So often, Christians create faux-categories to justify and rationalize their laziness and desire to compartmentalize their faith. We think that there are certain Christians who are “called” to be pastors, and others who are “called” to be missionaries, but what about everyone else? Well, if you’re not “called” to be a pastor or a missionary, then I guess you just fall into a third category called – “lay” Christian…where you just go to church on Sunday, sing some songs, listen to someone preach, and then go home.
When you search the New Testament, there is no such thing as a “lay” Christian. Sure, different people have different roles, but there is no such thing as a “lay” Christian as we know it today. It’s a false category!
Every Christian is called to do the same thing – love God and love others, by following Jesus Christ, so that you can make the Kingdom of God tangible today. Pastors, missionaries, and “lay” Christians are all called to the same level of commitment – it’s called being a follower of Christ.
If you are a Christian, then your job or career is merely a secondary matter. Do what you love to do, do what you’re good at, and do what you can make a lot of money at so that you can be generous to others, but your first and foremost “calling” is to follow Christ and go where he goes.
So here’s my message to all you pastors, missionaries, and “lay” Christians out there – stop using these false categories to justify your laziness and/or desire to feel more important than you really are. Before the cross, the level is plain.
[…] I have been using this book as a part of my devotional time to be able to grow deeper in my knowledge of scripture. It’s a fantastic book that helps us biblically understand the concepts that I wrote about in my previous post, “No Such Thing as a ‘Lay’ Christian.” […]