A Theology of Calling

What are we do, given who we are?

“Called men and women can come from the strangest places and carry the most unique qualifications. They may be the unnoticed, the unappreciated, the unsophisticated. Look again at the men Christ picked: few if any of them would have been candidates for high positions in organized religion or big business. It is not that they were unusually awkward. It is just that they were among the ordinary. But Christ called them, and that made all the difference.” George MacDonald

This episode was taken from a Sunday Sermon taught by Jenna as a guest teacher at Mountain View Christian Church in Ashland, Oregon.

In all of creation, identity is only an issue for humans.

The Imago Dei or the Image of God doctrine has shaped the West’s thinking about the value & worth of the human person. It has also largely shaped our culture’s thinking and understanding of human rights and ethics. But in our modern era from academia to politics to the intellectual elite, when we remove God from the equation, where can we logically locate the idea of the inherent, intrinsic worth & value of the human person.

The Biblical doctrine of the Image of God gives a concrete foundation for the sacredness of human life — it also defines our truest identity. Our identity is forever connected to being made in the image of God.

This ties in, essentially, with our Identity in Christ, as believers. We don’t just merely have worth in the eyes of God, but we actually have a spiritual inheritance that gives the believer a robust identity — one that is packed full of purpose, power, and meaning.

“Define yourself radically as one beloved by God. This is the true self. Every other identity is illusion.”

- Brennan Manning, Abba’s Child

What do the scriptures specifically say about identity for those who follow Jesus? What does it mean when we say that our identity is “in Christ?”

While your past is true of you — and while your present is true of you — what is the TRUEST thing about you?

…Continuation from Identity & Calling:

Week 4, part 1

Sexuality, Popularity, Pleasure, Possessions

Where do you get your identity from?

What are the alternatives for where to source our identity?

Possessions? Work more, buy more, repeat.

But who are you without your Tesla, your curated outfits, or your purchased comforts?

Performance? You are what you do.

But who are you when you get passed over for a promotion or you lose your job?

Pleasure? I am what I want?

But who are you when your feelings tell you to do something that proves to be toxic for you?

Popularity? I am what other people think about me.

But what happens when you go bald; gain weight; who are you when you’re not who you used to be and people start to notice? Who are you without your following?

This week in the series, we identify six phases of life in the spiritual journey. The listener is asked to map themselves somewhere on the ark of those phases, wherever they find themselves at.

The application is to see the potential that is bound up in every phase of our lives, and that the ultimate trajectory of intentional spiritual formation is about who we are becoming in Christ.

Character formation has a disproportionate weight in the realm of spiritual formation. What are the factors that contribute to character formation, for the better or for the worse?

This week’s episode is an introduction to the idea of Spiritual Formation— What does this look like, and where should we get our template for what this looks like in our own lives?

How can you draw close to God when you are far from your own self. Grant Lord that I may know myself, that I may know thee.” — Augustine

A new series on Identity and Calling, from Jenna’s latest book.

Identity & Calling on Amazon:

https://a.co/d/12fhskY

American Politics: Ripe for Renewal and a Call for Wisdom in Discerning the Times

*This episode was taken from last week’s Sunday Sermon that Jenna taught at Mountain View Christian Church.

What is the problem with making sexual desire the defining feature of our identity?


Why is it necessary, according to this worldview, to encourage an entire generation of young people to hate their bodies in order to achieve liberty?


Why do we place sexual feelings at the center of our identity rather than attach it to something more concrete? The Bible offers a far more compelling script.


Who actually follows the Science?


SOGI Laws and how the entire worldview is imposed on the whole