Change the Way You Think
I really can't deny it. I spent 20 years thinking, “I want to quit my job and go into full-time ministry.” I knew I had a calling on my life. My wife Martha had a calling on her life too. As 13-year-olds, we had both committed our lives to full-time ministry. We thought that meant we would work in a church or be foreign missionaries. It was so frustrating because that door just seemed to keep slamming shut in our faces.
But we knew we had a calling on our lives that was entrepreneurial. We both loved business. I had natural sales abilities. Martha had natural organizational and accounting capabilities. We felt so much confusion. So much frustration. So much wasted energy and guilt. Never on a Sunday did we hear a sermon that helped reconcile the conflict that battled within.
We had tried twice to enter seminary—slammed door each time. We had applied for jobs within a church twice—slammed door. By the time we got to age 40, we had given up. We had resolved that our work was our work, and our significance was derived when we volunteered at church. This is a theological nightmare! Nothing in Scripture supported the frustration we were experiencing, and nothing at church on Sunday resolved the turmoil we were dealing with.
Praise God for my friend Bob. In 2006 he shared a resource with me written by Os Hillman. It was a series of devotionals, and in that series, I learned for the very first time that my work mattered to God, that my workplace was my place of ministry, and that my workplace was a mission field. I was naturally gifted to be in sales and administration, and God wanted to use those things for His glory and His honor in my workplace mission field. You cannot imagine my relief when I realized my journey toward full-time ministry was complete. My mind started to shift into living in a new paradigm. A paradigm where my work mattered to God, no matter what my job was. Romans 12:2 says, “Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.” This was the beginning of the journey to change the way I thought about full-time ministry.
About seven years later, God launched the ministry of iWork4Him so that millions of believers could come to the same understanding that I had come to. Our mission as an organization is to purposefully equip Christ followers to live out their faith vibrantly at work. Why? Because the job that you hold, the work that you do, the people that you work with – none of that is by chance. The people you work with need to meet Jesus, and you may be their only chance.
You are a missionary in full-time ministry on a workplace mission field. Praise God!
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About the Author, Jim Brangenberg
Jim's Mission: We are called to be examples of Christ to those around us. With that in mind, Jim is passionate about helping Christ followers connect their faith to their work!