Do You Need a “Special Call?”

Back in college, I was greatly moved by a small InterVarsity Press booklet titled “Called, But Not Going.”
It confronted the issue of Christians who sensed God calling them into missions or ministry, but then over the years, allowed “the cares of this world” to kill the call of God so that they never went. The booklet sought to turn them back to God’s call.

It was very compelling, but as I understood more of the Bible, I became troubled by one major implication of this booklet—that it only applied to a special group who had received a “special” call to “the ministry,” i.e., to full-time service. It did not apply to the vast majority of regular Christians who never received such a call. They were not called to the same level of commitment, godliness, and ministry. With no “special call,” everyday Christians are mostly off the hook for the Great Commission and relegated to a secondary role to pay, pray, and obey.

The result of this theology is a huge gap between clergy (those in full-time ministry) and lay people. I saw this gap profoundly illustrated when I helped our church host its annual regional pastor’s conference. I met some wonderful pastors. But their statements showed the size of the clergy/laity gap. Pastors spoke repeatedly about how “God called me into the ministry,” “before (and after) I was called into the ministry,” “those of us in the ministry,” etc. By implication, the rest of the church was not in the ministry.

While this was one of the strongest clergy/laity divisions I’ve witnessed, this thinking permeates the church. Lay Christians are considered a separate class from those in the ministry. Since they do not have the training, the time, or the special call, the church cannot expect that much from them. They are reduced to a secondary support role and largely relieved of the full calling of God in the New Testament.

The late Pete Hammond of Ministry in Daily Life (www.urbana.org/whole-life-stewardship) said, “We have established a two tier community of faith with the exaltation of pastors, missionaries and 'full-time workers' as the elite strike force of the kingdom. Everyone else is quietly, but terribly effectively relegated to a 'pray, pay and obey' passivity. Lord, forgive our blindness!"  (October 1998)

While the Bible tells how God called people to specific tasks, it says nothing of a special call which elevates some Christians to a special class with a higher calling and level of discipleship than other Christians who live at a lower level. This terrible theology has deeply harmed the church.

God's call is primarily to himself. This is the innate meaning of calling—that someone, in this case God, summons another person to himself. God calls all Christians to submit all of their lives to him as Lord. As Lord, he owns us, and in salvation, we return our lives to him and receive his incredible pardon for our rebellion. As Paul says, Christians are "called to belong to Jesus Christ" (Rm. 1:5-7)

And this means all their lives so that “whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Co 10:31) If Christians are called to honor God in such basic habits as eating and drinking, then they are certainly called to do so in all other parts of their lives. Depending on where God has placed them, God has a calling for Christians as workers, as bosses, as spouses, as children, as parents, as neighbors, as landlords, as citizens, and so forth.

In all these callings, Christians are to think, live and speak Christianly, demonstrating the divine difference the gospel makes in their lives. The implications of these callings are innumerable. Let me mention one important one. Christians are called to stand quietly, but firmly for what is good and right in the workplace, community, and nation, even in the face of social, political, and legal pressure.

Joined with God’s call to submit all of life to him is his call to bring others to him as Lord to receive his extravagant, undeserved pardon and love—in other words, to make disciples. Every Christian is called to seek for Jesus’ kingdom (his reign) to come, for his will to be done, and for every knee to bow to him. (Mt. 6:10; Php. 2:10; Rm. 14:11) One of the great insights of the Reformation was the rediscovery that all Christians are called to be priests who reconcile others to God. Sadly, this has yet to be fully implemented.

As Christians follow Christ, they internalize his heart and long to see people become disciples from every people and nation. (Mt. 28:19) They cannot be satisfied reaching only their own people. And Christians are called to do this primarily through living and speaking for God in all areas of their lives.

This is God’s call to all Christians. There is no lesser calling!

Biblically, this is why tentmakers and everyday disciples are so important. Full-time Christians cannot impact society alone. Only workplace Christians can demonstrate the gospel in all of life and make disciples in all sectors of society. And it is they who have regular contact with nonbelievers in all walks of life.

Many people see Christianity as irrelevant. The church is losing influence in society. Most people are Biblically illiterate. Despite mega-churches, the church is shrinking. It is rapidly losing young people—75% during college years.

This cannot be remedied by better worship services and programs. People need to see the power of the gospel in the nitty-gritty of life—that it works for everyday people under the demands, pressures, and joys of everyday life, not just for full-time workers who get paid to be spiritual and talk about God. They must see supernaturally transformed, ordinary Christians. Unless the church transforms people rather than programs, it will fade away, though it may look good for awhile longer. And we will continue to export the same weaknesses overseas through our missions work.

Only workplace Christians can live out the gospel under the demands of everyday life. Only they can steadily influence co-workers and neighbors through their godly example and moral insight. It was this diffusion of Christian thinking and morals which made America so successful. And only this can transform nations today. Everyday Christians fulfilling God’s calling are absolutely indispensable for God’s purposes.

Imagine the impact if everyday Christians recovered their high calling before the watching world. Imagine the reaction if all Christians showed up at work next Monday and served their boss as if they were serving the Lord himself (Eph 6:5-8, Col 3:22-23). And imagine this happening in all areas of Christians’ lives! It would astonish the world!

God has called us to such a high calling that we need no “special call.” We just need to grab hold of his calling with all our being, willing to go wherever he leads, whether to our local workplace or to another country. If we do this, Jesus will surely be with us, lead us and empower us “with all authority in heaven and on earth.” (Mt. 28:18-20) And he will make a difference through us. 

Ten Steps to Going as a Tentmaker

Don’t worry if you are not good in all these areas. No one is. These are key steps to preparing to be an effective tentmaker. Many can be pursued simultaneously. Some provide links to additional resources on GO’s website. For others, you can find resources under “Free Articles” and “Indepth SECTION” at www.globalopps.org.

1.    Build your relationship with God.  Everything flows from the strength of your relationship with God. How are you doing at being filled and renewed daily through time alone with God in devotional reading and in prayer? What else do you need to do? Develop your strength in spiritual warfare. Sin and temptation assault us through the evil world system and our own sinful vulnerability. Strengthen your ability to maintain spiritual vitality under pressure in an alien culture with minimal support.

2.    Build inductive Bible study skills & Biblical understanding. Aim to know that you are seeing what the original author was doing in a passage, not just what you’ve been told, or have always thought because of your background. Steadily study whole sections of Scripture, learning better how to observe what the passage really says, interpret what the writer meant, and apply it to your life today. Keep building your understanding of Biblical truth and principles to gain more and more of God’s mind about all areas of life. Memorize key passages for personal use, evangelism, and discipling.

3.    Cultivate healthy family relationships. You will face great stress in a new culture. Work proactively on your family life. Build family patterns of eating, talking, working, and having fun together. Read, attend seminars, and seek counsel from sharp, godly couples. How ready are you for the stress of cross-cultural work and witness? What else can you do to prepare?

4.    Develop workplace discipleship. Work is central to humans created in the image of God. God is the great worker and we were designed to be co-workers with him and rulers under him to manage and care for the world. Thus legitimate work is a sacred, God-honoring activity through which we “feel God’s pleasure.” We are called to servanthood toward bosses, customers, co-workers, and the larger community. Excellence, godly ethics, genuine caring, Kingdom values, and natural, meaningful witness should define us. We are also called to influence the thought world of our vocation. Where can you grow in these areas and what specific steps will you take?

5.    Learn to do workplace evangelism.  Tentmakers answer questions from seekers made hungry for God by observing them—their integrity, quality work, caring relationships and words about God. They integrate work and witness and share Christ naturally by fitting comments about God in normal conversation followed by thoughtful responses to co-workers’ questions. Deliberately work on developing workplace evangelism. For more, see Workplace Evangelism (condensed) or Workplace Evangelism (full)

6.    Learn to lead Bible study discussions, whether evangelistic or discipleship. Ask questions to lead participants to discover the truth in the text for themselves versus telling them what it says. Lead the group to respond to the truth of the passage. Find opportunities to lead or participate in seeker Bible studies. Learn how to make seekers really comfortable. See Investigative Bible Study Discussions.

7.    Help start a simple church. Self-reproducing, indigenous churches are the end goal in making disciples. Develop your understanding of what moves a discipleship group into becoming a simple house church—issues like baptism, communion, church leadership. Look for opportunity to be involved in starting or helping a simple house church. Ask God to give you opportunity to lead people to Christ, disciple them in a group, and coach them into becoming a church which is led by leaders from within the group.

8.    Get missions training, especially GO tentmaker training. Read and get training in the biblical basis of missions, history, geography, growth, trends, issues, strategies, cross-cultural living, workplace witness, discipling, church-planting, church multiplication, indigeneity/dependency, etc. Perspectives is the single, best course on missions and covers all these areas. This semester-long evening course is available in many locations around the US and Canada. Take it at the college level for greatest value. For training in tentmaking, attend GO Equipped! GO’s 4-day intensive course. This unique course is totally focused on the principles and skills you need to be effective overseas. Also, get involved cross-culturally with another ethnic group and church near you. Build friendships. Learn the culture. Share Christ. Even start learning the language.

9.    Research the global job market. Use the Internet to research jobs needed related to your profession, the credentials required, the companies and organizations involved, and how to customize your resume or CV to fit openings. This research can help you determine where you might need additional training and experience. When you are ready to look for a job, follow the suggestions in Today’s Global Job Market.

10. Get needed degrees & experience. Most positions require at least a bachelor’s degree. However, we’ve helped a number of tentmakers go without a college degree. Sometimes experience counts more than a degree. While there are entry-level jobs, you generally need two or more years’ experience. TEFL/ESL is an exception even to this. Schools often accept any native English speaker. Always remember that as Christians we want to serve people well and honor Christ. Successful cross-cultural experience enhances desirability to employers. To get such experience, consider work study programs, internships abroad, multinational organizations, Peace Corps, the Mennonite Central Committee, etc.

To read another article on this topic, go to “Steps to Going as a Tentmaker.”