Becoming a Missiological Software Developer

It is not the Church of God that has a mission in the world, but the God of mission who has a Church in the world. Tim Dearborn (quoted in chapter 5 of Mission Shaped Church)

This semester my learning contract relates to understanding the relationship between work and mission. Included in this is the notion of business as a part of the more general category of work.  

The Dictionary of Missiological Terms at www.missiology.org notes that "mission is not the invention, responsibility, or program of human beings, but flows from the character and purposes of God. . . .  Mission is defined, directed, energized, and accompanied by God" (Murray 2001, 39). The mission of God is something that we join and then participate in as we engage in plans and activities to accomplish his mission. So missions is defined by Van Rheenen as "the plans of committed believers to accomplish the mission of God" (Dictionary of Missiological Terms).

I have devoted a great deal of time over the last year to rethinking my theology of vocation, particularly in the context of work and family. But I originally came to the USA to prepare for missions, and I am concerned that I have not spent sufficient effort on working out how to effectively integrate my theology of vocation with my theology of mission. Since each major life and career decision in the last few years has been carefully and prayerfully considered and executed, I want to be able to see more clearly not only why where we are now is the right place to be, but also reflect on how God has led us to this place.

I don’t want to use my work as an excuse not to be involved in God’s mission, but want rather to have a good understanding of how work and mission should fit together in my life. While I now understand that my work does have intrinsic value for God’s kingdom, I still want my work to be located within the larger scope of Christian mission in an intentional and therefore meaningful way.

We are all embedded – implanted - in a particular social and cultural context, and it is within that context that we must live out the gospel in a genuine manner. In doing this we imitate our Savior.

If the church is to be in a position to offer all men the mystery of salvation and the life brought by God, then it must implant itself among all these groups in the same way that Christ by his incarnation committed himself to the particular social and cultural circumstances of the men among whom he lived. (Mission Shaped Church, p. 87)

This context involves, to a large extent, our work. Whether our work is in business, sports, education, or other more difficult and important pursuits such as parenting and homemaking – these are the things that consume our time, and shape our lives and give them meaning. These are the activities and the milieu of our salvation – the primary context in which we work out our salvation (Philippians 2:12).

Through my reflection during this last year I have accepted the idea that God wants software development to be my work (for now at least). And that has made a world of difference for me in how I view not only my work, but also myself as a person. So I want to continue on with finding a more meaningful understanding of my work and how that fits together with every other aspect of my life and God’s mission. Since I still have a strong passion for missions, I want to uncover how what I spend most of my time doing can be a part of that passion.

The Dictionary of Missiological Terms defines Missiology as follows:

Missiology:  "the conscious, intentional, ongoing reflection on the doing of mission.  It includes theory(ies) of mission, the study and teaching of mission, as well as the research, writing, and publication of works regarding mission" (Neely 2000, 633).  "1. the study of the salvation activities of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit throughout the world geared toward bringing the kingdom of God into existence, 2. the study of the worldwide church's divine mandate to be ready to serve this God who is aiming his saving acts toward this world" (Verkuyl 1978, 5).

It is precisely through conscious, intentional, ongoing reflection on the doing of mission that I will have a greater awareness of missions and deeper understanding of how to incorporate that into my work in meaningful ways. I would hope that my return to placing missions at the center will better equip me both as an entrepreneur and employee to serve others in the context of my work. It should also show me how better to place myself within the church in the context of missions.

But it has to move beyond reflection, and into practice.

This is the road. This is what I see as I look forward. Towards becoming a Missiological Software Developer.