The Sacredness of Secular Work with Jordan Raynor

Hey Friend!

Let’s talk about the sacredness of secular work. Jordan Raynor is such a valuable resource on this topic because he is so great at including theology and relatability. I’m a huge fan of his writing, and can tell you that you definitely need to go grab his newest book The Sacredness for Secular Work.

Jordan Raynor and the Holiness in Secular Work

Stef: Welcome back Jordan! We are so excited to have you here.

Jordan: It’s such a compliment to be back!

Stef: Can you give us a high level rundown of why you wrote this book?

Jordan: I wrote this book because I spend the vast majority of my time creating content that helps Christians see how their work matters for eternity. When I tell someone that their job as an entrepreneur, barista, teacher, etc. matters for eternity, I get this: “of course this is my purpose.” And while this is gloriously true, if we are only using our job as a way to tell the gospel, then frankly you are wasting the vast majority of your time. How much time does a Christian spend sharing the gospel a month? If I was generous, I would say maybe three hours a month sharing the gospel. That is depressing and unbiblical. I want every Christian to understand that every moment of their life matters – 100% of it! Not just the 1% they spend on evangelism.

Why We Have This View as Christians

Stef: Where do you think we get this belief from? That what we do doesn’t matter if I’m not a preacher or something like that.

Jordan: My hypothesis is because in the last few hundred years of church history, for the very first time, we have begun treating the great commission as the singular mission of the Christian life. Let me say this, the great commission is indeed great and is a must-follow command to any follower of Jesus. But, it’s not the ONLY commission. It’s not the only thing Jesus has called us to do.

The term great commission is not even in the Bible. It’s a man-made marketing slogan for the modern mission movement. I unpack this history in the book, but that’s the root that’s causing us to not see the sacredness of our seemingly secular work.

Stef: Wow that’s so interesting. That brings up the point of not taking everything at face value. We’ve got to read our Bible. It sounds like there are some dangers in this thought that we can only focus on the “great commission.” What are those dangers, and how do you reframe your belief system, or find biblically where it says our secular work does matter?

Overcoming This Belief and Stepping Fully Into Our Secular Work

Jordan: There are a lot of dangers, but I’m going to give you three.

• Jesus never did – In Matthew 28, we find the text where Jesus says “teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Jesus gave about 50 unique commands in the New Testament.
• Blocks us from seeing the full extent of how our work matters for eternity – If the great commission is the only commission, then our work only has value when it includes evangelism. We will go to work half-hearted thinking what we do doesn’t matter.
• Makes us less effective at the great commission – 80% or more of evangelism, that was done in the first few centuries of Christianity, was not done by ministers or missionaries, it was Christians. The fastest growing religious affiliation is no religious affiliation. Non-believers are less likely to go to church more than ever. So, that makes sharing at work more important. If I think the great commission is the only commission, then I’m more likely to quit my job.

In the past two or three years I’ve been working on this book, I have shared the gospel more than in the 10 years prior. Why? When you understand that God cares about 100% of your time at work, and not just the 1% you are sharing the gospel, it makes you become fully alive and that attracts people.

Those are just three reasons why our work matters outside the great commission.

Stef: That is so powerful. I love the “fully alive attracts people.” It doesn’t matter if you are just sitting with your kid and doing a devotional, it matters how you are 100% of the time in every interaction with your children.

Jordan: Absolutely. It’s not just when I’m sitting down and disciplining my kids formally, I want them to see their mother and father living the abundant life that Jesus promised us.

Stef: Thank you for sharing all that. I want to talk about something in your book that you coined “the anti-bucklist.”

Jordan: I do not have a problem with bucket lists. I have a problem with the thinking behind bucket lists. The whole concept behind a bucket list assumes that the only chance we have to enjoy the best travel experiences and food is before we die. Scripture makes it abundantly clear that the rewards believers receive for eternity are going to vary wildly based on how we steward this life. For that reason, I think more Christians need to be building more anti-bucket lists.

One example from my own anti-bucket list. I love Tampa, FL but my favorite city in the world is Washington D.C. Why don’t I move my family to Washington D.C? Mostly because my parents and my wife’s parents are within a 10-minute drive. I feel called to sacrifice that move and take care of them as they get older. The Lord will reward me for “whatever good I do” in this life. Does that mean God is going to give me the urban flat I’ve always dreamed of? I don’t know. But, I know God will see it and reward it. That makes my sacrifice seem insanely small in retrospect.

So in The Sacredness of Secular Work I’m breaking down this bad theology, but also giving readers practices on how to make their work matter more.

Stef: I think that is so freeing and liberating to think of it that way. I’m not living for just this life, but there’s going to be endless opportunities in the future. My son has a field trip Thursday, and I have a ton of work this week, and I had to think “do I go on the field trip or do my work?” So this idea is so great, because I have endless time to do more amazing work, so I want to go on the field trip.

Jordan: When you understand that the Kingdom of heaven is at hand, we are going to be able to continue this work. This idea has made me so much less hurried in my work and less obsessed with getting stuff done. I really believe God’s word, and that I’m going to spend billions of years engaged in this craft. So, if I don’t finish every item on my ‘to do list’ who cares? I’ll get to finish them after death.

Stef: I love this. I can’t wait to dig into those 24 practices. Talk to me a little bit about God’s plan for work. We’ve talked about the great commission not being the only commission, so what is the truth here?

Jordan: God talks about work 800 times throughout the Bible. That’s more than every single mention of worship, music, and praise combined. Clearly, our work matters deeply to God. In Genesis 1, God creates this perfect world and invites His children to be with Him and work this world with Him. Fast forward to Genesis 3, we sin and bring in the curse and ensure our need for a savior, but He doesn’t cancel the first commission. Jesus hangs on the cross, rises from the dead, and proves He’s the savior who saves us through grace and not by our works.

We aren’t saved by what we do, but we have been saved for good works that God has prepared in advance for us, which is to cultivate heaven on earth. We will reign forever with Christ on this new earth by doing the first commission, which is to rule the earth for God’s glory.

Stef: This is just a sneak peak of what is in this book. What do you hope readers take away?

Jordan: Two things:

• Massive encouragement – that 100% of your work matters for eternity.
• That they feel challenged – challenged to make their work matter more.

I don’t want this book to just be interesting, I want it to be helpful.

Stef: Where can everyone get the book and listen to your podcast?

Jordan: All the things are at jordanraynor.com!

I pray this blesses you!

Xo,

Stef

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