calling

Serve God by doing what you like

/ Steinar Opheim

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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.

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)

30 people signed their own ”death sentence”

/ Steinar Opheim

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30 Nigerian Christians answered yes when they were asked to go as tentmakers into an area where their lives will be constantly at risk.

Nigeria Evangelical Mission Association (NEMA) aims to recruit, train and send out 15,000 tentmakers by 2020. Most of them will go to what can spiritually be regarded as the toughest places on the planet.

In August, tentmaking was the main subject when NEMA arranged its annual conference in Lagos. For everyone attending it became perfectly clear that many of the Nigerian Christians will hold nothing back as they live and work to expand God’s kingdom. One incident at the conference showed to the full extent the total commitment many of the believers have to Jesus.

Difficulties

It all started when one of the speakers invited people from the audience to join him in his work. He had come from a highly sensitive, far away nation and from the podium he shared openly about the suffering and persecution he and his co-workers were facing.

“Many people have died around me – expatriate workers as well as local believers. In many ways I feel like the last man standing,” he said. He shared that the kingdom results are scarce, but things are happening on a small scale. ”Even if this is a dangerous ministry, I believe that God may call one or two of you here today to come and join us. Are you willing to come?” the tentmaker asked.

When the person leading the meeting took over, he repeated the invitation. “Will those of you who feel that this can be a calling for you please come forward,” he said.

Death sentence

It was quiet for a little while. Then one person stood up and walked forward. Then another one. And another one. In the end, around thirty people were on the move towards the podium.

“I hope you are aware that you are in many ways signing your own death sentence by accepting this invitation. Are you really willing to do this?” the leader asked.

Some of the people in front of the podium were crying. Others were kneeling on the floor in praise and prayer.  After a while, they were all led to the side of the conference room where they received the first instructions for what was ahead of them.

“It is amazing to meet this kind of commitment for the Lord,” commented one Western leader who was present at the conference.

Several Nigerian mission leaders have said that they sense that Christians from their own nation have a special call to take the Gospel to the toughest places in the world. “We experience persecution here in our own nation. Through this, God has prepared us for the tough treatment and persecution we may meet elsewhere,” one of the leaders said.

God Wired You for the Way He Wants to Use You

/ Phill

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The phone rang in the Global Opportunities office. The call was from a successful banker in mid-career wondering what God was saying to him. He sensed God was calling him to get involved in overseas ministry and was seeking counsel. He was feeling frustrated and confused.

As we talked he explained he was selling the regional bank he founded and was in transition. Obviously, he was good at what he did, this was the second time he started with nothing and made it into a business others wanted to buy from him. He was “wired” to be a good banker. He enjoyed it and he was good at it.

He had sought counsel from his pastor and came away troubled. The pastor’s advice was to put his life on hold, go back to seminary, and then look for a mission agency who would accept him, then after raising support send him to one of their fields. But, what do I do about my family, and my mortgage and other financial commitments in the meantime he asked. He also wondered, “What if I am not cut out to be a seminary student. Will this all have been for naught? There were not a lot of good answers to his questions.

As we talked about how God had gifted him and that God could use those gifts and might not be asking him to “re-tool” and become something he was not made to be I could hear a change in his voice and a rush of relief. “So I am not crazy after all,” he said.

We continued exploring alternative paths to ministering with impact, overseas, taking advantage of the special skills, passions and gifting that God had placed in him. We talked about tentmaking and having a unique opportunity to go where traditional religious workers could not go.

How I wish now I had been able to point him to a meditation by Os Hillman I recently found. The reflection comes from Exodus 31: 1-5

Then the LORD said to Moses, “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts– to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of craftsmanship.

Hillman advises, “Friend, your interest in your vocation is not born of your own making. So many business people and even pastors have made the mistake of encouraging us who have a deep desire to walk with Christ in the work place to pursue vocational ministry. To remove us from the marketplace where the greatest harvest is yet to occur would be to remove us from where God called us.

“Do not take this bait. Serve the Lord in the marketplace where he has gifted you and called you.” 

You will find the entire meditation at Surf in the Spirit 
I encourage you to take a moment to jump over there and read the full text and reflect on it.

God’s Whole Life Policy

/ Phill

Phill Sandahl

What Is Secular Work?

In the previous article Chris worked in an everyday vocation not connected to the church. Often this is referred to in today’s parlance as a “secular” job because it was not connected to church and did not require any professional religious preparation or qualification.

In spite of that, Chris called the coffee shop where he worked his sacred place. 
How can that be?

Secular-Sacred Divide

In the West we have the practice of classifying all of our activities into two camps – the sacred and the secular. The sacred we reserve for things spiritual and religious, and the rest we relegate to secular or worldly. This false dualism leads to the erroneous idea that things that are “secular” are of little concern to God and of lesser importance. Christianity is narrowed down to a focus on personal salvation and little else.

The broader consequences of this are that the church is separated from its surrounding culture. Sunday worship services and participation in church program activities are elevated to a higher importance. Those who work in these activities are elevated as well in the mind of church-attendees. As a result, little effort is spent by the church teaching its members how to integrate their faith into the activities outside the church. Rather, the focus is on bringing people into the church to be saved. When the church limits her vision with this mindset, she becomes unable to impact the culture as God desires. Scott Allen succinctly argues this issue 
in Beyond the Sacred-Secular Divide.

God’s Calling

God has called his church to take the Kingdom of Heaven (and its values) to the entire culture, teaching them all he has commanded and making disciples. When the church has an undivided view of reality and realizes God’s intention to have Lordship over all of his creation, the physical as well as the spiritual realm, she is freed to complete his redemptive plan.

There are some who only see “secular” work as a means to an end. Either a necessary means to gather financial resources to carry out the work of the church, or for the more visionary, as a means to reach out and evangelize the lost. Both of these objectives are desirable, but fall short of God’s complete plan.

God wants to redeem all of creation. His church needs to engage the culture and restore the values that were lost in the fall. Most of this takes place in the workplace where the majority of the lost are, AND where most of the church people spend the greatest amount of their time as well.

Reflections on Whole Life Integration

Willy Kotiuga has posted a provocative draft “People At Work: Preparing To Be The Whole Church”to be presented at Lausanne 2010 in South Africa later this year. 

He draws on models of workers in the Bible to challenge the church to create a sacred work environment wherever God has placed them. Joseph worked every day in Egypt bringing his God-given values including accountability, responsibility, excellence, teamwork, risk-taking, forgiveness and support to the workplace. While these are desirable from a professional standpoint, they also demonstrate an application of the character of God and the qualities of 
a Kingdom worker. Each of these character qualities, among others, provide opportunities for discipling those in the marketplace in godly living, but also provide opportunities to lead them into a relationship with the Lord. Kotiuga concludes, “There is no sacred-secular divide in promoting these values.” When God’s children work “as unto the Lord” the workplace is sanctified.

Your Work Is Worship

When work is done from this perspective one realizes with Bradley Moore “Your Work Is Worship.” Quoting author and activist Dave Gibbons in the book Our Souls at Work

“The word glory conveys the idea of beauty. So as we do good work that reflects God’s character…we unleash his beauty. People see God. Our work is a way to worship God. It has intrinsic value and can demonstrate God’s character when we do good work. Faith and work are to be seamless. Work is an expression of our life in Christ. Separating the two is like separating “being” from “doing.”  How do you know who you are being without considering what you are doing?”

Responding to the Gibbons quote Bradley says,

“These few sentences sealed the deal for me as far as pulling together the oft-segregated work and spiritual realms into one happy path towards the Kingdom of God. We can not separate who we are from what we are doing. How could anyone lead a double-life like that?”

Conclusion

This article opened with a question, “Why did Chris call his work in the café sacred?” Those who live their whole life for the Lord do not have a secular-sacred divide and present their whole life as a “living sacrifice” to God. With God there are no compartments. God’s policy is 
to live your whole life for him, and all of life is equally important to him and is critical in his plan of redemption.