Buechner Inspired Calling

In the spring, seniors in high school and college are thinking about calling, with the former selecting a college and a major and the latter applying for jobs. We often talk about students finding their calling or vocation, as individuals ... but finding the calling for an institution is equally important. Each organization likely has a mission statement, core values, and a strategic plan, but have they truly sought their calling?

What should be the calling of a school?

American philosopher and theologian Frederick Buechner is known for his quote on calling:

"The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet."

We interpret this quote (as likely intended) to be about an individual person identifying his/her gifts, interests, and passions (what he/she is created to do) and then trying to find how to use that "deep gladness" to make a positive difference addressing an identified need ("deep hunger") in this world. This is an important wondering as we individually strive to be reformational and restorative in this broken world. However, shouldn't we also consider this quote for an institution?

What if each institution (for-profit, non-profit, religious, or secular) considered this quote?  What a powerful exercise to consider calling, as Buechner defined it!

• As an institution, what is our deep gladness? What is our passion, what are we created to do, and what do we do really well?
• As an institution, how can that deep gladness meet the world's deep hunger? Is there a way to use our institution to help to restore brokenness in this world?

Sometimes those two naturally align. 

To be too literal, a farmer, passionate about growing and harvesting crops to the best of his/her ability is directly meeting the world's deep hunger of food. As the bumper sticker says, "No Farms, No Food." A farmer is living a Buechner inspired calling.

The founder of TOMS shoes, Blake Mycoskie's deep gladness was in making shoes, but he also recognized the "hunger" in the lack of shoes in impoverished communities, so he developed the One for One model to meet that "deep hunger." For each shoe purchased, the company donated a shoe. TOMS' mission statement is simply "use business to improve lives." That is a Buechner inspired calling.  

• Read the TOMS story HERE!

Can schools have a similar Buechner inspired calling? Absolutely.

It does take three steps ... 

1. Identifying the educational institution's deep gladness.
2. Remembering the educational institution's mission statement. 
3. Evaluating the deep hunger in our society.

Often schools have this process backwards. Educators see the needs (deep hunger) in our society, but forget their school's mission statement and deep gladness (i.e. what schools are created to do). Schools turn into churches (because the 'hunger" of evangelism), soup kitchens (because the "hunger" of homelessness), families (because the "hunger" of broken homes) and social clubs (because the "hunger" of community). Although each of those areas are important hungers that need to be met, they are likely not found in a school's mission statement and arguably are not what schools are created to do.

So what do schools do better than any other institution? Educate students!

General Knowledge

General knowledge is one of the deep hungers in our society today ... and we are getting hungrier! The good news is that knowledge acquisition aligns well with both a school's "deep gladness" and mission statement. Unfortunately, schools are under-performing. I am appalled by the level of ignorance in our culture today. I have stopped laughing at the "man on the street" interviews; there is nothing funny about ignorance. Mark Bauerlein calls this the "dumbest generation" due to the digital age, and I agree. Schools must address this hunger with a passion ... tackle ignorance head on, build overall literacy and competency, and reclaim the purpose of education. That is one example of a Buechner inspired calling.

Wisdom

Once our culture becomes smart again, we can "get wisdom." While not able to be fully realized without a knowledge base, wisdom is also a deep hunger in our culture today. One way to address this deep hunger is to start teaching philosophy again ("philosophy" is literally translated "the love of wisdom"); students must learn to philosophize ... to love wisdom! Unfortunately, we have too many examples of smart people who are not wise; again, schools are positioned well to address this hunger, and teaching wisdom should be our deep gladness!

Christian schools have a head start on teaching wisdom, as the Bible states in Proverbs 9:10, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." Educators must start by teaching students to fear the Lord if we want to improve wisdom. Modern usage of the word "fear" connotes being afraid (as "I fear walking down the street alone at night"); however, the biblical definition of fear is to have reverence and respect. Fearing God and His word, which includes obeying His commands, has waned in today's culture. It is no wonder that wisdom has also been on a decline. Christian schools must begin where God commands us to begin ... the fear of the Lord. Unfortunately, we have too many examples of Christian schools (and Christian colleges) that do not fear God or His word. In fact, in Christian colleges today, some professors think that they are smarter than God, questioning His word, or even mocking it, rather than fearing it. They clearly are not wise.

If Christian schools want to embrace a Buechner inspired calling, they must fear the Lord, build general knowledge, and get wisdom. 

• What is your deep gladness as an educator?
• Does it fit your educational mission statement?
• Is there a deep hunger that you/your students can help restore?

How exciting it would be if every school (as well as every educator) had a Buechner inspired calling!