Have you ever felt overwhelmed by work? Has
your school day at times seemed too much? Do you ever wonder if teaching is for
you? The Lord has probably been tugging at your heart to look at how and why He
has made you. I just finished reading an
inspirational book, “The
Call to Work,” by one of our board members, Bob Erdmann who was inspired
to remind you of your high calling. Our
God is a purposeful God, sending us out into all the world to do the job of
continuing His creative works. Mr. Erdmann does a masterful job and blending
research, calling and worship to the workplace. Although the book is not
necessarily about teaching, it is all about what God wired you to do. When you
are working in your passion, you are God-driven. When you are working in misery, I believe one
of two things is happening: you are not working in the field of your calling or
you have forgotten that you are working for the Lord.
Ecclesiastes
9:10
Whatever your hand
finds to do, do it with all your might…
Colossians
3:23
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for
the Lord, not for human masters…
The book begins in
the Garden and the beauty of creation. When you think about everything we do in
school, the most important goal is to encourage our students to create. It is the highest level of human ability,
directly designed by the Creator Himself. Have you ever thought about the ability
to create? There is no other creature on earth who can create, but man. God has given us this stamp of Himself and
charge to continue His creative beauty. That is why each of us is uniquely
stamped with passions, interests and creative abilities unlike anyone else. How
do we apply that to our workday? Recognize that teaching is a high
calling. It is no ordinary job. In fact,
teachers in the field who work our profession as a job, collect paychecks.
Teachers in our profession who understand their high calling, know they work
first for the Lord and then for their students and administrators.
To begin to
understand your “call to work,” start with prayer. Ask God to show you your
calling. If it is teaching and you have
fallen into the drudgery of the daily grind or a difficult year of teaching,
lay it before Him and ask Him to show you what He purposed You for. If it is teaching, begin each day working for
Him. This new focus will help you define your purpose from Him. Everyone
receives his or her calling or purpose from God differently, but I believe you
have not, because you ask not. Ask. He
will help you. About 10 years ago, I heard my calling and over time was able to
write it down. “I have a dream to
encourage teachers to be prayerfully dependent on the Lord, empower them to
envision their high calling and equip them to know how.” With the help of Rick Warren from the Purpose
Driven Life, I have learned to say “Yes,”
to opportunities and job requests that are within my purpose. He taught me to ask three questions before
making any decision:
1.
Is it
purpose driven?
2.
Is it
mission focused?
3.
Is it
Spirit-led?
If I have the
opportunity to work with teachers, I know I am in my purpose. If there is a
possibility that I can bring them into fellowship with other Christians through
CEAI, then I know it is mission focused and if I encourage, equip or empower
them with prayer, fellowship or vision, with the help of the Holy Spirit, then
I know it is Spirit-led.
You have been
called to work. You have been called to create. What a gift. Don’t just go to
work, be a creator at work, no matter what you do. Thank you Bob Erdmann for
the encouragement and thorough job of inspiring us to be God workers. May the
Lord help our churches to recognize secular work as missional when we are
working all that we do for the Lord and not for human masters.
Prayerfully yours,
K
Note: To more fully understand the 16-9 Movement, please read the first blog
entry by clicking here.
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