believe. This integrity is central to understanding calling and vocation.

Those are a few of my choices. What books would you add? Please add your recommendations to the comments.

Finding Calcutta: Find yourself in doing, not criticizing

At a recent Christian Scholars Series event, Phil Thuma, M.D., shared his call (and heart) for Malaria research at Macha Missionary Hospital, Zambia. He counted the cost for his family and his professional standing. The Lord provided for his family and the work — funding despite relationship with a missionary hospital, near eradication of Malaria in the rural area served by the hospital, & testimony to God’s healing delivered through research by followers of Christ. Thuma’s seeking opportunities to share the research in other parts of Zambia.  To God be the glory! More of his story in a future post, but if you would like a glimpse of his humble service visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tey4nNq8Hww.

Questions on the table:

  • What are the spiritual principles for our attitude and our actions in pursuing God’s calling?
  • How are attitude, action and audience part of our calling?

The Attitude of the Called

Our eyes and our heart should be on our God.  Criticism and cynicism do not have a place in our calling.

Mother (Teresa) believed that criticism weakens our will to obey, and that our will is the only thing that God will not take from us.  Mother Teresa wrote to her sisters, “It is much easier to conquer a country than to conquer ourselves.  Every act of disobedience weakens my spiritual life.  It is like a wound letting out every drop of one’s blood.  Nothing can cause this havoc in our spiritual life as quickly as disobedience” (Mary Poplin. Finding Calcutta: What Mother Teresa Taught Me About Meaningful Work and Service. InterVarsity Press. 2008, 64).

After the above statement, Mary Poplin presents her insights into the damage rebelliousness caused in her spiritual life. [Read more…] about Finding Calcutta: Find yourself in doing, not criticizing

Do You Have a Mission Statement? Part II

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?

“Wishful Thinking: A Theological ABC” Cover

New material

  • Vocation/calling is the practical/mystical intersection of need and passion.
    • The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet. — Frederick Buechner.  Wishful Thinking (HarperCollins. 1993. 119).
    • Listening to the voice of God depends on silence. But as it is easy to deceive oneself, one must weigh what one hears against the wise counsel of others.
  • Vision to Mission Statement:  start at the “end” (with your vision) and move backward