Living Vocationally: The Journey of the Called Life

Product Description
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.
Review
"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
About the Author
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).