Vocation - Redemption North Mountain

What is vocation?

Vocation is the cultivation of the Kingdom of Jesus here on earth through our intentional + contributive work. Here we have provided resources for you and your community to know how to reframe work as a practice of worship. Our prayer is that you will experience God’s calling on your life as the hands and feet of Jesus to the world around you.

Simply Said

Vocation is the cultivation of the Kingdom of Jesus here on earth through our intentional + contributive work.

What is work?

The word Vocation is translated to mean “calling”. At the end of Genesis 1 (before the fall), God gives a general calling to all of mankind: to work. Man is to take all the resources God has provided and tend, rule over, create through them, and work. Work is “rearranging the raw material of God’s creation in such a way that it helps the world in general, and people in particular, thrive and flourish.”* Work has always been in the DNA of man and will be a perfected part of Eternity on the new Earth.

*Timothy Keller, Every Good Endeavor

How has sin impacted vocation?

Evil Work – because of sin, our world is filled with people who impart evil in the world. Such as, slavery, pornography, murder, drugs, intentional manipulation, etc.

Sacred/Secular Divide – because of sin, we have created a false divide between secular and sacred work. People have been convinced that “Church” or “Christian” work is sacred while work outside these realms is secular.

Idols + The Wrong Gospel – because of sin, work creates + exposes idols. Some idols from work are money, power, self, prestige, image, etc. Work can also communicate a false gospel: “Work is our means of self-fulfillment + self-advancement.”

Work to Live – sin has created cultures and places in our world where people lack the resources and must do anything they can to provide + survive.

Pointless Work – because of sin, we demean work and use it as a means to create a “workless” life.

How Christ Redeems Vocation

God’s Provision – the heart of the gospel changes work from a self-advancement tool into a human ecosystem within which God provides to his creation through the good work of people.

God’s Justice – Jesus uses his followers to bring justice to the world through their work in the world.

God’s Glory – Jesus is the ultimate picture of how God meets us in the ordinary — bread and wine, homes and hallways, ink and page, and in conversations and hugs. Creation is charged with God’s presence + glory. God meets us in the day in and day out of our ordinary work.

Sacred Work – Jesus finished work bridges the gap between man + God. Through this, we all function as “consecrated Priests”* and representatives of Christ. All our work is Sacred.

Worship – Work is a physical act of worship as we utilize our gifts and callings to contribute good to the world. “Your work is your prayer.”**

*Martin Luther, Three Treatises

**Ben Witherington, Work: A Kingdom Perspective on Labor

What is our role in the practice of vocation?

prayer + practice

This serves to give ideas on how to practice prayer in correlation with your Vocation. If you want to practice prayer but do not know where to start, simply choose one of these and apply it to your daily schedule.

Beginning/Ending Work Prayer

We often need bookends for our day of work; something to lead us into the work God has given us and something to help us put work down at the end of the day. As we enter work each day (walking into the office // a meeting // to wake up our children…) we can stop for a moment to pray to God. We can pray simple words like “Father, empower me to be the hands and feet of Jesus for those I will serve today”.

As we end our work each day, we have an opportunity to thank God and to ask him to work through us. We can pray words like “Father, thank you for my work today. I put my work into the trust of your hands and pray that you contributed to the world through me today.”

Prayer Walk

A great form of prayer during your work is a short prayer walk. We often need a quick break from work, no matter what our work is. Set a time during the day to close work for a few minutes and to walk with God. Maybe go outside to reset yourself. Take this time for silence or for prayer over your work. Ask God to bless the work that you have done so far and to equip you for the work you have ahead.

Prayer Over Workspaces

God is the one that makes environments and spaces Holy (set apart). Space is occupied by presence. Imagine the places that you walk into and feel peace or places you walk into and feel anxiety. Our prayer is that the Spirit of God would occupy our workspace with His presence. One prayer practice is to show up early to your workspace (your office, the floor at the Hospital, your Children’s Bedroom, the classroom you teach in, etc.) and pray that God would occupy that place with His work, His presence, and His peace.

Morning, Midday + Bedtime

Vocation worksheet

We created a Vocation Worksheet to help you work through how to practically practice Vocation in your life

additional resources

If you want to know more about the practice of Vocation, here is a compiled list of resources that are helpful. Because this list has many options, it can feel intimidating on where to start. Our encouragement is just to start somewhere. Pick one that seems appealing and start there.

Books

Movies

Articles + Websites