Lending Library

"This book is an excellent summary of previous research, a soundly sociological volume, and a very practical guide for action. It is an excellent blend of theory, research, and policy implications. It is also incredibly well written."  - Theodore C. Wagenaar, Contemporary Sociology

Author Po Bronson asked himself, "What Should I Do with My Life?" For answers, he crossed the landscape of America to find people who have struggled to unearth their true calling - people of all ages, classes, and professions who have found fulfillment: those who fought with the seduction of money, intensity, and novelty and overcame their allure; those who broke away from the chorus to learn the sound of their own voice.

“Ronald Heifetz is arguably the most influential teacher and theorist of leadership working today. Sharon Daloz Parks is one of our most perceptive writers on education, institutional renewal, and reclaiming the global ‘commons.’ So it is no surprise that this book, in which Parks explores and reframes Heifetz’s work via her own keen sensibilities as a teacher and scholar, is a work of great substance, insight, clarity, subtlety, and utility. In Fact, it may well be the most important book of our time on the teaching of leadership.” - Parker J. Palmer, author of Let Your Life Speak, and The Courage to Teach    

This is a candid, heartfelt, and inspirational book for seekers of all ages. Inspired by a speech she gave. Maria Shriver’s message is that what you do in you life isn’t what matters. It’s who you are. It’s an important lesson that will appeal to anyone of any age looking for a life of meaning. It reminds us that the answers to many of life’s questions lie within – and that we’re all works in progress. That means it’s never too late to become the person you want to be!

A smart and compassionate look at the challenges young adults face in their search for a place of belonging, integrity, and contribution – and a clarion call to thoughtful adults to actively mentor the next generation. Sharon Daloz Parks reexamines the twenty-something years and shows how crucial it is to create mentoring environments that recognize, support, challenge, and inspire the promise of young adult lives.

This book is derived from a presentation The Last Lecture that Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, made after he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The lecture he gave "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams" wasn’t about dying. It was about the importance of overcoming obstacles, of enabling the dreams of others, of seizing every moment (because "time is all you have...and you may find one day that you have less than you think"). It was a summation of everything Randy had come to believe. It was about living.

Fable about tireless efforts that transform & revitalize community, & teach us about hope, humanity, & our own ability to create change in the world.

Encouraging and practical answers to questions based on distilation from 10 years of interviews with Harvard seniors. Great resource for helping students learn.

At the heart of this book is a contemporary parable which presents insights about the changing nature of work and the new face of workers.

Provides inspiration & practical advice to lead readers through steps of both defining & fulfilling a mission.

Addresses the call for higher education to take more responsibility for helping students find purpose and meaning in life. Contains a set of themes and calls for consideration and action based on findings of site visits at 10 colleges and set of questions to help readers think about and plan how to develop students holistically on their own campuses.

Outstanding inquiry into ethics of everyday life. Series of openings, laced with a variety of remarkably shrewd readings, about how we cope with being ourselves; explores the relationship between ambition and vocation.

"Dan Miller inspires his readers to a higher calling in their work. With opportunities all around us, No one should be content with simply creating income... No More Dreaded Mondays shows you the way to find your unique application."  - Zig Ziglar

Reclaiming the "V" Word is a great primer about human perspective on vocation, self, and the greater world in which we live. Our twenty-first century lives are often far too compartmentalized and jammed with pressures of all types. Daubert and Kjos offer a potent look at possible balance as well as "intentionality" and "purpose" for each of us - spiritual life, work, loved ones, community, self - while proclaiming the central and fundamental worth and spiritual-centeredness of all of life's parts and, indeed, each and every one of us."   - Dr. James Gandre, Roosevelt University, Chicago

How do we know if we're following our true callings? How do we sharpen our senses to cut through the distractions of everyday reality and hear the calls that are beckoning us?Callings, drawn on the hard-won wisdom and powerful stories of people who have followed their own calls, examines the many kinds of calls we receive, the variety of channels through which they come to us, and shows us the many ways to translate a calling into action.

Career coach Julie Jansen shows how anyone unhappy with their employment - or lack of - can implement a real and satisfying career transformation. A range of quizzes and personality exercises help you to identify the type of work for which you're best suited, and then, using real-life examples and a useful resource guide, Jansen shows you how to transform even a period of crisis into an opportunity, providing the inspiration and know-how to effect positive change.

As a leading vocational thinker, Dan Miller helps you better understand and organize your God-given skills, personality traits, values, dreams, and passions. In turn, you'll see clear patterns form that point you toward successful career decisions. Packed with modern insight and timeless wisdom, here is a step-by-step process for creating a Life Plan and translating it into meaningful, satisfying daily work.

All of us long foa a sense of meaning and purpose in our lives. But where does that meaning come from? How do we find our calling in life? This short, helpful book offers a personal, spiritual response to the vocational questions that people commonly ask.

"What makes a good Life?"  Twelve mindful writers open the door to 12 Christian practices for living in today's world.

This book explains why your chances may be better than you think, gives you the strategies to land your dream job, and includes 20 habits of effective job-hunters in a down market and tips on building an online career identity with blogs, Web sites, and social media.

Called to Care asserts that nursing is a vocation, giving nurses a framework for understanding their mission and living out their calling: service to God through caring for others.

In this book, Gordon Smith invites us to discover our vocation by listening to God and becoming coworkers with him.

Alexander Hill carefully explores the foundational Christian concepts of holiness, justice and love. He then shows how some common responses to business ethics fall short of a fully Christian response.

Addressing the question "What am I going to do with my life?" this anthology gathers select passages on work and vocation from the greatest wrtiers in Christian history.

Selecting a College Major helps students plan for a future that fits their strength and interests. The new and updated edition uses 14 Fields of Study as a framework for exploring academic possibilities. It creates pathways for both the "undecided" student who wants to select a major, and also for the "major-changer" who is exploring alternative academic options.

"...an excellent practical guide for those Christian students (and scholars generally) committed to an integration of faith and the intellectual life." - Peter C. Erb, University of Prince Edward Island

"While addressed primarliy to the prospective student, teachers and administrators too should benefit from its discussion of Christian humanism and humanist education in a post-modern world." - Arthur F. Holmes, Wheaton College

"A wise, judicious, and compelling rearticulation of the concept of vocation as an intgrative force in the Christian Life." - Lee Hardy, Calvin College

"Profound & practical book celebrates what is deepest and best in the Catholic Christian tradition of faith. Indispensable resource for theological substance and interactive style of its reflections." - Evelyn & James Whitehead

"Salsa, Soul, and Spirit shows us the importance of looking at other cultures for the wisdom of their leadership practices. Many of these cultures have roots that pre-date western leadership models and offer a rich fountain of knowledge that can enhance American leadership."  - Ken Blanchard, coauthor of The One Minute Manager and Leading at a higher Level

"Tons of practical tips drawing on the best of spiritual tradition to figure out life's big questions about career, relationships, and self." - Heidi Schlumpf

"Engaging and lively narrative articulating the basics of Christian faith and practice." - Donald Kraybill

Interviews with over 100 people identified as generous givers resulted in a wealth of giving stories. The experiences of these people are woven together to describe how giving patterns develop in real congregations among real people. Their stories can help church leaders better understand how giving becomes a part of the mission and ministry of the church.

Anthology of reflections on how our lives acquire depth and weight.

Honest & inspiring sermons on ministry vocation. "An excellent guide for anyone responding to a call to the ministry." - Jimmy Carter

Do you jump out of bed every morning and rush to a job you love? This book offers invaluable advice and more than 100 self-tests and diagnostic tools that will help guide you to a more engaging, fulfilling work life. No matter where you are in your journey, this book will expertly coach you through the process of designing a career you will love.

Nicholas Lore helps you put all the pieces together to make wise decisions about what you will do with your life and how you can best go about setting accomplishing your life and work goals. You'll also learn the skills you need to live an extraordinary life. Filled with charts, worksheets, and quizzes. A cutting-edge guide for choosing a career that fits you perfectly.

"Compelling analysis of the spiritual dimensions of work; confronts the alienation and lack of fulfillment that exist in epidemic proportions in the workplace." -America

Esays, stemming form nearly a decade of conferences sponsored by Collegium, a consortium of 60 Catholic colleges and universities, on the interaction between faith and work.

Profiles acitivists including clergy, layworkers, and others, representing a mix of faiths, social issues, and geographic regions, who share an unbending belief in the power, potential, & rewards of service to others, as they try to balance their secular & spiritual lives in the face of challenging work.

The first scholarly effort to articulate a developed Protestant theology of work; work interpreted from a new perspective - in terms of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit.

Anthology of 75 selections from diverse sources that provide for serious reflection on how working life might become a more integral part of a good life.

Provides a solid, readable, and theologically informed account of what it truly means to be "Called of God" for those struggling to discover a proper sense of vocation in a society obsessed with prestige and financial gain.

Reflections on the relationship between Christian faith and secular learning and shows how the Christian scholar can embrace paradox rather than dogmatism.

Engages the question: How do parents, professors, campus ministers, youth pastors, and other help students, during one of the most eventful and instense periods of life, learn to connect what they believe about the world with how they live in it?

Sets the table for open-minded faculty members to reflect on the appropriate role of religion in scholarship and teaching by situating religion and disciplinary scholarship within their community context.

Offers new ways to use the resources of Christian tradition to reconnect spirituality and community by integrating local landscapes, biocommunities, and stories with Christian vocation.

Helps to answer the question by distinguishing between vocation and life stations.

Comprehensive study covering clergy from a broad range of traditions by veteran clergy watcher, considers the many factors that are shaping congregations and ministers today.

Identifies emerging adulthood as distinct fromt both the adolescence that precedes it and the young adulthood that comes in its wake as dramatically experienced in today's society.

"Addresses what Americans everywhere long for: a sense of common good, an emphasis on community and compassion in everyday life, a values-based politics in the public sphere." - Jim Wallis

Drawing widely on the wisdom of saints and sages, this book describes a path "where our deep gladness and the World's deep hunger meet."

Fable about tireless efforts that transform & revitalize community, & teach us about hope, humanity, & our own ability to create change in the world.