How the Church Helps in Choosing a Future Career

Personal Position

After finishing the survey found at the end of "Discerning Spiritual Discernment: Assessing Current Approaches for Understanding God’s Will," I discovered many elements that were important to me in the process of making career decisions. Both using common sense and leveraging my abilities and strengths were considered vital. They closely align in assisting me to choose a career that suits me best—a career where I see not only my involvement but also where I can excel. Considering my circumstances is another fundamental aspect to me.

I firmly believe there's a time and place for everything; hence, I seize the moment when the right opportunity presents itself in favourable circumstances. Lastly, consistency with Jesus' character and ethics is vital to me. I aim to mirror how Jesus would present himself to others in my professional life.

Recognition and response to the needs of others, in conjunction with considering personal interests and desires, are also important factors for me. Being responsive to others' needs comes naturally to me, and I wish to aid others as much as I can. Besides, pondering over personal desires and interests became pivotal in my career choices since they have the potential to lead me to happiness. Although I recognized praying for wisdom in making godly choices as "somewhat important," I didn't rank it as highly because I don't often pray for godly wisdom. Instead, I strive to embody such wisdom in my day-to-day life.

Given the factors in the survey, the spiritual discernment that resonates with me the most is the wisdom approach. This methodology perfectly encapsulates my survey responses, highlighting two significant attributes, "consulting wise counsel" and "using common sense," as well as "considering personal strengths, talents, gifts, and abilities" (Horton, 2009), ranked as 'important' in my career decision-making process. The article also characterizes the group of Christians who most likely follow this approach: "The primary groups that prioritize the wisdom approach to discernment include most mainline denominations, the Churches of Christ, Reformed/Presbyterian students, Interdenominational, and significant subsets of Nondenominational and Baptist students" (Horton, 2009). This part of the article resonated with me as I have always identified as a Nondenominational Christian.

Although I relate to the Practitioners' Approach, I can also relate to the practitioners of the relationship-formation approach. As stated previously, I find judging the decision's consistency with the character/ethics of Jesus important. In this section of the article, the relationship-formation approach highlights judging the decision's consistency with the character/ethics of Jesus (Horton, D. J., 2009). Furthermore, the article states, “These groups seem to strive for a balance between the head and heart—the rational and the intuitive—with less emphasis on seeking specific answers or signs of confirmation from God” (Horton, D. J., 2009). This statement is true in relation to me as I don’t seek specific answers or signs from God, and follow more what my “gut instinct” is telling me.

Past and Present Influences

A past factor that has influenced my approaches to spiritual discernment includes my family. Growing up, my parents made sure that my sisters and I went to church on Sundays. Even though we didn't discuss faith too often at home, it was apparent what was important: God and family. We would pray at dinner time together and at large family gatherings. We would also discuss how good the sermon was on our way home from church and how we should always carry ourselves as God would want, but that was usually the extent of our discussions about faith. What’s interesting is that my dad, a high school football coach, displays his faith in other ways outside of our home. He prays with the team before and after football games, discusses faith with his players and even started a bible study club for student athletes.

Looking back, I wonder why we didn't talk more about faith at home. Even though we didn’t talk about faith much outside of prayer, my parents always ensured that I treated others with kindness and behaved in a way that God would approve. The article states, "Guidance from the Bible does not supersede the interpretative hub of Jesus' character and ethics" (Horton, D. J., 2009). Overall, we didn’t focus much on the Bible, but rather on reflecting God in our demeanor and actions. This correlates with the practitioners of the wisdom approach in that my family never put much emphasis on using scripture for guidance in decision-making (Horton, D. J., 2009). Furthermore, I can relate my upbringing to the practitioners of the relationship-formation approach in which my parents focused on nurturing my sisters and me to embody God’s character. We focused less on specific signs from God and more on "judging the decision's consistency with the character/ethics of Jesus" (Horton, D. J., 2009).

The church we attended while growing up significantly impacted my life in various aspects. It was a nondenominational church with a pastor whom I have known all my life. Every Sunday evening, my sisters and I attended the youth group led by our pastor, who provided fun activities while teaching the scriptures of Jesus. Our church didn’t care what you wore to service, where you were from, or what you did. The most important thing was that you were present on Sundays. Unfortunately, this is no longer the case, as I don't currently have a "home" church.

My husband and I have moved too far to continue attending the church in which I grew up. I know that any church can serve as a "home" church, yet I still struggle with the fact that it's not "my" church or "my" pastor. I have grown so accustomed to the teachings, people, and ways of my previous church that I struggle to accept attending a new one. Although finding a church technically doesn't matter, as what really matters is praising the teachings of the Lord, it remains a struggle for me. I still listen to "my" church online, I pray before dinner, and I pray before I close my eyes. I'm slowly learning to let go of the old and be open to the new. The experience I'm currently undergoing is akin to the relationship-formation approach. I continue to practice my relationship with God, in my own way. "While God may desire for Christians to grow in maturity and take greater responsibility for our decisions, maturity does not instantly appear. This formation process takes time, and even mature Christians remain fallible humans with an incredible ability to rationalize whatever they're doing (Horton, D. J. 2009)."

Outside of the religious aspects of my life, throughout high school, I never seriously considered what career path to follow and had no true guidance. I was (and still am) a terrible test-taker, which negatively affected my SAT scores. The high school guidance counselor at the time did not give me the benefit of the doubt and even discouraged my desire to attend college. Ignoring her, I consulted with my parents about my career aspirations. I never once prayed for guidance regarding career decisions and instead, went with what I thought was best. As I started my college career, I struggled to find my purpose. I was torn between pursuing a career that offered financial stability and one that held personal significance. So, when I embarked on the college journey, I chose to major in dental hygiene, primarily attracted by the projected salary. However, without thoroughly considering other aspects, I hastily made a selfish decision. Despite my academic success, I felt this major wasn't the right fit for me. Hence, midway through my first year, I decided to switch my major to Business Administration.

Again, not really thinking about the decision, I just decided because I knew I didn't want to do dental hygiene. By the end of the school year, I again realized I hadn't made the right decision. While struggling with my thoughts on the correct career path, my brother-in-law asked me to come observe his second-grade classroom one day to see if I might be interested in teaching. I had thought about teaching before but never fully considered pursuing it, as I felt it would have been too predictable due to my dad being an educator. However, after the observation, I decided to take on elementary education and special education as double majors. Needless to say, that observation changed my career path for the better. Now, I have had experiences in the education field that have led me to where I am today, coming full circle from when a guidance counselor told me I wouldn't make it. Today, I am striving to become a school counselor to assist students in their lives, truly my "calling." Not once during this struggling period did I pray for guidance on career decision-making, nor did I seek counsel from the Bible. While I performed none of these actions, I felt I didn't need to because I knew - and still know - that God has a reason why specific circumstances occur throughout life.

While I do believe God has led me on this career path, I also believe my decision has been shaped by my desire to assist students in either primary or secondary settings, or in other words, my "calling." According to Christopher Adams, author of "Calling and Career Counseling with College Students: Finding Meaning in Work and Life," he states, "Rather than viewing a calling as originating from God, secular views often see it as coming from within the individual (Adams, C. M. 2012)." Personally, I feel that my approach to career decision-making intertwines with personal feelings and God. These views align with practitioners of the wisdom approach, in that I never put an emphasis on Scripture for essential guidance in decision-making or sought counsel from the Bible (Horton, D. J. 2009). Furthermore, as previously stated, considering the circumstance is another crucial component for me, as shown in the survey. I believe there is a time and place for things to happen and when the right circumstance arises, I seize that moment to take advantage of the opportunity. For example, I believe certain circumstances led me to this career at a particular time deemed most appropriate for me.

Practical Application

During college, some students may struggle when deciding which direction to take in life. Making a career decision can be an enormous "weight to carry," especially when wanting to follow the correct path that God provides for them. When starting the counseling process with this specific student, it is important to first understand her background and past decision-making choices. Understanding the student’s background is important because as a counselor, I can assess how and why the client makes her decisions. "Understanding decision-making experiences are a critical aspect of career counseling; it provides the counselors with insight on the client's values, priorities, assumptions, and beliefs and with potential strategies for helping the client make decisions in the future. Some clients are unaware of their own decision-making processes and may struggle in career counseling without a richer understanding of their decision-making skills and challenges (Warren, A. K. 2006)."

Furthermore, if there is fear of making a commitment due to past barriers, understanding these barriers and how she achieved overcoming these barriers will assist in the counseling process. "Career counselors can help these clients by encouraging them to examine the beliefs that stop them from making commitments and moving forward in their career decision-making difficulties. It may be useful to have clients identify barriers to their career development and then focus on what clients have done in the past to overcome similar barriers (Niles, S. G., & Harris-Bowlsbey, J. 2017)." After understanding the student’s past, noting that she is a Christian student and is concerned about not following God’s Will, I would then approach the client with the Decision-Making Factors Survey. This, to gain a better understanding of what factors are most important to her. This would then lead into a discussion of these factors. "A discussion of these factors usually enables the students to delineate between self-centered desires and God-given desires/interests (Horton, D. J. 2009)."

After this discussion, I would assist the client in obtaining an "appreciation for the wisdom factors (Horton, D. J. 2009)." This is important to discuss because young people are more likely to evade assistance from their guardian or seek counsel because they want to establish a sense of independence (Horton, D. J. 2009). "Nevertheless, God does advise us to make strategic plans and use our talents responsibly (Horton, D. J. 2009)." The next step in this process is to help this student is to arrange the wisdom factors from what would be most important to them to the least important (Horton, D. J. 2009). This shows the client what parts of discernment guide them when making decisions. Depending on the outcome of her survey, I would encourage the student to lean on those instincts. For example, for those who relate to the relationship approach, I would encourage them to continue to practice "humility in their relationship with God (Horton, D. J. 2009)." "By becoming more like Christ, the youth/students will find that identifying decisions that are in accordance with the will of God becomes much clearer and more natural. The struggle then shifts from discernment to action, from knowing to acting upon that knowledge (Horton, D. J. 2009)."

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