Finding God’s call for life Deeper understandings
Discern vocation through service to neighbors By Louise Johnson
Editor’s note: At the beginning of a new year, many people make resolu- tions. This article reminds us that a Christian’s enduring primary resolu- tion must be “to follow God’s call for my life.” Louise Johnson also offers wise counsel on how we might encour- age one another in discovering and following the vocation or calling God issues to each believer. —Michael Cooper-White
F
or most of my years working in the church, I’ve enjoyed the privilege of walking with others
as they discern God’s calling in their lives. Daily I’ve heard profound sto- ries of faith punctuated by the need for certainty. Nearly all with whom I have worked would give themselves over to a life of service if they could be sure it was the exact thing to which God was calling them. What I learned from listening to
others wrestle with the Spirit’s elu- sive pursuit is that vocational dis- cernment is messy work, filled with mystery and ambiguity. It’s a journey toward the cross, an invitation to die to the self and to live for the other. The mysterious and countercultural nature of vocational discernment makes it challenging work. In recent years, vocational dis- cernment often has taken on a for-
Rather than plots on a graph, transformation
entails the reframing of a question, making peace with a difficult decision, exercising patience in times of uncertainty.
mulaic quality. Driven by a misused quote from theologian Frederick Buechner’s book Wishful Thinking: A Theological ABC (Harper and Row, 1973), vocational discernment has become a matter of plotting coordi- nates on a spiritual graph and finding the job best suited for us. “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet,” Buechner wrote. And we’re off and running. To dis-
cover our deepest gladness, we take spiritual gifts inventories and poll our closest advisers. To discover the world’s deep hunger, we survey the cul- tural and political landscape around us. We find the logical intersection of these points and, voila, we have an answer to one of the deepest mysteries into which our Creator invites us. Except that engaging holy myster-
ies doesn’t produce answers. Instead, it yields transformation. Mysteries
This series is intended to be a public conversation among theologians of the ELCA on various themes of our faith and the challenging issues of our day. It invites readers to engage in dialogue by posting comments online at the end of each article at
www.thelutheran.org. The series is edited by Michael Cooper- White, president of the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg (Pa.), on behalf of the presidents of the eight ELCA seminaries.
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www.thelutheran.org
invite us into deeper relationship with the Creator and those whom we are called to serve. And through these relationships, God transforms us. Rather than plots on a graph, transformation entails the reframing of a question, making peace with a difficult decision, exercising patience in times of uncertainty. Unexpect- edly, God often calls an ill-equipped, unsuspecting servant (like Moses, Mary, Jonah, Paul).
Stewarding the mystery So how do we steward the mystery of vocation? For several years I worked with col-
leagues on a project supported by the Lilly Endowment Inc. Project Con- nect’s mission was to work with young adults in vocational discernment. One of our initiatives was to host
vocational exploration retreats where participants came together to hear fellow travelers reflect on their own story, the biblical story and theologi- cal themes about holy callings. They engaged in small group conversations, often led by young adult seminarians. They did some writing and reflecting in a journal tailor-made for the event. We often centered the work around Buechner’s quote, offering partici- pants a lovely rubric by which to orga- nize their thinking and future. It was a strong model and our ini-
tial retreats were well-attended and well-received. But as time wore on, registration for these events tapered off. Searching for a better way to engage people in search of their life’s callings, we turned to a pastor with
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