About A Contingency Plan for Humans: Engineering and Fellowship with the Incarnate God
| Authors | Stults, Michael |
|---|---|
| Date | 2022 |
| Proceedings | Proceedings of the 2022 Christian Engineering Conference |
| Place | University of Northwestern u2013 St. Paul, Minnesota |
| Vol / Pages | pp. 279-292 |
| URL | https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Zk6JxgxfFbPtrNm5pL_82KqepHiWG0Re/view |
Type: Conference Paper
Tags: Christian Engineering
Abstract
Recent surveys conducted by the National Council of Structural Engineers Associations (NCSEA) indicate that there is an issue with retention within the structural engineering profession, with the largest factor being excessive stress. From my personal experience as a mentor to several who have left the structural engineering profession within their first 5 years of work and as one who is currently trying to chart my own path forward after 10 years in the profession, I can say there is something missing in the way we approach engineering as we often fail to address just how stressful a calling it can be! This paper explores the topic of contingency through a theological narration of creation. In doing so, we can locate contingency within the goodness of creation as well as a central, defining feature of humanity. On a practical level, we often look to the concept of vocation as a way of helping/motivating us to go on, even when it is difficult (or as a way of deepening meaning when things aren’t as difficult). Adapting Andy Crouch’s three-layer framework for Christian vocation enables us to locate engineering as a calling amidst contingencies. Doing so gives us a lens to better explore how to fulfill our calling as image bearers of God and restorers in a broken world not just in an aspirational sense but also when we are not in control.