Christian Vocation: A Proposed Definition

Christian Vocation is

the  birth           and      growth
     creation        and      formation
     initiation      and      development

of the story of a disciple and kingdom citizen subject to the Lord Jesus Christ,

within the story of  the people of God,
within the story of  the messianic kingdom of the Son of God,
within the story of  the triune God—creator, redeemer, and reconciler

by means of
     being           and      doing
     knowing         and      living
     relating        and      obeying
     communing       and      resembling

that reflects exclusive allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ

animated through the power of the promised Spirit of God.

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Spiritual Formation: In Search of a Definition

NECESSARY ELEMENTS TO A DEFINITION

Divine Focus
Divine Plan—The Gospel

• Restoration of Edenic Shalōm
• By means of establishing the Son’s Reign
• Through His incarnation, life, teaching, death, resurrection, ascension, and session as Lord and Christ the King
• Resulting in reconciliation
• Marked by forgiveness, freedom from sin and death, and the power of the Spirit

Divine Goal—Relationship and Resemblance
Two sides of the same coin: the means to and evidence of each other

• Relationship: Communion
• Resemblance: Godness, Christlikeness, holiness, obedience

Moral Character – Matt 22:36-40, Summary: Love God and love people
Virtues—the inner life or being: affections, attitudes, thoughts, and motives

Ethics—the outer life or behavior: decisions and consequent words and actions

• Affecting God, including His creation (Gen 1:28; Rom 8:19-22)
• Affecting People: Both friends and enemies
  • Relationships with individuals
  • Relationships with social groups, both near and far: family, church, neighborhood, community, region
  • Relationships with power structures, both near and far: economic, political, military

Human Responsibility

• Active, ongoing, obedient faith, including repentance, in God on the basis of the Gospel
• Nourished by spiritual disciplines, including suffering and life in community
• In which one progressively creates a new story through mentoring relationships that include encouragement and warning

These elements give rise to possible . . .

ALTERNATIVE NAMES

Christian Formation, cf. its Moral Character
Christian Vocation, cf. its Divine Focus
(M-Webster, “vocation”: a divine call to the religious life)

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