Blue Collar God
What would your answer be to this question: “When do you worship God during the week?” Perhaps you would reply, “On Sunday mornings with my Chapel Hill family.” Maybe it would be, “When I gather weekly with my LifeGroup around scripture and prayer.” Hopefully it would include, “When I meet God alone every morning, starting my day in his Word.”
These are all good answers and, I hope, true for most of you. But if that’s all, you are leaving out a huge chunk of your life. What about your work? Whether you work in an office, on the field, in a classroom or in the home, the vast majority of your waking day is spent at work. Is your work worship? Do you see your career as a calling of God? In your mind, are you as much a minister in your vocation as I am when I stand in front of the congregation, preaching a sermon?
You may not think so. You may assume that Pastor-types are the ones who have the “spiritual” jobs… and the rest of us are just … well… working. But one of the great gifts of the Protestant Reformation was the idea that our vocation could actually be a spiritual calling. In fact, the very word “vocation,” comes from the Latin term for “calling” (vocal) and refers to the idea that we can be worshiping God through our work in any number of ways.
How would it change your view of work if you really understood and believed that God’s calling was upon you in that undertaking? Fortunately, we have a God who is a working God; a blue collar God who was willing to get his “hands” dirty in soil and sawdust. Following Easter, our next sermon series will be Blue Collar God, and it will focus on the holiness and dignity of work. And I need your help in preparing for this series.
If you view your work as a call of God, could you provide a brief response to these question: How have you seen God at work in your work? What gives you joy? What frustrates you?
If you do not view your work as a call of God, could you please tell me what you do and why you don’t consider it a spiritual endeavor?
I will keep all responses confidential although I hope to use some of your stories in my sermons. Will you help me?
But first, Easter is upon us. I will be preaching on Jesus versus Religion. It will be a provocative topic for your unchurched friends. Please, bring them along, and come to the early or late service! Leave room for visitors in between.
Pastor Mark
P.S. This Sunday will be the only information meeting for my next Holy Land Tour, January 25- February 6. If you are at all interested, please join me at 6pm in the Prayer Chapel. Or, if you cannot attend, email Kathy Berry at for more information.