Living Vocationally: The Journey of the Called Life
Ebook
Overview
In the thick of modern life, we are tempted to forget what we are doing and why we are doing it. We are busy socializing, building careers, and looking for fun--but what's it all for? The ancient concept of "vocation" has recently gained popularity as we return to questions about the meaning of life. Almost all religions include the idea that divine purposes should guide our lives; Christianity has particularly accented it. The God who called Israel and sent Jesus has something in mind for us. God's call challenges us, but also opens us to the best sort of life imaginable. In Living Vocationally, the challenge and the joy of the called life is thoroughly explored. Part one considers the benefits of living vocationally, biblical traditions of call, and subsequent Christian understandings. Part two examines why vocation pertains not only to careers, but indeed touches every dimension of our lives and encompasses our full journey through life. Because every person's life includes many callings, some very difficult, part three considers the virtues we need to live the called life well. Living Vocationally demonstrates why to have found a calling is to have found a good way to live.
“This book is an event! Calls to ‘find your vocation’ often
focus narrowly on career choice or are written for scholars rather
than students. Wadell and Pinches speak directly to those who are
considering their callings, encouraging them to ‘live
vocationally.’ The authors have generously distilled two decades of
scholarship into a book that is carefully researched yet
accessible, filled with practical examples and deep wisdom.
Living Vocationally is the book we need today.”
—David S. Cunningham, Professor of Religion, Hope College, and
Director, Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education (NetVUE),
Council of Independent Colleges
“In Living Vocationally, Wadell and Pinches serve as wise
and engaging spiritual guides on the human quest for true
happiness. They approach this perennial quest through the lens of
vocation, which emphasizes that this is an active, changing, and
communal quest, regarding one’s life as a whole. Living
vocationally is living authentically, but for Christians with the
added reminder it is the Lord who calls.”
—William C. Mattison III, Wilsey Family Associate Professor of
Theology, University of Notre Dame
“What does it take to live well—to enjoy meaningful relationships,
work, and lives, not just in the short term but over the long haul?
Living Vocationally offers a compelling blueprint that
centers on the notion of calling, including how our callings can
remain vibrant amidst challenges, complexity, and the changing
seasons of life. A wise and wonderful book.”
—Darby K. Ray, Harward Professor of Civic Engagement, Bates
College, and author of Working
Paul J. Wadell is Professor Emeritus of Theology and Religious
Studies at St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin. He is the
author of Friendship and the Moral Life (1989), The
Primacy of Love (1992), Becoming Friends (2002), and
Happiness and the Christian Moral Life (2016).
Charles R. Pinches is Professor of Theology at the University of
Scranton in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He is the author of A
Gathering of Memories (2006), Theology and Action
(2002), and, with Stanley Hauerwas, Christians Among the
Virtues (1997).