The Table Briefing: Faith, Work, Giftedness, And Your Calling -- By: Darrell L. Bock

Journal: Bibliotheca Sacra
Volume: BSAC 172:687 (Jul 2015)
Article: The Table Briefing: Faith, Work, Giftedness, And Your Calling
Author: Darrell L. Bock


The Table Briefing:
Faith, Work, Giftedness, And Your Calling

Darrell L. Bock

and

Mikel Del Rosario

Darrell L. Bock is Senior Research Professor in New Testament Studies and Executive Director of Cultural Engagement at Dallas Theological Seminary in Dallas, Texas. Mikel Del Rosario is cultural engagement assistant.

Do you think of yourself as a gifted person? While it might be common to use the word “gifted” to refer to people with remarkable talents or skills in sports, acting, or music, the truth is that God has gifted every individual and calls all people to work, using their giftedness to bless the world. But how does a person do this on a daily basis?

On a special series of The Table Podcast titled, “Giftedness, Faith, and Work,” Darrell Bock, Bill Hendricks, and George Hillman discuss the idea of using giftedness in a variety of contexts. Hendricks also joins Bock for a cultural engagement chapel on this topic, engaging seminary students in a conversation about calling and vocational work.

This Table Briefing highlights three key ideas from these conversations: The relationship of giftedness and vocational calling, how the church can better communicate the value of human giftedness, and how to use one’s giftedness in a variety of vocational settings. But what is human giftedness? How is this distinct from one’s calling?

Giftedness And Calling

In The Person Called You, Hendricks writes, “God has given power to humans. I call that power your giftedness.”1 He defines the concept like this: “Giftedness is the unique way in which you function.

It’s a set of inborn core strengths and natural motivation you instinctively and consistently use to do things that you find satisfying and productive. Giftedness is not just what you can do but what you are born to do, enjoy doing, and do well.”2

Discovering this not only helps people understand themselves better, but also it reveals each one’s indebtedness to the Creator. Indeed, giftedness does not merely apply to a limited number of exceptional individuals. God has graciously given all people their giftedness and called them to do good works that bless their neighbors and make the world a better place.

This may mean that a person is gifted one way, but called by God to use their gifting in a variety of different settings throughout life. Because of this, the idea of calling applies not only to profession...

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