Each Spring and Fall, The Washington Institute hosts a public lecture series called Vocation Is Mission pertaining to such themes as theology, spirituality and practice of vocation. These lectures, led by Director of Formation Rev. Bill Haley or Founder and Principal of The Institute Dr. Steven Garber and followed by a time for question and answer response, engage those who seek a deeper and richer understanding of vocation in its fullest sense.
Spring 2012
Can you know the world, and still love it? The most perennial of all questions, the way we answer comes from the very center of our lives, from our deepest beliefs about God, ourselves and the world. In every century and every culture human beings have mostly said “no,” and versions of cynicism and stoicism are our response. For good reasons, we protect ourselves from the implications of what we know. But what if it is possible to know and to love at the same time? In families, in neighborhoods, in cities and societies, what if the more we know the more we love? The question is not cheap, and the answer can never be. The Christian vision of incarnation is rooted in the reality that God knows the world at its very worst, and chooses to love it; He knows us at our very worst, and chooses to love us. It is not naïveté, but grace that marks the vocation of God.
We have that same vocation, and therefore taking up the callings that are ours we enter into history, seeing that we are implicated in the way the world turns out– for God’s sake. Vocation is integral, not incidental, to the missio Dei, to what God is doing in the world.
One evening per month from April through June, Dr. Steven Garber will explore these very questions in our second Vocation Is Mission series. The Washington Institute is partnering with Restoration Anglican Church in Arlington, Virginia, which will host our series, with each lecture followed by a time for response, practical application, and discussion.
We invite you to come be a part of this dialogue in learning how we can answer the call on our lives to live coherently within the culture around us while remaining set apart for the Kingdom of God.
Dates, Time, & Location
7:30-9:30pm at Restoration Anglican Church, Arlington, Virginia
Wednesday, April 18: Can You Know the World and Still Love the World?
Wednesday, May 16: Vocation and the Common Good
Wednesday, June 10: Hints of Hope
Audio Recordings and Handouts:
Part 1: Can You Know the World and Still Love the World?
Download the handout and listen to the audio recording* or read the transcript.
Autumn 2011
The Washington Institute boldly asserts that vocation is integral–not incidental–to the mission of God in the world, despite the pervasive, popular notion that there is a difference between “sacred” and “secular” callings. This distinction is dangerous and it keeps too many people from living joyfully in their work with the knowledge that what they’re doing Monday-Friday matters as deeply to God as what they do on Sunday. The Institute believes that ordinary work, rightly understood and practiced, is as important to God’s work in the world as pastoring, missionary work, evangelism, and so-called ‘full-time ministry’.
Why do we believe this? Why do assert so boldly that ‘Your work matters to God?’ Does the Bible teach this? Yes, it does, and last Fall the Washington Institute, in partnership with The Falls Church offered a series of four lectures to explore the Biblical and theological justification for the assertion that “Vocation is Mission.” Through Rev. Bill Haley’s teaching, we learned, discussed and applied what the Bible has to say about our work and the mission of God, through the lenses of Creation-Fall-Redemption-Consummation. If you missed the series or know someone else who did, we have preserved the audio recordings and transcripts for each lecture below accompanied by handouts with notes and quotations. We hope you find these resources helpful in seeking to understand the biblical basis for the claim that Vocation Is Mission.
Audio Recordings and Handouts:
Part 1: CREATION-Why Did God Make Us, or Anything?
Download the handout and listen to the audio recording or read the transcript.
Part 2: THE FALL HAPPENS-A theological discussion about work and the Fall.
Download the handout and listen to the audio recording* or read the transcript.
Part 3: REDEEMING WITH JESUS-A theological discussion about work and Redemption.
Download the handout and listen to the audio recording or read the transcript.
Part 4: OUR WORK IN THE WORLD TO COME-A theological discussion about work and the consummation.
Download the handout and listen to the audio recording or read the transcript.
*Some audio content excluded due to copyright. See handout to follow along.