The Integration of our Callings

In his book The Call: Finding and Fulfilling the Central Purpose of your Life (Word Publishing, 1998), Os Guinness expands on the critical importance of recognizing and living out our calling. He defines two callings for the Christian:

"Our Primary Calling, as follower of Christ is by him, to him, and for him." In this respect, all of us are called to be disciples and followers of Christ.

"Our Secondary Calling, considering who God is as sovereign, is that everyone, everywhere, and in everything should think, speak, live, and act entirely for Him." Our vocation and place of service have incredible value to reflect and honor Christ.

At Christian Leadership Ministries, we endeavor to assist professors in every way possible to fulfill these two callings on campus. Over the last 19 years, we have accumulated proven resources and ideas which many Christian faculty feel have helped them in their effort to serve Christ for God's glory.

In the lead article of this issue, you will meet three women whose specialization and expertise is in equipping faculty to teach effectively. As devoted Christians, they carefully studied their audience and were able to bring a special spiritual emphasis to their teaching ideas . . . modeled after the Great Teacher. You'll find they effectively unite their primary and secondary calling as Christians.

Dr. Walter Bradley has been associated with Christian Leadership Ministries since its inception in 1980 and has pioneered many of the resources made available through CLM to professors worldwide. In his article, once again Walter demonstrates his innovation and creativity in using books to spark interest in spiritual dialogue among colleagues.

In The Hidden Cost of a Ph.D., Dr Don McDonald shares with us how he was led to abandon his faith . . . and what brought him back again. His journey back to his calling is noteworthy.

At Christian Leadership we are committed to assisting you as a Christian professor in integrating your two callings--as a Christian and scholar. To that end we have joined with Ravi Zacharias International Ministries to bring you a special conference next year in Atlanta entitled, God and the Academy: Charting a Course for the New Millennium. This conference will bring together men and women in higher education worldwide to explore ways to integrate Christianity into academics, communicate the love and truth of Christ to students and colleagues, and to offer a unique opportunity for fellowship with like-minded Christian educators. Please read the attached brochure and register early for this historic event.

As always, it is a privilege for our team to serve Christ with you in the most exciting harvest field in the world: the campus.