Pastors do a great deal of teaching every year. Every seven days a new message is expected – on a new topic, with new content, with fresh, new perspective. We cover a bunch of topics and Scriptures to meet the need. During the course of a year, pastors teach on everything from spiritual formation to marriage and family. We cover topics like prayer, stewardship, purpose, and serving. We teach through books of the Bible and explore the characters that fill its pages. But there’s one topic that I’ve noticed is conspicuously absent from our teaching: work.
I find this somewhat odd. We talk about all of the areas of life that require a few hours, sometimes only a few minutes, per day. But we avoid the topic that consumes on average, according to Gallup’s Work and Education Survey, 47 hours per week. That’s a travesty. Why would we avoid something that requires so much time from our congregations? And 47 hours is the average…18% of workers are clocking 60+ hours per week.
Work is at the top of the mind of most of the people in (and outside of) churches. It consumes most of our energy, produces many of our concerns, provides a great deal of fulfillment, and an even greater measures of frustration. But work, for the most part, is misunderstood. Most people in our churches do not understand the sacredness of work. It’s simply a job. A paycheck. We’ve lost the value of work as a calling. And we’ve failed to teach our people that calling isn’t just for pastors.
Unfortunately the church has elevated “vocational ministry” as the highest way to serve God. It is not. That view is nothing more than an old Greek philosophy that separates the world into “sacred” and “secular.” It is void of any biblical foundation. It is our job as pastors to elevate all of the other callings: business, education, arts, media, science, government, retail, construction, home…the list is endless. All work matters to God.
Our Shortsighted View of Work
Some pastors would argue that they do teach on work by sprinkling it through many of their messages. I get it. And that’s good. And I would encourage you to continue doing so. But for something that requires so much time, I would suggest it deserves more than an occasional mention. I would also suggest that our teaching on work is often very shortsighted and incomplete. Much of the teaching on work that we hear in our churches focuses on three things:
- Integrity – Do your job honestly and with integrity.
- Witnessing – Share Jesus with your fellow co-workers.
- Money – Work so that you can give generously to the church.
Are any of these wrong? No! Are they incomplete? Yes! Work – and the theology of work – goes far beyond these neatly packaged suggestions. Without clearly understanding God’s view of work, his intention in our work, and the extraordinary meaning and purpose we can find and contribute through our work, we may live with disdain of this 47 hour window.
Three Suggestions for Pastors
As pastors, let me make three suggestions to you to help you navigate this essential area with the people God has called you to lead. These suggestions are simply a starting place. They by no means encompass the full range of possibility by which the church can encourage, shape, and influence the value of work. Each of these ideas is simple, yet will have a profound impact on your ability to relate with and encourage people.
1. Validate Work Outside of the Church – Your congregation needs to hear you validate their work outside of the church. So many people have come to view their work as meaningless, unimportant, or insignificant to God. The “sacred/secular” dichotomy of work has done immense harm to the view we take toward work in our culture. Publicly and privately begin raising the value of all forms of work.
2. Do a Message or Series on the Topic of Work – I would challenge you to schedule a message (or preferably a series) on the subject of work in the next six months. Take time to study the topic, understand it from a biblical context, and challenge your congregation.
Several years ago I taught a message titled, “Made for Monday Mornings.” In the months that followed, I had a consultant with a major reputable U.S. based company pull me aside and explain to me the difference that message made in his view and attitude toward work. Suddenly he felt validated, encouraged, and hopeful. His work found new meaning. To this day he tells me what a difference that teaching made in his life. Your congregation wants to hear teaching on this subject. They also need it.
3. Develop a Healthy Theology of Work – As pastors we need to invest considerable time reading and learning about work from a biblical context. Spend time dissecting the first few chapters of Genesis. Explore the forms of work held by so many “heroes” of Scripture. Understand the value work brings to creating and cultivating society.
I would also encourage you to read as much as you can on this subject. There are a number of books and resources available today that are shaping our view of work in a positive direction. I would recommend the following:
- Every Good Endeavor: Connecting Your Work to God’s Work by Tim Keller
- God at Work: Your Christian Vocation in All of Life by Gene Edward Veith, Jr.
- Loving Mondays: Succeeding in Business Without Selling Your Soul by John D. Beckett
- Work Matters: Connecting Sunday Worship to Monday Work by Tom Nelson
- Life@Work: Marketplace Success for People of Faith by John Maxwell, Stephen Graves, and Thomas Addington
- Work As Worship Network
- Center for Faith and Work
Last year we did a four-week series at 7 City Church called “Monday Morning Snooze: How to Awaken Meaning in Your Work.” Again, this series reshaped people’s thinking about work, helping them gain biblical perspective, and offered practical next steps to lead people to a fully engaged life at work.
Question: What tools have you found helpful in developing a biblical framework for work?
