Personal Stories of Calling

Among University Professors

Don Thompson & Cindy Miller-PerrinPepperdine University

“Cultivating a Culture of Calling:

Mennonite Perspectives on Vocation”

Goshen CollegeOctober 21, 2005

Purpose of the Present Study

To examine university faculty members’ concepts of vocation, personal experiences of discerning vocation, and personal bridges and barriers experienced while pursuing one’s vocation, along with potential gender differences in these areas

Research Methodology

Quantitative Approach Vocation Survey Responses

Qualitative Approach Vocational Autobiographies

Vocation Survey

The assessment included a 75-item survey

Definitions of vocation Personal experiences of vocation Barriers to vocational discernment and action Sacrifices associated with living out one’s

vocation

Survey Sample

Recruited faculty from two private, Christian liberal arts institutions

Sample size = 108

Response rates of 52% and 100%

Demographic Characteristics

of Survey Sample Gender

32% female 68% male

Mean age = 48 years Majority are Caucasian (82%) Religious Denomination

51% Church of Christ 19% Presbyterian 8% Roman Catholic 3% Non-Denominational

Vocational Autobiography Approach

Faculty were recruited from: Faith and Learning Seminars Faith and Vocation Workshop

76 faculty completed autobiographies Response rates ranged from 65%-67% Demographics are similar to survey respondents

Provided autobiography prompts

Vocational Autobiography Prompts

Most Theology is essentially autobiography - Frederick Buechner

Reflect on your past and how you have become who you are Describe major “turning points” along your vocational journey. Discuss moments of crisis or confusion as well as moments of joy and

clarity along your past vocational journey (e.g., experiences that have affirmed or shaken your sense of calling).

Write about friends or mentors who have contributed to your vocational development.

Include distractions, tensions, or barriers that have hindered the pursuit of your vocational calling.

Focus on your present calling and your role as a mentor to students Describe evidence you have that you are living your call now Explain how you practice ongoing discernment to your call Identify what you do to mentor &/or facilitate a sense of vocation within

your students

Survey and Autobiography

Results Definition and Scope

Discernment Turning Points

Mentoring Barriers and Obstacles

Gender Specific Findings

Definition and Scope of Vocation

Highlights from the Literature Secular View Work, Career, Occupation

Christian View “a holy calling” 2 Timothy 1:9 Any human activity that gives meaning, purpose,

and direction to life: lifework Public and Private Dimensions

Work, ministry, community, relationships

Definition and Scope Survey Responses – Agree A Lot or

Very Much

Vocation Refers To Life purpose – 94% God’s will for one’s life – 87% Job/Career/Profession – 81% Personal interests or skills – 66% Formal ministry – 48% Gender – 8%

Definition and ScopeSurvey Responses – Agree A Lot or

Very Much Lifework Aspects of Vocation Service toward others – 77% Parenthood – 70% Marriage – 66% Church – 65% Community – 57% Friendship – 44% No Personal Aspects – 4%

Definition and Scope

Vocation always involves service/benefit to others Not at all 9% A little or somewhat 26% A lot or very much 63%

My vocation includes serving those in need Not at all 1% A little or somewhat 17% A lot or very much 82%

Definition and ScopeEssay Summary

Our commission from God to identity, lifestyle, ministry, and service

Every decision, every relationship, every work Discipleship, becoming like Jesus, loving God Living from the outside in, rather than inside out Seeking God’s will The journey itself

Using God’s gifts

Definition and ScopeEssay Responses

Both my spiritual heritage and my professional identity as a scholar lead me to cast my personal sense of vocation in terms of a biblical text. Specifically, I find myself called by Deuteronomy 6:4-5, known as the shema: “Listen, Israel: There is no god except the Lord your God. Love the Lord your God with your entire heart, your entire self, and your entire ‘muchness’ (my translation). Thus the most concise expression of my calling is that I am called to love God with everything I am and have. Loving God is my vocation.

Discernment Survey Responses – Agree A lot or

Very Much Personal sense of vocation develops from:

God’s will – 87% Personal Interests/Skills – 81% Significant Life Experiences – 80% Influence of others – 73%

DiscernmentSurvey Responses

I have a strong sense of my own personal vocation

Somewhat 8%

A lot 37%

Very much 55%

Discernment – ProcessEssay Summary

Intersection of talents, skills, desires and deep need for mankind

Gut feelings - innermost convictions

God’s loud voice speaking through tragedies, disappointments, losses

Ask and be asked questions

Through experience, trial and error, surprises

Discernment ProcessEssay Responses

Knowing the will of God as a life calling occurs through experience itself. We discover what our calling is in the same way an artist paints on a canvas. We learn by trying, by experimenting, by doing. Our calling is inseparable from the journey. It IS the journey.

Listening to God’s voice inside of me. Discernment is where prayer meets action.

Discernment – Evidence Essay Summary

When nothing else matters

Spiritual growth occurs

Deep sense of joy, satisfaction, contentment, peace, excitement, renewed energy

Positive feedback from others

Answered prayer

Discernment EvidenceEssay Responses

Am I living my call now? I am uncertain. Is it possible that I am living it in one area of my life and not another? Now that God is opening doors and I am reconnecting with my passions. I have a sense of peace about what I am doing and the results are positive. Individuals, families, and students are being helped. Those that I trust have encouraged me in my present pursuits, while providing words of caution about overextending myself. My reward is a deep sense of satisfaction, excitement, and renewed energy.

It is related to whether I would perform certain aspects of my work without pay.

Turning PointsEssay Summary

Death of family member or close friend

Life’s mistakes & wrong turns

Education

Accepting Jesus

Conflict, tension, growing pains

Helping someone in need

Parenting

Turning PointsEssay Responses

All of my science courses seemed like work; all the literature courses seemed like play. On Thanksgiving holiday, I had to work through some heavy-duty equilibrium problems for my quantitative analysis chemistry course, and I was to read Thornton Wilder’s Our Town for my American literature course. The power of the play overwhelmed me. I didn’t know it then, but I was feeling the difference between what Thomas De Quincey called the literature of knowledge and the literature of power. And I began to think, “Something is wrong here. Why am I competent in but so unmoved by my major, and why do plays and stories and novels and poems move me so?”

Turning PointsEssay Responses

I was watching the news when a disturbing story came on. In England, two young boys had kidnapped a toddler and killed him. I couldn’t get over that event. After hearing that story, I began to wonder what would cause someone, particularly children to do such a horrific thing. At that point I changed my major to psychology, transferred to a different school, with a better psychology program, and focused on understanding child development.

MentoringParks, S.D. (2000). Big questions, worthy

dreams. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Recognition of their Protégés Support Challenge Inspiration Dialogue Mutual Attraction Toward Similar Aims

Mentoring – MentorEssay Summary

Encourage, serve, support, lead, nudge, excite, energize, hear, listen, share inner lives

Learn about self, giftedness, passions, life purpose

Help students navigate faith integration Build and foster courage

Mentoring – MentorEssay Responses

I need to listen to my students. I need to hear what they are hearing. I need to be able to take their perspective as I decide what and when to share my own vocational journey. Perhaps it is enough that they fully grasp that vocation is a journey; they don’t have to understand it or be able to articulate their own vocation. They just need to accept that if they listen they will eventually find as Buechner says “where their deep gladness meets the world’s deep hunger.”

Mentoring – ProtégéEssay Summary

From Teachers, Professors & Colleagues

Through scripture & inspirational writing

Via spouse, parents, family members, church family & friends

Mentoring – ProtégéEssay Responses

Throughout my life, my grandmother wrote several letters to me. In almost every one she included the following verse, from II Timothy 2:20: ‘In a large house there are not only articles of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.’ This advice gave me a sense that I was called by God to do important things.

Mentoring – ProtégéEssay Responses

One of my professors encouraged me to pursue graduate school. He even went so far as to sign out a school car, make appointments for me with faculty, and drive me to the university to consider its program in human development. He encouraged me to consider teaching at the college/university level and helped me find my first academic post.

Barriers/Obstacles

Various obstacles or barriers may interfere with our ability to discern or act upon our vocational callings

Barriers serve as challenges that either create struggles that we must overcome create an impasse that redirects our journey

Barriers/Obstacles to Vocational Action

Demographic Barriers/Obstacles Most faculty responded “not at all”

Age 50% Gender 64% Ethnicity 73% Education 56% Income 57%

Gender as a Vocational Barrier/Obstacle

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Not at all A little Somewhat A lot Very much

Gender

Barriers/Obstacles to Vocational Action

Personal Attitudes or Emotions as Barriers/Obstacles Variable responses from faculty

Fear Selfishness Self-doubt Need for personal control Desire for certainty Need to feel secure/safe Uncertainty about one’s vocation Lack of faith

Fear as a Vocational Barrier/Obstacle

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Not at all A little Somewhat A lot Very Much

Fear

Self-doubt as a Vocational Barrier/Obstacle

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Not at all A little Somewhat A lot Very much

Self-doubt

Barriers/Obstacles to Vocational Action

Interpersonal Relationships as Barriers/Obstacles Most faculty responded “not at all”

Parent or other family member 51% Friend 72% Boyfriend or girlfriend 77% Teacher or professor 65% Spouse 69% Mentor 79% Colleague 60% Supervisor/Boss 54%

Parent or Other Family Member as a Vocational

Barrier/Obstacle

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Not at all A Little Somewhat A lot Very much

Parent

Barriers/Obstacles to Vocational Action

Personal and Social Circumstances as Barriers/Obstacles Variable responses from faculty

Lack of financial resources Concerns about supporting standard of living Unwillingness to sacrifice financially Feeling pressure or a desire to get married Gender discrimination Job-related responsibilities Raising children Family responsibilities Traditions of my church Physical limitations

Lack of Financial Resources as a Vocational

Barrier/Obstacle

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Not at all A little Somewhat A lot Very much

Finances

Job-Related Responsibilities as a

Vocational Barrier/Obstacle

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Not at all A little Somewhat A lot Very much

Job Resp.

Barriers/ObstaclesEssay Summary

Pride, Self-Centeredness, Prejudice

Lack of faith, lack of self-confidence

Struggle with traditional gender roles

Balance between home and profession

Health setbacks

Family conflict, divorce, remarriage

Church culture

Barriers and Obstacles to Vocational Action

Essay Responses My first semester was painful. Straight out of

graduate school, I embraced my students excited and ready to embark on an intellectual journey. I found, however, that my students responded to my enthusiasm with indifference, sleepiness, and even hostility. I was also disheartened to see racial tensions and divisions in and outside of my class with minority students coming to me to say that they felt depressed and alienated on campus. I felt that I had to be an entertainer instead of a teacher and a radical social activist instead of a private and objective researcher.

Gender Specific Findings

The topic of gender differences in vocational calling has not been examined empirically

Research in the areas of faith and identity development suggests the potential impact of gender on vocational development

Gender Analysis

Gender differences were examined for the barriers and obstacles that faculty members experienced related to their vocational calling

Gender differences were evident in two areas:

Interpersonal barriers/obstacles Environmental barriers/obstacles

Interpersonal Barriers/Obstacles

11

11.5

12

12.5

13

13.5

14

14.5

Female Faculty Male Faculty

InterpersonalBarrier Score

Specific Interpersonal Barriers/Obstacles

Women reported that the views and opinions of others served as barriers/obstacles with regard to their ability to pursue their vocations

Parent or other family member Teacher or professor

Environmental Barriers/Obstacles

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

Female Faculty Male Faculty

EnvironmentalBarrier Score

Specific Environmental Barriers/Obstacles

Women reported that environmental or social circumstances interfered with their ability to pursue their vocations: Gender discrimination Pressure/desire to get married Raising children Traditions of church home

Gender Barriers/ObstaclesEssay Responses

While it may be best that I didn’t end up a youth minister, realizing that I was limited because of my sex was deeply disconcerting and left me a bit confused as to where God was leading me. In fact, I recall thinking that God only called men to positions of ministry and so I resigned myself to that reality.

Gender Barriers/ObstaclesEssay Responses

The culture of my church indicates that women should stay home with their children and tend to the family. In spite of this there are many women who work outside of the home at my church, but I would not be surprised that many, if not all of us feel guilty. I have attempted on three separate occasions to leave my professional positions to be a “stay at home mom,” but in every instance I was home for a little more than a year and I would return to work part-time and then eventually full time. This struggle has greatly clouded my search for vocation.

Conclusions

Contrary to past research, our faculty sample defines vocation more broadly than career

Mentors play an important role in the process of vocational discernment

Turning points play a key role in shaping one’s vocational journey

A significant number of faculty reported experiencing barriers to living out their calling

Barriers manifest differently for men versus women