If you’re over 35 and have been around church a while, you've probably heard the term ‘tentmaking.’ If you’re younger than that, you may ask, “Does the world buy lots of tents?” (that’s literally been asked). The term comes from the Apostle Paul's work as a tentmaker (Acts 18:3), which he used to earn his living. However, the terms we use can influence our philosophy and approach to a topic, making it more challenging.
Some apply the term ‘tentmaking’ to a missionary who takes a job to gain access to people or a country not open to missionaries. Some apply it to a missionary taking a job to financially support themselves. So, which is it? Does it only refer to a missionary? And what is a missionary? Why don’t we call a bi-vocational pastor a tentmaker? Do we believe a missionary is a tentmaker only for strategic purposes? Why else would a missionary take a job or start a business, and what can every follower of Christ learn from it? In reverse, what can a missionary learn from every follower of Christ in the workplace or marketplace?
If you’ve come to this outside the church context, you might term it as “purpose-driven.” Everyone wants what they spend the majority of their time on each day and in life to matter—to make a difference—to be aligned with “what they were made for,” whether or not they believe in God. You’ll also hear similar words like “calling” and “gifts.”
If you’ve come to this inside the church context, you might term it as “faith-driven” or “redemptive,” and even more so from a missionary context, with terms like “business as mission,” “business for transformation,” or “missional entrepreneur.” Similar to “purpose-driven” work and business, we as followers of Christ see that our faith cannot be separated from who we are and thus what we do for work... or has it been?
Have you ever felt that only those in vocational ministry are “called”? Has that driven you to pray for a “calling” as though it’s a higher or more valuable type of work than the one you have? Have you ever felt left out or broken because you haven’t received this “calling”? Do you have a specific image that comes to mind when you hear the word “ministry” or picture the type of person who “does ministry”? If those are your questions, you are not alone—those are questions I’ve had and ones that many members of the church confess when they are asked and feel safe to answer.
I’m not here to discredit vocational ministry—such as the role of your pastor or a missionary. They are the ones who get the floor to speak into our lives each week, and unless they make an intentional effort to say otherwise, we as listeners can walk away only hearing or thinking wrongly about calling, ministry, and vocation. If probed, the intent and heart of the pastor is that every single person in their church would live like Christ in all situations of their lives, including work:
- What does the Kingdom of God look like in my current vocational situation?
- At the end of time, how do I answer that I fulfilled the Greatest Commandments (love the Lord our God with all my heart and love my neighbor as myself) and the Great Commission (make disciples in all nations, baptizing them and teaching all Jesus said)?
Those, my friends, are the real questions.
I work for a missionary organization and lived abroad as a missionary. I’ve had to wrestle with these questions, and our team tries to get other missionaries and leaders in our organization to wrestle with them as well. These are questions that weren’t really asked during much of my life. Why? Because they affected the foundation of what I had built my identity on.
What does the Bible say about work and business? How does God view work? Those answers must be our foundation.
There are a ton of resources on the topic, but here’s what our team has written:
We believe work holds an important place in God’s eternal plan. The biblical perspective on work covers all types of work—whether religious or secular, paid or unpaid, vocational or avocational, full-time or part-time. Because God works and we are made in God’s image, we also are made to work in both time and eternity. We do not lift one kind of work over another, nor make any recommendations about how work and ministry coexist or cooperate. We simply relate God’s principles for redeemed work.
1. Work is part of God’s eternal plan. It originated before the Fall and will continue into eternity.
Genesis 1:28; Revelation 22:3; John 5:17; Isaiah 65:21-23; Micah 4:3
Application: Work is good although made harder by The Fall. Nevertheless, God has called us to be His co-workers and has given us stewardship over His creation, which we should joyfully embrace.
2. All our work is ultimately FOR GOD.
Colossians 3:23-24; 1 Corinthians 10:31; 1 Corinthians 15:58; Ephesians 6:5-6; 1 Corinthians 4:2
Application: When we work as though our ultimate boss is God Himself, our work takes on greater significance and compels us to greater diligence and care. Envisioning God continuously observing our work should motivate us to greater productivity and excellence.
3. All our work should reflect the excellence of God.
1 Peter 2:12; Psalm 78:70-72; 1 Peter 2:9
Application: Here is a negative example: Proverbs 24:30-34
4. God has called all of us to work using our gifts.
Ephesians 2:10; Exodus 31:1-6; Luke 19:12-26; Romans 12:6
Application: As conscientious stewards of God’s gifts, we need to understand God’s calling on our lives so that we can use His gifts to their maximum advantage and serve Him in the best possible way. This means we must know ourselves well as we seek our vocation.
5. Our work is intended by God to bless and provide for others.
Acts 20:35; 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12; 2 Thessalonians 3:7-10; Psalm 104:14-15; 1 Timothy 5:8
Application: By consciously working as representatives of Christ to our co-workers, employers, customers or business partners, we have opportunities to bless them with both the results of our work and our Christlike conduct of business with them. We can also provide needed employment at a fair wage to bless their families.
6. Work is a valuable point of entry for the Gospel.
Proverbs 22:29; Colossians 4:5-6; 1 Thessalonians 2:9; 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12
Application: When we use our gifts to work with excellence and display the character of Christ at work, we will distinguish ourselves as attractively different. This should give us opportunities “to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15).
7. Overall Application: Biblical Character of the Worker
The overall application of these principles can be demonstrated by the character of a godly worker.
- Stewardship
Titus 1:7; Luke 12:42; 1 Peter 4:10
We see here that we believers have an obligation to use our gifts in our work to faithfully serve God in a manner that pleases and honors Him.
- Integrity (includes Honesty)
2 Corinthians 4:2; Isaiah 33:15–16
Joseph is a perfect example of integrity when he refuses the advances of Potiphar’s wife (Genesis 39:8-9).
- Humility and Service
Philippians 2:3-4; Galatians 5:13; 1 Peter 4:10
- Fruit of the Spirit
Galatians 5:22-23
The work of the Holy Spirit in our lives is evidence of our membership in the family of God and a reflection of the character God gives us.
Conclusion: Scripture shows clearly that part of being “fearfully and wonderfully made” involves the unique gifts God has given us, which He expects us to use in any and all work we do—for His glory. How we work must display God's character and His manner of work to the world around us because of Whom we work for. Our ability to reach people with the gospel of Christ becomes supercharged when the way we work alongside them becomes a true service of worship to Him.
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