The Paul Factor: Impacting the Marketplace - Week 3: The Marketplace

"Early Christians made the marketplace the focal point of their ministry because their occupations regularly took them there" -Ed Silvoso (Anointed for Business,2002)

To understand the marketplace of our time is to take a step back in time into Paul's culture. Paul spent allot of time in the marketplace. Whether it was setting up shop or discussing philosophy, it seems Paul was comfortable in the marketplace.

And he entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. But when some became stubborn and continued in unbelief, speaking evil of the Way before the congregation, he withdrew from them and took the disciples with him, reasoning daily in the hall of Tyrannus. This continued for two years, so that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks. Acts 19:8-10 (ESV)

The marketplace was the center for political, commercial and social life. It was the place where shopping took place and the administrative center of the city. Food. Drink. Entertainment. Business. Philosophy. Politics. For Paul and the early church it was a smorgasbord of opportunities to share the hope of Christ to others. Think of it this way...put your city government offices, banks, library, mall, temples, restaurants, movie and drama theaters all in a three square mile grid. Where do you think all the action would be? The marketplace was the place to be! Translated into our culture...it is the place outside the church. The place where you work or conduct business.

Growing up in the church I would always hear the words that God could use me. I went on missions trips. Got involved in local ministries. In reality...I wanted to be used by God. At an early age I sensed God's calling into the ministry. I felt inadequate at the time (heck I was twelve at the time), yet through the years I saw God's hand move through my life to confirm this call that was placed on me. I went to college, became a pastor and began doing God's work.

In 1996 my world changed! For four and half years I stood behind a pulpit. My world...my identity...my idea of being used by God was based on that position. Then I was let go. My world was gone. The hurt. The lack of self confidence. Wondering if God could ever use me began to haunt the very thoughts of my mind. "How could God ever use me?" began to weigh on me. At that moment in my life I saw the pulpit as being the only place that God could use me. I would think to myself, "I am not a pastor anymore, just a layperson sitting in a pew". I share this because I believe that there are many who may feel the same way I did. It was not until I started teaching that I saw a different side of "ministry". Students entered my room and asked for prayer. Parents ask for advice. Opportunities to share my faith and why I believed opened up. Former students come back and shared with me how God is using them on their campus because of what they learned in class. In 1996 I thought my "ministry" was ending, yet it was just starting! In the last ten years I have come to realize that "ministry" should not take place in the church, but outside the church! That's where ministry happens! Look at Jesus miracles. We know that he healed a withered mans arm at a Synagogue, yet when we look at many of the miracles...they took place outside the temple! In Acts alone there are 40 recorded miracles that took place through the apostles. Of those 40, 39 took place in the marketplace! The early church knew that the "Gentiles did not meet in synagogues; they gathered in public forums, business places and plazas-the marketplace. Paul, like Peter, John, James and Philip, turned those public forums into places where the presence and the power of God became evident to the lost in the city."( "Anointed for Business", Ed Silvoso, 2002)

When we gather together at our local churches, it is a time to worship and be equipped. The church is the "catapult" to our communities! Let me explain. The church is filled with various people and gifts. As a body of believers we should attend church to fellowship with other believers, be fed and equipped. Then shot out of the doors to impact the world or the marketplace! Allow me to be bold to say that I think we have it backwards today. We put on big events at church in hopes that one will walk off the streets and into the pews. Musicals...dramas and conferences to equip our parenting skills. Now please understand, I know that God has used these tools to impact peoples lives, yet it should not be the churches main tool of evangelism. The main tool of evangelism...is YOU! Times have changed. In today's culture where there are no rights and wrongs...Christ is seen as another "holy figure"...Christianity is "just another religion to God"... Church growth is defined by church hoppers, going from one church to another. How can we expect the unchurched to walk into our churches. It starts with you! You are the voice of God to a culture in desperate need of answers. It is you who will impact people that may never step into the building of worship. It is you who can lead others to Christ!

Today millions of men and women are similarly called to full time ministry in business, education and government - the marketplace. These men and women work as stockbrokers, lawyers, entrepreneurs, farmers, chief operating officers, news reporters, teachers, police officers, plumbers, factory foremen, receptionist, cooks, and much more. Some of them have great influence on mainstream society, others are unsung heroes with low profiles, but each of them has been divinely called to bring the kingdom of God to the heart of the city. ("Anointed for Business", Ed Silvoso, 2002)

The marketplace is your opportunity to be used by God to impact others.

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice--the kind he will accept. When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask? Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is. As God's messenger, I give each of you this warning: Be honest in your estimate of yourselves, measuring your value by how much faith God has given you. Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ's body. We are all parts of his one body, and each of us has different work to do. And since we are all one body in Christ, we belong to each other, and each of us needs all the others. God has given each of us the ability to do certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out when you have faith that God is speaking through you. If your gift is that of serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, do a good job of teaching. If your gift is to encourage others, do it! If you have money, share it generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly. Don't just pretend that you love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Stand on the side of the good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy in your work, but serve the Lord enthusiastically. Romans 12:1-11 (NLT)

Paul was effective because he went where the people were, the marketplace. He understood that the lost were not in the church, but outside. He used his profession as a stepping stone to give him an opportunity to share his faith. No sign holding. Passing out a tract. No preaching. No pointing fingers...just simple love, words, and action to back it up. Always keeping a look out for ways to share Christ with others. So today I challenge you to see your profession as your platform to impact the lives God has placed before you! Ministry is not to rest solely on the shoulders of our pastors. Ministry is you! The way you conduct business. The way you talk. The way you treat others. This is your gift from God...to be used by him in his kingdom. You in your marketplace, being a light and a vessel ready to be poured out into another. God has you right where he wants you. Why? because that's where ministry begins...in the marketplace! Now go and impact the hurting. The sick. Those in doubt. Those in need of hope. You can do it! What greater partner to have than Christ himself!

His call. His gift to you. Your purpose. Irrevocable.

PS. A great book to read is "Anointed for Business: How Christians Can Use Their Influence in the Marketplace to Change the World" by Ed Silvoso