What Mr. Rogers's corpse teaches about sacred "secular" work
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood. (1 Peter 2:9)
If neckties could tell tales, the one Fred Rogers is buried in would tell an epic one.
With a black-and-blue tartan pattern, it was the style traditionally worn by ordained Presbyterian ministers. But Fred Rogers was no pastor. He was the host of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, a children's TV show that aired from 1968 to 2001.
Before he was famous, Fred was a relatively unknown TV producer on a show called The Children's Corner, feeling torn between the call to so-called "sacred" and "secular" work. So for eight years, he split the difference, working at the station every weekday while driving 30 blocks at lunchtime for classes at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary.
But somewhere along those drives between seminary and the studio, an idea formed within him: What if his career and calling weren't opposite trajectories? What if he was called to view his "secular" work on TV as his sacred ministry?
The idea was radical. And the elders of the Pittsburgh Presbytery were not on board, pushing Fred to pastor a church and abandon his work on television.
Fortunately, Fred's friend Reverend Bill Barker went before the elders to challenge their decision. "Look, here's an individual who has his pulpit proudly in front of a TV camera," Barker argued, "and this is a man who has been authentically called by the Lord as much as any of you guys sitting out there."
Barker's plea was a success, and in June 1963, Fred was ordained by the Presbytery to work in the seemingly secular world of TV.
Not long after, Barker gave a tartan-patterned tie to a delighted Mister Rogers, who declared it his "clergy tie." "I like to wear this on [Neighborhood] to give a subliminal message," Fred once shared with a conspiratorial smile.
He eventually chose to be buried in the tie. To this day, Mister Rogers bears a permanent symbol that every Christian—from pastors to puppeteers to plumbers—is a member of God's "royal priesthood." Or as theologian A.W. Tozer once put it, "It is not what a man does that determines whether his work is sacred or secular, it is why he does it."
As we'll see in this series on the faith and work of Fred Rogers, there's no question about the sacredness of your seemingly secular work, believer. Here's a more interesting question I'd encourage you to ask yourself: If I really believed my work was sacred and that God cared about every detail of my job, what one thing would I change?
Ask that question and expect the Lord to prompt an answer in your spirit today.
