A Biblical View of Work & Calling

 
C12’s mission and vision is rooted in the Scriptural understanding that work is ordained by God, beginning with His own example and subsequent instructions to Adam (Genesis 1-2) to manage (i.e., take dominion or ‘steward’) God’s earthly creation.  Even after ‘the Fall’ God made it clear that we are to work (Genesis 3).  Now, with the benefit of Christ’s redemptive work on our behalf, we realize that work can still be ‘good’ and reflect His redemptive purpose!  In fact, since most of our waking hours are devoted to working, how we work is vital to realizing the created potential we have in Christ and is our primary means for worship and ministry.
 
Given that we live one integrated life under the perfect all-knowing Lordship of Christ (whether we have chosen to live accordingly or not), it is clear that our time at work must somehow be intertwined with our primary callings as Christians to:

1. share the hope that we have in Christ, as his ambassadors, and to make disciples (Mt 28:19-20, Mk 24:46-48, 1Pe 3:15)
2. steward God’s provision as excellent leaders/managers, reflecting the heart of Christ, such that we would serve and benefit others and be ‘salt and light’ in a needy world.  We do this for His purposes and with heavenly glory in mind (Mt 5:13-16 and 25:14-30, Lk 16:9-13 and 19:11-27, Eph 4:15-5:17, 1Pe 2:12)

Reflecting on the entirety of God’s Word, we realize that being responsive to this calling doesn’t mean to (1) segment our life into secular versus sacred arenas, (2) completely separate from our culture, or (3) pursue monastic devotion.  Even though we are all given different gifts, we are not to merely rely on funding others to full-time ministry or missionary work and consider ourselves responsive to Christ’s very personal call on our lives.  We have been called to leadership roles in the Lord’s economy, and how we pursue our work – with excellence, while sharing the love and truth of Christ – is our primary act of obedience, devotion and worship.
 
Interestingly, the secular business community can see the outward benefit of leading a business in such a manner (i.e., with humility, transparency, trust, fairness, high team standards, excellence in providing service/quality/value, with purpose, for the common good, etc.).  This is true because God’s Word is perfect wisdom (Ps 19:7-11 and 119:105, Is 55:11, 2Ti 3:15-17, Ja 1:22-25) and eternally effective, from Moses to Sam Walton!  Unfortunately, the Scriptural basis and frequent Christ-centered motivation for such leadership is often overlooked, but you can’t miss the ‘root cause’ parallels in such best-selling contemporary business literature as:

• Servant Leadership books and articles (e.g., Dupree, Pollard, et al)
• The ‘Level 5 Leader’ in Jim Collins' Good-to-Great
• Stephen Covey’s books (The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Principle-Centered Leadership, First Things First)
• Patrick Lencioni’s books (The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, The Five Temptations of a CEO, The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive)
• The tidal wave of team-based Lean Enterprise resources which have revolutionized global manufacturing over the last generation.

We serve as those under authority, as debtors.  As the Body of Christ on earth, and as leaders of His businesses, we are privileged to be His ambassadors and must continually be challenged with healthy accountability to His standards and principles.  C12 is intended to help you flourish and generate much joy and eternal fruit by helping you do just that…to “pursue performance God’s way”!

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    God is Sovereign & Lord of All Aspects of Our Lives
    He Tells Us How He Wants Us to Proceed
    We Have Been Uniquely Called to Serve Him
    So, What are We to Do?