I have begun blogging with a group of other guys over at this site, the post below is my latest post over there...
Amongst the group of guys who blog here, I think I may be the odd man out in the area of vocation. As far as I know I am the only one not making a living in the music industry, or at least not heavily involved in it in some way.
I know (thanks to Eric) that everything in that scene is not always as it appears. Both for the the better and for the worse.
But regardless of anyone's opinion, it would be a hard sale to say that being a Christian artist does not provide many opportunities for ministry, even for those who do not see it mainly as a ministry.
A few years ago I resigned as a part time youth pastor of 8 years. That was a season in my life when my vocation (at least my part time vocation) was an obvious ministry. So after resigning, I took a long look at my life to see if another form of "ministry job" was an option.
Then while reading
Gene Edward Veith's book "God at Work" my outlook for my everyday life as a plumber changed drastically.
To quote Veith...
"... vocation is played out not just in extraordinary acts - the great things we will do for the Lord, the great success we envision in our careers someday - but in the realm of the ordinary. Whatever we face in the often humdrum present - washing the dishes, buying groceries, going to work, driving the kids somewhere, hanging out with our friends - this is the realm into which we have been called and in which our faith bears fruit in love. We are to love our neighbors - that is, the people who are actually around us, as opposed to the abstract humanity of the theorists. These neighbors constitute the relationships that we are in right now, and our vocation is for God to serve them through us. The doctrine of vocation, though it has to do with human work, is essentially about Gods' work and how God works in and through our lives...
The doctrine of vocation helps Christians see the ordinary labors of life to be charged with meaning. It also helps put their work in perspective, seeing that their work is not saving them, but that they are resting in the grace of God, who in turn works through their labors to love and serve their neighbors."
Throughout Veith's book he reminds the reader that vocation is God working through everyday people to serve other people. We tend to think the ministry vocations are those like "pastors" or "Christian artists" or "___________(fill in the blank)". But not... plumbers. And even when there is a Christian plumber who wants his vocation to be a ministry, it usually entails putting a fish logo or a scripture verse on his van or business card (and I am not knocking those things, but rather saying I think there is more to it than that).
But after reading Veith's book, it was both encouraging and convicting. Encouraging to know that when I went to work each day in my Luigi outfit I was actually going to my ministry vocation. Convicting in the sense that I need to take my job seriously at all times and not just go to and fro just to bring home the bacon.
Some may still be wondering, in what way is plumbing (or farming, or being a bank teller, etc...) a ministry vocation?
I will use the idea that Martin Luther had (and many of the Reformers had of vocation) that Veith expounded throughout his book.
When you sit down at your dinner table at night and thank God for providing the meal you are about to woof down, you no doubt believe that God truly did provide that meal. But think about this for a minute. There was a man selling seed, then a farmer who purchased the seed, then planted the seed and harvested the crop, then there were many people who were employed to get the harvested crop to a distribution center, then people who trucked the crop from the distribution center to the shelves of your local super market, then people there who are employed to take care of getting it out for you to buy, with the check card (that someone employed by someone else designed with your bank logo on it), that someone will process in order for the funds that you put in the bank (with the help of a bank teller) into your account... do you see where I am going with this. Yes, God put that food on your table... but He used many, yes many, people to make a way for the food to get to your table (which by the way some carpenter built, this could go on and on).
So, although I am not digging wells in Africa (and oh how that is needed), I am working on a daily basis to make sure people have sanitary water coming into their houses and businesses as well as making sure that is leaves in a sanitary manner as well. Even people in America need clean water. God is providing people with clean water here in North Carolina and I am glad He is using me to serve my neighbors in this way.
