…the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel. But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this in the hope that you will do such things for me….I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings. (1 Corinthians 9:14-15, 22-23)

In the past few centuries, many churches have unbiblically elevated the callings of pastors and missionaries above those of “mere Christians”—teachers, small business owners, mechanics, and others working outside the pulpit. It’s no surprise that modern believers often forget the Apostle Paul was a mere Christian himself who worked as a tentmaker (see Acts 18:1-3). 

Paul didn’t take up this work out of necessity. As today’s passage shows, he could have exercised his “right” to work as a donor-supported missionary. But he chose not to because he saw his work as a strategic vehic...

In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers and sisters, to keep away from every believer who is idle and disruptive and does not live according to the teaching you received from us. (2 Thessalonians 3:6)

We’re in a series exploring wisdom for our work from some “Mere Christians of the Bible”—believers who did not work as pastors or donor-supported missionaries, but as shepherds, winemakers, and more. That would have described most of the believers at the Church of Thessalonica, whom Paul rebuked for idleness in 1 Thessalonians 4 and 2 Thessalonians 3.

Why were these mere Christians idle? The Theology of Work Project suggests they fell for “a common, but false” idea that “Christ’s coming into the world has radically diminished the value of everyday labor,” and that some believers were “using some aspect of Christ’s teaching—whether it was his second coming, or his commission to evangelize the world—to justify their idleness.”

But Paul rejected this outright. As he...

At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion…He and all his family were devout and God-fearing. (Acts 10:1-2)

We’re in a series extracting lessons for our work from some “mere Christians” mentioned in Scripture—believers who faithfully followed Jesus through their seemingly “secular” work. Today’s passage mentions one such mere Christian: Cornelius the Roman centurion. 

Acts 10 tells us, “At about three in the afternoon, [Cornelius] had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, ‘Cornelius!’” Though startled, Cornelius responded, “What is it, Lord?” The angel instructed him to send for Peter. Without hesitation, Cornelius “called two of his servants and a devout soldier” to carry out the mission (see Acts 10:3-7).

This was probably a regular day at the office for Cornelius, until out of nowhere, an angel appeared. Cornelius could have said, “Sorry angel. Now’s not a good time. Can’t you see I’m busy training my soldiers?” But instead, Corneliu...

Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, and also some women…Mary (called Magdalene) …Joanna the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means. (Luke 8:1-3)

We’re in a series exploring wisdom for our work today from some of the “Mere Christians of the Bible”—believers who did not work as pastors or donor-supported missionaries, but as entrepreneurs, tax collectors, and more.

Today’s passage introduces us to three mere Christians: Mary, Joanna, and Susanna who “were helping to support” Jesus and the twelve disciples “out of their own means.”

Most scholars believe that Joanna was likely the wealthiest of this trio, given her position in Herod’s court. But many also believe these women were likely small business owners who worked hard to produce the profits needed to fund Jesus’s ministry.

Mary, Joanna...

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. Jesus said to him, “Zacchaeus…I must stay at your house today.”...All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.” But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house.” (Luke 19:1-2, 5, 7-9)

If you’re reading this, chances are you’re not a pastor or donor-supported missionary, but a “mere Christian” like me who works as an entrepreneur, barista, or programmer. Today I’m kicking off a new series here on The Word Before Work exploring the lives of some mere Christians in the Bible and what they can teach us about our own work in the present—starting with Zaccheus.

After choosing to follow Jesus, modern readers ...

After [the Magi] had heard [King Herod], they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. (Matthew 2:9-10)

Today concludes our series exploring the vocations of some of the characters in the Christmas narrative and what they can teach us about our own work today. Today, we end with the famed Star of Bethlehem.

Now, I know it’s a stretch to say that a star has a “vocation,” but hear me out. Because this star plays a huge part in the Christmas narrative, leading the Magi to find and worship Christ the King.

But Scripture makes clear that it’s not just this star that does the work of glorifying God. Psalm 19:1-3 says that all “the heavens declare the glory of God…day after day they pour forth speech,” even though “they use no words.”

Believer, if inanimate stars can glorify God and give testimony to his awesomeness, you better believe that you—God’s image...

This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham…Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah. (Matthew 1:1,17)

Matthew has many vocations in the gospels. But in the first chapter of his gospel, we see him playing the role of a genealogist who takes his readers all the way back to Abraham to trace Jesus’s family tree, so that we can be confident he is the Messiah. 

I’d encourage you to read Matthew’s genealogical work in full in Matthew 1:1-17. But there are two profound insights we can glean just from the excerpt I shared above. 

First, God is always faithful, but he is rarely fast—at least by human standards. The Jewish people had been waiting thousands of years for God’s promised Messiah. Some had surely given up hope. But Matthew goes through painstaking genealogical detail to show God’s faithfulness over time.

Commenting on today’s passag...

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (Luke 2:1)

We’re in a series exploring the vocations of some of the characters in the Christmas narrative and what they can teach us about our own work today. Today we come to Caesar Augustus.

This secular leader has a mixed legacy including brutal tales of how he came to rule over the Roman Empire. And yet, God chose to work through Augustus and his census to bring Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem, thus fulfilling the prophecy of Micah 5:2 that God’s chosen Messiah would be born in the town of David.

This reminds us of a remarkable truth we see all throughout Scripture—namely that God works in this world through non-believers and believers alike. This is one element of “common grace” which my friend Mike Kelsey (lead pastor at McLean Bible Church) defines as “the reality that God extends his goodness to and through people apart from a saving relationship with him.”

The number of ways...

And you, my child…will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him. (Luke 1:76)

Today we’re starting a new series here on The Word Before Work—a third installment of my semi-annual Christmas Vocations series where we explore the jobs of some of the characters of the Christmas narrative and what they can teach us about our own work today.

We begin with John the Baptist whose role was to “prepare the way” for Christ as we see in today’s passage—an excerpt from Zecharaiah’s prayer after John’s birth. 

Right from the get go, John was told he would never be top dog. His purpose in life was to play the proverbial second fiddle to his cousin Jesus. 

And all throughout the gospels, we see John joyfully embracing his secondary role. Referring to Jesus, John famously said, “He must become greater; I must become less” (John 3:30).

John knew his place in God’s cosmic drama. The question is do we? Sure we do intellectually. But functionally, I think many of us spend an ungodly amount of e...

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you (Ephesians 4:32) 

If you’ve been following the biblical principles in this series, your efforts to make peace with those you’re in conflict with will likely go well. But they very well might not.

How are we to respond to those who are unrepentant and unmoving? Depending on the situation, you may be called to pursue mediation, arbitration, or public accountability (all three of which are addressed biblically and helpfully in Ken Sande’s excellent book, The Peacemaker).

But regardless of whether your situation calls for one of those more escalated responses, I can tell you one response we are all called to in every situation: “Forgive as the Lord forgave you” (Colossians 3:13).

Commenting on this verse, Dr. N. T. Wright says: “it is utterly inappropriate for one who knows the joy and release of being forgiven to refuse to share that blessing with another. [Furthermore] it is highly presu...