When I was 14 years old, I began working at the Dunkin’ Donuts down the road. I then flipped over to Burger King to work with my older brother. At 16, I left the burger world to run the drive-through at KCF/Taco Bell for a couple more dollars an hour. So when I needed a […]
Learning to Love the Job I Can’t Get
Certainly work is not always required of a man. There is such a thing as a sacred idleness, the cultivation of which is now fearfully neglected. – George Macdonald, Wilfrid Cumbermede During my second-to-last semester of college, I had to take a senior seminar class to finish up my major’s curriculum. Each session covered various […]
Netflix’s “Cheer”: Law and Grace in Action
It took just three days to plow through the six episodes of Netflix’s latest docuseries Cheer, but it was well worth it. I’m not a cheerleading expert, or even a casual fan, but my initial skepticism was quickly won over by the show’s tear-jerking storytelling. Don’t get me wrong, the flips are as amazing to […]
Among the Other Gods: A Christian Air Force Chaplain’s Weird Work
Thankful for this distinct perspective from Clifton Hanson. At the beginning of Advent, I found myself leading a tree lighting ceremony. I’ve been part of tree lighting ceremonies before—this was no ordinary one. Sure, we did the usual stuff: important people addressed the crowd, we read the Christmas story from St. Luke’s Gospel, and of […]
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 […]
