Tent Making Revisited

I robbed other churches, taking wages of them, to do you service. And when I was present with you, and wanted, I was chargeable to no man: for that which was lacking to me the brethren which came from Macedonia supplied: and in all things I have kept myself from being burdensome unto you, and so will I keep myself. (2Corinthians 11: 8, 9)

I want us to look at the tent making doctrine with a closer look at Paul and other ministers.

This is because a generation devoid of God’s leading has created a model and treated any other option, even God’s order, as sin. They want to preempt how God will call provide once one responds to that call.

I want us to start with Paul because he is the one all the proponents of the doctrine use as the model. Why?

Or I only and Barnabas, have not we power to forbear working? (1Corinthians 9:6)

And they do this without looking even at the next verse(s)

Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock? Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also? For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen? Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope. If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things? If others be partakers of this power over you, are not we rather? Nevertheless we have not used this power; but suffer all things, lest we should hinder the gospel of Christ. Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the temple? and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar? Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel. (Vv. 7 – 14)

This is Paul’s clearest statement on ministry support. A minister should be supported as a matter of obedience to God. He responds to God’s call to leave everything serve God exclusively. The church obeys God by supporting him. Anything else does not fall under God’s structure.

Of course there are those who are called to minister in the context of their professions. I for one enjoyed that so much as I then was self-contained and did not need anyone else’s obedience to obey. I used my money and free time to pursue God’s call and was very effective. There are people who wonder to date which is more effective, when I was working and could sponsor myself and others to do what God had called me to or now when I depend on others’ obedience to function.

In fact I thought it was on those terms He had asked me to leave employment shortly after I had gotten married. I decided to establish a business that would support my ministry. But I unsuccessfully looked for vacant premises for months. Then I became sick. So sick that I thought I was dying as there was nothing hospitals could do yet I had enough friends to enable me to get the best treatment hospitals (public and private) offered. At this time my wife was expecting our first born.

I therefore decided in wisdom that it was better if I died at home and looked for transport which was a big issue then in Marsabit due to the nature of the road. I decided to even leave most of our things in the church I was serving since the pastor had gone on leave.

The interesting thing is that by the time I got home I was completely healed. I have talked about being ready to obey yet being unable to hear because God’s voice is completely opposite to your capacity to conceive it. I suspect I heard God’s voice in the context I was conditioned by. And especially because not long before two close friends had gone back ‘fishing’ after leaving employment for ‘full time’ ministry, one told me because he could not raise adequate support even for the barest necessities. I therefore had sworn never to depend on people for ministry support.

I then decided to go full time farming for the same purpose, support ministry. Then El-Niño came in my first season. Since I had planted my maize very early and the farm was far from home, it matured when the rest were not ready. And it produced really well. And people decided to pick ‘kidogo kidogo’ (a little) to roast. The only maize I was able to get was what I took to roast as well because of the distance. Of course the beans produced a total loss.

I then decided to start a small workshop, at least to meet the needs of my then small family even as I waited for God’s break.

It is worth noting that I come from a family that has deep roots of business and entrepreneurship and so I was principally thinking of flowing in that spirit to support ministry that God has called me to.

After some time, my sister, who lived around Kisumu made me an offer. Your business has great potential in Kisumu. Let us partner, you have your workshop as you offer oversight to my business.

That made a lot of sense. I therefore closed my workshop and travelled to Kisumu to look at the prospects. Interesting enough, I was at that time negotiating with my landlord to give me a bigger room to expand the business.

I surveyed Kisumu and the prospects looked excellent. But as I was planning God told me to go back home. And as usual He didn’t tell me why. Of course my sister was very disappointed. I also didn’t give any answers and it is difficult to explain what God has said when you do not understand anything beyond the conviction to move.

Of course I found my former premise already taken. And I couldn’t get another one around the centre. As had happened in Marsabit, God blocked me from getting a room in that centre however hard I looked, and it is the centre I grew up around.

I therefore went to nearby market centres, but even then I didn’t succeed in getting any available business rooms.

Then a cousin from a distant market centre heard of my dilemma. He had a vacant room that he was not using. He offered it to me for free. It was five kilometres away, uphill in the morning and downhill in the evening. But it was okay. There also was quite some ministry as I hustled at that place.

We had agreed with my wife that the workshop was a temporary solution until God leads us to the ministry He had called us from employment for. It was therefore for the purposes of sustenance until then.

Then I took my son to school, and I was already educating a sister in law. I realized that sustenance was no sufficient for the business as the bills were unsustainable. We therefore prayed that God either opens the ministry door or allow us to expand the business, meaning that ministry will have to take the backburner, especially if it would require us moving from home. I therefore looked for means to raise resources for the expanded business as well as repositioning for farming. And the doors started opening.

That was then we were called to Nairobi to initiate a ministry. Of course nothing solid was promised but for us it was an answer to the prayer we had made. We were now content that God had directed us to the arena of our ministry.

We served for two years then not only was our support discontinued, we were more or less evicted from the ministry we had spent all our effort and calling establishing.

Without support and with a growing family, we thought it impractical to continue staying in the city. But then God told me that He is the One who called me to the city. Whoever He used was just a channel. He told me that He will take care of me and my family in the city.

He closed avenues for employment or business. He also stopped me from raising support, even from my friends. And He has taken care of me, many challenges and cliffhanging situations later.

Then I got into writing. And He provides money for the publishing of the books He asks me to print. He then told me He wants me to give away the books I write. And I have published over a dozen books and many booklets to date. Then He brought me believers who need my support to have their books in print, there are very many that are the product of this ministry. Even then He asks that I offer my service without charge. He raises support for me.

I had purposed to tent make. But God trashed all that expectation, and of course the theology behind it. I sought the scriptures when the doctrine I had been taught all my life and lived by was thus trashed.

Then I discovered that the Bible is full of examples of people God called, Paul included. The fact that he worked once in a while did not trash the fact that God had called him and used tent making as a contact point in ministry.

The Levite is the clearest statement from God concerning ministry and its support. You also realize that the prophetic ministry in the Old Testament shows that the prophets did nothing else for a living. They always positioned themselves to be used of God however He chose.

So before you push the doctrine of tent making, please seek God’s face and ask Him to give you clear directions. I suffered much because I was conditioned by that doctrine that even my desire to serve God could not open the blinders the doctrine had placed in my spiritual eyes and ears.

And I am not saying you can’t serve God in employment or business. Just that a call to ‘full time’ ministry excludes that. And you do not have to be a beggar to serve God in that kind of ministry, which is what I feared. God is able to take care of you without your sourcing for support. In fact some sourcing and sources will place you in great compromises.

What is God telling you?