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Your Calling Here and Now: Making Sense of Vocation
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 "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.
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 "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.
176 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 14, 2022
5 people are currently reading
40 people want to read
About the author
Gordon T. Smith
30 books36 followersGordon 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, Called to Be Saints, Spiritual Direction, and Consider Your Calling.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
October 26, 2022
Summary: Looks at calling in our present moment and place, and how we live into our calling in all the turnings and changes of life.
Often the idea of calling or vocation seems to be presented in a grand scheme, lifelong way. And we often struggle to connect that to our present moment. Gordon T. Smith addresses this dilemma with a thought-provoking question:
“We ask, at this time and at this place, who and what are we called to be and do?”
None of us can map out our whole lives. But what is required of us in this day, both in terms of what qualities of character and what actions in our given situation may be clearer, and to live faithfully in light of this takes us into the bigger picture of God’s intentions. Smith proposes that to answer this question daily requires of us focus amid distraction, courage to act, connection with others who discern with us, and patience amid hurry to allow clarity to unfold. Furthermore, we become free to be and to act as we know ourselves to be the beloved of God and calling as the stewardship of the life lovingly given us.
Smith then helps us think about calling in three concentric circles of callings within our calling. The inner circle consists of the “must do’s,” in a sense, what we must do this day to “pay the rent.” The second circle constitutes the things that must happen now or they won’t happen–we only get to spend time with our thirteen year old son or daughter now. If we don’t, we won’t. The third circle, then is made up of those good things we want to pursue as there is time. Smith then discusses how we live in the tension of these callings and six questions to ask ourselves. Sometimes the tensions in our callings lead us into transitions. Sometimes these are transitions of saying yes to a calling we only grasped in an inchoate way earlier in life, or perhaps did not have the courage and support to pursue. Smith describes the challenge in these situations of shifting from the expert to the beginner, becoming a learner all over again.
The next two chapters focus on tending to the life of the mind and the work of our hands. Smith argues for the importance of both. He warns of the danger of an unprincipled pragmatism and sentimentalism and upholds a vision of critical, confident, creative and compassionate thought. He offers advice on our reading, commending reading old as well as new, reading diversely, reading the material of thought leaders in our field, and reading poetry! He remarks that “effective pastors need to be judged in part by the quality of their libraries.” Yet there is no divide of head and hands for Smith. He thinks in some form, we should all learn to work with our hands, at very least in the maintenance of our homes. He notes that the wise woman of Proverbs 31 is adept with her hands. This leads us to recognize the nobility of all work and manual work often is an opportunity for prayer.
In some way or another, all of us will relate to institutions, to organizations as we pursue our callings. This chapter distills some of the best ideas from an earlier work of Smith’s, Institutional Intelligence. We will never be nearly as effective in our callings if we don’t learn how to work wisely and well within organizations. We also need to understand practices of engagement as well as contemplation. Prayer and work are essential to each other. Smith considers four practices of engagement: hospitality, acts of mercy, financial giving, and intercessory prayer. These are practices by which we know the grace of God in the world and align ourselves with the purposes of God in the world.
The work concludes with a look at resilient hope. A called life is one of resilient hope. It exists against a “backdrop of realism” but refuses “to accept this reality as the status quo.” The hopeful live meekly, refusing to carry resentments. Hope doesn’t give way to cynicism when discouraged but finds in the company of others genuine encouragement. Hope values art and creativity, discovering beauty and transformation in brokenness. And finally, Smith comes back to patience that allows us to be present to God and others in the moment. The final note Smith sounds in the book is a call to both personal responsibilities for our lives and accountability to others. We ask here and now about what we are to be and do. And we recognize that we are inextricably connected with others who discern with us and sustain our hope.
What is distinctive about this work is not merely how we might discern vocation, but how we live in our calling over the course of a lifetime. This book begins where most end and is filled with wisdom for the journey. Smith surprises us throughout, never over-spiritualizing but insisting that calling includes paying the rent, values the work of human hands, and knows how to work in organizations. I can’t think of another book that does this. We often want a roadmap for our lives, our route marked out with a highlighter. Smith gives us something far different, a guide for living wisely and well in the present, discerning what we ought be and do to steward the gifts that the God who loves us has bestowed.
____________________
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher.
Often the idea of calling or vocation seems to be presented in a grand scheme, lifelong way. And we often struggle to connect that to our present moment. Gordon T. Smith addresses this dilemma with a thought-provoking question:
“We ask, at this time and at this place, who and what are we called to be and do?”
None of us can map out our whole lives. But what is required of us in this day, both in terms of what qualities of character and what actions in our given situation may be clearer, and to live faithfully in light of this takes us into the bigger picture of God’s intentions. Smith proposes that to answer this question daily requires of us focus amid distraction, courage to act, connection with others who discern with us, and patience amid hurry to allow clarity to unfold. Furthermore, we become free to be and to act as we know ourselves to be the beloved of God and calling as the stewardship of the life lovingly given us.
Smith then helps us think about calling in three concentric circles of callings within our calling. The inner circle consists of the “must do’s,” in a sense, what we must do this day to “pay the rent.” The second circle constitutes the things that must happen now or they won’t happen–we only get to spend time with our thirteen year old son or daughter now. If we don’t, we won’t. The third circle, then is made up of those good things we want to pursue as there is time. Smith then discusses how we live in the tension of these callings and six questions to ask ourselves. Sometimes the tensions in our callings lead us into transitions. Sometimes these are transitions of saying yes to a calling we only grasped in an inchoate way earlier in life, or perhaps did not have the courage and support to pursue. Smith describes the challenge in these situations of shifting from the expert to the beginner, becoming a learner all over again.
The next two chapters focus on tending to the life of the mind and the work of our hands. Smith argues for the importance of both. He warns of the danger of an unprincipled pragmatism and sentimentalism and upholds a vision of critical, confident, creative and compassionate thought. He offers advice on our reading, commending reading old as well as new, reading diversely, reading the material of thought leaders in our field, and reading poetry! He remarks that “effective pastors need to be judged in part by the quality of their libraries.” Yet there is no divide of head and hands for Smith. He thinks in some form, we should all learn to work with our hands, at very least in the maintenance of our homes. He notes that the wise woman of Proverbs 31 is adept with her hands. This leads us to recognize the nobility of all work and manual work often is an opportunity for prayer.
In some way or another, all of us will relate to institutions, to organizations as we pursue our callings. This chapter distills some of the best ideas from an earlier work of Smith’s, Institutional Intelligence. We will never be nearly as effective in our callings if we don’t learn how to work wisely and well within organizations. We also need to understand practices of engagement as well as contemplation. Prayer and work are essential to each other. Smith considers four practices of engagement: hospitality, acts of mercy, financial giving, and intercessory prayer. These are practices by which we know the grace of God in the world and align ourselves with the purposes of God in the world.
The work concludes with a look at resilient hope. A called life is one of resilient hope. It exists against a “backdrop of realism” but refuses “to accept this reality as the status quo.” The hopeful live meekly, refusing to carry resentments. Hope doesn’t give way to cynicism when discouraged but finds in the company of others genuine encouragement. Hope values art and creativity, discovering beauty and transformation in brokenness. And finally, Smith comes back to patience that allows us to be present to God and others in the moment. The final note Smith sounds in the book is a call to both personal responsibilities for our lives and accountability to others. We ask here and now about what we are to be and do. And we recognize that we are inextricably connected with others who discern with us and sustain our hope.
What is distinctive about this work is not merely how we might discern vocation, but how we live in our calling over the course of a lifetime. This book begins where most end and is filled with wisdom for the journey. Smith surprises us throughout, never over-spiritualizing but insisting that calling includes paying the rent, values the work of human hands, and knows how to work in organizations. I can’t think of another book that does this. We often want a roadmap for our lives, our route marked out with a highlighter. Smith gives us something far different, a guide for living wisely and well in the present, discerning what we ought be and do to steward the gifts that the God who loves us has bestowed.
____________________
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher.
January 3, 2024
Calling All!
Excellent book!
Really encouraging and a quick but life-changing read.
Definitely check this out.
Find your calling!
4.8/5
Excellent book!
Really encouraging and a quick but life-changing read.
Definitely check this out.
Find your calling!
4.8/5
March 27, 2023
I loved a couple of the early framing chapters that dignifies the stuff that just has to get done as an integral part of one's calling, and I really like what seems to me to be a dialectical approach to the idea of vocation--there are always tensions between work and rest, for example.
I had a hard time with this book, though, in that Smith pretty much assumes that his audience is educated and middle-class. He nods to differences in class, race, or gender, but does not substantially address exploitative work situations or how one's circumstances shape things like what is expected of you. (One's idea of what "has to get done" might differ from another, and when we start having expectations of other people, it can get really messy and hard really fast.) I don't think much if anything of what he said was inherently objectionable; it's just that I think the application of the book's principles is much thornier than it suggests when you account for varied circumstances.
Relatedly, I found the list of things to do or consider as integral to calling to be really overwhelming. (For ex.: You should read more about pretty much everything and practice acts of mercy for people in your community and get involved in local politics and give time to life-giving hobbies and do your job and love your family...) I think if there had been a bit more of an emphasis on how different things take up different space at any given moment, and that we probably aren't going to be excelling at all of these all at once, I would have liked the book way better. I prefer more of a "rule of life" approach to mapping how vocation plays out in the here and now.
This is probably too specific to be of use to anyone, but fwiw: since I was pretty young, I have felt anxiety about my mortality most keenly when I think about all of the books I'm not going to be able to read and things I'm not going to be able to learn. The beginning of the book sort of helped with that, but then the chapter on intellectual growth sort of exacerbated that anxiety again.
I had a hard time with this book, though, in that Smith pretty much assumes that his audience is educated and middle-class. He nods to differences in class, race, or gender, but does not substantially address exploitative work situations or how one's circumstances shape things like what is expected of you. (One's idea of what "has to get done" might differ from another, and when we start having expectations of other people, it can get really messy and hard really fast.) I don't think much if anything of what he said was inherently objectionable; it's just that I think the application of the book's principles is much thornier than it suggests when you account for varied circumstances.
Relatedly, I found the list of things to do or consider as integral to calling to be really overwhelming. (For ex.: You should read more about pretty much everything and practice acts of mercy for people in your community and get involved in local politics and give time to life-giving hobbies and do your job and love your family...) I think if there had been a bit more of an emphasis on how different things take up different space at any given moment, and that we probably aren't going to be excelling at all of these all at once, I would have liked the book way better. I prefer more of a "rule of life" approach to mapping how vocation plays out in the here and now.
This is probably too specific to be of use to anyone, but fwiw: since I was pretty young, I have felt anxiety about my mortality most keenly when I think about all of the books I'm not going to be able to read and things I'm not going to be able to learn. The beginning of the book sort of helped with that, but then the chapter on intellectual growth sort of exacerbated that anxiety again.
January 28, 2023
This book is full of fatherly advice for approaching one’s life and work through the lens of God’s calling. He covers the various issues and obstacles that complicate the Christian’s road to self-discovery. I enjoyed his 2017 book Consider Your Calling, which had a more concise framing by tackling six questions. This book seems to be a continuation of that book, with additional content on seemingly random themes.
For a book full of inspiration and advice, some chapters will contain ideas you’ve heard or read before, or the author will venture down some paths that don’t seem particularly relevant to your situation. I finished the book, sensing it was “good” but underwhelming.
However, in preparing for this Goodreads review, this is one of those books where you realize that there were some great nuggets of wisdom buried throughout the book that can sometimes get lost when reading straight through. So, I guess I’m saying that I may have initially been too critical (three stars), but I realized later that it contains some valuable insights (thus, four stars). Combining this and his 2017 book would together provide a thorough examination of this topic.
For a book full of inspiration and advice, some chapters will contain ideas you’ve heard or read before, or the author will venture down some paths that don’t seem particularly relevant to your situation. I finished the book, sensing it was “good” but underwhelming.
However, in preparing for this Goodreads review, this is one of those books where you realize that there were some great nuggets of wisdom buried throughout the book that can sometimes get lost when reading straight through. So, I guess I’m saying that I may have initially been too critical (three stars), but I realized later that it contains some valuable insights (thus, four stars). Combining this and his 2017 book would together provide a thorough examination of this topic.
December 26, 2022
This is a wonderful little book. I don't know about you, but I don't always know if I am doing what I ought be doing. God gives us talents and abilities, but what is the best way for us to utilize them? It becomes a question of discernment. This book asks many pertinent questions and will help you consider where you are and what you are doing.
October 17, 2022
I think this is my favorite book on vocation that I've read so far. Very quick read, and it covers all the bases.
May 24, 2023
Thoughtful, thorough and practical.
March 11, 2024
3.5 ⭐️ I recommend his original, Courage & Calling, over this one.
November 16, 2022
The concept that this title purposes was very attractive to me because I've read books and been encouraged by others to chart my life on a timeline, make every moment count towards that end, and be unswerving in my calling - but then what happens when everything falls apart and life becomes a blank slate? Life throws us curve balls that jolt us to reevaluate everything and can our vocations be fluid enough to adapt with those inevitable earthquakes?
With that in mind and my state of life, I was hoping this might be more searching, more interested into the complexities of making sense of our lives in the liminal spaces. So I came with loaded expectations. Instead, this book is immensely practical: our role in institutions, how we handle transitions, the work of our hands, and the life our minds. Good stuff.
The most impactful chapter to me was the one concerning our relationship to institutions and the need to keep a healthy sense of differentiation from them in terms of our identity:
"If we are effective within an organization it comes as we embrace the mission and invest our hearts in the shared values and mission of the institution, but it is also important that we sustain some level of personal autonomy. We are not reduced to our roles within the organization. Our identity and our calling are never solely that of one who fills this role in our church, business, or school. "
If we do not keep a healthy sense of differentiation "there is a sense in which we have actually subsumed our identity & vocation within the mission of this organization. We cannot imagine our lives except as a part of this church, this company, or this non-profit organization. "
"It is imperative that we do not equate our vocations with this institution, and further, that our ego needs are not tied to the specific job or role we have within the organization. We can let it go."
With that in mind and my state of life, I was hoping this might be more searching, more interested into the complexities of making sense of our lives in the liminal spaces. So I came with loaded expectations. Instead, this book is immensely practical: our role in institutions, how we handle transitions, the work of our hands, and the life our minds. Good stuff.
The most impactful chapter to me was the one concerning our relationship to institutions and the need to keep a healthy sense of differentiation from them in terms of our identity:
"If we are effective within an organization it comes as we embrace the mission and invest our hearts in the shared values and mission of the institution, but it is also important that we sustain some level of personal autonomy. We are not reduced to our roles within the organization. Our identity and our calling are never solely that of one who fills this role in our church, business, or school. "
If we do not keep a healthy sense of differentiation "there is a sense in which we have actually subsumed our identity & vocation within the mission of this organization. We cannot imagine our lives except as a part of this church, this company, or this non-profit organization. "
"It is imperative that we do not equate our vocations with this institution, and further, that our ego needs are not tied to the specific job or role we have within the organization. We can let it go."
April 20, 2024
I read this book for my Theology of Work course under Dr. Josh Sweeden at Nazarene Theological Seminary.
While this book was not eloquently written or profoundly moving, it was eminently practical. Smith's wisdom on life and work is right on. I would like to return to the many paragraphs I highlighted at some point in the future.
While this book was not eloquently written or profoundly moving, it was eminently practical. Smith's wisdom on life and work is right on. I would like to return to the many paragraphs I highlighted at some point in the future.
June 26, 2022
Excellent book by Gordon Smith. There were some sections which brought enormous clarity to me. Reading this book felt like sitting down with a wise mentor.
Strongly recommend!
Strongly recommend!
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April 8, 2025Unbelievably mid
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews