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.
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