BOOK REVIEW
Vocatio: Reflections on a radical experiment to re-engage de-churched young adults
By Spanky Moore | Catch Network Aotearoa | $33.00

‘Vocatio: Reflections on a radical experiment to re-engage de-churched young adults’, by Rev Spanky Moore, tells the story of a unique group who were brought together as a quasi-monastic community, its successes and failures, and the lessons learned along the way.

The experiment invited young adults, who were either on the way out the doors of the church or had already departed, to sign up to a spiritual community and rhythm of life with a deeper level of commitment than had been asked of them before. For many, this was giving Christianity one last chance.

After introductory chapters that set the scene, the book is in four parts: Getting Started, A Healthy Community, Teaching and Practices, and Afterthoughts. 

Getting Started tells how the dream for this group came about, and how it was pitched to potential members – in what could almost be seen as an anti-sales pitch which, surprisingly, resulted in more applications than there were positions available. Within these chapters, Spanky Moore – and yes, he addresses the weirdness of his name in the book – shares the core beliefs and practices of the group and how they were decided. He also explains the structure of the community in terms of leadership and intergenerational engagement and addresses something that all leaders must face – disappointment.

In part two, A Healthy Community, Moore reflects on how culture is built, drawing from experience and theory, and in subsequent chapters addresses a number of ideas and values that were identified as important to the group members if Vocatio was to be successful.

These chapters explore topics such as table fellowship, authenticity, trust, and taking people seriously.

Part three – Teaching and Practices – explores what life in the community was like for Moore, the leaders, and the Vocats – as members came to be known.

Included are chapters on each of the four key practices of the community – Pray, Bless, Notice, and Rest – reflecting on why some were adopted by the Vocats more easily than others, and what lay behind some of the challenges to the Vocats keeping their commitments. Moore also identifies the good fruit that these practices brought to individuals and the group.

In the final section, Afterthoughts, Moore addresses the elephant in the room – why, after three years, did this experiment end, and why that was both a good and bad thing. In this he reflects on the costs of leadership, and what can be learned about sustainability of leadership through his experience.  

Walking that very careful line between keeping the confidence of the group and sharing real life examples of the journey, Moore shares reflections of not only what worked and what didn’t, but assessment of why and what can be learned.

Refreshingly, Moore doesn’t offer your typical ‘how to’ ministry-help book. If you think you have found the answers to all your questions about successful young adult ministries, you will be severely disappointed.  

In fact, the book challenges the whole notion of what we think success might actually be. Most Christians wouldn’t see a three-year venture that then folded as a success. But throughout the book there is a real sense that God was doing something in and through this community that will have ramifications for years to come, challenging our usual metrics for what makes any venture worth it.

So, rather than the 7 steps to young adult ministry perfection, what Moore does offer is an insight into an adventure. One of ups and downs. One of successes and failures. One of heartwarming anecdotes, and soul-crushing tales. It is the story of a journey that looked to take seriously why young adults were leaving Christianity and church behind while engaging them in a community that challenged even what they thought they wanted. Moore’s ability to not only listen to young adults but to interpret what is sitting behind what they are saying is a true gift to the reader and, it seems, the young adults themselves. 

When a book starts with, “In my mid-thirties I decided it was time to burn out," you can tell you are in for an entertaining expedition of wit, and Moore doesn’t disappoint.

Laughs are aplenty throughout, balancing the deeper, gut-wrenching stories that come from working alongside young adults with large life challenges.

For those of us in church leadership, many of Moore's examples of what doesn't work cut very close to the bone (because some of us are still trying these things). But he also offers reflections and questions that intentionally take perceived failures as opportunities to dig deeper into what God was really doing among them.

One of Moore's best gifts in this book is not the answers he gives, but the questions he asks; questions aimed at the heart of any mission or ministry we might embark on; questions that aren't often asked because the end goal is so enticing that we just want to get there and don’t take time for true reflection and examination.

One of the more surprising aspects of Moore’s book is that it is more than just a work about engaging young adults in spiritual formation. I'd be surprised if many of us could read it without being challenged about our own habits and rhythms of life.

And it is therefore formational for the reader, too. Yet the challenge is offered in a way that doesn’t accuse or list a whole lot of Christian should or shouldn’ts, but says, "see the goodness on offer here!"

That said, Moore is also a realist, being up front with his community, and the reader, about how hard the sort of commitment he asks for is.

He challenges us to imagine beyond the tough times to what might come on the other side. His young adults, he suggests, haven’t often stuck at something long enough to push through the challenge of the hard times of ‘winter’ to find the fruit on the other side. I would suggest that many church ministries fall into the same trap, being shut down due to a lack of ‘success’ when the fruit is coming in the spring and summer.

True to the heart of the group, Moore also gives space in the book for chapters of reflection by one of the Spiritual Companions (who helped guide the Vocats), and one of the Vocats themselves. Both are equally insightful and add to the overall value of the book.  

Ultimately, as a reflection on this three-year adventure, presented warts-and-all, Moore has taken time to do what many of us do not when things come to an end – go mining for the gold in the dust, the riches waiting to be found and held up for the valuable treasure they are. As such, Vocatio is a true gift from Moore, and all who journeyed with him, to the Church here in Aotearoa and beyond.  

The Reverend Andy Dickson is host of the podcast, Down to Earth Conversations. He is a husband and father, a children’s author, poet, musician and Anglican priest. He currently serves as curate at All Souls' Church in Merivale St Albans Anglican Parish in Christchurch.