As the fourth day of Lausanne 4 draws to a close, I’d like to reflect on yet another lesson I’m learning from the global church, one we might call The Incarnational Advantage. This is the fourth installment of these Learnings from Lausanne. If you’re just joining us, please check out Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.
Lausanne 4: The Incarnational Advantage
One of the challenges I face as a full-time minister of the gospel in Chicago is the fact that so much of my daily world is filled with followers of Christ. There are so many needs within the church that require my attention. Consequently, I have to work hard to expand my relational circles to build meaningful friendships with folks who are far from Jesus. If I’m not careful, like the hurried Priest and Levite in Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan, I can walk right by the lost and hurting people on my street.
But so much of the global church doesn’t have my problem. One of the remarkable things I’ve noticed here is that about one-third of those in attendance are in full-time marketplace ministry, and of those who are serving in church-based or parachurch ministry, I estimate half are bi-vocational. While most would love to serve their churches full-time if finances allowed, there is a surprising advantage to bi-vocational ministry. With one foot in the church, and the other in the workplace, these ministers are in constant contact with those they hope to reach with the good news of Jesus.
This proximity with unreached people helps these ministers build relational trust, sharpen their understanding of the real-world issues people face, engage their hearts with up-close compassion, and open the door to creative ways to share the gospel. By being with people far from Jesus, these bi-vocational ministers are amazingly effective at bringing people near to Jesus.
In many ways, I think these bi-vocational pastors are imitating Christ. When Jesus came to us, taking on human flesh, and dwelling among us, he entered our world. We call it the incarnation. Jesus tabernacled among us (John 1:14). He moved into the neighborhood. He met us in real life. That’s what bi-vocational ministry does. It meets people in real life, where spreadsheets and watercoolers and trailers and tollbooths are found. Bi-vocational ministry has an incarnational advantage. It meets us in the everyday and the ordinary.
Significantly, Jesus spent most of his life as a carpenter before entering “full-time ministry.” When you look at the balance of Jesus’ days, he was bi-vocational. At his baptism, the Father proclaimed, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). Up to that point, Jesus hadn’t preached any sermons or done any “professional” ministry. He was a layman, to use a modern category, and yet the Father says he is well pleased! Fast-forward to the Mount of Transfiguration near the end of Jesus’ ministry. He’s cast out demons, healed the sick, preached sermons, and raised the dead. What does the Father say on the mountain? “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him” (Matthew 17:5). Nothing Jesus had done in “professional ministry” moved the needle in terms of his Father’s good pleasure. There is no sacred-secular divide. All of life is ministry and is to be lived to the glory of God. The Father delights in his bi-vocational Son, who lives with one foot in vocational ministry and the other in the carpenter’s shop. His every breath was to glory of God.
I’m grateful I get to serve the church as my full-time assignment. But sometimes I miss the contact with those so far from Jesus, but so very near to his heart. The global church is reminding me of what it’s all about. I’m resolved to be more purposeful in building meaningful friendships with people far from Jesus where I live, work, learn, and play. I have my global brothers and sisters to thank for reminding me of the incarnational advantage.
