So where did this "Missionary With A Day Job" idea first come from? In Biblical terms, it was probably Paul, who made tents to support his missionary habit. But that's not the story that made it hit home for me.
At 22, I'd just graduated from college, left my home state of Indiana and traveled to Nashville, aka "Music City", to get into the music business- not as a singer, but on the booking agency side of things, at the famed William Morris Agency.
I found a local church with a good-sized 'college and career' Sunday school class, perfect for those in college, just out, or who fell into that late teens-early 20s range. I'd been active in non-profit work in college, but in terms of thinking of a career, you had Christians who went into the secular world, so to speak, who got 'real jobs', and then you had some who became missionaries or pastors, who went into 'the ministry'. You either made money for yourself and would give to support those in ministry, or you were someone in ministry who lived off the donations of others.
But then a guy came back from summer break with an interesting story- he'd gone to do beach ministry in California. That in itself was cool, but hardly unique. I'd had friends who'd raised support through Campus Crusade or other ministries to do beach ministry. What was unique was how he'd done it. Instead of raising money, he'd flown out there, gotten a minimum wage 9-5 job for the summer, and done mission work early in the morning and in the evenings.
He'd gotten a job for the sole purpose of supporting himself to do mission work. That just floored me. Can you have a 'real' job, and still be a missionary? What if your job pays more than minimum wage- can you still be a missionary? What if your job isn't just for the summer, but is a 'career' type job- what then?
If I were to approach my life as a life-long mission trip, what would I do differently? I was making $22,100- at the standard 10%, that's $2,210 that could be put to mission work. But what if I cut down expenses, changed priorities, what then? How would I handle the income from my 'mission trip job', even if it was something I was planning on doing for years?
If I were on a mission trip, and saw someone with a flat tire or their car had broken down, would I be more likely to stop and help if I were on a mission trip, vs. just coming back home from work?
How would I identify myself to to others? "Hi, I'm Brian Lord, I work at a company called William Morris Agency", or "Hi, I'm Brian Lord, I'm a missionary"?
These were all questions that hit me. In the ensuing years, I can't claim to be perfect, or even to really know what 'perfect' is. The 'I'm a missionary' ID was one I tried for a bit, but didn't keep up with- maybe I should pick it back up. I have tried to have a servant's heart, and have found that being a servant isn't just being someone who helps fix a tire- sometimes it means using your business skills (in my case, sales, marketing, and strategy) to help missionaries, non-profits and the like. From the monetary perspective, things do seem to be more complex when you get married and have kids, but the overall objective is still the same.
Am I a corporate guy who occasionally checks the ministry box, or am I a missionary who happens to have a day job?
I guess we'll find out.
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