Given a sovereign intentional strategic Creator, it follows that each person is created for a purpose. Furthermore, given a loving personal Creator, one would expect that God would provide guidance for people to find their individual purposes, and he does—the C4 Principle.
The C4 Principle contains four components as noted in the above text:
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Calling: the divinely ordained passion congruent with the God’s purpose for a person;
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Character: the requisite maturity in Christian thinking and living to support the calling;
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Capability: the requisite developed skill and ability to support the calling; and
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Commissioning: the validation of a person’s calling by authority figures.
This principle, when properly applied, is a powerful tool to facilitate alignment with the will of God in the lives of individuals.
Furthermore, since the intentionality and strategic nature of God extends beyond individuals to organizations, the C4 Principle is a tool for organizational leaders and managers to discern whom to hire.
The C4 Principle is found in general revelation (the revelation of God in creation). For example, in Exodus 18, Moses was in the wilderness with the Israelites whom God had redeemed from slavery in Egypt. His father-in-law, Jethro, was a pagan priest who did not have special revelation. He only had general revelation. Jethro saw the litigious nature of the people of God and how Moses’ time and energy were consumed serving as judge for every dispute. Jethro chastised him and provided direction on how to select men to delegate the authority to mediate disputes. He instructed Moses to identify subordinates to the task of dispute resolution. These men were chosen based on the C4 principle. Since Jethro had no special revelation, he must have gleaned the C4 principle from general revelation.
The C4 principle can also be found in special revelation (the revelation of God in Scripture). It was used as a tool to qualify people for work assignments. For example, dispute resolution as noted above (Exodus 18:13–27), construction work (Exodus 35:30-36:2), creative work (1 Samuel 16:14–23), civil leadership (Psalm 78:70–72), food distribution (Acts 6:1–7), and church leadership (1 Timothy 3:1–7 and Titus 1:4–9).
The C4 principle seems to be the key biblical principle for guiding people into divinely ordained work assignments. Not only in spiritual work assignments but physical work assignments. Therefore, the principle is a universal principle to help people align with the will of God individually and in organizations.
Here is your business tip. Wise organizational leaders and managers understand God’s sovereign, intentional, and strategic nature. Accordingly, they recognize that the best choice for every position in an organization is always a person who has C4 to perform the work assignment. The C4 principle should guide all hiring, reviewing, promoting, and releasing decisions. Leaders and managers apply this biblical tool to facilitate alignment with God’s will for individuals and organizations. One of the predicates for organizational success is the right people in the right positions. The C4 principle is a tool that enables leaders and managers to achieve success.
