"Calling in Context" (Susan Lynn Maros)

TITLE: Calling in Context: Social Location and Vocational Formation
AUTHOR: Susan Lynn Maros
PUBLISHER: Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2022, (240 pages).

Calling is a much-talked-about topic whenever there is a life transition. The Bible says it. People use it. We live it. From looking for a life partner to trying to find a job; choosing a college to commit to making investments; the word "calling" has been used, misused, and sometimes abused. Some say calling is for those contemplating entering into a ministry, while others apply it specifically to schools, jobs, and various project assignments. The truth is, any specific calling needs to be seen in its proper contexts simply because we are all unique. Our participation in the working out of this calling is also unique. With hindsight, author and professor Susan Maros admit that a lot of instruction about calling in our world has been restricted to "well-intentioned, White, evangelical, individualistic" views. Gradually, after hearing stories from friends and colleagues from different cultural backgrounds, she grows to apply the concept of calling to a wider world. In this book, Maros shows us step by step how our understanding of calling is influenced by our social and cultural contexts. Calling our existing maps problematic, she takes us through mental maps which often become the lens with which we interpret our world. She then takes a few notches up the ladder of deconstruction to question the way we use "biblical models" in our mental maps. This alone should make many of us sit up and reconsider our own mental maps and our own definitions of what it means to think biblically about calling. Specifically, she identifies five key characteristics in most theological thinking:

1. Caller: God
2. Calling: Task/Role
3. Called: Particular Person
4. Centrality: The awareness of knowing it
5. Confirmation

She raises two questions just like the way we argue about double predestination: If there is a calling to do good, is there also a calling to be part of evil? By doing so, Maros points out the flaw in conventional thinking surrounding "biblical calling" to argue for a new way to interpret this important topic. This is because the Bible often does not give us "model answers" to solve our problems. Interpretation can be a lot more complex. Perhaps, the better questions would be:

• What was the context of the calling?
• How did God speak then?
• How were the contexts seen as fulfilling the purposes of God?

Calling is not simply a contextual consideration. It is also a journey of identity formation. It is also storytelling of our own lives. Part Two of the book looks at the particular social locations we live in. Apart from interviewing people from different races, cultures, and ethnicities, she expands her research to include people from various socio-economic circles, classes, and other subcultures, also arguing that meritocracy is a cultural map that influences the way we understand calling. She debunks the way many of us connect success with some good techniques and shows us that in Christian ministry, things are much more complex than simply following a few steps to success. Even gendered identity is a factor that could warp our discernment of calling. Maros concludes her research in Part Three to show us how to connect " power and privilege, spiritual practices, and purpose." 

My Thoughts

This book arises out of the author's Ph.D. dissertation about cultural models and personal calling. One could safely conclude that she is a decent authority when it comes to helping us understand what calling and biblical calling is about. At the risk of oversimplifying other models of calling, she does the heavy lifting for us by giving us the general thrusts of the theological models out there in the market. That said, I think it is important for readers not to jettison the other ideas of calling too quickly. My thinking is that Maros's distillation of the five key characteristics of most theological thinking about calling is not about replacing the old with the new, in particular, her thesis. Instead, it is a plea to consider an alternative framework from a cross-cultural perspective. In other words, it is an invitation to a conversation rather than a dogmatic framework for us to swallow. It is not about "out-with-the-old" and "in-with-the-new" but expanding our understanding of calling from a different angle. For if it is true that calling needs to be considered in context, we can see this book as a way to address anything that has fallen through the cracks. Like her Malaysian colleague who refuses to read vocational books that are too American, this book could open the door for more openness. 

This book is an important contribution to vocational careers and calling. Many of us ask that question frequently and some might even expect a kind of easy-to-use framework. Such a thing does not exist. The truth is, we need to be constantly in discernment mode as far as calling is concerned. Calling is not just about knowing. It is also about practicing faithfulness as we go further along. Just like Joseph who never really understood the reason why his own brothers would betray him until his success in Egypt, we too should cultivate our relationship with God regularly and faithfully to ensure optimal readiness to receive God's insights and promptings. If we could bring together the practices of prayer, spirituality, community life, and disciplines, it would make us better discerners. 

One more thing. Pushing the envelope further, it can also be argued that the way to understand calling in context is not just about the content itself. The researcher's context and background could also be a factor to influence the content and presentation. Like it or not, no matter how we try to put ourselves into another culture's perspectives or the shoes of another ethnicity, we are still unable to fully speak for them. Having said that, where then do we draw the line in the endless questioning and debating of contexts? Is there a way to prevent wholesale rejection of ideas from another context? I believe it works both ways. The Bible teaches us the virtues of humility and honesty. These should not be downplayed at all. They should form the core part of understanding spiritual discernment and our calling. I believe that is key to learning from God and from others in order to greater understand our identity and subsequently, our calling. 

Susan L. Maros (PhD, Fuller Theological Seminary) is an affiliate assistant professor of Christian leadership at Fuller Theological Seminary, where she has also served as a doctoral supervisor, and an adjunct professor at the King's University, Southlake, Texas. She is a past president of the Academy of Religious Leadership.

Rating: 4.75 stars of 5.

conrade

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This book has been provided courtesy of InterVarsity Press and NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.