If the Stories of my Coworkers are Remarkable at all, It Is for their Honesty.
Netflix’s Cheer: Law and Grace in Action
The Winning Formula of Coach Monica is Her Ability to See Her Job as a Calling
Among the Other Gods: A Christian Air Force Chaplain’s Weird Work
I Believe Jesus is the Way. How Can I Assist People in the Worship of Other Gods?
The Improbable Persistence of Calling
In one of his final stories for the New Yorker, “The Long Black Line,” former Jesuit John L’Heureux offers a funny and heart-rending tale of a Jesuit novice who leaves the order. [If you have the time, check out a beautiful reading and commentary on the story by one of his former students, and don’t […]
Prerequisite to Dignity of Purposelessness
Sometimes I get the willies from conversations about vocation. Whatever the formal definition is, “vocation” in practice seems to be a mash-up between purpose and career—as if two of the most intimidating topics were rolled into one, and ill-equipped young adults like myself must deal with it, or else. I’m not criticizing vocation in itself […]
Another Week Ends: More Underachieving Males, Baffling Temptations, Upper East Side Claustrophobia, John Gray, Star Wars, and Vocation
1. After Dave’s post on male problems this week, The Economist published a long-form essay about the plight of blue-collar men in the West. The pay for men with only a high-school diploma fell by 21% (real terms) between 1979 and 2013, as one of the clear male advantages is brawn, which is less relevant than ever when it […]
God Redeems Our Work (and Even Our Anthropomorphism)
I’ve noticed a recent spat of very positive Christian books about vocation, basically work-affirming theologies, are gaining traction in America, and perhaps we shouldn’t be too surprised, I’m referring to “God values your vocation” stuff – Adam and Eve were originally called to be garden-tenders (before the Fall), work anticipates God’s future renewal of the world, […]
The “Me” Gospel: Killers and Chillers in the Workplace
The internet is still brimming with commentary on what “the good life” really means, a question which, in itself, may prove the point of The NY Times‘ recent must-read op-ed, “The Gospel According to ‘Me’”. In it Jamieson Webster and Simon Critchley, a psychoanalyst and a philosophy professor talk shop about today’s “church of self,” […]
Previously on Parenthood: I Thought I Could Do It All, but I Can’t …
This is a little tardy since the most recent episode of Parenthood (“There’s Something I Need to Tell You …”) aired over a week ago, but I—perhaps like many of you—typically watch shows online several days later. Nevertheless, this is a follow up to a recent post regarding new developments in the Braverman clan. I […]
