The first secular concept that characterizes the virtuous organization‘s ethical environment is that of fostering core values. Ethical environments are present in organizations where essential values are clearly articulated, policies are developed and processes are in place to guide the use of those values in daily operations.
An equivalent mission related religious theme is that of mission identity.
Mission identity helps to clarify an organization's core values, plan its strategic direction and encourage its intended development. Mission identity in a religious setting has several priorities which are reflective of the call to discipleship. These priorities include being connected with God, being committed to God‘s Kingdom on earth,
witnessing to Christ as divine savior, and, engaging in prophetic dialogue in the world.208
Considering each of these priorities individually helps to clarify mission identity from a faith perspective.
Mission identity, first and foremost, involves being connected with God. Mission is primarily ―rooted in the continual self-giving and self-revelation of God within the history of creation‖.209 Christians are connected with God as members of creation, as
image of God, as object of Christ‘s redeeming act of love, as recipients of grace and as agents of God open to the Spirit. In these roles Christians reflect the unity, communion and love of the Trinity. Hence, mission identity involves being caught up in the very mission of God, in creation, redemption and ongoing sanctification. Simply stated, mission identity includes being rooted in the Trinitarian mission of God‘s love in the world.210
The religious folk song of the 1960‘s proclaimed "…They will know we are Christians by our love, by our love,…". It is indeed the love and communion of the Trinity that the song is talking about and that Christian disciples witness. Rahner‘s Trinitarian theology describes the Trinity as "immanent" and discusses that Trinitarian love is not something persons learn or come to understand as arcane revelation but from their experience of God in the historical Jesus and as God continues to reveal God‘s self through the Spirit.211 To be Church, then, is to share in the life of the risen Christ, live the Father‘s will, and be directed by the Spirit in an effort to shape the course of humankind. This is the mission of the Church.
Through a personal connection with the Trinity one comes to know the radical depth of divine love possible in and through communion. When disciples are connected to the Trinity, experience the love of the Trinity and share that love with other disciples, the mission is realized and others identify them by their love for one another.
Another priority for mission identity is being connected to God‘s Kingdom on earth. Jesus is the first and greatest evangelizer who comes to proclaim the Kingdom of God on earth.212 Disciples of Jesus are to follow and continue Jesus‘ mission in the
world.213 Discipleship therefore cannot come to accept God‘s love or to fully know God‘s love without intending to share the news of God‘s love and God‘s love itself with others. Paul VI exhorts the disciple:
Here lies the touchstone of evangelization, it is unthinkable that a person should accept the word and give himself to the kingdom without becoming a person who bears to and proclaims it in his turn.214
The disciple takes one‘s mission from one‘s relationship to the Kingdom of God. Discipleship involves participation in the mission of Jesus in service to the Kingdom by
preaching, serving and witnessing to the Kingdom of God. Hence, mission done in light of the reign of God is always about transformation. According to Bevans and Schroeder a focus on the Kingdom of God involves efforts at transforming the world.
A commitment to action within it, in imitation of Jesus‘ own action of preaching about God‘s love and mercy, bringing comfort and healing to those who suffer, and witnessing to Gods inclusiveness by his association with those deemed unworthy of God's concern and compassion.215
The disciple‘s actions witness to a dynamic and evolving orientation toward the future. While Jesus proclaimed that the Kingdom of God is enacted through him and is
continued through Christian love for one another, He also attests that the fullness of the Kingdom is still in the undetermined future.216 Mission identity is present in the efforts of disciples servicing God‘s Kingdom on earth in preparation for a future when God‘s reign is fully realized.
Mission identity also prioritizes the disciple's witnessing to Christ as divine savior. The very mission of the church is born of faith in Jesus Christ217. Christ has come to proclaim the good news, offer salvation and attest to both through his preaching, dying and resurrection. His unique role in the mission of the Trinity was born out of the
Father‘s creation and continues through the work of the Spirit. It was, however, in and through Jesus' full participation in humanity that the Kingdom of God is made known. Christ serves as mediator between God and the rest of humanity.
Catholic tradition holds that no one can come to full communion with God except through Jesus Christ.218 It is this truth that justifies mission. If salvation is possible only through faith in Jesus Christ, then those who have such faith are responsible to introduce Jesus, His good news, and the news of His salvific acts to those who might know Jesus
disciples of Christ have an obligation to offer all humanity some awareness of the saving love of God.220
Catholic tradition above all respects the dignity of human persons made in the image of God. Hence, the gospel cannot be imposed on anyone, nor is it to be preached in ways that might be offensive to human dignity.221 While pluralism contradicts any
opportunity for full communion it is none-the-less to be respected as an expression of the cultures that spring forth from experiencing God‘s gifts. Yet, it is to the entire world that the message of Christ as universal savior is to continue to be preached and encountered in the acts of the disciples.
A final and possibly the most important precept in mission identity is
characterized as prophetic dialogue.222 Mission activity recognizes the love of God for all
creation. Hence, mission can only proceed in dialogue with the multitude of persons, cultures and traditions that co-exist in society along with Christianity.223
The dialogue that takes place involves a mutual exchange of fundamental teachings, beliefs and values from the various participants. However, the Catholic tradition emphasizes the need for the dialogue to be prophetic. Prophetic dialogue engages the poor in an effort to identify and then speak out against what keeps them poor.224 Prophetic dialogue needs to appreciate and critique human culture. Prophetic dialogue also ―…needs to engage the truths of other religions while maintaining the conviction that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life‖. 225
A process of prophetic dialogue allows the disciple to witness to the truths held within a Catholic perspective. Bevans and Shroeder identify Catholic truths to include the person and work of Jesus Christ, ecclesial existence in eschatological hope of salvation
that embraces the whole of humanity and of human culture as constants in an ever changing social reality.226 Mission identity is realized when the disciple is able to carry out the waltz of prophetic dialogue with open conviction and sensitive-courage.
The religious theme of mission identity deepens the meaning of the secular concept of fostering core values by highlighting religious values or precepts that enable one to connect belief in God with a call to service. Through one‘s being connected with God, being committed to God‘s Kingdom on earth, witnessing to Christ as divine savior, and engaging in prophetic dialogue, faith is developed and has the opportunity to be witnessed in action.