The amazing twentieth-century Black theologian Howard Thurman tells a story of meeting with his advisor at his predominantly white seminary. The advisor lauded Thurman’s work but was concerned he was limiting himself by commenting as much as he did on the Black experience instead of “the timeless issues of the human spirit.” About this, Thurman … Continue reading Vocation in the Real World
After what has been a long journey through general human and Christian vocations and the callings to maturity and individuation, we come at last to a discussion of the specific ways we are able to live out our callings in practical, day-to-day life. In each of the previous posts, we’ve seen that all of the … Continue reading Called to Contribute
So far, this series on vocation has focused exclusively on general vocation, the things we are all called to do and be in the world by virtue of our shared humanity. We’ve seen that this human vocation is a birthright but also something we need to grow into. But there’s a paradox at work here: … Continue reading Called to Be Ourselves
In the last post in this series exploring different facets of vocation, we looked at the calling to be Christlike: that, if, through sin, humanity marred our original vocation to be God’s representatives on earth, Christ has restored that vocation, so that by living like him, we can recover that purpose for which we were … Continue reading Called to Maturity
In the last post in this series about vocation, we looked at what the creation story in Genesis tells us about humanity’s general vocation: to be God’s representatives in the world and to reflect God’s character in our interactions with one another and in how we exercise stewardship over creation. But, as the story goes, … Continue reading Called to Be Christlike
Matthew Root 