Finding Your Calling in Work

Philip Wu (philip@gcf.org.hk)14 May 2005

Agenda

Work and mission: 5 modelsWork is mission Calling in work; Mission in lifeThree callings/missions in life & workUnlearning false assumptionsCalling as intersection (and examples)The 5 essentials (and exercises)

Work and mission: 5 models

Work has no relation with missionWork is the means of missionWork is the field of missionWork is the channel of missionWork is mission

Work has no relation with mission

Work is secular, mission is religiousWork and mission are separate callingsIf we are really serious about mission, we should give up our work to pursue a religious positionBiblical support: Jesus’s callings to Galileen fishermen and tax collector (Matt. 4:18-22, 9:9)

Work is the means of missionRecognize the instrumental value

(rather than the intrinsic value) of workUse money, profits, talents etc. from work forreligious causes

Example: Songs Park (CEO, E-Land Korea) founded Asian Mission; Moravian missionary work in India in 18th centuryBiblical support: Paul’s tentmaking to support his mission (1 Thes. 2:4)

Work is the field of mission

Evangelism is the only or main purpose of workExample: many individuals and even Christian companiesBiblical support: the Great Commission (Mark 16:15)

Work is the channel of mission

Creative access missions

Example: many tentmaking missionaries, E-Land “Businaries”Church-sponsored schools in HKBiblical support: 1 Thes. 2:4

Work is missionAscribe intrinsic value to our workIf we do our work Christianly, all work activities become the mission of GodBiblical support: the creation/cultural mandate (Gen. 1:28-30)

Work is missionMEDA (Mennonite Economic Development Association):

“As Christians in business our mission is to honor God in the world of business and economics by extending his reign to all our activities. With Jesus as Lord of the marketplace our task is to love, serve, preach and heal. We use our faith, skills and resources to correct inequities, work toward economic justice, seek righteousness, bring hope where there is no hope, and make all things new.”

Work is missionMission statement of Fellowship of Christian Companies International:“To change the world through Christ, one company at a time. To equip and encourage Christian CEO’s to operate their businesses and conduct their personal lives according to biblicial principles in pursuit ofChrist’s eternal objectives.”

CallingCalling呼召呼召

靈性塑造靈性塑造

性格培育性格培育

職事職事

Spiritual Spiritual FormationFormation

Character Character DevelopmentDevelopment

關懷心在工作有情

恩賜管家服侍見證

提昇倫理改造文化

稱職能幹追求卓越

Ethics&

Change

Relations& Presence

Competence& Excellence

Stewardship& Service

卓越的工作卓越的工作An excellent An excellent

work work

負責的工作負責的工作An An

accountable accountable workwork

有情的工作有情的工作A caring A caring

workwork

良善的工作良善的工作A good A good workwork

Work is Mission 工作就是使命實踐藍圖

MinistrMinistry ofy of

Calling in work?We want to do more than going to work, coming home from workWe want to feel we were put here on Earth for some special purpose, to do some unique work that only we can accomplishWe want to have a sense of mission in our work

Mission in life?

A continuing task that one is destined or fitted to do A responsibility that one is specially called upon to undertakeSynonym: Calling (vocation)

Three callings/missions in life & work: 1. Knowing the caller

To know God, and enjoy Him forever, and to see His hand in all His worksOne which you share with the rest of the human race, but it is no less your individual calling for the fact that it is shared

Unlearning false assumptions

FALSE: Our calling is primarily to keep busy doing somethingTRUE: Our calling is first of all to be someone To be the children of God before anything else

Three callings/missions in life & work: 2. Calling for the world

To do what you can, moment by moment, day by day, step by step, to make this world a better place, following the leading and guidance of God’s Spirit within you and aroundAlso one which you share with the rest of the human race, but it is no less your individual calling for the fact that it is shared

Unlearning false assumptions

FALSE: Everything about our calling must be unique to usTRUE: Some parts of our calling are shared by all human beings

Unlearning false assumptions

FALSE: Our unique calling must consist of some achievement which all the world will seeTRUE: Neither we nor those who watch our life will always know what we have achieved by our life and by our callingTRUE: It may be that by the grace of God we helped bring about a better change in the world, but it also may be that this takes place beyond our sight, or after we have gone on

Unlearning false assumptions

FALSE: We can always find our calling in one go or through some mountaintop experience

TRUE: Our calling is to take one step at a time in the valley, even when we don’t yet see where it all is leading, or what the Grand Plan is, or what our overall mission in life isTRUE: It is likely that we cannot ever get to our larger mountaintop calling unless we have first lived out our day-to-day calling faithfully in the valley

Three callings/missions in life & work: 3. Your unique callingTo exercise that talent which you particularly came to Earth to use--

your greatest gift, which you most delight to usein the place(s) or setting(s) which God has caused to appeal you the mostfor those purposes which God most needs to have done in the world

One which is uniquely yours

Unlearning false assumptions

FALSE: That part of our calling which is truly unique, and most truly ours, is something that we choose and then merely ask God to blessFALSE: Calling is something God just orders us to do, without any agreement from our spirit, mind, and heartTRUE: God so honors our free will that He has ordained our unique calling be something which we have some part in choosing

Unlearning false assumptions

FALSE: We can expect to find our calling when God will reveal to us plainly beyond all doubt and uncertainty—a voice in the air, a thought in our head, a dream in the night, a sign in an event …—which is otherwise completely hiddenTRUE: God has already revealed to us our calling by causing it to be written in our talents and skills, and in His guidance of our heart

Unlearning false assumptions

FALSE: Calling against our natureTRUE: Grace fulfills nature [ 恩典成全本性 ] (Thomas Aquinas, 1225-1274)TRUE: Creation theology 創造神學

Calling as intersection

The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.

-- Fred Buechner

Calling as intersection: example 1

My Mission is, out of the rich reservoir of love which God has given me, to nurture and show love to others—most particularly to those who are suffering from incurable diseases.

Calling as intersection: example 2

My Mission is to make people laugh, so that the travail of this earthly life does not seem quite hard to them.

Calling as intersection: example 3

My Mission is to help people know the truth, in love, about what is happening out in the world, so that there will be more honesty in the world.

Calling as intersection: example 4My Mission is to weep with those who weep, so that in my arms they may feel themselves in the arms of that Eternal Love which sent me and which created them.

Calling as intersection: example 5

My Mission is to create the purest foods I can, to help people’s bodies not get in the way of their spiritual growth.

The 5 essentials in finding calling in work

GeographyPeople environments (e.g. The Party Exercise)Personality (e.g. Self-Directed Search/SDS)Transferable skills (e.g. Motivated Abilities Pattern, System for Identifying Motivated Abilities/SIMA)Values and goals

The 5 essentials in finding calling in work: Personality

Self-directed search (SDS): www.self-directed-search.comEnneagramMyers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)Dominance, Influence, Submissive and Compliance profiling tool (DISC)Many others…

The 5 essentials in finding calling in work: Transferable skills

Motivated Abilities, Core Competence3 criteria:

CompetenceEnjoymentAttainment

3 basic families of M.A.ThingsPeopleInformation and ideas

2004/5/26生命故事密令

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文字

繪圖

說話

以文字、圖象及說話影響他人

我的 我的 M.A.P.M.A.P. ：：創新及執行創新及執行

尋找錯誤尋找錯誤或不足或不足

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