Work AND Minister

This morning I read through both of Paul's letters to the Thessalonians. I don't think I have ever read through both of them at the same time. I thought it would be interesting to see what his follow-up letter was like, and whether he addressed similar issues, acknowledged growth, etc. The one message that was clear in both was Paul's encouragement to the people to follow his model of working hard to provide for himself and his companions. He brings this up early in the first letter with this and ends the second with the same admonition. Here are the two sections:

1 Thessalonians 2:6-12 NIV
We were not looking for praise from people, not from you or anyone else, even though as apostles of Christ we could have asserted our authority. [7] Instead, we were like young children among you.
Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, [8] so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well. [9] Surely you remember, brothers and sisters, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you. [10] You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. [11] For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, [12] encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.

2 Thessalonians 3:6-10 NIV
In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers and sisters, to keep away from every believer who is idle and disruptive and does not live according to the teaching you received from us. [7] For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, [8] nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. [9] We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you to imitate. [10] For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.”

The second letter is clearly a follow up to the first in this regard, as Paul makes sure to point out that his lifestyle was meant as an example, one they could imitate. I don't know anything about Thessoloniaka at that time, but Paul is definitely calling them to a similar model of working while sharing the Gospel. I think of the modern day ministries that focus in marketplace ministry and see here a similar model, one that is very effective and easy to replicate.

The interesting thing is that in so many of our minds the call to ministry would require us leaving the marketplace, or our jobs, to focus solely on ministry, yet Paul, arguably the most effective evangelist and apostle, called people to a model of ministry and proclamation of the gospel woven into a life in the marketplace. I think of all such people who feel in some was that their call to ministry is in some way inferior, and I would point them to Paul.

It is funny because even in Paul's time, he had to defend his ministry and its effectiveness because he did not require the churches to support him. In both his second letter to the Corinthians and his letter to the Galatians, he was defending his calling, partly due to the fact that he ministered to the gentiles and worked while doing so. Granted the Jewish faith had full-time priests, and the worship in the temple was setup with rules to provide for the Levites, and others who ministered there, but Paul was working with the gentiles. He was having to defend his ministry, as many thought because he worked to support himself, he was in some way inferior to the other apostles. How mistaken they were, and history certainly proves Paul's case.

His model of ministry was easy to copy and at the end of the day one that provided for a growing church that could support itself. One of the little know issues of the church in Jerusalem is that part of the reason it did not survive was that it could not support itself, and we see plenty of scriptures where Paul and others are raising support for that church, and bringing back the offerings.

So my encouragement today is to view my call to ministry, as is true for the vast majority of us all, to minister in the place of our employment, as every bit equal to the call of any minister who is working in full-time ministry. We ARE the church, and we share responsibility for ministry in our sphere of influence, those we work with, interact with, and see daily. We are called to live lives that are examples that can be imitated, as people find the Lord, and step into a life of following Him. They must understand they are capable of following after the Lord and making a significant difference in the lives of those around them, and they need real world examples of others whom are following Christ, and breathing life to those around them.