THE CALL IS ALL: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF THE VOCATIONAL CALLING EXPERIENCES OF NONDENOMINATIONAL MASTER OF DIVINITY STUDENTS

Abstract

A sense of vocational calling to ministry is a primary factor leading seminary students to theological education. Nondenominational students now comprise a significant proportion of enrolled seminary students. This qualitative study used the method of hermeneutic phenomenology to examine the phenomenon of vocational calling within the lived experiences of nondenominational Master of Divinity students. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with eleven participants enrolled at five different seminaries. The data analysis revealed the vocational calling experience to be ontologically transformational in a way that redefined the participants’ relationships, careers, and sense of self. The participants’ deep sense of devotion to their calling can be found in the six essential themes that emerged from the data analysis: a divine call and anti-call; paradoxical devotion; experiential, dialogical, and gradual discernment; portal relationships; seminary as a vocational laboratory; and a destination-less journey. Furthermore, the data analysis revealed that participants experienced a vocational calling concurrently with another life altering event, described in this study as an “ontological trigger.” The results of this study show the need for seminary administrators to consider vocational formation as an essential and formal part of the seminary education, especially for nondenominational students attending denominationally affiliated seminaries. Furthermore, the results demonstrate the diverse experiences that nondenominational students take with them into their seminary education. These diverse experiences offer new opportunities for seminaries to expand their notions of vocation and calling beyond their previously accepted understandings.