Whole Life Stewardship

The marketplace-faith movement offers a challenge to Christians in many cultures where:

• Calling or vocation is the privilege of only a few super-saints among us who are employed by religious institutions;
• Church is an institution that they attend; Father, Son & Holy Spirit are reduced to occasional companions for religious times and activities;
• Ministry is a job for a few select church professionals;
• Witness is a frightening activity, or only accomplished by professional evangelists and a few type A personalities;
• Work is seen as unspiritual, temporal, and a nasty necessity.

All of these deep-seated perspectives are being questioned — and even opposed — as unbiblical by the emerging “marketplace movement.” But that process of review and change can be hard to grasp for veteran believers and their leaders. The following questions are designed to disturb the status quo, uncover some neglected biblical perspectives, and open new paths of thinking, believing and practicing our Christian faith every day, in every place.

Calling: (Occurs 861 times in the Bible)

• 1. Why do most Christians assume they are not “called” by God? (1 Peter 2:21, Jude 1-2)
• 2. Is it true that few are called?
• 3. If only a few are “called into ministry,” is God an elitist?
• 4. What is it like to “feel called?” How should it be confirmed? Does that feeling match with the biblical use of call, or is this a modern human construct?
• 5. Does calling have anything to do with institutional ordination?
• 6. Is modern ordination a fabricated concept, or does it have validation in the Bible? (occurs only 32 times in the Bible and only four of these are in the New Testament)
• 7. Why is the New Testament word kleros now used for a few professionals called “clergy” when it originally mean call?

Church: (Only used 119 times in the NRSV New Testament, and never for a building)

• 1. Where is the church on Tuesday morning? What is it doing then? (Acts 9:31)
• 2. How can believers in hostile cultures “do church” with no buildings, paid staff, tax deductible money or budgets?
• 3. Is church anything more than a building, worship services and/or volunteering for religious activity?
• 4. Did the church exist before Emperor Constantine established the Roman church for its citizens after his conversion? (2 Corinthians 1:1; Galatians 1:13)
• 5. What happens when a church has an “empty pulpit” or is without a certified denominational pastor or priest? Is the congregation a legitimate church during this hiatus?
• 6. How can you “go to church” if the New Testament defines The Church as “Christ’s body?” (Acts 14:27; 11:18)
• 7. What has changed from Jesus saying “Go into all the world…” and now 300,000 American pastors plead four us to “Come into the church and serve God”?

Ministry: (Only used 35 times in the New Testament as a proper noun or title in the NRSV)

• 1. Was Jesus only “in ministry” his last three years on earth?
• 2. Is every church member in “full-time ministry?” If not, does that mean they are a part-time Christian? (Colossians 3:1-19; 2 Corinthians 5:18)
• 3. If we are named “Priests” by God, what responsibilities do we have? Where are we to practice them? (1 Peter 2:9-11)
• 4. Who functions as a “minister” in the persecuted church around the world where there are no religious institutions or jobs? (Acts 1:15-17;
  Genesis 1
• 3. Is work a result of sin? If so, what were Adam & Eve doing in Genesis 2 before their fall?
• 4. If work equals a job or employment, what was it before money and for-profit companies existed?
• 5. What does success look like in The Kingdom of God?
• 6. Will we work in heaven? If not, what do you think we will do? (Isaiah 65:17-25)
• 7. Is work a calling, a curse, or an addiction?
• 8. What does the Holy Spirit have to do with work or jobs? (Exodus 31:1-11; 35:30-35)
• 9. Do the poor deserve their plight?
• 10. Do you believe the popular American view of “Thank God, it’s Friday?”
• 11. Is anything in God’s creation really secular?
• 12. Is retirement an option in our vocation of faith?

How do we recover the biblical meaning and practice of the core elements of faith in the world? Why have we lost so much of the original meanings? Can this process of review and renewal be a part of the people of God=’ current exploration of what the church of Christ will become in its new era of service, witness and righteous living, every day, in every context?

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Pete Hammond is vice president at large for InterVarsity. He is also the founder and director of InterVarsity’s Ministry in Daily Life.