If you have a child in a Christian college or even a teen, you may have heard him/her mention the concept of vocational ministry. In short, vocational ministry is what was practiced by the Apostle Paul and Priscilla and Aquila. They were tent makers and continued to practice their trade as they were also teaching others about God.
The Bible doesn’t give us a lot of details, but one would imagine they met people through their trade. Those relationships gave them opportunities to demonstrate and share their faith as they worked, as well as teaching in their time outside of the “office”.
I love the concept and think it’s great to teach our kids how they can serve others and share their faith through almost any job (assuming the job doesn’t violate any of God’s commands!) they may have now or in the future. So, I was excited when offered the chance to review the book Every Job a Parable by John Van Sloten.
“Just because you are right, does not mean I am wrong. You just haven’t seen life from my side.” Anon. “Always go with your passions. Never ask yourself if it’s realistic or not.” Deepak Chopra. That’s just a tiny sample of the “wisdom” I found on my social media today.
Ever asked your child why, he punched his sister or didn’t clean up his toys as asked? What often follows is a litany of sentences along the lines of “It was her fault.”, “He made me do it”, “She hit me first.”, “I didn’t know you meant those toys.” Some are silly, some are frustrating, but often they all have something in common.
Every summer, the lemonade stands start popping up in our neighborhood. Youngsters set up their wares on the side of our streets. They enthusiastically wave to cars passing by and talk with those out for walks and runs. Most of them usually hang in there for a couple of hours before something else seems more fun.
Growing up in Virginia, I had friends whose parents were in a branch of the military, FBI, CIA or a host of other jobs requiring their families to move frequently. I was always amazed at how quickly and often skillfully, they were able to dive into a new environment at school or church.