Marketplace vs Ministry
I am trying to get my head around an idea ... and hoping that writing will help. Feel free to ignore this post... :-)
One of the missionaries on our team is interested in starting a small factory to make metal products and sell them in the marketplace. He is a bold evangelist, deeply & internally motivated to make a difference for the Kingdom ... and yet he wants to devote roughly half his "work week" to closing himself into a basement workshop and making inanimate widgets. (Bias noted -- that's why I'm writing the entry! If I didn't have the bias I would just go with it...)
So we've asked somebody from outside to come in, a business consultant. This guy has lots of experience and study and wisdom from using the marketplace to make a difference for the kingdom. He's telling me that there is great benefit to being involved in the marketplace, even when it's not needed from a political standpoint, because the depth of relationship that can be reached in the workplace is often greater than what can be seen in a coffeeplace or other casual-encounter locations.
An analogy that's been swimming around in my brain popped out when I was having breakfast with another friend on Saturday. It takes thousands of people to move a mountain with teaspoons -- just as it takes thousands of people to penetrate society at every level and bring the love of Christ in such a way that there is lasting change/transformation to an entire people/nation. (I have heard it argued that in Albania our problem has been that we, as full-time Christian workers, created some kind of artificial 1-day-a-week world for people's faith but somehow there has been little penetration to the other 6 days in the week...) So we've got this need for thousands of people to start teaspooning the mountain to get it moved. That represents the people in the marketplace. But should the missionaries coming in from the outside be working as teaspooners? Or should they be teaspoon salesmen?
When I pointed out to this business consultant that the hours each week spent in the basement workshop would be hours *not* spent in ministry ... his response was, "what ministry?" He wasn't implying that this missionary wasn't doing anything. He was questioning the validity of the model where Mr. Missionary goes into the coffee bar, sits down with someone, and from that relatively shallow foundation attempts to build a relationship through which he can share life-changing Truth. The thought is that by working alongside someone else, shoulder to shoulder, you are much more likely to build the type of trust needed to communicate Truth in a way that will bring lasting fruit. And even the "chance encounters" with sales contacts, suppliers, etc are on a much more natural footing.
Once again, my question is ... should I spend hours each week shoveling away with my teaspoon? Or should I be focused on mobilizing the workers coming from the harvest (ooh, that's mixing my metaphors!) and making sure they have good teaspoons and are using them effectively and purposefully on the mountain-moving task...?
Now I'm not trying to make a theological point at all here. I fully recognize that heart transformation is a work of the Holy Spirit. But God has given me 24 hours in a day, 7 days in a week, etc., and He wants me to do something in that time. And I believe He has called me to Albania to work among Albanians for the Kingdom. Does that mean working with the just-formed "Church Planting Network" here (more later) or does that mean going and applying for a job at my local ISP and using my computer skills to penetrate society that way?
To my mind the influence of a given teaspooner is quite limited. I just don't think the Sending World is going to be able to send enough teaspooners to reach the unreached. But if the Sendees are going as mobilizers, as coaches, as cheerleaders, as motivators, as trainers ... that makes sense to me.
But a lot of Really Smart Dudes (that are trying to live their lives in submission to and presumably listening to the One Who is REALLY SMART) seem to be lobbying for more marketplace involvement on the part of us sent ones. What am I missing?
There's also the additional factor that God has made us each different parts of the body. So maybe one person might be made to be the go-into-the-coffee-shop-and-make-a-relationship part of the body while another might be the get-into-the-marketplace-and-develop-relationships-with-Kingdom-goals part of the body. So it doesn't have to be an either/or. But, hello! Given the possibility of doing a job with known outcomes, etc., etc. as opposed to the totally unpredictable walk-into-the-coffeeshop-and-see-what-happens who is going to choose the latter?! Oh, wait. Does that say something about which part of the body I am? Maybe part of my struggles with evangelism have had to do with the 2nd-toe-me trying to be a kidney or something...
One of the missionaries on our team is interested in starting a small factory to make metal products and sell them in the marketplace. He is a bold evangelist, deeply & internally motivated to make a difference for the Kingdom ... and yet he wants to devote roughly half his "work week" to closing himself into a basement workshop and making inanimate widgets. (Bias noted -- that's why I'm writing the entry! If I didn't have the bias I would just go with it...)
So we've asked somebody from outside to come in, a business consultant. This guy has lots of experience and study and wisdom from using the marketplace to make a difference for the kingdom. He's telling me that there is great benefit to being involved in the marketplace, even when it's not needed from a political standpoint, because the depth of relationship that can be reached in the workplace is often greater than what can be seen in a coffeeplace or other casual-encounter locations.
An analogy that's been swimming around in my brain popped out when I was having breakfast with another friend on Saturday. It takes thousands of people to move a mountain with teaspoons -- just as it takes thousands of people to penetrate society at every level and bring the love of Christ in such a way that there is lasting change/transformation to an entire people/nation. (I have heard it argued that in Albania our problem has been that we, as full-time Christian workers, created some kind of artificial 1-day-a-week world for people's faith but somehow there has been little penetration to the other 6 days in the week...) So we've got this need for thousands of people to start teaspooning the mountain to get it moved. That represents the people in the marketplace. But should the missionaries coming in from the outside be working as teaspooners? Or should they be teaspoon salesmen?
When I pointed out to this business consultant that the hours each week spent in the basement workshop would be hours *not* spent in ministry ... his response was, "what ministry?" He wasn't implying that this missionary wasn't doing anything. He was questioning the validity of the model where Mr. Missionary goes into the coffee bar, sits down with someone, and from that relatively shallow foundation attempts to build a relationship through which he can share life-changing Truth. The thought is that by working alongside someone else, shoulder to shoulder, you are much more likely to build the type of trust needed to communicate Truth in a way that will bring lasting fruit. And even the "chance encounters" with sales contacts, suppliers, etc are on a much more natural footing.
Once again, my question is ... should I spend hours each week shoveling away with my teaspoon? Or should I be focused on mobilizing the workers coming from the harvest (ooh, that's mixing my metaphors!) and making sure they have good teaspoons and are using them effectively and purposefully on the mountain-moving task...?
Now I'm not trying to make a theological point at all here. I fully recognize that heart transformation is a work of the Holy Spirit. But God has given me 24 hours in a day, 7 days in a week, etc., and He wants me to do something in that time. And I believe He has called me to Albania to work among Albanians for the Kingdom. Does that mean working with the just-formed "Church Planting Network" here (more later) or does that mean going and applying for a job at my local ISP and using my computer skills to penetrate society that way?
To my mind the influence of a given teaspooner is quite limited. I just don't think the Sending World is going to be able to send enough teaspooners to reach the unreached. But if the Sendees are going as mobilizers, as coaches, as cheerleaders, as motivators, as trainers ... that makes sense to me.
But a lot of Really Smart Dudes (that are trying to live their lives in submission to and presumably listening to the One Who is REALLY SMART) seem to be lobbying for more marketplace involvement on the part of us sent ones. What am I missing?
There's also the additional factor that God has made us each different parts of the body. So maybe one person might be made to be the go-into-the-coffee-shop-and-make-a-relationship part of the body while another might be the get-into-the-marketplace-and-develop-relationships-with-Kingdom-goals part of the body. So it doesn't have to be an either/or. But, hello! Given the possibility of doing a job with known outcomes, etc., etc. as opposed to the totally unpredictable walk-into-the-coffeeshop-and-see-what-happens who is going to choose the latter?! Oh, wait. Does that say something about which part of the body I am? Maybe part of my struggles with evangelism have had to do with the 2nd-toe-me trying to be a kidney or something...
Thanks, Peter for the great insight! I am with you on most of your thoughts, but I would hate to think that a Michaelangelo would not feel free to be alone to express the gifts God gave to him for His glory.
ReplyDeletePeter, I was raised in a family where efficiency (and its corollary, productivity) was a high moral value. Though this view was purported to be drawn from Scripture, I think it had more grounding in American cultural values, which work better in industry and business than in personal relationships. No doubt in their proportion they can be useful, but they had too high a value in my decision-making. It is very hard to find a biblical basis for efficiency, but most of my life, to my loss and to the detriment of those around me, I usually ranked it above major biblical values like patience and kindness.
ReplyDeleteI'm not saying that I agree with the decision to make ball bearings, but that perhaps efficiency is not the key evaluative instrument. I wonder what it is that draws this individual into this new role. Is it a healthy motivation? Is he living truly out of who God has made him and into who God is shaping him? We seem to muddle through to the right place if we live towards God and others out of our genuine selves.
Peter, your teaspoon analogy seems to imply that ministry is about simply doing a task often enough to get results. If we "do" evangelism enough, then things will happen, or at least we will improve the odds that they will happen in the future. Incarnational ministry is about proximity. We, as Holy Spirit indwelt truth-bearers are effective when we spill over into others' lives. Talking is only a very small part of this. The message we share is only as powerful as the trust level between the parties involved in the conversation. I would argue that shared, real-world experiences and circumstances build trust and relational depth far more effectively than intentional, spiritually focused casual conversations. The fellow wanting to set up a business has the opportunity to experience this not only with employees, but also with their families, his neighbors, and the business community. The insight and the “feel” for the community that this opportunity offers cannot be learned academically or through objective observation. This is the value of the business approach. Granted, if the individual remains "holed-up" in a workshop and loses sight of his role as sent one, there is a danger of ineffectiveness. If however the business is pursued with great integrity it can open doors and serve as an example to many who do not have the luxury to be paid to talk. Think of it as role modeling for the six-day week teaspoon bearers.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Janathan. There is something about the one-on-one aspect of developing relationships in a safe environment such as a cafe that is more appealing and seemingly more productive. It would seem to me working in a factory or basement would be more distracting, not that it could work, but just more distracting. However, these things can certainly contribute towards a tangible way of showing the love of Christ. I personally tend to be more relational. I tried developing relationships in the workplace and introduce Christ to them, and always seemingly failed. Of course, this is America where many are apathetic towards issues relating to faith. Perhaps it's different in other countries. I can see the benefits of both, and I myself have a few ideas of tangible ways to show the love of Christ to those who we will be ministering to. But, like you said, ultimately it is the Holy Spirit that draws people to God, not us.
ReplyDelete