Calling out "calling"

Anthropology, Biology, Chemistry, Communication, Cultural Studies, Drama, Dance, Economics, Education, Environmentalism, Geology, Fashion, Horticulture...the list goes on and on.

The sum total of the academic experience leads to one question for most students: What am I supposed to do with my life?

As each field becomes more and more specialized--and subsequently births new fields--it seems the monolithic list of possible futures for students is only becoming more endless and foreboding by the minute. As several studies have shown, too many options actually are bad for us. In fact when given more than three options in any situation a human being is more likely to be indecisive for longer, and ultimately to be less happy with their decision after making it. An easy example is the cereal isle at your local grocery store; how many mom's spend over 5 minutes deliberating over which box of cereal to take home to make their kids happy? With students the stakes are a bit higher; whatever field they choose they will be stuck in for the rest of their life--in essence their choice of major is an identity claim of the highest order.

The problem is further complicated for Christian students, who not only need to make a life-changing (or rather life-making) decision, but are often under the added pressure to discern their "God-ordained" vocation, otherwise known as their "calling." This terminology is well-known in Christian circles, and it's popularity is perhaps only surpassed by its ambiguity. I can't count how many Christians I've met (students and non-students alike) who are absolutely convinced they have a calling before they fully understand what that calling is, or even what the word "calling" means.

For the longest time the overuse and misunderstanding around this term has nagged at me. Some Christians, it seems, can't make a decision of any significance before determining whether God has called them to do it. Forget majors for a moment, I'm talking about buying a car, taking a job, dating a person, even down to minuscule decisions like sending e-mails or setting up a facebook account. Please don't misinterpret me, I don't mean to be irreverent at all, and certainly desire to always find my choices in line with the will of God. But what happens for many people now when they seek to discern God's calling on their life is comparable to checking the horoscopes. Rather than seeking wisdom in decision-making, many of us end up seeking some external force to make decisions for us.

By now some of you must be wondering if I have any authority to back these claims up with; I'm going to pull a LeVar Burton here and tell you, "don't take my word for it," check out the bible. The term "calling" is never really used until the NT, at which point it is mostly used by Paul, and almost always used to refer to the Call we believers have received to follow Christ. Check out these verses to see for yourself: Rom 8:28, Rom 11:29, 1 Cor 1:26, Gal 5:13, Eph 1:18, Eph 4:1, etc...

From a biblical standpoint there are no grounds for interpreting a vocational path as a "call." So where did this idea come from? During medieval times clergy and "men of the cloth" were said to have recieved a call to do the work of the Lord. This "call" ended up creating a clear distinction between men in ministerial positions, and men of more earthly careers such as farming, masonry, or welding. Over time this distinction perpetuated the Hellenistic idea that earthly work was less important and less holy than ministerial work. During the reformation people such as John Calvin saw the awful dualism such thinking had caused in God's people, and sought to help workers in all varieties of professions recognize their labor as equally called upon by God, linking their earthly work to humanity's initial (pre-fall) function as cultivators of Creation (see Gen 1:28).

If you aren't confused or frustrated enough already, I'm going to admit that I agree with John Calvin in this instance. I do believe that the farmer is "called" to farm, the doctor is "called" to heal, and the writer is "called" to write. The difference is that the "call" we have received is a general one that applies to all of God's children, the same as Paul explains it, not necessarily a specific voice we are meant to discern through some Christian version of a Ouija Board. All of us have been called to be good stewards of creation, and since the proclamation of the gospel, we followers of Christ have been called to join Christ in the restoration of Creation. Within this call there is great liberty afforded to us, as Paul describes in Romans, "Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him...One person esteems one day better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind." And then again in 1 Corinthians 10:13, "So whether you drink or eat, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."

These verses seem to intimate that it is not what we do (assuming what we are doing is not in contradiction to God's character) but whether what we are doing is done unto the glory of God; that is the important part; that is what God has "called" us to do. If I am farming unto the glory of God, then I am fulfilling the call of a farmer; if I am doctoring unto the glory of God then I am fulfilling my call as a doctor; if I am writing unto the glory of God then I am fulfilling my call as a writer; and if I am ministering unto the glory of God then I am fulfilling my call as a minister. Likewise, if I pursue any of these fields, including ministering, while not seeking the glory of God, then I am not fulfilling my call in that profession.

To some people this sounds like bad news, because it can seem like there is less meaning and purpose in our work when it hasn't already been decided for us beforehand--let's not get into predestination today--on the other hand, I think it's actually "good news" because we never have to wonder whether we are fulfilling God's Call on our lives as long as we are indeed living according to his word, and seeking to glorify God. The liberty to choose what to do within those parameters is actually a beautiful gift, not a curse. Whether we are writing, farming, engineering, plumbing, coaching, or whatever, we can always be fulfilling God's call.

This is one of the messages Rachel and I seek to help our students understand: that if they are striving to be true stewards, and if they are truly seeking to glorify God with their work, then whatever major or career path they decide to pursue has value in God's kingdom. But being a true steward and glorifying God both need to be defined before we can begin attempting either. Namely, they both need to be understood in the light of the gospel, and in the light of the life Christ has called us to walk in.

Please pray for us, as Rachel and I challenge college students to understand the call God has made on their life, and in particular how their particular major is part of the ongoing work of "joining Christ in the restoration of Creation."

In His Arms,
Elliott

PS. Just to clarify, I do believe there are some people who receive a direct clear "call" from God to act or live in a specific way. However, as was the case with Jonah, John the Baptist, and Christ, I believe this type of "call" is unmistakable when it comes to us, and we should be proactive and functional as Christians, seeking with wisdom to use the gifts we have to participate in gospel work always, fulfilling the greater common Call with diligence as a default, so if perchance we should find ourselves to be one of those special few we will not be found idle and wanting in spiritual maturity when that unique "call" comes.

Does Love Suck?

Does real love exist, or do we create the meaning of love through our experiences?

This question is the central theme to the movie (500) Days of Summer; a film that is marketed as part of the chick-flick and romantic comedy vein, but actually contains many elements that decontruct the cliches usually prevelant in the genre.

I'm bringing up this film because after watching it I realized how extraordinarily relevant the main dilemma of the films two main characters is to this generation of young adults and college students.

Anyone who thinks students go to college just to learn or to get a degree is wrong, or at least only half right. The other half of the reason: relationships.

Students today, guy or gal, want to explore relationships. They want to have a vibrant social network of friends and acquaintances, and at the non-platonic end of the spectrum many of them want to find love and romance with that special "someone." Next to time in front of the computer or text messaging you can bet relationships comes in at a close second on how students spend their time...school work is usually in fourth or fifth...sleep is maybe at number eight.

This should come as no surprise. Ever since they were in diapers the media and culture have told this generation that not only is "true love" out there, but that it is something everyone deserves and eventually finds--you need only confer with the plot of the nearest Disney movie, Twilight novel, or superhero film to confirm this point. At the same time, this generation has also been told that truth is relative, and that abstract things, like love, hope, and faith are socially constructed. Herein lies the current existential dilemma: is love real, or is love just an illusion? Can love be found, or are we left to find our own way?

The answer is yes and no. Love isn't the googly-eyed infatuation we find in the Edward Cullen's of the world, or the commitment-free-evening-rendezvous-lifestyle we find in shows like Sex in the City or Desperate Housewives. Love is not just the gushing and fawning exasperation of our hormone-laden youth. Love is real. But the "love" many of us look for is not; it's plain fiction.

Real love is not found, it finds us...to put it better it has found us.

"In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." --1 John 4:9-11

To understand real love students need to encounter real love: the love of God. We're being fed a fictional tale of "real" love in the world because much of the world still lives with a "fictional" understanding of history. The real story of history--involving the manifestation of God in the person Jesus Christ, who died and was raised to save us from our sin, so that we might live with Him forever--is the only way through which any of us can come to know what love really is or what it really means. Because, at the end of the day, if love wasn't knit into the fabric of humanity purposefully, if it isn't a blessing endowed to us by a creator of the same nature, if love isn't necessary and vital to our identity, then what's the point? At some point even a bloodthirsty sex-crazed vampire teen would have to pause and ask what love is all about.

That's one of the reason's why Rachel and I are going through the "Transformed Student Document" with students. The TSD is a helpful tool that breaks down the fundamental attributes of a transformed disciple into five categories.

1. Loving Christ Intimately
2. Viewing the World Biblically
3. Living Obediently
   
4. Joining Christ in the Restoration of Creation
5. Inviting Others to do Likewise

Every Monday night Rachel I meet with 7-8 students at Eastern University to walk through these five marks and talk about what real love looks like. Please pray for us as we lead a discussion tonight on what it means to love Christ intimately.

Mule + Chihuahua = College Student

Over-commitment and burn-out.

To the average college student these two words encapsulate daily reality. In the consumerist driven marketplace of events, clubs, student activities, classwork, homework, internships, social life, social networking, e-mailing, and facebooking that sum up modern "Campus Life" most students who Rachel and I meet are scrambling desperately do at least two things: to take advantage of every opportunity that comes their way, and to do something truly meaningful and significant with their time. Together these two things seem almost impossible to accomplish.

I don't mean to be cynical at all here. It's really mathematical. Doing something significant and meaningful requires us to devote hours upon hours of our focus and energy toward one goal or purpose; while, on the other hand, taking advantage of every opportunity means juggling dozens of things at once, and giving each thing a superficial amount of attention.

Trying to explain this to most students is like trying to tell a smoker that cigarettes are bad for them. Most of them will nod in agreement, agree they should live differently, but honestly they don't have the motivation or know-how to actually change course. I don't blame them; the drug of over-commitment and hyper-involvement has been pushed on them ever since middle school. This is how they have been taught to live. This is what they are being told life is all about...and we wonder why most college students struggle with anxiety and depression.

Several of the students Rachel and I meet with on a regular basis confess they are tired, strung-out, exhausted, and overworked. Actually, it is not uncommon for students to constantly ask to reschedule our meetings, or to miss church on a regular basis because of how busy they are.

I wish I could say churches are a refuge from this type of over-committed existence, but Rachel and I have recently been counseling two young adults from a local church who feel so heavy-laden with ministry responsibilities that they dream of coming home just to rock in the fetal position for a few hours before sleep. A slight exaggeration, but you get the point; and I don't believe their experience is an exception to the rule.

The lofty expectations of college students and young adults in our culture to be as hyper-active as chihuahuas and laborious as mules needs to be done away with. Students don't know what rest is anymore. I don't know a single college student who actually has a solid day off outside of fall breaks and holidays. There is no Sabbath rest for the college students. I asked a Chemistry student and Intervarsity small group leader at Haverford College the other day when he rests and he said on Thursday mornings before class, and sometimes in the afternoon when he is working for the tech group on campus. Similarly I spoke with a student from Eastern a few weeks ago who was taking 21 hours of class a week, working 25 hours a week (that's already a 46 hour work-week not including homework and the student club she is involved with) when she rested, and she said "when I sleep, which is about 3-4 hours a night."

The question is no longer whether students will experience burn-out, but when.

As you pray this week, ask God that he would provide rest and rejuvination for Ben Thompson of Haverford, Betsy of EU, Zack Groff of Temple, Jocelyn Groff of EU, Ben and Jess Mell of Manoa Presbyterian, Hannah Maclean of EU, Rachel Lim or Haverford, John Bridges of VFMC, Brandi of Uarts, and many, many others.

Pray that as we disciple these students and young adults God provides us with the words and wisdom to teach the discipline of rest to each of them, and that they would learn to begin making time to experience the gift of Sabbath each week.

Thank you for your prayers, love, encouragement, and support.

In Him,
Elliott and Rachel