In addition to my work with the General Conference office, I spend a portion of my time as a partial owner of a Plumbing and HVAC company. I mostly fell into the opportunity while deciding what was next for me in ministry. My father has spent the last 30-plus years in the skilled trades running his own small business. Wanting to see his business continue, but not spend as much time running it, he invited another individual and myself to form a new business and continue his work.
I wasn’t a stranger to the work. I spent most of my summers in high school and college replacing roofs and running wires with my father. Once I became a homeowner, I was naturally inclined to start renovation projects on my house. Sometimes I even accomplished them in the timeframe I told my wife they would take (rarely, but it happened once or twice).
What I want to share with you are some observations I’ve made as I’ve moved from spending 100% of my time in a paid ministry role to spending half of my time in the Blue Collar world:
- People are open to pastors. Whenever I’ve met new people, I would keep my pastoral role to myself. I thought it would inhibit conversations and create avoidance. My experience has been the opposite. While I don’t go around announcing that I’m a pastor, people I’m around have found out over time, and it hasn’t changed any aspect of our relationship. In fact, it has created many opportunities for spiritual conversations.
- People have a lot of weird Christian interactions. I hear A LOT of stories of odd and weird interactions that tradespeople have with Christians, particularly as they enter into homes every day. Just this last week, someone shared that when they go to a certain customer’s house, the customer insists on praying over the tradesman for ten minutes, casting out evil that is in their life before he can enter the house. He finds it weird and slightly offensive, but he does like, at the end of the prayer, when they ask God to bless his business. Maybe we should bless people more than assume the worst about them.
- People want to know how Jesus can change their lives. Sometimes I get big questions about war or a theological perspective, but most of the conversations simply revolve around the issues of the individual’s life and how Jesus might make a difference to them. People are hurting, struggling, and worried. They need Jesus. They need Good News. And it’s our responsibility to share the Good News of Jesus to their circumstances.
What are your observations as you interact with the people of your community? When you’re in the coffee shop, the grocery store, or as you have a tradesperson in your home, how have you been able to bless people and speak Good News?
CGGC eNews—Vol. 20, No. 30
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