T.G.I.M.

Not a Sermon - Just a Thought, April 13, 2007

The call to be a professional minister has sometimes been a struggle for me because I enjoy being an entrepreneurial businessman. I had a lemonade stand as a kid, and sold greeting cards door to door beginning in the third grade. I have moved in and out of the church and business worlds having owned a restaurant/coffee shop and a landscaping business. These experiences have formed my theological conviction that ministry does not happen exclusively inside the walls of a church building.

For example, when I owned the restaurant I found that I did far more pastoral care for my “regulars” than I did as a pastor. I learned that a short exchange over the counter with a regular customer provided me an excellent opportunity to bring a word of grace or to help someone going through a hard time by reminding them, “God is on your side.” I learned that I could do more to influence public policy in my small town as a business owner than as a pastor. I learned that providing a place of social interaction for teens was not only good for business, it was good for their safety and development. It was wild and liberating to do ministry in Jesus’ name and in my own way, free of the traditional boundaries the church naturally makes between herself and the culture.

Now I’m a pastor and most of my work is tame by comparison. I deal mostly with people who are already Christian and I try to equip them for doing ministry outside the church. Some days I feel like a caged tiger, antsy to be earning my bread in ways that allow me more interaction with people who are outside the influence of a local church. At times I am jealous of you who don’t get paid to do ministry, but do it anyway. There are things you can do that I can’t do as a pastor. As a part of your daily living and daily job, you stretch calling to mean more by taking your faith into the public forum.

Maybe you’re stuck in a dead-end job, or maybe you’re just frustrated by the system. Maybe your career is great and your future’s so bright you have to wear shades. I want you to know that God can use you in all those situations, so see where God is working and see your work as a way of joining God’s work. All around you are people who are knee deep in a river and yet dying of thirst. You can help people to find the true water for which they thirst by being Christ’s presence and by being attentive to God’s leading. When you see work through those lenses the mantra becomes T.G.I.M. “Thank God It’s Monday!”

T.G.I.M is the title of the sermon this Sunday and it’s about finding God’s calling out of the sanctuary and into the work place. It’s based on scripture from I Peter 3.13-22, with a special focus on the sentence, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you the reason for the hope you have.” I hope you’ll take a Sabbath rest this Sunday and worship God with the local church of your choice. If you are in Houston, join us at Willow Meadows Baptist Church at either 9am or 11:10am.

Taking care of business,
Pastor Gary

Not a Sermon – Just a Thought is a weekly email written by me, Gary Long, pastor at Willow Meadows Baptist Church in Houston, Texas. You can subscribe or unsubscribe to this list by contacting me via email at glong@wmbc.org and you can learn more about my church at www.wmbc.org.