Velvet Elvis

This is from Rob Bell's book that came out last year, Velvet Elvis. Rob is the 30-something head pastor of Mars Hill Church in Michigan. I like this quote. I could have used this reminder when I was in my early 20's, thinking my work as a substitute teacher and later, at a non-profit, wasn't ultimately worthwhile because it wasn't specifically "Christian." Glad I grew out of that mode of thinking. Enjoy:

Christian is a great noun and a poor adjective.

I was playing in a punk band a few years ago, and we were playing clubs and bars and festivals and parties. People would regularly ask us if we were a Christian band when they found out I was a pastor. I always found the question a bit odd. When you meet a plumber, do you ask her if she is a Christian plumber? I realize now why I chafed against the question.

My understanding is that to be Christian is to do whatever it is that you do with great passion and devotion. We throw ourselves into our work because everything is sacred. I love how Paul put it in Colossians: "Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus." He is teaching people to live as Christians, and then whatever they do will be sacred, holy work...

...This is why it is impossible for a Christian to have a secular job. If you follow Jesus and you are doing what you do in his name, then it is no longer secular work; it is sacred. You are there; God is there. The difference is our awareness.