Author: Steinar Opheim

Serve God by doing what you like

/ Steinar Opheim

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Steinar Opheim

What does a little boy bringing food to Jesus and a European comedy show have to do with tentmaking?

The boy who came with bread and fish to Jesus was too small to be a professional himself. Probably he had not even prepared the food he is bringing in front of Jesus. Still a drawing of this little, faithful young man has become an illustration for the GO Equipped TENTmaking courses that are run several places in the world. The main reason for this is that the boy is making what he has available for Jesus in order for the Lord to use it. And because he has this attitude, he and the others present become witnesses of one of the greatest miracles the world has ever seen.

God´s calling to all of us is to bring what we have in front of him so that it can be of use to him. That also includes our professions.

God and desires

It is probably not by chance that you chose the profession you did. God has designed us in different ways. His design also defines what we are interested in. And our interests will again direct us when it comes to choice of profession.

Many people are concerned about what God´s will for their life is. A good way of finding the answer is to ask what interests the Lord has given to you and what you would like to work with. God is not a father that gives us desires and interests in order to test if we are willing to sacrifice everything to follow him. He usually wants us to use his gifts to glorify him.

A Bible school teacher working for a conservative, Lutheran school in Europe once said that his standard reply to young students seeking the Lord´s will for their lives was as follows: “Until God shows you something else, you should think that he wants you to do and work with whatever you like the most.”

This may of course sound like self-fulfillment, but it isn´t.  As believers we have a calling to develop our God given gifts in order to glorify him. If our aim becomes to glorify ourselves, we have missed the point.

Move your skills

When it comes to tentmaking and Business as Mission, you are not asked to leave your profession to serve God. The question is whether you are willing to bring your skills and God given gifts with you to another culture in order to be God´s ambassador there? If your answer is yes or maybe, you should consider attending one of the upcoming GO Equipped TENTmaking courses. The next one is in Florida March 2-6. You can find information on this one and on all the other courses and seminars on www.globalopps.org.

Let us go back to the little boy bringing food to Jesus. A few years ago some European comedians made a TV-show where they pretended that they were teaching people to prepare food. They had bought five loaves of bread and two fishes. Then they held a Bible in front of the camera saying: “According to this book this will be enough food for 5000 people.” Everyone laughed, but of course the recipe was not right. They had forgotten the most important ingredient: God´s blessing.

When we bring our professions and what else we have in front of God, he can use it for his purpose, and he can make us a blessing to many nations. (Gen 12)

“Huge increase in American tentmakers”

/ Steinar Opheim

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Steinar Opheim

The US is sending out more tentmakers today than ever before according to statistics from US mission agencies.

From 2005 to 2008 the number of tentmakers deployed by US agencies grew a dramatic 73.4 percent, an annual growth of 20.1 percent, writes professor A. Scott Moreau in the latest issue of International Bulletin of Missionary Research (IBMR).

Figures in the bulletin show that 3,354 US citizens were serving overseas as tentmakers in 2008. Ten years earlier the number of tentmakers was 1,853.

Overall fifty-nine agencies reported more tentmakers than in 2005, while sixty-two agencies reported fewer, writes Moreau.

Unclear definitions

This is great news and it is wonderful to see that so many agencies make more use of tentmakers in their work. At the same time the IBMR-article raises some crucial questions regarding the nature of the tentmakers reported.

Certainly one advantage to agencies in a tighter economy is that tentmakers can earn at least a part of their salary through their employment or business ventures, states Moreau. This indicates that many of the tentmakers in the statistic cannot live by the money they make and are therefore partly supported by their sending agencies.

The title “tentmaker” is not protected in any way, and anyone who wants to may call themselves tentmakers. Often we hear people describing themselves as tentmakers even when they work and live in their own culture. As long as this label is helping people to gain an identity of being God´s ambassadors where they are this is very well. Then God´s kingdom is made known in new circles and more people are led to Christ. 

Great advantages

In the GO-Tent alliance however we promote tentmakers as people crossing cultural borders in order to bring the gospel onwards through their professional work. Most of the people we work with are fully supported through their jobs or through the businesses they have created. There are several advantages to this way of doing tentmaking. Here are some of them:

– When you get your full salary from your job you live under the same conditions as the people around you. Thus you can model what it means to follow Jesus Christ in a common, everyday life.

– Through your work you´ll get in touch with a lot of people in a natural way.

– No one needs to ask you where you are getting money from since you have your full salary from your work.

– All nations are open to Christian professionals. Even countries that are closed to missions have a desire to recruit skilled, Christian workers.

The most sad part of GO´s and Tents jobs as tentmaking mobilizers is to face the fact that we are unable to find workers for so many of the wonderful job openings we get information about in places where Christ´s love is not known. Maybe it is time for you to sign up? 

FIFA World Cup and the global job market

/ Steinar Opheim

Steinar Opheim

Regardless of who the winner will be, the FIFA World Cup taking place in South Africa is giving us valuable insights into the global job market. 

12 (37.5%) of the 32 teams  playing in South Africa have non-native coaches. Coaches from Argentina are heading three teams. The number of German coaches is also three. Other nations who have for-hire coaches in the World Cup are Brazil, France, Italy, Netherlands, Serbia and Sweden.

There are many things we can learn from this list regarding the global job market. Here are some points:

1. Sports is a growing sector in the international job market

For most nations it is important to perform well at the big sports events. In order to achieve this, the national teams look for the best coaches available. Many nations have realized that they need to start growing their athletes early if they want to succeed. So there is a desire to hire good, foreign coaches also further down in the sports hierarchy in each nation. Other growing sports sectors are the fitness clubs and personal coaching for anyone who would like to get in better shape.

2. Foreign employers look for experts

Except for Serbia and Sweden all the nations listed above are famous for their good soccer teams. Employers hiring people from the global job market are looking for experts. The better you are in your profession, the easier it is to get a job. Since it is usually expensive to hire foreign experts, the employers would like you to pass on your knowledge to the local staff. 
As soon as possible they will try to manage without your expertise. 

3. If you do not produce the desired results, your contract will end

The non-successful soccer trainers will not have their contracts renewed. The same applies to experts in other professions who do not produce the desired results. If you want to stay long term in another country you´ll have to work hard and you need to make sure that you stay on top of your profession.

The list of World Cup coaches also gives us some other interesting facts. Seven of them are in their forties, 14 are in their fifties, 10 are in their sixties and one is more than 70 years old. Notice that none are in their twenties or thirties. The Western job market often fails to value gray hair and experience. Many non-western job markets do. 

Conclusions

1. There is a constant demand for experts in the global job market. We should all aim at being as good as possible in our professions. This is makes us more attractive in the marketplace.
It is also a Biblical principle to make good use of the talents God has given us.

2. We should always try to give our employer the maximum return for the investment he has made by employing us. Equally those registering and starting businesses in other countries should do their best to make their businesses a blessing to the nation they are living in.

3. There is a great need for more gray-haired Christian professionals who are willing to bring their professions and experience with them to other countries.

Tentmaking and national laws

/ Steinar Opheim

“Should Christians Convert Muslims?” was the headline of a Time Magazine cover story a few years ago. In some sense the article implied that Christians going to Muslim countries are doing something wrong because their activities are causing tensions. But is that true?

Among the politically correct only the religion of tolerance is accepted. Christians settling in other countries in order to lead people to Jesus are under attack. Even among Christians, tentmakers working in sensitive areas may be met with criticism. The conception is that a tentmaker often comes with a hidden agenda and that he 
or she are entering the nations through the backdoor. 

In this picture it is important to sort out what is right and what is wrong. First of all we should underline that Global Opportunities and Tent are training people to respect the laws of the countries they are going to. When it comes to sharing faith, the laws in most nations are not causing too much trouble. With maybe one or two exceptions, no countries in the world have laws against people talking about their faith in a private setting. In most non-Western cultures religion is an integral part of daily life. So it is common to talk about faith and share thoughts about the big questions of life in day-to day talks. In fact, it is socially expected to talk about your faith when asked. It is inappropriate not to. Getting people to ask questions is key to sharing Christ. This creates many opportunities for sharing about Jesus also in nations that 
are regarded as “closed” for the Gospel. 

A Christian who had lived in Pakistan for several years, testified that he did not have the gift of evangelism. “But in Pakistan I didn’t need that gift. There people talk about faith all the time,” he concluded.

Many nations have laws that makes it illegal for the citizens to change their religion. So the people the tentmakers are living among, break the law if they accept Jesus as their saviour. Many of those who receive the gift of salvation and eternal life through Jesus, realize that 
the suffering they may have to face here on earth is nothing compared to the glory they will receive (Rom 8:18). The tentmaker may of course be considered as a partner in crime to those who break the law by changing their faith. But in this case the authorities who prohibit their citizens from having the freedom of belief are the ones to blame. It should also be mentioned that many of the countries prohibiting religious conversions have signed the declaration on human rights giving everyone the right to “change his religion or belief.” 
(UN Declaration on Human Rights, Article 18).

No missionary, nor any tentmaker, will force anyone to follow their faith. What these ambassadors of God’s kingdom are doing, is to point towards a man who said he had come to restore our relationship with God. In nations where exchange of ideas and beliefs is prohibited, even the politically correct should aim their criticism at the authorities who are denying their people basic human rights. Those who share their faith with others should not be the target. 

Note: Dave English, Executive Director of Global Opportunities was interviewed for the 
above mentioned TIME article.