A Noble Calling

Too often, individuals who have been called to practice their gifts and talents in the field of business and professional life sense that to serve God they ought to be doing something more directly involved with the church. Many successful business leaders, upon coming to faith in Christ or upon renewing their interest in God's Word, struggle with whether or not they should enter vocational ministry. Certainly, God calls some from among the professions into such vocations, but many simply haven't realized the full potential of where God has placed them. God's people who are assigned to duties in corporate boardrooms or offices, on sales forces, in entrepreneurial ventures, and as members of research and development teams are among his most effective servants. Believers who are active in the marketplace are surely among God's most treasured ministers and have the potential to have a wider impact and larger influence than most who serve in full-time vocational ministries. Likewise, these professionals have a capacity for great harm to the church and the cause of Christ if while they make claims of Christian belief, their actions prove inconsistent with what God's Word teaches--if their walk doesn't match their talk. Be encouraged! God wants to use you where you are. He wants to sanctify all of what you have learned and experienced. You have great potential in the kingdom!

David Wesley Whitlock serves as the Associate Provost at Southwest Baptist University and is a bivocational minister, serving Wellspring Fellowship in Bolivar, Missouri. His previous books with Wipf and Stock Publishers/Resource Publications include Opportunity: Introducing Free Enterprise and Business, and two books coedited with Gordon Dutile: A Noble Calling: Devotions and Essays for Business Professionals, and Psalm 15: Integrating Faith and Work. He and his wife, Dana, have four sons.