What is Your Justice Calling?
By Phil Wiseman (Adapted Version)
In this exercise, you will reflectively walk through a series of questions designed to help you find the place where your passion and calling for justice intersect. Maybe by the end, you’ll know exactly what you’re called to do. Then again, maybe you’ll still be unsure. Either way, let this start you down a road toward asking the question, “how can I be a tangible part of the solution for an injustice in the world?”
Grab your journal, and write your answers to the questions below.
1. Read the following verses: Amos 5:24, Isaiah 58:3-6, Micah 6:8, and James 1:27. Write down a prayer, asking God to give you His heart for justice.
2. Micah Kephart, founder of the organization, Poetice International, identifies 5 “giants of injustice:”
a. Spiritual emptiness
b. Oppression
c. Lack of education
d. Disease
e. Poverty
These giants are the source of essentially every form of injustice, in one way or another. Which one stirs you the most? Why?
3. Does any one issue of injustice make you particularly sad, frustrated, or motivated? In other words, what specific injustice under one of the 5 Giants stirs you the most? (For example: Racial reconciliation falls under oppression, or drug addiction falls under disease, or loneliness falls under spiritual emptiness?)
4. Do you have a job, skill, relationship, experience, or an interest that might make you a natural part of the solution for any of these giants? List anything a part of your life that you think could be a direct way of contributing to a solution.
5. Is there a clear way for you to address that issue that’s directly accessible? Some examples could include volunteering at a homeless shelter to address poverty, getting involved at a local Boys and Girls Club to address the lack of education, or giving a monthly donation to a non-profit organization committed to ending poverty in your city.
6. Based on what you’ve written above, has a problem emerged that you believe you’re called to help solve? Be clear and specific. You won’t be able to end world poverty, but you can contribute towards ending poverty through a specific action on your part that matches up with your passions, gifts, and experiences. Complete the following sentence if you can. If you’re unsure of how to finish the sentence, then bring it up with your discipler at your next meeting!
I am called to address the injustice of list specific injustice by list specific action step .
MODULE 9: Living Justly — Meeting 3
Discipleship : Meeting 3
DISCUSS the disciple’s responses to Part 2 of the Generous Justice journaling guide using the guide from meeting 2.
ASSIGNMENT: Now that you’ve discussed the principle of living justly, it’s time to think about your specific role in extending justice to the world around you. Complete the “What is Your Justice Calling?” exercise located below. Come ready to discuss your responses at your next meeting.
How to Discern Your Justice Calling
Few of us can respond to every need in the world, and trying to do so often leads to burnout or paralysis. The What Is Your Justice Calling? exercise helps disciples narrow their focus. The key question is not "What is the biggest problem in the world?" but "Where do my passion, my gifts and God’s call meet?" Frederick Buechner famously described vocation as "the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet." That is a helpful way to think about a justice calling.
Four Questions to Talk Through Together
As you discuss the disciple’s responses, these questions can help bring clarity:
What breaks your heart? Which injustice consistently moves you to sadness, anger or action?
What has shaped you? Are there experiences in your own story — perhaps from your Timeline in Module 5 — that give you empathy for a particular group?
What do you have? Which skills, relationships, jobs, resources or experiences could contribute to a solution?
What is accessible? Is there a local organisation, church ministry or opportunity already working on this issue?
Examples of Justice Callings
To spark ideas, here are some ways disciples have lived out their calling:
A teacher who tutors children in an under-resourced school every week.
A nurse who volunteers at a free clinic once a month.
A business owner who hires people returning from prison.
A retiree who mentors refugee families as they settle in a new city.
A student who advocates against human trafficking and raises funds for survivors.
A family who opens their home to foster children.
A small group that serves meals at a homeless shelter every month.
Each of these started with one clear, specific step.
Keeping Justice Connected to Jesus
Justice work can easily become exhausting or self-righteous if it is disconnected from prayer and grace. Remember that the burden of fixing the world rests on Jesus, not on us. We join him in his work. Keep praying about your calling, stay connected to your church community and remember that caring for the vulnerable is an act of worship.
For the Discipler
If your disciple is still unsure of their calling, reassure them that clarity often comes through trying something. Help them choose one small step to explore this week, such as visiting an organisation, having coffee with someone involved in the issue or doing some research together. You will build a concrete plan in Meeting 4.
Continue the Pathway — You are in Module 9: Living Justly, Meeting 3 of 4. Previous: Meeting 2 — The Vulnerable. Next: Meeting 4 — Justice Action Plan. Every essay, worksheet and video for this module is collected on the Module 9 resources page.