I published my first book, Trading With God, in 2019. Before I wrote this book, I went to seminary for two years to understand theology, Christian history, and Scripture related to the intersection of work and faith. Once my theological degree was completed, I spent two years researching the topic before attempting to write the book.
Shortly after the book was published, the pandemic struck, and normal life was no longer normal. Social interactions and travel were limited. I stayed home and had more time to contemplate. The idea of a second book emerged, and I started researching again. But it was during seminary when my second book idea germinated.
During my second year of seminary, I was required to take a course in Christian education. I was not thrilled to take this class because I did not want to be employed in a church. Dr. David White, a youth education scholar, was my professor. He is a soft-spoken man who cares deeply about education. As the class progressed, I started to change my views and learned to admire the subject and Dr. White. He emphasized that Christian education is a continual transformation throughout life, not just a biblical introduction for children. His teaching resonated with my own faith journey.
Dr. White assigned five books to read and two were on vocation: Parker Palmer’s Let Your Life Speak and Brian Mahan’s Forgetting Ourselves on Purpose. We were required to write two-page reading summaries that covered five topics, something that proved difficult to compose given the limited writing boundary. In the application/adaptation section, I wrote that I was planning on writing a book on vocation. Dr. White read my paper and responded with several questions about my proposed book. Eight years after taking his classes, I have now answered his questions in my second book titled Charismata: A Life of Vocation.
I anticipate my new book being published this Spring by Wipf & Stock. It is a companion book to Trading With God, except it deals with the higher-level subject of vocation. When I wrote my first book, I made a conscious decision to sidestep vocation when writing about work and faith, as vocation is a massive topic. Vocation and work are not independent; they are interdependent. As an illustration, vocation is all air traffic, while work is regional air traffic.
Most people define vocation as a job, occupation, or career. It is mainly applied to selected “exalted” professions such as clergy, physicians, and first responders. Many of these professions offer relatively less pay for the required training and stress. Few people understand that the roots of vocation reside in Scripture. If you completed a survey of first century, Greek-speaking Christians, few, if any, would define vocation as a job. My book defines vocation as the comprehensive life of a Christian after positively responding to God’s call to faith in Jesus Christ.
The journey of vocation begins in the Old Testament and continues through the New Testament. From early Christian history into our post-modern world, the definition of vocation was gradually altered. The Protestant Reformation brought back vocation’s Scriptural roots only to be eroded by capitalism. Recently, theologians have resurrected the Biblical roots of vocation.
Charistmata is the Greek word for gifts. In the New Testament, it functions in three ways: benevolence, donation, and talent. The third function, talent, relates to vocation. The Apostle Paul wrote about the use of charismata in the service to our neighbors. God is the giver of charismata, and our gifts are tied to the Spirit (pneumatikos). With this foundational understanding of vocation and gifts, the next question is: “How will I use my gifts?” This question is answered in the second section of my book where I introduce a Charismata Portfolio Model. I apply portfolio management theory to vocational gifts.
After living on earth for over sixty years, I have witnessed many great achievements and sadly, many tragedies. Some believe that a significant life is a life that greatly influences many people, and a good life is simply having a moral character. For me, a significant life begins with vocation, the comprehensive life of a Christian after positively responding to God’s call to faith in Jesus Christ. It is faithful obedience to God by being part of God’s mission of loving and serving one’s neighbor with individual gifts. This is a good life, although suffering may happen along the journey. Choose wisely and faithfully.
