“Faith, Hope, and Work” - February 9-11, 2006
Point Loma Nazarene University
Discerning God’s call and living out one’s vocation is not a challenge and hope solely for university students and young folk just starting out in life. All of us seek meaningful work that not only provides bodily food but also sustains the spirit. In the conference, we want to hear others’ stories about their struggles and victories in the search for a way of life that expresses faith, hope and love. Speakers, including well-known preacher Dr. Barbara Brown Taylor and Donald Miller, author of Blue Like Jazz, will help us talk about vocation. The conference sessions will include important discussions on four major topics:
- Discovering the Vocational "Good" Place
- Narrating the Stories of Vocation
- “Practice”-ing our Vocation
- Critiquing and Affirming “Vocation”
The conference also includes a jazz concert, “Jazz Like Blues” on Friday evening. There are so many interesting ways to discover how Christians participate in the on-going creative work of God as it shapes vocation. Please join us in this conversation!
CONFERENCE SPEAKERSREV. DR. BARBARA BROWN TAYLOR
Barbara Brown Taylor, an Episcopal priest, was rector of Grace-Calvary Episcopal Church in Clarksville, Georgia. After Baylor University listed her among the twelve most effective preachers in the English language, her reputation brought more visitors to the church than could fit into its eighty-two seats. She is now the Harry R. Butman Chair in Religion and Philosophy at Piedmont College in Demorest, Georgia, where she specializes in world religions and early Christianity and continues her writing life. Her books include Speaking of Sin, The Preaching Life, When God Is Silent, and The Luminous Web: Essays on Science and Religion.
DONALD MILLER AUTHOR, BLUE LIKE JAZZ: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality
"I never liked jazz music because jazz music doesn't resolve. . . . I used to not like God because God didn't resolve. But that was before any of this happened." In Donald Miller's early years, he was vaguely familiar with a distant God. But when he came to know Jesus Christ, he pursued the Christian life with great zeal. Within a few years he had a successful ministry that ultimately left him feeling empty, burned out, and, once again, far away from God. In this intimate, soul-searching account, Miller describes his remarkable journey back to a culturally relevant, infinitely loving God.
FREDERICA MATHEWES-GREENAUTHOR, FIRST FRUITS OF PRAYER: A Forty Day Journey through the Canon of St. Andrew
Other books include: The Open Door: Entering the Sanctuary of Icons and Prayer; The Illumined Heart: Facing East:A Pilgrim’s Journey into the Mysteries of Orthodoxy. Frequently included in Best Christian Writing 2006. NPR commentator