A Sense of Being Called

A Sense of Being Called
Author: Richard Stoll Armstrong
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 211
Release: 2011-01-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 160899404X

Dick Armstrong was thoroughly committed to his promising future as a major league baseball front-office executive until something happened that completely changed his life and steered him in a totally new direction. In A Sense of Being Called, Armstrong tells the story of what he calls his "Damascus Road" experience, an awesome encounter with the God he had always believed in but had never given the slightest thought to serving. The dramatic theophany initiated a remarkable pilgrimage of faith in which he and his supportive wife, Margie, learned how God guides, provides for, and equips those who respond to the divine call. What the unbelieving world would label coincidence Dick and Margie viewed as the miraculous providence of God--of a God whose timing, they came to understand, is often surprising and always perfect. As the doors to entering seminary kept opening or closing in unpredictable ways, Dick was eventually led to Princeton Theological Seminary, where he met then-president John A. Mackay, who was to have a powerful impact on Dick's life. Dick and Margie's departure from the Baltimore Orioles and their transition to becoming a full-time seminary couple was traumatic. Their five-and-a-half-year-old son died on the Seminary's convocation day. The poignant story of Ricky's death provides another inspirational illustration of how God is able to work for good, even in the death of a child, with those who are called according to God's purpose. The three years at seminary were transformational for Dick Armstrong, who traces the often -humorous events leading to his ordination and call to be the pastor of the Oak Lane Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia. Armstrong's hope is that this book will move readers to consider how God has been at work in their lives and will awaken in them their own sense of being called.

When God Talks Back

When God Talks Back
Author: T.M. Luhrmann
Publisher: Vintage
Total Pages: 466
Release: 2012-11-13
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0307277275

A New York Times Notable Book A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2012 A bold approach to understanding the American evangelical experience from an anthropological and psychological perspective by one of the country's most prominent anthropologists. Through a series of intimate, illuminating interviews with various members of the Vineyard, an evangelical church with hundreds of congregations across the country, Tanya Luhrmann leaps into the heart of evangelical faith. Combined with scientific research that studies the effect that intensely practiced prayer can have on the mind, When God Talks Back examines how normal, sensible people—from college students to accountants to housewives, all functioning perfectly well within our society—can attest to having the signs and wonders of the supernatural become as quotidian and as ordinary as laundry. Astute, sensitive, and extraordinarily measured in its approach to the interface between science and religion, Luhrmann's book is sure to generate as much conversation as it will praise.

Make Your Job a Calling

Make Your Job a Calling
Author: Bryan J. Dik
Publisher: Templeton Foundation Press
Total Pages: 292
Release: 2012-10-20
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1599473801

Do you ever feel sick of your job? Do you ever envy those people who seem to positively love what they do? While those people head off to work with a sense of joy and purpose, for the rest of us trudging back to the office on Monday morning or to the factory for the graveyard shift or to the job site on a hundred-degree day can be an exercise in soul crushing desperation. “If only we could change jobs,” we tell ourselves, “that would make it better.” But we don’t have the right education . . . or we don’t have enough experience . . . or the economy isn’t right . . . or we can’t afford the risk right now. So we keep going back to the same old unsatisfying jobs. The wonderful truth, though, is that almost any kind of occupation can offer any one of us a sense of calling. Regardless of where we are in our careers, we can all find joy and meaning in the work we do, from the construction zone flagger who keeps his crew safe to the corporate executive who believes that her company’s products will change the world. In Make Your Job a Calling authors Bryan J. Dik and Ryan D. Duffy explore this powerful idea and help the reader navigate the many challenges—both internal and external—that may arise along the pathway to a sense of calling at work. Over the course of four sections, the authors define the idea of calling, review cutting-edge research on the subject, provide practical guidelines for discerning a calling at all stages of work and life, and explore what calling will look like as workplace norms continue to evolve. They also take pains to present a realistic view of the subject by unpacking the perils and challenges of pursuing one’s higher purpose, especially in an uncertain economy. The lessons presented will resound with anyone in any line of work and will show how the power of calling can beneficially shape individuals, organizations, and society as a whole.

A Call to Christian Formation

A Call to Christian Formation
Author: John C. Clark
Publisher: Baker Academic
Total Pages: 237
Release: 2021-07-20
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1493430688

This book shows that theology is both integrally related to formation in Jesus Christ and shapes our understanding of the world. Christian formation is incomplete and impossible without theological formation, because Christ transforms our hearts and minds, attuning them to the reality of God. As the authors explore the deep connections between theology and the life of the Christian, they emphasize Christian formation as a defining feature of the church, arguing that theology must be integrally connected to the church's traditions and practices.

The Call to be Human

The Call to be Human
Author: Vincent MacNamara
Publisher:
Total Pages: 244
Release: 2010
Genre: History
ISBN:

MacNamara goes to the heart of the matter of morality and situating it in the call to be human. He displays a sympathetic understanding of the human condition and the demands of modern life.

Running on Empty

Running on Empty
Author: Jonice Webb
Publisher: Morgan James Publishing
Total Pages: 250
Release: 2012-10-01
Genre: Self-Help
ISBN: 161448242X

A large segment of the population struggles with feelings of being detached from themselves and their loved ones. They feel flawed, and blame themselves. Running on Empty will help them realize that they're suffering not because of something that happened to them in childhood, but because of something that didn't happen. It's the white space in their family picture, the background rather than the foreground. This will be the first self-help book to bring this invisible force to light, educate people about it, and teach them how to overcome it.

Your Calling Here and Now

Your Calling Here and Now
Author: Gordon T. Smith
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2022-06-14
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1514003414

At this time and place, who are you meant to be, and what are you called to do? According to Gordon T. Smith, vocation is not a goal on the horizon but a present reality we can discern and explore. Whether you're navigating career transitions or looking for meaning in the ordinary, these theological reflections and spiritual practices invite you to step into God's call in the present moment.

The Joy of the Gospel

The Joy of the Gospel
Author: Pope Francis
Publisher: Image
Total Pages: 164
Release: 2014-10-07
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0553419544

The perfect gift! A specially priced, beautifully designed hardcover edition of The Joy of the Gospel with a foreword by Robert Barron and an afterword by James Martin, SJ. “The joy of the gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus… In this Exhortation I wish to encourage the Christian faithful to embark upon a new chapter of evangelization marked by this joy, while pointing out new paths for the Church’s journey in years to come.” – Pope Francis This special edition of Pope Francis's popular message of hope explores themes that are important for believers in the 21st century. Examining the many obstacles to faith and what can be done to overcome those hurdles, he emphasizes the importance of service to God and all his creation. Advocating for “the homeless, the addicted, refugees, indigenous peoples, the elderly who are increasingly isolated and abandoned,” the Holy Father shows us how to respond to poverty and current economic challenges that affect us locally and globally. Ultimately, Pope Francis demonstrates how to develop a more personal relationship with Jesus Christ, “to recognize the traces of God’s Spirit in events great and small.” Profound in its insight, yet warm and accessible in its tone, The Joy of the Gospel is a call to action to live a life motivated by divine love and, in turn, to experience heaven on earth. Includes a foreword by Robert Barron, author of Catholicism: A Journey to the Heart of the Faith and James Martin, SJ, author of Jesus: A Pilgrimage

The Sense of an Ending

The Sense of an Ending
Author: Julian Barnes
Publisher: Vintage
Total Pages: 158
Release: 2011-10-05
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0307957330

BOOKER PRIZE WINNER • NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A novel that follows a middle-aged man as he contends with a past he never much thought about—until his closest childhood friends return with a vengeance: one of them from the grave, another maddeningly present. A novel so compelling that it begs to be read in a single setting, The Sense of an Ending has the psychological and emotional depth and sophistication of Henry James at his best, and is a stunning achievement in Julian Barnes's oeuvre. Tony Webster thought he left his past behind as he built a life for himself, and his career has provided him with a secure retirement and an amicable relationship with his ex-wife and daughter, who now has a family of her own. But when he is presented with a mysterious legacy, he is forced to revise his estimation of his own nature and place in the world.