Theology of Work &

Personal Calling

in the STEM ProfessionsAndrew Sears

President

City Vision

Goals of this Course (Cheat Sheet)1. Understand a Theology of Work and communicate how that

applies toward their own life and calling.

2. Utilize tools to be able to identify, reflect on and articulate what

their calling or vocation might be and how it might be leveraged

for God.

3. Understand and be able to articulate their unique identity as a

technologist/innovator and the unique role played by

technologists/innovators in the Body of Christ and how to

communicate that through their personal brand and life strategy.

4. Understand the unique issues facing Christians in technological

and innovative fields and how to manage their career in the

current marketplace.

5. Create a synthesis of the above understandings into a reflective

life plan that shows a mature reflection and vision of your life

calling as well as a plan to grow and achieve that vision.

Outline of Course

Weeks 1-3: Theology of Work

Weeks 4-5: Tools for Identity and Calling

Week 6: Calling in the New Economy

Week 7: Case Studies of Christians in

Technology

Week 8: Submit Final Project

Final Project

30-35 Pages (64% of grade)

Work on it each week

Summary: Demonstrate achievement of course

objectives

1. Apply Theology of Work to yourself

2. Reflection: Your Story as it Applies to your

Calling

3. Tools on Identity & Calling

4. Startup Of You Personal Business Plan

PersonalVocation

Christian Vocation: Love God, Love

Others

Human Vocation:Co-Creators

Human, Christian & Personal Vocation

- Frederick Buechner

Four Questions of Personal Vocation

Calling

What are you good at?

Does the world need?What do you enjoy?

Will the world pay?

Internal Motivation

(deep gladness)

External Motivation

(world’s deep hunger)

Status

Meaning

Status without Meaning

• Empty success

• Corporate drone

Meaning without Status

• Financially unsustainable

• Starving volunteer

Internal

• Underemployed

• Starving artist

External Motivation

• Burnout

• Joyless worker

Dimensions of Christian Vocation

From The Other Six Days. R. Paul Stevens

What’s Unique about Calling of

Tech Christians?

Strengths of STEM Christians

• Problem solvers

• Logic and analysis, Rational/methodical

• Marketable: in demand

• Improvise creatively

• High income/ financially stable

• Well educated

• Objective/data driven

• Meritocracy

• Innovation/Efficiency

• Collaborative Open

• High leverage

Weaknesses of STEM Christians

• Analysis paralysis

• Lower emotional IQ/out of touch w/emotions

• Perfectionism

• Lack of communication/interpersonal

• Public speaking/shyness

• Isolated (personally, society)

• Risk adverse

• Distant from end use/Unknown whether

you are helping others/One part of many

• Arrogance of rationality

• Out of touch with pop culture

Opportunities for STEM Christians

• Tent Makers

• Natural missionaries to STEM fields

• People leadership in tech field

• Create stuff that helps those in need

• Magnify reach of other Christians

Threats/Challenges to STEM Christians

• Faith in rationality/logic/numbers

• Attacked for faith

• Legalism

• Working for wealth

• Limited work in STEM for direct ministry

• Isolation: from gadgets

• Addiction to gadgets

• Loneliness

• More frequent Crisis of faith

• Instant gratification/impatience

Tech Christians Globally

Tech Christians

in U.S.

Tech in Christian

Orgs

Tech Christians Serving the Poor(1,000’s)

• 77,500 full-time IT staff

• $12.5 Billion IT Budget

• 6.3 million Christians in

STEM jobs

(71% in computing)

• 50-100 million Christians

in STEM jobs

Size and Scope of Christians in Technology

Jesus

Christian Social SectorAGRM, CCDA, Salvation Army,

Teen Challenge, UYWI, World Vision

Job BoardsInternships.com

Simply Hired

Christian Higher Ed for JusticeBakke U, UCC, Eastern, Fuller

Azuza, Acton, NetInstitute, Christian ABE

Open EducationStraighterline.com,

MOOCs, EdX

Coursera, Udacity

Nonprofit RecruitingAllforGood, Idealist

VolunteerMatch,

Guidestar, FB Causes

Tech & MissionsICCM, Lightsys, MAF,

GEM, EMI, WIN, OB

VisionSynergy, AIBI

Wycliffe IT, CheckItOut

Tech & MinistryInternet Evangelism Day,

Mobile Ministry Forum,

YouVersion, ABS, Cru

MSTSM

Program

Tech-Justice Sector

Jesus Tech

Sector

Jesus Justice

Sector

City Vision College

ChristianVolunteering

City Vision Internships

Tech Christian CollegesAccessED, ACU, Calvin, Taylor, Baylor

Biola, Olivet, Fuller, Wheaton, Liberty

Christian TechnologistsChristians Engineering Society,

Intervarsity Faculty, Cru Faculty

ISCAST, Code for the Kingdom

Christians in Tech (FB & LinkedIn)

Vision: Use Technology to Recruit & Educate Christians to Serve the Poor

Christian RecruitingMeetTheNeed, ChristianJobs

ShortTermMissions, Missions

Christian MediaChristianity Today,

Publishers, Radio & TV

Tech PhilanthropyGoogle Grants, LinkedIn

Facebook, Salesforce,

Microsoft

Open SourceDrupal, Moodle

Church Tech & ITLifeChurch, Menlo Park

Saddleback, Willow Creek

Christian RecoveryNACR, Celebrate Recovery

Urban InternshipsMission Year

Churches of the Poor

Christian Higher Ed

In Developing Countries

Low Cost Online TrainingLynda.com, Skillshare, Pluralsight

Parachurch ITCru, Intervarsity

Open Data/ContentWikipedia, Open Gov’t,

Semantic Web

Christian FundersFoundations, Individuals

Secular FundersFoundations, Individuals,

Government, Corporations

Technology and Ministry Resources

Online & Digital Ministry & Evangelism◦ Mobile Ministry Forum

◦ Azuza’s Connected Summits

◦ Biola Digital Conference

Christian Media Ecology◦ Gordon’s The Promise and Challenge of Technology Conference

◦ Seattle Pacific’s Digital Society Conference

◦ Baylor’s Technology and Human Flourishing Conference

Technology & Missions◦ International Conference on Computing and Mission

Christian Tech Volunteering◦ ChristianVolunteering.org

◦ Lightsys

Education and Computer Centers◦ Greater Europe Mission, SIM International, Missionary Aviation

Fellowship

Engineering◦ Engineering Ministries International