Want your congregation to thrive? Pay more attention to their 9-to-5, says this book

What would happen if church leaders spent the majority of their time equipping people for where they spend the majority of their time?

Well, most Christians would have to imagine the answer because, as research consistently shows, very few actually do it.

Which is why Matt Rusten’s Pastoring for Monday (IVP) is an important exploration of one of the most vital challenges that the global Church faces: how to envision and empower all God’s people for mission and discipleship in their everyday lives.

A theology of work

Rusten has an answer because he’s done it himself, seen it done by others, and leads an organisation that is successfully training pastors to do it – Made to Flourish. But you don’t have to be a pastor to benefit from this book. Rusten’s goal is not primarily to give pastors a list of ‘how-to’s’, but rather to give all God’s people a fresh biblical understanding of God’s purposes for work and a fresh vision for the ways we can faithfully steward our working lives.

Work, whether paid or unpaid, is not a special interest topic for the few, but a key component of every Christian’s discipleship. Rusten helpfully names the non-biblical ways that work is viewed and offers a theologically-rich counter to them all, rooted in the overall story of the Creation, Fall, redemption and consummation. He then explores what good working might actually look like in a variety of contexts – from nursing and the arts to blue-collar work, law and real estate. Yes, Rusten works in the US but there’s very little in this book that is not easily transferable to a UK context.

We are not, Rusten reminds us, our job title, our last sale, our last success, or our last failure

Rethinking work 

Importantly, Rusten recognises the range of pressures workers face without either demonising or sentimentalising work. After all, even if we have a robust theology of work, a dependence on the wisdom of Christ and his Spirit, and the prayer support of faithful friends, a toxic culture, an incompetent boss or a crushing workload will still impact our physical, emotional, social and spiritual wellbeing.

Citing a stirring Martin Luther King speech, the book also reminds us that we must all resist the temptation to locate our worth and identity in our work. We are not our job title, our last sale, success or most recent failure. We are sons and daughters of the living God, chosen, called and empowered to serve Him and our neighbour for His glory.

Rusten then moves on from these foundational perspectives to address the key transitional moments in working life: changing jobs, losing jobs, looking for jobs and retirement. There’s helpful material on preaching and small groups too, but overall, he rightly understands that the pastor’s core challenge is a cultural one.

Virtually every aspect of church culture has been affected by the sacred-secular divide. He suggests a language audit, avoiding using phrases such as “full-time ministry” only for paid church work; every Christian is in full-time ministry.

He also suggests that we stop singing songs that are “dismissive of the physical world or ignore [the fact] that eternal life begins now”, replacing them instead with worship that reflect God’s interest in our everyday lives.

Finally, pastors should be more curious about people’s everyday lives. Indeed, leaders I know who have made progress in this area almost all say that visiting someone on their frontline was the biggest single help in reshaping their ministry. And hugely encouraging to the people they visited. 

If there’s a gap in Rusten’s vision, it lies perhaps in recognising the supernatural, providential intervention of God to change hearts, generate opportunities, offer wisdom, provide resources, heal and resolve issues. 

If you’re a pastor, invite yourself to someone’s work context. And if you’re not a pastor, invite your pastor to your work context – even if it’s your kitchen. And lend your pastor this book.

Pastoring for Monday: Help your congregation integrate faith and work by Matt Rusten is out now