Why does the church need to hear the message of this book right now?
This book is about transition—hearing God and finding our own identity in the turning points of our lives. And right now, it seems to me, that many of us are experiencing tectonic transitions in our lives. Some of them are forced upon us and some emerge from an inner crisis, but most of us are either in a season of change or are about to enter one. Part of what I mean to offer is the comfort from knowing these big change dynamics are normal and that you are not alone. But beyond that, I want to offer a pathway for us as we not only get through the next transition but grow and even thrive through it.
How does our calling change over time?
First, I think that hearing the voice of God calling us to something, satisfies our two deepest longings: the longing for intimacy and the longing for purpose. So, that’s a big deal. But one mistake we make in the pursuit of that identifying word from God is believing that will only happen once. So, we implicitly think of calling as static and unchanging.
If we think about calling as something one-dimensional, we miss the way it is meant to grow and change with us. If what we do is one dimension, then how we do it changes over the second dimension of time. In other words, we must think about calling as something that interacts and intersects with our life-long development. We are always changing. The circumstances of our lives are always changing. The quality of our character, our skill, wisdom, and maturity changes the way in which we execute our calling. In short, calling is something that is meant to grow and change with us. Calling is dynamic. Because God’s relationship with us is living and dynamic.
How do you imagine leaders using this book to help develop their people?
In the book, I make the argument that we all experience six major crises of identity in our lives. Those of us who are shepherding, coaching or otherwise involved in the development of leaders will go through those same moments of crisis with the people we are developing. We can feel just as lost or uncertain about the transitions we see people going through.
Having a framework of common experience as well as some insights about the threats and opportunities that accompany each one could make a massive difference in the input we give. All taxonomies are imperfect, but they do offer that gift of clarity from a process. To be able to locate where we are on a journey that others have already walked, offers us faith in the moment and hope for the future.