Bücher von Gordon T. Smith

What is my calling? How do I best live it out? Will my vocation change? In this revised edition of his popular book, Gordon Smith addresses these and other questions you may be struggling with. And he leads you through a process to discover your vocation by listening to God and becoming a coworker with him.

Institutions matter. But we often view them somewhat cynically, perhaps as a necessary evil. In truth, institutions remain essential to human flourishing. They are the very means by which communities thrive, individual vocations are fulfilled, and society is changed for the good. We all must learn the wisdom of working effectively within institutions-what Gordon Smith calls institutional intelligence. In this book Smith unlocks the essential elements of how institutions function in a productive, healthy manner. Focusing on the nonprofit sector, he shows how team leaders, directors, executives, board members, key stakeholders, and employees can avoid what is often their greatest source of stress on the job-working with the institutional character of their organizations. Church staff, educators, and those in service agencies can all thrive by understanding these dynamics instead of fighting against them. By developing institutional intelligence, we and those around us can not only flourish personally but also fulfill a larger mission.

Our vocation is the outworking of how God has made us.Gordon Smith invites us to reflect on our vocation and step into God's call in the present moment. When discerning our vocation feels overwhelming, Smith offers a simple question as a way forward: "e;At this time and place, who am I meant to be, and what am I called to do?"e;Your Calling Here and Now

How can we cultivate both fresh understanding and fresh experience of the Holy Spirit, no matter what our theological tradition? This much-needed master class on pneumatology from Gordon Smith encourages us to hold biblical convictions firmly but gracefully as the guiding principles of discernment and humility help us intentionally live Spirit-responsive lives day by day.

What does it mean to provide leadership for the church in an increasingly secular context? Analyzing the phenomenon of secularization in the West and charting common Christian responses, this indispensable resource from Gordon Smith discusses the competencies and capacities essential for cultivating distinctively Christian leadership today.

Building on the rich spiritual tradition that spans the diversity of history and theology from Ignatius Loyola to John Wesley to Jonathan Edwards, Gordon T. Smith helps open your ears and heart to the depths of the inner witness of the Spirit. By learning to attend to the Spirit, Smith urges, you will learn to hear and heed the voice of Jesus in everyday life.

Gordon T. Smith contends that a chief cause of spiritual immaturity in the evangelical church is an inadequate theology of conversion. Surveying Scripture, spiritual autobiographies and a broad range of theologies of conversion, he seeks to foster in the Christian community a dynamic language of conversion that leads to spiritual transformation and mature Christian living.

All Christians yearn to live at the center of God's will. But how to discern his will is an art that eludes many of us. And the advice we get often conflicts. Some tell us to look for a divine "blueprint"-the one perfect plan for our lives that we need to find. We are encouraged to search the Scriptures and hunt for signs, trying to uncover the map of our lives that God has drawn. Others have rejected the blueprint school of guidance for the "wisdom school." With minds renewed by the teaching of Scripture, we are to develop the wisdom necessary to make wise choices. We are told not to expect that there is just one answer to God's will for every decision we face. Several may be possible. The difficulty with both approaches, writes Gordon Smith, is that they minimize the presence and voice of God in times of choice. Instead, he argues for a third way. He suggests that we develop discernment as a spiritual discipline. By stressing the personal aspects of growing in our relationship with God, we can understand his will, not just in times of crisis but throughout our daily lives. This book provides no magic formulas, no recipes for guaranteed success-just a lot of insight, gleaned from centuries of lived Christian experience, that will guide and encourage you in the art of discerning God's will.

This study guide is designed to be used alongside Gordon Smith''s book, Courage and Calling. You are invited to discover your vocation by listening to God and becoming a coworker with him. Working through this book will help you pray about and discern such difficult questions as:What is my calling?How do I live it out in the midst of difficult relationships or moral challenges?Will my vocation change as I enter a new stage of life?As I cope with competing needs and demands, how can I craft a balanced, ordered way of living?Where do I find the courage to follow God''s call?