Your Calling Here and Now: Making Sense of Vocation

by Gordon T. Smith

Overview

Our vocation is the outworking of how God has made us. It is not a goal on the horizon but a present reality that we are called to discern and explore. However, in the midst of our daily lives, finding meaning can prove both difficult and elusive, and we are often left wondering if we are missing out on God's purpose for our lives.

Gordon Smith invites us to reflect on our vocation and step into God's call in the present moment. When discerning our vocation feels overwhelming, Smith offers a simple question as a way forward: "At this time and place, who am I meant to be, and what am I called to do?"

Theologically and historically grounded, Your Calling Here and Now offers theological reflections and spiritual practices that will help you discern God's call on your life. Whether you are navigating career transitions or looking for meaning in the ordinary, God has a purpose for your life for the here and now.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781514003428
Publisher:	IVP
Publication date:	06/14/2022
Sold by:	Bookwire
Format:	eBook
Pages:	176
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Gordon T. Smith is the president of Ambrose University and Seminary in Calgary, Alberta, where he also serves as professor of systematic and spiritual theology. He is an ordained minister with the Christian and Missionary Alliance and a teaching fellow at Regent College, Vancouver, British Columbia. He is the author of many books, including Courage and Calling and Consider Your Calling.

Gordon T. Smith is the president of reSource Leadership International, an agency that fosters excellence in theological education in the developing world. He also teaches spiritual theology part time at Regent College, Vancouver, British Columbia. He is the author of Beginning Well, Listening to God in Times of Choice and The Voice of Jesus.

Table of Contents

Preface
1. At This Time and in This Place
2. The Stewardship of Our Lives
3. Calling and Callings
4. Career Transitions: New Directions, New Orientations
5. Tending to the Life of the Mind
6. The Work of Our Hands
7. Vocational Thinking Means Organizational Thinking
8. Practices of Engagement
9. Sustaining a Resilient Hope
Conclusion
Notes

What People are Saying About This

Mark Buchanan

"Few people have thought as long and deep about vocation as Gordon T. Smith. He thinks with the ancients about it. He joins the conversation of contemporary thinkers on it and brings to that conversation his own scintillating insights. His writing is felicitous and humorous. And this, his signature virtue: it is clear as a mountain lake, where you can see all the way down to the bottom without a single ripple of distortion. This book is both primer and compendium on a topic that the church and the world, with fresh urgency, need to learn and to heed."

Dianna Kunce

"This book is for everyone! It contains wisdom for life: life with an expansive vision and life in the everyday. No matter what stage of life we are in or what circumstances companion us, we are called by God to vocational holiness. Gordon T. Smith has a unique gift of helping us steward the 'work of our hands' with courage and hopeful realism. He invites us, individually and organizationally, to intentionally seek the wisdom of Christ for this time and this place. Our vocational engagement in today's world is a means to experience God's grace, and we discover that our life and work are ultimately about love for Christ and others."

Denise Easter

"In a time in which change is rapid and often overwhelming, Gordon Smith writes with a welcome calm and spiritual grounding. This is so needed, as many have sought to understand the impact of all of this change on their vocations. Your Calling Here and Now is holistic in its approach, with a particular unpacking of the importance of community and organizational intelligence, and the effect of each on the vocational flourishing of every individual. Here anyone will find hope and practical guidance for navigating these challenging days, from a very wise and capable guide."

Ken Shigematsu

"I absolutely loved Your Calling Here and Now. Full of brilliant insights and poignant vignettes, this book will give you the courage to show up for your life and inspire you to fulfill the purpose for which you were made."

Editorial Reviews

05/09/2022

In this vague outing, Ambrose University president Smith (Wisdom from Babylon) encourages readers to find how they can best serve God. “Vocation is never discerned in a historical vacuum; it is always in the specifics of the world in which we live,” Smith contends, urging readers to consider how their particular circumstances equip them to contribute to bettering the world and to living out “the call of God on our lives.” He outlines “four indispensable capacities” to help one make the most of their situation (focus, courage, connectedness, and patience) and suggests that no vocation should be looked down upon, citing the laudatory treatment of the wise woman’s manual labor in Proverbs. Explaining the benefits of pursuing one’s vocation from within an organization, Smith posits that working with others whose strengths complement one’s own enables one to “make a difference far greater than we could accomplish” individually. Though exhortations to “live out our vocations in the here and now” are short on actionable guidance, Smith’s consideration of how to abide by Christian principles contains some pearls of wisdom, such as his discussion of the “hallmarks of the Christian mind: transcendence, truth, reason, sin, love, and wisdom.” This works better as a philosophical program for modern Christian life than as a practical guide to finding one’s vocation. (June)

Publishers Weekly

"I absolutely loved Your Calling Here and Now. Full of brilliant insights and poignant vignettes, this book will give you the courage to show up for your life and inspire you to fulfill the purpose for which you were made."

Ken Shigematsu

"This book is for everyone! It contains wisdom for life: life with an expansive vision and life in the everyday. No matter what stage of life we are in or what circumstances companion us, we are called by God to vocational holiness. Gordon T. Smith has a unique gift of helping us steward the 'work of our hands' with courage and hopeful realism. He invites us, individually and organizationally, to intentionally seek the wisdom of Christ for this time and this place. Our vocational engagement in today's world is a means to experience God's grace, and we discover that our life and work are ultimately about love for Christ and others."

Dianna Kunce

"In a time in which change is rapid and often overwhelming, Gordon Smith writes with a welcome calm and spiritual grounding. This is so needed, as many have sought to understand the impact of all of this change on their vocations. Your Calling Here and Now is holistic in its approach, with a particular unpacking of the importance of community and organizational intelligence, and the effect of each on the vocational flourishing of every individual. Here anyone will find hope and practical guidance for navigating these challenging days, from a very wise and capable guide."

Denise Easter

"Few people have thought as long and deep about vocation as Gordon T. Smith. He thinks with the ancients about it. He joins the conversation of contemporary thinkers on it and brings to that conversation his own scintillating insights. His writing is felicitous and humorous. And this, his signature virtue: it is clear as a mountain lake, where you can see all the way down to the bottom without a single ripple of distortion. This book is both primer and compendium on a topic that the church and the world, with fresh urgency, need to learn and to heed."

Mark Buchanan

"I absolutely loved Your Calling Here and Now. Full of brilliant insights and poignant vignettes, this book will give you the courage to show up for your life and inspire you to fulfill the purpose for which you were made."

--Ken Shigematsu, pastor of Tenth Church, Vancouver, BC, and author of Survival Guide for the Soul

"In a time in which change is rapid and often overwhelming, Gordon Smith writes with a welcome calm and spiritual grounding. This is so needed, as many have sought to understand the impact of all of this change on their vocations. Your Calling Here and Now is holistic in its approach, with a particular unpacking of the importance of community and organizational intelligence, and the effect of each on the vocational flourishing of every individual. Here anyone will find hope and practical guidance for navigating these challenging days, from a very wise and capable guide."

--Denise Easter, cofounder and executive director of Renewal Ministries Northwest

From the Publisher