Tentmakers: Calling-Oriented vs. Career-Oriented Christians
Most evangelicals, and especially those in ministry, have heard the term tentmaking before. The term comes from Acts 18:1-3, where Luke describes for us how Paul used to make tents with Aquila and Priscilla during the week and preached in the synagogue on the Sabbath. Today, the term has come to mean being a bi-vocational minister, someone who has a side job to pay the bills while they do ministry in their "off" hours.
This popular conception of tentmaking has, unfortunately, been reserved for a very narrow demographic, namely, pastors and missionaries. Tentmaking is rarely, if ever, applied to regular Christians. But the question must be asked: is Paul's example of tentmaking meant only for vocational ministers, or is it meant for all Christians?
To answer this, it would be helpful to look at Paul's reasons for tentmaking. Why did Paul choose to make tents during the week and do ministry on the weekends? Why didn’t Paul just do ministry all the time, since he was an Apostle and that was his main calling? Thankfully, Paul explains his reasons in his letters.
Paul's Model for Tentmaking
In 2 Cor. 11:9, Paul writes, “And when I was with you and was in need, I did not burden anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied my need. So I refrained and will refrain from burdening you in any way.” And in 2 Thess. 3:7-9, he writes, “For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you. It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate.”
So the two reasons, according to Paul’s own words, for his deciding to make tents and support himself during the week was A) not to be a financial burden to the people he was ministering to, and B) to set an example for them of hard work and godly living. He didn’t want to appear to be lazy or to be too dependent on others. He wanted to work harder than everyone else so that he had credibility and people would listen to his message.
“In general, our careers are meant to be a means to an end, not an end unto themselves.”
From this, we can come to this conclusion: in general, our careers are meant to be a means to an end, not an end unto themselves. Paul saw tentmaking as a way to help him do ministry; tentmaking in itself was not his ministry. He knew he was called to be the Apostle to the Gentiles. Tentmaking was simply a tool to help him fulfill his calling.
There is much confusion among Christians today about calling. The most common mistake Christians make is to confuse career for calling. In most cases (there are exceptions), our jobs are not our calling. Our jobs are a tool, one way among many, to help us fulfill our calling. You may be a lawyer by trade, but your calling isn't to be a lawyer. It's to bring God's justice and righteousness into the world. Your career may be a physician, but that's not your calling. Your calling is to be a healer and to show the mercy of God to those who are in pain.
“Careers are people-centered. Calling is God-centered.”
One way to differentiate between career and calling is to evaluate who is at the center. Careers are people-centered. Calling is God-centered. The two can overlap, but it's important to distinguish them in our minds.
Career-oriented vs. Calling-oriented Christians
There is a world of difference between career-oriented and calling-oriented Christians. Sadly, most church-goers today are career-oriented, and don't know any better. Even though the Bible teaches us to be calling-oriented, kingdom-focused, and God-centered, our flesh and the views of this world constantly war against Scripture's teaching, and many are blinded. As a result, Christianity seems dull, boring, and burdensome to them.
One of the keys to living an abundant life is to be calling-oriented, as the Bible teaches us to be. Christianity is the most exciting faith when lived out correctly. Here is a quick summary of some of the differences between career-oriented and calling-oriented Christians.
Imagine what a loss it would have been if the Apostle Paul were career-oriented rather than calling-oriented. Imagine for a minute that, instead of being obsessed with the gospel, Paul was obsessed with tentmaking. Imagine that, instead of traveling on missions, Paul spent his time and money traveling to tentmaking conferences, where he learned about the latest tent making designs and techniques. What if Paul’s goal in life wasn’t to spread the gospel to every corner of the known world, but to be the best tentmaker in all of Palestine, and his dream was one day making a tent for Caesar himself? If he happened to have a chance to tell someone about Jesus along the way, well and good, but if not, oh well.At least he got to make good tents.
What if you met Paul and he was thinking like this? Wouldn’t you want to grab him by the shoulders and shake him and yell at him to wake up? Wouldn’t you want to say, “Paul, don’t you know who you are? Don’t you know what you’re called to do? You’re the one who’s supposed to be the Apostle to the Gentiles. You’re supposed to be the one to plant dozens of churches throughout the Roman Empire. You’re the one who’s supposed to write more than half the New Testament!” Wouldn’t you be so frustrated with him for having the wrong focus and for taking his eyes off the prize?
“We continue to live in our spiritual stupor, refusing to wake up, refusing to take our eyes off of ourselves and our careers.”
That’s how God feels about many of us. God wants to grab us by the shoulders and shake us and yell at us to wake up. He wants to say to us, “Don’t you know you’re supposed to be the one to reach that group of people? Don’t you know you’re the one who’s supposed to make an impact in that community, or to change that person’s life? You’re the one who’s supposed to raise over a hundred disciples in that city. You’re the one who’s supposed to bring healing and freedom and the truth of the gospel to these families.” And yet, we continue to live in our spiritual stupor, refusing to wake up, refusing to take our eyes off of ourselves and our careers. And it frustrates God.
Tentmaking is for All Christians
The proper understanding of Acts 18:1-3 is to see Paul's example of tentmaking as an example to all Christians, not only to pastors and missionaries. All Christians are to see themselves as ministers (1 Pet. 2:9), and therefore are to see their careers as tentmaking. There are exceptions; some people are called to minister to the people they do business with. But even then, the job is only a means to an end. Our true purpose is to glorify God and to build His kingdom (Matt. 28:19-20).
This is the key to living a fulfilled and blessed life. If we see that our lives are meant for a greater purpose, for something much bigger than ourselves, then even the mundane, day-to-day activities we do have much greater meaning. Our calling must always take priority over our careers. Careers may change from season to season. Most people switch careers several times over their lives. But calling rarely ever changes. So make your calling your main focus, and use your job as a way to support your calling and the kingdom work of the church.