The Movement

From the archives – This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

We truly are referring to a movement. All round the world today, men and women are moving cross-culturally to use their professions and trades in the cause of world mission. There are several ways of looking at this movement. Each of these may have some truth in it, but if taken alone can be misleading or even damaging because they are only partial. For example:

• Tentmaking is a substitute for explicit missionary work, necessary because of reduced freedom to enter countries as “missionaries“.
• Tentmakers are just Christians who are simply part of the worldwide movement of people in trade, service industries etc.
• Tentmaking is a cheaper means of world evangelism, because self-supporting.

Each of the above distorts the true picture of what tentmaking is.

The Work

We go further, to say that it is inadequate to view tentmaking as simply a new response to the Great Commission of Matthew 28. It is something more. Tentmaking is one facet of renewal in the church worldwide, essentially a renewed understanding of the priesthood of all believers.

Whereas in the Reformation this doctrine was perhaps emphasized as an antidote to sacerdotalism and the dominance of the clergy, now it is being expressed more as a statement ‘of the responsibility of every believer to be active in bringing God’s grace to men and women everywhere. This ministry is not for “specialists”, but for every Christian. This applies at home and abroad. Enter the tentmaker!

Further, there is no false distinction between the sacred and the secular. Work (“secular” work) is ministry. The “full time Christian worker” is not spiritually superior to the lay Christian. All Christians are called to plan their lives in fulfillment of God’s purposes. That includes decisions about the where and how of work, For some, it means leaving home and going abroad. Some of the latter equip themselves with training (language, theological etc.) for effectiveness in cross-cultural witnessing. Enter the tentmaker!

There is also no false distinction between work and word. Neither is superior as a means of witness: rather, they are different aspects of it. The work expresses and agrees with the word of testimony; the word explains the witness of the work.

Tentmakers Go as an Extension of the Church

Work is not just a means to an end, a necessary activity so that one can live ·and witness. Work is part of witness. Tentmaking is a movement of worker-witnesses. As the church awakens to the responsibility that all Christians are to be meaningfully involved in witness through life, work and word, for some this involvement means crossing into other cultural groups to make Christ known among them. They do not leave their church, but go out as an extension of it. This is the tentmaking movement.

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This is an excerpt from a longer article – “A Call For Integrity:  Reflections on the tentmaker and tentmaking movement.” The article was penned many years ago, but the thoughts are still relevant today. (editor’s comment)

Michael Roemmele, formerly International Executive Director of Interserve, and later was on the staff of Interdev with responsibility for Partnerships in the Middle East. Published in Evangelical Missions Quarterly, Vol.29, No.2, April 1993. Used by permission. The article is based on a paper that was the outcome of the Mini-Consultation on Tentmaking in North Africa and the Middle East, 1988, sponsored by the (LCOWE).

The complete article can be found at http://Intent.org/integrity.