Leadership and Calling

Rooted in the truths of Scripture and the wisdom of the Christian tradition, students will learn from the past in order to discern how to lead well now and in the future. This high school homeschool course guides students through an in-depth, thoughtful, biblical exploration of calling, vocation, and personal gifting. Students will read a variety of materials that examine calling as it generally applies to the Christian life and as it applies to specific areas of life, such as work, family, and community. The rich biblical insight, powerful reading assignments, thought-provoking assignments, and practical exercises of this course make it fundamental to the young Christian's endeavor to understand God's calling in his or her life.

Note: This course counts as an “Elective” credit, as required by the Kepler Education Diploma Track.

Course Objectives:

1. Gain a robust biblical understanding of the meaning of “calling.”
2. Learn to apply the concept of calling to all spheres of life.
3. Attain a rich comprehension of the gospel narrative.
4. Evaluate their God-given gifts and skills, and find confidence in their unique talents.
5. More fully appreciate how God is calling them to use their gifts and skills to his glory.
6. Identify principles and practices of effective servant leadership through an inductive study of the lives of men and women who have impacted history and their communities.
7. Put principles of leadership into practice in their own lives and grow as a leader in whatever situation they find themselves.

Requirements:

Students must be at least 14 years old. This course is ideal for older high school students, who are thinking seriously about God’s call in their lives.

Format:

This 32-week course consists of four eight-week quarters. Each quarter students will be assigned a weekly pre-recorded lecture, readings appropriate for the week, relevant reading questions, and other audio or video resources, as well as a 1 hour live recitation with the instructor and other students. Assignments include: various essays and projects, quizzes and comprehension checks, and quarterly exams. In the course of the year, the students will read all the texts listed below, listen to 32 lectures, complete a wide variety of essays and projects, and attend a minimum of 30 (ideally 32) live recitations to discuss the texts in Socratic fashion.

Texts:

• The Christian Almanac by George Grant & Gregory Wilbur
• Understanding God's Calling (Institute of Faith, Work, & Economics)
• The Call: Finding And Fulfilling God’s Purpose for Your Life by Os Guinness
• God at Work: Your Christian Vocation in All of Life by Gene Edward Veith
• How Then Should We Work? by Hugh Whelchel (free copy included with the Understanding Your Calling curriculum - see link below)
• A Journal/Commonplace book (preferably one the student picks out because they like the way it looks and feels).