This post is the first in a series of four that explores the relationship between vocation and rhetoric, focusing on how ethos, logos, pathos, and mythos offer a fresh perspective for creatives, educators, and scholars to conceptualize their professional and personal callings.
In February 2020, I found myself in the pulpit in Phoenix, Arizona, ready to deliver the message of a three-night revival. My father—a significant influence in my life and vocation—had flown in with my mother from Birmingham, Alabama, to support me and to introduce me on the revival’s second night. Among the many things he said during his introduction, one statement resonated deeply and has stayed with me ever since. “My son’s biggest problem his entire life,” he said, “is that he always thought he was me, Reginald Bell, Sr.”
This statement reflects more than our father-son dynamic; it also represents how ethos is transmitted, often subconsciously, from one generation to the next. It made me ponder how much my father has shaped my own ethos, and how, as educators, our ethos invariably influences those we teach.
Continue reading “Ethos and Vocation”