My Pastoral Confession

"I wasted too much time on a faulty theology of work" by Rev. Tom Nelson

I REMEMBER THE DAY AS IF IT WERE YESTERDAY. With a pounding heart and sweaty hands, I stood before my congregation and offered a heartfelt confession.

Confession may be good for the soul, but it is painfully hard for a pastor. Often, pastoral confession is related to a gut-wrenching moral or ethical lapse. For me, it was a theological shortcoming.

I had always prided myself in a commitment to theological integrity. I had been trained in a good evangelical seminary and had always emphasized accuracy in my biblical exposition. Yet here I was, admitting that my pastoral ministry had been flawed.

I confessed to my congregation that, in spite of my best intentions, I had given minority attention to what they were called by God to do with the majority of their lives. I had failed in equipping them with a robust theology of vocation that connected Sunday worship to their Monday work. Instead, in my teaching and preaching I had elevated some work over other work—sacred over secular. And this needed to change.

What led up to this watershed moment?

Vocational Stewardship

I had been enjoying a growing ministry as a local church pastor for almost a decade. I didn’t have a sudden “road to Damascus” theological conversion. Rather, the change in my thinking was a slow dawning from my own study of the biblical texts.

I had also been rereading the Protestant reformers such as Luther and Calvin, who wrote a great deal about the importance of work. They saw that vocation was integral and not incidental to the mission of God.

Looking through a vocational lens, the cultural mandate of Genesis and of Jesus’ teaching of the Great Commandment and the Great Commission then came into clearer focus. I began to see that a primary work of the church was the church at work. Pastoral faithfulness now took on the important dimension of equipping congregants for vocational stewardship. As a pastor, I had taught a good deal about financial stewardship but had neglected to teach and celebrate vocational stewardship.

I could also recall many Sundays when I had invited missionaries up to the front of our sanctuary. With glowing praise I had commissioned them, enthusiastically affirming their sacrifice for the gospel. I was still grateful for these God-honoring moments, but I couldn’t recall a time when I had invited a stay-at-home mom, a business executive, an assembly line worker or an artist up to the front.

Why hadn’t I commissioned them and prayed for their God-honoring work? Why had my pastoral prayers and illustrations never mentioned work and the workplaces of my congregation? Why had my sermons so often used dichotomous phrases like “Christian work” and “secular work?” Why was the idea of visiting parishioners in their workplaces completely foreign to my pastoral paradigm?

Like many of my evangelical colleagues, I had so strongly emphasized eternal realities that I failed to see that temporal things mattered too. I communicated a subtle but consistent message: What really matters is what occurs on Sunday and within the walls of the church building throughout the week. I loved the gospel, but I had failed to see how the gospel, properly understood, speaks to all of life. What I needed most was to honestly confront my own faulty thinking.

Recalibrating Our Ministry

With sincerity of heart, I told my congregation that from that day forward, things were going to be different. I would change. My language would change. Our local church mission would change to more closely align with the teachings of Holy Scripture.

In our worship services we would more intentionally teach and celebrate the many vocations represented in our congregation. Our pastors would spend time in the workplaces of our parishioners and be committed to equip them to be a faithful presence for Christ there. Our pastoral staff would now encourage, train and disciple children, students, men and women with work in mind.

The change occurring not only in individual lives but also in our entire congregation has been truly remarkable. Now my congregation is equipped with a theology of work that helps connect Sunday to Monday. The wise words of Dorothy Sayers have found a receptive home: “The only Christian work is good work well done.” (Read an excerpt of Sayers’ classic essay “Why Work?”)

Many who once saw their work as “second class,” as compared to the “first class” work of pastors or missionaries, now see their work as equally important. Whether a student, a salesperson or a surgeon, we are committed to do our work well for the glory of God and the common good. Members of our congregation increasingly view their work (paid or unpaid) as an act of God-honoring worship, embracing it even when it’s difficult and tiresome. Work is now understood as one of the providential ways we are formed into greater Christlikeness.

Though times of confession can be humbling, they also can be life changing and grace giving. A growing theological understanding of the work we do every day is making our congregation more beautiful in its expression and more faithful in its gospel mission. I am thankful for God’s grace and a bright new day of gospel-centered local church ministry where work really matters.

Speaking a New Language

The language we use is critical, Tom Nelson insists, in conveying value and honor. As an example, more and more often he doesn’t even use the word job but instead talks about someone’s contribution, as in:

“How are you contributing to the common good of God’s good world?”

His question applies to retirees and moms at home, as much as to full-time employees, and it allows people to recognize: “I can make a contribution, even if my worth isn’t tied to a paycheck.”

“There’s a sense of freedom,” Tom says, “and sense of renewed passion for how I’m created and how I can contribute.”