Written by: gfesadmin on January 21, 2013

The calling of Christians has been written about for centuries. Max Weber in The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism believes that the calling of protestant asceticism is a significant factor that has grown into modern capitalism as we know it today. Weber lists Calvinism, Pietism, Methodism and various Baptist sects or denominations as propagating the core belief that man’s work on earth was to work hard and reinvest money to God’s glory (Weber, 2009).

Weber sums up his belief quoting John Wesley saying “I fear, wherever riches have increased, the essence of religion has decreased in the same proportion. Therefore I do not see how it is possible, in the nature of things, for any revival of true religion to continue long. For religion must necessarily produce both industry and frugality, and these cannot but produce riches. But as riches increase, so will pride, anger, and love of the world in all its branches. How then is it possible that Methodism, that is, a religion of the heart, though it flourishes now as a green bay tree, should continue in this state?…There follows the advice that those who gain all they can and save all they can should also give all they can, so that they will grow in grace and lay up a treasure in heaven.” This summation exposes the dichotomy that the calling of protestant asceticism will produce riches but the result of riches will water down the conviction of Christians.

Weber focuses on the broad social impact of religion on the economic environment. The “calling” focuses on the individual and not the group. I would like to move from the 30,000 foot view to the 100 foot level, the impact of the individual call. Os Guinness in his book The Calling defines the calling as “the truth that God calls us to himself so decisively that everything we are, everything we do, and everything we have is invested with a special devotion, dynamism, and direction lived out as a response to his summons and service.” Guinness talks about the calling of the Christian as the purpose of life everyone hungers to discover (Guinness, 1998). As a leader, I believe it is important to articulate on paper what the leader’s purpose for living is.

One of my favorite leadership books is The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. The second habit is to start with the end in mind (Covey, 1989). The second habit encourages the reader to develop a personal mission statement or philosophy. Early in my college years, I took the challenge and developed a personal mission statement. I got away for a couple of days and self-reflected on why I exist. After much journaling, I came up with, “ I exist to know and love God through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, to be a good steward by developing all the gifts, talents and resources to their fullest potential to make disciples in the world.”

In my opportunities to speak about leadership, I always encourage leaders to develop a personal mission statement or a leadership purpose statement. These statements can be used to reflect on a weekly basis to compare ones actions versus ones personal mission statement. This practice can guide our actions towards being congruent with our mission statement and help us not to become distracted and veer of course. It can become our moral compass so to speak.

Therefore: what is your calling and life purpose as a leader? If you write it down and reflect on it weekly, your chances of staying true to your life calling increases significantly!

Covey, Stephan R. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1989.

Guinness, Os. The Call. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, Inc. 1998.

Weber, Max. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. New York: Dover Publications, Inc.2003.

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