Eight Questions About Vocation

Interrogating the understanding of vocation in the contemporary church

In the introductory post about vocation, I said I’ve become suspicious that the way we tend to think about vocation in the contemporary Protestant church has been shaped more by our culture than by scripture. In this post, I want to describe what that way is. 

I know this is a task fraught with problems. The Church — even just the little corner of it encompassed by the label “contemporary Protestant” — is a diverse place. There isn’t just a single view out there. Moreover, as we’ll see, the concept of vocation is complex, involving a set of ideas rather than a single definition. These ideas cluster in different ways, with some holding all of them together while others would accept only a few.

Nevertheless, I hope the picture I sketch here is at least recognizable to enough people to be a useful point of departure. Starting from a more-or-less clear understanding of where we are will allow us to consider where the view might need adjustment. 

The Contemporary View

The contemporary U.S. Protestant view of vocation (hereafter just “the contemporary view”) has at least seven common elements:

1. Everyone has one

At points in the past, a vocation was thought of as something only some had. A vocation was to a specifically religious life, like a priest or a nun. For us, vocation is universal. There is no question that you have one, the only question is what it is.

2. It concerns my work

One’s vocation is about what one does. For example, in Amy Sherman’s popular book on vocation, Kingdom Calling, she takes as her subject what she calls “vocational stewardship” — which amounts to seeing one’s daily work as a place in which to engage with the mission of God.

3. It is life-centering

What I mean by this is that one’s vocation is one of the most important aspects of one’s life around which it should be arranged. It would be appropriate, for instance, to pursue years of training, move to a new state (or country), take significant risks, etc. to fulfill one’s vocation. In short, it’s a big deal.

4. It is singular and enduring

Vocation is always spoken of in the singular. Just as people sometimes talk about finding “the one”—that true soul mate with which will be a partner throughout life—when it comes to marriage, so each person has one vocation that lasts a lifetime. 

5. It is individual

Conceptually, vocation could be general or specific. In Genesis, for example, humans are told to rule over the earth. That’s a general, collective vocation. According to the standard view, whatever general vocations we might have, we are each also given a personal vocation, a call to a role that is unique to us.  

6. It is rooted in who I am

Vocation is held to be closely connected to my particular characteristics, including my abilities, passions, giftings, experiences, and personality. It “fits” me. Author Parker Palmer expresses the idea this way:

“Our highest calling is to grow into our own authentic selfhood, whether or not it conforms to some image of what others think we ought to be. In doing so, we find not only the joy that every human being seeks but also our path of authentic service in the world. True vocation joins self and service, says theologian Frederick Buechner, who defines vocation as ‘the place where your deep gladness meets the world's deep need.’”

7.  It is discovered through a process of reflection

If we each have an individual vocation, how do we know what it is? We are encouraged to engage in a process of reflection. In part, we are to reflect on our lives. Since vocation is rooted in who we are, we can look within as a key strategy for discerning it. We are trying to reach clarity about our deepest desires, those experiences that made us feel alive, and so forth.   

If, for example, I find I am consistently drawn by intense compassion to care for the needs of animals and feel great fulfillment when I do, this would be considered a strong indicator that caring for animals is my vocation. 

We are also enjoined to seek the input of friends and others who know us, with a view to answering the same question: What sort of work seems like it fits who I am and my life trajectory to this point?

Finally, we are also supposed to be listening for the still, small voice of God, the ultimate source, after all, of one’s calling. Though he no longer thinks of it this way, Ryan Goyer describes the assumption of his younger self:

“Given a series of cryptic clues left by God, it was my job to interpret them through hours of journaling, prayer, writing, and conversations to reach a clear conclusion—a perfect, risk-free choice that would unmistakably be what I was supposed to do.”

8. We need to discover and live into our vocations

Since I have a vocation, that is meant to be life-centering, that is singular and enduring, and that I can discover through a process of reflection, I had better get on with it. We are expected to take the initiative in this domain, to come to a place where we are confident about what our vocation is and intentional about living in alignment with it. 

Not only is this a matter of faithful response to what God is asking us to do. It is also central to living a happy life. In Consider Your Calling, Gordon Smith emphasizes this point:

“Indeed, we will only be happy—we will only flourish in the way that was intended when God created us—when we are doing good work. The goal of life is not less work but to know and embrace the good work to which we are called.” (pp. 7-8)

The Culture Around Us

Some elements of this account sound suspiciously similar to key themes in the present culture. In particular, the picture of what life is all about implicit in our society seems to be something like this: The good and happy life is a matter of discovering my authentic self and then actualizing that self through how I live.

In accordance with this picture, our culture presents us with two key imperatives:

The imperative of discovery: To uncover “who I really am”

The imperative of authenticity: To live as my “true self”

The way we discover our authentic selves is through a process of reflection directed toward our inner desires, passions, experiences, etc. 

All of this overlaps substantially with the contemporary view of vocation outlined above, though God no longer has an explicit role. The core is the same, however. There is some unique me that I should discover and actualize, and this project is central to living a flourishing life.

There is, indeed, a secularized version of speaking specifically about vocation that closely matches the Christian version, but without the theological element.  

One article describes vocation as “the profession you are passionate about…that you feel called towards.” The author notes, “As human beings, we need to follow our passion and vocation if we are to derive much happiness and peace from life.” And then there’s the matter of discernment: “Not everyone immediately knows what their vocation is meant to be. For some individuals, there needs to be a measure of self-discovery and reflection before you can figure out your vocation.“

Here is Parker Palmer once more:  

“I've come to understand vocation not as a goal to be achieved but as a gift to be received—the treasure of true self I already possess. Vocation doesn't come from a voice ‘out there’ calling me to become something I'm not. It comes from a voice ‘in here’ calling me to be the person I was born to be.”

Reconsidering Vocation

Possibly, the culture has been shaped by the Church to such an extent that it has adopted a thoroughly Christian understanding of life and vocation, albeit with God removed. On the other hand, it’s possible that the Church has been shaped by the culture to such an extent that it has adopted a secular understanding of vocation with God added in.

My sense is that there is a bit of each going on. At the very least, the similarities invite further exploration into what a Biblically-centered understanding of vocation might look like. We are presented with an obvious set of questions with which to begin:

1. Does everyone have a vocation?

2. Is vocation necessarily about my work?

3. Need one’s vocation be life-centering?

4. Is vocation always singular and enduring?

5. Does each of us have an individual vocation?

6. Is a person’s vocation necessarily rooted in who that person is?

7. How should vocation be discerned?

8. Do we have the responsibility to discover and live into our vocations?

We’ll dive into question one next week.