Tired of Slaving Away in the Secular Salt Mines of Life? Read This Book
Hey Obama, Republicans, and Pastors -- Can Capitalism Be a Mission From God?
By Robert Osburn
Recently at our evangelical church we commissioned another missionary. There was the glorious announcement that another one of our own was headed to “the mission field,” a prayer, and, of course, the laying-on-of-hands.
If you are part of churches like mine, you know the routine. At the bottom of it all is one central message: The highest calling from God, by far and away, is to be a missionary. Not far behind is that of pastor. Since I’ve been both, I’ve known a lot of sweaty palms on my balding head and the whole range of sincere to sanctimonious prayers for my safety, my witness, and my family. (Trust me: I’m not complaining.)
It’s all wrong, says Darrow Miller in his new book LifeWork: A Biblical Theology for What You Do Every Day.
The core of the problem, writes Miller, is that evangelicals have a dualistic worldview, that is, they believe life is divided between sacred and secular realms. The latter exists to support the former: prayers, sweaty palms, and all (especially pocketbooks). Another way of saying this is that most of God's children are called to slave away in the secular salt mines of life so that a few who are spiritual enough can stroll streets paved with heavenly gold. Okay, I exaggerate, but just barely.
We evangelicals have lots of problems, and this is one of our biggest. Miller’s book, like that of Dennis Bakke, the Christian entrepreneur who wrote the bestselling book Joy at Work, convincingly makes the case that it’s high time we rediscover a biblical theology of vocation, the cultural mandate, and biblical teaching on the Kingdom of God.
The problem is that our pastors -- and the seminaries that train them -- don’t get this message because they, too, are in thrall to a dualistic worldview that essentially and functionally ropes off the work-world from the reign of Christ (except to the degree that it is seen as a place to witness to “the lost”). Miller writes that in the 62 years since he has been a Christian, only twice has he heard a pastor preach on this topic. (Ask yourself when was the last time your pastor spoke on this.)
That Miller takes the time to unpack the economics of work, and not just the theology of it, makes the book well worth reading on that score alone. He unfolds the “three plain rules” of John Wesley: gain, save, and give all you can. Miller also does a good job of showing how “idealistic socialism” (are you listening Obama?) and “predatory capitalism” (are you listening Republicans?) are bastardizations of an economic system that I would call “compassionate capitalism.” “Compassionate capitalism” savors market mechanisms while embedding them in a moral framework where the ultimate end (love for God and neighbor) regulates the immediate end (profit).
My only complaint with the book is that it needed an editor who could have easily have whittled down this 300-page book without losing a single thread of the argument. As it is, the size may intimidate some in an era when few books are longer than 200 pages and few people have the leisure for long reads.
Whether or not they have the time, this book should be at the top of your pastor’s reading list. When will churches fill out their biblical calling and start commissioning accountants, garbage collectors, homemakers, computer programmers, bus drivers, farmers, business executives, artists, writers, and academics?
I, for one, am ready to see congregations become, in effect, the “church without walls,” as Miller writes in his penultimate chapter. The pastor who starts seriously preaching this message, and who understands it is his job to prepare God’s people for “works of ministry” (Ephesians 4) in and through the workplaces will attract people who are hungry to know whether their Monday through Friday work world has anything to do with God’s plan for their lives.
We don’t need more entertainment-oriented, seeker-sensitive churches; we need churches that make the robust claim, week after week, that God is at work through His people in and through their workplaces to advance the Kingdom of Christ.
I close with one bit of advice: Buy this book for your pastor as a Christmas present. Your fellow parishioners -- whatever their vocational callings from God -- will thank you.
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Robert Osburn., Ph.D., is executive director of Wilberforce Academy.
