A theology of getting fired?

Each week, The World and Everything in It features a “Culture Friday” segment, in which Executive Producer Nick Eicher discusses the latest cultural news with John Stonestreet, president of the Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview. Here is a summary of this week’s conversation.

Earlier this month, the American Bar Association took steps to crack down on discriminatory comments and behavior by lawyers. At its annual meeting, the ABA voted to make remarks such as calling a female colleague “honey,” “sweetie,” or “dear,” punishable with sanctions by state bar associations.

UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh warned the new rules could stifle debate on issues such as same-sex marriage, gender, and religion.

“If the rule is adopted, the debater could well be disciplined by the state bar,” for saying something that criticized gays, transgender people, or Muslims, Volokh wrote in The Washington Post.

State bar associations can decide whether to approve the standards, but two dozen of them have already adopted the rule. John Stonestreet said aspiring Christian attorneys shouldn’t shy away from the field of law, but they should count the cost.

“You’ve just got to know this going in,” Stonestreet said. “We just need to get to a point where we’re not surprised within any profession when these sort of challenges pop up.”

A Christian view of vocation, he said, means “the integration of our faith and living out of our convictions in every area of life, doing all of our work as if to God, but also mindful of this cultural moment that, according to Paul in Acts 17, God placed us in.”

Most vocations are no longer exempt from the conflict between career and convictions. Christian thought leaders perhaps need to develop a “theology of getting fired,” Stonestreet said, that answers questions such as, “When am I called upon to take a stand and get fired?”

But should Christians avoid altogether jobs as florists, bakers, photographers, and even lawyers, where there faith is more likely to conflict with their job duties? Stonestreet said no: “Run into the brokenness, but be willing to take the shot once you get there.”

Listen to Culture Friday on the Aug. 19, 2016, episode of The World and Everything in It.