Sharing the faith with Cherry Creek High School Students … Identification
Hebrews 2:14-15
14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,
15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.
16 For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham.
17 Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.
18 For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
Work as Worship till the Kingdom Comes October 5, 2012
Here’s the bibliography I shared at my diocesan workshop:
Bibliography and Resources
Web
http://newcitycommonsfoundation.com/
http://www.avodahinstitute.com/Avodah_Institute/Home_Page.html
Essay/White Paper
Gregory Thompson, “The church in our time: nurturing congregations of faithful presence” found on the New City Commons website
Books
*Tom Nelson, Work Matters: Connecting Sunday Worship to Monday Work
*Amy Sherman, Kingdom Calling: Vocational Stewardship for the Common Good
*Os Guinness, The Call: Finding and Fulfilling the Critical Purpose of Your Life
*Andy Crouch, Culture Making: Recovering Our Creative Calling
*Cornelius Plantinga, Jr., Engaging God’s World: A Christian Vision of Faith, Learning and Living
Steven Garber, The Fabric of Faithfulness: Weaving Together Belief and Behavior During the University Years
David H. Jensen, Responsive Labor: A Theology of Work
George Herbert, “The Elixir”
Matthew B. Crawford, Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work
D. Michael Lindsay, Faith in the Halls of Power: How Evangelicals Joined the American Elite
James Davison Hunter, To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy and Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World
R. Paul Stevens, The Other Six Days: Vocation, Work, and Ministry in Biblical Perspective
Christopher Wright, The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible’s Grand Narrative
N. T. Wright, Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense
*= good introductory books
Definitions
In our class, we’ve been looking at defining terms, spending the first week listing terms and concepts, and the second week trying on some definitions. These are big concepts, like an old cedar tree and we’re trying just to get a sense of the dimensions!
Good discussion around what we mean by calling and vocation continues. I hope to further refine with some theological appropriateness the relationship between primary and secondary callings, with the understanding that the world and God’s Kingdom (present yet coming in its fullness) are distinct. The world (including ourselves who inhabit the world) is infused by sin and brokenness and it is only Christ Jesus who is the world’s redeemer. We cannot attain to the kingdom and made its citizens without his invitation and adoption into it! And yet, as citizens of the Kingdom we can bear witness to the King in every aspect of our lives … This is what the class is concerned to stress.
Here are two of the definitions we’ve used:
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
The word vocation is a rich one, having to do with the wholeness of life, the range of relationships and responsibilities. Work, yes, but also families, and neighbors, and citizenship, locally and globally — all of this and more is seen as vocation, that to which I am called as a human being, living my life before the face of God. It is never the same as occupation, just as calling is never the same word as career. Sometimes, by grace, the words and the realities they represent do overlap, even significantly; sometimes, in the incompleteness of life in a fallen world, there is not much overlap at all. – Steven Garber, http://www.Washingtoninst.org
In our class, we’ve been looking at defining terms, spending the first week listing terms and concepts, and the second week trying on some definitions. These are big concepts, and we’ve not enough time to make a good ascent, but we should not be anxious about that; we just want to see the lay of the land here in our class.
Good discussion around what we mean by calling and vocation continues. I hope to further refine with some theological appropriateness the relationship between primary and secondary callings, with the understanding that the world and God’s Kingdom (present yet coming in its fullness) are distinct. The world (including ourselves who inhabit the world) is infused by sin and brokenness and it is only Christ Jesus who is the world’s redeemer. We cannot attain to the kingdom and made its citizens without his invitation and adoption into it! And yet, as citizens of the Kingdom we can bear witness to the King in every aspect of our lives … This is what the class is concerned to stress.
Here are two of the definitions we’ve used:
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
The word vocation is a rich one, having to do with the wholeness of life, the range of relationships and responsibilities. Work, yes, but also families, and neighbors, and citizenship, locally and globally — all of this and more is seen as vocation, that to which I am called as a human being, living my life before the face of God. It is never the same as occupation, just as calling is never the same word as career. Sometimes, by grace, the words and the realities they represent do overlap, even significantly; sometimes, in the incompleteness of life in a fallen world, there is not much overlap at all. – Steven Garber, http://www.Washingtoninst.org
Work Matters: Work as worship till the Kingdom Comes, Sunday’s this fall at St. Gabriel
Sunday – Adult Formation, Fall 2012
Tentative Schedule
September 16 – Definitions: calling, work, vocation, stewardship
September 23 – Essay: Mission, Rethinking Vocation by John Stott
September 30 – Issues Related to Faith, Work, and Un (Under)-Employment: David Lee
October 7 – Can Women Have it All?: A Discussion with Lauren Sveen and Mom Corps
October 14 – The Work Alive Institute at Denver First Church of the Nazarene: A Discussion with Lynne Bell
October 21 – The Grand Narrative: Creation
October 28 – The Grand Narrative: Fall
November 4 – The Grand Narrative: Redemption
November 11 -The Grand Narrative: New Creation
November 18 – (Consecration Sunday, no adult Forum)
November 25 – Issues Related to Retirement: Marilyn Schneider
August 16
Careful and even occasional readers of this blog (if there are any remaining!) will notice that I’ve not posted since early July. Now it is the middle of August and I am looking ahead at the close of this sabbatical period. It seems to be coming towards me at quite a good clip!
What has caused the drop in posts? The short answer contains two parts.
One is that the Canada trip our family enjoyed in July took a lot of the wind out of my sails. Not that anything was bad about the trip; quite the opposite, in fact. The trip was so good and we enjoyed so many different aspects of our travels, it is almost as if on our return I did not have the energy to process what we had done, seen, tasted, smelled, heard, etc.
Yes, I wanted to continue my sabbatical project and yes, I was able to make progress, but something changed for me on the trip. Plus, it was, I think, nearly 5,000 miles of driving and this alone is probably a good enough reason for the slowdown in writing and reflecting on the sabbatical’s theme – the theology of vocation and work. In other words the trip was a lot of work!
The second reason for the slowdown comes from the inevitable duties that await any contemporary parent of teenagers, or homeowner trying to make the most of warm weather and long days. Part of my agreement with the family was that I would be available to serve as family transportation manager and get Grace and Christopher to volleyball or football camps, friends houses in far-flung suburbs and the like. (When I was growing up, all of my friends seemed to live within biking distance of my home – why is it that my daughter’s friends have to live in another county? – might as well be Kansas!)
But with all the above stated so defensively, I have managed to make progress on my reading and planning for the upcoming year at St. Gabriel, with specific attention given to the theme of the summer’s reflection – that at the core of the mission of God is the people of God living out faithful lives in their various vocations.
In another post, I shall sketch out what I will bring to St. Gabriel on my return.
Finally, as I re-read what I’ve just written, I realize that all that I hoped to be able to pursue – professional and spiritual renewal, physical fitness, time with my family – are areas that indeed were realized over the course of the past three months. For that, and so much more, I remain grateful.
See you all very soon!
Finding our voice
One aspect of calling – where one's vocation intersects with one's work – is finding one's voice. Many people, I believe, have a sense of dislocation because they are not able to express the deepest insights and passions of their hearts in ways that bring them satisfaction. They yearn to do so, but don't feel they have the words or ability to command attention that allows them to gain a hearing in their wider community. I hope that we would be able to find opportunities to make our own contributions to community, without hesitation or fear that our words are inadequate.
Beginning with the narrative of an Alaskan teacher's role in a small community school, Elaine's Circle by Bob Katz, I came across the following:
Cherryhillsparson's Blog 