(Ir)religiosity

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A vocational paradox

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N.T. Wright on the desire to keep one foot in the academy and one foot in the local church:

When I was at seminary in my early twenties having graduated I remember talking to one of my advisors about my desire to do both pastoral work and scholarship and the advisor saying very firmly ‘well, you’re going to have to choose which you want.’ And I thought then and think now thirty-five years later that he was wrong, that I have been right to combine the two. And it has meant at times living on the fault line between two tectonic plates, but that is part of the deal as far as I’m concerned. I think both the church and the academy have suffered from the disjunction. I think it’s important that some people at least get to that particular place of pain, which is a place of, as it were, cultural pain....I sit in a study at home where the great portrait on the wall is J.B. Lightfoot, who was one of most famous ever bishops of Durham and also one of the five leading intellectuals in Europe of his day. He embodies the fact that you should be bringing this stuff together. And that is an incredible model to have day by day.    (ht)

This resonates with me just about as much as anything could I suppose.  I am constantly thinking, discerning, and reevaluating where exaclty my vocational calling lies post-school (whenever that is!).  Only recently am I coming to this realization that it lies in both academia and the local faith community.  Practically, I’m not real sure how that works, there is a certain degree of tension there, but I think it’s a healthy kind of tension.  And I’m more than willing to thing outside the box about how the looks in reality.  For now, its very comforting to know that I am not alone.

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Written by Blake Huggins

December 3rd, 2008 at 8:19 am

Posted in Uncategorized

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  • Florin Paladie

    When we face a paradox the default tendency is to take sides, to choose one against the other as the only option to move forward. But is it? Have we tried to embrace both and see where that leads us or we just ruled it out form the outset as impossible. Those that chose the path of the later have always had doors open to them to realities never imagined; their experience is richer and live fuller lives.

    N.T Wright is just one such notable example. I hope more and more can take his example and chart new territory wherever we are and in whatever life puts in front of us.

    Blake, it’s great to hear that you’re willing to take this challenge.

  • http://www.blakehuggins.com blake

    florin – thanks for stopping by and for the words of encouragement. you are spot on i think. it takes some imagination and the creative willingness to refuse the limitations of the boundaries we impose on ourselves. that’s tough to do at times, but encountering persons like wright — and yourself — is nothing if not inspiring. thanks again!

  • Florin Paladie

    “That’s tough to do at times” … resonates with me too. I read great opportunity into the word “tough” and that’s what motivates me not to give in, not to give up but keep pressing on.

  • http://jonathanstegall.com/ Jonathan Stegall

    Hey Blake. I resonate with this and struggle with it daily, though it is a bit different for me. I sit between the design world and the church world, having expensive great degrees in both fields, and trying to figure out how to do both. I’ve also heard that it can’t be done, and sometimes think it can’t be done. But I think it must be done.

    On another note, my wife also has this struggle, as she is in seminary at Emory and is often trying to discern whether she should continue toward a PhD and teaching, or move in other directions toward justice work or intentional community, or any number of other things. She also has to figure out how this paradox works. So thank you for bringing this up.

  • http://www.blakehuggins.com blake

    jonathan – thanks for weighing in. it is good to know that we are not alone in these endeavors. i think it will be important in the very near future — and really, even right now — for persons like yourself to find the point of convergence between those two worlds. really important.

  • Pingback: Blog Comment Day 2008 Results | jonathan stegall

  • Florin Paladie

    After I talked with my wiser half about this, I would add this. It boils down to what our passions are. Passions are God guides to help us navigate through life. If we are faced with seemingly conflicting passions we should not choose between them but figure how we can pursue them all. This does not necessarily mean pursuing them at the same time with the same intensity. It might work that way, it might not. But one way or the other IT WILL WORK.

    There is no one-size-fits-all approach. It is a per case basis kind of process; hence the struggle/tension.

    One of my passions is Art. When I decided to go to Seminary I chose for one at the expense of the other. That was an unfortunate choice. It’s been a while since I’ve been involved in arts. Right now it is a dormant passion as a result.

  • http://www.blakehuggins.com blake

    “This does not necessarily mean pursuing them at the same time with the same intensity.”

    that is key, i think. you’re right — we never simply “give up” a passion. rather, it seems that we oscillate between one, or two, or several. that’s pretty exciting when you think about it. and less boring for sure!

  • http://www.framedestination.com/ Picture Frames

    I really enjoyed your post. I will have to come back again to read some more of them.