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Calling and Clarity: Discovering What God Wants for Your Life
Young adults often encounter mixed messages about vocation from their families, friends, and churches. On the one hand, they are encouraged to look at their gifts and passions to discern their particular calling; on the other hand, they are told that God may ask something of them that they don’t want to do or aren’t prepared for. The discontinuity between these messages has led to frustration for many.
Seeking to ease that frustration with this book, Doug Koskela carefully distinguishes between “missional calling,” “direct calling,” and “general calling.” Koskela clarifies the relationship between gifts, passions, and vocation even as he offers practical guidance for the process of vocational discernment. This is a book for those who want to use their time, energy, and abilities faithfully as they move with purpose toward the future.
Watch a 2015 interview
Seeking to ease that frustration with this book, Doug Koskela carefully distinguishes between “missional calling,” “direct calling,” and “general calling.” Koskela clarifies the relationship between gifts, passions, and vocation even as he offers practical guidance for the process of vocational discernment. This is a book for those who want to use their time, energy, and abilities faithfully as they move with purpose toward the future.
Watch a 2015 interview
136 pages, Paperback
First published January 15, 2015
4 people are currently reading
40 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
April 4, 2025
Got to read this for class (thanks to the call out from Jackson) and it truly was awesome— such a simplistic but impactful teaching of the callings God places over our lives and how to discern them. Really fitting for this time and place! God is for sure laughing at me and with me from up above after reading this book and my whole mindset about calling being shifted, I guarantee it
March 15, 2024
I’ve read a few books on calling and vocation, and this book by far has been the best one. This book was easy to understand and very compelling. Personally, I found certain chapters of this book better than many sermons I’ve heard — I felt convicted, encouraged and challenged by this book. It’s accessible, understandable and well written. I’ll be keeping Calling and Clarity on my shelf for many years to come.
February 1, 2023
Clear and helpful! This book made the process of navigating one’s vocational discernment not so scary. We all have a calling from God (some more specific and direct than others) and this book was an encouragement to chase after it whole-heartedly.
April 5, 2025
A little late to the review game (thanks, Shae Whittle) but this was pretty good! Really appreciated the emphasis and exhortation to walk out our general and missional calling in all facets of our lives, rather than in some vague future career/vocation/stage of life/etc. Now, to write my six-page paper ...
February 25, 2023
I read this book in 2019 for an Intro to Ministry class and found it valuable. It was equally (or maybe more?) valuable this time around, and recalling my reflections from 4 years ago was helpful in recognizing (1) which themes have remained consistent in my own understanding of my calling over time, and (2) how much I've learned about myself since 2019 and what has become more clear to me. Koskela does an excellent job of exploring 'calling' practically, biblically, and theologically. His treatment of 'general calling' specifically feels very important. He writes with clarity, simplicity, and wisdom, and deals gently yet directly with a topic that is associated with so much anxiety and angst, especially for young people seeking their place in the world. 10/10 would recommend.
May 27, 2023
Dr. Doug Koskela is a Professor of Theology at Seattle Pacific University. For that reason, it's not surprising that much of this short book seems designed to educate and teach. Koskela's primary goal appears to be helping young people define terms, delineating the difference between a direct calling from God, a missional calling specific to the individual, and the general calling of all Christians. At this, the book does a very nice job.
The book also offers advice on how to discern vocation, a process which Koskela wisely points out will take time and involve a number of steps. He describes the importance of prayer, personal reflection, and group discernment in the process. Again, his material is solid and he bases his ideas on his knowledge of scripture, theology, and Christian traditions.
Still, for some reason this book didn't land as strongly for me as I had hoped. Perhaps I went in with unrealistic expectations; I thought this might be the definitive book on vocation. Or perhaps because I am not an adolescent, the material comes across as a bit dry or elementary for me. I'm not sure. As I get older, I do wonder sometimes whether each of us has only a single missional calling, or whether the sense of vocation can evolve over a lifetime? Can a vocation, like a career, sometimes only be seen in reverse?
Nonetheless, Koskela's book serves as a useful primer on what it means to be called by God - to serve the world with our gifts, to accomplish specific tasks, or even just to be a better human being. As a starting place for conversations on vocation, a young person could do a lot worse.
The book also offers advice on how to discern vocation, a process which Koskela wisely points out will take time and involve a number of steps. He describes the importance of prayer, personal reflection, and group discernment in the process. Again, his material is solid and he bases his ideas on his knowledge of scripture, theology, and Christian traditions.
Still, for some reason this book didn't land as strongly for me as I had hoped. Perhaps I went in with unrealistic expectations; I thought this might be the definitive book on vocation. Or perhaps because I am not an adolescent, the material comes across as a bit dry or elementary for me. I'm not sure. As I get older, I do wonder sometimes whether each of us has only a single missional calling, or whether the sense of vocation can evolve over a lifetime? Can a vocation, like a career, sometimes only be seen in reverse?
Nonetheless, Koskela's book serves as a useful primer on what it means to be called by God - to serve the world with our gifts, to accomplish specific tasks, or even just to be a better human being. As a starting place for conversations on vocation, a young person could do a lot worse.
October 15, 2020
I’ve read several books on calling for a project recently, and out of all of them, this one’s framework as presented (three areas of calling as general, direct, and misional) is the most logical and true to life for me. An easy read at not far over 100 pages. A great introduction to the topic.
November 16, 2022
Great book! Concise and practical.
September 27, 2015
What Will You Do?
I would argue the question of purpose represents one of the central conundrums in life. As a child, endless potential allows for dreams to span the universe. You can be that 7-foot center in the NBA, no matter your actual height, commandeering the driveway to practice your sky hook.
But eventually, the dream fades to basic reality. At 5’11’’ with no hops, your professional basketball years are a mirage. No matter how much you want to find fulfillment and purpose on the court, your physical limitations will always be too large an obstacle.
And yet, we all have passions and talents—aspects of our life we enjoy and at which we succeed. How does one reconcile these talents with heartfelt ideas of purpose?
Doug Koskela’s Calling & Clarity offers an answer.
On Calling
Popularly, calling resides within a ministry conception of purpose. God calls and humanity answers. Calling, then, corresponds with a spiritually evident end. Most consider calling to coincide with ordination into the ministry or a sending to the mission field far away.
For Koskela, this belief offers too narrow a definition.
In fact, calling entails a missional, direct, and general component.
So let’s unpack.
Missional
Starting with a missional call, Koskela contends that your innate capacity provides answers to what each and every person ought to do with his or her life.
Those passionate about numbers might find a missional call in engineering. Those orbiting language might become a translator. The possibilities are endless, but your missional call surrounds an understanding of who you are and how you might best contribute to the positive ends of society.
Understanding your missional call can take some discernment. Sometimes people aren’t entirely aware of their innate capacities. Some people actually do want to play in the NBA even if the physical limitations will always make it too difficult. Having friends and family members speak into your life and encourage you in your hobbies and passions can be an excellent way to unlock your missional calling.
Direct
This idea exists in stark contrast to Koskela’s second definition of purpose, the direct call.
Where missional calling surrounds the passions and giftings you receive, direct calling is a specific request from God, whether you like it or not. Consider it the Jonah call.
Such a calling, however, requires extensive testing, especially when it forces a high cost. In other words, God might direct you to talk to a downtrodden person on the sidewalk corner. Such a direct call demands little discernment as it costs little to pause for a minute or two and enter a conversation.
However, if you feel the direct call to move halfway across the world, you better think long and hard about the ramifications and whether or not it is a true call. Koskela notes:
While a missional call represents a one-time stamp on who you are, direct calls can come and go. God might want you in one area for a specific season and somewhere else in another. In fact, God might not have a direct call for you at all, in which case, your missional calling ought to be lived out.
General
But these conceptions of call differ from a general call.
General calling, then, is the universal direction God has given through Scripture and the Church. The best practices suggested in Scripture act as a general call. If you are curious about whether or not to do a specific action and it’s directly referenced in scripture, you, then, have a general call to that action as mandated in Scripture.
So when it comes to purpose in life, calling manifests itself in three ways—missional, direct, and general.
Bring Clarity to the Map
The NBA dreamer might not have the talent to cut it in the NBA, but that does not mean he has no call. The engrained talents and desires operate as his missional call; the directives in Scripture represent his general call; and God might just swoop down and tell him to go do something directly.
These three aspects of call provide the foundation for a direction in life. We all are searching for a map telling us where to go. Calling & Clarity brings clarity to that map.
Originally published at http://www.wherepenmeetspaper.com
I would argue the question of purpose represents one of the central conundrums in life. As a child, endless potential allows for dreams to span the universe. You can be that 7-foot center in the NBA, no matter your actual height, commandeering the driveway to practice your sky hook.
But eventually, the dream fades to basic reality. At 5’11’’ with no hops, your professional basketball years are a mirage. No matter how much you want to find fulfillment and purpose on the court, your physical limitations will always be too large an obstacle.
And yet, we all have passions and talents—aspects of our life we enjoy and at which we succeed. How does one reconcile these talents with heartfelt ideas of purpose?
Doug Koskela’s Calling & Clarity offers an answer.
On Calling
Popularly, calling resides within a ministry conception of purpose. God calls and humanity answers. Calling, then, corresponds with a spiritually evident end. Most consider calling to coincide with ordination into the ministry or a sending to the mission field far away.
For Koskela, this belief offers too narrow a definition.
In fact, calling entails a missional, direct, and general component.
So let’s unpack.
Missional
Starting with a missional call, Koskela contends that your innate capacity provides answers to what each and every person ought to do with his or her life.
“The term ‘missional calling’ refers to the main contribution that your life makes to God’s kingdom. You could think of it as the ‘mission statement’ of your life. It refers to the distinctive direction in which you aim to spend the bulk of your time, gifts, and energy” (2).
Those passionate about numbers might find a missional call in engineering. Those orbiting language might become a translator. The possibilities are endless, but your missional call surrounds an understanding of who you are and how you might best contribute to the positive ends of society.
Understanding your missional call can take some discernment. Sometimes people aren’t entirely aware of their innate capacities. Some people actually do want to play in the NBA even if the physical limitations will always make it too difficult. Having friends and family members speak into your life and encourage you in your hobbies and passions can be an excellent way to unlock your missional calling.
Direct
This idea exists in stark contrast to Koskela’s second definition of purpose, the direct call.
Where missional calling surrounds the passions and giftings you receive, direct calling is a specific request from God, whether you like it or not. Consider it the Jonah call.
Such a calling, however, requires extensive testing, especially when it forces a high cost. In other words, God might direct you to talk to a downtrodden person on the sidewalk corner. Such a direct call demands little discernment as it costs little to pause for a minute or two and enter a conversation.
However, if you feel the direct call to move halfway across the world, you better think long and hard about the ramifications and whether or not it is a true call. Koskela notes:
“You might call this the confirmation principle: the greater the consequences of acting on a supposed direct calling, the more extensive the confirmation process should be” (35).
While a missional call represents a one-time stamp on who you are, direct calls can come and go. God might want you in one area for a specific season and somewhere else in another. In fact, God might not have a direct call for you at all, in which case, your missional calling ought to be lived out.
General
But these conceptions of call differ from a general call.
“You do not need to seek out or discern your general calling, as Scripture offers a comprehensive and compelling vision of God’s desires for all people” (50).
General calling, then, is the universal direction God has given through Scripture and the Church. The best practices suggested in Scripture act as a general call. If you are curious about whether or not to do a specific action and it’s directly referenced in scripture, you, then, have a general call to that action as mandated in Scripture.
So when it comes to purpose in life, calling manifests itself in three ways—missional, direct, and general.
Bring Clarity to the Map
The NBA dreamer might not have the talent to cut it in the NBA, but that does not mean he has no call. The engrained talents and desires operate as his missional call; the directives in Scripture represent his general call; and God might just swoop down and tell him to go do something directly.
These three aspects of call provide the foundation for a direction in life. We all are searching for a map telling us where to go. Calling & Clarity brings clarity to that map.
Originally published at http://www.wherepenmeetspaper.com
May 13, 2015
Readable, thoughtful, very well done! Distinguishing calling into different categories in this book is helpful and practical. General calling is the way all Christians are called to live. Missional calling is what most of us are looking for, our lifelong unique calling in the world. Takes time and discernment to find. Direct calling is more rare, the sense of God directly giving a call...yet we often look for this when we are searching for missional calling and miss out how God is leading. Highly recommend.
April 12, 2023
This book was phenomenal!
It changed my view of calling and filled me with excitement and purpose for my future. It was concise and well organized which got the points across clearly. I can’t wait to reread this over the years as I progress in my calling
It changed my view of calling and filled me with excitement and purpose for my future. It was concise and well organized which got the points across clearly. I can’t wait to reread this over the years as I progress in my calling
May 9, 2019
Overall I found this book to provide clarity surrounding the difference between direct calling from God and missional calling (which anyone can provide and work toward at any time to bring more love, compassion and movement toward God’s kingdom to Earth). This book provides a lot of insight and has many points applicable to a Christian lens. I would recommend this book to Christian educators, parents, and students.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews