Tag: N.T. Wright

How do you approach people who do low profile work or ministry in your church? Do you assume their faithfulness? The children’s workers, the set up/tear down crew, custodians? Do you go out of your way to thank them? Do you see the light of Christ flowing out of them? N. T. Wright does:

I am delighted when I go to a church and see people doing mundane things with a sense of pride, because they’re doing them for the love of God and the body of Christ.  I love those people.  Nobody knows who they are; nobody knows their names.  As a bishop, I try to go around and thank them because I can see they’re doing a good job.  Of course, we’d all like to be the architect who builds the cathedral or the composer who writes the symphony or whatever. But most of the time, we do what needs to be done. Christ shines out of the way we work, not so much what we do, but how we do it.( read the rest here)

Wright brings us a lovely reminder of working unto the Lord and thanking all those who do it. However, I’m not sure I agree with the last half of the last sentence: “Christ shines out of the way we work, not so much what we do, but how we do it. I think what we do does matter to God, not just how we do it. If we consider the essence of our work, we can shine glorious light to God even more, as well as enjoy our work more.

The “essence of vocation” is shaped by its principal goal or discipline. For instance, the principal discipline of medical surgery is biology. In order to make the proper incisions, a surgeon must know where human organs are located and how circulatory systems function. After you have identified the principle goal or discipline of your vocation, try to connect that principal to the nature and character of God. For instance, medical surgery reflects God as an orderly, creative Designer and as a merciful Redeemer. (read more here)