Being a Career Christian
As I’m starting to wrap up my MBA, I’m moving to that weird stage in life where I feel the need to start planning some things out. My wife and I are planning on having our credit card debt finished this year. We’re looking at having kids in 2010 (so far away, yet so close). I absolutely love my current job, but I’m always thinking about the next step. But what’s next in the career of a Christian?
Hebrews 6 encourages us to leave behind the milk and move to a more meaty spirituality. There should be movement in our spiritual lives. We should be moving to a deeper understanding of… something… as we stumble and sprint through faith and life. But sometimes it’s very unclear as to what the next goal is, and so few people seem to be able to tell me the difference between spiritual meat and milk.
Tied up into all of that is the question of what do we, as Christians, do with our work career? Is it separate from our spiritual growth? Do the two go hand in hand?
If I seek more knowledge and commit to another Master’s degree… does that leave me enough time to be spent with friends or serving my community? If I try for the next job, will the stress keep me from a joyful spirit? If I make too much money, will I be willing to give it up (and be at a loss for how to pay bills) if we’re called to live in another country?
I’d be curious to know how pastors handle this same struggle. I think the natural movement of a human mind is to move on to bigger and better things. We train our mental, physical and spiritual muscles and need, at some point, a bigger challenge. Does the pastor of a small church for 10 years feel like their “career” is a failure for not being as hyped up as some star-pastor? Is it wrong to want to be considered more successful next year than I was last year? Is that pride or natural progression?
So, as I finish up this MBA that is supposed to help enhance my career, I’m torn as to what that means as a Christian. Should my goals be more responsibility so I can use my skills to help this company equip other Christians, or should I seek a four-hour work week so I can have more time to spend on service and relationships? Do I seek a better paying job so I have more to give away and support missionaries, or is the more “mature” Christian supposed to give up their secular goals and dreams to do full time ministry? Is it even ok to have secular goals and dreams?
I put this out here because I don’t have any of these answers… this is just an opening salvo to processing through the thoughts. Please feel free to comment away on this post; I would love to be able o dialog about this and hear your thoughts as well.
There have been 3 replies so far
Wow, Aaron, you ask lots of questions…and most of them are questions I’ve asked myself at times. Pondering all of these questions led me to other questions:
What’s bigger and better challenge than fullfilling the purpose God has for me in this life? What is my purpose in life? How can I best glorify Him? How can I best grow in my relationship with Him? How has God uniquely equipped me to serve in His Kingdom?
I certainly do not have the answers for you, but here are some answers I’ve arrived at for my life:
I am a follower of Christ first and foremost. I am called to glorify Him with my life and to share with others the good news that they can have an eternal relationship with their Creator. How and where I do that may change throughout my lifetime. I only have today, but I should plan for tomorrow all the while trusting the Lord to direct my steps. My Lord will meet my needs and protect me IF I will get out of the way and allow Him to do so. Comparing myself to others is unhealthy. My aspirations are out of this world and I can only achieve them by the Grace of God in Christ Jesus!
By the way, as the wife of a pastor of a small church I can tell you that, yes, it is a struggle to not judge your “success” by numbers. Whether it’s how many decisions for Christ, or how much money you make, or your grade point average, or your win-loss record for the season, we all look for ways to measure “success” or growth. But spiritual growth is difficult to measure with numbers. It is often not even recognizable until you are able to step back and evaluate from God’s perspective, and when we do…wow! We see life differentlly!
Here’s my prayer for you, Aaron:
Dear Lord, give Aaron the faith to trust in You with all of his heart and all of his life. Don’t allow him to rely on what he knows or what he can measure. In everything he does, make Your Mighty Hand visible to his spiritual eyes. Let him be aware of how You are working in his life. Dear Lord, give him the courage and the faith to allow You to direct his path through life one step at a time. In Jesus’ name I pray these things, not only for Aaron, but for myself, and all who call themselves by your name!
Amen.
1 | Sandy B
Tuesday, February 26, 2008, at 1:47pm
Get your hands on a book called Under the Unpredictable Plant, by Eugene Peterson, as fast as you can. You’ll gain some incredible insight into your questions…from a pastor’s perspective. Being a Christian is not a career, and our spiritual progress cannot be measured by the same indicators. One answer to your question of whether or not our careers are seperated from our spiritual growth, or if they go hand in hand, appears to be just “yes”…it is seperated and connected. It’s up to you to discern where the connection is and where it is not. My best to you…
2 | robjfoley
Friday, February 29, 2008, at 5:13pm
Sandy & Rob -
I wanted to thank you for coommenting here on this post. It’s good to read that there are other people out there who are - or who have - been processing through this issue. I don’t think it’s an easy one to deal with. The question of how much secular “success” is acceptable in the Christian world is an ongoing internal and communal struggle.
I think there are probably a lot of people out there who struggle with this same idea. As Christians we have a different perspective on goals and dreams than a lot of the world. Truthfully, a good percentage of the world’s goals and dreams are just to have food and water each day. Discearning how to balance that knowledge with my internal conflicts about careers, finances, spirits and success is going to be an endless internal monolouge.
Thanks for joining in to my struggles and sharing your own ideas and perspectives. That’s one of the great things about blogs and ministries like Threads; community and discussion is sometimes just a post or comment away.
3 | Aaron Linne
Tuesday, March 4, 2008, at 10:23am
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