Relating the Mission of God to a Biblical View of Vocation
Introduction
Recently a blog article by the Christian recruitment firm, Vanderbloemen, popped up on my news feed: “Aligning Your Career with Your Faith: How to Find Purpose in Your Professional Life.” Intrigued I read it, but was sorely disappointed. The Vanderbloemen writer presents a framework for maintaining faith-work alignment. However, when evaluated through the lens of the mission of God (the grand story of the scripture), which emphasizes integrating faith, work, and mission as participation in God’s redemptive work, several significant shortcomings in the Vanderbloemen article emerge. These shortcomings often reflect values influenced by the larger non-Christian society, which undermine a robust, biblical understanding of Christian believers participating in the mission of God. Below, seven such areas are critically analyzed:
1. Individualistic Approach to Faith and Career
The recruiter’s emphasis on aligning personal career goals with faith reflects an individualistic mindset. The focus on personal aspirations and aligning professional goals with self-identified “calling” reveals an anthropocentric view, where faith is tailored to personal fulfillment rather than participation in God’s broader mission. This contrasts with the scripture’s vision of a missional career, which situates work within the communal and redemptive purposes of God—seeking to glorify Him and serve others rather than primarily advancing individual goals. By prioritizing self over the collective mission of God, the Vanderbloemen blog inadvertently mirrors societal values of self-realization and autonomy rather than biblical principles of selflessness and communal purpose.
2. Transactional Understanding of Purpose
In the recruitment blog, purpose is often framed transactionally: aligning career with faith ensures job satisfaction, personal fulfillment, and meaningful impact. This utilitarian perspective reduces faith-work integration to a means of achieving personal benefit. By contrast, scripture emphasizes that faith-work integration is an act of worship and a response to God’s call to participate in His mission of redemption. Work becomes a sacred offering, reflecting Christ’s love and serving as a witness to His kingdom. The transactional view in the Vanderbloemen blog risks diminishing the sacred nature of work as a divine calling, aligning more closely with societal metrics of success and productivity than with biblical values of stewardship and service.
3. Neglect of Workplace Justice and Compassion
The recruitment’s blog framework omits a critical dimension of participating in God’s mission: seeking justice and showing compassion in the workplace. While it encourages personal faith maintenance and alignment with organizational purpose, it does not address the imperative to advocate for fairness, equity, and dignity in professional settings. A theology of the mission of God, however, highlights the biblical call to “seek justice, encourage the oppressed” (Isaiah 1:17) and integrates this mandate into the concept of a missional career. By overlooking systemic and relational dimensions of workplace justice, the recruitment blogger aligns more closely with societal norms that prioritize individual achievement over communal well-being, failing to reflect God’s heart for the marginalized.
4. Compartmentalization of Faith and Work
Vanderbloemen’s suggestion to “pursue your faith and purpose outside of work” risks reinforcing a secular-sacred divide, where faith is seen as a private, personal pursuit distinct from professional responsibilities. This compartmentalization is antithetical to the holistic integration that the scripture reflects, where work itself is an avenue for embodying Christ’s love and advancing His mission. By relegating faith to the margins of professional life, the recruitment blogger fails to recognize that every workplace interaction and decision can reflect God’s kingdom values. This approach inadvertently adopts the societal tendency to separate spiritual life from everyday realities, rather than embracing the biblical call to be “ambassadors for Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:20) in all spheres of life.
5. Consumerist Perspective on Employer Alignment
The advice in the recruitment blog to “choose your employer wisely” based on alignment with personal calling introduces a consumerist mindset to vocational discernment. This approach mirrors societal values that prioritize individual preference and personal benefit in decision-making. In contrast, the scripture emphasizes seeking God’s wisdom and trusting His providence in vocational choices (Proverbs 3:5-6). It calls believers to view their current workplace as a mission field, regardless of whether it aligns perfectly with personal aspirations. By framing employer choice as a consumer decision, Vanderbloemen risks promoting a selective engagement with God’s mission, rather than encouraging believers to faithfully serve wherever they are placed.
6. Failure to Address the Cultural Mandate
The recruitment blogger neglects the broader cultural mandate found in Genesis 1:28, which calls humanity to “fill the earth and subdue it” and to steward creation responsibly. While a biblical theology of mission integrates this concept by encouraging believers to leverage vocational skills for kingdom advancement, Vanderbloemen’s narrow focus on personal career satisfaction misses the opportunity to frame work as a means of partnering with God in caring for His creation. This omission reflects a societal tendency to view work through the lens of personal achievement rather than as a means of fulfilling God’s purposes for creation care and cultural renewal.
7. Overemphasis on Personal Strengths
The emphasis in the recruitment blog on “putting your strengths to work” risks fostering a self-centered approach to faith and work. While understanding and utilizing one’s gifts is important, the blog writer’s focus on personal strengths can overshadow the biblical call to sacrificial service and reliance on God’s strength in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). A theology of mission perspective encourages believers to depend on God and engage in tasks that may stretch beyond their natural abilities, trusting that He equips and empowers them for His mission. By overemphasizing personal strengths, Vanderbloemen aligns more with societal values of self-reliance and individualism than with biblical principles of humility and divine empowerment.
Conclusion: Reclaiming a Missional Vision
Vanderbloemen’s emphasis on personal faith alignment with professional goals is not inherently wrong but is incomplete and heavily influenced by societal values of individualism, transactional purpose, compartmentalization, consumerism, and self-reliance. A biblical theology of mission emphasizes a holistic approach that invites believers to integrate faith, work, and mission in a way that aligns with God’s redemptive purposes. By viewing work as worship, fostering meaningful relationships, pursuing justice, integrating faith-based values into decision-making, and leveraging vocational skills for kingdom advancement, believers can truly participate in God’s mission in the world. To align career with faith is not merely about personal fulfillment but about joining God’s transformative work, bringing hope, healing, and renewal to a broken world. Christians must move beyond the narrow framework of the Vanderbloemen article perspective and embrace the missional perspective of the scripture, reclaiming the workplace as a sacred space for living out their faith. Today, more than ever, we need Christian leaders who reclaim a missional vision, not only for themselves personally, but also for the churches and organizations that they lead. Could this be one of the reasons why Christianity is in decline as a percentage of population in many countries around the world including North America and Europe?
Dr. Curt Watke is a distinguished missiologist whose three-plus-decade-long career has significantly impacted Christian mission work in North America, particularly in under-reached and challenging regions. Holding a Ph.D. in Evangelism and Missions, Dr. Watke has focused on bridging cultural gaps and fostering sustainable Christian communities by developing innovative strategies that address contemporary challenges like globalization, urbanization, and religious pluralism. His emphasis on cultural sensitivity and contextualization in mission work is reflected in his collaborative writings, including notable works such as “Ministry Context Exploration: Understanding North American Cultures” and “Starting Reproducing Congregations.” Beyond his writing, Dr. Watke is a sought-after speaker and educator, lecturing at seminaries and conferences worldwide, and his teachings continue to inspire and equip new generations of missional leaders. His enduring legacy is marked by unwavering dedication to the mission of God and a profound influence on missional thought and practice. Dr. Watke serves as President and Professor of Evangelism & Missiology at Missional University.
