
Personal and Professional Calling Statement
I believe that God designed his original creation to be “very good” (Gen. 1:31), that humanity was created Imago Dei or in the image of God (Gen. 1:26), that the primary purpose of creation is to reflect God’s image and His glory (Psalm 19:1), and for humanity to join in perfect wholeness and relationship with the Triune God (Romans 8:16-17). The foundational view of persons created in the image of God has vast implications for how we see ourselves and others; the most important being that all humans are born with intrinsic value, the need for relationship, and the ability to flourish.
Although humans were created in the perfect image of God, we were infected by sin in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:14-19) and thus carry a sinful nature that is bent away from serving God and towards serving the self. Original sin has not only infected humans but has infected the entire creation (Romans 8:22), and all persons will experience pain and suffering as a result of living in this broken world. However, because of God’s unconditional love for us, he sent his son to die as a sacrifice for our sin and provide a way to freedom and flourishing. The work of Christ in salvation is to redeem and restore the entirety of creation and thus offers humans a way to reclaim our original identity as sons and daughters of God and engage in a perfectly fulfilling relationship with Him.
I believe the Bible is the narrative arc God uses to introduce the four-part love story of his creation, the fall of man, his redemption through Christ, and the ultimate hope of the eventual consummation of the Kingdom of God. The Bible shows us our ultimate purpose of accepting his call to return to him and join him in his grand redemptive project as ambassadors of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:20). Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can know God, know our true selves as God intended us to be, know his plans and purposes for our lives, and bear the fruit in our lives that he has planned for us. God's redemptive work is holistic meaning that we are transformed not just spiritually, but also emotionally, mentally, and behaviorally. It is imperative for me to avail myself to the Spirit’s holistic redemptive work in my life so that I may fulfill my calling as an agent of reconciliation.
My calling as an agent of reconciliation is what leads me to enter the field of Christian counseling so that I may be used as a vessel of God’s reconciling work in the lives of others. As stated previously, the ultimate model of wholeness is found in the self-fulfilling relationship of the Triune God, and thus the model of formation and growth within the Christian life is one of relationship. Our lives are formed in direct relationship with God and also in relationship with each other. It is my strong belief that Christian counselors play a significant role in the transformative call of God as ministers to the soul. When we understand our own need for grace and redemption, we are able to walk with others, not as a detached authority that has solved the mystery of our own soul, but as a fellow traveler who is able to empathize and guide through shared experience and the leading of the Spirit. As a Christian clinician, I am able to apply a gospel-based understanding to my clinical training and implement evidence-based modalities through a lens of grace and truth. The four-part biblical narrative will one day come to a conclusion when God consummates his Kingdom here on earth, and every pathology is wiped away. Until that time we practice in “the already and the not yet,” and it is our privilege to operate as God’s redemptive ambassadors in such a tangible way.