Shattered Vocations

In this small volume, Jensen does a wonderful job of blending a psychological insight with compassion for a lay audience. In spite of many personal reservations about reading this book (Why waste the time?), I found enough nuggets in every chapter to keep me at it.Jensen understands vocation to be more than Christian ministry and more than occupation. He understands vocation has to do with a commitment to follow a Jesus way of life. Occupations change, even ministerial ones, but the lifelong process of pilgrimage and growth continues unabated. His chapter on the pain of loss is sensitive not only to losses suffered from external forces, but also the normal losses associated with our common human life cycle and those losses we bring upon ourselves. Jensen strives to communicate that loss, when seen within the shadow of the cross, becomes an effective tool to rid us of the falsities with which we so often encase ourselves.He grounds vocation in both creation and covenant, in both who we are and what we are called to do, and challenges us to relive our personal experiences of God even when faced with loss. In what may well be the best chapter in the book (no. 4), Jensen reminds us that it is our individual experiences of God that sustain us through loss and provide a foundation upon which to rebuild our lives. To me this book represents the best of what Southern Baptists used to be - a diverse people seeking to know the Unknowable in a personal and experiential way. While there is no mistaking his strong evangelical convictions, I doubt that Jensen could get this volume published today. He did remind me of why I was once a Southern Baptist, and of what we have all lost.If you or someone you know has lost moorings, give this book a read. I'm glad I did.