Paul The Tentmaker
Paul The Tentmaker
Paul, The Tentmaker
Tentmaking Was Practical
This is the Lechaion Road today
Paul Turned Away Donations?
But there was a pastoral aspect as well. The city of Corinth, in common with many Roman cities, had a well-developed patron-client system. The patron-client system was all about status. Patrons were higher status, wealthier people, and clients were their followers. In exchange for free meals, the clients followed the patrons around, went with them to court to support their many lawsuits against one another, and generally added to their patron’s prestige. What no one wanted to do was actually work. If you read Paul’s Corinthian correspondence, you’ll see that he actually refused to take money from the Corinthians who wanted to give him money! That’s because he didn’t want to be seen to participate in the patron-client culture as either patron or client. They would have misunderstood the relationship if he had taken money from them.
It’s noteworthy that Paul did indeed receive patronage from someone in the region though. In Romans 16:2, Paul commends a deacon of the church in Cenchrea, a small city very near to Corinth. Her name is Phoebe, and Paul says that she’s been his patron and the patron of many. It’s pretty clear that Phoebe did not misunderstand the relationship, so Paul was able to receive her support. He even trusted her to deliver and perhaps to explain the epistle to the Romans as well.
Tentmaking As Counter-Cultural Witness
The other place where we know that Paul worked to support himself is Thessalonica. In 1 Thessalonians 2:9 Paul mentions that while he was with them he worked night and day so that he wouldn’t be a burden to them. Later, in 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12, Paul writes to them to live a quiet life, mind their own business, and work with their hands so that they won’t be dependent on anyone. This is likely a reference to the patron-client system or similar. Paul didn’t want them to sell their support to the highest bidder. He wanted them to do something useful in the world. His motivation in supporting himself among them was to provide them with an example of what it is to be a Christian. He was showing them how to live as a kingdom person, which was, and is, very different from following the ways of the world.
So What Kind of Missionary Are You?
So when we’re deciding whether to be a missionary “on support” or a “tent making” missionary, our motivation needs to be a kingdom motivation. We have to think about our own cultural background and the cultural background of the nation we’re called to. Our considerations should be both practical and spiritual in nature.
If our culture looks down on asking for support, that’s probably the exact thing we most need to do. The kingdom of God is about giving and receiving, not about buying and selling. By providing people with an opportunity to sow seeds of generosity, we oppose something important in a culture that is fixated on buying, selling, and getting. By choosing to live with less, we witness to what is most important. Not that there is anything wrong with working a paid job! But there is something powerful about the witness of people who have chosen to receive generosity so that they can give freely to others.
It’s All About Discipleship
If we’re seeking to disciple Christians in a nation that is averse to working with their hands, there is something very powerful about tent making, but it had better be a “working with your hands” kind of tent making. If we want to disciple people in being honest in business, then running a business honestly would be a powerful testimony. If you want to show the relative merits of various priorities, choosing less status at work in order to prioritize your family might be the way to go.
As Christians, we need to think very deliberately about what our lives say about who God is and how his kingdom works.
Paul The Fundraiser
In the next post in this series, we’ll talk about when Paul received, and even asked for, financial support.
If you have further questions, you can contact us on our website here: About Us | Who Is Pacific Reach? | YWAM Pacific Reach New Zealand
Or we’ve written another blog post with more details on the topics we teach during a DTS – YWAM DTS Lecture Topics.
“Through prayer and passion stream, I was able to see how prayer could be a place of so much intimacy with God. Finding my secret place with Him allowed me to fall in love again with His beauty and goodness. At the same time, God revealed to me the secrets of His heart- how He saw me and how He saw the world. It’s such a privilege to know that there’s a big God up there who trust us and partners with us to bring the kingdom of heaven down on to earth through our prayers!!! And never once did He let me down.”
Jesse Chua, 22, Singapore
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Mun Hei, 21, Malaysia
“Medical Compassion DTS was a truly an incredible experience. Working in health centres, hospitals and pop-up clinics grew my interest in medicine and allowed me to practically show the love of God. For me, the most transformational aspect of my Med-Com DTS was the focus on compassion and its importance in achieving true holistic healing. This is an experience like no other!”
Matthew Bassett, 18, Orewa, NZ
DBS has been a fulfilled prayer for me. When I was home, I asked the Lord to bring me deeper into his word, and He put that desire on my heart. I knew I would come back to staff, and I thought I would dive into it on my own. I found myself not having the right tools needed to effectively study God’s word. Once DBS became an option, I went for it wholeheartedly. I have been enjoying my time, going deeper than I imagined. God has shown me new things, removed false perspectives of his word and brought me into a deeper understanding of who he is. I have been challenged in many ways during this course, helping me find my place in God’s kingdom. I’ve been able to build a strong foundation with the Word of God. Over all, the Lord created a new heart within me that desires to love, praise, share joy, and bring others into the family of God. I love this school for all that is provided from strong friendships to heart moving moments in small groups and the teachings. My life will never be the same after this school!
Alex Denney, 20, Washington
“Coming into DTS I already loved and had a heart for worship but over the course of the worship stream I discovered more and more who God was and what HE was and the impact worship has. Finishing DTS my love for God and my heart for worship is bigger than ever before and I found new and deeper intimacy with HIM.”
Andrea Wenger, 24, Switzerland
“Wild at Heart? Yes, of course! But whatever adventure I went for, I wanted to be the one in control. During my DTS, God changed my heart to go wild with Him. I learned to trust in God and that I don’t have to be in charge, as long as I know the One who is!”
Silas Bauer, 21, Germany
“Last year I decided to seek after God wholeheartedly and applied for the Pilgrimage DTS. Going on this journey (physically and spiritually) has been life-changing! Instead of wandering on my own, I am now following the Almighty God. I have rediscovered a personal and intimate relationship with my Creator!”
Tim Stallard, 26, Switzerland
“Did you know that according to WHO more than half the world does not have access to healthcare? After seeing those statistics first hand, while in the mission field, I was heartbroken, but I was not without hope. God used my SPHC team and me to meet the needs of many individuals both physically and spiritually, and He opened my eyes to the possibility of a career in healthcare. I now attend the University of Missouri and I am pursuing a degree in Public Health. I hope to one day work for the WHO and take on the challenge of reaching those without healthcare with God’s healing hands.”
Caroline Wilson, 21, Colorado, USA
“In the worship stream I learned why we worship God, because he loved us first and because he’s worthy to be praised!
Also I learned that If you lead worship you have to be filled first in order to lead others into worship because you lead others in the intimacy that you have for yourself.”
Jaspar Wandtke, 20, Germany
“Before coming to DTS I had a fixed view on what it meant to be a follower of God. Being on the Wild Heart Stream completely demolished every box I put God in and taught me to have reverence for the Lord. I learned that God doesn’t want a slave, he wants a best friend, a daughter and a relationship.”
Jessica Bryant, 19, England