Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving — How to Make Ministry Experience Matter in Any Job

By Jeff Eads, Co-Executive Director of Muncie Fellows

This is Part 2 of a 9-part series about workplace competencies. Read the first part here.

Transferable Skill #1: Critical Thinking and Problem Solving *

Critical Thinking/Problem Solving: Exercise sound reasoning to analyze issues, make decisions, and overcome problems. The individual is able to obtain, interpret, and use knowledge, facts, and data in this process, and may demonstrate originality and inventiveness. (Source)

This is what I hear from employers all of the time when I ask them about this skill:

We need people who, when they run into a problem, think through the issue, come up with a few solutions, and bring them back. ‘Solution A will get the job done quicker but cost more. Solution B will take an additional week but save us $4000, etc.’ In our younger employees, we are finding that they run into obstacles and then come back to management to ask ‘what should I do now?’ Management doesn’t have time to come up with every solution.

Here’s the thing, you were born to do this.

I mean seriously, the first time that you were ever hungry, what did you do? Cried. What happened next? You were fed. Ever touch a hot stove? Did you do it again? See, you are a problem solver.

My most substantial critical thinking training came while pursuing a degree in Biblical studies. I was faced with the task of examining an ancient text, written in an ancient time, to an ancient culture, by a person who has long been dead. Then, I was supposed to make sense of that text and present it to a contemporary audience, using contemporary vocabulary I was to provide a timeless truth to an audience while hopefully keeping them from dying of boredom.

If I came across an agricultural term that I didn’t know, like yoke, I had to look it up and then figure out what it meant. I had to ask questions like, “What’s the big deal about the dad of the prodigal son hiking up his man dress thing and running to his son? Is that some kind of cultural thing?” Critical thinking is key to our spiritual development. (This is true of all of the liberal arts. That’s one reason they are SO important.)

In addition to this fundamental observation, students who are in campus ministries develop problem-solving skills in a number of other ways (much like other student organizations–you just need to know how to talk about it).

Have you ever led a small group? What happened when the meeting time didn’t work for some of your members? How did you resolve the issue? Did you ever market the group to others through fliers or personal invitations? Did you create a fun and welcoming environment by providing snacks? Did your group have an end of the semester Christmas party? Tell me why and what it was like.

Critical thinking is key to our spiritual development.

Now, you might be thinking that this small group example is too simple, but here is the thing. No one ever comes in and asks me whether an RA position should go on their resume, or whether it is relevant. They assume it is. But the skill sets are very much the same. The only difference is that the Christians come into my office and say, “I led a Bible study, is that relevant?” No. It’s not. I’m not hiring Bible study leaders. But I’m also not hiring Resident Assistants at my company either. You need to talk about transferable skills like problem-solving.

“I was a small group leader and we had the difficult task of growing attendance for our weekly meeting. I was able to ask some analytical questions regarding what nights of the week work best for students based on other campus activities. In addition, I identified high traffic areas to advertise our group. Recognizing that retention is as important as recruitment, I made sure that our meetings were fun and welcoming. You could say, we wanted more customers, but we also wanted loyal customers.”

(Of course, it may have been a Bible study but it’s not irreverent to call it a small group because it was, in fact, small…and a group. You will be working with small groups of people in my company, but you likely won’t be leading a Bible study.)

Of course, you can tailor this to whatever kind of job you are seeking— education, marketing, social work, etc. The point is:

1. As a person of faith, you rely on analytical skills all of the time to develop a robust and reasonable faith.
2. The skills you use in “ministry” are general skills that are used by everyone. Why would yours be less relevant just because you developed them or used them in a faith-based context?
3. We are just scratching the surface here….but I trust that you can use your problem-solving skills to bring these ideas into your personal context.

* Footnote: The university career center that I work for believes strongly that individuals have these skills. We have created a workshop that allows a small group to complete an Escape Room activity filled with complex challenges to resolve. We then debrief with the students about what they accomplished through the activity. Bottom line: they are problem solvers. (To learn more about our center’s process check out this article in the NACE Journal.)

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