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Broader than the notion of "career," "vocation" is a term that invites us to discern God's will, understand our contexts, assess our gifts, and channel our talents and passions in the service of the world's needs. Recognize opportunities for self reflection and guidance as you pursue your calling.
LEADERSHIP : Vocation
  Clergy Women: An Uphill Calling (Book)
Barbara Brown Zikmund, Adair T. Lummis, Patricia M. Y. Chang, Authors.
Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1998.
From a comparative study of male and female clergy in 15 Protestant denominations, the authors conclude that clergy women are reinventing ministry and guiding the whole church to rethink its leadership and membership.
Do I Belong in Seminary? (Book)
Ronald E. Parker, Author.
Herndon, VA: Alban Institute, 1998.
Ronald Parker demonstrates that there are different kinds of "calls"—including but not limited to the call to the pastorate—and that seminary may be the answer for many of them.
Four Seasons of Ministry: Gathering a Harvest of Righteousness (Book)
Bruce G. Epperly, Katherine Gould Epperly, Authors.
Herndon, VA: Alban Institute, 2008.
Bruce and Katherine Epperly write about the factors that create transformational ministry in each of the "four seasons" (seminary, first call, full ministry, retirement) of pastoral vocational life. Key practices for each season are explained.
Leading Women: How Church Women Can Avoid Leadership Traps and Negotiate the Gender Maze (Book)
Carol E. Becker, Author.
Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1995.
Leading Women explores the status of women in church leadership, based on interviews with female and male clergy, lay professionals, and volunteers in Protestant denominations.
Leaving Church: A Memoir of Faith (Book)
Barbara Brown Taylor, Author.
San Francisco, CA: HarperSanFrancisco, 2006.
This artfully written memoir chronicles Barbara Brown Taylor's decision to leave pastoral ministry. It provides an insightful take on pastors who leave local church ministry and taps into questions that many have about Christian faith.
Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation (Book)
Parker J. Palmer, Author.
San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 1999.
Let Your Life Speak is an ideal resource for discernment groups supporting prospective clergy, for groups determining their paths of lay ministry, and for any groups or individuals who seek an authentic fulfillment of their "calling."
Vocation: Discerning Our Callings in Life (Book)
Douglas J. Schuurman, Author.
Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004.
Douglas Schuurman offers his readers a thoughtful and through exploration of the classic Protestant concept of vocation: a sense that our daily lives are arenas in which to live out our love of God and our neighbor.
 The Answer to How Is Yes: Acting on What Matters (Book)
Peter Block, Author.
San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2001.
The Answer to How Is Yes compels us to attend to those ideals and commitments that truly matter—both in our individual lives and in our institutions and communities.
Awakened to a Calling: Reflections on the Vocation of Ministry (Book)
Ann M. Svennungsen, Melissa Wiginton, Authors.
Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2005.
This series of sermons from church leaders explores what it means to be called and how calling is lived out in service to God. Many sermons are frank in both the opportunities and challenges of following a call to ministry.
Discerning Your Spiritual Gifts (Book)
Lloyd Edwards, Author.
Boston, MA: Cowley Publications, 1988.
Asserting that human talents become "spiritual gifts" when they equip us to assume our unique roles in God's creative and redemptive work, Lloyd Edwards offers exercises for gift discernment and a model for a spiritual gifts workshop.
Gathering the Next Generation: Essays on the Formation and Ministry of GenX Priests (Book)
Nathan Humphrey, Author.
Harrisburg, PA: Morehouse Publishing, 2000.
While specifically a book about the Episcopal Church in the United States, it also offers valuable insights to other denominations struggling to define vision, ministry, and mission for the twenty-first century.
Grounded in God: Listening Hearts Discernment for Group Deliberations (Book)
Suzanne G. Farnham, Stephanie A. Hull, R. Taylor McLean, Authors.
Harrisburg, PA: Morehouse Publishing, 1999.
Grounded in God provides instruction on the benefits of—and skills needed for—using discernment in group decision making.
 Imagination and the Pastoral Life: A Way of Seeing (Article)
Craig Dykstra, Author.
Christian Century. 2008.
Craig Dykstra discusses the elements of a sound pastoral imagination that responds to both God's call and a congregations' ecclesial imagination. He also explores how pastors can foster this imagination for themselves and one another.
In It for the Long Haul: Building Effective Long-Term Pastorates (Book)
Glenn Ludwig, Author.
Herndon, VA: Alban Institute, 2002.
Seminarians are typically taught how to become theologians-in-residence at their churches, rather than trained leaders who resist becoming overtaxed and can therefore remain "for the long haul."
Listening Hearts: Discerning Call in Community (Book)
Suzanne G. Farnham, Joseph P. Gill, R. Taylor McLean, Susan M. Ward, Authors.
Harrisburg, PA: Morehouse Publishing, 1991.
This is a theological and practical exploration of the meaning of call and the ways in which discernment in community can help us find our vocation. It includes guidelines for discernment groups and questions to raise during discernment.
Ordinary People as Monks and Mystics: Lifestyles for Self Discovery (Book)
Marsha Sinetar, Author.
Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1986.
The author sought out 40 people who have found inner peace by detaching emotionally from a comfortable and familiar life to lead a solitary, simple existence that becomes focused on caring for other people.
Pastors in Transition: Why Clergy Leave Local Church Ministry (Book)
Dean R. Hoge, Jacqueline E. Wenger, Authors.
Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2005.
Based on a survey of 900 clergy from five denominations, this book delineates reasons why pastors leave parish ministry. It also recommends ways to avert departures and support transitions.
Reclaiming the Fire: How Successful People Overcome Burnout (Book)
Steven Berglas, Author.
New York, NY: Random House, 2001.
Steven Berglas has written a psychological treatise on success and burnout that can help church people who give and receive vocational ministry.
Sacred Cows Make Gourmet Burgers: Ministry Anytime Anywhere by Anyone (Book)
William M. Easum, Author.
Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1995.
Author Bill Easum believes that a church is most effective when individuals are given permission to live out their God-given gifts in becoming disciples of Christ.
A Sacred Voice Is Calling: Personal Vocation and Social Conscience (Book)
John Neafsey, Author.
Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2006.
Through the insights of sages from a wide variety of disciplines and faith traditions, psychologist and theology professor John Neafsey explores what it means to find and follow a personal calling that satisfies not only personal but also societal needs.
Sorting It Out: Discerning God's Call to Ministry (Book)
Alice Cullinan, Author.
Valley Forge, PA: Judson Press, 1999.
Sorting It Out defines a vocational call, provides examples of people who have received a call, considers the different kinds of available ministry opportunities, and advises on how to proceed once one determines God's will.
Soul at Work: Spiritual Leadership in Organizations (Book)
Margaret Benefiel, Author.
Church Publishing Incorporated, 2005.
Margaret Benefiel, in Soul at Work, portrays individuals and organizations that have incorporated spirituality in the workplace. The term "soul" describes the lived manifestation of spirituality.
Under the Unpredictable Plant: An Exploration in Vocational Holiness (Book)
Eugene Peterson, Author.
Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1992.
Issuing a major challenge to clergy, author Eugene Peterson urges a paradigm shift from Pastor-as-Program-Director to Pastor-as-Spiritual-Director.
The Unnecessary Pastor: Rediscovering the Call (Book)
Marva J. Dawn, Eugene Peterson, Authors.
Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1999.
Using the Pastoral Epistles and Ephesians, authors Marva Dawn and Eugene Peterson help us understand that pastors are called not to fulfill cultural expectations, but to serve only Christ—with a most important role of reconciliation.
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